PURPOSE: Although influenza is regarded as a major cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients, vaccine coverage remains poor. We evaluated the immunogenicity of influenza vaccines in colorectal cancer patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, 40 colorectal cancer patients who received an influenza vaccine at the Korea Cancer Center Hospital during the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 influenza seasons were analyzed. The blood samples were collected at prevaccination and 30 days post vaccination, and antibody titers were measured using the hemagglutination-inhibition tests. RESULTS: In the 2009-2011 season, the seroprotection rate for H1N1 (94.7%) was significantly higher than that for H3N2 (42.1%) and B (47.3%). The seroconversion rate was 52.6%, 26.3%, and 36.8% for H1N1, H3N2, and B, respectively. Fold increase of geometric mean titer (MFI) was 3.86, 1.49, and 3.33 for H1N1, H3N2, and B, respectively. In the 2010-2011 season, the seroprotection rate for H1N1 (57.1%) was significantly higher than that for H3N2 (52.4%) and B (38.1%). The seroconversion rate was 52.4%, 47.6% and 33.3% for H1N1, H3N2, and B, respectively. MFI was 12.29, 3.62 and 4.27 for H1N1, H3N2, and B, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our study cohort showed an acceptable immune response to an influenza vaccine without significant adverse effects, supporting the recommendation for annual influenza vaccination in colorectal cancer patients.
Cohort Studies ; Colorectal Neoplasms* ; Hemagglutination Inhibition Tests ; Humans ; Immunocompromised Host ; Influenza Vaccines* ; Influenza, Human* ; Korea ; Mortality ; Seasons ; Vaccination

Intraperitoneal foreign body is a rare but extremely troublesome condition. Such as forceps, rubber tubes, pieces of broken instruments can retained during surgery but most commonly foreign body is the surgical sponge. The retained foreign body produce intra-abdominal abscess, peritonitis, intestinal obstruction in the postoperative period or even after weeks, months or years and very uncommonly migrate into the bowel. We report a case of intracolonic surgical sponge misdiagnosed as retained intraperitoneal foreign body with brief review of literatures.
Abdominal Abscess ; Foreign Bodies* ; Intestinal Obstruction ; Peritonitis ; Postoperative Period ; Rubber ; Surgical Instruments ; Surgical Sponges*

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to compare several parameters, including wall shear stress (WSS) and flow pattern, between unruptured and ruptured anterior communicating artery (ACoA) aneurysms using patient-specific aneurysm geometry.METHODS: In total, 18 unruptured and 24 ruptured aneurysms were analyzed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models. Minimal, average, and maximal wall shear stress were calculated based on CFD simulations. Aneurysm height, ostium diameter, aspect ratio, and area of aneurysm were measured. Aneurysms were classified according to flow complexity (simple or complex) and inflow jet (concentrated or diffused). Statistical analyses were performed to ascertain differences between the aneurysm groups.RESULTS: Average wall shear stress of the ruptured group was greater than that of the unruptured group (9.42% for aneurysm and 10.38% for ostium). The average area of ruptured aneurysms was 31.22% larger than unruptured aneurysms. Simple flow was observed in 14 of 18 (78%) unruptured aneurysms, while all ruptured aneurysms had complex flow (p < 0.001). Ruptured aneurysms were more likely to have a concentrated inflow jet (63%), while unruptured aneurysms predominantly had a diffused inflow jet (83%, p=0.004).CONCLUSION: Ruptured aneurysms tended to have a larger geometric size and greater WSS compared to unruptured aneurysms, but the difference was not statistically significant. Flow complexity and inflow jet were significantly different between unruptured and ruptured ACoA aneurysms.
Aneurysm ; Aneurysm, Ruptured ; Arteries ; Hydrodynamics ; Intracranial Aneurysm

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to analyze patient-specific blood flow in ruptured aneurysms using obtained non-Newtonian viscosity and to observe associated hemodynamic features and morphological effects.METHODS: Five patients with acute subarachnoid hemorrhage caused by ruptured posterior communicating artery aneurysms were included in the study. Patients’ blood samples were measured immediately after enrollment. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was conducted to evaluate viscosity distributions and wall shear stress (WSS) distributions using a patient-specific geometric model and shear-thinning viscosity properties.RESULTS: Substantial viscosity change was found at the dome of the aneurysms studied when applying non-Newtonian blood viscosity measured at peak-systole and end-diastole. The maximal WSS of the non-Newtonian model on an aneurysm at peaksystole was approximately 16% lower compared to Newtonian fluid, and most of the hemodynamic features of Newtonian flow at the aneurysms were higher, except for minimal WSS value. However, the differences between the Newtonian and non-Newtonian flow were not statistically significant. Rupture point of an aneurysm showed low WSS regardless of Newtonian or non-Newtonian CFD analyses.CONCLUSION: By using measured non-Newtonian viscosity and geometry on patient-specific CFD analysis, morphologic differences in hemodynamic features, such as changes in whole blood viscosity and WSS, were observed. Therefore, measured non-Newtonian viscosity might be possibly useful to obtain patient-specific hemodynamic and morphologic result.
Aneurysm ; Aneurysm, Ruptured ; Blood Viscosity ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Hydrodynamics ; Intracranial Aneurysm ; Rupture ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage ; Viscosity

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the condylar morphology and position of Koreans using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images. Analyzing the mean values of this study with reference to left and right sides, gender, and age will help to understand the size of the condyle and glenoid fossa, condylar morphology, and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) symmetry for establishing the standard temporomandibular joint structures of Koreans and then design the standard temporomandibular joint prosthesis for Koreans. Results: There was no significant result in the condyle size, condyle axis angle, joint space, fossa depth, and mandibular body size between the left and right sides (p > 0.05). On the other hand, the mediolateral width of the condyle and mandibular body size show significantly different with the gender (P < 0.05). Also, significant differences were found in condyle size, joint space, fossa depth, and mandibular body size according to age groups (P < 0.05). Conclusions Condylar position and morphology vary according to side, age, and gender. The results of this study are expected to help in customizing a treatment for the patients who need TMJ reconstruction by predicting the TMJ morphology according to age and gender and design the standard temporomandibular joint prosthesis for the Koreans.

PURPOSE: While pediatric observation units (POU) have become a common practice in hospitals throughout developed countries, there has been no report about POUs in Korea so far. The aims of this study were to analyze our one-year's experience of the POU and to decide which disease entities are suitable for the POU. METHODS: All children admitted from March 2006 to February 2007 to the POU at the Department of Pediatrics in Our Lady of Mercy Hospital were included in this study. Data were collected from retrospective reviews of their medical records. RESULTS: There were a total of 1,076 POU admissions. Median age of patients was 2.4 years and median length of hospital stay 14.0 hours. The most common diagnoses were gastroenteritis (42.7%), pharyngotonsillitis (19.1%), bronchiolitis (7.8%), pneumonia (5.5%) and febrile seizure (5.2%). Overall, 7.5% of the POU patients required subsequent inpatient admissions due to hospital stays of longer than 48 hours. The disease entities that were most likely to require inpatient admission were pneumonia (17.0%), febrile seizure (12.5%) and asthma (11.5%). Diseases that allowed successful discharge from the POU were gastroenteritis (4.6%), upper respiratory tract infection (5.8%), such as otitis media and pharygnotonsillitis and seizure disorder (6.4%). Compared with the previous year when the POU was not in operation, there was a statistically significant reduction in the average length of hospital stays (from 4.69 to 3.75 days), as well as a rise in the bed turnover rate (from 78.8 to 98.2 patients/ bed). CONCLUSION: Our study shows that the POU is efficient for the management of children with certain acute illnesses. Based on this study, we suggest that the POU be used as a new modality which links between the outpatient, inpatient, and emergency departments in the field of pediatrics in Korea.
Asthma ; Bronchiolitis ; Child ; Day Care, Medical ; Developed Countries ; Diagnosis ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Epilepsy ; Gastroenteritis ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Korea* ; Length of Stay ; Medical Records ; Otitis Media ; Outpatients ; Pediatrics ; Pneumonia ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; Retrospective Studies ; Seizures, Febrile

BACKGROUND: Spinal cord stimulation is a well-established method for the management of several types of chronic and intractable pain. This form of stimulation elicits a tingling sensation (paresthesia) in the corresponding dermatomes. The goal of this study was to establish a correlation between the spinal levels of the implanted epidural electrodes and the paresthesia elicited due to stimulation of the neural structures. METHODS: Thirty five patients, who received trial spinal cord stimulation, were evaluated. After the insertion of the lead to the selected position, the areas of paresthesia evoked by stimulation were evaluated. RESULTS: Seventy-one percent of cases showed paresthesia in the shoulder area when the tip of the electrode was located between the C2 C4 levels. At the upper extremities, paresthesia was evoked in 86 93% of cases, regardless of the location of the electrode tip within the cervical spinal segments. The most common tip placement of the leads eliciting hand stimulation was at the C5 level. The most common level of electrode tip placement eliciting paresthesia of the anterior and posterior thigh and the foot were at the T7 T12, T10 L1 and T11 L1 vertebral segments, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Detailed knowledge of the patterns of stimulation induced paresthesia in relation to the spine level of the implanted electrodes has allowed the more consistent and successful placement of epidural electrodes at the desired spine level.
Electrodes* ; Electrodes, Implanted ; Foot ; Hand ; Humans ; Pain, Intractable ; Paresthesia* ; Sensation ; Shoulder ; Spinal Cord Stimulation* ; Spinal Cord* ; Spine ; Thigh ; Upper Extremity

Struma Ovarii is a teratoma with thyroid tissue as the predominant (>50%) constituent. It is rare, representing about 2% of all teratomas, and its malignant transformation, less than 5% of struma ovarii. Presenting symptoms are not specific, therefore pre-operative diagnosis of malignant struma ovarii is difficult and most diagnosis of malignant struma ovaii is determined by post-operative histologic findings. Because of the rarity of malignant struma ovarii, there is considerable confusion concerning diagnosis and management. A postmenopausal woman presented with pelvic mass and lower abdominal pain and explo-laparotomy was performed. Then, pathologic report was identified as malignant struma ovarii. We report a case of malignant struma ovarii with brief review of literature
Abdominal Pain ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Struma Ovarii* ; Teratoma ; Thyroid Gland

This study aimed to investigate prevalence of asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis (ACAS) in Korean patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and identify predictive factors of ACAS in patients with PAD. Between 1994 and 2008, 546 patients who underwent bypass surgery due to PAD were identified in a single tertiary teaching hospital. Of those, 409 patients underwent preoperative screening carotid duplex ultrasonography (CDUS). Patients who had an episode of cerebrovascular event or previous carotid artery intervention were excluded and then a retrospective analysis was made of 340 patients. The degree of internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis was determined by the criteria of Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound Consensus Conference. To determine the risk factors of ACAS, demographic, coexisting medical condition and lesion characteristics were tested with binary logistic regression model. The prevalence of > or =70% ICA stenosis was 14%. ICA occlusion was detected in 7.1%. Multivariate analysis revealed age >65 yr (OR: 2.610, 95% CI: 1.197-5.691) and coronary artery disease (CAD, OR: 2.333, 95% CI: 1.169-4.657) are predictive factors of > or =70% stenosis. A PAD patient who needs revascularization, particularly, >65 yr or has a concomitant CAD, can be a good candidate of screening CDUS.
Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Atherosclerosis/complications ; Carotid Stenosis/complications/epidemiology/*ultrasonography ; Chronic Disease ; Coronary Artery Disease/diagnosis ; Demography ; Female ; Humans ; Ischemia/complications ; Lower Extremity ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Peripheral Arterial Disease/*complications/surgery ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Risk Factors ; *Ultrasonography, Doppler, Duplex

PURPOSE: Chitosan & chitosan derivative(eg. membrane) have been studied in periodontal regeneration, and recently many studies of chitosan have reported good results. If chitosan's effects on periodontal regeneration are enhanced, we can use chitosan in many clinical and experimental fields. For this purpose, this study reviewed available literatures, evaluated comparable experimental models. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ten in vivo studies reporting chitosan's effects on periodontal tissue regeneration have been selected by use of the 'Pubmed' and hand searching. RESULTS: 1. In Sprague Dawley rat calvarial defect models, amount of newly formed bone in defects showed significant differences between chitosan/chitosan-carrier/chitosan-membrane groups and control groups. 2. In beagle canine 1-wall intrabony defect models, amount of new cementum and new bone showed significant differences between chitosan/chitosan-membrane groups and control groups. The mean values of the above experimental groups were greater than the control groups. CONCLUSION: The results of this study have demonstrated that periodontal regeneration procedure using chitosan have beneficial effects, which will be substitute for various periodontal regenerative treatment area. One step forward in manufacturing process of chitosan membrane and in use in combination with other effective materials(eg. bone graft material or carrier) may bring us many chances of common use of chitosan in various periodontal area.
Animals ; Chitosan ; Dental Cementum ; Hand ; Membranes ; Rats ; Regeneration ; Transplants