No abstract available.
Animals ; Flowmeters* ; Magnets* ; Male ; Models, Animal* ; Penile Erection* ; Rats*

Seminal biochemical compositions are to be affected during inflammatory conditions of seminal tract such as chronic prostatitis. Especially chronic prostatitis induces changes in composition of prostatic fluid, and the chronic nature of disease also induces atrophy of prostatic secretory acini and the inflammation of seminal vesicle. We investigated the change of the seminal composition and the possible effect in sperm motility of chronic prostatitis patients. Sperm motility and seminal levels of zinc, citric acid, prostatic acid phosphatase(PAP) and fructose were measured on 12 healthy males and 21 chronic prostatitis patients. Sperm motility in chronic prostatitis patients was decreased and seminal levels of zinc, citric acid, PAP and fructose in control and chronic prostatitis patients were 143+/-10/102+/-7(ug/L), 389+/-17/293+/-25(mg/dl), 446+/-61/ 382+/-28(U/ml), 306+/-7/297+/-6(mg/dl), respectively. The change of zinc was statistically significant. In conclusion, although decrease of seminal zinc in patients with chronic prostatitis was found, there was no convincing evidence to suggest that alterations in seminal composition due to chronic prostatitis lead to decrease of sperm motility.
Atrophy ; Citric Acid ; Fructose ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Male ; Prostatitis* ; Semen ; Seminal Vesicles ; Sperm Motility ; Zinc

Inflammatory white blood cells in semen is related to semen quality affecting fertility. The role of inflammatory cells on the seminal levels of various cytokines associated with inflammation and sperm motility is evaluated. Semens from 10 healthy males and 20 chronic prostatitis patients were evaluated for the levels of interleukin(IL)-1a, IL-6, IL-8 and tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-a. Motility parameters were recorded using Hamilton-Thorne computer semen analysis system. Sperm motility parameters such as including average path velocity(VAP), straight line velocity(VSL), curvilinear velocity(VCL), lateral head displacement(ALH), beat frequency(BCF), straightness(STR), linearity(LIN), elongation and area in control and chronic prostatitis patients were 44.9+/-2.5/38.8+/-1.3(um/sec), 36.4+/-2.4/30.5+/-1.1(um/sec), 64.2+/-3.9/ 58.0+/-2.4(Fm/sec), 3.3+/-0.2/4.8+/-0.3tm), 19.8+/-3.7/13.9+/-0.3(Hz), 77.7+/-5.1/78.8+/-1.2(%), 50.6+/-17.5/53.5+/-1.9(%), 66.8+/-5.4/57.8+/-1.1(9%), 2.9+/-0.3/3.8+/-0.1(um/sec), respectively. Statistical significance was noted in VAP, VSL, ALH, BCF, elongation and area. Semen levels of IL-1a, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-a in control and chronic prostatitis patients are 15.1+/-1.5/52.9+/-14.2 (pg/ml), 10.5+/-2.2/38.3+/-12.2 (pg/ml), 1.60+/-0.38/ 6.02+/-0.26 (ug/L), 11.8+/-2.5 / 21.7+/-4.0(pg/ml) statistically significant in all. For combined parameters, the correlation coefficient of IL-1a and VSL, ALH, Area were 0.40, 0.41, 0.37 respectively which were significant. The correlation coefficient of IL-8 and VAP, VSL, VCL, ALH, BCF, Elongation, Area were 0.48, 0.49, 0.39, 0.41, 0.55, 0.59, 0.66 respectively which were also significant. Seminal inflammatory cytokines are present in increased quantities if inflammatory white blood cells are present in semen and this increase might be related to sperm motility.
Cytokines* ; Fertility ; Head ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Interleukin-6 ; Interleukin-8 ; Leukocytes ; Male ; Necrosis ; Prostatitis ; Semen ; Semen Analysis ; Sperm Motility* ; Spermatozoa*

Transrectal Ultrasonography (TRUS) easily provides an accurate assessment of the seminal tract. In Magnetic Resonance Imaging(MRI) of the seminal tract, the anatomic relationships are more clearly seen and the multiplanar imaging is available, so a more definitive diagnosis can be achieved. Although TRUS and MRI have been studied extensively, the findings of TRUS have not been compared with those of MRI. We studied 29 patients who were assessed with TRUS and MRI simultaneously due to disease of the seminal tract. The findings of cystic disease were coincident between TRUS and MRI. But the small size Mullerian duct cysts were not found in TRUS but were found in MRI. Hemorrhage of the ejaculatory duct and seminal vesicle, thickened ampulla portion of vas deferens were found only in MRI. Ejaculatory duct and seminal vesicle calcification were not easily found in TRUS due to their small size. The findings of seminal vesicle atrophy, dilatation and prostatic calcification between TRUS and MRI were discrepant. In conclusion, MRI is more helpful than TRUS in the diagnosis of small Mullerian duct cyst, small ejaculatory duct calculi, small seminal vesicle calculi, hemorrhage of ejaculatory duct and seminal vesicle and thickened ampulla portion of vas eferens.
Atrophy ; Calculi ; Diagnosis* ; Dilatation ; Ejaculatory Ducts ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Male ; Seminal Vesicles ; Ultrasonography* ; Vas Deferens

No abstract available.
Pancreatic Neoplasms

This is to report the technique of reversed iliac leg stent-graft in endovascular treatment for isolated internal iliac artery (IIA) aneurysm, which had significant size discrepancy between the common iliac artery (CIA) and external iliac artery (EIA) in 3 patients from different hospitals. Three patients were a 85- and two 82-year-old men. Treated were right IIA aneurysms, sized 6.5x6.2 cm, 5.0x4.0 cm, and 4.1 cm in longest diameter, respectively. The diameters of the right CIA and right EIA measured 21 mm/11 mm, 15 mm/11 mm, and 20 mm/10 mm, respectively. In all cases, reversed iliac leg stent-grafts were prepared on-site; unsheathed and mounted upside-down manually, and deployed in each right CIA. Post-stent-graft angiograms showed complete exclusion of the aneurysms, except for minimal type 1 endoleak in one case. This technique is a useful treatment option in patients with isolated IIA aneurysm.
Aged, 80 and over ; Aneurysm* ; Endoleak ; Endovascular Procedures ; Humans ; Iliac Aneurysm ; Iliac Artery* ; Leg* ; Male

The frequency of stab wounds is gradually increasing and patients with stab wounds visit the hospital through the emergency room. Management options for patients with stab wound include mandatory exploration and selective observation, but recently many authors have emphasized the importance of selective conservation with development of diagnostic procedure and controversy still exists concerning the management of patients with stab wounds. We retrospectively analysed the clinical data of 78 patients with stab wounds who visited the emergency room of St. Paul's Hospital over 5 years from January 1 1992 to December 31 1996. The following results were obtained. 1) The most prevalent age group were the twenties & the thirties(58.9% of patient) and then most patients were of young age. The male to female ratio was 2.9: 1. 2) Most injuries occurred at night between 8p.m. and 4a.m.(61.5%) and during September injuries were most frequent. 3) The most common causes of stab wound were fighting(55.1%) followed by suicide (21.8%), then accidents including traffic accidents(16.7%) and robbery(6.4%). 4) The instruments most commonly used were knives(53.8%) and broken glass(28.2%). 5) Half of patients were drunk from alcohol and in 3 cases from an antipsychotic drug. 6) In 11 cases(14.1%), there were multiple wound sites and in 8 cases(10.3%) superficial wounds into subcutaneous fatty tissue. 7) According to stab wound sites, the extremities were wounded in 36 cases(46.2%), chest in 21 cases(26.9%), abdomen in 15 cases(19.2%) and neck in 7 cases(9.0%). 8) Emergency explorations were performed in 43 cases(55.1%) under general or regional anesthesia, which included neck in 4 cases(9.3%), chest in 3 cases(7.0%), abdomen in 11 cases(25.6%) and extremity in 25 cases(58.1%). In exploratory laparotomy, negative exploration rate was 18.2%. 9) Death occurred in 2 cases(2.6%). One died due to sepsis with multiple colon perforation and the other due to hypovolemic shock with Superior Vena Cava injury.
Abdomen ; Adipose Tissue ; Anesthesia, Conduction ; Colon ; Emergencies ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Extremities ; Female ; Humans ; Laparotomy ; Male ; Multiple Trauma ; Neck ; Retrospective Studies ; Sepsis ; Shock ; Suicide ; Thorax ; Vena Cava, Superior ; Wounds and Injuries ; Wounds, Stab*

Intimal hyperplasia is a feature of the normal adaptive response of vessels to hemodynamic stresses, as well as being a characteristic of vessel injuries that are healing. Intimal hyperplasia in the region of endarterectomy, balloon angioplasty and vascular bypass graft anastomosis is a major cause of the long-term failure of vascular reconstruction. The underlying causes of intimal hyperplasia are proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells, and this is all provoked by injury, inflammation and mechanical stretch. This review discusses both the final common pathways that lead to smooth muscle cell migration and proliferation and their patho-physiological triggers. In this review, we have critically evaluated and summarized the literature to understand and interlink the numerous established and emerging factors that play key roles in the development of intimal hyperplasia.
Angioplasty, Balloon ; Endarterectomy ; Glycosaminoglycans ; Hemodynamics ; Hyperplasia ; Inflammation ; Metalloproteases ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; Transplants

PURPOSE: Since the medical insurance system was started in Korea, there has been an imbalance in the medical charges among the procedural items of special departments. For correcting this problem, the Resource-based Relative Value Scale (RBRVS) was introduced to determine the relative values of physician services and practices. The RBRVS is the prevailing model used today to describe, quantify and reimburse physicians for their services. In this study we attempted to clarify the relative values of the practice characteristics in vascular surgery and evaluate the propriety compared with the relative value unit (RVU) of the American Medical Association (AMA). METHOD: The classification of practice characteristics in vascular surgery was compared with that of the AMA. The propriety of physicians' work was measured according to the Korean and American physicians' work. The rate more than 70, between 50 to 69, and less than 49 were used to decide over-, proper- or under-estimation, respectively. RESULT: The ratio of the number of practice characteristics in Korean and American vascular surgery was 1:3.31 (97:321). The over-, proper- or under-estimated physicians' work among the identical American practice characteristics was 8/46 (17.4%), 19/46 (41.3%) and 19/46 (41.3%) respectively. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrated that the practice characteristics of Korean vascular surgery are not sorted by detail and a large percentage of physicians' work (41.3%) is under-estimated. Therefore, reasonable payment for physician services or practices can not be determined for Korean vascular surgery.
American Medical Association ; Fees and Charges ; Insurance ; Korea ; Relative Value Scales

We performed a retrospective study of 12,307 patients who visited the emergency room of St. Paul's Hospital, secondary medical center, from January 1 to December 31,1996. The results were as follows : 1. Of 12,307 total patients, male to female ratio was 1.16:1 but after 7th decade, there were more female than male. And 3rd decade was the peak age group. 2. The majority o(patients visited our emergency room from noon to midnight (65% of total patients). 3. On average,33.7 patients visited our emergency room per day. Most patients visited on Sundays and other holidays(average 43.3 per day). 4. By monthly distribution, the patients Increased slightly during May, June, July, August and September. 5. Disease to injury ratio was 2.6:1. In disease, male to female ratio was 1 :1 and in injury, the male prominence had a the ratio 1.8:1 In 2nd decade, disease to injury ratio was higher (1.4:1) than that of other decade. And there were mostly disease patients in the group under 1 year old (19.2: 1). 6. Of 12,307 total patients,5,458 patients received only Intern's treatment (44.3%). In 3rd decade, the ratio of Intern's treatment was higher (54.4%). 7, The patients were categorized as follows, Infernal medicine 28.1%, Pediatrics 18.2fo, Orthopedic surgery 13.2%, Plastic surgery 7.4% etc. 8. Averaged admission rate was 25.3% and the rate of general surgery was the highest (49.5%). The rate of admission to intensive care unit (ICU) was 5.5% of total visiting patients and 21.8% of total admission patients. 9. The total patients transferred from other hospitals were 1152 (9.4%), 3.16 per day. The majority used non-emergency vehicles and only 8.5% of patients used the rescue service or ambulances. 10. The average transit time spent in the emergency room was 182 minutes. The longest was 246 minutes in March and the shortest 127 minutes in January.
Ambulances ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Female ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Male ; Orthopedics ; Pediatrics ; Retrospective Studies ; Surgery, Plastic