We experienced a case of postoperative quadriparesis secondary to operative position in a patient with pre-existing, asymtomatic,cervical neurilemmoma. The patient was admitted with chronic otitis media for mastoidectomy on right side. There was no specific event throughout operation and anesthesia but developed quadriparesis one hour after arrival on ward. With magnetic resonance imaging, the patient was dignosed to have cervical neurilemmoma. On seventh postoperative day the patient had second operation,cervical laminectomy and tumor removal. Ten days after second operation he was discharged without any complication. Eight months later he had mastoidectomy on the left side and was discharged without any sequale.
Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, General* ; Humans ; Laminectomy ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Neurilemmoma ; Otitis Media ; Quadriplegia*

Nosocomial infection represent a significant cause of patient morbidity and mortality, especially in the ICU and nosocomial pneumonia that cause high mortality may arise from contaminated respiratory equipments. This study was done to investigate the relationship of micro-organisms in upper respiratory tract and ventilatory equipment, especially humidifier. The total number of cases in this study was 20 and the specimen for bacteriologic culture were taken from the pharynx, the distilled water and the inner wall of humidifier and toilet of trachea at the 0, 4, 8, 12, 24, 48 hours after initiation of mechanical ventilation. The results obtained from the bacteriologic culture were as follows. 1) The most frequently found organism at the pharynx was Pseudomonas aeruginosa and next was Coagulase Negative Staphylococcus, followed by Streptococcus viridans, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus group D, Enterobacter agglomerans, Acinetobacter spp. 2) The most frequently found organism at the trachea was Pseudomonas aeruginosa and next was Klebsiella pneumoniae followed by Coagulase Negative Staphylococcus, Streptocoecus viridans, Pseudomonas picketti, Staphylococcus aureus and no growth in 5 cases. 3) The most frequently found organism in the fluid of humidifier was Pseudomonas aeruginosa and next was Pseudomonas picketti, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus group D and no growth in 2 cases. 4) The most frequently found organism at the pharynx was Pseudomonas aeruginosa and next was Pseudomonas picketti, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus group D, Serratia liquefacines, Acinetobacter spp and no growth in 3 cases. 5) The number of isolated organisms in the fluid of humidifier was 3 at 0 hour and 18 after 48 hours and at the wall 2 at 0 hour and 15 after 48 hours. 6) The number of same organism that was isolated between the pharynx and trachea was 13 among 15 cases and between the wall and fluid of humidifier was 15 among 16 cases and between trachea and fluid of humidifier was 10 among 14 cases.
Acinetobacter ; Coagulase ; Cross Infection ; Enterobacter ; Enterococcus faecalis ; Humans ; Klebsiella pneumoniae ; Mortality ; Pharynx ; Pneumonia ; Pseudomonas ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa ; Respiration, Artificial ; Respiratory System ; Serratia ; Staphylococcus ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Trachea ; Ventilators, Mechanical* ; Viridans Streptococci ; Water

Endotracheal intubation has been widely used for general anesthesia and patency of airway. But intubation granuloma may be developed after intubation. From Feb. 1986 to Jun. 1993, the authors encountered 20 cases of intubation granuloma in Korea University Hospital and following results were obtained. 1) The incidence of intubation granuloma was 0.017%. 2) The age range was from 24 to 49 years. 3) The ratio of male to female was 1 to 19. 4) All cases located at posterior one third of vocal cord, 6 cases were bilateral, 14 were unilateral, of them 10 were in the right sides. 5) Eleven cases were occurred after caesarian section, and the ineidence of which was 0.134% . 6) Hoarseness was the main symptom in 18 cases. 7) The duration from intubation to development of symptom was 15 days to 4 months.
Anesthesia, General ; Female ; Granuloma* ; Hoarseness ; Humans ; Incidence ; Intubation* ; Intubation, Intratracheal ; Korea ; Male ; Vocal Cords

Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis is characterized by the remittent or progressive accumulation of lipid-rich proteinaceous material within the alveolar sacs in the absence of inflammatory response. Whole-lung lavage is the only consistent treatment for pulmonary alveolar proteinosis. We have utilized whole-lung lavage for the successful treatment of a 62 year-old female patient with pulmonary alveolar proteinosis. There was no persistent complication during the procedure and the postanesthetic recovery except temporary fever and hypoxic event. The patient was symptomatically, physiologically, and radiologically improved within days after the procedures.
Female ; Fever ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis* ; Therapeutic Irrigation*

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Congestive heart failure is one of the most frequent problems in cardiovascular patients. However, very little data concerning this syndrome in Korea was available. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the demographic and clinical characteristics of hospitalized Korean patients with congestive heart failure. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Six university hospitals that fulfilled the protocol for clinical information of the patients with heart failure, were prospectively engaged in this study. Six hundred and ninety patients, admitted between Jan. 1. 1998 and Dec. 31. 1999, were enrolled. RESULTS: Ischemic heart disease was the most frequent underlying disease (33.2%), with the other causes of heart failure being cardiomyopathy (23%), hypertensive heart disease (22%) and valvular heart disease (12.7%). Compared with ischemic cardiomyopathy, the patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy were younger (61.1+/-16.6 vs. 66.9+/-10.3, p<0.05), had less incidence of diabetes (16.8% vs. 32.2%) and smoked less (13.5+/-21.5 vs. 20.4+/-26.0 pack-year). The common aggravating factors were arrhythmia (22%), myocardial ischemia (21.7%) and infection (18.7%). Thirty nine (5.7%) patients died during the one year follow up period. Ischemic heart disease was the main underlying disease in the fatal cases (46.2%). CONCLUSION: Ischemic heart disease was the major cause of heart failure, and the leading cause of death in Korean patients with congestive heart failure.
Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Cardiomyopathies ; Cardiomyopathy, Dilated ; Cause of Death ; Coronary Disease ; Epidemiology ; Estrogens, Conjugated (USP)* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart Diseases ; Heart Failure* ; Heart Valve Diseases ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea* ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Prospective Studies ; Smoke

An one day old female baby was admitted to the Pediatric department of Korea University Anam Hospital for the evaluation of her facial anomaly. She was born by spontaneous vaginal delivery at term weighing 3.8 kg. On initial examination, she was noted to have congenital trismus and have cleft lip and palate. Bands of fibrous tissue were noted to extend from the superior alveolar part to inferior part at decidual molar tooth region and allowed oral opening of only 5 mm. She was transfered to the Plastic Surgery department under the diagnosis of cleft palate lateral synechia syndrome for resection of her synechial bands. In the operating room ECG, pulse oximeter and precordial stethoscope were applied to the patient and then, anesthesia was induced with , O2, N2O and enflurane. The 60 cm Olympus fiberscope with an external diameter of 2 mm was used and well lubricated 3.0 mm uncuffed endotracheal tube was threaded over the fiberscope through the oral cavity. The fiberscope was advanced into the midtrachea, then the endotracheal tube was passed over the fiberscope into the trachea After securing of the endotracheal tube, two lateral synechial bands were surgically divided. She tolerated oral feedings on postoperative 5 days without difficulty and discharged from the hospital on postoperative 6 days.
Anesthesia ; Cleft Lip ; Cleft Palate* ; Diagnosis ; Electrocardiography ; Enflurane ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn* ; Intubation* ; Intubation, Intratracheal ; Korea ; Molar ; Mouth ; Operating Rooms ; Palate ; Stethoscopes ; Surgery, Plastic ; Tooth ; Trachea ; Trismus

Staphylococcus lugdunensis is a member of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS), an uncommon microbial culture isolate with virulent potency. Although CoNS are common skin commensals, and often regarded as contaminants or colonizers when isolated from clinical specimen cultures, the clinical course and microbiological characteristics of Staphylococcus lugdunensis may resemble those of Staphylococcus aureus rather than other CoNS. Invasive infectious diseases such as infective endocarditis, peritonitis, skin and soft tissue infection, vascular prosthetic infection, septicemia, and osteomyelitis have been found to be associated with Staphylococcus lugdunensis. Here we report the first case of psoas abscess caused by methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus lugdunensis in Korea.
Colon ; Communicable Diseases ; Endocarditis ; Korea ; Osteomyelitis ; Peritonitis ; Psoas Abscess* ; Sepsis ; Skin ; Soft Tissue Infections ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Staphylococcus lugdunensis* ; Staphylococcus*

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Viral suppression of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) can be induced by lamivudine, but the relapse seen in many patients after cessation of lamivudine therapy is troublesome. We thought that the host immune response is important to prevent viral relapse. We compared the frequency of HBV-specific CD8+ T cells in the peripheral blood and their expansion capacity after exposure to viral antigen between the patients showing sustained HBeAg seroconversion after use of lamivudine and those patients without sustained response. METHODS: We analyzed HBV-specific CD8+ T cells that were isolated from the blood of 14 patients with HLA-A2 who showed lamivudine induced HBeAg seroconversion (HBV DNA < 0.5 pg/mL, and the cells were negative for HBeAg) at the end of lamivudine therapy. The purified T cells were directly stained ex vivo, after they had been stimulate with synthetic peptide, using the HBV core 18-27-specific HLA tetramer (Tc 18-27) and monoclonal antibody to CD8. The HBV viral load was quantified by the Amplicor HBV Monitor assay. RESULTS: In patients with a sustained HBeAg response (the sustained group) for a duration of 15.5 months of follow-up, the median number of Tc 18-27 cells out of the 5 X 10(4) CD8+ T cells was 49.5 (15-135). On the contrary, in patients who experienced relapse (the relapsed group) during a median of 7.5 months of follow-up, the median number of Tc 18-27 cells out of the 5 X 10(4) CD8+ T cells was 13.5 (0-95). Especially, among patients with a viral load of HBV DNA < 1 X 10(3) copies at the end of treatment, the median number of Tc 18-27 cells out of 5 X 10(4) CD8+ T cells was 87 (45-135) in sustained group compared to 12 (6-50) in the relapsed group. All patients in the sustained group demonstrated a vigorous expansion of the core 18-27-specific CD8+ T cells after stimulation with viral peptide, in contrast to only 3 out of 8 patients in the relapsed group. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that the frequency and functional responsiveness of the circulating HBV-specific CD8+ T cells may be important for obtaining a sustained HBeAg response to lamivudine.
Adult ; Antiviral Agents/*therapeutic use ; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/*immunology ; English Abstract ; Female ; Hepatitis B/drug therapy/*immunology/virology ; Hepatitis B e Antigens/*blood ; Hepatitis B virus/*immunology ; Humans ; Lamivudine/*therapeutic use ; Male ; Recurrence ; Viral Load

BACKGROUNDS/AIMS: Hepatitis B virus(HBV) specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response is believed to play a major role in virus control and liver damage in chronic hepatitis B(CHB). We performed this study to evaluate whether HBV specific CTL could be visualized directly by tetrameric HLA-A2/core 18-27 complex(T c18-27) in the peripheral blood and liver of patients with CHB. On the basis of our results we clarified patients intrahepatic compartmentalization and correlation with HBV specific CTL and viral replication or liver damage. METHODS: We stained peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 33 HLA-A2 + and 8 HLA-A2 patients with CHB with cychrome conjugated anti-CD8 mAb and phycoerythrin conjugated T c18-27. Among these we analysed intrahepatic lymphocyte of 11 HLA-A2 + patients. We compared the frequency of T c18-27 specific CD8+ cells with serum HBV-DNA levels or alanine aminotransferase(ALT) levels. RESULTS: The frequency of circulating T c18-27 specific CD8+ cell was higher(9-101 cells per 50,000 CD8+ cells) than background level in 14 among 33 patients. The frequency of intrahepatic T c18-27 specific CD8+ cells was 12-2100 cells per 50,000 CD8+ cells in 8 out of 11 patients whose liver was obtained This was 17.4-150 times higher than circulating T c18-27 specific CD8+ cells. The frequency of circulating T c18-27 specific CD8+ cells was increased in 10 out of 18 patients with serum HBV DNA level <0.5 pg/mL and ALT < 40 IU/L. It was increased in just 4 out of 15 patients with HBV DNA level > 800 pg/mL and ALT >70 IU/L. The frequency of intrahepatic T c18-27 CTL tended to be lower in high levels of serum HBV DNA and was not correlated with liver inflammation. CONCLUSION: This study provess that if HBV-specific CTLs are barely detectable in the peripheral blood of CHB, much more HBV-specific CTLs are in the liver and most HBV-specific CTLs are infiltrated in the liver. Also, in the presence of an effective HBV specific CD8 response the inhibition of viral replication can be independent of liver damage.
CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology ; DNA, Viral/analysis ; English Abstract ; HLA-A2 Antigen/analysis/*immunology ; Hepatitis B Virus/genetics/*immunology ; Hepatitis B, Chronic/*immunology/virology ; Human ; T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic/*immunology ; Viral Core Proteins/*immunology

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The protective role of HBV-specific CD8+ cells is dependent on their ability to efficiently migrate to the infected liver, where they may exert an effector function. The migratory behavior of CD8+ cells is influenced by their expression of different chemokine receptors. This study was intended to analyse the pattern of chemokine receptor expression of HBV specific CD 8+ cells in chronic B viral infection. METHODS: We analysed the CCR5 and CCR3 profile of HBV-specific CD8+ cells isolated from the blood and liver of patients with different patterns of HBV infection. Purified T cells were stained directly ex vivo, or after antigen-specific stimulation, using HBV peptide-specific HLA tetramers and monoclonal antibodies to CD8, CCR5 and CCR3, with analysis by flow cytometry. RESULTS: In patients with chronic hepatitis B characterised by low levels of virus (serum HBV DNA <0.5pg/mL) and minimal liver inflammation, analysis of circulating and intrahepatic CD8+ cells demonstrated that liver infiltrating Tc18-27-specific cells were preferentially CCR5+ (up to 80% of HBV-specific CD8+ cells), in contrast to cells of the same specificity within the circulating compartment (up to 35% of HBV-specific CD8+ cells). Furthermore, CCR3 was expressed by about 10% of Tc18-27+ cells infiltrating the liver, but was absent from circulating cells. Following HBV-specific stimulation in vitro the CCR5 expression of circulating Tc18-27-specific cells was up-regulated, to levels found in liver infiltrating cells, whereas CCR3 expression was unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: The chemokine receptor profile of HBV-specific CD8+ cells is influenced by the anatomical site of these cells, and the clinical pattern of disease. The ability of circulating HBV-specific CD8+ cells of patients with low replicating virus to upregulate CCR5 suggests that these cells may respond to increases in virus replication by efficiently migrating into the infected liver.
CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology/*metabolism ; English Abstract ; Hepatitis B Virus/immunology ; Hepatitis B, Chronic/*immunology/pathology ; Human ; Liver/pathology ; Receptors, CCR5/metabolism ; Receptors, Chemokine/*metabolism ; T-Cell Antigen Receptor Specificity