No abstract available.
Pulmonary Artery*

The Mullerian duct cyst (MDC) occurs due to incomplete focal regression and saccular dilatation of the paramesonephric duct. It is usually found asymptomatic in adults, but it also shows symptoms such as ejaculatory impairment, hematospermia, pelvic pain, urinary retention, and urinary tract infections. MDCs are rare in children. Transrectal ultrasonography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging are useful for diagnosis. Treatment is based on age, clinical symptoms as well as size and location of the cyst. Here, we report a case of a 19-month-old boy with an infectious MDC that presented with fever. He has improved with antibiotic treatment, not surgical resection.

The Mullerian duct cyst (MDC) occurs due to incomplete focal regression and saccular dilatation of the paramesonephric duct. It is usually found asymptomatic in adults, but it also shows symptoms such as ejaculatory impairment, hematospermia, pelvic pain, urinary retention, and urinary tract infections. MDCs are rare in children. Transrectal ultrasonography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging are useful for diagnosis. Treatment is based on age, clinical symptoms as well as size and location of the cyst. Here, we report a case of a 19-month-old boy with an infectious MDC that presented with fever. He has improved with antibiotic treatment, not surgical resection.

OBJECTIVE: Using diffusion tensor MRI (DTI), to investigate the microstructural abnormality of corticospinal tract in the cerebral palsied children with periventricular leukomalacia on conventional MRI and to recognize the clinical usefulness of DTI. METHOD: Seven patients were studied. DTI was peformed using 1.5T MR scanner (Vision Plus, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany) and fractional anisotropies of corona radiata, posterior limbs of internal capsules, and cerebral peduncles of midbrain in both hemisphere were calculated. RESULTS: The fractional anisotropy was significantly decreased in all corona radiata, posterior limbs of internal capsules, cerebral peduncles of midbrain in six patients except one hemiplegic patient, compared with that of control group. In in the hemiplegic patient, the fractional anisotropy was reduced only in affected hemisphere. In addition, the fractional anisotropy tended to be also increased as gross motor function measure (GMFM) score was increased. CONCLUSION: We believe that DTI may be efficient in evaluating microstructural abnormality on the motor pathway of brain and helpful in providing prognosis of clinical findings in cerebral palsied children with periventricular leukomalacia.
Anisotropy ; Brain ; Cerebral Palsy ; Child* ; Diffusion* ; Extremities ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Internal Capsule ; Leukomalacia, Periventricular* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Mesencephalon ; Prognosis ; Pyramidal Tracts ; Tegmentum Mesencephali

BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence that inflammation is an important determinant of the development of atherosclerosis and that oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) obviously plays an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. We assessed the levels of oxidized LDL and inflammatory markers in patients with ischemic heart disease and normal group who has normal coronary angiograms. METHODS: Coronary angiography was performed in 142 patients. 107 patients of ischemic heart disease (stable angina pectoris 58, unstable angina pectoris 30, acute myocardial infarction 19) and 38 normal control subjects. We assessed the level of oxidized LDL and inflammatory markers, such as CRP, ESR, fibrinogen and leukocyte. RESULTS: CRP was 3.88+/-2.05 mg/dL in acute myocardial infarction group, and 0.29+/-0.15 mg/dL in normal control subject group (p<0.05). Fibrinogen was 541.6+/-45.1 mg/dL in acute myocardial infarction group, 321.4+/-25.6 mg/dL in normal control subject group (p<0.05). Leukocyte was 10942.1+/-737.6/mm3 in acute myocardial infarction group, 6394.3+/-235.1/mm3 in normal control subject group (p<0.05). Oxidized LDL was 23.0+/-4.0 EU/mL in acute myocardial infarction group, and 16.2+/-1.5 EU/mL in normal control subject group (p<0.05). CRP, ESR and fibrinogen values of the patients with stable angina pectoris and unstable angina pectoris were higher than that of normal control group, but there were no statistical significance. Oxidized LDL (ox-LDL) and Leukocyte value of the patients with unstable angina pectoris, acute myocardial infarction was significantly higher than that of the patients with stable angina pectoris and normal control subjects (p<0.05). CRP, ESR and fibrinogen values of the patients with acute myocardial infarction were also higher than that of normal control subjects. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrate that CRP, fibrinogen and oxidized LDL, leukocyte values of acute myocardial infarction group were significantly higher than that of control group and stable, unstable angina pectoris group. Oxidized LDL and Leucokyte values were also significantly elevated in unstable angina group, but CRP values were not in unstable angina group.
Angina Pectoris ; Angina, Stable ; Angina, Unstable ; Atherosclerosis ; Coronary Angiography ; Fibrinogen ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Leukocytes ; Lipoproteins ; Myocardial Infarction ; Myocardial Ischemia*

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of positioning is to allow the procedure to be performed as simply as possible and to achieve the best possible results free of complications. In a normal person, many investigators have researched the hemodynamic changes during positional adjustments. But the delicate qualitative hemodynamic changes in various positions has not been recorded very much. So we studied the qualitative hemodynamic changes in various positions with a noninvasive bioimpedance method. METHOD: Healthy adult males were studied (n=25). The protocol was that the position changed from supine to head-up, head-down, lithotomy, sitting, right-lateral, prone and Jackknife (J-K) position. Each position was sustained for three minutes. The mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rates (HR), left cardiac work index (LCWI), systemic vascular resistance index (SVRI), cardiac index (CI), stroke index (SI) and end diastolic index (EDI) were measured with the bioimpedance method and an automated blood pressure device. Result: The contractility of heart expressed by LCWI, CI and SI decreased in head-down, sitting, right-lateral, prone and J-K positions. The preload expressed by EDI decreased in right-lateral and J-K positions. The afterload expressed by SVRI increased in sitting, prone and J-K positions, and decreased in right-lateral position. CONCLUSIONS: These results may be used as reference for anesthesiologist managing many patients of various physical status.
Adult* ; Arterial Pressure ; Blood Pressure ; Heart ; Heart Rate ; Hemodynamics* ; Humans ; Male ; Research Personnel ; Stroke ; Vascular Resistance

BACKGROUND: This study was aimed to elucidate the effect of ketamine anesthesia on circulatory response to hemorrhage in rats by power spectral analysis of heart rate and blood pressure variability. METHODS: Nineteen male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 290~475 g were divided into ketamine (100 mg/kg, im)-anesthetized(K, n=10) and conscious(C, n=9) groups. Hemorrhage was induced with a withdrawal pump from the femoral artery at 3 ml/kg/min for 5 min. Arterial pressure was measured with a pressure transducer connected to the contralateral femoral artery for 5 min before, during and after hemorrhage. The blood pressure signal digitized at 500 Hz through a data acquisition system was analyzed with fast Fourier transform algorithm to yield power spectra of sytolic(SP) and diastolic(DP) blood pressure and instantaneous heart rate(HR). Powers of very low frequency(VLF, 0.02~0.26 Hz), low frequency (LF, 0.26~0.75 Hz) and high frequency(HF, 0.75~5.00 Hz) band were expressed as percent of total power. RESULTS: Before hemorrhage blood pressure was higher in K(152.4+/-3.7/99.9+/-4.9 mmHg) than in C(143.3+/-5.7/95.5+/-4.1 mmHg) rats, but was changed by hemorrhage in both groups. Before hemorrhage HR in K and C rats were 361.4+/-17.5 and 363.4+/-18.5 beats/min . HR were significantly increased to 403.2+/-20.3 and 396.2+/-18.9 beats/min during and after hemorrhage in K rats, and increased to 409.1+/-20.9 beats/min during hemorrhage in C rats. Before hemorrhage total powers of blood pressure and HR variability were higher in K than in C rats. During hemorrhage, total powers of blood pressure and heart rate variability tended to increase in both groups. Before hemorrhage, percent powers of systolic pressure variability of HF and VLF were higher in K than in C rats and LF was lower in K than in C rats. During hemorrhage, K group showed no significant changes but C group showed significant changes. Before hemorrhage, percent powers of diastolic pressure variability of VLF was higher in Kthan in C rats, and HF and LF were lower in K than in C rats. During and after hemorrhage, K group showed no significant changes, but C group showed significant decrease in LF and increase in VLF. Before hemorrhage, percent powers of heart rate variability of K rats showed higher HF and VLF, and lower LF than C rats. During and after hemorrhage HF and VLF of both groups showed no significant changes except significant increase in VLF after hemorrhage in C rats, but LF of both groups showed significant decrease. CONCLUSIONS: It was concluded that autonomic activity, especially cardiac sympathetic activity, was increased in response to hemorrhage in K rats. Ketamine anesthesia stimulated overall autonomic activity, especially sympathetic activity and vasomotor tone. In C rats hormonal factor contributed to blood pressure and heart rate variability during hemorrhage.
Anesthesia ; Animals ; Arterial Pressure ; Blood Pressure* ; Femoral Artery ; Fourier Analysis ; Heart Rate* ; Heart* ; Hemorrhage* ; Humans ; Ketamine ; Male ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Transducers, Pressure

We present a case of infected abdominal aortic aneurysm due to salmonella enteritidis. F-18 FDG PET/CT was performed to diagnosis and during follow-up after antibiotic treatment. Computed tomography (CT) is considered to be the best diagnostic imaging modality in infected aortic lesions. In this case, a combination of CT and FDG PET/CT provided accurate information for the diagnosis of infected abdominal aortic aneurysm. Moreover, FDG PET/CT made an important contribution to monitoring disease activity during antibiotic treatment.
Aneurysm ; Aorta ; Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal* ; Diagnosis ; Diagnostic Imaging ; Follow-Up Studies ; Positron-Emission Tomography and Computed Tomography* ; Salmonella enteritidis ; Salmonella*

PURPOSE: We analyzed the frequency and characteristics of atherosclerotic plaques in the patients without coronary artery calcification (CAC) by the use of multidetector row CT (MDCT). In addition, we analyzed patients with negative CAC to guarantee the absence of coronary artery disease (CAD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred-ten patients with a suspicion of CAD and no CAC as detected on 16-slice and 64-slice MDCT were enrolled in this retrospective study. We analyzed the frequency of atherosclerotic plaques. For characterizing the atherosclerotic plaques, location, attenuation, volume, the degree of stenosis, and the remodeling index (RI) were analyzed. RESULTS: Atherosclerotic plaques were detected in 8 patients (7.3%). The plaques were located in the right coronary artery (n=3), left anterior descending artery (n=3), and left main coronary artery (n=2). Attenuation, volume, stenosis and RI were 41.4+/-16.6 HU (range, 20.2 - 69.9 HU), 55+/-55 mm3 (range, 15-179 mm3), 40.7+/-16.3% (range,16.0-68.0%) and 1.35+/-0.13 (range, 1.16-1.50). Lipid rich plaque and significant stenosis were detected in 6 patients and in 2 patients, respectively. CONCLUSION: Despite negative CAC as detected on MDCT, atherosclerotic plaque might have significant stenosis or lipid rich plaque. Therefore, negative CAC does not seem to guarantee the absence of CAD. Coronary CT angiography was recommended for patients with negative CAC.
Angiography ; Arteries ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Vessels ; Humans ; Plaque, Atherosclerotic ; Retrospective Studies