PURPOSE: This study was conducted to evaluate nutritional status, and the effects of lifestyles and depression on nutritional status of elderly people (NSE). METHOD: The participants were 280 elders who visited the Y city Senior Welfare Center between August 2006 and October 2006. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire that included general characteristics, lifestyle checklist, depression scale, and nutritional risk index. Also, Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated from height and weight. T-test, ANOVA, Duncan test, Pearson coefficients correlation and stepwise multiple regression were used to analyze the data using the SPSS Win 12.0 program. RESULTS: The NSE mean score was mid level at 5.03. BMI was 23.42 which indicates overweight. Depression was the factor that influenced the nutritional risk index most strongly, accounting for 17.3% of the total variance in the NSE. A combination of significance of health, concerns about health, housing, condition of teeth, activity, and smoking pattern accounted for 29.8% of the variance in the NSE. Condition of teeth accounted for only 3.8% of the variance in BMI. CONCLUSION: It is necessary to be aware that variance in the NSE can be affected by several factors including depression and lifestyle and that depression is strongly related to poorer NSE.
Aged* ; Body Mass Index ; Checklist ; Depression* ; Housing ; Humans ; Life Style* ; Nutritional Status* ; Overweight ; Questionnaires ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Tooth

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare the two-dimensional with three-dimensional radiographic measurements of polyethylene liner wear in the Harris-Galante II acetabular cup. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We measured the polyethylene liner wear amount and the wear rate of 64 hips with Harris-Galante II acetabular cup by two methods: Livermore's method and modified Devane's method. We evaluated the relationships between the two methods. RESULTS: The average total amount of wear and the average wear rate are 0.86+/-1.01 mm and 0.18+/-0.20 mm/year using the two-dimensional method and 0.99+/-1.01 mm and 0.21+/-0.2 mm/year using three-dimensional method respectively. The amount of wear and the wear rate by the three-dimensional method was larger than those by the two dimensional method. CONCLUSION: The amount of polyethylene liner wear can be measured by the two-dimensional method because it is highly correlated with the amount that is measured by the three-dimensional method, since there was no differences between the two methods.
Acetabulum* ; Hip ; Polyethylene*

PURPOSE: To develop a model based on non-invasive clinical and ultrasonographic parameters for predicting the likelihood of subsequent histologic chorioamnionitis in women with preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) and to determine whether the inclusion of invasive test results improves the predictive value of the model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included 146 consecutive women presenting with PPROM (20-33 weeks). Transvaginal ultrasonographic assessment of cervical length was performed. Maternal serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and white blood cell (WBC) counts were measured after amniocentesis. Amniotic fluid (AF) obtained by amniocentesis was cultured, and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels and WBC counts were determined. The primary outcome measure was histologic chorioamnionitis. RESULTS: Risk scores based on serum CRP concentrations and gestational age (model 1) were calculated for each patient. The model was shown to have adequate goodness of fit and an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.742. When including AF test results (e.g., AF IL-6 levels) in model 1, serum CRP concentrations were found to be insignificant, and thus, were excluded from model 2, comprising AF IL-6 levels and gestational age. No significant difference in AUC was found between models 1 and 2. CONCLUSION: For women with PPROM, the newly developed model incorporating non-invasive parameters (serum CRP and gestational age) was moderately predictive of histologic chorioamnionitis. The inclusion of invasive test results added no predictive information to the model in this setting.
Adult ; *Amniocentesis ; Amniotic Fluid/*cytology/microbiology ; C-Reactive Protein/*metabolism ; Chorioamnionitis/blood/*diagnosis/metabolism ; Cohort Studies ; Female ; Fetal Membranes, Premature Rupture/*blood ; *Gestational Age ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Interleukin-6/blood ; Leukocyte Count ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Pregnancy ; ROC Curve ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity

A hepatodiaphragmatic interposition of the small or large intestine, which is known as Chilaiditi's syndrome, is generally asymptomatic and rarely requires surgical intervention. However, it can be associated with symptoms ranging from mild abdominal pain to a severe complicated intestinal obstruction. We report a case of Chilaiditi's syndrome associated with an ileal obstruction. A 69 year-old female patient presented with abdominal pain, vomiting and an abdominal distension. The abdominal CT and upper endoscopy findings showed an intestinal obstruction and gastric cancer, requiring surgery.
Abdominal Pain ; Aged ; Chilaiditi Syndrome* ; Endoscopy ; Female ; Humans ; Ileum* ; Intestinal Obstruction* ; Intestine, Large ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Vomiting

PURPOSE: Critical pathways (CP), also known as clinical pathways, are management plans that display goals for patients and have led to improved outcomes for many disease entities. This study was aimed at developing a critical pathway for the surgical treatment of gastric cancer patients and evaluating its usefulness. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A CP was developed and implemented by a team of surgeons, nurses, nutritionists, and administrative officials. Among the 117 patients who received curative gastrectomies for gastric cancer at Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, between October 2003 and August 2004, 26 patients were treated according to the CP. We evaluated its usefulness by comparing the clinical characterisctics, postoperative progress, hospital stays, and costs between the CP and the non-CP groups. Patient satisfaction was also surveyed with questionnaires. RESULTS: Of the initial 26 patients in the CP group, two were excluded from the final evaluation; one patient had a duodenal stump leakage, and the other had a gastric stasis postoperatively. In 8 patients, protocol violation occurred; six patients refused to be discharged on the 7th postoperative day, one patient who had an gastric staisis postoperatively stayed for 2 additional days, and one patient who needed ICU care stayed for 4 additional days. The drop-out rate was 7.7% (2/26), and the variance rate was 30.8% (8/26). The mean hospital stay was 11.3 days (10~15 days) for the CP group compared with 17.5 days (9~68 days) for the non-CP group, resulting in a difference of about 6 days (P<0.05). The mean hospital stays after surgery were 10.3 days (7~68 days) and 8.3 days (7~12 days) for the non-CP and the CP groups, respectively, but the difference was statistically not significant (P>0.05). The mean charge during the hospital stay was higher in the non-CP group (W6,292,200) than in the CP group (W4,863,685). The charge per hospital day was higher in the CP group (W430,414) than in the non-CP group (W359,554). Patient satisfaction was higher in the CP group than in the non-CP group. CONCLUSION: By developing and applying a critical pathway in the surgical treatment of stomach cancer patients, we could reduce the length of hospital stay as well as the cost. A multi-centered prospective study to establish a standard treatment pathway and to demonstrate its effectiveness is needed in the future.
Critical Pathways* ; Gastrectomy ; Gastroparesis ; Humans ; Korea ; Length of Stay ; Nutritionists ; Patient Satisfaction ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Stomach Neoplasms*

PURPOSE: Critical pathways (CP), also known as clinical pathways, are management plans that display goals for patients and have led to improved outcomes for many disease entities. This study was aimed at developing a critical pathway for the surgical treatment of gastric cancer patients and evaluating its usefulness. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A CP was developed and implemented by a team of surgeons, nurses, nutritionists, and administrative officials. Among the 117 patients who received curative gastrectomies for gastric cancer at Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, between October 2003 and August 2004, 26 patients were treated according to the CP. We evaluated its usefulness by comparing the clinical characterisctics, postoperative progress, hospital stays, and costs between the CP and the non-CP groups. Patient satisfaction was also surveyed with questionnaires. RESULTS: Of the initial 26 patients in the CP group, two were excluded from the final evaluation; one patient had a duodenal stump leakage, and the other had a gastric stasis postoperatively. In 8 patients, protocol violation occurred; six patients refused to be discharged on the 7th postoperative day, one patient who had an gastric staisis postoperatively stayed for 2 additional days, and one patient who needed ICU care stayed for 4 additional days. The drop-out rate was 7.7% (2/26), and the variance rate was 30.8% (8/26). The mean hospital stay was 11.3 days (10~15 days) for the CP group compared with 17.5 days (9~68 days) for the non-CP group, resulting in a difference of about 6 days (P<0.05). The mean hospital stays after surgery were 10.3 days (7~68 days) and 8.3 days (7~12 days) for the non-CP and the CP groups, respectively, but the difference was statistically not significant (P>0.05). The mean charge during the hospital stay was higher in the non-CP group (W6,292,200) than in the CP group (W4,863,685). The charge per hospital day was higher in the CP group (W430,414) than in the non-CP group (W359,554). Patient satisfaction was higher in the CP group than in the non-CP group. CONCLUSION: By developing and applying a critical pathway in the surgical treatment of stomach cancer patients, we could reduce the length of hospital stay as well as the cost. A multi-centered prospective study to establish a standard treatment pathway and to demonstrate its effectiveness is needed in the future.
Critical Pathways* ; Gastrectomy ; Gastroparesis ; Humans ; Korea ; Length of Stay ; Nutritionists ; Patient Satisfaction ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Stomach Neoplasms*

PURPOSE: Combined resection of invaded organ in advanced gastric cancer has been performed for complete removal of tumor and clearance of regional lymph node. However, higher morbidity and mortality associated with this procedure have been reported in recent large series and the efficacy of the procedure in survival remains controversial. In this study, we analyzed the efficacy of gastrectomy combined with invaded organ resection. METHODS: The medical records of 153 patients with T4 gastric carcinoma who underwent operation at Department of Surgery, Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea from 1990 to 1998 were evaluated retrospectively. The patients were divided into three groups. Thirty five patients with combined resection were included in group I, and 72 patients with gastrectomy alone were in group II and 46 patients with no resection were included in group III. RESULTS: Pancreas was the most frequently invaded organ (100 patients: 65.4%), followed by colon (57 patients: 37.3%). The patients of group III were older than that of group I, and the tumor size was bigger in group I than group II. Incidence of the lower one third of the gastric cancer was higher in group II and III than that of group I. Histologically, undifferentiated carcinomas were more frequent in all groups. Postoperative complications in group I occurred in 11 patients (31.5%): intraabdominal abscess (4 patients: 11.4%), duodenal stump leakage (2 patients: 5.7%), renal failure (2 patients: 5.7%), and followed by bleeding, pulmonary complication, pancreatitis. Operative mortality of group I was 2.9%. The 5-year survival rate of group I and II was 15.6% and 3.1%, respectively and 0% in group III. In patients without peritoneal or liver metastasis, the 5-year survival rate of group I and II was 27.0% and 5.5%, respectively. But in patients with incurable factors, there was no difference in survival between the two groups. Median survival of group I with incurable factors was only 7 months. CONCLUSION: Combined resection of invaded organ in patients with T4 gastric carcinoma is a relatively safe procedure. Combined resection should be considered in patients without incurable factors such as peritoneal or liver metastasis.
Abscess ; Carcinoma ; Colon ; Gastrectomy ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Liver ; Lymph Nodes ; Medical Records ; Mortality ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Pancreas ; Pancreatitis ; Postoperative Complications ; Renal Insufficiency ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms* ; Survival Rate

PURPOSE: Advanced gastric cancer that invades the subserosa can be classified into three subgroups according to the tumor cell growth patterns: expansive growth (ss alpha), infiltrative growth (ss gamma) and intermediate growth (ss beta). Serosal invasion is a well-known risk factor for peritoneal recurrence. It has been reported that the risk of peritoneal seeding of ssgamma is comparable with serosal tumor, although tumor cells do not actually reached the serosa as one of the histologic findings. In this study, the clinicopathologic features of subserosal tumors according to the growth pattern were analyzed. METHODS: One hundred and twenty-nine patients who underwent a gastrectomy for gastric cancer invading the subserosa at the Department of Surgery, Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, between 1994 and 1998, were retrospectively evaluated. No patients had any other organ tumor. The patients were divided into two groups: 86 non-infiltrative cancers (Group I, ss alpha and ss beta) and 43 infiltrative cancers (Group II, ss gamma) according to the tumor growth pattern. RESULTS: Undifferentiated carcinomas were more frequent group II than group I (83.7% vs. 27.9%, P=0.000). There was no difference in any of the other clinicopathological characteristics between the two groups, including age, gender, tumor size or lymph node metastasis. However, the recurrence patterns were significantly different between the two groups. The peritoneal recurrence rate was higher in group II than group I (71.4% vs 39.3%, P=0.036). The 5 and 10-year survival rates were 66.9 and 61.2% for group I and 50.4% and 40.4% for group II, respectively (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: A high incidence of peritoneal recurrence was noted in the infiltrative subserosal gastric cancer. Therefore, attention should be focused on the diagnosis of peritoneal recurrence during follow-up for this subtype of subserosal cancer.
Carcinoma ; Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gastrectomy ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Lymph Nodes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prognosis* ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Serous Membrane ; Stomach Neoplasms* ; Survival Rate

PURPOSE: Bone metastasis is not a common event in patients with gastric cancer. Therefore, most studies of bone metastasis in such patients have been in the form of case reports, so the clinical features of the bone metastasis are not well understood. To clarify metastatic patterns, the efficacy of radiation or chemotherapy, and the prognosis, we analyzed 29 cases of patients with bone metastases after curative surgery for gastric cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-nine (29) gastric cancer patients with bone metastasis who underwent curative resection from January 1989 to December 2002 at the Departments of Surgery, Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital and Our Lady of Mercy's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, were analyzed. RESULTS: Nineteen (19) patients were males and, 10 patients were females. The mean age of the patients was 53+/-12 years. There were more Borrmann type-3 and type-4 cancers and more undifferentiated histologic types. Most of the original cancers were stage III or IV. The most frequently involved bone was the spine. Treatment after recurrence was done in 16 patients (55.2%). The median survival time after recurrence of the patients who received treatment was seven (7) months (0~75 months in range), which was significantly longer than that of the patients who did not received treatment (P=0.019). However, there was no difference according to the treatment modality (P=0.388). CONCLUSION: Bone metastasis after a curative resection of gastric cancer tends to occur in Borrmann type-3 and type-4 cancers, cancers with undifferentiated histology and, in stage III/IV disease. The prognosis of bone metastasis is dismal, and aggressive treatment is the only way to prolong survival.
Drug Therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Spine ; Stomach Neoplasms*

PURPOSE: There is concern about the potential adverse effects on hepatic function due to increased intraabdominal pressure during pneumoperitoneum. The changes in hepatic function following a laparoscopy assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG) and conventional open distal gastrectomy (ODG) for gastric cancer were compared. METHODS: Between July 2004 and May 2005, 60 patients diagnosed with early gastric cancer at Kangnam St' Mary's hospital; 30 each having undergone LADG and ODG were studied. The levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total bilirubin (TB), aspartate transferase (AST) and alanine transferase (ALT) between the two groups were compared at 24 and 72 hours postoperatively. RESULTS: The age, sex, body mass index and preoperative hepatic function were not different between the two groups. The operative times were significantly longer in the LADG than the ODG group (298 vs. 184 minutes, P < 0.000). There was no postoperative hepatic failure or mortality in either group. The levels of ALP decreased, but those of total bilirubin remained unchanged from the preoperative baselines in both groups, with no significant difference between the two groups. After a LADG, the levels of AST and ALT increased 3.7 and 3.5 fold 24 hours after surgery, whereas after an ODG, the levels of AST and ALT increased 1.9 and 1.5 fold. In the LADG group, the levels of AST and ALT were significantly increased compared to the ODG group (P < 0.05), but returned close to the baseline levels within 72 hours. On the third postoperative day, there were no significant differences in the levels of AST and ALT between the two groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: After a LADG, the levels of hepatic transaminases were immediately elevated, but returned to normal levels within 72 hours. A LADG with prolonged pneumoperitoneum is considered safe in patients with normal liver function prior to the operation. In addition, to evaluate the safety of a LADG in the patients with decreased hepatic function, a large scaled randomized prospective trial will be required.
Alanine ; Alkaline Phosphatase ; Aspartic Acid ; Bilirubin ; Body Mass Index ; Gastrectomy* ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Liver ; Liver Failure ; Mortality ; Operative Time ; Pneumoperitoneum ; Prospective Studies* ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Transaminases ; Transferases