BACKGROUND: Better effect of antiemetic drugs can be obtained by combination of multiple antiemetic drugs that have different mechanisms of action. However, if the combined drugs have similar mechanisms of action, the incidence of side effects may be increase. This study was conducted to evaluate the ability of using combination therapy consisting of metoclopramide and dexamethasone in control of postoperative nausea and vomiting. METHODS: Sixty adult female patients undergoing major gynecological operation under the general anesthesia were randomly divided into two groups according to administered drugs. The patients received a single IV dose of metoclopramide (10 mg, Group I) or metoclopramide plus dexamethasone (10 mg 8 mg, Group II) when as operator sutured the skin wound. The incidences of nausea and vomiting were assessed during the first 12, 24, and 48 hours after recovery from anesthesia. RESULTS: There were no prominent incidences of postoperative nausea and vomiting between two groups within postoperative 12 hours. But there were significantly increased incidences of nausea and vomiting in Group I (26.7%, 13.3%) compared to Group II ( 8.0%, 3.2%) during postoperative 24 hours and 48 hours. CONCLUSIONS: Combination therapy of metoclopramide with dexamethasone seemes to have no synergic effect in control of postoperative nausea and vomiting.
Adult ; Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, General ; Antiemetics ; Dexamethasone* ; Female ; Gynecologic Surgical Procedures ; Humans ; Incidence ; Metoclopramide* ; Nausea ; Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting* ; Skin ; Vomiting ; Wounds and Injuries

BACKGROUND: Acromioclavicular (AC) stability is maintained through a complex combination of soft-tissue restraints that include coracoclavicular (CC), AC ligament and overlying muscles. Among these structures, the role of the CC ligament has continued to be studied because of its importance on shoulder kinematics, especially after AC injury. This study was designed to determine the geometric change of conoid and trapezoid ligaments and resulting stresses on these ligaments according to various scapular motions. METHODS: The scapuloclavicular (SC) complex was isolated from a fresh-frozen cadaver by removing all soft tissues except the AC and CC ligaments. The anatomically aligned SC complex was then scanned with a high-resolution computed tomography scanner into 0.6-mm slices. The Finite element model of the SC complex was obtained and used for calculating the stress on different parts of the CC ligaments with simulated movements of the scapula. RESULTS: Average stress on the conoid ligament during anterior tilt, internal rotation, and scapular protraction was higher, whereas the stress on the trapezoid ligament was more prominent during posterior tilt, external rotation, and retraction. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that CC ligament plays an integral role in regulating horizontal SC motion as well as complex motions indicated by increased stress over the ligament with an incremental scapular position change. The conoid ligament is the key structure restraining scapular protraction that might occur in high-grade AC dislocation. Hence in CC ligament reconstructions involving only single bundle, every attempt must be made to reconstruct conoid part of CC ligament as anatomically as possible.
Biomechanical Phenomena ; Cadaver* ; Dislocations ; Ligaments* ; Muscles ; Scapula ; Shoulder

Use of ESWL has made many changes in the treatment of urinary trat stones. However, the treatment of the stone below the iliac crest was not possible owing to the arrangement of the apparatus and the location of the stone within the bony pelvis. For solving the problem, we selected 5 patients having mid ureteral stone. They were placed in prone position and administered shockwave from 500 times to 2600 times. The result was 3 patients had no residual stone and 2 patients showed decreased size of stones in follow-up examinations. All the patients showed no specific complication. The ESWL is able to disintegrate mid ureteral stone by using the change of patient`s position and avoiding the shield of bone around the stone.
Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Pelvis ; Prone Position ; Ureter*

A 25-year-old woman transferred to pain clinic complaining of severe throbbing eye ball pain, eyelid edema and severe tearing in her left eye under the diagnosis of herpes zoster ophthalmicus that was developed 3months ago. In addtion to conventional medication, she had been taken stellate ganglion block, supraorbital and supratrochlear nerve block to contol of pain, but the response was poor. So we tried to administer ketamine subcutaneously, because not only ketamine, NMDA receptor antagonist, played a significant role to reduce neuropathic pain and pain caused by nerve injury, but also she wanted to work in her office during the treatment. We used subcutaneous ketamine 3 mg/hr (0.06 mg/kg/hr) in patient with postherpetic neuralgia of the ophthalmic nerve, and accomplished almost complete pain relief without any sign of side effect.
Adult ; Diagnosis ; Edema ; Eyelids ; Female ; Herpes Zoster Ophthalmicus ; Humans ; Infusions, Subcutaneous* ; Ketamine* ; N-Methylaspartate ; Nerve Block ; Neuralgia ; Neuralgia, Postherpetic* ; Ophthalmic Nerve* ; Pain Clinics ; Pain Management* ; Stellate Ganglion

Osteoporosis has recently been recognized as a major health problem in the elderly population. The disorder is manifested as a loss of bone mass accompanied by structural alteration of bone and increased incidence of fracture. Mandible also may be affected. So, I evaluated panoramic views of 66 postmenopausal women for finding the possibility of useful diagnostic mandibular parmeters of osteoporosis. To know the correlationship between skeleton and mandible, the average of the bone mineral density of lumbar from 2nd to 4th by the dual energy X-ray absorptiometry(DEXA, LUNAR DPZ. USA), and age and mandibular parameters, that is, the number of residual teeth, alveolar ridge resorption ratio, panoramic mandibular index (PMI), mandibular cortical width (MCW), angular cortical thickness (ACT), ramus cortical thickness (RCT), morphology of mandibular inferior cortical (MIC) were compared. And I divided the all tested women to the osteoporotic group and non-osteoporotic group by the use of T-score-2.0, which was derived from skeletal bone mineral density (BMD). To find the correlationship of the each group with mandibular parameters, t-test and discriminant analysis were done. The results of the t-test were that all parameters were highly related with 2 groups (p<0.05). Especially ACT, MIC, age have had even higher correlationship than others (p<0.001). The results of the discriminant analysis by the use of these ACT, MIC and age were that the discriminant function was Z =-2.973+(-1.447)x(ACT)+1.131x(MIC score)+(0.052)x(age), the cutting score was 0.257 and the classification accuracy was 84.8%. Therefore I suggest that the consideration of the angular cortical thickness (ACT), the age of patient and the morphology of mandibular inferior cortical(MIC) may help find the osteoporosis.
Aged ; Alveolar Process ; Bone Density ; Classification ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Mandible ; Osteoporosis ; Skeleton ; Tooth

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is often associated with extrahepatic autoimmune disease, and autoantibodies such as anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) or anti-smooth muscle antibody (ASA). The presence of autoantibodies may make discrimination between chronic hepatitis C with autoimmune features and type 1 autoimmune hepatitis difficult. We studied the prevalence of autoantibodies in patients with chronic HCV infection and their clinical significance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: ANA, ASA, anti-mitochondrial antibody (AMA), anti-microsomal antibody (AmA), rheumatoid factor (RF), anti-cardiolipin antibody (aCL) and lupus anti-coagulant (LA) were tested in 116 patients (80 chronic hepatitis C, 36 liver cirrhosis). Genotypes of HCV were determined in 25 patients by INNO LiPA. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of autoantibody was 65.5%. The most common autoantibody was aCL (34.5%), followed by ANA (25%), RF (18%), LA (15.5%), ASA (6.9%), anti-microsomal antibody (6%) and AMA (1%). The positive rate of either ANA or ASA was 30.2%, but both were positive in 1.7% only. There was no difference in the demographic features, biochemistry, HCV genotypes and disease status between autoantibody-positive and autoantibody-negative patients. CONCLUSIONS: Autoantibodies were commonly found in patients with chronic HCV infection. But, the presence of autoantibodies may be a non-specific finding in chronic hepatitis C infection without clinical significance.
Autoantibodies* ; Autoimmune Diseases ; Biochemistry ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Genotype ; Hepacivirus ; Hepatitis C, Chronic* ; Hepatitis, Autoimmune ; Hepatitis, Chronic* ; Humans ; Liver ; Prevalence* ; Rheumatoid Factor

Background: To evaluate the patterns of distribution and clinical manifestations of ocular injuries referred to the level 1 trauma center of Pusan National University Hospital (PNUH) in Korea. Methods: We analyzed 254 of 4,287 patients who were referred to the Department of Ophthalmology at the level 1 trauma center of the PNUH, from January 2016 through December 2018. Data on the incidence of ocular injuries, sex, age, monthly and seasonal distribution, day and time of injury, side of injury, cause, residence of patients, referral time to an ophthalmologist and subsequent examination time, final visual acuity (VA), and complications were obtained from medical records and retrospectively reviewed. The patients were grouped according to their main diagnosis using the Birmingham Eye Trauma Terminology System (BETTS) and Ocular Trauma Score (OTS). Results: The incidence of ocular injuries with major trauma was higher in men (n = 207, 81.5%), the median age at time of injury was 54 years, and Pusan recorded the most cases.The incidences of ocular injury were 1.47/100,000, 1.57/100,000, 1.48/100,000 in 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively. The most common cause was by a motorbike accident, followed by a pedestrian traffic accident and falls. According to the BETTS classification, open-globe injuries represented 4% of cases, closed-globe injuries represented 12.6%, and other injuries represented 83.1%. Open-globe injuries were significantly associated with low final VA (P = 0.01). In the OTS, 79.4% of patients received 4 or 5 points and 13.7% of patients received 1 or 2 points. The patients who received 1 or 2 points in the OTS score showed final VA below hand movement (P < 0.001), except for two patients. Lid laceration and low initial VA were highly correlated with poor final VA (P < 0.001). Conclusion This is the first study on the epidemiology and clinical manifestations in trauma patients with ocular injuries at a level 1 trauma center. The incidences of ocular injuries with major trauma were about 1.47–1.57/100,000. BETTS, OTS, lid laceration and initial VA were associated with final VA. We expect our study to provide a basis of data for the evaluation, prevention, and management of ocular injuries in patients with systemic trauma.

BACKGROUND: Pneumonia is the most common cause of death among patients with infectious disease in Korea. However, studies of pneumonia with septic shock in patients presenting to the emergency department are limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic factors associated with pneumonia with septic shock in patients presenting to the emergency department. METHODS: From January 2008 to September 2014, patients with pneumonia with septic shock admitted through the emergency department were retrospectively examined. RESULTS: Of the 561,845 patients who visited the emergency department, 398 were admitted for pneumonia with septic shock. The 28-day mortality rate in these patients was 36.4%. The independent prognostic factors were old age (>70 yrs) (odds ratio [OR], 2.42; 95%, confidence interval [CI], 1.35-4.32), Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score (OR, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.01-1.08), leukopenia (OR, 3.63; 95% CI, 1.48-8.94), prolonged PT-INR (OR, 2.53; 95% CI, 1.41-4.54), and hypoxemia (OR, 2.88; 95% CI, 1.30-6.38). CONCLUSIONS: A poor prognosis of patients with pneumonia is associated with old age (>70 yrs), increased APACHE II score, leukopenia, prolonged PT-INR, and hypoxemia.
Anoxia ; APACHE ; Cause of Death ; Communicable Diseases ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Humans ; Korea ; Leukopenia ; Mortality ; Pneumonia* ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Shock, Septic*

In order to investigate electrolyte changes in serum and urine diuretic therapy, we studied 98 patients with hypertension not optimally controlled by previous treatment. After we divied the patients into three gorups in randomized trial, group A were given Amiloride 10mg/day, group B were given Dihydrochlorothiazide 50mg/day, group C were given Amiloride 5mg/day combined with Dihydrochlorothiazide 25mg/day for 7 days. Blood pressure and electrolyte changes in serum and urine after diuretic theraphy for 7 days were as follows. 1) Serum sodium concentrations were not significantly changed in all three groups(P>0.05). 2) Serum potassium concentrations were increased in group A and C (P<0.05), but there were no significant changes in group B(P<0.05). 3) Urinary sodium exceretions were increased in all three groups(P<0.05). 4) Urinary potassium excretion were decreased in group A and C (P<0.05), but there were increased in group B (P<0.05). 5) Blood pressure were decreased in all three groups(P<0.05).
Amiloride ; Blood Pressure ; Diuretics* ; Electrolytes* ; Humans ; Hydrochlorothiazide ; Hypertension* ; Potassium ; Sodium

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is a major problem associated with liver cirrhosis which has high mortality. Increased production of inflammatory mediators, such as tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a) and interleukin- (IL-) may be associated with development of renal impairment, one of the most important prognostic parameters in SBP. The aim of this study is to investigate the changes of these cytokines in ascitic fluid and plasma in patients with SBP and the relationship between these cytokines and development of renal impairment. METHODS: Forty patients with liver cirrhosis and ascites were studied 21 with SBP and 19 with sterile ascites. TNF-a and IL- levels in ascitic fluid and plasma were determined by ELISA at the time of diagnosis in both groups and 48 hours after antibiotics treatment in SBP patients. RESULTS: TNF-and IL- levels in ascitic fluid and plasma were significantly higher in patients with SBP than those without SBP (ascitic fluid TNF-a: 2.5+/-0.5 vs. 1.6+/-0.2; plasma TNF-a: 2.3+/-0.5 vs. 1.5+/-0.2; ascitic fluid IL-: 3.8+/-0.5 vs. 3.0+/-0.4; plasma IL-: 3.4+/-0.5 vs. 2.3+/-0.3, log pg/mL)(p<0.001). In patients with SBP, levels of TNF-a and IL- in ascitic fluid and plasma decreased 48 hours after antibiotics treatment. Eleven patients with SBP (11/21, 52%) developed renal impairment. Patients with renal impairment had significantly higher ascitic fluid and plasma TNF-a levels than those without renal impairment (median 2.5 vs. 2.1 for ascitic fluid, p=0.006; median 2.4 vs. 2.0, log pg/mL for plasma, p=0.04). Although four out of eleven (36%) patients who developed renal impairment died during hospitalization, all the patients without renal impairment survived (p=0.09). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the levels of TNF-a and IL- in ascitic fluid and plasma are increased in SBP and elevated levels of TNF-a in ascitic fluid and plasma may be associated with development of renal impairment, thus indicating poor prognosis in patients with SBP.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Ascites ; Ascitic Fluid* ; Cytokines ; Diagnosis ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Mortality ; Necrosis* ; Peritonitis* ; Plasma* ; Prognosis