No abstract available.
Child* ; Humans

No abstract available.
Diagnosis* ; Leptospirosis* ; Scrub Typhus*

BACKGROUND: Detection of causative allergens in respiratory allergy patients is important for diagnosis and selection of treatment modality. Allergen sensitization depends on the genetic susceptibility and environmental exposure to allergens. MATERIAL AND METHOD: In this study, we tried to find causative inhalant allergens in respiratory allergy patients who underwent skin prick test with common 55 inhalant allergens and RAST at Chungbuk National University Hospital in Chungbuk district. We also evaluated the changes of causative allergens because the environment here may be quite different, since the main population lives in the urban area and industrialization began later than in the other cities and districts. RESULTS: The major allergen was house dust mite, and its sensitivity rate did not change annually. Other indoor allergens such as cockroach, and animal dander including cat and dog showed similar trends. But the sensitization rate to tree and weed pollen except grass had significantly increased since 1995. Among pollens, the increase of sensntization to weed pollen was more marked. Ratio of sensitization rate to double or triple kinds of allergens also increased. CONCLUSION: Taken together, house dust mite is still the major allergen, but rate to pollen sensitization, especially to weed pollen has increased rapidly and significantly. It is suggested that causative allergens in repiratory allergy patients has begun to shift to pollen recently.
Allergens* ; Animals ; Cats ; Chungcheongbuk-do* ; Cockroaches ; Dander ; Diagnosis ; Dogs ; Environmental Exposure ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Poaceae ; Pollen ; Pyroglyphidae ; Skin

Regulation of respiration differs significantly between wakefulness and sleep. Respiration during wakefulness is influenced by not only automatic control but also voluntary and behavioral control. Sleep is associated with definite changes in respiratory function. With the onset of sleep, voluntary control of ventilation that overrides automatic control during wakefulness becomes terminated. Also ventilatory response to various stimuli including hypoxemia and hypercapnia is decreased. With these reasons respiration during sleep becomes fragile and unstable so that marked hypoxemia can be happened in patients with lung disease especially during REM sleep. Obstructive sleep apnea may also be developed if upper airway resistance is increased in addition to these blunted ventilatory responses.
Airway Resistance ; Anoxia ; Humans ; Hypercapnia ; Lung Diseases ; Respiration ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive ; Sleep, REM ; Ventilation ; Wakefulness

No abstract available.
Animals ; Cadmium Poisoning* ; Cadmium* ; Olfactory Mucosa* ; Rats*

No abstract available.
Aneurysm, Infected

Kyphosis and scoliosis develops from various causes, Tuberculosis is the main cause of kyphosis and spinal deformity in Korea. Such spinal deformities are frequently accompanied by cardiac and respiratory changes. In 1969, Westgate and Moe reported that, when a kyphoscoliotic patient dies, he dies because of cardio-respiratory failure and not because of skeletal abnormality, and, in 1968, Nilsonne and Lundgren reported that the mortality in patients with severe spinal deformity was twice as high as in normal persons, and that heart or lung disease was the main cause of death. One must consider the cardiopulmonary status when treating patients with severe spinal deformities. While there are numerous reports on pulmonary dysfunction due to scoliosis or kyphoscoliosis, studies on pulmonary function of patients with tuberculous kyphosis are surprisingly few. The authors investigated the correlation of the degrees of curvature and pulmonary function on 17 cases of adults with tuberculous kyphosis and compared the results with those of the children reported in 1972 by Moon and Lee. The results of this study are as follows: 1. The over-all mean degree of kyphosis was 92.6 (Salters angle). Vital capacity was 63.1% and maximum breathing capacity 61.7% of the predicted normal value. 2. Vital capacity showed a negative correlation with the degree of kyphotic curvature; i. e. the greater the spinal curvature, the less the vital capacity and vice versa, R=0.45, P=<0.1, but there was no correlation between maximum breathing capacity and the degree of curvature. 3. Vital capacity showed a relatively significant positive correlation with maximum breathing capacity as kyphosis increased. 4. The over-all mean tidal volume increased 9.3% of the normal predicted value. 5. When comparing with the pulmonary function of the children with same level and same degree of kyphosis, the adults had significant decrease in vital capacity and maximum breathing capacity, but had increased tidal volume. Such disparity was more prominent in the thoracic spine than in the lumbar spine and when the kyphotic curvature was greater than when less. 6. Timed vital capacity was within normal limits in spite of kyphotic changes of the spine.
Adult ; Cause of Death ; Child ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Forced Expiratory Volume ; Heart ; Humans ; Korea ; Kyphosis ; Lung Diseases ; Moon ; Mortality ; Reference Values ; Respiration ; Scoliosis ; Spinal Curvatures ; Spine ; Tidal Volume ; Tuberculosis ; Vital Capacity

High dose intravenous gammaglobuline (IVLG) therapy is effective in some of the autoimmune diseases. Although the exact mechanism of action of IVIG is uncertain, the action as a neutralizing antibody against unknown etiologic agents, the action of blocking of Fc receptors of effector cells, or the action as a antiidiotypic antibody are suggested. We report a case of 12 year old girl with systemic juvenile rheumatoid arthritis who was treated with high dose IVIG and got a remission. In August 1990 she was admitted to our hospital. because of intermittent fever, transient rash and multiple arthralgia. Under the diagnosis of systemic juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, aspirin (4.0g/day) had been given with symptom improvement. She was readmitted in October 1990 because of aspirin intoxication and acute fulminant hepatitis. She was discharged after recovery and any medicine was not prescribed. In November 1990 she was admitted because of epigastric pain, vomiting, intermittent fever, multiple arthritis, and mild hepatomegaly. Total parenteral alimentation had been given under the diagnosis of superior mesenteric artery syndrome and gold sodium thiomalate (Myochrysine, 5 and 10 mg, two weekly IM injection) was given in conjunction with prednisolone (30 mg/day) and naproxen (375 mg/day). She was admitted again in February 1991 due to the fever, coughing, rash, and hepatosplenomegaly. Pneumonia and leukopenia (2100/mm(3)) were found and gold sodium thiomalate injection was discontinued. Gammaglobulin 1 g/kg/day was given intravenously for 2 consecutive days with dramatic symptom improvement. Five more monthly IV gammaglobulin had been given and the side reaction of injection were nausia, fever, and headache which were controlled by the decrease of infusion rate. Four months after the last IVIG injection she had no symtom of arthritis and the hepatosplenomegaly was decreased. Hemoglobin level was increase to 12.2 mg/dL form 6.2mg/dL and ESR was decrease to 15mm/h. The oral prednisolne and ibuprofen were stopped one year after th last IVIG injection. All the laboratory parameters of arthritis and physical examinations had been normal for more than two year after the stop of all the medications until March of 1994. We suggest that high dose intravenous gammaglobulin can be one of treatments for severe systemic juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.
Antibodies, Neutralizing ; Arthralgia ; Arthritis ; Arthritis, Juvenile ; Aspirin ; Autoimmune Diseases ; Child ; Cough ; Diagnosis ; Exanthema ; Female ; Fever ; Gold Sodium Thiomalate ; Headache ; Hepatitis ; Hepatomegaly ; Humans ; Ibuprofen ; Immunoglobulins, Intravenous ; Leukopenia ; Naproxen ; Physical Examination ; Pneumonia ; Prednisolone ; Receptors, Fc ; Superior Mesenteric Artery Syndrome ; Vomiting

Sweets syndrome has 4 cardinal features, that is, fever, neutrophil polymorphonuclear leukocytosis of the blood, raised painful plaques on the limbs, face and neck, histologically a dense dermal infiltration with mature neutrophil polymorphs. Hematologic malignancies are associated with 10-15% of cases, but gastric adenocarcinoma associated case is very rare. A 57-year-old male patient admitted to Korea University affiliated hospital because of fever and painful erythematous plaques of both limbs. No response to antibiotics and antihistamines for 1 week, so we referred to dermatologic department for skin biopsy. After then under the impression of Sweet's syndrome, oral prednisolone 60 mg/day prescribed and skin lesions were progressively regressed. For the purpose of screening of associated disease, we did abdominal CT scan and panendoscopy with biopsy which revealed adenocarcinoma of stomach. We couldn't find out any other etiologic agents.
Adenocarcinoma* ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Biopsy ; Extremities ; Fever ; Hematologic Neoplasms ; Histamine Antagonists ; Humans ; Korea ; Leukocytosis ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Middle Aged ; Neck ; Neutrophils ; Prednisolone ; Skin ; Stomach ; Sweet Syndrome* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

No abstract available.
Cystadenoma*