No abstract available.
Cleidocranial Dysplasia* ; Leukemia*

OBJECTIVE: To compare the plantar peak pressure of diabetic patients without neuropathic and ischemic symptoms to normal subject wearing diabetic shoes and to compare the plantar peak pressures of P.W. minor (B) shoes to Apex (A) shoes. METHOD: Thirty three normal subjects and fourteen diabetic patients were participated. Plantar peak pressures in shoes were measured by pedar(r)during a comfortable gait wearing two types of diabetic shoes, respectively. A shoes and B shoes were used in this study. Plantar pressure was analyzed by pedar C-expert program at T0 (whole foot), M1 (heel), M2 (midfoot), M3 (1st, 2nd metatarsal area), M4 (3rd, 4th, 5th metatarsal area), M5 (great toe), M6 (2nd, 3rd toe area) and M7 (4th, 5th toe area) zones respectively. RESULTS: Plantar peak pressures of diabetic patients without neuropathic and ischemic symptom were not different from normal subjects. In normal subjects, plantar peak pressure of B shoes were lower than A shoes at both T0, M3 and M5 zones and left M6 and M7 zones. Plantar peak pressures of A shoes was lower than B shoes at both M2 zones. In diabetic patients plantar peak pressures of B shoes was lower than A shoes at right M4 and left M5 zones. CONCLUSION: There was no sgnificant difference between plantar peak pressures of normal subjects and diabetic patients without neuproathic and ischemic symptom. B shoes were better than A shoes to reduce plantar peak pressure.
Diabetes Mellitus ; Gait ; Humans ; Metatarsal Bones ; Shoes* ; Toes

In children and young adults, secondary epiretinal membranes after ocular trauma, pars planitis, ocular toxocariasis, and Coat's disease are common and spontaneous separation occurs in a relatively higher rate with improvement in visual acuity than elderly patients. In a 31-year-old man with pars planitis, diffuse epiretinal membrane in the macula became thinner during systemic and topical steroid therapy. Two years after treatment, the preretinal membrane spontaneously separated from the macula to the inferior temporal arcade, and visual acuity improved from 0.15 to 1.0. The authors reviewed the available literatures regarding the possible mechanisms for the spontaneous separation ofepiretinal membrane.
Adult ; Aged ; Child ; Epiretinal Membrane* ; Humans ; Membranes ; Pars Planitis ; Toxocariasis ; Visual Acuity ; Young Adult*

BACKGROUND: Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans is a mesenchymal tumor of the skin of intermediate-grade which is a rare condition. The slow growing and aggressive invasion on local tissues are characteristic features of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans. The treatment for dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans is mainly a surgical excision such as a wide excision and Mohs micrographic surgery. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare the result of wide excision and Mohs micrographic surgery for the treatment of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans at a single institution in Korea. METHODS: A retrospective review was done for 24 patients diagnosed with dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans and treated surgically from 1999 to 2010 at Chonbuk National University Hospital. Patient demographics, tumor features, surgical features, and recurrence during the follow-up period were evaluated. RESULTS: 13 patients were treated with wide excision, and 11 with Mohs micrographic surgery. There was no metastasis for all the cases. Mean operation time for the wide excision group was 83 minutes whereas 182 minutes for the Mohs micrographic surgery group, and it was a statistically significant difference. However, no significant difference was observed in post-operative defect size, advanced surgical repair and local recurrence in our study. CONCLUSION: We suggest that wide excision and Mohs micrographic surgery are both successful modalities for the surgical treatment of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans. Hence, individualized patient and tumor characteristics should be concerned when determining the surgical options for dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans.
Demography ; Dermatofibrosarcoma ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Mohs Surgery ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Skin

PURPOSE: The aging of society has rapidly progressed, especially in Korea. Therefore, the necessity of research on end-of-life (EOL) care in elderly patients has increased. However, there are few studies on EOL care intensity for non-cancer patients. This study was designed to compare the EOL care intensity between cancer and non-cancer patients. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the EOL care intensity based on medical records of decedents of Kyung Hee University Medical Center, a tertiary referral hospital from December 2014 through March 2015. And we compared EOL care intensity between cancer patients and non-cancer patients using statistical analysis of the frequency of invasive procedures and logistic regression analysis for factors that affect the EOL care intensity. RESULTS: Statistical analysis showed invasive procedures, such as intensive care unit admission, endotracheal intubation followed by mechanical ventilation and emergency dialysis, were performed more frequently in non-cancer patients than cancer patients (29.3% vs. 72.4%, P<0.001). And age (P=0.038) and morbidity of cancer (P<0.001) influenced the invasive procedural decision when analyzed by logistic regression analysis. CONCLUSION: The EOL care was more intensive in non-cancer patients, and age and morbidity of cancer were major factors for the treatment intensity.
Academic Medical Centers ; Adult ; Aged ; Aging ; Decision Making ; Dialysis ; Emergencies ; Humans ; Critical Care ; Intensive Care Units ; Intubation, Intratracheal ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Medical Records ; Respiration, Artificial ; Retrospective Studies ; Terminal Care ; Tertiary Care Centers

Ischemic colitis generally develops in the elderly patients with concomitant cardiovascular condition, diabetes mellitus, and renal insufficiency. This disease predominently occurs in the left colon, particularly splenic flexure and sigmoid colon. The most frequent symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, alteration in bowel functions and hematochezia. Blood loss is usually minimal in most patients. Herein, we report a case of ischemic colitis which developed on ascending colon with massive bleeding. A 48-year-old man was admitted because of massive lower gastrointestinal bleeding for 7 days. He has underwent hemodialysis for thirteen years. Colonoscopy showed a circular ulcer on the ascending colon with partial stenosis and mass-like oozing lesion distal to the stenotic area. We performed right hemi-colectomy. Grossly, colon showed shallow ulceration and congested ileocecal valve coated with hemorrhage. Microscopically, ulcer bed showed thickened and fibrotic submucosa which had nearly obliterated atherosclerotic vessels.
Abdominal Pain ; Aged ; Colitis, Ischemic* ; Colon ; Colon, Ascending ; Colon, Sigmoid ; Colon, Transverse ; Colonoscopy ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diarrhea ; Estrogens, Conjugated (USP) ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage ; Hemorrhage* ; Humans ; Ileocecal Valve ; Middle Aged ; Renal Dialysis ; Renal Insufficiency ; Ulcer

Interstitial pneumonia occurs in approximately 25% of patients with primary Sjogren's syndrome. Interstitial pneumonia combined with primary Sjogren's syndrome usually responds well to systemic steroids, and fatal cases are rare. Lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia shows diffuse infiltration of polyclonal B and T cells. Autologous stem cell transplantation is performed in cases of primary Sjogren's syndrome as an optional treatment when the condition responds poorly to conventional treatment. The hypothesis that primary Sjogren's syndrome improves after transplantation relies on the role of B-cell abnormalities in pathogenesis or the strong effects of immunosuppressive therapy. We experienced the case of a patient diagnosed with primary Sjogren's syndrome and lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia progression refractory to conventional treatment (steroid and immunosuppressive drugs) and cyclophosphamide pulse therapy. Our patient demonstrated improvement of lung manifestations and autoimmune disease activity after autologous stem cell transplantation.
Autoimmune Diseases ; B-Lymphocytes ; Cyclophosphamide ; Humans ; Lung ; Lung Diseases, Interstitial ; Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation ; Sjogren's Syndrome ; Stem Cell Transplantation ; Steroids ; T-Lymphocytes ; Transplants

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the efficacy and safety of pandemic H1N1 vaccine in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients, and evaluated its correlation with serum cytokine level. METHODS: A total of 43 RA patients and 31 SLE patients were enrolled in the study and were compared with age, sex-matched 40 healthy controls (HC). The blood samples drawn from selected patients before vaccination and in post-vaccination at week 4 were assayed in one session to measure the titers of antibodies against haemagglutinin specific for influenza virus strains: A/California/7/2009 NYMC X-179A (H1N1). Serum IL17 and CXCL13 levels were measured in the same session by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The association of serum cytokine level with anti-influenza antibody titer and mean fold increase (MFI) was investigated. Each specific side effect after vaccination was monitored in both the patients and control groups. RESULTS: The geometric mean antibody titer (GMT) for pre- and post-vaccination at week 4 was not significantly different between RA and HC, SLE and HC. The seroconversion rate in HC and RA was not significantly different, whereas the seroprotection rate is significantly higher in HC (82.5%) than RA (55.8%) (p<0.05). MFI in HC, RA, SLE were 19.65, 6.00 and 6.06, which were significantly higher in HC. Serum IL17 level was 6.28+/-2.89 pg/mL and 7.56+/-3.34 pg/mL in pre-, post-vaccination SLE patients, 33.85+/-15.62 pg/mL and 38.04+/-18.60 pg/mL in RA patients and was significantly lower in SLE patients. Serum CXCL13 level was 518.73+/-720.29 pg/mL and 431.53+/-601.23 pg/mL in pre-, post-vaccination SLE patients, which was significantly higher than HC (149.64+/-248.81 pg/mL and 147.36+/-213.92 pg/mL in each pre-, post-vaccination) and was not significantly different with the level of RA patients. In SLE patients, significant correlations were detected between cytokine level and post-vaccination antibody titer (r=0.22 p=0.026 between IL 17 and GMT; r=0.44, p<0.05 between CXCL13 and GMT). CONCLUSION: The increase in post-vaccination antibody titer is weaker in both RA and SLE patients group than the HC group. Post-vaccination antibody titer was positively correlated with B lymphocyte chemoattractant and CXCL13 in SLE patients, but not in RA patients.
Antibodies ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Influenza, Human ; Interleukin-17 ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; Lymphocytes ; Orthomyxoviridae ; Pandemics ; Vaccination

PURPOSE: In order to treat inflammatory and proliferative disorders of the posterior segment of the eye, the authors evaluated the use of a biodegradable intrascleral implant for slow release of triamcinolone acetonide (TA). METHODS: The intrascleral implant (1 mm thick and 3 mm in diameter) was made of alginic acid and PLA (poly (D, L-lactide)) containing 4 mg of TA. In vitro release of TA was evaluated by HPLC. To evaluate in vivo release of TA, the implant was placed into a scleral pocket in 18 rabbit eyes and the concentrations of TA in the aqueous humor, vitreous, and retina-choroid-sclera were measured by HPLC at 1, 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks after implantation. The toxicity and biocompatibility of the implant were evaluated by slit lamp examination, IOP, electroretinogram, and light microscopy. RESULTS: In vitro study demonstrated that the implant released TA in controlled manner for at least 8 months. The TA detected in the vitreous after 8 to 12 weeks and was not detected in retina-choroid-sclera at 8 weeks after implantation. The TA was not detected in aqueous humor. No significant toxicity to the retina was observed. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the intrascleral implant of TA could be a promising system for the delivery of steroids to the posterior segment of eye in cases of inflammatory or proliferative disorders of posterior segment.
Aqueous Humor ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Microscopy ; Retina ; Steroids ; Triamcinolone Acetonide* ; Triamcinolone*

PURPOSE: To report on the current practices in breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We invited the 68 members of the Korean Society of Breast Imaging who were working in hospitals with available breast MRI to participate in a survey on how they performed and interpreted breast MRI. We asked one member from each hospital to respond to the survey. A total of 22 surveys from 22 hospitals were analyzed. RESULTS: Out of 22 hospitals, 13 (59.1%) performed at least 300 breast MRI examinations per year, and 5 out of 22 (22.7%) performed > 1200 per year. Out of 31 machines, 14 (45.2%) machines were 1.5-T scanners and 17 (54.8%) were 3.0-T scanners. All hospitals did contrast-enhanced breast MRI. Full-time breast radiologists supervised the performance and interpreted breast MRI in 19 of 22 (86.4%) of hospitals. All hospitals used BI-RADS for MRI interpretation. For computer-aided detection (CAD), 13 (59.1%) hospitals sometimes or always use it and 9 (40.9%) hospitals did not use CAD. Two (9.1%) and twelve (54.5%) hospitals never and rarely interpreted breast MRI without correlating the mammography or ultrasound, respectively. The majority of respondents rarely (13/21, 61.9%) or never (5/21, 23.8%) interpreted breast MRI performed at an outside facility. Of the hospitals performing contrast-enhanced examinations, 15 of 22 (68.2%) did not perform MRI-guided interventional procedures. CONCLUSION: Breast MRI is extensively performed in Korea. The indication and practical patterns are diverse. The information from this survey would provide the basis for the development of Korean breast MRI practice guidelines.
Breast Neoplasms ; Breast* ; Diagnosis ; Korea ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Mammography ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Ultrasonography