Sparganosis is a parasitic infectious disease by sparganum which is a plerocercoid larva of spirometra, a kind of cestode. We experienced a case of intramural sparganosis of cecum presenting as chronic intermittent abdominal pain. A 39 year old man was hospitalized due to intermittent abdominal pain for 6 months and the operation was done under the impreesion of the intestinal tuberculosis or submucosal tumor of cecum after diagnostic work-up. Resected cecum revealed diffuse wall thickening and luminal narrowing. The microscopic findings showed a degenerated larva in the muscle layer with typical tissue reaction which was basically noncaseating cavitary granulomatous inflammation and many calcareous corpuscles which were pathognomonic features of cestode were prominent within the degenerated worm.
Abdominal Pain ; Adult ; Cecum ; Cestoda ; Communicable Diseases ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Intestinal Obstruction* ; Intestines ; Larva ; Phenobarbital ; Sparganosis* ; Sparganum ; Spirometra ; Tuberculosis

Castleman's disease (CD) is an uncommon benign lymphoproliferative disorder of unknown etiology. Histopathologically, it is divided into three types: hyaline-vascular, plasma cellular, and multicentric CD. The mass usually presents asymptomatically; however, it can cause non-specific symptoms such as fever and fatigue. Although CD can be found wherever lymph nodes are present, 75% of cases are reported in the mediastinum, and occurrence in the head and neck is rare. Herein, we report a rare case of CD presenting as a superficial mass in the temporal region. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of temporal CD in Korea involving a young patient.
Fatigue ; Female ; Fever ; Giant Lymph Node Hyperplasia* ; Head ; Humans ; Korea ; Lymph Nodes ; Lymphoproliferative Disorders ; Mediastinum ; Neck ; Plasma ; Temporal Lobe*

Castleman's disease (CD) is an uncommon benign lymphoproliferative disorder of unknown etiology. Histopathologically, it is divided into three types: hyaline-vascular, plasma cellular, and multicentric CD. The mass usually presents asymptomatically; however, it can cause non-specific symptoms such as fever and fatigue. Although CD can be found wherever lymph nodes are present, 75% of cases are reported in the mediastinum, and occurrence in the head and neck is rare. Herein, we report a rare case of CD presenting as a superficial mass in the temporal region. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of temporal CD in Korea involving a young patient.
Fatigue ; Female ; Fever ; Giant Lymph Node Hyperplasia* ; Head ; Humans ; Korea ; Lymph Nodes ; Lymphoproliferative Disorders ; Mediastinum ; Neck ; Plasma ; Temporal Lobe*

This study aimed to investigate the associations between various types of childhood trauma and suicidal behavior in the general population in South Korea. This mental health survey included a total of 1,490 general citizens living in a metropolitan South Korean city who completed a questionnaire that assessed respondents’ histories of childhood trauma before the age of 12 years, including bullying victimization, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and physical abuse, as well as suicidal behavior, including current suicidal ideation and histories of suicide planning and attempts. The following psychiatric scales were administered: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (R-SES), Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and visual analogue scale of EuroQol 5D (EQ-5D). Participants who experienced any childhood trauma had significantly higher HADS and PSS scores, and significantly lower EQ-5D scores. Additionally, participants with any type of childhood trauma were significantly more likely to have current suicidal ideation and histories of planned and attempted suicide. Multivariate analyses adjusted for confounding variables indicated that bullying victimization and sexual abuse were associated significantly with all types of suicidal behavior. Physical abuse was associated significantly with histories of suicide planning and attempts. The present findings showed that any type of childhood trauma was associated with higher levels of suicidality, anxiety, depression, and perceived stress, as well as lower health-related quality of life, in the general population. In particular, associations between childhood trauma and suicidality were identified after adjustment for confounding variables.

This study aimed to investigate the associations between various types of childhood trauma and suicidal behavior in the general population in South Korea. This mental health survey included a total of 1,490 general citizens living in a metropolitan South Korean city who completed a questionnaire that assessed respondents’ histories of childhood trauma before the age of 12 years, including bullying victimization, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and physical abuse, as well as suicidal behavior, including current suicidal ideation and histories of suicide planning and attempts. The following psychiatric scales were administered: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (R-SES), Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and visual analogue scale of EuroQol 5D (EQ-5D). Participants who experienced any childhood trauma had significantly higher HADS and PSS scores, and significantly lower EQ-5D scores. Additionally, participants with any type of childhood trauma were significantly more likely to have current suicidal ideation and histories of planned and attempted suicide. Multivariate analyses adjusted for confounding variables indicated that bullying victimization and sexual abuse were associated significantly with all types of suicidal behavior. Physical abuse was associated significantly with histories of suicide planning and attempts. The present findings showed that any type of childhood trauma was associated with higher levels of suicidality, anxiety, depression, and perceived stress, as well as lower health-related quality of life, in the general population. In particular, associations between childhood trauma and suicidality were identified after adjustment for confounding variables.

Early detection and intervention are necessary to prevent deterioration and promote recovery in patients with schizophrenia. Mindlink is the first community-based early intervention center for young people with mental illness in Korea. This service was introduced in 2012 as a national mental health pilot project in Bukgu, Gwangju Metropolitan City. Due to the increase in the number of young clients, a youth-friendly, early intervention center called Mindlink was established in 2016. Mindlink is a comprehensive mental health service provided throughout multidisciplinary collaboration. It provides intensive case management and group programs, including cognitive behavioural therapy, family intervention, psychoeducation, motivational enhancement, and physical health promotion. The Korean government has stated that the Mindlink model is effective and is currently expanding the model to other areas in Korea. An increasing number of young people with distressing mental illnesses and their family members are approaching Mindlink for help. They are seeking early psychiatric intervention despite the stigma associated with mental illnesses. Our experience with the Mindlink model suggests that investing in improving the mental health in youth and in service delivery can overcome the stigma associated with mental illnesses and other barriers to mental health services. There is currently a lack of comprehensive mental health services for youth, which is a major problem. An accessible, youth-friendly, stigma-free, community mental health center, such as Mindlink, allows early detection and management of mental illnesses in young patients. Therefore, developing early intervention centers at the national level is urgently required.

Intramural hematoma of the esophagus is a rare condition that can be spontaneous or secondary to trauma, toxic ingestion, or intervention. If it is the spontaneous type, it usually presents initially with epigastric pain, hematemesis or dysphagia. We present a case of intramural hematoma of the esophagus mimicking acute coronary syndrome. A 63-year-old man presented with severe acute chest pain. He has four coronary stents that were inserted five years ago, from a different hospital, and is on dual antiplatelet agents. Coronary angiography was performed immediately under the suspicion of acute coronary syndrome, and we found that there was no obvious clogging of the coronary arteries. Next, chest computed tomography was performed due to suspected aortic dissection, and the result was also negative. Four days later, endoscopy was performed and intramural hematoma covered with large ulcers was diagnosed.
Acute Coronary Syndrome* ; Chest Pain ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Vessels ; Deglutition Disorders ; Eating ; Endoscopy ; Esophagus* ; Hematemesis ; Hematoma* ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors ; Stents ; Thorax ; Ulcer

BACKGROUND: Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer. Of the 4 million skin lesions excised annually worldwide, approximately 2 million are considered cancerous. In this study, we aimed to describe a regional experience with skin cancers treated by a single senior surgeon and to provide a treatment algorithm. METHODS: The medical records of 176 patients with head and neck non-melanocytic skin cancer (NMSC) who were treated by a single surgeon at our institution between January 2010 and May 2016 were retrospectively reviewed, and their data (age, sex, pathological type, tumor location/size, treatment modality) were analyzed. Patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) who were classified as a high-risk group for nodal metastasis underwent sentinel node mapping according to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines. RESULTS: Among the patients with NMSC who were treated during this period, basal cell carcinoma (BCC; n=102, 57.9%) was the most common pathological type, followed by cSCC (n=66, 37.5%). Most lesions were treated by complete excision, with tumor-free surgical margins determined via frozen section pathology. Thirty-one patients with high-metastasis-risk cSCC underwent sentinel node mapping, and 17 (54.8%) exhibited radiologically positive sentinel nodes. Although these nodes were pathologically negative for metastasis, 2 patients (6.5%) later developed lymph node metastases. CONCLUSION: In our experience, BCC treatment should comprise wide excision with tumor-free surgical margins and proper reconstruction. In contrast, patients with cSCC should undergo lymphoscintigraphy, as nodal metastases are a possibility. Proper diagnosis and treatment could reduce the undesirably high morbidity and mortality rates.
Carcinoma, Basal Cell ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Diagnosis ; Frozen Sections ; Head* ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Lymphoscintigraphy ; Medical Records ; Mortality ; Neck* ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Pathology ; Retrospective Studies ; Skin Neoplasms* ; Skin*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the influence of a nasogastric tube (NGT) on swallowing simulated saliva in stroke patients. METHODS: Three groups of participants were enrolled into the study: group A (20 stroke patients with a NGT), a control group B (25 stroke patients without a NGT), and group C (25 healthy adults with no brain lesions or dysphagia). Participants swallowed 1 mL of water to simulate saliva. Patients in group A were tested twice: once with a NGT (group A1) and once after the NGT was removed (group A2). The distance of hyoid bone movement was measured by subtracting the shortest distance between the mandible and hyoid bone (S) from the distance at resting state (R) measured with ultrasonography. The degree of the movement was calculated by (R–S)/R. The trajectory area of hyoid bone movement (Area) and the interval between the beginning of hyoid bone movement and the moment of the shortest hyoid−mandible approximation (Interval) was calculated by a computer program. RESULTS: From group A: R–S and (R–S)/R of group A2 at 1.14±0.36 cm and 0.30±0.09 cm and were significantly greater than those of group A1 at 0.81±0.36 cm and 0.22±0.08 cm (p=0.009 and p=0.005). After removing the NGT as seen in group A2, R–S and (R–S)/R were improved to the level of those of group B at 1.20±0.32 cm and 0.30±0.09 cm (p=0.909 and p=0.997). The Area of group A2 was larger and the Interval of group A2 was shorter than those of group A1 though a comparison of these factors between A2 and A1 did not show a statistically significant difference. CONCLUSION: A NGT interferes with the movement of the hyoid bone when swallowing 1 mL of water in stroke patients though the movement is restored to normal after removing the NGT.
Adult ; Brain ; Deglutition Disorders ; Deglutition* ; Humans ; Hyoid Bone* ; Mandible ; Saliva ; Stroke* ; Ultrasonography* ; Water

Purpose: Acute kidney injury (AKI) has shown an increasingly common occurrence among hospitalized patients worldwide. We determined the incidence and compared the short- and long-term outcomes of all stages of community-acquired AKI (CA-AKI) and hospital-acquired AKI (HA-AKI), and identified predictors for such outcomes. Materials and Methods: This observational, single-center, retrospective study identified patients admitted between January 2013 and December 2013 who developed CA-AKI or HA-AKI. Short- and long-term patient and renal outcomes were analyzed. Results: AKI incidence was 14.3% (1882, CA-AKI 4.8% and HA-AKI 9.5%). The highest 30-day and 1-year mortality were recorded in the CA-AKI group. Thirty-day mortality rate was 11.4% in CA-AKI group and 5.7% in HA-AKI group (p<0.001). One-year mortality rates were 20.1% and 13.3%, respectively (p<0.001). More CA-AKI patients developed kidney failure with replacement therapy within 1 year (27, 4.3% vs. 18, 1.4% respectively, p<0.001). Conclusion In conclusion, patients with CA-AKI had worse short- and long-term outcomes compared to HA-AKI patients. AKI severity and discharge serum creatinine were significant independent predictors of 30-day and 1-year mortality.