No abstract available.
Collodion*

Chest draining is a common procedure for treating pleural effusion. Perforation of the heart is a rare often fatal complication of chest drain insertion. We report a case of a 76-year-old female patient suffering from congestive heart failure. At presentation, unilateral opacity of the left chest observed on a chest X-ray was interpreted as massive pleural effusion, so an attempt was made to drain the left pleural space. Malposition of the chest drain was suspected because blood was draining in a pulsatile way from the catheter. Computed tomography revealed perforation of the left ventricle. Mini-thoracotomy was performed and the drain extracted successfully.
Catheters ; Chest Tubes ; Female ; Heart ; Heart Failure ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Pleural Effusion ; Stress, Psychological ; Thorax

Chest draining is a common procedure for treating pleural effusion. Perforation of the heart is a rare often fatal complication of chest drain insertion. We report a case of a 76-year-old female patient suffering from congestive heart failure. At presentation, unilateral opacity of the left chest observed on a chest X-ray was interpreted as massive pleural effusion, so an attempt was made to drain the left pleural space. Malposition of the chest drain was suspected because blood was draining in a pulsatile way from the catheter. Computed tomography revealed perforation of the left ventricle. Mini-thoracotomy was performed and the drain extracted successfully.
Catheters ; Chest Tubes ; Female ; Heart ; Heart Failure ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Pleural Effusion ; Stress, Psychological ; Thorax

Diltiazem(Herben(R)) was orally administered in a daily dose of 180mg over 8 weeks to 15 patients with angina pectoris requiring minimum 5 tablets of nitroglycerin per week. The symptom of angina pectoris was scored according to frequency and character of anginal attacks and the number of nitroglycerin tablets used was recorded during the Diltiazem therapy. We noted significant decrease of the score of anginal attack and the number of nitroglycerin tablets used during the course of Diltiazem therapy. No significant change in blood pressure, heart rate and the product of systolic blood pressure and heart rate was noted during the course of Diltiazem therapy. It is possibel that Diltiazem improved ischemic heart disease by slightly decreasing myocardial oxygen demand and increasing blood flow to the ischemic areas by dilatation of coronary arteries and collateral vessels. There was no abnormal change in laboratory findings during the Diltiazem treatment. These findings suggest that Diltiazem(Herben(R)) is a favorable and safe antianginal agent useful for longterm treatment of anginal pectoris.
Angina Pectoris* ; Blood Pressure ; Coronary Vessels ; Dilatation ; Diltiazem ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Nitroglycerin ; Oxygen ; Tablets

Imipramine(Tofranil(R)) is one of the tricyclic antidepressants commonly used in depressive symptoms or enuresis. An accidental or nonaccidental poisoning of imipramine is common today. A 16 years old girl was admitted to Seoul National university Hospital because of unocnsciousness and frequent attacks of seizure after the impulsive ingestion of 1.4gm of imipramine. She showed variable arrhythmias such as complete RBBB, secod degree AV block and ventricular tachycardia and recovered from poisoning without residual myocardial damage. We present a case of imipramine poisoning with cardiac arrhythmias with review of literatures.
Adolescent ; Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac* ; Atrioventricular Block ; Depression ; Eating ; Enuresis ; Female ; Humans ; Imipramine ; Poisoning* ; Seizures ; Seoul ; Tachycardia, Ventricular

PURPOSE: We retrospectively compared our initial experience with the hand-assisted laparoscopic and retroperitoneoscopic radical nephrectomy for suspected renal cell carcinoma MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed 26 hand-assisted laparoscopic and 9 retroperitoneoscopic radical nephrectomies performed for suspected renal cell carcinoma from December 1999 to January 2003. All data were collected from medical records and by personal contacts. RESULTS: Although days of oral intake was shorter in the retroperitoneoscopic radical nephrectomy than the hand-assisted laparoscopic radical nephrectomy(1.8 versus 2.3, p=0.027), the mean operative time, analgesics use, and postoperative stay for retroperitoneal group were not significantly different from the values of the hand-assisted group. CONCLUSIONS: Retroperitoneoscopic radical nephrectomy offers shorter days of oral intake comparable to that of hand-assisted laparoscopy. However, no significant differences in operative time, analgesics use, and postoperative stay were noted. Therefore, we believe that both techniques produce similar surgical results. Further randomized studies are needed.
Analgesics ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; Hand ; Hand-Assisted Laparoscopy ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Medical Records ; Nephrectomy* ; Operative Time ; Retroperitoneal Space ; Retrospective Studies

A night blood survey was carried out among inhabitants aged over 1 year from the fifteen villages throughout Cheju-Do (Quelpart Island). Blood films from 2,139 persons were examined and 183(8.6 percent) showed microfilariae, the incidences varying according to geographical sources are from 0.8 to 19.5 per cent. All the microfilariae found in this survey were of the nocturnal periodic Brugia malayi. The microfilarial density was 1.9 per cent of blood. The age and sex distributions of microfilaria rate in Cheju-Do were not distinctly different. On the other hand, the intradermal test using Dirofilaria antigen (FPT antigen) and clinical survey of filariasis were also undertaken in same areas of microfilaria survey. Out of 2,449 inhabitants examined 1,434(58.6 percent) persons showed positive reaction of skin test, 503(20.5 percent) persons have clinical manifestations and 112 (4.6 percent) persons showed elephantiasis . It is assumed that Aedes togoi may be the most probable vector of B. malayi in the areas of Cheju-Do.
parasitology ; helminth ; nematoda ; Brugia malayi ; epidemiolgy ; filariasis ; intradermal test ; blood

Background: Reduced lipid content in the stratum corneum is a major cause of skin-barrier dysfunction in various pathological conditions. Promoting lipid production is a potential strategy to improve skin-barrier function. Recent evidence supports the beneficial effects of adiponectin on lipid metabolism and senescence in keratinocytes. Objective: This study aimed to investigate whether plant extracts can enhance skin-barrier function. Methods: We screened fruit and herb extracts that enhance the lipid synthesis of keratinocytes via AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation and SIRT1 signaling in the adiponectin pathway. The levels of major lipid synthesis enzymes and transcription factors as well as epidermal barrier lipids involved in adiponectin-associated epidermal barrier formation were evaluated in the herbal extracts- or adiponectin-treated human epidermal keratinocyte and equivalent models. The mRNA expression of major lipid synthesis enzymes increased following treatment with Lycii Fructus, Prunus tomentosa, and Melia toosendan extracts. Results: The expression of transcription factors SIRT1, liver X receptor α, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), and sterol regulatory element-binding proteins (SREBPs) were upregulated. Levels of free fatty acids, cholesterol, and ceramides were elevated. The expression of keratinocyte differentiation markers increased. In particular, among fruit extracts with a detectable effect, Melia toosendan induced the highest expression of lipid synthase. Conclusion These results indicate that Melia toosendan is a promising candidate for improving skin-barrier function.

No abstract available.

No abstract available.