Herpes simplex esophagitis can occur in those with normal immune function, but is more often seen in those who are immunocompromised. In one series, 5 percent of post-kidney transplant recipients had herpes esophagitis. We experienced a case of herpes simplex esophagitis, following renal transplantation in a 9 year old male. He complained of epigastric pain, nausea and blood-tinged vomiting. Endoscopic examination showed volcano ulcer, mucosal friability and multiple confluent ulcers covered by whitish exudates on elevated margin in the middle and lower esophagus. Microscopic findings revealed multinucleated giant cells, margination of chromatin, intense nonspecific inflammation and strong positive for herpes simplex virus immunohistochemical staining. Esophageal lesions and symptoms improved after acyclovir therapy.
Acyclovir ; Child* ; Chromatin ; Esophagitis ; Esophagus ; Exudates and Transudates ; Giant Cells ; Herpes Simplex* ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Kidney Transplantation ; Male ; Nausea ; Simplexvirus* ; Transplantation ; Ulcer ; Vomiting

Cisplatin has been widely used as chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, head and neck cancer and squamous cell carcinoma of lung. But cisplatin is highly toxic with nephrotoxicity, gastrointestinal toxicity, myelosuppression and neurotoxicity. The second generation drug of platinum compound, carboplatin was developed in 1980s to reduce side effects. Carboplatin has low nephrotoxicity but its major toxic effect is thrombocytopenia, In this study, the side effects of cisplatin and carboplatin were evaluated on 37 patients of cervical cancer in 169 chemotherpy cycles who were recieved combined VBP chemotherpeutic regimen consisting of cisplatin or carboplatin. Nephrotoxicity of grade 2 or over were 16% in cisplatin group and 1% in carboplatin group. Granulocytopenia of grade 2 or over were 34% in cisplatin group and 10% in carboplatin group. Thrombocytopenia of grade 2 or over were 7% in cisplatin group and 21% in carboplatin group. Gastrointestinal toxicity of grade 2 or over were 11% in cisplatin group and 0% in carboplatin group. This clinical study demonstrated that cisplatin has more toxic effects than carboplatin except thrombocytopenia.
Agranulocytosis ; Carboplatin* ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Cisplatin* ; Drug Therapy, Combination* ; Head and Neck Neoplasms ; Humans ; Lung ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; Platinum ; Thrombocytopenia ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms

No abstract available.
Hernia*

PURPOSE: Recently, vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) have become one of the major nosocomial pathogens in Korea. However, there have been few studies on the epidemiology of VRE colonization among neonates. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of VRE colonization, risk factors for VRE, and how to control the spread of VRE infection in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Pusan National University Hospital (PNUH). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed medical records of 192 neonates who were admitted to the NICU of PNUH from March 2006 to March 2007. Surveillance cultures from rectal swabs for detecting VRE were obtained weekly during the study period. We analyzed the prevalence of VRE and various risk factors. RESULTS: The rate of VRE colonization among NICU patients was 25% (48/192). Thirty five of these VRE colonized patients were transferred to the NICU from other local hospitals. Compared with the non-VRE group, the risk factors associated with VRE colonization were lower birth weight, congenital heart disease, applied mechanical ventilation, use of a central venous catheter, chest tubing, a history of surgery, and use of antibiotics. CONCLUSION: VRE colonization among patients admitted to the NICU is rapidly increasing. Monitoring and managing premature neonates from the beginning of the birth process, avoiding many invasive procedures, avoiding antibiotics such as vancomycin and third generation cephalosporin are important for preventing the emergence and spread of VRE colonization in the NICU.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Birth Weight ; Central Venous Catheters ; Colon ; Heart Diseases ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Intensive Care, Neonatal ; Korea ; Medical Records ; Parturition ; Prevalence ; Respiration, Artificial ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Thorax ; Vancomycin ; Vancomycin Resistance

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of a structured preoperative PCA education to that of the usual informal teaching provided by hospital staff in alleviating postoperative pain through more effective use of PCA therapy. METHOD: As an advanced research, the knowledge about the use of PCA therapy and the attitude about the use of the pain medicine were estimated, and then as a later research, the knowledge about the use of PCA therapy, the attitude about the use of the pain medicine, and the score of the pain were estimated. RESULT: The experimental group those who received structured preoperative PCA education had statistically significant higher knowledge regarding the use of PCA therapy(p=0.026) and more positive attitudes toward using pain medicine(p=0.004). The experimental group those who received structured preoperative PCA education reported better pain control 4(p= 0.002), 8(p=0.014) and 24 hours(p=0.018) after the operation. CONCLUSION: The structured preoperative PCA education increases the knowledge for the use of patient's PCA therapy and changes their attitude toward the use of the pain medicine positively and consequently enable the use of PCA therapy to be more effective and then finally reduced the patient's pain after the operation.
Education* ; Pain, Postoperative* ; Passive Cutaneous Anaphylaxis* ; Patient Education as Topic

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to determine the efficacy of prolotherapy in relieving the pain of patients with tendon or ligament laxity. METHOD: The subjects were 67 patients (40 male, 27 female) who were suffering from chronic musculoskeletal pain, excluding those with metabolic diseases that could influence the nature of the pain. The effect of the treatment was evaluated by checking the VAS score after a monthly injection of 15% dextrose solution injected around the patient's ligaments and teno-osseous junction that were suspicious of laxity. This same procedure was followed after a second injection. To make an accurate evaluation before and after the treatment, the use of NSAID, physical therapy or exercise therapy was prohibited. RESULTS: The mean pain duration of the subjects was 5.48+/-7.04 years, and the mean age of the subjects was 49.58+/-16.52 years. The result from VAS showed a statistically remarkable reduction after the injection (p<0.01). The VAS decreased from 7.00+/-0.17 to 4.31+/-0.21 after the first injection and this score further decreased to 2.55+/-0.19 after the second injection. There was no statistically significant relationship between the duration of pain and the effect of the treatment (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: This research demonstrated that prolotherapy is an effective method in treating patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain caused by tendon or ligament relaxation.
Chronic Pain* ; Exercise Therapy ; Glucose ; Humans ; Ligaments ; Male ; Metabolic Diseases ; Musculoskeletal Pain ; Musculoskeletal System* ; Relaxation ; Tendons

No abstract available.
Amnion* ; Dinoprostone*

No abstract available.
Skin Abnormalities ; Herpesviridae Infections ; Pigmentation Disorders ; Hamartoma