BACKGROUND: the prediction on changes in the lung function after lung surgery would be an important indicator in terms of the operability and postoperative complications. In order to predict the postoperative FEV1 - the commonly used method for measuring changes in lung function- a comparison between the quantitative CT and the perfusion lung scan was made and proved its usefulness. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The subjects included 22 patients who received perfusion lung scan and quantitative CT preoperatively and with whom the follow-up of PFT were possibles out of the pool of patients who underwent right lobectomy or right pneumonectomy between June of 1997 and December of 1999. The FEV1 and FVC were calibrated by performing the PFT on each patient and then the predicted FEV1 and FVC were calculated after performing perfusion lung scan and quantitative CT postoperatively. The FEV1 and FVC were calibrated by performing the PFT after 1 week and after 3 momths following the surgery. RESULTS: There was a significant mutual scan and the actual postoperative FEV1 and FVC at 1 week and 3 months. The predicted FEV1 and FVC(pneumonectomy group : r=0.962 and r=0.938 lobectomy group ; r=0.921 and r=913) using quantitative CT at 1 week postoperatively showed a higher mutual relationship than that predicted by perfusion lung scan(pneumonectomy group : r=0.927 and r=0.890 lobectomy group : r=0.910 and r=0.905) The result was likewise at 3 months postoperatively(CT -pneumonectomy group : r=0.799 and r=0.882 lobectomy group : r=0.934 and r=0.932) CONCLUSION: In comparison to perfusion lung scan quantitative CT is more accurate in predicting lung function postoperatively and is cost-effective as well. Therefore it can be concluded that the quantitative CT is an effective method of replacing the perfusion lung scan in predicting lung function post-operatively. However it is noted that further comparative analysis using more data and follow-up studies of the patients is required.
Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lung* ; Perfusion* ; Pneumonectomy ; Postoperative Complications

We report on a case of right thalamic hemorrhage resulting from low-voltage electrical injury caused by contact between a wet hand and an electronic scale. The patient was treated with clopidogrel for control of a previous cerebral infarction. The patient complained of numbness of the left upper extremity. On neurological examination, decreased motor power of her left side, grade IV, was observed. Findings on computerized tomography of the brain revealed a right thalamic hemorrhage. To the best of our knowledge, cerebral hemorrhage resulting from low-voltage electrical injury has not been previously reported in the literature.
Brain ; Cerebral Hemorrhage ; Cerebral Infarction ; Electric Injuries ; Electronics ; Electrons ; Hand ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hypesthesia ; Neurologic Examination ; Ticlopidine ; Upper Extremity

Bilateral coronary artery fistula is very uncommon congenital anomaly which occupy small percentage of all congenital coronary artery fistula. About 20% of the cases associated with additional congenital heart disease. And it may cause congestive heart failure, especially severely in neonate. We experienced a case of neonate who was 1 day-old-male with bilateral coronary artery-right ventricular fistula associated with atrial septal defect and congestive heart failure. The Patient was admitted because dyspnea, cyanosis since birth. 2D ecgicardiogram and cardiac catheterization revealed that a fistulous communicating ; forming a large aneurysm, was noted from bilateral coronary artery emptied into the right ventricle, and there was oxygen step-up in right ventricle.
Aneurysm ; Cardiac Catheterization ; Cardiac Catheters ; Coronary Vessels ; Cyanosis ; Dyspnea ; Fistula* ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; Heart Failure ; Heart Septal Defects, Atrial* ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn* ; Oxygen ; Parturition

We report a 72-year-old female patient with spontaneous rupture of the left external iliac vein. She visited our hospital for abdominal and back pain. She had the abnormal finding of hemoperitoneum. We performed an emergency operation with diagnosis of left ovarian cyst rupture though she suffered from spontaneous rupture of the left external iliac vein. This case provides insight to the experience of spontaneous rupture of the left external iliac vein.
Aged ; Back Pain ; Emergencies ; Female ; Hemoperitoneum ; Humans ; Iliac Vein ; Ovarian Cysts ; Rupture ; Rupture, Spontaneous

No abstract available.
Amniotic Fluid* ; Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone* ; Female ; Obstetric Labor, Premature* ; Pregnancy

No abstract available.
Temporal Bone*

No abstract available.

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical outcomes and prognostic factors of double-dose aflibercept in patients with refractory neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). Methods: We reviewed the medical records of nAMD patients treated with a double dose of aflibercept (4 mg/0.1 mL) due to an inadequate response to standard 8-weekly intravitreal injections of 2 mg/0.05 mL aflibercept. The assessment at week 8 after treatment included changes in subretinal/intraretinal fluid (SRF/IRF) and best-corrected visual acuity, with patients showing absence or reduction in SRF/IRF classified as the response group. Baseline factors influencing clinical outcomes were analyzed, including central macular thickness (CMT), central choroidal thickness (CCT), size of choroidal neovascularization (CNV), CNV subtype, and maximum height of SRF and IRF. Results: The study included 95 eyes of 95 subjects, with 61 eyes (64.2%) categorized as the response group following double-dose treatment. Responders exhibited thicker CCT (290.4 μm vs. 194.0 μm, p < 0.001), thinner CMT (251.2 μm vs 311.1 μm, p = 0.018), smaller CNV area (2.718 mm2 vs. 3.964 mm2, p = 0.034), and a higher prevalence of type 1 CNV (85.2% vs. 58.8%, p = 0.011) compared to the non-response group. Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis identified thicker CCT (p < 0.001, r = 1.016), thinner CMT (p = 0.014, r = 0.988), smaller CNV area (p = 0.015, r = 0.662), and type 1 CNV (p = 0.001, r = 0.061) as factors associated with better anatomical outcomes. Conclusions Double-dose aflibercept was effective in 64% of patients with refractory nAMD, suggesting it may be considered for those with small CNV areas, thinner CMT, and thicker CCT.

Purpose: To assess the impact of toxoplasma immunoglobulin G (IgG) titers on the diagnosis of active ocular toxoplasmosis. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of patients tested for toxoplasma IgG at our uveitis clinic. Active ocular toxoplasmosis was clinically diagnosed based on wide-angle fundus photography and disease progression. Patients with IgG titers ≥ 30 IU/mL were classified as seropositive-high titer, those with IgG titers of 1.6-30 IU/mL as seropositive-low titer, and the remaining patients as seronegative. We compared the proportion of active ocular toxoplasmosis among these groups. Additionally, we evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of each titer and attempted to determine an ideal reference titer for toxoplasma IgG in diagnosing active ocular toxoplasmosis. Results: Out of 824 patients, 86 (10.4%), 88 (10.7%), and 650 (78.9%) were categorized as seropositive-high titer, seropositivelow titer, and seronegative, respectively. Among these patients, 34 in the seropositive-high titer group and 2 in the seropositive- low titer group were clinically diagnosed with active ocular toxoplasmosis. The false-positive rate was significantly different between the groups, being 60.5% in the seropositive-high titer group and 97.7% in the seropositive-low titer group (p < 0.001). The receiver operating characteristic curve indicated that 37.70 IU/mL could be an ideal reference titer for diagnosing ocular toxoplasmosis. Conclusions The false-positive rate was notably lower (60.5%) in patients with IgG titers ≥ 30 IU/mL compared to those with titers of 1.6-30 IU/mL (97.7%). Therefore, not only the presence of IgG but also the level of titer appears to be important in diagnosing ocular toxoplasmosis.

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical outcomes and prognostic factors of double-dose aflibercept in patients with refractory neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). Methods: We reviewed the medical records of nAMD patients treated with a double dose of aflibercept (4 mg/0.1 mL) due to an inadequate response to standard 8-weekly intravitreal injections of 2 mg/0.05 mL aflibercept. The assessment at week 8 after treatment included changes in subretinal/intraretinal fluid (SRF/IRF) and best-corrected visual acuity, with patients showing absence or reduction in SRF/IRF classified as the response group. Baseline factors influencing clinical outcomes were analyzed, including central macular thickness (CMT), central choroidal thickness (CCT), size of choroidal neovascularization (CNV), CNV subtype, and maximum height of SRF and IRF. Results: The study included 95 eyes of 95 subjects, with 61 eyes (64.2%) categorized as the response group following double-dose treatment. Responders exhibited thicker CCT (290.4 μm vs. 194.0 μm, p < 0.001), thinner CMT (251.2 μm vs 311.1 μm, p = 0.018), smaller CNV area (2.718 mm2 vs. 3.964 mm2, p = 0.034), and a higher prevalence of type 1 CNV (85.2% vs. 58.8%, p = 0.011) compared to the non-response group. Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis identified thicker CCT (p < 0.001, r = 1.016), thinner CMT (p = 0.014, r = 0.988), smaller CNV area (p = 0.015, r = 0.662), and type 1 CNV (p = 0.001, r = 0.061) as factors associated with better anatomical outcomes. Conclusions Double-dose aflibercept was effective in 64% of patients with refractory nAMD, suggesting it may be considered for those with small CNV areas, thinner CMT, and thicker CCT.