The migration of intra-uterine devices into the bladder with the formation of stone occurs rarely. We report a case of bladder stone developed on Lippes loop migrated from the uterus.
Foreign Bodies ; Intrauterine Devices* ; Urinary Bladder ; Urinary Bladder Calculi ; Uterus

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Identification of primary maxillary sinus hypoplasia (PMSH) is important diagnostically and therapeutically. Recently, the clinical significance of associated abnormalities in PMSH has been suggested. The aim of this study is to investigate the incidence of PMSH, their associated abnormalities and relationship of anatomical variations and paranasal sinusitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We evaluated radiologic diagnostic criteria of PMSH and analyzed the relationship of the anatomical variations of nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses in paranasal sinus CT scans, retrospectively. We measured the volume estimated ratio (VER) in PMSH cases. RESULTS: The incidence of unilateral and bilateral PMSH were 11 cases (5.9%) and 10 cases (5.3%). respectively. According to the Bolger's classification, there were 13 sites (41.9%) of type I with the mean VER of 0.71, 14 sites (45.2%) of type II with the mean VER 0.50, and 4 sites (12.9%) of type III with the mean VER of 0.27. The most common anatomical anomalies in both of the unilateral and bilateral PMSH were zygomatic (90.3%) and alveolar pneumatization (90.3%); the second most common abnormal finding was high maxillary sinus floor (77.4%). Of the anatomical variations, the frequency of uncinate process abnormalities (41.9%), paradoxical middle turbinate (32.3%) and Haller's cell (19.4%) were statistically significant. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that zygomatic and alveolar pneumatization, and high maxillary sinus floor are additionally important anatomical abnormalities associated with PMSH. Careful preoperative assessment of anatomical variations in the paranasal sinus CT scans may be essential to avoid incidental iatrogenic complications during functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) or Caldwell-Luc operation in patients with PMSH.
Classification ; Humans ; Incidence ; Maxillary Sinus* ; Nasal Cavity ; Paranasal Sinuses ; Retrospective Studies ; Sinusitis ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed* ; Turbinates

BACKGROUND: Most febrile neutropenic patients are treated in an aggressive manner. However, identification of low-risk patients may enable clinicians to administer risk-based treatment. The object of this study is to certify the factors associated with increased risk at the time of visiting the emergency department. METHODS: This is a retrospective study. We reviewed the medical records of 101 febrile neutropenic patients who had visited the emergency department of Seoul National University Hospital from January 1998 to August 1999. We assumed 22 risk prediction factors that could be assessed at admission to the emergency department and 5 factors that could be assessed during treatment course. To find independent risk-prediction factors, we analyzed these factors respectively by using multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: Tachycardia(aOR=136.5), altered mentality(aOR=28.8), decreased renal function(aOR=20.1), and significant comorbidity(aOR=17.2) are the independent factors associated with higher mortality. Altered mentality(aOR=31.6) and decreased renal function(CCr<75ml/min, aOR=5.4) are those associated with a higher incidence of septic shock. Independent factors associated with persistent(more than 3 days) fever are the early(within 10 days) onset of fever after last chemotherapy(aOR=8.8) and the existence of new pulmonary infiltrates on a simple chest X-ray(aOR=4.3). CONCLUSION: The stability of vital signs, the change of mentality, the renal function, the existence of significant comorbidity, the existence of new pulmonary infiltrates, and the rate of neutropenia are clinically useful risk-predication factors in febrile neutropenia at the time of visiting the emergency department.
Comorbidity ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Febrile Neutropenia ; Fever ; Humans ; Incidence ; Medical Records ; Mortality ; Neutropenia ; Retrospective Studies ; Seoul ; Shock, Septic ; Thorax ; Vital Signs

PURPOSE: To report ocular findings of a mucolipidosis type II patient with novel mutation. CASE SUMMARY: A 10-year-old boy visited our pediatric genetic metabolic clinic for evaluation of his overall developmental delay and short stature. The boy was diagnosed with mucolipidosis type II (I-cell disease) using plasma enzyme assay and DNA sequencing of the GNPTAB gene mutation. An ophthalmologic investigation was then performed, and a depressed nasal bridge, broad nose, and swelling in the upper lid of both eyes were noted. The best corrected visual acuity was 0.32 and 0.1 and the intraocular pressure was 35 mmHg and 24 mmHg in the right and left eyes, respectively. The anterior chamber angles of both eyes were normal and mild cornea opacity in both eyes was observed. Fundus examination revealed retinal atrophy with folds in both eyes, as well as optic disc edema and optic atrophy in the right and left eyes, respectively. Atherosclerotic changes in the retinal vessels and cystoid macular edema in the left eye were observed, and ocular ultrasound revealed increased posterior sclera thickness in both eyes. CONCLUSIONS: Ocular manifestations of mucolipidosis type II are not currently well-known, and differentiation from other metabolic disorders may be difficult. An ophthalmic work-up can assist in diagnosis, and regular ophthalmic examinations should be used to maintain visual function in mucolipidosis patients.
Anterior Chamber ; Atrophy ; Child ; Cornea ; Diagnosis ; Edema ; Enzyme Assays ; Humans ; Intraocular Pressure ; Lysosomal Storage Diseases ; Macular Edema ; Male ; Mucolipidoses* ; Nose ; Optic Atrophy ; Plasma ; Retinal Vessels ; Retinaldehyde ; Sclera ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Ultrasonography ; Visual Acuity

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to analyze the current problems in completing death certificates and to identify the correct method for completing death certificates. METHODS: We reviewed 262 death certificates in three hospitals from March 1 to April 30, 2000, and 119 death certificates in one hospital from March 1 to 31, 2000. We identified major and minor errors and analyzed and compared them retrospectively. RESULTS: A total of 381 death certificates were reviewed: 59 in Seoul National University Hospital, 101 in Ewha Woman's University Hospital, and 102 in Gachon Medical College Hospital, which has no education program for completing death certificates in postgraduate training, and 119 in Samsung Medical Center which has an education program for completing death certificates. 358 certificates(94.0%) had at least one error. There were only 23 death certificates(6.0%) without an error. In 182 cases(47.8%), there was one major error. In 321 death certificates(84.3%), there were more than two errors. A comparison of Samsung Medical Center with the other hospitals showed that the number of total errors was statistically different(p=0.001). CONCLUSION: There were few death certificates without an error in this study. In a hospital which has postgraduate training in completing death certificates, there are fewer errors than in other hospitals which have no training course. Emergency physicians actually certify many deaths, so they must know the correct method of completing death certificates for statistics on morbidity and mortality.
Death Certificates* ; Education ; Emergencies ; Mortality ; Retrospective Studies ; Seoul

More than 80% of cases of patients with sporadic primary hyperparathyroidism are caused by a single parathyroid adenoma. Therefore, traditional bilateral neck exploration has been replaced by minimally invasive parathyroidectomy (MIP) in recent years. Benefits, of MIP include decreased pain and complications, a shorter length of hospital stay, and improved cosmesis. Preoperative imaging studies for localization and intraoperative PTH assay (IoPTH) play an essential role for in MIP. The standard imaging studies are cervical ultrasound and 99mTc sestamibi scanning (with SPECT/CT), while 4D CT is attracting significant interest. The half-life of PTH is less than 5 minutes and PTH rapidly drops after the resection of target lesions. These characteristics of PTH enable IoPTH. If target lesions are localized by recent imaging studies and IoPTH is adopted, MIP can be performed successfully in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism.
Four-Dimensional Computed Tomography ; Half-Life ; Humans ; Hyperparathyroidism, Primary ; Length of Stay ; Neck ; Parathyroid Neoplasms* ; Parathyroidectomy* ; Surgical Procedures, Minimally Invasive ; Technetium Tc 99m Sestamibi ; Ultrasonography

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is screened by anti-HCV enzymelinked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) and confirmed by recombinant immunoblotting assay (RIBA) or HCV RT-PCR. We attempted to evaluate the results between anti-HCV ELISA and a qualitative HCV RT-PCR. METHODS: Four hundred and twenty patients who were tested with anti-HCV ELISA and HCV RTPCR, simultaneously, from January 2002 to June 2005 were enrolled in this study. Anti-HCV ELISA was performed by AxSYM HCV version 3.0 (Abbott Laboratories, USA). HCV RT-PCR was performed using in-house RT-nested PCR methods from January 2002 to October 2004 and HCV Genotype Amplification Kit (LiPA) (Bayer Healthcare, USA) from November 2004 to June 2005. RESULTS: Of the 420 patients tested, 321 were positive for anti-HCV ELISA, and 204 were positive for RT-PCR. The positive predictability of anti-HCV ELISA was 63.6%. Among anti-HCV positive patients, RT-PCR was positive in 7.3% of the patients with sample/cut-off (S/CO)<6, compared with 82.8% of the patients with S/CO> or =6. Among the 117 patients with positive anti-HCV, but with negative HCV RT-PCR, 64 had liver diseases such as chronic hepatitis C, chronic hepatitis B, or hepatocellular carcinoma. Twelve patients showed positive HCV RT-PCR, but negative anti-HCV results; of these 9 had hepatic dysfunction. CONCLUSIONS: In the patients who were positive for anti-HCV ELISA with a low S/CO, HCV RT-PCR positivity was shown in a low proportion. Therefore, in such cases, the results should be confirmed by RIBA or HCV RT-PCR. The liver function test showed increased levels of hepatic enzymes in patients with positive HCV RT-PCR, but negative anti-HCV. Such findings correlate to an early phase of chronic hepatitis C, suggesting the necessity of continuous follow up.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Delivery of Health Care ; Diagnosis* ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Genotype ; Hepacivirus ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; Hepatitis C ; Hepatitis C, Chronic ; Humans ; Immunoblotting ; Liver Diseases ; Liver Function Tests ; Polymerase Chain Reaction

PURPOSE: To report the surgical technique to remove a chestnut thorn through a corneal incision. CASE SUMMARY: A 54-year-old female visited our clinic complaining of a sudden foreign body sensation and conjunctival injection in her left eye after picking chestnuts 4 days prior to her visit. Visual acuity of both eyes was 1.0 and the intraocular pressures were within normal limits. Slit lamp examination revealed that a chestnut thorn had deeply penetrated the left corneal stroma and a small number of inflammatory cells were observed in the anterior chamber. There was no corneal defect stained with fluorescein and the Seidel test was negative. A corneal foreign body comprised of a chestnut thorn and its remnants was diagnosed and emergency surgery was performed. A partial corneal incision was made along the foreign body and the exposed foreign body was easily and completely removed. The patient was treated with topical antibiotics after surgery and no complication was observed during a follow-up period of 3 months. CONCLUSIONS: In the case of a corneal foreign body comprised of a chestnut thorn, the foreign body with its remnants were easily removed by performing a partial corneal incision.
Anterior Chamber ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Corneal Injuries ; Corneal Stroma ; Emergencies ; Eye Foreign Bodies ; Female ; Fluorescein ; Follow-Up Studies ; Foreign Bodies ; Humans ; Intraocular Pressure ; Middle Aged ; Sensation ; Slit Lamp ; Visual Acuity

Cylindrical cell papilloma (CCP), also named as oncocytic Schneiderian papilloma, is the rarest papilloma of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses. It accounts for 3 -5% of the total sionasal papillomas. Histoloycally, it is characterized by proliferating multilayered columnar cell and neoplastic epithelium containing varying numbers of small mucous-containing cystic structures with numerous microvillous projections on the apical cell membrane. Clinically, CCP is characterized by coexistence with malignancy, malignant transformation, local invasion, bony destruction and frequent recurrence. Because of its rare incidence, high recurrence rate and the possibility of misdiagnosis as malignancy, CCP must be carefully managed and needed to be Followed up closely. Recently, we experienced a case of cylindrical cell papilloma which originated from the frontal sinus and extended into frontal recess in a 55 year-old male patient. The subject was treated successfully by osteoplastic frontal sinus surgery, and we thus report on the treatment of this case, along with a review of literature.
Cell Membrane ; Diagnostic Errors ; Epithelium ; Frontal Sinus* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nasal Cavity ; Papilloma* ; Paranasal Sinuses ; Recurrence

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The vomeronasal organ of the rat is a chemosensory organ located at the nasal septum. The distribution of nitroxidergic nerve fiber in olfactory system such as olfactory bulb, accessory olfactory bulb and olfactory epithelium was well documented, but vomeronasal organ which is a component of olfactory system and the receptor structure of the accessory olfactory system was rarely reported and discorded. The aim of this study was to determine the distribution and role of nitirc oxide (NO) in the rat vomeronasal organ using NADPH-diaphorase histochemistry. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Histochemical staining for NADPH-diaphorase in the rat vomeronasal organ was done. RESULTS: The NADPH-diaphorase positive reaction was observed in the blood vessels, nerve fibers around vessels and submucosal glands of vomeronasal organ. However, receptor area which is generally called the neuroepithelium and receptor free area were not seen. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that NADPH-diaphorase positive reaction shows tissue specific expression in the rat vomeronasal organ.
Animals ; Blood Vessels ; Nasal Septum ; Nerve Fibers ; Olfactory Bulb ; Olfactory Mucosa ; Rats* ; Vomeronasal Organ*