PURPOSE: Aspirin(acetylsalicylic acid) has been used to treat unstable angina and acute myocardial infarction in adults and Kawasaki disease in children. The antithrombotic effect of aspirin was attributed to its ability to inhibit platelet aggregation by inhibiting platelet cyclooxygenase, which leads to decreased thromboxane synthesis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect on the platelet aggregation by low dose aspirin in Kawasaki patients and to learn the side effects of low-dose aspirin. METHODS: Fifty patients with Kawasaki disease who were treated with low-dose aspirin, and 22 normal children were studied from Jan. 1996 to Dec. 1997. The platelet count, bleeding time, clotting time, platelet aggregation test(induced by ADP, epinephrine, collagen and ristocetin) and blood aspirin level by colorimetric method were checked. RESULTS: The platelet count, bleeding time, and clotting time in the patient group were not significantly different from the control group. The mean maximum platelet aggregation was 54.4+/-12.8% induced by ADP, 15.9+/-11.7% by epinephrine, 55.5+/-23.8% by collagen, 52.6+/-32.2% by ristocetin in the patient group. It was significantly lower than the control group(P<0.05). The mean blood aspirin level in the patient group was 5.4+/-3.7mg/dl. Side effects of low-dose aspirin were bruise, epistaxis and hematuria. CONCLUSION: Low-dose aspirin therapy in patients with Kawasaki disease inhibited platelet aggregation, but attention would be needed because of the tendency to bleed in these patients. Further investigations should be focused on the subject such as the onset of the maximal antiplatelet effect and time needed for the recovery of platelet function.
Adenosine Diphosphate ; Adult ; Angina, Unstable ; Aspirin* ; Bleeding Time ; Blood Platelets* ; Child ; Collagen ; Contusions ; Epinephrine ; Epistaxis ; Hematuria ; Humans ; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome* ; Myocardial Infarction ; Platelet Aggregation* ; Platelet Count ; Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases ; Ristocetin

Fibrosarcoma is a malignant mesenchymal neoplasm of fibroblasts that rarely affects the thyroid gland and can cause local recurrences or metastasis. We describe a case of primary fibrosarcoma of the thyroid in a 31-year-old man. Microscopically, the tumor showed highly cellular proliferation of spindle cells with cytologic atypia and mitotic figures. Immunohistochemically, the cells only showed immunoreactivity for vimentin and negativity for S-100 protein, CK, CD31, CD34, TTF-1, desmin. Based on clinical, radiological, histological and immunohistochemical findings, the final diagnosis was intra-thyroid fibrosarcoma. The treatment of choice is radical surgery. Radiation therapy is used as adjuvant treatment. So, we review the clinical, radiologic, histologic findings and treatment modalities of the fibrosarcoma of the thyroid gland.
Adult ; Cell Proliferation ; Desmin ; Diagnosis ; Fibroblasts ; Fibrosarcoma* ; Humans ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Recurrence ; S100 Proteins ; Thyroid Gland* ; Vimentin

PURPOSE: The aims of the current study were to evaluate the effects of superficial cold and heat after spine surgery on pain, satisfaction with pain control and comfort level, and to identify subjective responses and adverse effects. METHODS: A prospective, single-blind, randomized controlled trial was utilized. The intervention group (n=36) received superficial cooling until the wound drain was removed and thereafter followed by superficial heating until discharge, while the control group (n=34) received only superficial cooling until wound drain was removed. Data were collected from August 4 to November 11 2014. RESULTS: There was significant difference in pain according to time within groups (F=71.87, p<.001). However, we found no difference in pain between groups. The intervention group reported higher patient satisfaction with pain control (4 vs 3, z=-2.83, p=.005) and higher comfort level (5 vs 4, z=-4.12, p<.001) than the control group. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that sequential application of superficial cold and heat is a useful method in clinical practice for management of pain after spine surgery.
Cryotherapy ; Heating ; Hot Temperature* ; Humans ; Methods ; Pain, Postoperative ; Patient Satisfaction* ; Personal Satisfaction ; Prospective Studies ; Spine* ; Wounds and Injuries

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study were to examine the serum level of estradiol, estriol, progesterone, oxidized LDL in preeclamtic patients and to evaluate the protective effects of estrogen and progesterone against lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) induced cell death in Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). METHODS: We analysed the serum level of estradiol, estriol, progesterone, oxidized LDL in patients with preeclampsia and control. We used LPC to induce cell death in HUVECs. For cytotoxic assay, we did LDL assay for cell death and Resazurin assay for cell viability. HUVECs were exposed to various concentrations of LPC, LPC+estrogen, LPC+progesterone and we did cytotoxic assay. RESULTS: The serum estradiol, estriol were lower in the preeclamptic patients (P<0.05). Oxidized LDL were higher in the preeclamptic patients(P<0.05). LPC induced cell death in a concentration-dependant manner. Estrogen or progesterone inhibited LPC-induced cell death in a concentration-dependant manner (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Estrogen and progesterone attenuated LPC-induced cytotoxicity. The results suggest that Oxidized LDL induced endothelial damage in preeclampsia may be induced by low serum estradiol, estriol and progesterone levels and prevented by estrogen and progesterone addition.
Cell Death ; Cell Survival ; Estradiol ; Estriol ; Estrogens* ; Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells ; Humans ; Lysophosphatidylcholines ; Pre-Eclampsia ; Progesterone*

PURPOSE: Nurses' knowledge regarding advance directives may affect their administration of and confidence towards end of life care. This study aimed to describe the relationships of knowledge, confidence, and learning needs with advance directives among hospital nurses.METHOD: This cross-sectional study was performed at a tertiary university hospital in Seoul between September 25 and October 14, 2017. Convenience sampling was used to recruit nurses who provided bedside care and had at least 1 year of clinical experience. We used a validated self-report questionnaire.RESULTS: The mean score of knowledge, confidence and learning needs were 5.00±1.73, 29.81±7.52, and 64.54±8.48 respectively. Hospital nurses' knowledge, confidence and learning needs were significantly different according to age, job position, educational level and perceived advance directives. Knowledge regarding advance directives was significantly associated with confidence (r = .27, p < .001) and learning needs (r = .16, p = .005).CONCLUSION: Knowledge regarding advance directives was relatively low compared to the findings of previous studies. Therefore, nurses should be knowledgeable and encouraged to initiate advance directives. It is necessary to develop a standardized educational program regarding advance directives based on Korean cultures.
Advance Directives ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Learning ; Methods ; Seoul ; Terminal Care

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Dyslipidemia is one of the major causes of cardiovascular disease in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. Most of them are dyslipidemic despite the use of lipid-lowering agents. Ezetimibe is a novel chemical entity that inhibits the intestinal absorption of dietary and biliary cholesterol. This study evaluated the effects of ezetimibe on the lipid profile, inflammation markers, endothelial injury, and thrombogenesis in ESRD patients. METHODS: Sixty-five patients with serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol levels > or =100 mg/d were recruited: 33 patients were on hemodialysis and 32 patients were on peritoneal dialysis. They were assigned randomly to the ezetimibe (10 mg) monotherapy group and the ezetimibe (10 mg) plus simvastatin (10 mg) combination therapy group. Both drugs were administered for 8 weeks. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the baseline demographic and laboratory characteristics between the two groups. In the monotherapy group, the total and LDL-cholesterol levels were reduced by 14.7 and 21.9%, respectively. There were no changes in the high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol or triglyceride levels. Fibrinogen increased significantly (p=0.04). In the combination therapy group, the total and LDL-cholesterol levels were reduced by 29.8 and 42.4%, respectively. There was an additional 15.1% reduction in total cholesterol and an additional 20.5% reduction in LDL cholesterol compared with monotherapy. Several patients complained of minor adverse effects and only one patient in the ezetimibe monotherapy group discontinued medication, because of diarrhea. CONCLUSIONS: In ESRD patients, ezetimibe used as combination therapy with a statin is more effective than ezetimibe monotherapy in ESRD patients.
Azetidines ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cholesterol ; Cholesterol, LDL ; Dyslipidemias ; Fibrinogen ; Humans ; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors ; Inflammation ; Intestinal Absorption ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Lipoproteins ; Peritoneal Dialysis ; Renal Dialysis ; Simvastatin ; Ezetimibe

Pancreatic fistulas are usually caused by the disruption of pancreatic duct. The majority of pancreatic fistulas are external fistulas and common causes of external and internal pancreatic fistulas are trauma and surgery. Internal pancreatic fistulas due to pancreatitis are rare. Internal pancreatic fistulas may communicate with peritoneal cavity, colon, small bowel, biliary system or pleural cavity. Among them, fistula between pancreatic duct and portal vein due to acute pancreatitis is rare. We report a case of 32-year-old male with fistula between pancreatic duct and portal vein as a complication of acute pancreatitis. Pancreaticoportal fistula was diagnosed by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. He recovered after distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy and supportive care.
Acute Disease ; Adult ; Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde ; English Abstract ; Humans ; Male ; Pancreatic Fistula/diagnosis/*etiology ; Pancreatitis/*complications ; *Portal Vein ; Vascular Fistula/diagnosis/*etiology

Canine atopic dermatitis (CAD) is an allergic skin disease with characteristic clinical features associated with immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies. Identification of the causative allergens is the diagnostic goal, which is essential to treat and manage CAD patients. CAD is commonly associated with environmental allergens surrounding the patients. For this reason, it is important for diagnostic tests to select allergens that are related to the environment of each country and each province. There are two main allergen-specific tests, serological IgE test (SAT) and intradermal skin test (IDT). SAT did not show direct cutaneous reaction but did show serological reaction against allergens. However, SAT is simpler and more convenient than IDT in small animal practice. In this study, we selected domestically prevalent allergens for SAT, including 60 food allergens and 60 inhalant allergens, and tested eight dogs tentatively diagnosed with CAD based on Favrot's criteria. Furthermore, IDT was performed on four dogs from the SAT group for comparison of SAT and IDT, and the results were very similar. In SAT, four types of mites (Bloomia tropicalis, Glycophagus domesticus, Euroglyphus maynei, and mite mixture 1 Korea; house dust mites), four types of molds (Botrytis cinerea, Alternaria alternata, mold fungi mixture 11, mold fungi mixture), and one type of pollen (tree pollen mix 3 Korea) induced a reaction in more than half of dogs tested. In IDT, all four dogs reacted positively to Dermatophagoides farinae, and three reacted positively to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and house dust. The mean agreement rate between SAT and IDT in this study was 76.3%. This is the first trial to apply local allergens for SAT in Korean veterinary medicine, and it might play an important role for diagnoses and management of animal allergic diseases.
Allergens ; Alternaria ; Animals ; Antibodies ; Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Dermatophagoides farinae ; Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus ; Diagnosis ; Diagnostic Tests, Routine ; Dogs ; Dust ; Fungi ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E* ; Immunoglobulins* ; Korea ; Mites ; Pollen ; Prevalence* ; Pyroglyphidae ; Serologic Tests ; Skin Diseases ; Skin Tests ; Veterinary Medicine

PURPOSE: We investigated the expression of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), VIP receptor 1 (VPAC1), VIP receptor 2 (VPAC2) genes in the human umbilical cord blood CD34 cells, and the ability of VIP to stimulate human primitive as well as monopotent hematopoietic progenitors. METHODS: We isolated RNA from umbilical cord blood CD34 cells, and then performed RT-PCR, and sequencing. The umbilical cord blood CD34 cells were cultured with the various concentrations of VIP for burst-forming unit of erythrocyte (BFU-E), colony-forming unit of granulocyte/monocyte (CFU-GM), colony-forming unit of graulocyte/erythrocyte/monocyte/megakaryocyte (CFU-GEMM), and colony-forming unit of megakaryocyte (CFU-Mk). RESULTS: The RNA coding for VPAC1 was detected in human umbilical cord blood CD34 cells. VIP significantly stimulated the growth of CFU-GEMM and CFU-Mk. CONCLUSION: The present results suggest that VIP is an important neuropeptide in the early proliferation of human primitive as well as megakaryocyte progenitors.
Clinical Coding ; Erythrocytes ; Fetal Blood* ; Humans ; Megakaryocyte Progenitor Cells ; Megakaryocytes ; Myeloid Progenitor Cells ; Neuropeptides ; Receptors, Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide ; RNA ; Stem Cells ; Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide*

Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is considered the most accurate, cost-effective and relatively safe method in the evaluation of thyroid nodules and fatal complications after thyroid FNA are uncommon. In particular, the large hematomas after FNA causing airway compromise are extremely rare complications and were reported in only a few literatures. We reported a 51-year-old woman who showed airway compromise caused by bilateral intrathyroidal and perithyroidal hematoma after FNA of thyroid. A large thyroid hematoma after FNA is a rare but possible complication and sometimes can be fatal for the patient. Proper preventive efforts should be considered while performing thyroid FNA and prompt intervention is mandatory for patients with acute hematoma after FNA.
Biopsy, Fine-Needle* ; Female ; Hematoma* ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Nodule