The os calcis is fractured more frequently than any other tarsal bone. Fractures involving subtalar joint can, be associated with prolonged and severe disability. So there is no universal agreement in the treatment of these fractures. Calcaneal fractures of 64 feet in 56 patients who were treated at Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine from Jan. 1971 to Dec. 1980 were analyzed in clinical and radiological aspects. The results obtained from this study were as follows; 1. Of 56 patients, 46 patients were male and 10 female. 2. The main cause of fractures of calcaneus was a fall from a height in 71.4 percents of cases, and spine injury was associated in 15 patients (26.8%) with calcaneal fractures. 3. The fractures were almostly closed (89.1%). 4. Fractures involving subtalar joint were in 52 feet (81.3%) and Rowe's type 5 were 38 fractures (39.4%). Of these type 5 fractures, 31 fractures were treated by closed reduction and axial pin fixation and then favourable results were obtained. 5. The most common complication after treatment was persistant foot pain. Pain beneath the lateral malleolus was the most common (8 feet), and correlated with the decrease of Bohler's angle.
Calcaneus ; Clinical Study ; Female ; Foot ; Humans ; Male ; Spine ; Subtalar Joint ; Tarsal Bones

Multi-drug resistant tuberculosis is an emerging threat to humans. Despite steady efforts of the national tuberculosis control program, current prevalence of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis rate is increasing in Korea. In Korea, it is effective to both improve the medical transfer system on tuberculosis, and also to make a new tuberculosis patient control system with integrated public-private sector. Improvement focused on the new medical transfer system is a suitable model considering current situation of the Korean medical system. This model can be achieved by replacing the traditional drug susceptibility test method, which requires a long turnaround time, with rapid molecular biological method, and improving the overall process of specimen transport system, report system, and guidelines for tuberculosis, as well. Using such model, doctors can discover multi-drug resistant tuberculosis patients at an earlier stage, prescribe appropriate drugs at the right time, and effectively support directly observed treatment short course strategy. Therefore, this new model for improvement of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis control program, medical transfer system-focused public-private integrated system, can present an effective tool for enhancing and modifying functions of the current national tuberculosis programme in Korea.
Humans ; Korea ; Prevalence ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant

PURPOSE: Plasma cholinesterase is a sensitive measure determining the severity of organophosphate intoxication. The author evaluated the usefulness of the plasma cholinesterase level as a prognostic indicator of the severity of organophosphate intoxication. METHODS: From June 1999 to May 2001, 55 patients presented with organophosphate insecticide intoxication to the Emergency Medical Center of the Chonnam National University Hospital, and these were enrolled in this study. The plasma cholinesterase activities of these 55 patients were determined at the time of presentation. The relationships between the plasma cholinesterase level and the clinical variables of organophosphate toxicity, quantity of ingested poison, elapsed time to gastric lavage, and the APACHE score at the time of hospitalization were analyzed. RESULTS: The plasma cholinesterase activity significantly decreased in association with the degree of toxicity of the poison (p<0.001), elapsed time to gastric lavage (p<0.001), and the quantity of organophosphate ingested (p=0.013). In the 55 patients, lower plasma values of cholinesterase were observed in patients with longer durations of mechanical ventilation (r=-0.717, p<0.001) and in patients who developed pneumonia during treatment (r=-0.538, p<0.001). Also, decreased cholinesterase activity correlated with a higher APACHE score (r=-0.672, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that immediate determination of the plasma cholinesterase level at the time of hospitalization may be useful as a prognostic indicator in patients with organophosphate intoxication.
APACHE ; Cholinesterases* ; Eating* ; Emergencies ; Gastric Lavage ; Hospitalization* ; Humans ; Jeollanam-do ; Plasma* ; Pneumonia ; Respiration, Artificial

PURPOSE: There are a number of conditions that can lead to a hypercoagulable state, however, protein C and S deficiencies are frequently described as causes of the hypercoagulable states. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical features and prognosis of vascular diseases associated with protein C and/or S deficiencies and to determine an adequate treatment modality for such cases. METHODS: We prospectively evaluated 7 cases with vascular disease caused by protein C and/or S deficiencies confirmed with serologic tests. RESULTS: Four patients showed venous thrombosis, 1 peripheral arterial insufficiency, 1 cerebral venous thrombosis and peripheral arterial insufficiency, and 1 portal vein thrombosis. Surgical intervention was required in 5 patients. Full anticoagulation with heparin sodium followed by warfarin sodium was done in all patients. CONCLUSION: Protein C and S deficiencies may influence clinical management. Patients presenting with atypical vascular involvement without evidence of other risk factors should be evaluated for a hypercoagulable state. Once the diagnosis is made, patients should be treated with full anticoagulation.
Diagnosis ; Heparin ; Humans ; Prognosis ; Prospective Studies ; Protein C* ; Risk Factors ; Serologic Tests ; Vascular Diseases* ; Venous Thrombosis ; Warfarin

OBJECTIVE: The relationship was studied between expression of c-erbB-2 oncoprotein and topoisomerase II-alpha as proliferating marker in precancerous lesions and invasive squamous carcinomas of the uterine cervix. METHODS: Total 81 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections of low-grade intrasquamous lesion (22 cases), high-grade intraepithelial lesions (42 cases) and invasive squamous cell carcinomas (17 cases) in the uterine cervix were stained by immunohistochemistry for expression of the c-erbB-2 oncoprotein and topoisomerase II-alpha. RESULTS: The expression of c-erbB-2 oncoprotein and staining index (mean+/-S.D) of topoisomerase II-alpha were statistically significant between precancerous lesions and invasive carcinoma. The expression of c-erbB-2 oncoprotein has correlation with staining index (mean+/-S.D) of topoisomerase II-alpha. CONCLUSION: There results suggest that the expression of c-erbB-2 protein has relationship with progression of squamous lesions and topoisomerase II-alpha is an useful proliferating marker in the uterine cervix. And, the expression of c-erbB-2 protein has correlation with expression of topoisomerase II-alpha.
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* ; Cervix Uteri* ; DNA Topoisomerases, Type I* ; DNA* ; Female ; Immunohistochemistry ; Receptor, erbB-2

PURPOSE: The roots of Aconitum plants (e.g.,A carmichaelii, A napellus) have been believed to possess antiinflammatory, analgesic, and cardiotonic effects and have been used in traditional Chinese medicine mainly for the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders. Because of low safety margin, it is not uncommon to visit emergency departments to have variable amounts of highly toxic diterpene alkaloids (e.g., aconitine) contained in their systems. Typical manifestations of aconitine posioning are neurological, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal problems. The known cardiovascular manifestations are several types of arrhythmia and hypotension. The author experienced a cases of transient ventricular ischemic change in an EKG and elevation in cardiac enzymes. This study aimed to evaluate cardiac ischemia associated with aconitine poisonining. METHODS: The author analyzed 13 patients with aconitine poisoning, who visited the Emergency Department of Chonnam National University Hospital from 1995 to 2001. Variables included in data analysis were age, sex, clinical features, cardiac enzyme levels, and EKG changes. RESULTS: Aconitine had been taken for a variety of medical problems, including arthralgia, neuralgia, and some gastrointestinal complaints. All patients suffered from neurological (tingling of the mouth and skin, followed by numbness and weakness in the extremities), cardiovascular (palpitation, dizzness), and gastrointestinal (nausea, vomiting) manifestations. Most patients had a variety of cardiac rhythm disturbances. Two patients exhibited transient cardiac ischemia, including cardiac enzyme elevation and ischemic changes on their an EKGs. CONCLUSION: Two patients (15.4%) among 13 patients showed transient cardiac ischemia, including cardiac enzyme elevation and ischemic changes on their EKGs. It is important to observe the possibility of myocardial toxicity of aconitum and to evaluate the mechanism of cardiac toxicity through clinical and experimental study
Aconitine ; Aconitum ; Alkaloids ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Arthralgia ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group* ; Electrocardiography ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Humans ; Hypesthesia ; Hypotension ; Ischemia ; Jeollanam-do ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Mouth ; Neuralgia ; Poisoning ; Skin ; Statistics as Topic

Background/Aims: Although proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) remain a mainstay for the suppression of gastric acid secretion, long-term PPI use is associated with side effects. However, the genotoxicity associated with long-term PPI use is unclear. Materials and Methods: This prospective observational pilot study enrolled patients who had been on PPIs for >1 year and healthy controls from July 2015 to August 2016. The subjects completed self-report questionnaires pertaining to their drug and medical history, and only those with no medical history and a ≥2-year wash-out period (for drugs other than PPIs) were included. We collected peripheral-blood lymphocytes from long-term PPI users and healthy controls and analyzed the genotoxicity by using the cytokinesis-block micronucleus cytome assay; we also determined the fasting serum levels of pyridoxine, folate, cobalamin, and homocysteine. Results: Ten long-term PPI users and 40 healthy control subjects were enrolled. The median serum pyridoxine, folate, cobalamin, and homocysteine levels were not significantly different between the groups. The median frequencies of micronuclei (MNi), nucleoplasmic bridges (NPBs), and nuclear buds (Nbuds) per 1,000 binucleated cells, in long-term PPI users and healthy controls, were 30.3 and 16.3 (P<0.005), 2.5 and 1.8 (P<0.005), and 9.3 and 5.0 (P<0.005), respectively. Even after adjustment for confounding factors, the OR of the MNi, NPBs, and Nbuds for long-term PPI users compared with healthy control subjects were 14.1 (P<0.001), 2.0 (P=0.001), and 1.3 (P=0.3), respectively. Conclusions Long-term PPI use was significantly associated with an increased risk of genotoxicity after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, medical history, drug history, and the serum levels of vitamins.

Purpose: Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) with optimal conditioning has helped better long-term survival in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). This study investigated the efficacy and safety of reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) with busulfan and fludarabine in adult ALL patients unfit for myeloablation. Materials and Methods: Records of 78 patients who underwent HSCT with RIC consisting of 3.2 mg/kg/day of busulfan for 2 or 3 days and 30 mg/m2/day of fludarabine for 5 or 6 days were analyzed. Results: The median age at diagnosis was 49 years. Over a median follow-up of 22 months, 2-year estimates of relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival were 57.4% and 68.7%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed a trend of improved RFS in patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) (hazard ratio, 0.53; 95% confidence interval, 0.26–1.08; p=0.080). The cumulative incidences of relapse and non-relapse mortality were 42.9% and 19.6%, respectively and one case of central nervous system relapse was noted. No hepatic veno-occlusive disease was reported. Grade II–IV acute GVHD and any grade chronic GVHD occurred in 21.1% and 41.7%, respectively. Conclusion RIC with busulfan and fludarabine is an effective and safe conditioning regimen for adult ALL patients unfit for myeloablation.