No abstract available.
Alcoholics* ; Humans

BACKGROUND: Brief episode of coronary artery occlusion (i.e., ischemic preconditioning) makes the heart more resistant to injury from a subsequent ischemic insult. Although a great deal of effort has been made in studying ischemic preconditioning, the underlying mechanism of ischemic preconditioning and its effect on hypothermic insult has not been elucidated. This study was performed to see whether ischemic preconditioning protects against the depression of cardiac contractility induced by hypothermic cardioplegic arrest/reperfusion. And recently, adenosine was known to have some correlation with the mechanism of preconditioning. If so, does this effect remain after the blockade of adenosine receptor by 8-phenyl theophylline? METHOD: Twenty-four Sprague-Dawley rat weighed 250-350g were used and divided into three groups. Rat hearts were removed rapidly, and each isolated heart paced with a rate of 180/min was perused by modified Krebs-Hensleit buffer(KHB) solution on a Langendorff apparatus far an hour. After obtaining baseline data including left ventricular pressure(LVP), dp/dt, and coronary flow, cardiac arrest was induced by perfusion of 0degrees C crystalloid cardioplegic(St Thomas) solution. After that, all hearts were stored in the same St Thomas solution at salute temperature far 2 hours. In group I (control group), the hear was reperfused by KHB solution. In group II(preconditioning group), the heart was subjected to two 2-minute episode of global ischemia followed by 5 minute reperfusion with KHB solution(preconditioning) before cardiac arrest. In group III(phenyl theophylline group), the heart was subjected to preconditioning procedure and 8-phenyl theophylline at 10muM in concentration was added to KHB solution at time of reperfusion. Observing parameter was obtained in each group at 10, 20, 40 and 60 minutes after starting reperfusion and compared statistically by use of one way ANOVA test(STASTICA, release 4.5). P-value less than 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Although depressed LVP, dp/dt, and Coronary flow were seen in all groups during the reperfusion period, the preconditioned group showed more effective recovery of LVP than that of the control group, especially at 10, 20 and 40 minutes(p<.05). We failed to demonstrate the difference between the phenyl theophylline group and the control group(p=NS). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that ischemic preconditioning has protective effect on recovery state of hypothermic cardioplegic arrest/reperfusion. Its protective effect was limited during early reperfusion stage and was blocked by adenosine blocker.
Adenosine ; Animals ; Coronary Vessels ; Depression ; Heart Arrest ; Heart* ; Ischemia ; Ischemic Preconditioning* ; Myocardium* ; Perfusion ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptors, Purinergic P1 ; Reperfusion ; Theophylline

Traditionally, the Rhododendron species has been used in gastrointestinal disorder or hypertension. Grayanotoxin exists in honey, flowers, pollen, and the nectar of the Rhododendron species. We experienced 3 cases of Grayanotoxin intoxication. The symptoms of intoxication were nausea, vomiting, hypotension, bradycardia, diplopia, dizziness, and chest discomfort. Generally, the treatment for Grayanotoxin intoxication is fluid resuscitation and injection of atropine sulfate. The patients who were intoxicated with Grayanotoxin were discharged without complication after supportive care.
Atropine ; Bradycardia ; Diplopia ; Dizziness ; Flowers ; Honey ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Hypotension ; Nausea ; Plant Nectar ; Pollen ; Resuscitation ; Rhododendron ; Thorax ; Vomiting

Aortic transection or interruption is a rare condition which developed after an acute deceleration injury. Its occurrence depends on the location and direction of the force applied and is usually from motor vehicle accident or falling down. The exact incidence of aortic transection in trauma is not known but, when develops, only about 10-15% of the victims can furtive and be transported to the hospital. Even in the survivors, majority of them will be fatal within a few days if a prompt diagnosis and surgical treatments are not made. Aggressive diagnostic work-up is recommended for the patients with high suspicious index, which would salvage the victims with this fatal condition. We report the experience of two cases of aortic transection or interruption following motor vehicle accidents.
Deceleration ; Diagnosis ; Early Diagnosis* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Motor Vehicles ; Survivors ; Thorax* ; Wounds and Injuries*

Split hand and split foot(SHSF) is a human developmental defect characterized by missing digits, fusion of remaining digits, and a deep median cleft resulting in a clawlike appearance of the hands and feets. SHSF is usually inherited in an autosomer dominant fashion. The incidence of SHSF is between 1/10,000 and 1/90,000. Thirteen cases of SHSF and chromosomal aberrations involving 7q21-22 have been described so far in the world. We experienced a case of typical tetramelic SHSF in neonate. Chromosome studies showed a pericentric inversion of chromosome 7:46,XY,inv(7) (p22q22). Inspection of the extremities and chromosome studies in the parents were normal.
Chromosome Aberrations ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 7* ; Extremities ; Foot* ; Hand* ; Human Development ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant, Newborn ; Parents

A 17-year-old male was presented withfpruritic grouped erythematous papules on the face, chest, upper back, both axillae, and genital area. The histologic picture of a benign papilloma and spongiosis around the acrosyringium were prominent findings. The term acrosyringeal epidermal nevus is proposed for this histological picture, and some explanations for its pathogenesis are suggested.
Adolescent ; Axilla ; Humans ; Male ; Nevus* ; Papilloma ; Thorax

The long-term studies of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) have confirmed reliable relief of pain and maintenance of function. However there have been few generalized studies of factors influencing the results of TKA. We evaluated retrospectively 187 TKAs (137 patients) which had been performed between January 1987 and May 1995. The follow-up period was from one year to eight years (mean, 3 years and 8 months). There were 133 knees of osteoarthritis (OA), 43 knees of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and 11 knees of other causes including septic knee sequelae. We considered the preoperative factors as age, sex, side (right or left), body weight, height, primary disease, flexion contracture (FC), further flexion (FF), range of motion (ROM) of joint, deformity of varus and valgus and pain score, muscle strength score, instability score, total knee score according to the knee rating scale of the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS). We considered the clinical results as FC, FF, ROM, pain, muscle strength, instability, total knee score according to the knee rating scale of the HSS and the radiological results as Roentgenographic Evaluation and Scoring System of American Knee Society and radiolucent line more than 2mm in width. We evaluated the clinical and radiological results of TKAs followed up more than I year and analyzed the results based on above factors. The results were as follows: 1. The preoperative factors influencing final FC were not the primary disease and FC, but the FF and ROM. The preoperative factors influencing final FF and ROM were the primary disease, the FF and ROM. 2. The pain, muscle power, instability scores were improved but there was no significant factor influencing them. The HSS knee scores were higher in OA group than RA group postoperatively. 3. There was no preoperative factor influencing the complication, revision, the radiological results. The preoperative factors influencing the results of TKA were the FF, ROM and the primary disease.
Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Arthroplasty* ; Body Weight ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Contracture ; Follow-Up Studies ; Joints ; Knee* ; Muscle Strength ; Myalgia ; Osteoarthritis ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Retrospective Studies

The vertebral artery is infrequently injured because it lies deep in the neck, surrounded for the most part by bony foramina. Vertebral artery injuries are caused by penetrating traumas, blunt traumas and iatrogenic injuries. Sequela of vertebral artery injury include arteriovenous (AV) fistulae, and pseudoaneurysms may appear months after injury. Angiography is currently the gold standard for evaluating vascular injuries, such as vertebral artery injuries, and can be therapeutic. A vertebral artery fistula can also be treated by operative ligation. We experienced a rare case of a vertebro-jugular AV fistula secondary to a cervical stab wound. In this case, the patient was successfully treated by coil embolization and glue injection during angiography, which was confirmed by a postangiograpy operation.
Adhesives ; Aneurysm, False ; Angiography ; Arteriovenous Fistula* ; Embolization, Therapeutic ; Fistula ; Humans ; Ligation ; Neck ; Vascular System Injuries ; Vertebral Artery ; Wounds, Stab

Spinal dural arteriovenous fistula (SDAVF) is rare but still the most commonly encountered vascular malformation of the spinal cord. A 31-year-old male developed gait disturbance due to weakness of his lower extremities, voiding difficulty and sexual dysfunction with a progressive course since 3 months. He showed areflexia in both knees and ankles. Electromyographic findings were suggestive of multiple root lesions involving bilateral L2 to S4 roots of moderate degree. Magnetic resonance images showed high signal intensity with an ill-defined margin in T2-weighted images and intensely enhanced by a contrast agent through the lumbosacral spinal cord. Selective spinal angiography confirmed a dural arteriovenous fistula with a nidus at the L2 vertebral level. After selective endovascular embolization, his symptoms drastically improved except sexual dysfunction. We report a rare case of cauda equina syndrome due to spinal arteriovenous fistula with drastic improvement after endovascular embolization.
Adult ; Angiography ; Animals ; Ankle ; Arteriovenous Fistula ; Cauda Equina ; Central Nervous System Vascular Malformations ; Gait ; Humans ; Knee ; Lower Extremity ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Male ; Polyradiculopathy ; Spinal Cord ; Vascular Malformations

A primary sarcoma of the pulmonary artery is a rare disease. The symptoms of the disease are nonspecific, so it is very difficult to get an exact diagnosis in an emegency situation. A 48-year-old man was admitted to our emergency center with the history of syncope. The patient had no symptoms of a chest problem. During the diagnostic work up, we found an increased density in the left upper lung field on the chest PA, which was the only diagnostic clue to the patient 's illness. A chest CT, a chest MRI, and other studies were done to diagnose the undelying cause of syncope. We found a large intraluminal mass in the pulmonary artery and anterior mediastinal lymph node enlargement. A firm tumor, which arose from the main pulmonary artery and caused a near total obstruction of the left main pulmonary artery, was found during operation, and a partial resection of the tumor mass was done. Histologic and immunohistochemical staining revealed the tumor to be poorly differentiated spindle cell sarcoma. We report the case of a pulmonary artery sarcoma patient, along with a brief review of related literature.
Diagnosis ; Emergencies ; Hemangiosarcoma* ; Humans ; Lung ; Lymph Nodes ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Middle Aged ; Pulmonary Artery* ; Rare Diseases ; Sarcoma ; Syncope ; Thorax ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed