BACKGROUND: In patients after acute myocardial infarction, signal-averaged electrocardiography is used as the one of the non-invasive methods for the prediction for ventricular arrhythmia, one of the causes ofn death in acute myocardial infarction. Signal-averaged electrocardiography has allowed the identification of low-amplitude, high-frequency signals(late potentials)in the terminal portion of the QRS complex. They are thougt to be occured in the portion of electrophysiologically unstable myocardium. The presence of late potentials identifies regions of delayed conducton in the elctrophysiologically unstable border zone of an acute infarction. These electrophysiologic change of myocardium is influenced by the patency of infarct-related artery. A patent artery is associated with electrical stability of myocardium, decreased in cidence of late potentials and improved survival. METHODS: 58 patients of acute myocardial infarction underwent signal-averaged electrocardiography, coronary angiography within 10 days after AMI, 20 of healthy persons underwent signal-averaged electrocardiography. RESULTS: In patent group, late potentials were recorded in 7 of 38 patients(18%) as compared with 13 of 20 patients(65%) of non-patent group. The statistically significant parameters of signal-averaged electrocardiography beteen patent and non-patent group were filtered total QRS duration(TQRS, 106.7+/-20.9msec), high frequency low amplitude signal (HLAS, 30.8+/-7.5 vs 41.3+/-16.5 msec)with HLAS being the most powerful varialble in the model. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the patency of infarct-related artery is associated with electrophysiologic stability of myocardium and signal-averaged electrocardiography is one of the useful non-invasive method in risk stratification of acute myocrdial infarction.
Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Arteries* ; Coronary Angiography ; Electrocardiography* ; Humans ; Infarction ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Myocardium

BACKGROUND: Hydration, the water content of the stratum corneum, is an important factor in both the appearance and the barrier function of the skin. Many non-invasive methods have been developed in order to assesa the hydration state of the skin and the effect of various moisturizers. The hydrometer and carneometer are commercially available instruments which are widely used in dermatologic research. OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to compare the measuring usefulnes of both instruments on normal subjects with a wide range of hydration states of the hornylayer. METHODS: We measured the conductance with the hydrometer and the capacitance with the corneometer in various hydrating eonditions and compared both insruments. RESULTS: Conductance had a non linear correlation with capacita ice. Capacitance measured with the corneometer had a high sensitivity to moisture in a wide range of hydration levels. On the other hand, conductance guaged with the hydrometer showed a few sensitivity to moisture at a low level. When the hydretion level was measured after a moiturizer was added, 10 % urea cream showed a sharp increase by 256% in terms of conductanae, and H-base by 97.8%. Mineral oil decreased by 41.5% and petrolatum by 62% respectively. On the other hand, when measured in terms of capacitance under the same conditions as above, 38.9 increase in 10% urea cream, 19.3% increase in H-base, 20% decrease in mineral oil, and 43.5 % decrease in petrolatum were reported. Conductance showed a higher hygroscopicity and a lower water holding capacity than capacitance did. When the measurement of the moisture level iri virious parts of the human body is performed, the corneometer provided us with more stable alies than the hydrometer. While the hydrometer can not the available and appropriate under the condition of insulation, the corneometer can measure moisture levels even down at the depth of 250mm. When measured after the oily surface of the forehead was cleansed with soft tissue, conductance and capacitance revealed higher values of moisture levels than before the eleanin. However, there is no statistical significance in these values. CONCLUSION: The hydrometer is a more appropriate tool for the measurement of moisture at a high level, and the corneometer at a low moisture level. The hydrcmeter is a more sensitive method of measuring the increase and the decrease in the moisture level.
Forehead ; Hand ; Human Body ; Ice ; Lasers, Gas ; Mineral Oil ; Petrolatum ; Skin* ; Urea ; Water ; Wettability

BACKGROUND: Hydration, the water content of the stratum corneum, is an important factor in both the appearance and the barrier function of the skin. Many non-invasive methods have been developed in order to assesa the hydration state of the skin and the effect of various moisturizers. The hydrometer and carneometer are commercially available instruments which are widely used in dermatologic research. OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to compare the measuring usefulnes of both instruments on normal subjects with a wide range of hydration states of the hornylayer. METHODS: We measured the conductance with the hydrometer and the capacitance with the corneometer in various hydrating eonditions and compared both insruments. RESULTS: Conductance had a non linear correlation with capacita ice. Capacitance measured with the corneometer had a high sensitivity to moisture in a wide range of hydration levels. On the other hand, conductance guaged with the hydrometer showed a few sensitivity to moisture at a low level. When the hydretion level was measured after a moiturizer was added, 10 % urea cream showed a sharp increase by 256% in terms of conductanae, and H-base by 97.8%. Mineral oil decreased by 41.5% and petrolatum by 62% respectively. On the other hand, when measured in terms of capacitance under the same conditions as above, 38.9 increase in 10% urea cream, 19.3% increase in H-base, 20% decrease in mineral oil, and 43.5 % decrease in petrolatum were reported. Conductance showed a higher hygroscopicity and a lower water holding capacity than capacitance did. When the measurement of the moisture level iri virious parts of the human body is performed, the corneometer provided us with more stable alies than the hydrometer. While the hydrometer can not the available and appropriate under the condition of insulation, the corneometer can measure moisture levels even down at the depth of 250mm. When measured after the oily surface of the forehead was cleansed with soft tissue, conductance and capacitance revealed higher values of moisture levels than before the eleanin. However, there is no statistical significance in these values. CONCLUSION: The hydrometer is a more appropriate tool for the measurement of moisture at a high level, and the corneometer at a low moisture level. The hydrcmeter is a more sensitive method of measuring the increase and the decrease in the moisture level.
Forehead ; Hand ; Human Body ; Ice ; Lasers, Gas ; Mineral Oil ; Petrolatum ; Skin* ; Urea ; Water ; Wettability

PURPOSE: The lithogenic risk factors were compared between the first time stone patients and recurrent stone patients according to age and gender. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed stone metabolic studies on first time stone formers (67 men and 42 women) and the recurrent stone formers (40 men and 20 women). We analyzed the groups' excretion differences for the lithogenic and inhibitory constituents such as calcium, uric acid, oxalate, sodium and citrate; we measured volume from the 24-hour urine samples and calcium, uric acid, sodium, potassium, chloride and phosphate from the serum samples. Hypercalciuria, hyperoxaluria, hypocitraturia and a low 24-hour urine volume (<1,500ml) were compared between the two groups according to age and gender. RESULTS: Hypocitraturia was the most common metabolic abnormality in all the groups. The incidence of hypocitraturia was higher in the recurrent stone formers (50.0%) than in the first time stone formers (48.6%), but this was not statistically significant. A low urine volume was shown to have more significant association (p<0.05) for recurrent stone formers (33.3%) compared to the first time stone formers (18.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Hypocitraturia was the most common lithogenic risk factor for stone patients. In the recurrent stone formers, a low urine volume is the risk factor that differentiates them from the first time stone formers.
Calcium ; Citric Acid ; Fluid Therapy ; Humans ; Hypercalciuria ; Hyperoxaluria ; Incidence ; Male ; Oxalic Acid ; Potassium ; Risk Factors* ; Sodium ; Uric Acid ; Urinary Calculi

No abstract available.
Chordoma*

Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is an hereditary autosomal dominant disease characterized by development of hundreds to thousands of adenomatous polyps in the colon and rectum. The common symptoms are bloody stool, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. The average age at onset of symptoms is 33 years. Because of inevitable progression to malignancy, it is necessary to remove the entire colonic and rectal mucosa. Current surgical options are total proctocolectomy with permanent ileostomy, trans-abdominal colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis (IRA), and restorative proctocolectomy with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA). Recently IPAA can give optimum control of colorectal polyposis in FAP patients with an acceptable incidence of postoperative complications and satisfactory functional results. We experienced one case of FAP who had malignacy in the remained rectum after subtotal colectomy. IPAA was done and the result was satisfactory.
Abdominal Pain ; Adenomatous Polyposis Coli* ; Adenomatous Polyps ; Colectomy* ; Colon ; Diarrhea ; Humans ; Ileostomy ; Incidence ; Mucous Membrane ; Postoperative Complications ; Proctocolectomy, Restorative ; Rectum*

Early MRI and arthroscopic findings were compared to evaluate the efficacy of the former for patients, who upon physical examination, were diagnosed with possihle acute ACL tears. MRI, taken between 1-21 days after injury, had to reveal complete ACL tears and arthroscopic surgery should have taken place 3-12 weeks after the injury for patients of this prospective study. Fifty such cases were initially catagorized according to five MRI patterns. Types I to V were separated by the following ACL tear characteristics: Enlarged and diffusely increased in signal, horizontally oriented, non-visualized, discontinuous and vertically oriented. The cases were then divided into two groups of arthroscopic findings; Group A included cases of complete ACL tearing and group B included those with intact or minimally torn ACLs. Of MRI types I through V, there were 31, 9, 5, 4, and I cases of each respectively. 37 cases resulted in complete ACL tears (21 type I, 6 type II, 5 type III, 4 type IV and 1 type V) and 13 cases were catagorized into group B, 10 of which had pattern type I and 3 of which had pattern type II. As result, types III, IV and V had a 100% Positive Predictive Value (PPV) whereas types I and II together had a 67% PPV vaiue. Division of the cases into the five pattern types in early MRI proved valuble for possible cases of acute ACL tears. MRI pattern types III, IV and V were correlated with definite complete ACL tears. However, caution must be taken for types I and II, the majority of the cases, for which there exists a significant possibility for misdiagnosis and consequently unnecessary arthroscopic surgery.
Arthroscopy ; Diagnostic Errors ; Humans ; Knee ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Physical Examination ; Prospective Studies

PURPOSE: We report a distinctive lesion in the articular cartilage of the talar dome in anterior bony impingement syndrome of the joint. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Arthroscopic debridement was done in 68 ankles under the diagnosis of anterior impingement syndrome of the ankle joint between October 1994 and June 1996. There were 6 tram track lesions of talar dome of the 68 ankles. We evaluated arthroscopic findings of tramtrack lesion, injury mechanism, and treatment results according to the criteria of Ogilvie-Harris DJ et al. RESULTS: All six male patients were professional or collegiate soccer players. Average age was 29 years (26 to 34). All 6 cases were dorminant ankles. Trauma history was not definite in all 6 cases. All 6 patients were anterior impingement syndrome of the ankle and treated by arthroscopic removal of osteophytes. The cartilage lesions were full thickness defects, located in the anterior half of the medial aspect of the talar dome and were longitudinal with variable widths resembling a tram track, thus named ""tram track lesion"". Tram track lesion and osteophytes were contacted by ankle dorsiflexion. Overall, good and excellent results were achieved in five patients at a mean follow up of twenty-seven months. Two cases had recurrences of osteophytes. CONCLUSIONS: Tram track lesion of talar dome occurred by repeated scratching of the osteophyte of distal tibia and treated effectively by arthroscopic removal of osteophyte and debridement.
Ankle ; Ankle Joint ; Arthroscopy ; Cartilage ; Cartilage, Articular ; Debridement ; Diagnosis ; Diphenhydramine ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Joints ; Male ; Osteophyte ; Recurrence ; Soccer ; Tibia

Vascular ingrowth is essential for the survial of the graft tissue. The purposes of this study were to evaluate any changes in signal intensity of cqropreserved meniscal allograft with time in the magnetic resonance images(MRI) and to demonstrate the viability of the grafts. Eight patients underwent meniscal transplantation with cryopreserved allcgrafts using the bone block technique. MRIs of the knee were taken at 3 days, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 month, 6 months. And I year after the implantation. A second-look arthroscopy and a small meniscal biopsy(sized 2mm x 2mm1 at the peripheral and central part of the meniscus were conducted at 3 months and 1 year. Three days after the operation, the signal intensity of the implanted meniscus revealed a homogenrous low signaJ intensity that could not be differentiated from that of' a contralateral normal meniscus. At 3 weeks, a high signal intensity appeared at the periphery of the meniscus. This signal, which did not communicate into the joint space, fuither intensified at 6 weeks. The high signal intensity of the meniscus, though still higher than that of the normal meniscus, decrexsed slightly at 3 months and continued to decrease progressively even a year after the implantation. The second-look arthroscopy revealed that the grafts were viable and that there was no tearing or shrinking of the meniscus. Cellular proliferation was also found at the central edge oi' the meniscus at 3 months. This cellular pattern differentiated from that of a nonmal meniscus in that the d stribution of cells was not in an even, but in a clonal pattem. The cellularity after a year, however, was sirnilar to that of normal meniscus except some area with deficiency of cells. It can be concluded that increased signal intensity of' the implanted meniscus with time indicates hypervascularity caused by vascular ingrowth, similar to the high signal intensity ot>tained from normal meniscus in young children. Increasecl signal intensity in the chronological postoperative MRls demonstrates the viability of the implanted cryopreserved meniscal allograft.
Allografts* ; Arthroscopy ; Cell Proliferation ; Child ; Humans* ; Joints ; Knee ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Transplants

No abstract available.
Keratosis, Seborrheic* ; Poroma* ; Scalp*