No abstract available.
Humans

No abstract available.

Discoid meniscus is a congenital morphological variable anomaly of meniscus which is often asymptomatic. Arthroscopic surgeries on 91 symptomatic lateral discoid menisci of 84 patients were performed at the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital during the period of Jan. 1987 to Jan. 1994, which equals 19.2% of arthroscopic meniscectomies performed. Follow up was done from minimum of 1 year to maximum of 8 years, with an average period of 3 years and 10 months. Retrospective study was done with the review of clinical records, roentgenograms, MRI, and arthroscopic findings on recorded videotapes to evaluate the clinical and radiological features, results of arthroscopic treatment and possible prognostic factors. The followings are the results: 1. The lateral discoid meniscus encompassed 19.2% of arthroscopic meniscectomies performed at the same period, which was relatively high incidence. Arthroscopic partial and subtotal menis- cectomy resulted in satisfactory results. 2. Since 8 (11%) knees were not diagnosed preoperatively as discoid meniscus due to type being incomplete or torn meniscus displacement, these points should be considered with clinical findings at diagnosis of discoid meniscus. 3. 34.9% of 83 menisci with tear had previous trauma history which showed high vulnerability to tear. Discoid menisci without tears but with grade II intrasubstance increased signal and symptoms were treated with arthroscopic meniscectomy and showed good results. Therefore discoid menisci without tears should be considered of arthroscopic meniscectomy in the presence of clinical symptoms and MRI findings. 4. Lysholm total and pain scores were significantly improved at postop. 1 year and at the final follow up with p<0.05. Factors such as degenerative changes, sex, age, duration of preoperative symptoms, presence of tears and types of meniscectomy gave no significant influence on the results and the prognosis.
Arthroscopy ; Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Incidence ; Knee* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Orthopedics ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Seoul ; Videotape Recording

No abstract available.
Blood Transfusion* ; Humans ; Infant*

Emerging resistance to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (SXT) poses a serious threat to the treatment of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia infections. We determined the prevalence and molecular characteristics of acquired SXT resistance in recent clinical S. maltophilia isolates obtained from Korea. A total of 252 clinical isolates of S. maltophilia were collected from 10 university hospitals in Korea between 2009 and 2010. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by using the CLSI agar dilution method. The sul1, sul2, and sul3 genes, integrons, insertion sequence common region (ISCR) elements, and dfrA genes were detected using PCR. The presence of the sul1 gene and integrons was confirmed through sequence analysis. Among the 32 SXT-resistant isolates, sul1 was detected in 23 isolates (72%), all of which demonstrated high-level resistance (> or =64 mg/L) to SXT. The sul1 gene (varying in size and structure) was linked to class 1 integrons in 15 of the 23 isolates (65%) harboring this gene. None of the SXT-susceptible isolates or the SXT-resistant isolates with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 4 and 8 mg/L were positive for sul1. Moreover, the sul2, sul3, and dfrA genes or the ISCR elements were not detected. The sul1 gene may play an important role in the high-level SXT resistance observed in S. maltophilia.
Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology ; Bacterial Proteins/*genetics ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial/genetics ; Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections/microbiology/pathology ; Humans ; Integrons/*genetics ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Stenotrophomonas maltophilia/*drug effects/genetics/isolation & purification ; Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination/*pharmacology

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Recent studies have shown that many kinds of K+ channels, including the muscarinic K+ channel (KACh), are activated in the ischemic heart. It is known that these channels can be modulated by phosphorylation. However, little is known about the function of the KACh in ischemic hearts. In this study, we examined whether the KACh channel is mediated by protein kinase C (PKC) activation in rat atrial myocytes under ischemic conditions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Single atrial cells of adult rat heart were prepared by collagenase digestion. Channel activity of KACh was recorded by cell-attached configuration from single atrial cells under ischemic conditions, using a patch clamp technique. To simulate ischemia, adenosine or potassium cyanide (KCN) was applied to atrial myocytes, and Western blot was performed to specify PKC isoforms. RESULTS: Adenosine and KCN markedly increased KACh channel activity. The responses to adenosine and KCN were increased 3-fold at mean open time from that observed with control. Channel activity of KACh was blocked by pretreatment with PKC antagonists such as sphingosine, Go 6976, and rottlerin. PKC alpha and PKC betaI isoform levels were increased in the membrane fraction of ischemic heart, indicating that ischemic stress might trigger translocation of cytosolic PKC to the cell membrane. CONCLUSION: These results show that KACh channels are modulated by PKC activation under ischemic conditions induced by adenosine or KCN. Therefore, the channels can protect the heart from ischemic stress by increasing channel activity.
Adenosine ; Adult ; Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Membrane ; Collagenases ; Cytosol ; Digestion ; Heart ; Humans ; Ischemia ; Membranes ; Muscle Cells* ; Phosphorylation ; Potassium Cyanide ; Protein Isoforms ; Protein Kinase C* ; Protein Kinases* ; Rats* ; Sphingosine

Prostate cancer commonly manifests with bony metastases. Visceral metastasis can also occur in the lungs and liver. However, stomach metastasis related to prostate cancer is rare. Here, we report a case of prostate cancer metastatic to the stomach. A 66-year-old male was diagnosed with prostate adenocarcinoma. He was noted as having abdominal discomfort, nausea, and vomiting 18 months after the diagnosis. A histopathologic examination and an esophagogastroduodenoscopic gastric biopsy revealed stomach-metastatic adenocarcinoma. He was also noted as having cerebellar metastatic lesions, which were identified by using a brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. The patient died of cardiovascular complications 5 months after the diagnosis of stomach metastasis.
Adenocarcinoma ; Aged ; Biopsy ; Brain ; Humans ; Liver ; Lung ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Nausea ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prostate ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Stomach ; Vomiting

Leukotriene B4(LTB4), derived from arachidonic acid, is a potent chemotactic agent and activating factor for hematopoietic cells. In addition to host defense in vivo, several eicosanoids have been reported to be involved in stem cell differentiation or proliferation. In this study, we investigated the effect of LTB4 on human cord blood CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). LTB4 was shown to induce proliferation of HSC and exert anti-apoptotic effect on the stem cells. Blockade of interaction between LTB4 and its receptor enhanced self-renewal of the stem cells. Effect of LTB4 on differentiation of CD34+ HSCs were confirmed by clonogenic assays, and induction of the expression of BLT2 (the low- affinity LTB4 receptor), during the ex vivo expansion was confirmed by reverse transcription-PCR. Our results suggest that LTB4-BLT2 interaction is involved in the cytokine-induced differentiation and ex vivo expansion of hematopoietic stem cells.
Antigens, CD34/metabolism ; Apoptosis/drug effects ; Cell Differentiation/drug effects ; Cell Proliferation/drug effects ; Fetal Blood/cytology/drug effects ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells/*drug effects/metabolism ; Humans ; Leukotriene B4/*pharmacology ; Receptors, Leukotriene B4/genetics/metabolism ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; *Signal Transduction

PURPOSE: Laparoscopic instruments have been remarkably developed through many trials. Various studies and experiments on laparoscopic instruments are underway in other countries. Laparoscopic surgery is also very actively applied in Korea. However, research on the use and safety of the instruments is stagnant. Furthermore, reuse of some disposable laparoscopic instruments is frequently observed, but there are only rare studies on the safety of this. Thus, we tried to provide study cases on the safety of repeated use of disposable laparoscopic instruments. METHODS: To investigate the effectiveness of sterilization and a re-package procedure, we divided the laparoscopic instruments that are commonly used in our institution into 10 types. Among all the available instruments, 32 instruments were selected for the simulation experiment. Each instrument was sterilized using ethylene oxide gas or glutaraldehyde 2%, and then packaged. Then, each was observed grossly and microscopically under aseptic conditions and we looked for any remnant foreign body or contaminant. When remnant foreign body or contaminant was found, they were collected and separately cultured. RESULTS: Residual contaminants were found in 15 instruments (46.9%) out of a total of 32 and microorganisms, including coagulase-negative staphylococcus and gamma-hemolytic streptococcus, were cultured from (9.38%), and each had different types of microorganisms. CONCLUSION: It is remarkable that the bacteria were cultured from recycled laparoscopic instruments after sterilization. The reuse of laparoscopic instruments might be cost-effective, but further studies on its safety are required. Moreover, careful inspection on the method of surgical instrument sterilization in each institution will be necessary.
Bacteria ; Ethylene Oxide ; Ethylenes ; Foreign Bodies ; Glutaral ; Korea ; Laparoscopy ; Staphylococcus ; Sterilization ; Streptococcus ; Surgical Instruments

BACKGROUND: In general, higher resistance rates are observed among intensive care unit (ICU) isolates than non-ICU isolates. In this study, resistance rates of isolates from ICUs and non-ICUs were compared using the data generated from 20 hospitals in Korea. METHODS: Susceptibility data were collected from 20 hospitals participating in the Korean Nationwide Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance (KONSAR) program. Duplicate isolates were excluded from the analysis. The resistance rates did not include intermediate susceptibility. RESULTS: The most prevalent bacteria in the ICUs were Staphylococcus aureus (21%) and Acinetobacter spp. (19%), and those in non-ICU were Escherichia coli (27%) and S. aureus (14%). The resistance rates were higher in ICUs than in non-ICUs at 84% and 58% for methicillin-resistant S. aureus, 86% and 70% for methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylcoccus (CNS), 34% and 19% for vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium, 38% and 19% for cefotaxime-resistant E. coli, 45% and 25% for cefotaxime-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, 42% and 24% for ceftazidime-resistant Enterobacter cloacae, 29% and 11% for ceftazidime-resistant Serattia marcescens, 83% and 44% for imipenem-resistant Acinetobacter spp., and 32% and 17% for imipenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, respectively. CONCLUSION: The most prevalent bacteria in ICUs were S. aureus, CNS, and Acinetobacter spp., and high multi-drug resistance rates were observed in the Acinetobacter isolates. Therefore, infection control should be practiced in ICUs to prevent infections caused by multi-drug resistant bacteria.
Acinetobacter ; Bacteria ; Drug Resistance, Multiple ; Enterobacter cloacae ; Enterococcus faecium ; Escherichia coli ; Infection Control ; Intensive Care Units* ; Klebsiella pneumoniae ; Korea ; Methicillin Resistance ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa ; Staphylococcus aureus