PURPOSE: Circumcision in childhood is widely practiced in Korea, but the Korean attitude to circumcision has not been well studied. Our aim was to evaluatethe knowledge and general opinion of Korean adult males toward circumcision. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One thousand five hundred self-completed questionnaires were distributed to adult males of five major age groups from 10s' to 50s' divided into decades. Questions asked about the responders' opinions regarding the necessity, reasons, potential benefits, and disadvantages for circumcision, and also asked if there was any peer pressure when deciding upon circumcision. The responses were collected and analyzed statistically. RESULTS: The response rate was 62.7% (936). Of 836 responders, 611 (73.1%) believed that circumcision is necessary, while 59 (7.1%) believed it to be unnecessary. The principal reason for circumcision was improvement of penile hygiene (77.9%). Of 921 responders, 768 (83.4%) believed that the smegma is a dirty material infected by microorganisms. Of 901 responders, 619 (68.7%) didn't prefer the neonatal period regardless of age. The major reason was pain (36.9%). Peer pressure was one of the most influencing factors when deciding upon circumcision: 540 (60.8%) of 888 responders believed that they might be ridiculed by their peer group unless they were circumcised and the younger, the more frequent (p<0.05). Of 917 responders, 616 (62.7%) thought that circumcision would prevent genital tract infection of the sexual partner. Responders with lower education or older responders were prone to emphasize the improvement in sexual potency (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicates that common beliefs held by adult males about the prepuce or circumcision are homogeneous according to age. It is critical to tailor education about the potential benefits and disadvantages of circumcision.
Adult* ; Circumcision, Male* ; Education ; Female ; Humans ; Hygiene ; Korea ; Male ; Male* ; Peer Group ; Phimosis ; Surveys and Questionnaires* ; Reproductive Tract Infections ; Sexual Partners ; Smegma

Coronary artery fistula draining into lung parenchymal vasculature has not been reported. Herein, we describe a case of an 81-year-old woman who presented with a localized pulmonary edema on right upper lobe associated with coronary fistula emptied into vasculature in right upper lobe. She underwent transcatheter closure of the fistula with an Amplatzer Vascular Plug 4, which resulted in complete occlusion and improved localized pulmonary edema.
Aged, 80 and over ; Coronary Vessels* ; Female ; Fistula* ; Humans ; Lung* ; Pulmonary Edema*

BACKGROUND: Intraosseous lipoma is a very rare lesion that constitutes no more than 0.1% of all bone tumors. We analyzed 21 cases of intraosseous lipoma at a single institution for clinical and radiographic characteristics. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed on 21 pathologically confirmed intraosseous lipomas treated in our hospital from 2000 to 2017. Simple X-ray and magnetic resonance imaging findings and medical records were reviewed. Patients' age, sex, and clinical symptoms were investigated. From the radiographic images, the site of the lesion, calcification, bony expansion, and stage of the lesion were evaluated. Correlations between the degree of involution and clinical symptoms were analyzed. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 50 years (range, 20 to 67 years), and there were 13 males and eight females. The mean lesion size was 6.1 cm (range, 2.5 to 13.6 cm). The most common anatomical site of the lesion was the femur (seven cases), and three cases occurred in flat bones such as the ilium and scapula. Visual analogue scale score for pain was 3 to 6 in 15 patients. There were no complaints of functional limitation. There was no correlation between the degree of degeneration and clinical symptoms (p = 1.000). Curettage was performed as a surgical treatment in 20 patients, and bone graft was performed using a bone chip. Excision was performed in one patient. Pain was resolved in seven of 11 patients with a complaint of preoperative pain; intermittent pain remained in four cases. There was no local recurrence or malignant change during the follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: There was no correlation between the degree of degeneration and clinical symptoms. Pain was the most common clinical symptom, but it was rarely accompanied by functional limitation. However, it is important to distinguish it from other pain-inducing disorders. The incidence of intraosseous lipomas is low, and detection based on various imaging findings can be difficult. Clear understanding of the radiographic findings and symptoms of intraosseous lipoma is helpful for diagnosis and differentiation.
Bone Neoplasms ; Curettage ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Femur ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Ilium ; Incidence ; Lipoma* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Medical Records ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Scapula ; Transplants

Background and Objectives: There is no clear standard for the difference in the thresholds of auditory brainstem response (ABR) and pure tone audiometry (PTA) when using ABR to evaluate the reliability of PTA. Therefore, we assessed the difference in the thresholds of ABR and PTA for each frequency. Consequently, we present here the actual difference values between the two tests that can be used as a reference in the clinic.Subjects and Method We retrospectively assessed the audiometry results of 129 ears. Ears in which the hearing thresholds of each frequency continuously declined were classified as the downward group. We compared the average of differences between the two tests by frequency. The differences were compared for each hearing level from 50 dB or higher. Results: For all ears, the appropriate range of difference value was ±5 dB at 2 kHz. At 1 kHz, the ABR threshold was 10 dB higher than PTA, and it was 10 dB less than PTA at 4 kHz. In the downward group, the difference value increased by 10 dB at 1 kHz and 4 kHz. In the subgroups at each hearing level, the difference value showed similar results (p<0.05). Conclusion The difference in the threshold, regardless of the severity or tendency of hearing loss, was the smallest at 2 kHz and the range was ±5 dB. ABR was 10 dB higher at 1 kHz and and 10 dB lower at 4 kHz than PTA. In the downward group, the difference at 1 kHz and 4 kHz increased by 10 dB each.

Background and Objectives: Patients with hearing loss and tinnitus experience difficulty in engaging in daily conversations. However, only few studies have examined how tinnitus affects individual speech discrimination to comprehend speech. This study aimed to analyze the correlation between tinnitus frequency and speech discrimination in patients with hearing loss and tinnitus.Subjects and Method A total of 275 ears with hearing impairment were retrospectively analyzed via audiometry and tinnitogram. The ears were divided into three groups depending on the frequency of their tinnitus. Average pure tone audiometry (PTA), hearing threshold of tinnitus frequency, speech discrimination test (SDT), degree of discrepancy between tinnitus frequency and worst PTA frequency were collected and compared among the three groups. Results: No significant difference was observed in PTA in the three patient groups. Hearing threshold of tinnitus frequency was the highest at 78.27 dB in the high-frequency group and the lowest at 45.14 dB in the low-frequency group. SDT was significantly lower (53.69%) in the low-frequency group. The correlation between tinnitus loudness and SDT was the strongest in the low-frequency group. The degree of discrepancy between tinnitus frequency and worst PTA frequency was also significantly observed in the low-frequency group. Conclusion Patients who are severely affected by tinnitus are found to have significant discrepancy between tinnitus frequency and worst PTA frequency, indicating decreased SDT.

Background and Objectives: The diagnosis of hearing impairment is based on repeated audiometry, including pure tone audiometry (PTA), speech reception threshold test (SRT), and speech discrimination test (SDT). SDT results particularly show a wide discrepancy upon repeated testing, while malingering is suspected when having more than 12% difference between 3 individual SDT results. Therefore, in this study, we compared the proportion of malingering found in repeated SDT with that found in other audiometric tests and analyzed the characteristics of malingering group in order to reevaluate the current criteria of defining malingering.Subjects and Method We retrospectively assessed the audiometry results of 113 patients (226 ears) with hearing impairment. Each ear was divided into a malingering group and a true hearing loss group. The proportion of ears corresponding to each malingering criterion was compared using a chi-square test. An independent sample t-test was performed to identify the differences between the characteristics between the two groups. Results: The number of ears that met the malingering criteria were 19 (8.41%) in PTA, 15 (6.64%) in SRT, and 75 (33.19%) in SDT. There was a significant difference in the proportion of malingering between the 3 hearing test modalities (p<0.001). There was no significant difference in auditory brainstem response, mean age and sex distribution between the malingering group and the true hearing loss group. Conclusion When conducting repeated SDT, there is a risk of misdiagnosing an actual hearing loss patient as a malingering patient under the current malingering criteria. Therefore, the current criteria on SDT requires reevaluation.

OBJECTIVE: Pituitary adenomas (PAs) are often detected as incidental findings. However, the natural history remains unclear. The objective of this study was to evaluate the natural history and growth pattern of untreated PAs.METHODS: Between 2003 and 2014, 59 PAs were managed with clinico-radiological follow up for longer than 12 months without any kind of therapeutic intervention. Tumor volumes were calculated at initial and last follow-up visit, and tumor growth during the observation period was determined. Data were analyzed according to clinical and imaging characteristics.RESULTS: The mean initial and last tumor volume and diameter were 1.83±2.97 mL and 13.77±6.45 mm, 2.85±4.47 mL and 15.75±8.08 mm, respectively. The mean annual tumor growth rate was 0.33±0.68 mL/year during a mean observation period of 46.8±32.1 months. Sixteen (27%) PAs showed tumor growth. The initial tumor size (HR, 1.140; 95% confidence interval, 1.003–1.295; p=0.045) was the independent predictive factor that determined the tumor growth. Six patients (11%) of 56 conservatively managed non-symptomatic PAs underwent resection for aggravating visual symptoms with mean interval of 34.5 months from diagnosis. By Cox regression analysis, PAs of last longest diameter over 21.75 mm were a significant prognostic factor for eventual treatment.CONCLUSION: The initial tumor size of PAs was independently associated with the tumor growth. Six patients (11%) of conservatively managed PAs were likely to be treated eventually. PAs of last follow-up longest diameter over 21.75 mm were a significant prognostic factor for treatment. Further studies with a large series are required to determine treatment strategy.
Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Incidental Findings ; Natural History ; Pituitary Neoplasms ; Prognosis ; Tumor Burden

Objective: This aim examined the outcomes of resuscitation and the clinical characteristics of patients with pre-hospitaltraumatic cardiac arrests (TCA). Methods: The charts of patients with pre-hospital TCA who visited the various emergency department (ED) in Gangwondofrom January 2013 to December 2017 were reviewed retrospectively. Results: TCA patients comprised 0.3% of patients transferred by 119. A total of 367 patients were enrolled in the study.Traffic accidents were the leading cause of the arrest. The initial field and ED rhythm were mostly asystole (field, 79.6%;ED, 82.3%). It took 11.24±9.95 minutes from the call to the field. From the field to ED, it took 22.87±15.37 minutes. Thetotal CPR time before ED arrival was 21.62±15.29 minutes. The causes of TCA were brain injury (35.7%), hypovolemicshock (29.2%), and severe lung injury (16.3%). Seventy TCA patients experienced at least one return of spontaneous circulation(ROSC). Twenty-six patients (7.14%) were admitted to the ward, and their average injury severity score was38.96. Eight patients expired before 12 hours after transient ROSC. Four more patients expired before 24 hours. Fourpatients were discharged alive among patients who lived for more than 24 hours. Conclusion In this study, 1.5% of patients were discharged alive. The possibility of ROSC was higher as the time to ED,and the cardiopulmonary resuscitation time of 119 was shorter. Pulseless electrical activity rather than asystole tends topromote ROSC. The survival rate increased when ROSC occurred before arriving at the ED.

Background: To deliver therapeutics into the brain, it is imperative to overcome the issue of the blood-brain-barrier (BBB). One of the ways to circumvent the BBB is to administer therapeutics directly into the brain parenchyma. To enhance the treatment efficacy for chronic neurodegenerative disorders, repeated administration to the target location is required. However, this increases the number of operations that must be performed. In this study, we developed the IntraBrain Injector (IBI), a new implantable device to repeatedly deliver therapeutics into the brain parenchyma. Methods: We designed and fabricated IBI with medical grade materials, and evaluated the efficacy and safety of IBI in 9 beagles. The trajectory of IBI to the hippocampus was simulated prior to surgery and the device was implanted using 3D-printed adaptor and surgical guides. Ferumoxytol-labeled mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were injected into the hippocampus via IBI, and magnetic resonance images were taken before and after the administration to analyze the accuracy of repeated injection. Results: We compared the planned vs. insertion trajectory of IBI to the hippocampus.With a similarity of 0.990 ± 0.001 (mean ± standard deviation), precise targeting of IBI was confirmed by comparing planned vs. insertion trajectories of IBI. Multiple administrations of ferumoxytol-labeled MSCs into the hippocampus using IBI were both feasible and successful (success rate of 76.7%). Safety of initial IBI implantation, repeated administration of therapeutics, and long-term implantation have all been evaluated in this study. Conclusion Precise and repeated delivery of therapeutics into the brain parenchyma can be done without performing additional surgeries via IBI implantation.