BACKGROUND: Recently elderly people have increased in Korea and increased demands of medical service. This study was carried out to identify diseases and health service utilization patterns of geriatric inpatients to provide better understanding and basis planning to meet the needs of expanding geriatric population. METHOD: We use data of `Patient Survey in Korea` in 1999 and analyzed characteristics of disease structure and utilization patterns of health care service of 54,013 cases of discharged patients aged 65 years or more. RESULT: The proportion of the elderly in total discharged patients is 14.7%. Male to female ratio is 1:1.3 and most common age group was between 65 and 69 years old. 84.2% of elderly patients were admitted at secondary or tertiary health care facilities. The most common disease in geriatric inpatients is malig- nancy in male and vascular disease in female. The average duration of hospitalization is 14.2 days. They stay longer than the nation wide average hospital length and stay longest when they are admitted by mental and behavioral disorders. CONCLUSION: Geriatric patients are admitted mostly with chronic degenerative diseases such as neoplasm and vascular disease. Elders prefer to be admitted to tertiary hospitals and oriental hospitals. They stay more in hospital.
Aged ; Delivery of Health Care ; Female ; Health Services* ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Inpatients* ; Korea ; Male ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Vascular Diseases

Power lawn mower is a useful equipment for landscape, but it can introduce a new eye trauma. These ocular injuries are recently increasing in Korea. To inform the possibility of visual loss, we reviewed medical records of 11 patients with intraocular foreign bodies by power lawn mowers. All of patients were men and lawn mower operators themselves. Nature of foreign bodies was metallic in 10 eyes(91%), Inlet was through the cornea in 10 eyes(91%), and intraocular location was at the vireo retina in 8 eyes(73%). At final follow-up, best corrected visual acuities were worse than counting fingers in 4 eyes(36%). Safety cover or halmet is needed for prevention of eye trauma caused by power lawn mower, however, more important, operators themselves should follow the ordinary safety rules.
Bays ; Cornea ; Fingers ; Follow-Up Studies ; Foreign Bodies* ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Medical Records ; Retina ; Visual Acuity

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness and safety of the anterosuperior deltoid splitting approach for fixation of displaced proximal humeral fractures by analyzing the surgical outcomes. METHODS: Twenty-three patients who could be followed-up for at least 8 months after the treatment of displaced proximal humeral fractures through the anterosuperior deltoid splitting approach were enrolled. We evaluated the reduction of the fractures and surgery-related complications at the last follow-up using X-ray results and clinical outcomes comprising the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) scoring system and the Korean Shoulder Society (KSS) score. RESULTS: At the last follow-up of patients treated using the anterosuperior deltoid splitting approach for internal fixation of proximal humeral fractures, we found 22 cases (95.6%) of bone union, a mean UCLA score of 28.3 (range, 15 to 34) and a mean KSS score of 82.1 (range, 67 to 95). Various surgery-related complications were noted; a case of varus malunion after fracture displacement, a case of nonunion, a case of delayed union, two cases of impingement, and a case of partial axillary nerve injury, which recovered completely through the follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Plate fixation using the anterosuperior deltoid splitting approach could be another reliable option for treating displaced proximal humeral fractures.
California ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Humerus ; Shoulder ; Shoulder Fractures*

The authors report an anomalous fenestration at the M1 portion of the middle cerebral artery found incidentally in a patient affected with a ruptured aneurysm at the ipsilateral internal carotid artery(ICA) and unruptured small aneurysms at the contralateral P1 and ICA. The anomaly was confirmed both angiographically and intraoperatively. A review of the literature indicated several reports of this same anomaly, many of which were associated with aneurysms involving either the proximal end of the fenestration or other cerebral arteries. In the interpretation of cerebral angiograms and during intracranial operations, clinical attention should be paid to this rare anomaly.
Aneurysm* ; Aneurysm, Ruptured ; Cerebral Arteries ; Humans ; Intracranial Aneurysm ; Middle Cerebral Artery

No abstract available.

No abstract available.
Coronary Sinus*

BACKGROUND: The optimal management of periampullary Ca. stage III remains controversial. METHODS: A total of 103 patients treated in a 5-ear period at Kwangju Christian Hospital, 54 patients with a curative operation and 49 patients with internal drainage, were retrospectively studied. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the 30-ay mortality rate between patients with a curative operation and those with internal drainage, 4% versus 6% respectively. There was a difference between a curative operation and the internal drainage procedure in the early morbidity rate (16.7% versus 8%) and the late morbidity rate (9.3% versus 32.7%). The mean survival was more favorable for those with a curative operation than for those with the internal drainage procedure for periampullary Ca. stage III (pancreatic Ca.: 11.6 months versus 4.7 months, CBD Ca.: 12.6 month versus 5.4 months, and Ampulla of Vater Ca.: 16.5 months versus 5.6 months). The 6-onth and the 12-onth survival rates of the curative-operation group were 80% and 55% for pancreatic Ca., 100% and 80% for CBD Ca., and 90% and 80% for Ampulla of Vater Ca.. The 3-onth and the 6-onth survival rates of the internal drainage group were 70% and 30% for pancreatic Ca., 85% and 40% for CBD Ca., and 75% and 45% for Ampulla of Vater Ca. CONCLUSION: The mean survival duration was more favorable for those with a curative operation than for those with an internal drainage procedure for periampullary Ca. stage III. Therefore, if there is no evidence of distant metastasis, a radial resection is the treatment of choice for a patient with a carcinoma of the periampullary Ca.
Ampulla of Vater ; Drainage* ; Gwangju ; Humans ; Mortality ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Pancreaticoduodenectomy ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia is inherited disorder of adrenal steroidogenesis. 21-hydroxylase deficiency is the most commone enzymatic defect and is divided into classic and late-onset or nonclassic forms. Both classic non-classic 21-hydrozylase deficiencies are inherited in a recessive manner as allelic variants. But it is rare that happened in twin infants. Chief complaints of affected twins in our case were ambiguous genitalia, hyperpigmentation and dehydrations. They were revealed into hyponatremia, hyperkalemia and increased amount of serum progesterone, 17-hydroxyprogesterone and urinary 17-ketosteroid excretion and were administered with DOCA, 9alpha-fluorohydrocortisone, hydrocortisone to control the electrolyte imbalance. And now, both of them are going to normal ratio of weight gain and body growth.
17-alpha-Hydroxyprogesterone ; Adrenal Hyperplasia, Congenital* ; Desoxycorticosterone Acetate ; Disorders of Sex Development ; Humans ; Hydrocortisone ; Hyperkalemia ; Hyperpigmentation ; Hyponatremia ; Infant ; Progesterone ; Steroid 21-Hydroxylase* ; Twins* ; Weight Gain

Herpes zoster involving noncontiguous dual dermatomes is very rare in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised persons. This unique presentation has been referred to as zoster duplex unilateralis or bilateralis, depending whether one or both halves of the body are involved. A 22-year-old woman, who had been treated for acute leukemia, congestive heart failure and chronic disseminated candidiasis, was referred to our department for painful papulovesicular eruptions on the right side of the anterior chest and upper back for 2 days, and the left buttock for 1 day. Tzanck smear revealed multinucleated giant cells with intranuclear inclusion bodies. We report a rare case of zoster duplex bilateralis.
Buttocks ; Candidiasis ; Female ; Giant Cells ; Heart Failure ; Herpes Zoster* ; Humans ; Intranuclear Inclusion Bodies ; Leukemia ; Thorax ; Young Adult

Eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome(EMS) is a systemic illness that occurred as an epidemic by ingestion of over-the counter L-tryptophan preparation in the United States in October 1989. We report a Korean case of EMS not associated with the ingestion of either L-tryptophan or other nutritional supplements such as lysine and niacin.
Eating* ; Eosinophilia-Myalgia Syndrome* ; Lysine ; Niacin ; Tryptophan ; United States