OBJECTIVES: Delirium is a disorder defined as a sudden disturbance in thinking, speaking, acting and sleep pattern due to altered level of consciousness and cognitive function. The objective of this study is to analyze characteristics and therapeutic methods of the delirious patients during the recent 5 years, and provide basic data for further studies and investigation regarding delirium in the occurrence and treatment. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed medical records of 475 patients who were consulted for delirium in Kyunghee University Medical Center from January 2007 to December 2011. RESULTS: During the 5 years, among the 475 patients who were diagnosed as delirium, men were more common(61.7%). The most commonly consulted reason and cause were sleep disturbance(80.8%) and post-operational delirium(30.9%), respectively. The medication prescription percentage was 76.6% and was significantly increased year after year. Ratio of using antipsychotics were 76.4% among prescribed medication and the most frequently prescribed antipsychotic drug was quetiapine(46.8%). Other specialists commonly misdiagnosed delirium when the patient was previously diagnosed as dementia(6.8%). CONCLUSIONS: In our study, post-operational delirium was the most commonly referred reason and the percentage of medication prescription tended to increase. Patients with history of dementia were more easily misdiagnosed as diseases other than delirium. Our study suggests that we should evaluate symptoms, causes, reasons of consultation, management tendency of delirium. We should also closely observe changes in sleep patterns and establish the prevention strategies for post-operational delirium and therapeutic bases for pharmacotherapy.
Academic Medical Centers ; Antipsychotic Agents ; Consciousness Disorders ; Delirium ; Dementia ; Humans ; Male ; Medical Records ; Prescriptions ; Retrospective Studies ; Specialization ; Thinking

The abnormalities in Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal(HPA) axis are associated with many psychiatric symptoms including depression. We present a report of a 71 year old man who was admitted to the psychiatric department presenting symptoms of headache, avolition, loss of energy, psychomotor retardation, poor appetite, insomnia, anxiety resulting from adrenal insufficiency and hypopituitarism. Hypothyroidism and electrolyte disturbance were managed and headache, insomnia, anxiety, GI symptoms were improved. But he remained in anergic state. After discharge, he was readmitted to infection department with high fever and drowsy mentality. Adrenal insufficiency was recognized and he was treated with corticosteroid replacement therapy. Finally his diagnosis was made as panhypopituitarism and overall symptoms were resolved. In this case, we showed how the atypical symptoms resulting from hypopituitarism develop and progress. Hypothyroidism, adrenal insufficiency, and growth hormone deficiency resulting secondarily from panhypopituitarism were associated with various nonspecific symptoms such as loss of energy, fatigue, insomnia, weight loss, decreased appetite etc. In clinical situation, differential diagnosis with depression is needed when clinicians were met a patient with these nonspecific symptoms. It is important that laboratory tests and differential diagnosis with endocrine diseases should be conducted, especially in geriatric patients with nonspecific symptoms like anergia, fatigue, poor appetite and so on.
Adrenal Insufficiency ; Anxiety ; Appetite ; Axis ; Depression ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Endocrine System Diseases ; Fatigue ; Fever ; Growth Hormone ; Headache ; Humans ; Hypopituitarism ; Hypothyroidism ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders ; Weight Loss

PURPOSE: To obtain magnetization transfer ratio(MTR) of the annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus and to assess the feasibility of utilizing the changes of these MTRs as an early indicator of disk degeneration. MATERIALS AND METHODS: MR images of lumbar spine with magnetization transfer(MT) technique in 42 patients were obtained. spin echo techniques (600/14) with same TR/TE with 1KHz off-resonance saturation were employed in 1.0T MR system. MTRs were calculated in two regions, anterior annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus, and the results were compared between the normal and degenerative disks, from grade I to IV, on T2-weighted images. RESULTS: MTRs of the nucleus pulposus were 17.6% in the normal disks, and 26.7%, 28.4%, 29.1%, 29.7% in degenerative disks, from grade I to IV, respectively, with a significant difference(P<0.05). On the other hand, MTRs in the annulus fibrosus were 30.2% in the normal disks and 31.5%, 33.2%, 32.1% and 35.6% in degenerative disks, from grade I to IV, respectively, without significant difference. CONCLUSION: Since MTRs are significantly higher in degenerative nucleus pulposus than those of the normal disks, increased MTRs in the nucleus pulposus can be used as an early sign of the degeneration of the nucleus pulposus.
Hand ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc Degeneration* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Spine

Erythromelanosis follicularis faciei et coli is a pigmentary disorder of unknown cause originally described by Kitamura et al in 1960. We describe two cases of erythromelanosis follicularis faciei et colli occured in adolescence. Clinical features of these patients were consistent with the clinical changes described in previous cases having clinical triad of erythema, hyperpigmentation and follicular papules. This pigmentary disorder may not be an uncommon disease, however it might be neglected from the concern of the dermatologists.
Adolescent ; Erythema ; Humans ; Hyperpigmentation

A total of 23 human fetal hearts from 18 to 40 weeks of gestation were provided for histologic and morphometric studies. The fetuses were the products of spontaneous or artificial abortions and were found to have no congential anomalies or associated lesions at autopsy. Maxima thickness of the left anterior, left lateral, left posterior, right anterior, right lateral, right posterior ventricular wall, and of the interventricular septal wall were measured and the left / right wall thickness ratio was calculated. The cross-sectional area of each ventricle parallel to the base of the heart at about 3-5mm below from the origin of the aorta was measured under drawing attachment-equipped light microscope with the application of point counting or cut-and-weigh method. Data were analyzed by the Anderson-ell ABSTAT dBASE ll statistical package program. The ventricular wall consisted of endocardium, myocardium and epicardium. The myocardium showed epithelial character by stratification of barrel-shaped myocardial cells, but the epithelial character progressively changed to as in adult myocardial tissue from the myocardial area close to the epicardium with increasing fetal age. However, any significant histologic difference between the left and the right ventricular wall at the same fetal age was not found. The growth pattern of both ventricular wall, the interventricular septal wall, and of the cross sectional area were linear (p<0.01). However, there was no significant difference in the wall thickness between the left and right ventricle at the same fetal age, and the left / right thickness ratio was nearly constant with increasing fetal age. The cross sectional area was greater in the right than in the left ventricle in the fetuses after 18 weeks of gestation (p<0.01), and there was no significant difference in the morphometric values between point counting and cut-and-weigh method (p>0.1).
Adult ; Aorta ; Autopsy ; Endocardium ; Fetal Heart* ; Fetus ; Gestational Age ; Heart ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans* ; Methods ; Myocardium ; Pericardium ; Pregnancy

The purpose of this study was to evaluate clinical features of diabetic neuropahty. The clinical symptoms and signs were investigated in individuals with diabetes mellitus by a questionnaire of 17 items about motor, sensory, and autonomic symptoms and signs, and then electrodiagnostic study was performed. One hundred and one patients with diabetes mellitus aged 31 to 88 years participated. The most frequent complaint was tingling sensation in the distal extremities and the most frequent sign was decreased or absent ankle jerk. The least frequent symtom or sign was motor weakness. Eighty point two percent of patients showed electrodiagnostic abnormalities. Abnormal ankle jerk, tingling sensation, and paresthesia in patients with abnormal electrodiagnstic study were 60.5%, 58.0%, and 29.6%, respectively. Clinical diabetic neuropahty was diagnosed of the patients when both tingling sensation and decreased ankle jerk were present. We conclude that clinical symptoms and signs of diabetes mellitus may be useful for diagnosis of diabetic neuropathy.
Ankle ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diabetic Neuropathies ; Diagnosis ; Extremities ; Humans ; Paresthesia ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Sensation

Emphysematous cholecystitis is an uncommon condition which may mimic acute cholecystitis. But it differs from acute cholecystitis in its relatively greater frequency in men and diabetics and has graver prognosis. The condition is diagnosed by demonstration of air in lumen,wall of gallbladder and/or pericholecystic space using a variety of radiographic techniques: simple abdominal radiography, ultrasonography and CT scanning. One illustrative case is presented herein and the pertinent literature is reviewed.
Cholecystitis, Acute ; Emphysematous Cholecystitis* ; Gallbladder ; Humans ; Male ; Prognosis ; Radiography, Abdominal ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Ultrasonography

No abstract available.
Child* ; Humans ; Mycoplasma pneumoniae* ; Mycoplasma* ; Pneumonia* ; Pneumonia, Mycoplasma*

Recently short term chemotherapy has become popular for the treatment of genitourinary tuberculosis. But it is questionable weather short term chemotherapy can cure all cases of genitourinary tuberculosis regardless of their severity ;and the role of nephrectomy in patients with renal tuberculosis is still controversial. Herein we analyzed 52 patients with confirmed urinary tuberculosis who were treated with triple drugs, including isoniazid, rifampicin and ethambutol, for 6 to 9 months. The patients ranged from 13 to 71 years of age, and the male to female ratio was 2.4: 1. Follow up period ranged from 6 to 65 months with a mean period of 19.7 months. The patients were classified according to the severity of renal tuberculosis on pyelography into Group I ( minimal, 8 patients), II (moderate, 9 patients) and III (severe, 35 patients), and treatment result were analyzed in each group. Of 52 patients, 19 were treated by chemotherapy only and 33 (63.5%) reconstructive surgery. Success rates of short term chemotherapy in terms of cure of tuberculosis and preservation of functional renal tissue were :overall 75%, 100% in Group I , 77% in Group II and 68.6% in Group III. Two of 9 patients in Group II and 10 of 17 in Group III who were treated with chemotherapy only, deteriorated with loss of the kidney. Poor vascular pyonephrotic kidney and progressive ureteral stricture were suggested as the main cause of failure. Ureteroneocystostomy and double J enting were helpful not only in the preservation of the kidney but also in the rapid cure of a renal tuberculosis. 24 patients who were treated with 6 to 9 months chemotherapy after removal of their nonfunctioning kidney were relapse-free on follow up. In conclusion, 6 to 9 months chemotherapy is adequate minimal urinary tuberculosis. For the treatment of moderate to advanced urinary tuberculosis, a longer period of chemotherapy may be adequate, and meticulous follow up with IVP and aggressive management of ureteral stricture is essential. A far advanced, nonfunctioning, unilateral tuberculosis kidney is better to be removed early, followed by 6 to 9 months' chemotherapy.
Constriction, Pathologic ; Drug Therapy* ; Ethambutol ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Isoniazid ; Kidney ; Male ; Nephrectomy ; Rifampin ; Tuberculosis* ; Tuberculosis, Renal ; Ureter ; Urography ; Weather

A case of Korean hemorrhagic fevery confirmed by fluorescent antibody technique in a 8years old boy was reported with a brief review of references.
Fluorescent Antibody Technique* ; Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome* ; Humans ; Male