No abstract available.
Female ; Humans ; Plasma* ; Pregnant Women*

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical characteristics of the intermediate uveitis with prominent snowbank, METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the records of the patients with intermediate uveitis characterized by the snowbank larger than half a quadrant. RESULTS: Of all 49 patients, 67 eyes, the mean age was 37.3 years. Male patients was 31, and eighteen patients (36.7%) were bilateral. Snowbank was at the inferior in 56 eyes (83.6%), and larger than two quadrant in 16 eyes (23.9%). Mean follow-up was 27 months. Final visual acuity improved in 40 eyes (59.7%), worsened in 4 eyes (6.0%), and more than 0.5 in 51 eyes (76.1%). Complications were cystoid macular edema (23 eyes, 34.3%), retinal detachment (22 eyes, 32.8%), and vitreous hemorrhage (11 eyes, 16.4%). Procedures were barrier laser photocoagulation (45 eyes, 67.2%), pars plana vitrectomy(12 eyes, 17.9%), scleral buckling(2 eyes, 3.0%), cataract surgery (9 eyes, 13.4%), trabeculectomy(6 eyes, 9.6%), and cryopexy (1 eye, 1.5%). Statistically, there was no significant relationship in the final visual acuity and gender, bilaterality, initial visual acuity of 0.5 or above, snowbank larger than two quadrants, and barrier laser photocoagulation. However, pars plana vitrectomy showed a significant relationship (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Intermediate uveitis with prominent snowbank seems to show the similar clinical prognosis to generally-reported intermediate uveitis, and the prognosis of pars plana vitrectomy is good.
Cataract ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Light Coagulation ; Macular Edema ; Male ; Pars Planitis* ; Prognosis ; Retinal Detachment ; Retrospective Studies ; Uveitis, Intermediate ; Visual Acuity ; Vitrectomy ; Vitreous Hemorrhage

No abstract available.
Pre-Eclampsia*

Both death certificates and postmortem examination certificates are used as proof of death. These certificates sometimes contain erroneous information but how frequently they do so is unknown. In particular, only a few studies have measured the accuracy of the cause and manner of death on Korea death documents. In this study, we compared the cause and manner of death on both kinds of certificates with those on autopsy reports to determine the frequency of errors, and to identify way to improve the accuracy of these certificates. In 2012, 528 autopsies were requested of out institute, and certificates were submitted in 241 of the cases. The manner of death was classified as natural, unnatural, or unknown. The cause of death in the autopsy report matched that on the death certificate in 37 of 63 cases (58.7%), and the manner of death matched in 40 of 63 cases (63.5%). The cause of death in the autopsy report matched that on the postmortem examination certificate in 62 of 178 cases (34.8%), and the manner of death matched in 74 of 178 cases (41.6%). Death certificates and postmortem examination certificates are important documents. We identified many incorrect reports of causes and manners of death on both kinds of documents, especially the postmortem death certificates. These inaccuracies are presumably due to a lack of forensic information and education, as well as lack of interest on the part of medical doctors.
Autopsy* ; Cause of Death ; Death Certificates* ; Education ; Korea

Of the drugs developed to prevent and treat osteoporosis, bisphosphonate has played a very important role in preventing osteoporotic fractures. However, case reports describing atypical femoral fractures in patients using long-term bisphosphonates have emerged. The majority of atypical femur fractures occurs in the lateral aspect of the subtrochanteric or femur diaphysis, which is explained by accumulation of tensile stress in these areas. Although the superior cortex of the femur neck withstands maximum tensile stress, to our knowledge, there have been only two reports (three cases) of atypical femoral neck fracture. In addition, none of those case reports revealed detailed pathology related to suppressed bone turnover rate. We encountered an incomplete femoral neck fracture and diagnosed it as “atypical” on the basis of the patient’s lack of trauma and medication history and pathological findings. For patients with groin pain, minimal or no trauma, and a history of long-term bisphosphonate use, an atypical femoral neck fracture should be considered.

Midventricular obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (MOHCM) is a rare variant of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Apical dilatation and myocardial infarction can be complicated without significant coronary artery disease. We report a case of apical dilatation in a patient with MOHCM without atherosclerotic coronary artery disease. A 76-year-old woman was admitted for recent cerebral infarction and consulted to cardiologist for abnormal electrocardiographic findings. She had been suffering from exertional dyspnea (NYHA II) for about four years. Two dimentional-echocardiography revealed midventricular obstructive hypertrophy with an apical dilatation and paradoxical jet flow from the apical aneurysm to the left ventricular outflow tract during early diastole. Cardiac catheterization demonstrated dyskinesia in the apical wall with midventricular obstruction and a peak-to-peak intraventricular pressure gradient of 110 mmHg during pull-back from the apical high-pressure chamber to the subaortic low-pressure chamber in the left ventricle. Coronary angiograms showed no significant stenotic lesion of the coronary arteries. She was prescribed oral beta-adrenergic antagonist to decrease the intraventricular pressure gradient.
Aged ; Aneurysm* ; Cardiac Catheterization ; Cardiac Catheters ; Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic* ; Cerebral Infarction ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Vessels ; Diastole ; Dilatation* ; Dyskinesias ; Dyspnea ; Electrocardiography ; Female ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Hypertrophy ; Myocardial Infarction ; Ventricular Pressure

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES : The transradial approach has been increasingly used as an alternative to conventional transfemoral intervention. However, there is little data on the efficacy of transradial coronary intervention (TRI) in left main coronary arterial (LMCA) disease. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of TRI in selective patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for LMCA disease. SUBJECTS AND METHODS : Between Jan 2003 and May 2005, 83 patients with LMCA stenosis were treated with PCI. Of these, 40 selected patients having undergone TRI were included in this study. RESULTS : The patients included 30 males and 10 females, with a mean age of 61+/-12 years. There were 28 cases (70%) involving coronary arteries other than the LMCA and 24 cases (60%) with bifurcation lesion involvement. In 28 cases (70%), a 6 Fr sized guiding catheter was used. No case required crossover from TRI to TFI due to procedural failure. During hospitalization, 2 patients who underwent primary PCI in the setting of STEMI died, but there were no other clinical events. CONCLUSION : In selected patients with LMCA disease, TRI can be a feasible and safe approach for PCI.
Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary ; Catheters ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Disease ; Coronary Vessels ; Female ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Male ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Radial Artery

OBJECTIVE: We wanted to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of using a dexamethasone (DM) -eluting nitinol stent to inhibit the pseudointimal hyperplasia following stent placement in the transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt tract (TIPS) of a swine. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifteen stents were constructed using 0.15 mm-thick nitinol wire; they were 60 mm in length and 10 mm in diameter. The metallic stents were then classified into three types; type 1 and 2 was coated with the mixture of 12% and 20%, respectively, of DM solution and polyurethane (PU), while type 3 was a bare stent that was used for control study. In fifteen swine, each type of stent was implanted in the TIPS tract of 5 swine, and each animal was sacrificed 2 weeks after TIPS creation. The proliferation of the pseudointima was evaluated both on follow-up portogram and pathologic examination. RESULTS: One TIPS case, using the type 1 stent, and two TIPS cases, using the type 2 stent, maintained their luminal patency while the others were all occluded. On the histopathologic analysis, the mean of the maximum pseudointimal hyperplasia was expressed as the percentage of the stent radius that was patent, and these values were 51.2%, 50% and 76% for the type 1, 2, and 3 stents, respectively. CONCLUSION: The DM-eluting stent showed a tendency to reduce the development of pseudointimal hyperplasia in the TIPS tract of a swine model with induced-portal hypertension.
Swine ; *Stents ; *Portasystemic Shunt, Transjugular Intrahepatic ; Hyperplasia ; Dexamethasone/*administration & dosage ; Animals ; Alloys

Cardiac myxomas are the most common benign cardiac tumors and can be associated with systemic embolization including acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The probability of an arterial embolization is closely related to a tumor's villous morphology. In cases of AMI caused by cardiac myxoma, open heart surgery including excision of the coronary artery has been the one of the treatment options for removing the myxoma and embolus from the coronary artery to maintain distal coronary flow. However, preparing for emergent open heart surgery takes a considerable amount of time. Moreover, this time delay can deteriorate the coronary perfusion to the infarcted area and is associated with poor clinical prognosis. So intracoronary catheter aspiration can be an additional option to maintain the distal coronary flow. In this report we present a case with acute anterior ST elevation myocardial infarction caused by a left atrial myxoma. The embolus in the left anterior descending coronary artery was successfully removed with intracoronary catheter aspiration, and distal coronary flow was restored after the procedure.
Catheters ; Coronary Vessels ; Embolism ; Heart Neoplasms ; Humans ; Myocardial Infarction ; Myxoma ; Perfusion ; Prognosis ; Thoracic Surgery