OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of cervical orthosis upon swallowing and the differences of bracing effect between normal people and spinal cord injured patients. METHOD: 12 normal adults and 32 cervical cord injured patients who were wearing one of the three common cervical orthoses (soft neck collar, Philadelphia brace, and Minerva brace) were recruited. Swallowing function was evaluated by videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) without cervical bracing for the baseline data and with cervical bracing to compare with baseline data. The parameters observed were oropharyngeal diameter, initiation point of swallowing, hyoid bone movement, laryngeal penetration, aspiration, and residual volume after swallowing. RESULTS: Cervical orthoses decreased oropharyngeal diameter, reduced hyoid bone movement, increased residual volume, and changed initiation point of swallowing. Minerva brace revealed to give more influence than other braces. Normal adult group and patient group showed no difference in cervical bracing effect. CONCLUSION: Attention should be paid to swallowing function when cervical bracing is needed because cervical bracing itself can increase the risk of aspiration.
Adult ; Braces ; Deglutition* ; Humans ; Hyoid Bone ; Neck ; Orthotic Devices* ; Residual Volume ; Spinal Cord

Objective: To identify the normal range, distribution, and age-dependent differences in the cephalic index (CI) of Korean children with normal brain development and develop a classification of the current CI for Korean children up to 7 years of age. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 1,389 children who visited our hospital in the emergency room between October 2015 and September 2020 because of suspected head injuries. Finally, 1,248 children (741 male and 507 female) were enrolled after excluding abnormal medical or familial history and divided into 10 groups by age. The CI was measured using brain computed tomography and calculated according to the following equation: cephalic width/cephalic length×100. Results: The averages of CI by age groups were as follows: 89.29 (0–3 months group, n=44); 91.41 (4–6 months group, n=63); 89.68 (7–9 months group, n=62); 87.52 (10–12 months group, n=41); 87.64 (≥2 years group, n=243); 86.63 (≥3 years group, n=178); 85.62 (≥4 years group, n=232); 85.77 (≥5 years group, n=201); 85.15 (≥6 years group, n=75); and 85.34 (≥7 years group, n=109). The CI of Korean children in normal brain development was confirmed to be large, showing a notable difference compared to that of Caucasians. Conclusion The current CI of Korean children will provide a valuable reference for diagnosing and treating cranial deformities, especially dolichocephaly and brachycephaly as well as to monitor the morphology of the cranium in clinics.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the relation between height and limb length using anthropometric data in healthy people. METHOD: One hundred and fifty healthy subjects between the age of 7 months and 67 years were subdivided into five groups: group I (age under 5), group II (5~10), group III (11~20), group IV (21~60), and group V (61 or more). Each group included 15 males and 15 females. Upper arm was measured between acromion and olecranon, and forearm was measured between olecranon and thumb tip. Thigh was measured between ASIS and medial plateau of tibia, and lower leg was measured between medial plateau of tibia and the floor vertically. RESULTS: Ratios of upper arm to height were 0.18+/-0.01 in group I, 0.19+/-0.02 in group II, 0.19+/-0.01 in group III, 0.19+/-0.01 in group IV, and 018+/-0.01 in group V. Ratios of forearm to height were 0.23+/-0.03, 0.23+/-0.03, 0.23+/-0.02, 0.22+/-0.01, and 0.22+/-0.01, respectively. Ratios of thigh to height were 0.27+/-0.03, 0.29+/-0.02, 0.31+/-0.02, 0.31+/-0.01, and 0.31+/-0.01 in each age group. Ratios of lower leg to height were 0.22+/-002, 0.25+/-0.02, 0.25+/-0.01, 0.26+/-0.01, and 0.25+/-0.01, respectively. CONCLUSION: Ratio of each body segment to height was useful in producing prosthesis for the people lost their both upper or lower extremities calculating the ultimate length of extremities through it.
Acromion ; Anthropometry ; Arm ; Busan* ; Extremities* ; Female ; Forearm ; Gyeongsangnam-do* ; Humans ; Leg ; Lower Extremity ; Male ; Olecranon Process ; Prostheses and Implants ; Thigh ; Thumb ; Tibia

Marchiafava-Bignami disease (MBD), Wernicke encephalopathy (WE) and alcoholic polyneuropathy (AP) are distinct diseases and all have strong relationship with chronic alcoholism. A 70-year-old male who had altered mentality and ataxia of both lower limbs and had past history of WE 3 years previously admitted with 6 months history of impaired walking. He also had a symptom of altered sensorium by impaired consciousness for 2 days. In brain magnetic resonance imaging, the body, splenium of corpus callosum and bilateral frontal cortex were involved. The patient was diagnosed with MBD on the basis of the clinical features and the brain imaging findings. The electrodiagnostic findings implied demyelinating neuropathy in all extremities. He failed to recover his mentality and the function of the limbs remained poor finishing several treatment options including medications and physical therapy. The poor prognosis of this patient is thought to be associated with cortical involvement of MBD. We reported this very rare case who was affected by 3 distinct diseases of MBD, AP, and WE as complications of chronic alcohol abuse. Moreover, the case was relevant to a rare clinical presentation of MBD with cortical involvement which was associated with poor prognosis.

Objective: To identify the normal range, distribution, and age-dependent differences in the cephalic index (CI) of Korean children with normal brain development and develop a classification of the current CI for Korean children up to 7 years of age. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 1,389 children who visited our hospital in the emergency room between October 2015 and September 2020 because of suspected head injuries. Finally, 1,248 children (741 male and 507 female) were enrolled after excluding abnormal medical or familial history and divided into 10 groups by age. The CI was measured using brain computed tomography and calculated according to the following equation: cephalic width/cephalic length×100. Results: The averages of CI by age groups were as follows: 89.29 (0–3 months group, n=44); 91.41 (4–6 months group, n=63); 89.68 (7–9 months group, n=62); 87.52 (10–12 months group, n=41); 87.64 (≥2 years group, n=243); 86.63 (≥3 years group, n=178); 85.62 (≥4 years group, n=232); 85.77 (≥5 years group, n=201); 85.15 (≥6 years group, n=75); and 85.34 (≥7 years group, n=109). The CI of Korean children in normal brain development was confirmed to be large, showing a notable difference compared to that of Caucasians. Conclusion The current CI of Korean children will provide a valuable reference for diagnosing and treating cranial deformities, especially dolichocephaly and brachycephaly as well as to monitor the morphology of the cranium in clinics.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between low back pain (LBP) and sagittal spino-pelvic parameters along with the relationship between LBP and back muscle mass in Korean male and female fishery workers. Methods: This retrospective study included a total of 146 subjects who underwent Fishermen’s health survey conducted between June 2018 and August 2020. LBP was evaluated through visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). Sagittal spino-pelvic parameters were measured from whole spine standing X-rays. Back muscle cross-sectional areas were identified through lumbar spine magnetic resonance imaging and body composition was analyzed through bioelectrical impedance analysis. Results: The study included 75 males and 71 females, with an average age of 58.33 years for males and 56.45 years for females. Female subjects exhibited higher VAS and ODI scores, larger pelvic tilt (PT) and trunk fat mass and smaller trunk muscle mass compared to males. In female, ODI positively correlated with sagittal vertical axis (SVA) and PT. No significant correlations were found between ODI scores and body composition in either sex. The high ODI group showed greater SVA, PT, and pelvic incidence-lumbar lordosis and higher trunk fat/muscle ratio. Psoas muscle mass, total and skeletal muscle mass and trunk muscle mass of that group were smaller than those of low ODI group. Conclusion Spino-pelvic parameters and back muscle mass were associated with ODI and there were differences between Korean male and female fishery workers.