PURPOSE: Tethered cord syndrome(TCS) is defined as low position of the conus medullaris by the abnormally fixed spinal cord with progressive neurologic deficit MATERIALS AND METHODS: To evaluate the findings of TCS at MRI and its diagnostic value, we performed a retrospective analysis of MRI of 30 patients with emphasis on clinical manifestation, level of conus medullaris, cause of tethering, and associated findings. RESULTS: Clinical presentation included back mass(26 cases), neurogenic bladder(5 cases), urinary incontinence(5 cases), progressive constipation(2 cases), skin dimpling(1 case), gait disturbance(1 case) and club foot (1 case). Neurologic deficit was developed in 11 cases(40% and mean age of these patients at the time of diagnosis was 8.6 years. The most common cause of tethering was lipoma(63%). The tips of conus medullaris were below the level of the second lumbar spine in all patients. The causes of tethering were lipomatous component(spinal lipoma and lipomyelomenigocele) in 67% myelomeningocele in 20%, presacral mass in 7%, thickened filum terminale in 3% and postoperative change in 3%. Associated anomalies included syringomyelia(20%) and hydrocephalus was associated in 3 out of 5 patients who underwent brain MRI. CONCLUSION: MRI clearly delineated the location of conus, tethering of the filum terminale with their causes and associated abnormalities. MRI examination is a very useful diagnostic tool for the early evaluation of TCS and the postoperative follow up.
Brain ; Cauda Equina ; Conus Snail ; Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Foot ; Gait ; Humans ; Hydrocephalus ; Lipoma ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Meningomyelocele ; Neural Tube Defects* ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Retrospective Studies ; Skin ; Spinal Cord ; Spine

Severe bradycardia has been associated with a number of medications used for induction of anesthesia. Fentanyl and other potent opioids are well known for their central vagotonic effect, particularly when given rapidly in high doses. Propofol administration has also been associated with bradycardia, and may even exert a central vagotonic or sympatholytic ef- fect, or both. The anesthetic induction with propofol fentanyl may be followed by severe bradycardia in patients who have not received atropine. The bradyeardia may be prevented by premedication with atropine. We report a case in which anesthesia was induced with fentanyl 3 ug/kg and propofol 2. 5mg/kg in 43 year old female patient undergoing oophorectomy. Twenty or thirty seconds after injection of propofol and fentanyl the reduction of blood pressure and severe bradycardia appeared along with premature ventricular contraction and Mobitz type I A-V block. Immediate therapy was initiated with injection of atropine 0.5mg and hyperventilation with 100% oxygen. After about one minute the vital sign of the patient returned to normal. We emphasize that anticholinergic and oxygen before induction with fentanyl propofol should be administered to prevent possible bradycardia and hypoxia.
Adult ; Analgesics, Opioid ; Anesthesia ; Anoxia ; Atropine ; Blood Pressure ; Bradycardia* ; Female ; Fentanyl ; Humans ; Hyperventilation ; Ovariectomy ; Oxygen ; Premedication ; Propofol ; Ventricular Premature Complexes ; Vital Signs

Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy is used for long-term nutritional support and can be performed with relatively few complications. Among the major and minor complications, migration and erosion of the internal bumper into or through the abdominal wall, so called buried bumper syndrome has been described more recently. We describe a patient in whom internal bumper eroded into stomach wall and was completely covered by gastric epithelium 45 days after gastrostomy placement. The gastrostomy tube itself was patent, and the end still protruded into the lumen of the stomach. But, endoscopy was failed to remove the gastrostomy tube and surgical exploration was required in our case. We experienced a case of buried bumper syndrome after percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy and report with a review of literatures.
Abdominal Wall ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1 ; Endoscopy ; Epithelium ; Gastrostomy ; Humans ; Nutritional Support ; Stomach

Exogenous lipoid pneumonia (ELP) is an uncommon condition resulting from aspiration or inhalation of vegetable, animal or mineral oil. It results in foreign body type inflammatory reaction of the lung and can show various clinical presentations from asymptomatic incidental finding to severe pneumonia leading to acute respiratory failure. Although many cases have been reported, severe ELP requiring steroid or whole lung lavage for treatment is rare. We report a case of 51-year old man with esophageal cancer who developed severe ELP following ingestion of large dose shark oil (Squalene) and successfully treated with prednisolone.
Animals ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage ; Eating* ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; Foreign Bodies ; Humans ; Incidental Findings ; Inhalation ; Lung ; Middle Aged ; Mineral Oil ; Pneumonia* ; Prednisolone ; Respiratory Insufficiency ; Sharks ; Squalene* ; Vegetables

OBJECTIVES: Endoscopic Ultrasonography (EUS) is widely used to diagnose upper gastrointestinal tract disease. In recent, it is reported that EUS is also goood diagnostic method to assess depth of invasion through rectal wall and lymph node involvement of rectal cancer. We performed EUS in preoperative rectal cancer patients and compared to post operative histologic findings to evaluate EUS diagnostic accuracy for rectal cancer staging system METHODS: 51 patients with rectal cancer were performed with EUS. They were diagnosed by endoscopic biopsy from August 1994 to June 1996 at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital. Their ages were 28 to 78 (mean: 55 years) and the male to female ratio was 2 : 1 (34/17). Olympus GF-UM3, EU-M3 EUS and 7.5/12 MHz transducer were utilized. EUS was performed by the deaerated water filling method. We have analyzed between preoperative EUS findings and postoperative biopsy findings in order to evaluate the accuracy of EUS. The accuracy of EUS was signified by percentage. RESULTS: 1) Endoscopic ultrasonographic accuracy for assessment of wall invasion of rectal cancer was as follows ; The accuracy of mucosal cancer was 50% (patient numbers of EUS diagnosis/patient numbers of histologic diagnosis: 2/4). Submucosal cancer was 100% (1/1). Muscularis propria cancer was 44% (4/9). The accuracy with penetration to subserosa (or perirectal fat tissue) was 97% (33/34). The accuracy with invasion to adjacent organ was 33% (1/3). The overall accuracy rate was 80% (41/51). 2) EUS accuracy of lymph node metastasis in rectal cancer was ; The sensitivity was 90% (patient numbers of EUS diagnosis/patient numbers of histologic diagnosis: 28/31). The specificity was 60% (12/20). 3) EUS diagnosis of modified Duke classification was ; The accuracy of A stage was 80% (patient numbers of EUS diagnosis/patient numbers of histologic dagnosis: 4/5). B1 stage was 60% (4/8). B2 stage was 33% (1/3). C1 stage was 0% (0/3). C2 stage was 86%(25/28). D stage was 33% (1/3). The overall accuracy rate was 69% (35/51). CONCLUSION: EUS is useful method to assess rectal cancer invasion through rectal wall and lymph node involvement. However, further refinements in instruments and the techniques is required for more improving diagnostic accuracy.
Biopsy ; Classification ; Diagnosis* ; Endosonography* ; Female ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes* ; Male ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Rectal Neoplasms* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Transducers ; Upper Gastrointestinal Tract ; Water

Pleomorphic dermal sarcoma (PDS) is a rare mesenchymal neoplasm sharing histopathological features with atypical fibroxanthoma (AFX), but has additional features of deep invasion of the superficial subcutis, tumor necrosis and vascular/perineural invasion. It is not well documented in the literature because of its rarity, and its clinical course has been debated due to the lack of homogenous criteria. We describe here the case of a 91-year-old female with a 6-month history of a solitary, asymptomatic, well-defined, 3.4-cm-sized, reddish, hard, protruding mass on the lateral aspect of the right upper eyelid. On the basis of initial punch biopsy results, storiform cellular infiltrate of pleomorphic spindle and polygonal cells with frequent atypical mitoses, the lesion was identified as AFX. Following the initial biopsy, micrographic surgery was performed and a tumor-free margin was confirmed. Considering the conservation of the periocular function and the advanced age of the patient, we planned secondary intention healing rather than primary suturing. After surgery, skeletal muscle infiltration was found and the diagnosis was revised to PDS by a pathologist based on the currently accepted criteria for PDS. There has been no evidence of recurrence or periocular functional defects during a 2-year follow-up without adjuvant therapy. Although the PDS is highly malignant, complete excision under micrographic surgery can prevent recurrence without adjuvant therapy. Also, the secondary intention healing is an effective method for closure of large defects on the face.
Biopsy ; Diagnosis ; Eyelids* ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Histiocytic Sarcoma ; Histiocytoma, Malignant Fibrous ; Humans ; Intention* ; Methods ; Mitosis ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Necrosis ; Recurrence ; Sarcoma*

Pleomorphic dermal sarcoma (PDS) is a rare mesenchymal neoplasm sharing histopathological features with atypical fibroxanthoma (AFX), but has additional features of deep invasion of the superficial subcutis, tumor necrosis and vascular/perineural invasion. It is not well documented in the literature because of its rarity, and its clinical course has been debated due to the lack of homogenous criteria. We describe here the case of a 91-year-old female with a 6-month history of a solitary, asymptomatic, well-defined, 3.4-cm-sized, reddish, hard, protruding mass on the lateral aspect of the right upper eyelid. On the basis of initial punch biopsy results, storiform cellular infiltrate of pleomorphic spindle and polygonal cells with frequent atypical mitoses, the lesion was identified as AFX. Following the initial biopsy, micrographic surgery was performed and a tumor-free margin was confirmed. Considering the conservation of the periocular function and the advanced age of the patient, we planned secondary intention healing rather than primary suturing. After surgery, skeletal muscle infiltration was found and the diagnosis was revised to PDS by a pathologist based on the currently accepted criteria for PDS. There has been no evidence of recurrence or periocular functional defects during a 2-year follow-up without adjuvant therapy. Although the PDS is highly malignant, complete excision under micrographic surgery can prevent recurrence without adjuvant therapy. Also, the secondary intention healing is an effective method for closure of large defects on the face.
Biopsy ; Diagnosis ; Eyelids* ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Histiocytic Sarcoma ; Histiocytoma, Malignant Fibrous ; Humans ; Intention* ; Methods ; Mitosis ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Necrosis ; Recurrence ; Sarcoma*

Verruca plana is a subtype of warts, which are one of the most common dermatological diseases. A 37-year-old man presented with multiple asymptomatic skin-colored, 1∼2-mm, flat-topped papules on both arms, neck, and face. The patient had ulcerative colitis, which had been treated with immunosuppressants for 15 years. After skin biopsy, verruca plana was confirmed. The patient was treated with 5% imiquimod cream for 6 months. However, only mild improvement was observed. Acitretin was then added to the treatment regimen. After 44 weeks of treatment, acitretin was stopped. Dramatic and rapid clinical improvement was achieved after 3 weeks of treatment, and no sign of recurrence after treatment cessation has been reported for 60 weeks. Consequently, the combination of oral acitretin and topical 5% imiquimod cream should be recommended for the effective and safe treatment of recalcitrant verruca plana in immunosuppressed patients.
Acitretin* ; Adult ; Arm ; Biopsy ; Colitis, Ulcerative ; Humans ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; Neck ; Recurrence ; Skin ; Warts* ; Withholding Treatment

For developing race-specific anthropometry-based total body water (TBW) equations, we measured TBW using bioelectrical impedance analysis (TBW(BIA)) in 2,943 healthy Korean adults. Among them, 2,223 were used as a reference group. Two equations (TBW(K1) and TBW(K2)) were developed based on age, sex, height, and body weight. The adjusted R2 was 0.908 for TBW(K1) and 0.910 for TBW(K2). The remaining 720 subjects were used for the validation of our results. Watson (TBW(W)) and Hume-Weyers (TBW(H)) formulas were also used. In men, TBW(BIA) showed the highest correlation with TBW(H), followed by TBW(K1), TBW(K2) and TBW(W). TBW(K1) and TBW(K2) showed the lower root mean square errors (RMSE) and mean prediction errors (ME) than TBW(W) and TBW(H). On the Bland-Altman plot, the correlations between the differences and means were smaller for TBW(K2) than for TBW(K1). On the contrary, TBW(BIA) showed the highest correlation with TBW(W), followed by TBW(K2), TBW(K1), and TBW(H) in females. RMSE was smallest in TBW(W), followed by TBW(K2), TBW(K1) and TBW(H). ME was closest to zero for TBW(K2), followed by TBW(K1), TBW(W) and TBW(H). The correlation coefficients between the means and differences were highest in TBW(W), and lowest in TBW(K2). In conclusion, TBW(K2) provides better accuracy with a smaller bias than the TBW(W) or TBW(H) in males. TBW(K2) shows a similar accuracy, but with a smaller bias than TBW(W) in females.
Adult ; *Algorithms ; Anthropometry ; Body Height ; Body Water/*metabolism ; Body Weight ; Comparative Study ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Linear Models ; Male ; Middle Aged

OBJECTIVE: Left ventricular hypertrophy is common and major complication in patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD), but pathogenesis is not clear. We have used echocardiography to evaluate influential factors and contractile performance according to the geometry of left ventricle. METHODS: We measured left ventricular mass, the extent of pericardial effusion and systolic function of left ventricle with M-mode and two dimensional echocardiography in 99 cases of ESRD from March 1993 to March 1996. RESULTS: 1) Body surface area and systolic blood pressure was higher in men than those in women. But, there was no difference in LV mass index or systolic function between the sex. 2) Among the 99 patients with ESRD, 89 cases (90%) had increased ventricular mass and 10 cases had normal ventricular mass. In the left ventricular hypertrophy groups, 60 cases had concentric hypertrophy, 29 cases had eccentric hypertrophy. 3) In patients with normal ventricular mass, hypertension and pericardial effusion were less frequent than in those with left ventricular hypertrophy. In patients with concentric hypertrophy, systolic blood pressure and body surface area were increased and serum albumin was decreased as compared to patients with eccentric hypertrophy. In patients with eccentric hypertrophy, duration of dialysis was increased. But, the result of Logistic analysis showed that systolic blood pressure and serum albumin were reliable factors for the geometry of left ventricle. 4) In patients with eccentric hypertrophy, LV mass index was significantly correlated with the concentration of serum alkaline phosphatase and phosphate. But, in patients with concentric hypertrophy, any factors were not correlated with LV mass index. 5) Systolic performances such as ejection fraction and fractional shortening were decreased in patients with eccentric hypertrophy. 6) The pattern of left ventricular hypertrophy was not different among non-dialysis group, hemodialysis group and CAPD group. CONCLUSION: In patients with ESRD, left ventricular hypertrophy is a common complication and most common hypertrophic type is concentric hypertrophy. The geometry of left ventricular hypertrophy may be influenced by various factors such as systolic blood pressure and serum albumin concentration and influence on the systolic performance of left ventricle. Further study for the geometry of left ventricle and the prognosis may be necessary for the improvement of cardiovascular complications in patients with ESRD.
Alkaline Phosphatase ; Blood Pressure ; Body Surface Area ; Dialysis ; Echocardiography ; Female ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Hypertrophy ; Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular* ; Kidney Failure, Chronic* ; Male ; Pericardial Effusion ; Peritoneal Dialysis, Continuous Ambulatory ; Prognosis ; Renal Dialysis ; Serum Albumin