For many years, healing membranous bone fractures have been known to show a persistent lucency at the fracture interface. Radiographic follow-up has proven to be of little value as a guideline for healing of mandibular fractures. Recently, a fracture has been treated by rigid internal fixation by metallic plate and screws rather than closed reduction and wire fixation, we expected that some difference in the radiographic features of fracture healing. To investigate these questions we undertook a retrospective radiographic and clinical analysis of 33 followed patients with fractures of the body and angle of the mandible from 1993 to 1997. There were 26 male and 7 female patients ranging in age between 5 and 74 years, with an average of 29.7 years. All patients were managed by open reduction with metallic plates and screws. The length of follow-up ranged from 9 to 187 weeks. Total 81 radiographic follow-up films were obtained and divided into 3 grades according to the degree of radiolucency of fracture lines; grade 0 radiolucent fracture line and no evidence of fracture interface calcification, grade 1 decreased radiolucent area and evidence of fracture interface calcification, and grade 2 disappearance of fracture line.Until follow-up of 8 weeks, all of the radiographs showed grade 0. From 8 weeks to 16 weeks, 62.5 percent showed grade 0 and 37.5 percent showed grade 1. From 16 weeks to 48 weeks, 38.5 percent showed grade 1 and 61.5 percent showed grade 2. After follow-up of 48 weeks, all showed grade 2.In this study we have shown that the radiographic disappearance of mandibular fracture lines was usually accomplished by 48 weeks. We feel that radiographic union of the mandible is lagging well behind clinical union, but disapperance of the fracture line in rigidly fixated mandibular fracture was occurred earlier than healed by fibrous union. We propose that radiographic union of the mandible by approximately 1 year can be a guideline for the normal mandibular bone healing.
Female ; Follow-Up Studies* ; Fracture Healing ; Fractures, Bone ; Humans ; Male ; Mandible ; Mandibular Fractures* ; Retrospective Studies

The aim of the study was to explore the current status as well as personal views, attitudes, and beliefs regarding daily meal consumption (DM) and food supplement use (FS) in conjunction with the improvement of health condition of the women. Eight focus group interviews were performed and the interview material was condensed systematically with the aim to extract core meanings related to DM, FS, and menopause-associated health. Participants were 40 in number and showed ages ranging from 45 and 60 years with various menopausal status. Current status and beliefs about DM, resources of purchase motivation of FS, types of FS that are currently used, and perceived effects and personal beliefs about FS are discussed. Theme content analysis revealed 3 themes for beliefs about DM, 5 themes for beliefs pertaining FS, and 4 themes for the association between DM and FS. Non-dietary factors such as positive mental attitude and exercise appeared to be also important to maintain good health. The bottom line message from this study may be that proper nutrition through daily meals is essential for good health, while food supplement are used merely to supplement the diet. Findings from this study may deepen our understanding of how women who translate their lifespan through "menopause" perceive the roles and meaning of DM and FS, suggesting health professionals need to monitor and evaluate DM and implement strategies targeting the improvement of daily meal quality of middle and older aged women.
Aged ; Climacteric ; Diet ; Dietary Supplements ; Female ; Focus Groups ; Health Occupations ; Humans ; Meals ; Motivation ; Organothiophosphorus Compounds

Background: In the early stages of development, teeth and lingual papillae are induced and developed through special and complex epithelial-mesenchymal interactions. Tooth completion indicates the beginning of the weaning phase, and accordingly, many oral tissues and organs are completed, and it is thought that their developmental completion times are related to each other. The purpose of this study was to clarify the embryonic and neonatal development of the filiform papillae and mandibular molar tooth, and discuss the developmental relationship between these organs by comparing the developmental completion times. Methods: Embryos at embryonic day 15 (EM15), 17 (EM17), and 21 (EM21) and mice at neonatal day 1 (NE1), 5 (NE5), 10 (NE10), and 21 (NE21) were used for experimentation. Tissues dissected from embryos and mice were fixed, and processed for histological analysis. Sections from the tissues were stained with hematoxylin and eosin for observation under a light microscope. Results: Based on the histological analysis results, the developmental process of the lingual epithelium covering the dorsal surface of the tongue was classified into three stages: initiation, morphogenesis, and functional. The development of the filiform papillae begins at EM17; undergoes rapid morphological changes in epithelial cells at EM21, PN1 and PN5, and reaches the functional stage at PN10, which is the sucking phase. Tooth development begins at EM13 or 15 and is completed at NE21 through prenatal and postnatal development. Conclusion The development of the filiform papillae was initiated late and completed quickly through embryonic and neonatal development in comparison with the mandibular molar tooth. The filiform papillae are considered to play an important role in sucking rather than mastication as it is completed in the sucking phase.

Abscence of right superior vena cava(SVC) in visceroatrial situs solitus is a rare(0.07% to 0.13%) congenital cardiovascular malformation, and little is known about the type and frequency of additional heart defects and arrhythmias. We reviewed previous publications and report the case of 8 month old male infant with absent right superior vena cava and persistent left superior vena cava and large secundum atrial septal defect, mild pulmonary valvular stenosis.
Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Heart ; Heart Septal Defects, Atrial* ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Vena Cava, Superior*

Nineteen children found to have gallstones at Seoul National University of Children's Hospital from Jun. 1982 to Jun. 1992 were reviewed. The results were as follows: 1) The mean age was 10 years, with 9 boys and 10girls. Most of the cases(63%) were over 10 years of age. 2) Clinical manifestations were abdominal pain(14 cases), nausea and/or vomiting (5 cases), fever (2 cases), jaundice (2 cases) and fatty food intolerance (1 case). Five cases were asymptomatic. Of 14 cases with abdominal pain, only 5 cases showed typical biliary colic which suggests cholelithiasis. 3) Associated conditions in cholelithiasis were Wilson disease (5 cases), congenital hereditary spherocytosis (2 cases), choledochal cyst (2 cases), total parenteral nutrition following ileal resection (1 case). And the other conditions which had association with cholelithiasis are not certain, and they were nephrotic syndrome, histiocytic cytophathic panniculitis, meningococcal meningitis, portal vein thrombosis and cardiac cirrhosis. The remaining 4 cases showed no associated conditions or diseases. 4) Eleven of 19 patients with cholelithiasis (58%) showed cholecystitis. 5) Cholecystectomy was performed in 4 cases with frequently recurred abdominal pain or associated diseases which needed operative correction. Symptoms completely subsided after operation. In conclusion, cholelithiasis in children has a variety of associated conditions and nonspecific abdominal symptoms were nore common than classic biliary colic. Although cholelithiasis in pediatric population are uncommon problems, the possibility of gallstones should be considered in the evaluation of abdominal pain in children with associated conditions.
Abdominal Pain ; Child ; Cholecystectomy ; Cholecystitis ; Choledochal Cyst ; Cholelithiasis* ; Colic ; Fever ; Fibrosis ; Gallstones ; Hepatolenticular Degeneration ; Humans ; Jaundice ; Meningitis, Meningococcal ; Nausea ; Nephrotic Syndrome ; Panniculitis ; Parenteral Nutrition, Total ; Seoul ; Venous Thrombosis ; Vomiting

Fifty five children with endoscopically proven esophageal varices from Jul. 1987 to Dec. 1992 were analyzed for endoscopic and clinical characteristics. The results were as follows: 1) According to etiological classification of portal hypertension in 55 cases, 35 cases showed intrahepatic causes 964%) and 20 cases had extrahepatic causes (36%). The most common clinical manifestation on admission was hematemesis (42%) and abdominal mass (36%). 2) Portal vein thrombosis was the most common cause of portal hypertension. Patients with portal vein thrombosis showed more frequent bleeding than with intrahepatic portal hypertension. Most of them had the first bleeding episode before 7 years old of age. Progression of portal hypertension in portal vein thrombosis was more rapid and bleeding episode was earlier than that in most of intrahepatic causes of the portal hypertension. 3) Twenty patients showed gastritis (10 cases), duodenitis (4 cases), gastric ulcer (4 cases) and esophagitis (2 cases) besides varix on the endoscopic examination. In 4 cases, the cause of upper GI bleeding was found as duodenal ulcer (3 cases) or hemorrhagic errosive gastritis (1 case) with no variceal bleeding. 4) Among 36 cases with variceal bleeding, 20 cases had predisposing factors for bleeding such as medication for URI including Aspirin. 5) More than one episode of bleeding were noted in 36 cases (65%) of the patients with varix. Thirty-one cases were treated conservatively with success. The remaining 5 cases with severe bleeding were managed with IV pitressin, SB-tube insertion and emergency shunt operation. High mortality rate (40%) was found in these patients group. In conclusion, in patients with clinically suspected portal hypertension, regular endoscopic examination might be recommended for the earlier recognition and effective prevention of variceal bleeding. for bleeding varices, in addition to conservative management, active treatment such as pitressin, SB-tube, sclerotherapy, endoscopic variceal ligation and emergency shunt operation should be considered with the emergency endoscopy which can identify bleeding focus and predict the chance of rebleeding.
Aspirin ; Causality ; Child* ; Classification ; Duodenal Ulcer ; Duodenitis ; Emergencies ; Endoscopy ; Esophageal and Gastric Varices* ; Esophagitis ; Gastritis ; Hematemesis ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hypertension, Portal ; Ligation ; Mortality ; Sclerotherapy ; Stomach Ulcer ; Varicose Veins ; Vasopressins ; Venous Thrombosis

No abstract available.
Hepacivirus* ; Hepatitis C* ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Infant* ; Mothers* ; Pregnancy*

BACKGROUND: The shelf life should be determined by health care facility's infection control program. The current standards for preserving the sterility can be changing. So, to measure and compare the recontamination time of sterile packs among wrappers and storage conditions, and develop a practical standard for the shelf life and storage conditions of sterile products. The purpose of this study was placed on measurement of the recontamination time in packs wrapped in all kinds of wrapping materials used in Il-San hospital and extra-costs. METHODS: The first phase study was from June to November 2002 and tile second phase study was planned to extend further the shelf life of the pouch bag from December 2002 to June 2003. Total 504 sterile sample packs containing cotton ball (5 cm-length) prepared and wrapped in four wrapping materials (randomized reprocessed two folds of lines, a fold of new craft paper, a fold of new nonwoven fabric, a fold of new pouch bag) and stored in three location (open shell of one of typical wards, open shelf of one of ICUs, open shelf of CSSD). Each type of packs were opened weekly and the cotton balls inoculated into thioglycollate broth at 35degrees C for seven days by infection control nurse. The temperature and relative humidity was monitored monthly. RESULTS: There was on growth found for any types of the pack and storage conditions studied. The temperature and relative humidity of storage locations were 24.8degrees C and 35.5 %. The extra-cost of reprocessing in Ethylene-Oxide gas sterilization was \32,800,000 and Steam sterilization was \36,900,000 by year. CONCLUSION: This study was conducted in attempt to identify the possibility of extending the current shelf life for sterile goods we use in a sense of cost effectiveness. It was possible to extend shelf life from four weeks to six months in the study hospital. We are going to continue this study and take all steps need to apply this new concept to our practice, and then trying to extend to other hospitals.
Cost-Benefit Analysis ; Costs and Cost Analysis* ; Delivery of Health Care ; Humidity ; Infection Control ; Infertility ; Steam ; Sterilization

The evaluation of the regional wall motion abnormalities were done in 16 patients with myocardial infarction and 9 patients with anginal pectoris by the two dimensional echocardiography. The regional wall motion abnormalities detected by the two dimensional echocardiography were the highly sensitive indexes of the location of infarction(sensitivity: 84.6%) and were well correlated with the sites of infarction of the 12-lead EKG. In the patients with myocardial infarction, the apex and the distal septum of the left ventricle were the most frequently observed regions with wall motion abnormalities, which comprised 60.7% of the regions with the abnormal wall motion. The frequency of the regional wall motion abnormalities were much less frequently seen in the patients with anginal pectoris. The severity and the extent of the regional wall motion abnormalities as well as the global function of the left ventricle were well correlated with the clinical course and the prognosis in the patients with myocardial infarction during the short term observation.
Coronary Artery Disease* ; Coronary Vessels* ; Dyskinesias* ; Echocardiography ; Electrocardiography ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Infarction ; Myocardial Infarction ; Prognosis

BACKGROUND: When going into the intensive care unit (ICU), health care workers (HCWs) and visitors are required to put on cover-gowns and change into slippers, which is considered by some hospitals as one of the customary infection control practices. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of cover-gowns and slippers in reducing nosocomial infections in the medical ICU (MICU). METHODS: The study was carried out in four periods. In the period-I (January to June, 2002), all HCWs and visitors put on cover-gowns when entering the MICU, but not in the period-II (July to December, 2002). They were required to change into slippers in the period-III (January to April, 2004), but not in the period-IV (May to August, 2004). RESULTS: Nosocomial infection rates during the period-I and period-II were 14.8 and 12.6 per 100 discharges (P>0.05) or 14.1 and 13.6 per 1,000 patient days (P>0.05), respectively. During the period-III and period-IV respective infection rates were 9.4 and 12.6 (P>0.05) or 10.2 and 15.7 (P>0.05). There were no statistical differences in device utilization ratios, device-associated infection rates, and site of infections (P>0.05) between the periods of I and II or between the periods of III and IV. CONCLUSION: These results showed that the intervention of cover-gown and slipper change is a non-effective factor in reducing nosocomial infections in the MICU; therefore, the infection control practice of cover-gown and slipper changes for HCWs and visitors entering the ICU should be eliminated.
Cross Infection* ; Delivery of Health Care ; Humans ; Infection Control ; Intensive Care Units* ; Critical Care*