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No abstract available.
Paranasal Sinus Neoplasms*

BACKGROUND: This research is to determine the chief complaints and related features of elderly patients who are presented to emergency department with medical problems. METHODS: Medical records of patients, 65 years or above, who visited Uijeongbu Hospital Emergency Center between January 1, 2012 and June 30, 2012 were reviewed retrospectively. Age, gender, mode of transportation to the hospital, chief complaints, and diagnosis were among the subjects analyzed. RESULTS: Elderly patients with medical problems, 3,468 visited the emergency department, constituting 12.66% from 27,396 patients in total during the research period. Patients aged 70 to 74 were 28.45%, composing the most among the age groups. Ambulance was the mode of transportation used by 43.06% of the patients and 42.96% of them stayed overnight, while 11.13% stayed in the intensive care units. The most frequent chief complaints were abdominal pain (16.81%), dyspnea (13.96%), and fever (11.16%). The most common diagnosis for patients with abdominal pain was gastritis (20.75%), chronic heart failure (26.03%) for dyspnea, and pneumonia (28.96%) for fever. The main diagnoses of in-patients according to the order of frequency were cerebral vascular accident (16.38%), pneumonia (12.48%), and chronic heart failure (6.04%). CONCLUSION: The number of elderly patients who stayed overnight and stayed in the intensive care units have increased comparing to younger patients. The top 10 most frequent chief complaints accounted for 78.92% by medical elderly patients. The results of this research could be used for the development of geriatric emergency medicine training programs and critical pathway for interns and residents.
Abdominal Pain ; Aged ; Ambulances ; Critical Pathways ; Dyspnea ; Emergencies ; Emergency Medicine ; Fever ; Gastritis ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Medical Records ; Pneumonia ; Retrospective Studies ; Transportation

Objective: Y chromosome microdeletions are the second most common genetic cause of male infertility after Klinefelter syndrome. The aim of this study was to determine the patterns of Y chromosome microdeletions among infertile Mongolian men. Methods: A descriptive study was performed on 75 infertile men from February 2017 to December 2018. Y chromosome microdeletions were identified by polymerase chain reaction. Semen parameters, hormonal levels, and testis biopsy samples were examined. Results: Among 75 infertile men, two cases of Y chromosome microdeletions were identified. The first case had an AZFa complete deletion and the other had an AZFc partial deletion. This study found that the proportion of Y chromosome microdeletions among infertile Mongolian men was 2.66%. Conclusion The findings can be applied to in vitro fertilization and assisted reproductive technology, and our results will help clinicians improve treatment management for infertile Mongolian couples.

Tuberculous peritonitis is mainly transmitted via hematogenous spreading of tuberculous bacilli. But sometimes this disease is occured, as the abdominal lymph node infected by the localized tuberculous enteritis was ruptured We pressent the report and the brief review of related literatures, who experienced a case of tuberculous peritonitis confirmed by paracentiesis and peritoneoscopic examination in a 9 years old male patient who was suspected toa malignant tumor because of the recent unexplained abdominal distension.
Child ; Enteritis ; Humans ; Laparoscopy* ; Lymph Nodes ; Male ; Peritonitis, Tuberculous*

Objectives: . No study has yet evaluated the degree of contamination after the total disassembly of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) devices. We investigated the extent of contamination of CPAP devices used daily by patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) by disassembling the systems and identifying the factors that influenced the degree of CPAP contamination. Methods: . We conducted a chart review of the medical records of patients with OSA for whom the CPAP devices were disassembled and cleaned. Two skilled technicians photographed the levels of contamination of each component and scored them using a visual analog scale. Patients’ clinical characteristics and records of CPAP device usage were statistically analyzed to identify characteristics that were significantly associated with the degree of CPAP device contamination. Results: . Among the 55 participants, both the external components, including the mask and tube, and the internal components, such as the humidifier and the interior of the main body, showed a substantial degree of contamination. The total and average daily duration of usage of the CPAP device did not show significant associations with the degree of contamination. Age was most consistently associated with the degree of contamination, such as in masks, humidifiers, and interior and exterior main parts. The degree of contamination of the internal components of the device was significantly correlated with the degree of contamination of the external components. Conclusion . Age-specific guidelines for managing the hygiene of external and internal CPAP components should be prepared.

Purpose: Isometric handgrip exercise (IHE) has a favorable cardiovascular effect and improves hemodynamic responses. Whether IHE attenuates stress-related hemodynamic reactivity assessed during a sympathetic challenge remains unexplored. We tested the hypothesis that an acute bout of IHE would improve carotid arterial function and attenuate cardiovascular vasoreactivity response to sympathetic stress in healthy adults. Methods: In a randomized cross-over design, sixteen healthy adults (aged 21.8±3.1 years) were enrolled. Participants completed two testing sessions, separated by 1 week. Trials were either a control trial or performed IHE for two sets of 2 minutes at 30% of maximal voluntary contraction for each hand. The participant’s hand was immersed in an ice water bath (4 ℃ ) up to the wrist for 2 minutes. Carotid artery diameter, β-stiffness index, and compliance using ultrasound machine and brachial blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR) were measured as indices of vasoreactivity at baseline, during, and recovery from cold pressor testing (CPT). Results: The BP, HR, carotid artery diameter, and β-stiffness index increased similarly during CPT in both trials (p＜ 0.001), without any interaction effect. Compared with the IHE trial, arterial compliance decreased in the control groups at 120 seconds during recovery with a significant interaction effect (p=0.02). Conclusion These findings suggest that an acute IHE did not attenuate BP, HR, carotid artery diameter and β-stiffness index vasoreactivity, but improved carotid artery compliance to sympathetic activation in healthy young adults.

Massive thoracoabdominal aortic thrombosis is a rare finding in patients with iatrogenic Cushing syndrome in the absence of any coagulation abnormality. It frequently represents an urgent surgical situation. We report the case of an 82-year-old woman with massive aortic thrombosis secondary to iatrogenic Cushing syndrome. A follow-up computed tomography scan showed a decreased amount of thrombus in the aorta after anticoagulation therapy alone.
Aged, 80 and over ; Anticoagulants/therapeutic use ; Aorta, Abdominal/ultrasonography ; Cushing Syndrome/*complications/*diagnosis ; Electrocardiography ; Female ; Humans ; Iatrogenic Disease ; Thrombosis/*diagnosis/drug therapy/*etiology ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Treatment Outcome

Background and Objectives: Nonpharmacologic interventions (NPIs), such as social distancing and preventive measures, were administered during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which may influence the incidence of upper respiratory diseases (URDs). The present study compared the incidence of URDs during the COVID-19 pandemic and during the years prior to COVID-19, and investigated the effect of NPIs on URD in the nationwide general population.Subjects and Method This is an epidemiologic study based on the Korean National Health Insurance Database from March 2016 to February 2021. We compared the monthly incidence of URDs from March 2020 to February 2021 (12 months) with that of the past four years. A negative binomial regression model was used to evaluate the annual difference in the incidence of each URD and adjusting temperature, humidity, and the level of particulate matter 10 (PM10). Results: The monthly incidence of ‘the five common URDs’ in 2020 was significantly lower than that in the past four years. The incidence of other chronic diseases, however, such as hypertension and diabetes mellitus, was comparable or higher in the past four years. Among the five common URDs, influenza virus infections decreased most dramatically, nearing 99%, from 296.4-377.1 per 100000 people during the period of 2016 to 2019 to 3.7 per 100000 people in 2020. Conclusion The present study shows that the incidence of ‘five common URDs’ significantly decreased during the era of COVID-19 in Korea. We believe that nationwide NPI might prevent the transmission of COVID-19 as well as other infectious sources associated with URDs.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: From the review of Korean literature most fatal mushroom poisonings have been due to amatoxins with high mortality. So far there have never been investigations on the amatoxins poisonings such as annual incidence, mortality, common causal species, and endemic areas. This study was carried out to develop some basic statistics as part of studies for an effective management of amatoxins intoxications. METHOD: For the year 1999 authors collected cases of mushroom poisonings which had been mainly gathered from hospitals nation-wide. All of the cases with suggestive amatoxins poisonings were screened by symptomatology and laboratory findings. The causal species of mushrooms were identified grossly and microscopically. RESULTS: A total of 54 victims with mushroom poisonings were evaluated. The causal mushroom toxins were diagnosed or strongly suggested as amatoxins in 43 of 54 victims. Eleven of 54 victims did not conform to the category of amatoxins intoxication due to absent or minimal elevation of aminotransferase. Mean age of the victims was 44.3 23.3 (range: 7-78) with male predominance (1.2 : 1). The causal species were confirmed, or strongly suggested, as Amanita virosa in 25 victims, Amanita subjunquillea in 14, and unknown species in 4. Thirty-five out of a total of 43 were regarded as moderate to severe intoxication (AST or ALT >1,000 IU/L) with 20% mortality. Most fatal victims showed marked thrombocytopenia (40,000 19,000/mm3) compared to non-fatal victims (109,066 42,245/mm3). A total of 88.4% of victims was developed in the Kangwon and Kyungpuk provinces. Both are west of the Taebaek Mountains (38/43). CONCLUSIONS: Although the common causal species for amatoxins poisonings in Korea are different from European countries and North America, the mortality is similar to that of those areas. In order to further reduce the mortality, bedside diagnostic methods using biological fluids and more effective therapy for liver failure should be established.
Agaricales ; Amanita ; Gangwon-do ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea* ; Liver Failure ; Male ; Mortality ; Mushroom Poisoning ; North America ; Poisoning* ; Thrombocytopenia