No abstract available.
Child* ; Hepatitis* ; Humans

No abstract available.
Diverticulum*

PURPOSE: Traumatic asphyxia is a rare clinical syndrome characterized by cervicofacial cyanosis, edema, and multiple petechiae after a severe chest crush injury, and ophthalmic involvement includes violaceous discoloration of lid, lid edema, bulbar subconjunctival hemorrhage, exophthalmos and retinal hemorrhage. The authors experienced a case of traumatic asphyxia with typical ophthalmic manifestations after a crush chest injury, and we report this case with literature review. METHODS: A-54-year old man was consulted for bilateral proptosis after a crush chest injury. Ophthal-mologice valuation and intervention were performed. RESULT: Right eye was not checked due to previous corneal opacity, but visual acuity was 0.8 and IOP was 45 mmHg in left eye. There were bilateral proptosis and severe bulbar subconjunctival hemorrhage, and orbital computed tomography showed orbit fat interposed between globe and medial orbital wall. IOP was controlled with medications and other clinical signs including proptosis showed progressive improvement.
Asphyxia* ; Corneal Opacity ; Cyanosis ; Edema ; Exophthalmos ; Hemorrhage ; Orbit ; Purpura ; Retinal Hemorrhage ; Thoracic Injuries ; Thorax ; Visual Acuity

To assess the efficacy of amiodarone on chronic atral fibrillation(AF) and to evaluate the relation between the ability to convert AF to sinus rhythm (SR) with amiodarone therapy and left atrial(LA) size and atrial fibrillatory wave forms, 22 patients with AF, aged 40 to 60 years(mean 47.5 years), were studied. Nine patients(40.9%) had mitral valvaular heart disease, 6(27.3%) hypertension, 5(18.2%) lone AF and 2 (9.1%) cadiomyopathy. Amiodarone therapy with either 600mg for 1 week, 200mg for 4 weeks in 5 consecutive patients, or 800mg for 1 week, 400mg for 4 weeks and 200mg for 6 weeks in 17 patients, converted AF to SR in 9(40.9%) patients 3 to 6 weeks after amiodarone was started on. In either group, patients who achieved conversion had smaller LA size(mean 43.7mm) than those who failed conversion(mean50.2mm)(P<0.05). Those who had LA size less than 45mm achieved conversion of AF to SR in 70%, comparing to 16.7% in patients with LA size more than 46mm(P<0.05). Among patients who achieved conversion, LA size was less than 46mm in 77.8% comparing to 23.1% in patients who failed conversion on Amiodarone. Those with coarse AF(46.2mm), althogh the difference was not significant statistically. There was no converstion in patients with LA size greater then 58mm and in patients with coarse AF who concomittantly had MVD. These findings suggest that the efficacy of amiodarone was related to LA size, and to the atrial fibrillation wave form in patients with mitral valvular heart disease.
Amiodarone* ; Atrial Fibrillation* ; Heart Diseases ; Heart Valve Diseases ; Humans ; Hypertension

No abstract available.
Brain Injuries ; Neuroimaging

No abstract available.
Meningitis, Meningococcal* ; Pericarditis*

As known by other name (natural immunity), the innate immune system comprises all those mechanisms for dealing with infection that are constitutive or built in, changing little with age or with experience of infection. Though in some ways less sophisticated than adaptive immunity, innate immunity should not belittled, since it has evidently protected thousands of species of invertebrates sufficiently to survive for up to 2 billion years. In the innate immune system, molecules of both cellular and humoral types are involved, corresponding to the need to recognize and dispose of different types of pathogen, to promote inflammatory responses and to interact to the adaptive immune system. A major features of innate immunity are the presence of the normal gut flora, complements, macrophages, dendritic cells, natural killer cells and many cytokines that can block the establishment of infection. Both phagocytic cells and complement system have tremendous potential for damaging host cells, but fortunately they are normally only triggered by foreign materials, and usually most of their destructive effects are focussed on the surface of these or in the safe environment of the phagolysosome. This article addreses the comprehensive mechanisms of the major components of the innate immune system to prevent the infection.

No abstract available.
Aneurysm ; Aneurysm, Ruptured* ; Cerebral Veins* ; Veins*

To investigate frequency of painful and/or silent myocardial ischemia(SMI) determined by ECG ST-segment depression(more than 1.0mm depression for 0.08 second after J point over 60 seconds) during unrestricted daily activities, 24-hour dynamic ECG was performed in 19 patients(11 males, 8 females) with chronic stable angina pectoris, aged 57.4 years(44 to 73 years). During 456 hours of recording, there were 154 episodes of SMI. Of these, 139 episodes(90.3%) were silent and 15 episodes(9.7%) accompaned chest pain. The higher incidence of SMI than previously published data is probably influenced by 1 patient who disclosed 56 episodes (excluding this, SMI 84.7%). Sixty one percent of episodes of SMI occurred during light activities such as slow walk, hand labor, eating or at rest(sitting at ease), smoking and sleep, and 39% during more strenuous activites such as walk, climbing stairs and physical exercise. In contrast, most of the painful myocardial ischemia(PMI) developed during climbing stairs, walk and physical exercise. Heart rate during episodes of SMI varied ranging from 85.2+/-13.7/min at rest to 115.5+/-19.2/ min druing climbing stairs. Mean ST-segment depressions during episodes of SMI and PMI were 2.0(1.0-4.0)mm and 2.6(1.2-7.0)mm, respectively, in 6 patients who disclosed both SMI and PMI on 24-hour ECG recordings. However, frequency of ischemic episodes was higher(9.0 vs 2.5/day) and duration was longer(13.8min vs 3.0min) in SMI. These findings indicate that transient SMI in patients with chronic stable angina pectoris occurs more frequently than painful myocardial ischemia. In addition, SMI develops during activities that increase heart rate(increased O2 demand) as well as during activites that do not increase heart rate(decreased O2 supply). Therefore, both O2 demand and supply mechanisms may be involved in the pathogenesis of transient SMI in Patients with chronic stable angina pectoris.
Angina, Stable* ; Chest Pain ; Depression ; Eating ; Electrocardiography ; Exercise ; Hand ; Heart ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Myocardial Ischemia* ; Smoke ; Smoking

No abstract available.
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation* ; Telephone*