No abstract available.

PURPOSE: To investigate the utility of surgical treatment of clavicle shaft fracture using a percutaneous towel clip reduction and intramedullary fixation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was conducted for total 16 cases of patients who had no neurovascular injury and a few comminuted bone fragment among patients with clavicle shaft fracture from January 2002 to July 2003. The method of operation was percutaneous towel clip reduction and intramedullary fixation. The clinical and radiological results were evaluated. RESULTS: Radiologically, 15 cases showed bone unions and the average time was 9.1 weeks. According to Kang's criteria clinically, there were 14 cases which were more than an excellence. One case substituted open reduction and nailing fixation due to a medial migration of K-wire and re- displacement of fracture even in 1 week. However, there wasn't any other major complication. CONCLUSION: Due to its having no additional injury to soft tissues, no scar formations, and its short operation time, percutaneous towel clip reduction and intramedullary fixation will be very useful as one of the treatments of clavicular shaft fracture if it follows correct surgical indications.
Cicatrix ; Clavicle* ; Humans

Objectives: Interest in the association between particulate air pollution and appendicitis risk has been increasing in recent years, and previous studies have suggested a link between particulate matter ≤ 10 μm in diameter (PM10 ) and appendicitis. However, robust evidence is currently lacking. This study explored the association between short-term PM10 exposure and appendicitis using data from Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, Seoul, Korea, between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2018. Methods: We employed a time-stratified case-crossover design using data from 6,526 appendicitis patients taken from the hospital’s electronic medical records system. We analyzed the data using a conditional logistic regression model adjusted for daily mean temperature and relative humidity. The effect size of PM10 was estimated in terms of each 10 μm/m3 increase in PM10 concentration. Sex, season, and age group were analyzed as subgroups. Results: Appendicitis patients had been exposed to higher levels of PM10 concentrations 3 days (OR 1.045, 95% CI : 1.007–1.084) and 7 days (OR, 1.053; 95% CI, 1.005–1.103) before hospital admission. The case-crossover analysis stratified by sex, age, and season showed that the male sex, being aged under 10, and the cold season were associated with a significantly stronger association between appendicitis and PM10 concentrations. Conclusion Our study found that PM10 concentrations were associated with appendicitis in boys aged under 10. The cold season was also a risk factor. Further research with a larger sample size and with other pollutants is required to clarify the association between PM10 and appendicitis.

Background: Angiosarcoma (AS) and Kaposi sarcoma (KS) are rare malignant and borderline malignant vascular tumors that may first present to a dermatologist. There are few Korean studies that particularly focus on their survival due to low incidence. Objective: To investigate the survival and prognostic factors among patients with AS and KS, in addition to their clinical features. Methods: Between 2000∼2021, medical records of 26 AS and 26 KS patients at a single center were analyzed retrospectively. Additionally, we calculated the disease specific survival (DSS) and overall survival (OS) of two diseases. Results: The mean age of patients with AS was 72.9 years and 67.3 years for KS. The most common tumor location was the scalp in patients with AS (80.8%) and the foot (65.4%) in those with KS. In patients with AS, 1-year DSS and OS rates were 36.0% and 34.6%, respectively. Five-year DSS and OS rates were 24.0% and 20.2%, respectively. In patients with KS, the 1-year DSS and OS rates were 96.2% and 84.6%, respectively. The 5-year DSS and OS were 91.6% and 58.0%, respectively. Patients who were older or had larger lesions than average had decreased DSS and OS in AS. Among the patients with KS, immunosuppressed status, including human immunodeficiency virus infection, showed reduced OS. Conclusion Apart from confirming grave survival of AS and favorable survival of KS, patient’s age and size of lesion affect survival outcomes in patients with AS. Otherwise, immunosuppressed status affects survival outcomes in patients with KS.