No abstract available.
Lichens*

Proper positioning of pulmonary artery catheter and predicting distal migration of it during cardiopulmonary bypass is important for the prevention of perioperative complication of pulmonary artery rupture. The authors therefore examined the insertion length of pulmonary artery catheter via right internal jugular vein at which catheter tip was advanced to the most proximal position where pulmonary capillary wedge pressure could be obtained. And also the distal migration is measured by comparing the difference between prebypass and postbypass corrected length. Just before bypass, pulmonary artery catheter was arbitrarily receded 5cm for the prevention of spontaneous distal migration and wedging. The subjects were 47 patients who underwent open heart surgery (valve replacement, coronary artery bypass graft) during the period of November, 1992 through April, 1993. The results were as follows. 1) The insertion length of pulmonary artery catheter from skin to the right ventricle inlet, pulmonary artery inlet and pulmonary capillary wedge position were 26.5+/-3.0 cm, 36.8+/-4.9 cm and 46.1+/-5.7 cm respectively. 2) There were no significant statistical correlations between insertion lengths and patient constitutions such as body weight and height(r=0.144, r=0.032). 3) Locations of catheter tips were distributed to the 0.9+/-3.1 cm left to the spinous process, 1.9+/-1.6 cm inferior to the carina ; mostly LLQ of the lung field(51%). 4) During cardiopulmonary bypass, pulmonary artery catheter tips were migrated distally in 93.6% of the cases and the migration lengths were 2.7+/-2.0 cm. 5) There were no major perioperative complications caused by pulmonary artery catheterization. These results suggest that 5 cm withdrawal of pulmonary axtery catheter just before cardiopulmonary bypass can prevent the fatal complication of pulmonary artery rupture owing to its spontaneous distal migration.
Bays ; Body Weight ; Capillaries ; Cardiopulmonary Bypass ; Catheterization, Swan-Ganz ; Catheters* ; Constitution and Bylaws ; Coronary Artery Bypass ; Extracorporeal Circulation* ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Jugular Veins ; Lung ; Pulmonary Artery* ; Pulmonary Wedge Pressure ; Rupture ; Skin ; Thoracic Surgery

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the spatiotemporal and kinematic gait parameters and muscle activity of the lower extremities between forward walking on sand (FWS) and backward walking on sand (BWS) in normal adults. Methods: This study was conducted on 13 healthy adults. Subjects performed FWS and BWS and the spatiotemporal and kinematic gait parameters of stride time, stride length, velocity, cadence, step length, stance, swing, double support, and hip range of motion (ROM), knee ROM were measured by a wearable inertial measurement unit system. In addition, the muscle activity of the rectus femoris (RF), biceps femoris (BF), tibialis anterior (TA), and gastrocnemius (GA) was measured. Results: The stride length, stride velocity, cadence, and step length in the BWS were significantly lower than FWS (p < 0.05), and stride time was significantly greater (p < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the ratio of stance, swing, and double support between the two (p > 0.05). The kinematic gait parameters, including hip and knee joint range of motion in BWS, were significantly lower than FWS (p < 0.05). The muscle activity of the RF in BWS was significantly higher than FWS (p < 0.05), but the muscle activity of the BF, TA, GA did not show any significant differences between the two movements (p > 0.05). Conclusion A strategy to increase stability by changing the gait parameters is used in BWS, and this study confirmed that BWS was a safe and effective movement to increase RF muscle activity without straining the joints. Therefore, BWS can be recommended for effective activation of the RF.

Whole body iodine-131 scan is a well-established imaging method for the detection of metastatic or residual tumor sites in patients with well-differentiated thyroid cancer. Many false-positive iodine-131 scan findings mimicking metastatic thyroid cancer have long been reported. The authors describe a false positive uptake in normal gallbladder on post-ablative iodine-131 scan in a patient with papillary thyroid cancer. This finding should be considered to be another possible false-positive finding on iodine-131 whole body scan.
Carcinoma, Papillary/*pathology ; False Positive Reactions ; Female ; Gallbladder/*metabolism/ultrasonography ; Humans ; Iodine Radioisotopes/diagnostic use/pharmacokinetics/therapeutic use ; Middle Aged ; Thyroid Neoplasms/*pathology ; Whole-Body Counting

The idiopathic long-QT syndrome is an infrequent inherited disorder, characterized by prolonged QT interval and by the occurrence of life-threatening tachyarrhythmia, particularly in association with emotional or physical stree. In its characteristic presentation, with obvious QT prolongation and stree induced syncope with torsades de points, the diagnosis is straightforward for physicians aware of the disease. But sometimes in cases of borderline QT prolongation and vague symptom, a correct diagnosis is delayed and frequently misdiagnosed as a seizure disorder. The mortality of untreated symptomatic patients with LQTS exceeds 20% in the year after their first syncopal episode and aapproaches 50% within 10 years. But this high mortality rate has been significantly reduced by the use of pharmacological or surgical antiadrenergic therapy or both. So early detection of the disease and antiadrenergic treatment sympathetic innervation to the heart. Second, there was intrinsic gene abnormality in the mechanisms responsible for cardiac repolarization. We report one case of LQTS in a 24 years old female patient who had been suffering from stree related syncope. Her initial EKG had prologed QT interval(588msec) and increased QT intrval dispersion(200msec). In the Holter monitor, long and short cycle sequence induced (pause-dependent) torsades de pointes was detected. She has been treated by beta-blocker and has maintained her condition without recurrence of the symptoms.
Diagnosis ; Electrocardiography ; Epilepsy ; Female ; Heart ; Humans ; Long QT Syndrome ; Mortality ; Recurrence ; Syncope ; Tachycardia ; Torsades de Pointes ; Young Adult

No abstract available.
Carcinoma, Basal Cell* ; Child* ; Humans

BACKGROUND: The measurement of carbon monoxide concentration in expired air is used as an objective method to analyze the smoking status. This method has been proven to be reliable and is used throughout the world but it has been only recently accepted in Korea. Therefore the purpose of this study was to examine if measuring the concentration in expired air accurately reflects the Korean's smoking status. METHODS: The subjects were from ages of 19 through 75 healthy people including smokers and nonsmokers. The smokers had their carbon monoxide measured after answering a questionnaire. This questionnaire was formed to obtain information concerning smoking status, smoking habit and factors that influence carbon monoxide measurement. Micro II smokerlyzer (Bedfont Instruments Ltd., England) was used to analyze CO concentration in expired air. The method used for measuring CO concentration was to deeply inhale and hold one's breath for 15 seconds and measure CO concentration while exhaling. RESULTS: The total number of subjects was 148(143 males, 5 females) consisting of 114 smokers, 34 non smokers(never smokers 23, ex smokers 11). The average CO concentration in exhaled air in smokers was 17.247.30 ppm, in nonsmokers 6.031.06 ppm(in ex smokers 6.361.29 ppm, in never smokers 5.870.92 ppm). A significant difference was evident between smokers and non smokers(P<0.0001). The CO concentration values compared among the groups divided in terms of daily smoking rate were as the following 11.885.57 ppm in subjects smoking less than 10 cigarettes/day, 17.356.48 ppm in those smoking 11 20 cigarettes/day, 20.006.35 ppm in the 21 30 cigarettes/day group, and 24.889.70 ppm in the 31 cigarettes/day group (p<0.0001). In addition, the CO concentration was influenced by the change of the degree of inhalation and the elapsed time since last smoking. CONCLUSION: The measurement of CO concentration in exhaled air among the Koreans proved to be an accurate and reliable method reflecting the present smoking status.
Carbon Monoxide* ; Carbon* ; Exhalation ; Humans ; Inhalation ; Korea ; Male ; Smoke* ; Smoking* ; Surveys and Questionnaires

No abstract available.
Pemphigus

BACKGROUND: Capsaicin has been shown to have different biologic and toxic effects, depending on non-neuronal cells and several transformed cells, however no study has been reported from cultured human skin fibroblast. OBJECTIVE: Present study was aimed to evaluate the cytotoxicity and its mechanism of capsacin on the cultured human skin fibroblast. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Normal neonatal human fibroblasts were used, and changes of cell survival were measured by MTT assay after the cells were pre-treated with growth factors, receptor antagonist, antioxidants, calcium modulators were pre-treated or co-treated with capsaicin. RESULTS: Suvival of fibroblast was significantly increased by treatment with EGF (10ng/ml), bFGF (10ng/ml), capsazepine (10M) but inhibited by cycloheximide (1g/ml). When 200 M capsaicin was added to fibroblasts, chromatin condensations were observed at 12 hours and cell survival rate was reduced to 25-50% at 24 hours. Vanilloid receptor antagonists, capsazepine and ruthenium red, did not prevent the toxic effect of capsaicin, and 10M capsazepine paradoxically rather enhanced the cytotoxicity. In contrast to bFGF (10ng/ml), EGF (10, 100ng/ml) enhanced the cytotoxicity of capsaicin. Neuropeptides, substance P (1, 10nM) and CGRP (1, 10nM), and a structural analogue to capsaicin, tyrosine (0.3-1.2mM) did not affect the cytotoxicity. However, antioxidants such as trolox (100M) and ascorbic acid (0.1, 0.3 mM) reduced the capsaicin cytotoxicity. Of calcium modulating agents, nifedifine, a Ca2+ channel blocker (10, 20M) and cyclopiazonic acid, a Ca2+-ATPase inhibitor in ER (10M) did not influence the cytotoxicity, however BAPTA/AM (10M) as a chelater for cytoplasmic free calcium ion (10M) significantly decreased capsaicin cytotoxicity. Unlike cycloheximide, z-VAD-FMK, a protein synthesis inhibitor and a non-specific caspase inhibitor, prevented the capsaicin cytotoxicity. The DNA ladder and TUNEL positive cells were observed among the capsaicin treated fibroblasts and Western blot revealed caspase-3 activity. CONCLUSION: The capsaicin-induced cytotoxicity on human skin fibroblasts is likely to suggest the mechanism of an apoptotic pathway, which can possibly be prevented by antioxidants.
Antioxidants ; Ascorbic Acid ; Blotting, Western ; Calcium ; Capsaicin* ; Caspase 3 ; Cell Survival ; Chromatin ; Cycloheximide ; Cytoplasm ; DNA ; Epidermal Growth Factor ; Fibroblasts* ; Humans* ; In Situ Nick-End Labeling ; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins ; Neuropeptides ; Ruthenium Red ; Skin* ; Substance P ; Tyrosine

No abstract available.
Adult* ; Humans