No abstract available.
Dysentery, Bacillary*

In order to assess the effects of diazepam and meperidine as premedication for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, eighty eight patients undergone an elective upper gastrointestinal endoscopy were studied. Studied patients were divided into two groups; one group was premedicated with buscopan and stropine(group I), and the other group was premedicated with diazepam and meperidien (group II). The results obtained were summarized as follows; 1) 83.0% of the group II (44/53) did not eomplain any discomfort by the procedure, but only 23.9% (8/35) of the group I showed no discopmort. The difference between two groups is statiatieally significant (p<0.005). 2) In 41 patients with previous experience of endoscopy, 22 patients from 27 of the graup Il(81.5%) did not feel any discomfort but it wes only 3 patients among 14 of the group I (21.4%) who did not feel discomfart (p<0,005). 3) In 47 patients without previous experience of endoscopy, 23 patients from 26 of the group II (88. 5%) did not show discomfort but it way only 5 patients among 21 of the group I (23.7%) (p<0.005). 4) In the patients with previous experience of endoscopy, 21 patients among 27 of the group II (77. 8%) felt better than that of the previous experience but it was only 3 patients among 14 of the group I (21.4%) (p<0.005). From the above results, we would emphasize that it is more effective to use diazepam and, meperidien as premendication for the gastrointestinal endoscopic procedure since it removes pstients apprehension rendering them a good cooperation with very minimal side effects,
Butylscopolammonium Bromide ; Diazepam ; Endoscopy ; Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal ; Humans ; Meperidine ; Premedication*

Primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus (PMME) is an extremely rare tumor with only scattered cases reported. Although surgical resection has been considered as the best possible option, the prognosis has been nonetheless poor. We report a case of PMME which was treated by surgical resection and additionally followed by chemotherapy. A 60-yr-old man underwent an esophagoscopy due to a 3-month history of dysphagia and upper abdominal discomfort. A pigmented polypoid mass in the lower third of the esophagus was discovered, and a biopsy identified the mass as a malignant melanoma. Consequently, a subtotal esophagectomy and intrathoracic esophagogastrostomy was carried out. At follow-up four months after discharge, lymph node enlargements in the cervical area and celiac axis area were found. As a result, the patients was started on systemic chemotherapy treatment, which included Dacarbazine. The patient has been doing well and is now 35 months post-operative.
Middle Aged ; Melanoma/pathology/*surgery ; Male ; Humans ; Esophageal Neoplasms/pathology/*surgery

Endoscopic sphincterotomy (E.S.T.) has relatively low complications and is the theraphy of choice in patients with common bile duct stones. It is also an useful technique for decompression of biliary tract obstruction. Thirty two cases of patients were selected according to opedrative risks: old age, severe jaundice and recurrent or retained bile duct stones after cholecystecomy from 1986 to 1988. The results were as follows, 1) In thirty two cases nf E.S.T., male to female ratio was 1:1.46. Most frequent age was older than 40 years. (male, 84.6%, female, 84.2%). 2) Out of thirty two cases, 20 cases (62.5% were under post clholecystectomy state, 12 eases (37.5%) were obstructive jaundice. 3) Spontaneous stone passage after E.S.T. was 81.3% (26 cases), and total stone remoral rate was 87.5% (28 cases), 4) Complications of E.S.T. were noted in three cases. In the two cases of bleeding, it was spontaneously improved and a case of acute pancreatitis was treated by medical care.
Bile Ducts ; Biliary Tract ; Common Bile Duct* ; Decompression ; Female ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Jaundice ; Jaundice, Obstructive ; Male ; Pancreatitis ; Sphincterotomy, Endoscopic*

BACKGROUND: The recent expansion of knowledge about various ABO alleles has led to the need for a comprehensive measure to cover the numerous polymorphisms dispersed in the ABO gene. A few studies have examined the diversity of the O allele compared to A or B subgroup alleles, resulting in antigenic changes. This study investigated the relationship between the serologic and molecular genetic characteristics of the O alleles in the Korean population. METHODS: One hundred and five samples from healthy blood group O subjects were selected randomly. The isoagglutinin titer was measured using a tube agglutination and gel microcolumn assay. The ABO alleles were analyzed by sequencing exons 6 and 7 of the ABO gene. When the origin of a heterozygous nucleotide sequence was ambiguous, it was separated into a single allele using mono-allele amplification or cloning. RESULTS: The median IgM isoagglutinin titer was eight. In contrast, the median IgG anti-A and anti-B isoagglutinin titers were 64 and 32, respectively. The IgG isoagglutinin titer showed a significant increase with age (P<0.0001). Six O alleles were observed in 105 blood group O populations by sequencing. The O01 and O02 alleles were common (0.57, 0.36). Three rare O alleles (O04, O05, and O06) and one novel non-deletional O allele were found. CONCLUSION: The distribution of isoagglutinin titers of blood group O and the genetic frequency of O alleles in this study would form the basis of the development and interpretation of ABO genotyping and serologic workup in the Korean population.
Agglutination ; Alleles ; Base Sequence ; Clone Cells ; Cloning, Organism ; Exons ; Immunoglobulin G ; Immunoglobulin M ; Molecular Biology ; Sequence Analysis

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Determining the depth of tumor invasion and the presence of regional lymph node metastasis is important in deciding therapeutic strategies. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of EUS in detecting the depth of tumor invasion and regional lymph node metastasis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 141 consecutive patients underwent preoperative evaluation using EUS, CT, and PET CT from November 2005 to June 2009 in Pusan National University Hospital. We reviewed the patients' medical records and compared EUS and pathologic findings. RESULTS: A total of 59 patients were included in the final analysis. The overall accuracy of EUS in predicting the correct T stage was 79.7% (95% CI, 66.8~88.6%). EUS accurately predicted T stage in 93.2% (95% CI, 82.7~97.8%) of T1 tumors, 79.7% (95% CI, 66.8~88.6%) of T2 tumors, and 86.4% (95% CI, 74.5~93.6%) of T3 tumors. Overall, EUS accurately predicted N stage in 83.1% of cases. EUS correctly predicted N stage in 91.4% of N0 tumors and 70.8% of N1 tumors. CONCLUSIONS: Overall accuracy of EUS for the T and N staging of esophageal cancer was high. Thus, EUS is a useful diagnostic modality in determining the initial stage of esophageal cancer.
Busan ; Diagnosis ; Endosonography* ; Esophageal Neoplasms* ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Medical Records ; Neoplasm Metastasis

BACKGROUND: Spontaneous pneumothorax patients with blebs or bullae are considered to be good candidates for operation, and various objective diagnostic modalities have been performed for detection of blebs and bullae. This study was performed to compare the efficacy of thoracoscopic examination with using a minimally invasive 2 mm thoracoscope with high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) for treating primary spontaneous pneumothorax. MATERIAL AND METHOD: From June 2001 to March 2002, 34 patients with spontaneous pneumothorax underwent study with 2 mm video-thoracoscopic examination and HRCT. We regarded a bleb larger than 5 mm in diameter as significant. Standard thoracoscopic wedge resection was performed in 18 patients with significant bleb via a 2 mm video-thoracoscopic examination. 1 patient incurred bleeding, and the remaining 15 patients were treated with pleural drainage. RESULT: Multiple or single bleb lesions were detected by 2 mm video-thoracoscope in 52.9% (18/34) of the patients with primary pneumothorax. For a total of 19 patients who were operated on, the diagnostic accuracy of the 2 mm video-thoracoscopic examination for bullae and bleb was 94.7% (18/19), which was superior to that of HRCT (73.7%, 14/19). At a mean follow-up of 30+/-3 months, no recurrence occurred in both the operative group and the non-operative group. CONCLUSION: 2 mm video-thoracoscopic examination under local anesthesia has higher diagnostic accuracy than HRCT, and it is a useful alternative for determining the operative indications for spontaneous pneumothorax.
Anesthesia, Local ; Blister ; Drainage ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Pneumothorax ; Recurrence ; Thoracoscopes ; Thoracoscopy

This study was performed to compare the cadmium accumulation levels in kidney with urinary cadmium excretion levels according to the duration of cadmium exposure in rats. Total 120 male rats, 6 weeks of age, were administered 0.5 mg/day of Cd to subcutaneously, intraperitoneally and orally 6 times per week for 12 weeks. The animals were sacrificed in the 1st day of 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th and 12th week after beginning of cadmium administrations. Body weight, hematologic values, enzyme activities, renal Cd levels, urinary Cd and proteins were calculated and each value was compared according to the Cd administration routers. The Cd accumulation levels in the kidney of rats increased remarkably for 6-8th weeks which were experimented and urinary Cd excretion levels and urinary protein levels showed the tendency of increasing with the Cd accumulations in kidneys, especially in the subcutaneous injected rats. On the other hand, there was a significant positive correlation among the total Cd administration, the Cd accumulation in the kidneys, the urinary Cd excretion and protein.
Animals ; Body Weight ; Cadmium* ; Hand ; Humans ; Kidney ; Male ; Rats*

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is difficult to treat and it is often fatal. If the medical treatment for ARDS is not effective, then extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) can be applied to the patient. A 22-year-old female who suffered multiple traumatic injuries due to a car accident presented with acute respiratory distress syndrome. Veinarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA ECMO) was started to treat her respiratory failure. With the VA ECMO, the systemic oxygen saturation remained at only 84%, and so the ECMO system was switched to V-VA ECMO via an additional venous outflow through the right jugular vein to increase both the systemic and pulmonary oxygen saturation. After conversion to the V-VA type ECMO, the systemic oxygen saturation increased to 94% and the partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) increased to 65 mmHg. We report here on a successful case of ECMO conversion from the VA type to the V-VA type in a patient with severely hypoxic respiratory failure.
Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation ; Female ; Humans ; Jugular Veins ; Multiple Trauma ; Oxygen ; Partial Pressure ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Adult ; Respiratory Insufficiency ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Idiopathic portal hypertension (IPH) is defined as portal hypertension with splenomegaly and hypersplenism in the absence of cirrhosis or obstruction of portal vein or hepatic vein. It has been recently suggested that hypercoagulable state and thromboembolic event of small portal veins have an important role in the pathogenesis of IPH. In this study, we evaluated the clinical and pathological characteristics of IPH. METHODS: We reviewed clinical, endoscopic, radiologic and liver biopsy findings of 10 cases of IPH retrospectively. RESULTS: The tests for antithrombin III deficiency, protein C deficiency, protein S deficiency, resistance to activated protein C, lupus anticoagulant, antiphospholipid antibodies, anticardiolipin antibodies were normal. Pathologic findings revealed portal vein dilatation (10/10), loss of portal vein (6/10), portal vein sclerosis (1/10), dilated megasinusoids (9/10), dilation of terminal hepatic vein (8/10), narrowing of terminal hepatic vein (2/10), hairline fibrous septa (1/10), and regenerative nodule (1/10). CONCLUSIONS: The pathologic finding of IPH showed various manifestations of obliterative portal venopathy although there was no hypercoagulable state.
Antibodies, Anticardiolipin ; Antibodies, Antiphospholipid ; Antithrombin III Deficiency ; Biopsy ; Dilatation ; Fibrosis ; Hepatic Veins ; Hypersplenism ; Hypertension, Portal* ; Liver ; Lupus Coagulation Inhibitor ; Portal Vein ; Protein C ; Protein C Deficiency ; Protein S Deficiency ; Retrospective Studies ; Sclerosis ; Splenomegaly