Syphilis, along with the recent increase of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients, has also been on the rise. It has a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations, among which cerebral gumma is, a kind of neurosyphilis, however, it is rare and can be cured by penicillin. Thus, cerebral gumma needs to be differentially diagnosed from other brain masses that may be present in syphilis patients. We have experienced a case where the patient was first suspected of brain tumor, but confirmed by surgery to be cerebral gumma due to neurosyphilis. This is the first such case encountered in Korea, therefore, we report it here in. A 40-year old woman complaining of headaches was found to have a brain mass on her CT scans and MRI. Suspecting a brain Tumor, a resection was performed on the patient, and histological results revealed that the central portion of the mass contained necrotic material and the peripheral region was infiltrated with plasma cells. Warthin-Starry staining of the region revealed spirochetes, and the patient was thus diagnosed as brain gumma. Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was reactive. After an operation, penicillin-G at a daily dose of 24x10(6) U was given for 10 days from post-operative day 10, and thereafter, the mass disappeared.
Adult ; Brain Neoplasms/*diagnosis/pathology/radiography ; Female ; HIV Infections/*diagnosis/radiography ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Neurosyphilis/*diagnosis/pathology/radiography ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

BACKGROUND: The main disadvantage of rocuronium is the pain associated with vascular injection. We evaluated the efficacy of palonosetron for reducing pain after rocuronium injection. METHODS: Eighty patients scheduled for elective surgery were randomly divided into two groups: Group C (normal saline 1.5 ml, n = 40) and Group P (palonosetron 0.075 mg, n = 40). Anesthesia was induced with thiopental 5 mg/kg and the test drug was injected over 10 seconds. Thirty seconds after the injection of the test drug, rocuronium 0.6 mg/kg was injected over 30 seconds and the response was recorded. Injection pain was graded using a 4-point scale. The grade was 0 points for no movement, 1 point for wrist movement, 2 points for elbow or shoulder movement, and 3 points for whole body movement. Mean arterial pressure and heart rate were recorded on arrival in the operating room and before and 30 seconds after rocuronim injection. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the grade 1 response between the two groups; however, the grade 2 and 3 responses in Group P were 5 (12.5%) and 4 (10%), respectively, which were significantly lower than in Group C, with 13 (32.5%) responses for each grade. There were no significant differences in hemodynamic changes within each group. However, the difference in mean arterial pressure before and after the injection of rocuronium was significantly larger in Group C compared to Group P. CONCLUSIONS: Pretreatment with palonosetron 0.075 mg reduced the incidence and severity of withdrawal movement after rocuronium administration.
Anesthesia ; Arterial Pressure ; Elbow ; Heart Rate ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Incidence ; Operating Rooms ; Shoulder ; Thiopental ; Wrist

BACKGROUND: The recovery and outcome of intoxicated patients depends on the kind of drugs they took and the total time of their initial management. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of a Triage drug kit for detecting abused drugs. METHODS: From 2003 Feb. to 2003 July, we studied the patients who visited the emergency department with suspicious drug intoxication. In this case, we used a Triage drug kit for 134 patients with drug intoxication or who were clinically suspected of taking illegal drugs, with 30 of the patients initially admitting the substance they had used. The kit is an immunoassay kit for qualitative testing drug metabolites in urine. To compare with those cases of the preceding year, we studied 104 patients with drug intoxication that was detected between February 2002 and July 2002. RESULTS: Overall, 60% of the 30 cases who did not know what substance they abused and tested positive for, and 33% of the 27 cases with suspected intoxication confirmed their substance abuse. The positive rate for benzodiazepine use was the highest (46.7%), and there were no positive results regarding amphetamine, methamphetamine or cocaine. An appropriate antidote was administered significantly more frequently in the group for which we used the kit. CONCLUSIONS: A Triage drug kit is probably useful for diagnosing acute drug intoxication and for identifying the causative substance. However, the time required to decide whether or not a patient should be admitted is not reduced. If the kit can detect the frequently abused drugs in Korea, it will be helpful for treating drug intoxicated patients.
Amphetamine ; Benzodiazepines ; Cocaine ; Emergencies ; Humans ; Immunoassay ; Korea ; Methamphetamine ; Poisons ; Substance-Related Disorders ; Triage

Intraoperative formation and management of a thrombus in right atrium has been reported occasionally. Nevertheless, it is rare that a right atrial thrombus with unstable hemodynamic changes detected by transesophageal echocardiography is resolved spontaneously. We report upon the 44-year-old woman, who had a right atrial thrombus detected by transesophageal echocardiography during laparoscopic assisted vaginal hysterectomy and resolved during thromboembolectomy.
Adult ; Echocardiography, Transesophageal ; Female ; Heart Atria ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Hysterectomy, Vaginal ; Laparoscopy ; Thrombosis

PURPOSE: Immediate identification of bacterial meningitis (BM) is essential in the emergency department. However, diagnosis of BM from analysis of cerebrospinal fluid has low sensitivity. The goal of this study was to determine the ability of serum procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) for differentiation between BM and non-BM in adult patients. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study, which was conducted from Jan 1 2008 to Sep 30 2011, included patients with a diagnosis of meningitis based on compatible clinical features and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) culture findings with a CSF leukocyte count > 5 /microL. Measurement of Serum PCT and CRP level was performed on initial admission to the emergency department. Patients were divided into two groups, according to the type of meningitis: BM or non-BM. Clinical features, laboratory results, including CSF results, serum PCT, and CRP levels were assessed. RESULTS: A total of 63 patients (age, 49+/-19) with confirmed meningitis were admitted: 43 patients with non-BM and 20 patients with BM. Significantly higher PCT and CRP levels, CSF white blood cell and neutrophil count, CSF glucose, and protein levels were observed in the BM group. The most highly discriminative parameters for differential diagnosis of BM proved to be serum PCT, with a sensitivity of 90%, a specificity of 100%, a positive predictive value of 100%, a negative predictive value of 96% at a diagnostic cut-off level of 1.0 ng/mL (area under the curve 0.98; 95% confidence interval 0.00-1.00) and CRP, with a sensitivity of 85%, a specificity of 88%, a positive predictive value of 77%, a negative predictive value of 93% at a diagnostic cut-off level of 6.0 mg/dL (area under the curve 0.91; 95% confidence interval 0.76-0.97). CONCLUSION: Serum PCT and CRP levels appear to be the most highly discriminative parameters for differential diagnosis of BM and non-BM.
Adult ; C-Reactive Protein ; Calcitonin ; Cohort Studies ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Emergencies ; Glucose ; Humans ; Leukocyte Count ; Leukocytes ; Meningitis ; Meningitis, Bacterial ; Neutrophils ; Protein Precursors ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity

BACKGROUND: Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma represents 2% to 5% of all thyroid cancers and it is one of the most aggressive human cancers. Local extension at the time of diagnosis and distant metastases are almost always the rule. Its lethality is evidenced by a 5-year survival rate of 3.6% and a median survival time of 4 months. We retrospectively reviewed patients with this disease at 4 tertiary referral centers. METHODS: From 1990 to 2003, 19 cases(9 men and 10 women, mean age: 65.1+/-7.1 years) of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma were reviewed via the medical records. The overall survival rates according to the prognostic factors and the treatment modalities were analyzed. RESULTS: The presenting symptoms included rapidly enlarged neck masses in 16 patients, shortness of breath in 3 patients, hoarseness in 4 patients, dysphagia in 2 patients and chest wall pain in 1 patient. The mean diameter of tumor was 7.2cm. Local extension was seen in all of the cases that had undergone surgery. Distant metastases(lung 6, bone 2, abdominal carcinomatosis 2, brain 1 and mediastinum 1) were seen in 9 patients. Surgical treatment was performed in 10 patients. Radiotherapy was performed in 9 patients and chemotherapy was done in 5 patients; radiotherapy was performed alone in 2 patients, combination chemo-radiotherapy was performed in 3 patients, postoperative radiotherapy was performed in 2 patients and postoperative combination chemo-radiotherapy was performed in 2 patients. 4 patients were treated cons ervatively after the confirmative diagnosis. The overall median survival time was 123 days(range: 23~621 days); the median survival time was 129 days in the treatment group(n=15), and 27 days in the no treatment group (n=4), and significantly higher survival rates were observed for the treated patients(p=0.02). According to the treatment modalities, patients who underwent surgical treatment and postoperative radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy were observed to have significantly higher survival rates than patients in the radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy group(p=0.03), and also than those patients in the surgical treatment only group(p=0.04). CONCLUSION: We found that aggressive surgical treatment and postoperative radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy improved the survival rates of patients with anaplastic thyroid carcinoma even though local invasion and distant metastases was generally observed to occur
Brain ; Carcinoma ; Deglutition Disorders ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Dyspnea ; Female ; Hoarseness ; Humans ; Male ; Mediastinum ; Medical Records ; Neck ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Radiotherapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate* ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Thoracic Wall ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms* ; Treatment Outcome

“Clinical Practice Guideline for Stroke Rehabilitation in Korea 2016” is the 3rd edition of clinical practice guideline (CPG) for stroke rehabilitation in Korea, which updates the 2nd edition published in 2014. Forty-two specialists in stroke rehabilitation from 21 universities and 4 rehabilitation hospitals and 4 consultants participated in this update. The purpose of this CPG is to provide optimum practical guidelines for stroke rehabilitation teams to make a decision when they manage stroke patients and ultimately, to help stroke patients obtain maximal functional recovery and return to the society. The recent two CPGs from Canada (2015) and USA (2016) and articles that were published following the 2nd edition were used to develop this 3rd edition of CPG for stroke rehabilitation in Korea. The chosen articles' level of evidence and grade of recommendation were decided by the criteria of Scotland (2010) and the formal consensus was derived by the nominal group technique. The levels of evidence range from 1++ to 4 and the grades of recommendation range from A to D. Good Practice Point was recommended as best practice based on the clinical experience of the guideline developmental group. The draft of the developed CPG was reviewed by the experts group in the public hearings and then revised. “Clinical Practice Guideline for Stroke Rehabilitation in Korea 2016” consists of ‘Chapter 1; Introduction of Stroke Rehabilitation’, ‘Chapter 2; Rehabilitation for Stroke Syndrome, ‘Chapter 3; Rehabilitation for Returning to the Society’, and ‘Chapter 4; Advanced Technique for Stroke Rehabilitation’. “Clinical Practice Guideline for Stroke Rehabilitation in Korea 2016” will provide direction and standardization for acute, subacute and chronic stroke rehabilitation in Korea.
Canada ; Consensus ; Consultants ; Humans ; Korea* ; Practice Guidelines as Topic ; Rehabilitation* ; Scotland ; Specialization ; Stroke*