No abstract available.
Animals* ; Korea* ; Yersinia pseudotuberculosis* ; Yersinia*

Authors investigated the possible role of intravascular hypercoagulable states on the etiology of Kegg-Clave-Perthes diesease. Forty-five patients with Legg-Clave-Perthes disease(31 avascular stages and 14 reossification stages) and twenty-two normal control patients were subjected to study for evaluation of coagulation and fibrinolysis system by means of the tests which included antiphospholipid antibody(APA), Protein C, Protein S and antithrombin- III (AT- III) for evaluation of coagulation system, and tissue type PIasminogen activator(tPA), Plasminogen activator inhibitor(PAI), D-dimer for fibrinolytic system. APA increased significantly in Legg-Clave-Perthes patients(p=0.016) as compared with control group, while Protein C(p=0.040) and Protein S(P=0.0001) decreased significantly in Legg-Clave- Perthes disease. AT- III increased in Legg-Clave-Perthes disease(p=0.0000). In contrast, there were no statistically significant differences in PAI, tPA, D-dimer between the Legg-Clave-Perthes disease and control group. There were no differences in all parameters between the avascular stage and reossification stage in patients with Legg-Clave-Perthes disease, Suggestive of possible inherent effect in coagulation system(hypercoagulable states) which does not change with time. Based on the above findings authors presumed that hypercoagulable state may contribute to the development of Legg-Calve-Perthes disease. However, to elucidate the etiology of Legg-Calve-Perthes disease, further extensive investigation should be followed, which include the familial tendency of hypercoagulable state, relationship with other multifactorial causes such as alcohol and steroids, and confirmation of intravascular thrombosis or decreased blood perfusion in the femoral head. Also, the significance of abnormally elevated AT-III on the disease should be answered.
Fibrinolysis ; Head ; Humans ; Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease ; Perfusion ; Plasminogen Activators ; Protein C ; Protein S ; Steroids ; Thrombosis

Ultrasonographic and radiographic findings in 72 cases of pelvic masses which have been provedhistopathologically were analyzed. The results were as follows; 1. Among 72 cases, 28 cases were uterine massesand 44 cases were adnexal masses. 2. Pathologic accuracies of ultrasonographic diagnosis were 64.3% in uterinemasses, 70.5% in adnexal masses, and 68.1% in all pelvic masses. 3. Plain or IVP findings were not specific indiagnosis and showed secondary mass effects or functional disturbances. 4. Because of its high accuracy ofpathologic diagnosis and safety, ultrasonography can be regared as the most valuable and preferential study. Butin cases of cystic myomas, endometrioses, cystic missed abortions and huge masses, the accurate diagnoses weredifficult.
Abortion, Missed ; Diagnosis ; Endometriosis ; Female ; Myoma ; Pregnancy ; Ultrasonography

PURPOSE:It is important to evaluate the healing process of avascular necrosis (AVN) involving femoral head after treatment. The purpose of this study was to assess the usefulness of pinhole bone scintigraphy in the AVN of femoral head after surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed the changing pattern of pinhole bone scintigram in 21 femoral heads of 16 patients (14 lesions/11 male, 7 lesions/5 female, mean age: 39.4 yrs) before and after multiple drilling or vascularized bone grafting for AVN of the femoral head. In all patients, pre-operative scintigrams were obtained at 1 to 3 months before treatment and the first post-operative scintigrams were obtained at 1 to 3 months after treatment. All patients were followed for 2 to 4 years after operation. RESULTS: The findings of the pinhole scintigrams were divided into three patterns: 1) curvilinear, 2) scattered spotty and 3) undetermined. The 10 of 11 lesions with curvilinear pattern had good postoperative clinical and radiological follow-up findings. However, all 6 lesions with scattered spotty pattern showed poor postoperative findings, which necessitated total hip joint replacement. Of the 4 lesions with undetermined pattern, 2 required total hip joint replacement. There was significant difference in postoperative prognosis between the curvilinear and scattered spotty patterns (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: We conclude that the pattern of pinhole bone scintigram obtained within 1 to 3 months after multiple drilling or vascularized bone graft operation is a useful prognostic indicator in the AVN of femoral head.
Bone Transplantation ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Head* ; Hip Joint ; Humans ; Male ; Necrosis* ; Prognosis* ; Radionuclide Imaging* ; Technetium Tc 99m Medronate ; Transplants*

As the mitral valve disease becomes long-standing, the patient may develop pulmonary hypertension. It was reported that after surgical correction, the elevated pulmonary vascular resistance(PVR) would fall quickly in association with the fall in left atrial pressure(LAP). This study was performed to evaluate the changes in mean pulmonary artery pressure(PAP) and PVR immediately after mitral valve replacement(MVR). Fifty six patients undergoing mitral valve replacement(MVR) were divided into two groups on the basis of the presence or absence of significant pulmonary hypertension, defined as a resting mean pulmonary arterial pressure greater than 30mmHg. After induction of anesthesia, PAP, PVR, cardiac output(CO) were measured and compared with values in postbypass period. PAP and PVR were significantly decreased(PAP from 39.64+/-1.88 to 29.18+/-1.65 mmHg, P 0.001, PVR from 6.16+/-1.14 to 3.53+/-0.62 units, P<0.05) in Group II(PAP> or = 30mmHg, n=23), whereas not changed in Group I(PAP30 mmHg, n=33)(P<0.05). Persistance of an elevated PVR may cause right ventricular failure and low-output syndrome, so that an attempt to reduce the PVR is needed postoperatiavely. This study demonstrated that the PAP and PVR fall significantly after MVR especially in patients with severe pulmonary hypertension.
Anesthesia ; Arterial Pressure* ; Humans ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; Mitral Valve* ; Pulmonary Artery ; Vascular Resistance*

BACKGROUND: Colistin (polymyxin E) is active against multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (MDR-GNB). However, the effectiveness of inhaled colistin is unclear. This study was designed to assess the effectiveness and safety of aerosolized colistin for the treatment of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) caused by MDR-GNB. METHODS: In this retrospective longitudinal study, we evaluated the medical records of 63 patients who received aerosolized colistin treatment for VAP caused by MDR-GNB in the medical intensive care unit (MICU) from February 2012 to March 2014. RESULTS: A total of 25 patients with VAP caused by MDR-GNB were included in this study. The negative conversion rate was 84.6% after treatment, and acute kidney injury (AKI) occurred in 11 patients (44%, AKI group). The average length of MICU stay and colistin treatment- related factors, such as daily and total cumulative doses and administration period, were not significantly different between groups. In-hospital mortality tended to be higher in the AKI group (p = 0.07). Multivariate analysis showed that a body mass index less than 18 was an independent risk factor of mortality (odds ratio [OR] = 21.95, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.59-302.23; p = 0.02). Notably, AKI occurrence was closely related to the administration of more than two nephrotoxic drugs combined with aerosolized colistin (OR = 15.03, 95% CI 1.40-161.76; p = 0.025) and septic shock (OR = 8.10, 95% CI 1.40-161.76; p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: The use of adjunctive aerosolized colistin treatment appears to be a relatively safe and effective option for the treatment of VAP caused by MDR-GNB. However, more research on the concomitant use of nephrotoxic drugs with aerosolized colistin will be necessary, as this can be an important risk factor of development of AKI.
Acute Kidney Injury ; Body Mass Index ; Colistin* ; Drug Resistance, Microbial ; Gram-Negative Bacteria ; Hospital Mortality ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Longitudinal Studies ; Medical Records ; Mortality ; Multivariate Analysis ; Pneumonia* ; Pneumonia, Ventilator-Associated ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Shock, Septic ; Treatment Outcome*

This study was designed to evaluate the possibility of esmolol to attenuate the cardiovascular reflex due to the induction of general anesthesia, tracheal intubation and/or surgical stimulations during open heart surgery. Esmolol was infused continuously to each patient by 150 ug/kg/min from 2 minutes prior to the completion of the induction of anesthesia and then by 75 ug/kg/min throughout the skin-incision. In patients undergoing coronary bypass grafts, esmolol group of 5 individuals did not show any significant change in hemodynamics in contrast to the control group of 5 individuals, which showed singificant decreases in systolic and mean arterial pressure(p<0.05). The plasma concentrations of the catecholamines in the esmolol group were not significantly different from those in control. In patients undergoing valve replacement, esmolol group did not show any significant difference in hemodynamics from control. The plasma concentrations of the catecholamines in the esmolol group were not changed by the anesthetic and surgical procedures in contrast to the control group, which showed 3 times increase (p<0.05) in norepinephrine level and 8 times increase (p<0.05) in epinephrine level. The results of these experiments demonstrate that esmolol can suppress the hemodynamic refiex and catecholamine-release due to the stimulations of anesthetic and surgical procedures under the general anesthesia by a high concentration of fentanyl, and that esmolol can be administered safely to attenuate the hazardous sympathetic reflexes.
Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, General ; Catecholamines ; Epinephrine ; Fentanyl ; Heart* ; Hemodynamics* ; Humans ; Intubation ; Norepinephrine ; Plasma ; Reflex ; Thoracic Surgery ; Transplants

No abstract available.
Agranulocytosis* ; Granulocytes* ; Humans

No abstract available.
Anemia ; Gaucher Disease* ; Humans ; Siblings* ; Thrombocytopenia

OBJECTIVES: In this study, the possibility of using existing test data provided in Korea and elsewhere for the registration of chemical substances was examined. Data on 510 chemical substances that are among the first subject to registration under the “Act on the Registration and Evaluation, etc. of Chemical Substances (K-REACH)” were analyzed. METHODS: The possibility of using existing data from 16 reference databases was examined for 510 chemical substances notified in July 2015 as being subject to registration. RESULTS: Test data with the reliability required for the registration of chemical substances under the K-REACH constituted 48.4% of the required physicochemical characteristics, 6.5% of the required health hazards, and 9.4% of the required environmental hazards. CONCLUSIONS: Some existing test data were not within the scope of this research, including data used for registration in the European Union (EU). Thus, considering that 350 of these 510 species are registered in EU Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation & Restriction of Chemicals, more test data may exist that can be utilized in addition to the data identified in this study. Furthermore, the K-REACH states that non-testing data (test results predicted through Read Across, Quantitative Structure- Activity Relationships) and the weight of evidence (test results predicted based on test data with low reliability) can also be utilized for registration data. Therefore, if methods for using such data were actively reviewed, it would be possible to reduce the cost of securing test data required for the registration of chemical substances.
European Union ; Korea