The incidence of mastoiditis in pediatric age has consistently increased over the last two decades due to increase of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Compared to young patients, occurrence of acute otitis media complications such as acute mastoiditis and subperiosteal abscess is relatively low in adults. Various treatments for acute mastoiditis with subperiosteal abscess such as tympanostomy tube insertion, intravenous antibiotics, and postauricular incision and drainage have avoided the morbidity and necessity of mastoid surgery. Recently, many studies have indicated mastoidectomy only in cases of severe complications or failure of disease improvement after antibiotic treatment and myringotomy. In this report, we present two cases of successful treatment of subperiosteal abscess and discuss the management of acute mastoiditis with subperiosteal abscess in both child and adult.
Abscess ; Adult ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Bacteria ; Child ; Drainage ; Humans ; Incidence ; Mastoid ; Mastoiditis ; Middle Ear Ventilation ; Otitis Media

A 55-year-old male was admitted to emergency department with a hypoglycemic shock of unknown origin. He was presented with tonic seizure activity after admission. Initial diagnostic procedure could exclude diabetes mellitus, drug side effects, and exogenous insulin application. Detailed evaluation of the patient's history revealed that the patient had experienced repeated hypoglycemic episodes for 2 years. He was diagnosed with hypothyroidism six years ago. Initial laboratory investigations revealed hypoglycemia, hyponatremia, and low plasma cortisol level (0.18 microg/dL). Sellar magnetic resonance imaging showed empty sella. Replacement therapy with hydrocortisone resulted in the improvement of clinical symptoms. Combined pituitary stimulation test with exception of hypoglycemia induced growth hormone and cortisol stimulation test was performed. The response of thyroid stimulating hormone, prolactin, follicle-stimulating hormone, and luteinizing hormone was normal. We report the case of empty sella syndrome associated with hypoglycemic shock due to with multiple anterior pituitary hormone deficiencies.
Coma* ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Empty Sella Syndrome* ; Follicle Stimulating Hormone ; Growth Hormone ; Humans ; Hydrocortisone ; Hypoglycemia ; Hyponatremia ; Hypothyroidism ; Insulin ; Luteinizing Hormone ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Plasma ; Prolactin ; Seizures ; Shock ; Thyrotropin

Infratemporal fossa abscess caused by acute sinusitis, without other predisposing factors, is very rarely reported. We present such a case in a 78-year-old woman who was treated successfully with surgical drainage and antibiotics. She presented with a 10-day history of swelling and pain on the right side of her face. Physical examination revealed swelling on the right mandible area up to the zygomatic arch and the presence of mucopurulent rhinorrhea in the right nasal cavity without abnormal dental findings. Computed tomography revealed a right infratemporal fossa abscess and ipsilateral maxillary sinusitis connected through a defect on the posterior wall of the maxillary sinus. Drainage procedure was performed by navigation-guided endoscopic sinus surgery and intravenous antibiotics were administered. During a four months follow-up period, there was no sign of recurrence. Infratemporal fossa abscess can develop from acute sinusitis without predisposing factors, including dental infection. Surgical drainage along with intravenous antibiotics can lead to successful treatment in such cases.
Abscess* ; Aged ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Causality ; Drainage ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Mandible ; Maxillary Sinus ; Maxillary Sinusitis ; Nasal Cavity ; Physical Examination ; Recurrence ; Sinusitis* ; Zygoma

The solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is an uncommon benign tumor, which is usually found in the pleura. Even though SFTs have been reported in various areas including the head and neck these days, laryngeal SFT is very rare, not to mention the bilateral vocal fold. Here, we report a new case of bilateral laryngeal SFT with a review of related literature. A 67-year-old male patient was admitted to our institution because of husky voice he experienced for several months. Endoscopic examination revealed a bilateral vocal folds swelling. The lesion was removed with CO2 laser under direct suspension laryngoscope. The pathological diagnosis was made by various immunohistochemical stainings including vimentin, Bcl-2, CD99 and CD34. During the 24 months follow-up after the surgery, there was no sign of recurrence.
Aged ; Diagnosis ; Edema* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Head ; Humans ; Laryngoscopes ; Larynx ; Lasers, Gas ; Male ; Neck ; Pleura ; Recurrence ; Solitary Fibrous Tumors* ; Vimentin ; Vocal Cords* ; Voice

OBJECTIVES: We conducted a study to investigate the normal range for TSH and within-individual variations of TSH according to temperature and aging. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We enrolled patients who underwent periodic medical examinations five times over a six year period (2007.8~2013.6). Anthropometric data and thyroid ultrasonography were evaluated, and serum TSH, T3, and T4 were assayed. RESULTS: Subjects were 19-64 years old, 120 were female, and 208 were male. Reference ranges for TSH were 0.53-4.94 mIU/L in the first test, 0.49-5.61 mIU/L in the second test, 0.46-6.06 mIU/L in the third test, 0.48-5.99 mIU/L in the fourth test, and 0.52-6.3 mIU/L in the fifth test. When the TSH level was analyzed according to temperature and sex, mean TSH was higher in months in which the average monthly temperatures were below 10degrees C in Jinju, Gyeongnam and female. The aging and low temperatures are associated with increased serum TSH concentrations in the within-individual. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that aging is associated with increased serum TSH concentrations in the within-individual and serum TSH concentrations are different in the within-individual according to the temperature.
Aging* ; Female ; Gyeongsangnam-do ; Humans ; Male ; Reference Values ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyrotropin* ; Ultrasonography

BACKGROUND: Adult growth hormone (GH) deficiency is related with decreased lean body mass, increased body fat, and poor quality of life. In western countries, adult GH deficiency treatment registriesy provide a database of the effects and safety of GH deficiency treatment. The Korean Adult Growth Hormone Study Group of the Korean Society of Endocrinology register adult GH deficiency since 1996. METHEODS: Subjects were aged over 15 years, had organic hypothalamo-pituitary disease, and GH deficiency as documented by GH stimulation test or serum insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) level. The underlying etiology for GH deficiency, serum IGF-I level, starting and maintenance dose, and adult GH deficiency assessment (AGHDA) score were investigated. RESULTS: From January 1996 to May 2001. 115 patients were enrolled. Mean age was 43.7 13.8 years and 60% were female. Thirteen medical institutions were involved in the registry. The most common underlying diseases were Sheehan's syndrome and pituitary adenomas. GH starting dose was from 0.4 to 1.0 units. Maintenance dose was between 0.5 and 1.2 units. Serum IGF-I levels were increased after GH treatment (0-week, 93.7 69.7 ng/mL; 2-weeks, 184.9 89.0 ng/mL; 6-weeks, 188.4 94.8 ng/mL; 10-weeks, 207.6 111.1 ng/mL; 6 months, 281.9 95.5 ng/mL). AGHDA scores slightly improved from 10.25 6.70 to 8.58 5.47 after 6 months of GH deficiency treatment. CONCLUSION: The GH Treatment Registry will be beneficial in monitoring the effects of GH deficiency treatment on Korean adult GH deficient subjects
Adipose Tissue ; Adult* ; Endocrinology ; Female ; Growth Hormone* ; Humans ; Hypopituitarism ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I ; Pituitary Neoplasms ; Quality of Life

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of ret/PTC rearrangement in papillary thyroid carcinomas has been found to have wide variance in different populations. Recent studies, however, have been reporting no significant geographical difference between Asian and Western countries. In addition, there are some arguments about the correlation of ret/PTC expression with clinical aggressiveness. We have performed this study in order to examine the prevalence of ret/PTC-1, -2 and -3 rearrangements in korean papillary throid carcinomas and to ascertain its clinical relevance. METHODS: Fourteen thyroid tumors histologically confirmed to be papillary carcinomas were included in this study. To find rearrangements, we adopted RT-PCR and automated direct sequencing. Initial and follow-up clinical data were obtained form the patients medical records. The plasmid containing ret/PTC-2, and 3 was kindly provided by Dr. Ahn (Ulsan University, Seoul Choonang Hospital). RESULTS: We identified one tumors containing ret/PTC-1(1/14, 7.1%), and two containing ret/PTC-2 (2/14, 14.2%), and could not find ret/PTC-3 rearrangement in other patients (0/11). There was no significant correlation of ret/PTC with clinical aggressiveness. CONCLUSION: We found that the prevalence of ret/PTC rearrangement (3/14, 21.4%) in papillary thyroid carcinomas from Korea was similar to those recently reported in other nations. ret/PTC rearrangement may not affect biological behaviors of papillary thyroid carcinomas.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Carcinoma, Papillary ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Korea* ; Medical Records ; Plasmids ; Prevalence ; Seoul ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms*

OBJECTIVE: Catecholamine play a central role in the regulation of energy expenditure, in part by stimulating lipid mobilization through lipolysis in fat cells. The beta-2 adrenergic receptor(BAR-2) is a major lipolytic receptor in human fat cells. A recent study has shown that common polymorphisms occuring at codon 16 and 27 of the BAR-2 gene are significantly associated with obesity and lypolytic BAR-2 function in adipose tissue. We investigated whether the previously described human BAR-2 gene polymorphisms are associated with obesiy and NIDDM in Koreans. METHODS: All subjests were divided into two groups, non-obese and obese group, according to their body mass index. And their clinical characteristics were evaluated. The BAR-2 gene polymorphisms were analyzed by PCR-RFLP in 89 nondiabetics and 106 patients with NIDDM. RESULTS: When the allele frequency of BAR-2 gene polymorphisms was compared with that of western people, there was a significant difference. In our study, there was no significant difference in the allele frequency of BAR-2 gene polymorphisms at codons 16 and 27 between nonobese and obese group both nondiabetics and NIDDM subjects. The frequency of Glu27 homozygotes was very rare(1.1%). Body mass index(BMI), waist-hip ratio(WHR), and serum glucose and insulin secretion of the nondiabetics with polymorphism of codon 16 or codon 27 did not differ from those of the subjects without the polymorphisms. In NIDDM group, the Gly16 homozygotes had a lower BMI than Arg16 homozygotes without any difference in WHR and the other laboratory parameters. Neither clinical or laboratory parameters of the diabetics with the polymorphism at codon 27 differ from those of subjectes without the polymorphism. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the genetic variability in the human BAR-2 gene is not a major determinant for the development of obesity and NIDDM in Koreans.
Adipocytes ; Adipose Tissue ; Blood Glucose ; Body Mass Index ; Codon ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Energy Metabolism ; Gene Frequency ; Homozygote ; Humans ; Insulin ; Lipid Mobilization ; Lipolysis ; Obesity* ; Receptors, Adrenergic, beta-2*

BACKGROUND: Serum calcitonin is a sensitive and specific marker for diagnosis of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) and its determination leads to accurate preoperative diagnosis and gives chances of definite cure. However, since many non-MTC diseases are also associated with calcitonin elevation, its significance in patients with mild or moderately elevated basal serum calcitonin levels is not clear. Furthermore, the normal value of calcitonin using immunoradiometric assay (IRMA) kit has not so far been definitely ascertained. This study is aimed at assessing the clinical significance of routine measurement of serum basal calcitonin concentration in nodular thyroid disease patients and evaluating the pentagastrin stimulation test in case of mild or moderate elevation of basal calcitonin level. We also measured serum calcitonin value in 408 normal individuals. METHODS: The basal serum calcitonin concentrations using a commercial IRMA kit (Medgenix CT-U.S.-IRMA) were measured in 818 patients with nodular thyroid disease (average age 45 years with a range from 13 to 82 years; 125 males and 693 females) who visited thyroid clinics in Samsung Medical Center between June 1997 and December 1998. Serum concentrations of T3, T4, TSH and thyroid autoantibodies were measured and ultrasonography of thyroid and thyroid scan using 131I or 99mTc-pertechnetate were performed in all patients. We also studied 408 healthy subjects without any thyroid disease (average age 48 years with a range from 20 to 86 years; 224 females). RESULTS: The calcitonin value in normal subjects was found to range from 0 to 13 pg/mL, and it was shown that men had higher calcitonin level than women (p< 0.05). The rate of serum calcitonin elevation (> 10pg/mL) in nodular thyroid disease was 1.71% (14/818), and the incidence of MTC was 0.73% (6/818) in this study. MTC was found in all patients with basal serum calcitonin levels more than 100 pg/mL. Pentagastrin stimulation test was also required to diagnose MTC in patients with basal serum calcitonin levels between 30 and 100pg/mL. The calcitonin concentration stimulated by pentagastrin increased more than 400pg/mL or more than 3.8 times of basal concentration. It was possible to diagnose MTC with fine needle aspiration and cytology in only one case out of six patients with MTC. CONCLUSION: Fine needle aspiration and cytology in diagnosing MTC was not sensitive and not devoid of false positive results. We confirmed that serum calcitonin measurement was very useful means for the preoperative diagnosis of unsuspected MTC. Pentagastrin stimulation test may be a reliable means of evaluation in nodular thyroid disease patients with mild or moderate elevation of basal calcitonin level. We recommend routine measurement of serum calcitonin concentration in patients with nodular thyroid disease.
Autoantibodies ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Calcitonin* ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Immunoradiometric Assay ; Incidence ; Male ; Pentagastrin ; Reference Values ; Thyroid Diseases* ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms* ; Thyroid Nodule ; Ultrasonography

Of two major forms (myo- and chiro-inositol) of inositols, only chiro-inositol enhances the activity of proteins involved in intracellular glucose metabolism. This study aims to determine the urinary myo-/chiro-inositol ratio in type 1 and type 2 diabetes patients and compare its ratio with the normal control group. The 24-hour urinary myo- and chiro-inositols in 71 Korean diabetes patients and 39 control subjects have been quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography, and their ratios have been evaluated as indices of insulin resistance. The level of 24-hour urinary myo-inositol was significantly higher in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes than with the control group, whereas the urinary chiro-inositol in type 1 or type 2 diabetes was lower than that in normal subjects. The myo-/chiro-inositol ratio in diabetes patients was higher than that in the control group. Twenty four-hour urinary myo-/ chiro-inositol ratios were significantly elevated in type 1 and type 2 diabetes patients compared to the control group, suggesting that a high ratio of urinary myo-/chiro- inositol in type 2 diabetes patients might be used for an index of insulin resistance.
Adult ; Aged ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1/*urine ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/*urine ; Female ; Humans ; Inositol/*urine ; Insulin Resistance ; Male ; Middle Aged