Orbital abscess is an inflammatory disease of the orbit which usually aries in children or adults. However, it also arises in infants and an appropriate treatment is needed because it often accompanies more severe symptoms, complications, and permanent sequales. Systemic administration of antibiotics and surgical therapy can be enployed as means of treatment. When one uses surgical therapy in addition to using systemic antibiotics, one can obtain good results with rapid improvement of symptoms and prevention of complications. Surgical aspiration and antibiotic treatment showed good results in an infant who was admitted due to proptosis, chemosis, eyelid edema, and drythema.
Abscess* ; Adult ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Child ; Edema ; Exophthalmos ; Eyelids ; Humans ; Infant* ; Infant, Newborn* ; Orbit*

Orbital abscess is an inflammatory disease of the orbit which usually aries in children or adults. However, it also arises in infants and an appropriate treatment is needed because it often accompanies more severe symptoms, complications, and permanent sequales. Systemic administration of antibiotics and surgical therapy can be enployed as means of treatment. When one uses surgical therapy in addition to using systemic antibiotics, one can obtain good results with rapid improvement of symptoms and prevention of complications. Surgical aspiration and antibiotic treatment showed good results in an infant who was admitted due to proptosis, chemosis, eyelid edema, and drythema.
Abscess* ; Adult ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Child ; Edema ; Exophthalmos ; Eyelids ; Humans ; Infant* ; Infant, Newborn* ; Orbit*

Adult ; Hand ; Humans ; Parietal Bone ; Rabeprazole ; Skull ; Sutures ; Tissue Donors ; Transplants

Objectives: ：The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is a global medical crisis imposing particular burden on public sector employees. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychiatric distress among public sector workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: ：We conducted a cross-sectional study with 531 public sector workers in Gwangmyung city who completed Korean versions of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and Impact of Event Scale-Revised-Korean (IES-R-K). Results: ：The results revealed more than moderate levels of stress (85.2%), depressive symptoms (22.2%), and posttraumatic stress symptoms (38.8%). PSS total score was significantly correlated with PHQ-9, IES-R-K total scores as well as IES-R-K subscale scores. Total scores on the PSS, PHQ-9, and IES-R-K were all inversely correlated with age. Conclusions ：COVID-19-related workers experience considerable stress and depressive symptoms, with self-rated stress correlating significantly with depression scores. Age may serve as a protective factor against oc-cupational stress and burnout. These findings highlight the need for adequate psychiatric screening and interven-tion for public sector workers.

BACKGROUND: Angiogenesis is an essential process for the growth and metastatic ability of solid tumors. One of the key factors known to be capable of stimulating tumor angiogenesis is the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The serum VEGF concentration has been shown to be a the malignant pleural effusion showing a correlation with the biochemical parameters. The VEGF has been shown to play a role in the inflammatory diseases, but rarely in the tuberculosis (TB). The serum and pleural fluid VEGF levels were measured in patients with lung cancer and TB. Their relationship with the clinical and laboratory parameters and repeated measurement 3 months after various anticancer treatments were evaluated to assess the utility of the VEGF as a tumor marker. METHODS: Using a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, the VEGF concentration was measured in both sera and pleural effusions collected from a total of 85 patients with lung cancer, 13 patients with TB and 20 healthy individuals. RESULTS: The serum VEGF levels in patients with lung cancer (619.9±722.8ph/ml) were significantly higher than those of healthy controls (215.9±191.1pg/ml), However, there was no significant difference between the VEGF levels in the lung cancer and TB patients. The serum VEGF levels were higher in large cell and undifferentiated carcinoma than in squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. The serum VEGF levels of lung cancer patients revealed no significant relationship with the various clinical parameters. The VEGF concentrations in the malignant effusion (2,228.1±2,103.0pg/ml) were significantly higher than those in the TB effusion (897.6±978.8pg/ml). In the malignant pleural effusion, the VEGF levels revealed significant correlation with the number of red blood cells (r=0.75), the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)(r=0.70), and glucose concentration (r=-0.55) in the pleural fluid. CONCLUSION: The serum VEGF levels were higher in the lung cancer patients. The VEGF levels were more elevated in the malignant pleural effusion than in the tuberculous effusion. In addition, the VEGF levels in the pleural fluid were several times higher than the matched serum values suggesting a local activation and possible etiologic role of VEGF in the formation of malignant effusions. The pleural VEGF levels showed a significant correlation with the numbers of red blood cells, LDH and glucose concentrations in the pleural fluid, which may represent the tumor burden.
Adenocarcinoma ; Carcinoma ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Erythrocytes ; Glucose ; Humans ; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase ; Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung* ; Pleural Effusion ; Pleural Effusion, Malignant ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Pleural* ; Tumor Burden ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A*

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study. OBJECTIVES: To identify clinical features and risk factors helpful for the prevention and early diagnosis of neurological complications. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: Previous studies have investigated postoperative complications only for specific disease entities and did not present distinctive clinical features. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was an observational study of patients who underwent posterior thoracolumbar spinal surgery in the orthopedic department of a single hospital over the course of 19 years (1995-2013). The incidence, cause, onset time, and risk factors of complications were investigated. Neurological deterioration was graded on a 5-point numeric scale: G1, increased leg pain or sensory loss, G2, unilateral motor weakness; G3, bilateral motor weakness; G4, cauda equina syndrome; and G5, complete paraplegia. RESULTS: Sixty-five cases out of 6574 (0.989%) developed neurological complications due to the following causes: epidural hematoma, 0.380%; instrumentation with inadequate decompression, 0.213%; mechanical injury, 0.167%; inadequate discectomy, 0.061%; and unknown cause, 0.167% (p=0.000). The grade of neurological deterioration was G1 in 0.167% of patients, G2 in 0.517%, G3 in 0.228%, G4 in 0.046%, and G5 in 0.030%. Neurological deterioration was most severe in patients who experienced epidural hematoma, followed by those in whom complications occurred due to instrumentation with inadequate decompression, unknown causes, mechanical injury, and inadequate discectomy, in order (p=0.009). Revision surgery was a significant risk factor (p=0.000; odds ratio, 2.741). The time that elapsed until symptom development was as follows, in order: unknown cause, 0.6 hours; epidural hematoma, 5.4 hours; mechanical injury, 6.6 hours; inadequate discectomy, 18.0 hours; and instrumentation with insufficient decompression, 36.0 hours (p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of neurological complications in our cohort was 1%. Revision surgery increased the risk by 3 times. Severe cases (cauda equina syndrome or complete paraplegia) rarely developed, occurring in 0.08% of patients. The major causes of neurological decline were epidural hematoma and instrumentation with inadequate decompression. Close observation in the early period was important for the diagnosis because most patients developed symptoms within 12 hours. Delayed diagnosis was most common in complications caused by instrumentation with inadequate decompression.
Cohort Studies ; Decompression ; Delayed Diagnosis ; Diagnosis ; Diskectomy ; Early Diagnosis ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Incidence ; Leg ; Observational Study ; Odds Ratio ; Orthopedics ; Paraplegia ; Polyradiculopathy ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVES: To identify clinical features and risk factors helpful for the prevention and early diagnosis of neurological complications.OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: Previous studies have investigated postoperative complications only for specific disease entities and did not present distinctive clinical features. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was an observational study of patients who underwent posterior thoracolumbar spinal surgery in the orthopedic department of a single hospital over the course of 19 years (1995-2013). The incidence, cause, onset time, and risk factors of complications were investigated. Neurological deterioration was graded on a 5-point numeric scale: G1, increased leg pain or sensory loss, G2, unilateral motor weakness; G3, bilateral motor weakness; G4, cauda equina syndrome; and G5, complete paraplegia. RESULTS: Sixty-five cases out of 6574 (0.989%) developed neurological complications due to the following causes: epidural hematoma, 0.380%; instrumentation with inadequate decompression, 0.213%; mechanical injury, 0.167%; inadequate discectomy, 0.061%; and unknown cause, 0.167% (p=0.000). The grade of neurological deterioration was G1 in 0.167% of patients, G2 in 0.517%, G3 in 0.228%, G4 in 0.046%, and G5 in 0.030%. Neurological deterioration was most severe in patients who experienced epidural hematoma, followed by those in whom complications occurred due to instrumentation with inadequate decompression, unknown causes, mechanical injury, and inadequate discectomy, in order (p=0.009). Revision surgery was a significant risk factor (p=0.000; odds ratio, 2.741). The time that elapsed until symptom development was as follows, in order: unknown cause, 0.6 hours; epidural hematoma, 5.4 hours; mechanical injury, 6.6 hours; inadequate discectomy, 18.0 hours; and instrumentation with insufficient decompression, 36.0 hours (p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS The incidence of neurological complications in our cohort was 1%. Revision surgery increased the risk by 3 times. Severe cases (cauda equina syndrome or complete paraplegia) rarely developed, occurring in 0.08% of patients. The major causes of neurological decline were epidural hematoma and instrumentation with inadequate decompression. Close observation in the early period was important for the diagnosis because most patients developed symptoms within 12 hours. Delayed diagnosis was most common in complications caused by instrumentation with inadequate decompression.

Objectives: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has had various effects on mankind, especially children and adolescents.Because children and adolescents spend a lot of time at school, COVID-19 has had a great impact on school mental health. In this study, we investigated the effect of prolonged COVID-19 on school mental health. Methods: We prepared self-report questionnaires for depression (Children’s Depression Inventory, CDI), anxiety (Korean version of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire for Children; Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, GAD-7), and post-traumatic stress (Primary Care Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, PC-PTSD) for administering to students aged between 7 and 18 years, recruited by a COVID-19 psychological prevention support group in the Gwangmyeong Mental Health Welfare Center for 2 years, in 2020 and 2021. Results: For children aged 7–12 years, there was no significant difference between the years 2020 and 2021 in the assessment of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress. Conversely, for adolescents aged 13–18 years, there was a significant increase in the scale scores (CDI, PC-PTSD, and GAD-7). Conclusion Prolonged COVID-19 might have had a significant impact on the mental health of adolescents who spent a lot of time at school. When comparing the years 2020 and 2021, middle and high school students were more affected by COVID-19 than elementary school students.

No abstract available.
Drug Therapy* ; Granulocytes* ; Humans* ; Lung* ; Neutropenia*

Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system characterized by optic neuritis and longitudinal extensive transverse myelitis. The clinical course can be either polyphasic (relapsing-remitting) or monophasic. The relapsing-remitting course is observed in more than 80% of NMO cases, and relapse generally occurs within 1 year in 60% of patients, and within 3 years in 90%. We report a rare case of long spontaneous remission in untreated NMO.
Central Nervous System ; Demyelinating Diseases ; Humans ; Myelitis, Transverse ; Neuromyelitis Optica ; Optic Neuritis ; Recurrence ; Remission, Spontaneous