To identify the factors influencing the charges per case of acute appendicitis and normal spontaneous vaginal delivery (NSVD), the personal data-base files and hospital-characteristics-reporting data files of Korea Medical Insurance Corporation were analyzed. One hundred and twenty-nine institutions were selected. The results of this study were as follows: 1. The differences of charges per case with respect to hospital ownership, location, and equipment levels were statistically significant. 2. The results of multiple regression analysis revealed that bed capacity was the most significant variable in both diseases. 3. Ownership was significant variable in acute appendicitis. In NSVD, ownership and hospital equipment level were statistically significant. In conclusion, bed capacity was statistically the most significant variable in the analysis of charges per case. And we thought that the results of this study would influence the policy of the hospital bed supply.
Appendicitis* ; Information Storage and Retrieval ; Equipment and Supplies, Hospital ; Humans ; Insurance ; Korea ; Ownership

No abstract available in English.
Osteosarcoma

BACKGROUND: Crucial to the success of fiberoptic awake tracheal intubation is proper preparation of the patient; this technique will work well in most patients when they are quiet and cooperative and have a larynx nonreactive to physical stimuli. We have attempted to ascertain how well these conditions are achieved with a low-dose infusion of propofol, because of its pharmacological profile. METHODS: Thirty patients, physical status by American Society of Anesthesiologists (A. S. A.) I-II, scheduled for oral and maxillofacial surgery, were randomly assigned to receive either propofol infusion 1 mg kg-1 h-1 preceded by a 1 mg kg-1 bolus (Group P) or intravenous fentanyl 1ug kg-1 and midazolam 0.05 mg kg-1 (Group F). These two groups were compared in terms of hemodynamic profile, sedation score, condition for intubation, coughing and swallowing. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences in mean arterial blood pressures according to time between two groups. But in Group F, heart rates were significantly increased in immediately after transtracheal injection of lidocaine, immediately before the fiberoscopy was started, 1, 2 minutes after start of fiberoscopy, compared to Group P (p<0.05). The patients in Group P were more sedated than those in Group F (p<0.05) but there were no significant differences in condition for intubation, reflex of coughing and swallowing, duration of fiberoptic intubation. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that propofol is useful sedative agent in fiberoptic awake intubation with similar efficacy to midazolam and fentanyl but with more profound sedation and stable hemodynamic profile. These represent significant advantages for severe anxious or hypertensive patients and prolonged procedure of intubation.
Arterial Pressure ; Cough ; Deglutition ; Fentanyl* ; Heart Rate ; Hemodynamics* ; Humans ; Intubation* ; Larynx ; Lidocaine ; Midazolam* ; Propofol* ; Reflex ; Surgery, Oral

Objective To develop a double-antibody sandwich ELISA for determining the concentration of nucleoprotein (NP) of rabies virus in various products of rabies vaccine.Methods The purified rabies antibodies from a rabbit were used to coat microwell plates. Horseradish peroxidase-conjugated anti-NP monoclonal antibody was used to probe the NP bound to coated antibodies.The assay was used to quantitatively determine the concentration of NP of rabies virus.Results The results showed that the coefficient of linear correlation was higher than 0.97.The optimal linear range was 0.000625~0.01 IU/ml and the detection limit was 0.000625 IU/ml. The recovery rate was 102~109% and the coefficient of variation was only 7.2%~9.4%.No cross reactions were observed with bovine serum,bovine serum albumin,ovalbumin,refined solution of influenza vaccine,encephalitis B vaccine,and hepatitis A vaccine.Conclusions The results indicated that the assay is specific,sensitive,accurate,reproducible,and stable,and could be suitable for quantitative determination of different rabies vaccine's processes products.

BACKGROUND: Recently in Korea, the rate of addictive drug abuse is rapidly increasing in men on salary, housewives, and even in adolescents, who have been considered to be free from drugs, which presents a serious problem to the society. Especially, the habituation to gateway drug, such as cigarettes and alcohol, before 15 years old, would lead to the increased possibility of other drug abuse, including illicit drugs. Thereupon in this study, we intended toreview the effect of adolescents smoking an the drug abuse and deviated behaviors. METHODS: On September, 1997, randomly selected were 12 classes, an the basis of 2 classes per grade, from the two schools which was located each in Seoul and Buchean. And survey was dane on 610 students with non non-nominl, self-reported questionnaire. RESULTS: The rate of adolescent smoking was 28.1% in male students and had increasing tendency of "the higher the grades, the higher the smoking rate"(17.0% in the 1st gade, 31.5% in the 2nd grade, 35.9% in the 3rd grade). The smoking rate of female students was 12.3%. From the 2nd grade of middle school to the 2nd grade of high school was the critical period when the smoking habit was initiated in almost 90% of the students. The experiencing rates of drug abuse in studied subjects were as follows : drinking(79.0%), stimulants(4.8%), sedatives(4.1%), hypnotics(3.1%), glue sniffing(1.5%), butane gas(0.7%), marijuana/hemp(0.2%). They were higher in the smoking group than in the nansMoking group, showing statistical significances in most items except hypnotics and marijuana/hemp. Also simihr results were shown in deviated behaviors between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: With the concerted efforts of family, school, society and natian, we as family physicians should make efforts to delay and prevent adolescent's smoking, which is a gateway to drug abuse and deviated behaviors, and to increase people's recognition of health risks caused by smoking, and to provide proper program for adolescents to stop smoking.
Adhesives ; Adolescent ; Critical Period (Psychology) ; Female ; Humans ; Hypnotics and Sedatives ; Korea ; Male ; Physicians, Family ; Salaries and Fringe Benefits ; Seoul ; Smoke* ; Smoking* ; Street Drugs ; Substance-Related Disorders* ; Tobacco Products ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Objective To investigate the effect of thyroxine replacement therapy with residual subclinical hypothyroidism on the success rate of catheter ablation in elderly patients with atrial fibrillation(AF).Methods Among the consecutive patients with AF who underwent a first AF ablation in our center between 2009 and 2012,we identified 56 patients(41 paroxysmal AF,15 persistent AF)with subclinical clinical hypothyroidism after receiving thyroid hormone replacement therapy as study group.The control group consisted of 56 patients with euthyroidism and no history of thyroid dysfunction.All patients underwent catheter ablation.Results At the end of follow up,37.5%(21/56)patients were AF free after the first procedure in the study group,in comparison to 64.3%(36/56)in control group(χ2=8.655,P=0.003).Last procedure was performed in 27 patients of study group and in 15 patients of control group.After the last performed ablation,62.5%(35/56)study group patients and 80.4%(45/56)controls group patients had no recurrence(χ2=4.653,P=0.031).The major complications rate did not differ between two groups(P=0.642).Conclusions Thyroid hormone replacement therapy with residual subclinical hypothyroidism reduces catheter ablation success rate in elderly patients with atrial fibrillation.

OBJECTIVES: Donepezil is a widely used drug for the treatment of patients with Alzheimer's disease(AD). The aim of the present study was to clarify the efficacy and the characteristics of responders to donepezil. METHODS: Patients with probable AD(n=80 ; 75.7 years) and small vessel dementia(SVD)(n=18 ; 77.8 years) who received donepezil were retrospectively analyzed using Alzheimer's registry, and three questions were asked: 1) Does donepezil therapy improves cognitive symptoms in patients with dementia? 2) If donepezil improves cognitive symptoms, which items of the K-MMSE are improved? 3) What are the characteristics of responder to donepezil medication? RESULTS: 1) After donepezil medication, cognitive function measured by the K-MMSE was significantly improved in both types of dementia(AD and SVD), However, statistical differences were not found between these groups. 2) In a clinical trial of donepezil, the patients performed better than before mediation on K-MMSE items assessing orientation, recall, construction, concentration, calculation. 3) In AD, the K-MMSE score before medication was closely related with response of donepezil. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that donepezil improves various cognitive functions in both types of dementia, and the responsive group had significantly lower K-MMSE scores than the non-responsive group before medication.
Alzheimer Disease* ; Dementia* ; Humans ; Negotiating ; Neurobehavioral Manifestations ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVES: The second to fourth digit ratio (2D : 4D) is known to reflect testosterone level during intrauterine period. Testosterone is essential for masculinization of brain. Cloninger's type II alcoholism is characterized by early age at onset and largely limited to males. Compared with type I alcoholism, type II alcoholism is thought to be masculine. There is a possibility that the digit ratio of type II alcoholism is low compared with type I. We examined digit length ratio in Cloninger's type I and II alcoholism to understand the effects of intrauterine testosterone on the development of alcoholism. METHODS: The participants were 87 alcohol dependent patients. We divided two subtypes of patients by Irwin's symptom list, based on Cloninger's concept. We captured the images of both palms by the scanner and measured the lengths of digits by the graphic program. Then we analyzed the digit ratios by independent-sample t-test. RESULTS: The mean 2D : 4D of type I was 0.942 (right), 0.952 (left). The mean 2D : 4D of type II was 0.927 (right), 0.940 (left). In both hands, 2D : 4D of type II was significantly lower than type I. CONCLUSIONS: Type II alcoholism showed masculine type of digit length ratio compared with type I. It suggests the exposure of testosterone during intrauterine period might play an important role in determining the course and feature of alcoholism.
Alcoholism ; Brain ; Hand ; Humans ; Male ; Testosterone

Intraneural ganglia in the upper extremity are rare, and the involvement of the digital nerve of hand has not been reported. The following case report demonstrates a 57-year-old woman with a symptomatic nodular mass on the thenar area of the left hand. Magnetic resonance images showed a lobulated, homogeneous mass of high signal intensity on T2-weighted images and low signal intensity with peripheral enhancement on T1-weighted images. Excisional biopsy and histopathologic examination revealed an intraneural ganglion of the digital nerve of the thumb. Her symptom disappeared immediately after the surgery, and has remained free of abnormal sensation and parestheia for the 3-year follow-up period.
Biopsy ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Ganglia ; Ganglion Cysts ; Hand ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Middle Aged ; Sensation ; Thumb ; Upper Extremity

Tendon disorders commonly cause wrist and hand disability and curtail the performance of work-related tasks. Sonography allows for cost-effective, noninvasive, and dynamic evaluation of soft tissue structures, thus representing a valuable tool for ruling out musculoskeletal disorders of the wrist and hand. Because of the complexity of the wrist joint, sonographic training and familiarity with normal and variant anatomy are needed to avoid misdiagnosis and improper treatment. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the structures representing normal findings during sonographic evaluations of the wrist and hand. The main reviews the gross anatomy and procedures that are recommended to assess the soft tissue structures of the wrist and hand, with particular emphasis given to tendons, nerves, and ligaments. In conclusion, sonography is effective in assessing the tendons of the hand and wrist and related disorders and represents a valuable tool for diagnosis.