Truncus arteriosus is characterized by a single arterial vessel arising from the base of the heart and giving origin to the systemic, pulmonary and coronary circulation. To evaluate the incidence, types, and associated anomalies, 18cases of truncus arteriosus diagnosed by angiocardiography, were reviewed and were compared with other reports. Ten of them were confirmed by operation. The overall incidence of truncus arteriosus was 0.127%. Accordin to Collett and Edwards classification. Type I was encountered in 11cases(61%), type II in 4cases(22%), and type III in 3cases(17%), All the patients had subtruncal ventricular septal defects. Eight patients showed truncal valve regurgitation and valve stenosis was noted in one case. A right aortic arch was present in 9 cases. Associated anomalies were atrial septal defect(8cases), patent ductus arteriosus(3cases), coarctation of the aorta(2cases), isolation of the left subclavian artery(2 cases), and right aortic arch with an aberrant left subclavian artery(1case). Truncus arteriosus is an uncommon congenital cardio vascular malformation. In the group of cases which we encountered, type I was the most common anomaly. Frequently associated anomalies were right aortic arch, incompetent truncal valve and atrial septal defect.
Angiocardiography ; Aorta, Thoracic ; Classification ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Circulation ; Heart ; Heart Septal Defects, Atrial ; Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular ; Humans ; Incidence* ; Truncus Arteriosus* ; Vascular Malformations

Tufted hair follliculitis is a localized, inflammatory and exudative disease of the scalp characterized by a tufted appearance of the scalp hairs emerging from single follicular openings, and may result in permanent and irreversible scarring alopecia. We report two cases of tufted hair folliculitis in a 53-year-old woman and a 47-year-old man. They had several areas of scarring alopecia with multiple bundles of hairs emerging from single follicular orifices. Histopathologic findings were typical for tufted hair folliculitis. The patients were treated successively with oral antibiotics and with topical application of clindamycin.
Alopecia ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Cicatrix ; Clindamycin ; Female ; Folliculitis* ; Hair* ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Scalp

No abstract available.
Carcinoma, Endometrioid*

In Asia, mammography following the injection of foreign materials into the breasts for cosmetic augmentation is frequently seen and diagnosis based on the typical radiologic findings is straightforward. We report the unusual radiologic findings in two patients with foreign body granulomas caused by injected foreign materials and discovered incidentally during screening work up. The mammographic findings were bilateral, hyperdense, spiculated masses, with occasional microcalcification, and at sonography, markedly hypoechoic, spiculated solid masses, located near the pectoralis muscle and partly extending into it, were observed. These radiologic findings mimicked malignancy.
Breast Neoplasms/radiography ; Case Report ; Cholesterol ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Esthetics ; Female ; Granuloma, Foreign-Body/etiology/*radiography/*ultrasonography ; Human ; Injections/adverse effects ; Mammography ; Middle Age ; Paraffin

PURPOSE: To evaluate characteristic MR findings of primary cardiac and pericardiac tumors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: There were myxomas (n=7), malignant lymphoma (n=l), lipoma (n=l), and pericardiac mesotheliomas (n=2). We analyzed location, size, shape, signal intensity, contrast enhancement, and associated findings of adjacent structures such as pericardiac and pleural effusion, and mediastinal lymph node enlargement. RESULTS: Locations of the myxomas were left atrium in four cases, left ventricle in one, right atrium in one, and right ventricle in one. Mean diameter was 3.5cm (range, 2-7cm). They were polypoid or Iobulated in shape, and attached to interatrial or interventricular septurn in all cases except in right atrial myxoma which was attached to lateral wall. Their peduncles were demonstrated in three left atrial myxomas. The signal intensities were iso or slightly high on T1-weighted images and high on T2-weighted images. Pleural and pericardial effusions were shown in the three cases. Malignant lymphoma was manifested as large mass in right ventricle infiltrating to right atrium, interventricular septum, right paratracheal and retrocardiac area. It had slightly high intensity in both T1- and T2-weighted images with a strong contrast enhancement and associated with both pericardiac and pleural effusion. Lipoma was polypoid in shape and attached to lateral wall of left ventricle with bright T1 and high T2 signal intensity. Pericardiac mesothelioma was manifested as a pericardiac and atrial mass with diffuse irregular uneven thickening of pericardium which had iso signal on T1- and high T2-weighted images with moderate contrast enhancement. Conculsion: MR imaging is a very useful method in demonstration of the location, extent, tissue characteristics of the mass, and relationship with its adjacent structu res in evaluation of cardiac and pericardiac tumors.
Heart Atria ; Heart Ventricles ; Lipoma ; Lymph Nodes ; Lymphoma ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Mesothelioma ; Myxoma ; Pericardial Effusion ; Pericardium ; Pleural Effusion

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in enormous related publications. However, the citation frequency of these documents and their influence on the journal impact factor (JIF) are not well examined. We aimed to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on biomedical research publications and their citation frequency. Methods: We searched publications on biomedical research in the Web of Science using the search terms “COVID-19,” “SARS-Cov-2,” “2019 corona*,” “corona virus disease 2019,” “coronavirus disease 2019,” “novel coronavirus infection” and “2019-ncov.” The top 200 journals were defined as those with a higher number of COVID-19 publications than other journals in 2020. The COVID-19 impact ratio was calculated as the ratio of the average number of citations per item in 2021 to the JIF for 2020. Results: The average number of citations for the top 200 journals in 2021, per item published in 2020, was 25.7 (range, 0–270). The average COVID-19 impact ratio was 3.84 (range, 0.26–16.58) for 197 journals that recorded the JIF for 2020. The average JIF ratio for the top 197 journals including the JIFs for 2020 and 2021 was 1.77 (range, 0.68–8.89). The COVID-19 impact ratio significantly correlated with the JIF ratio (r = 0.403, P = 0.010). Twenty-five Korean journals with a COVID-19 impact ratio > 1.5 demonstrated a higher JIF ratio (1.31 ± 0.39 vs. 1.01 ± 0.18, P < 0.001) than 33 Korean journals with a lower COVID-19 impact ratio. Conclusion COVID-19 pandemic infection has significantly impacted the trends in biomedical research and the citation of related publications.

Fibrotic lesions occurring in the corpus cavernosum are usually cases of Peyronie's disease that originate from the tunica albuginea, or they are the fibrotic result of inflammatory processes. The lesion involving the corpus cavernosum, but not tunica albuginea is rare. We present here a case of fibrotic nodule arising in the corpus cavernosum with the sonographic and magnetic resonance imaging features. A 38-year-old man complained a small nodular mass in the left corpus cavernosum at the level of penoscrotal junction without abnormal curvature of the organ. We performed ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging to determine exactly what the lesion was. The lesion was removed and it was pathologically found to be a localized fibrotic nodule of the corpus cavernosum with some narrow-channeled vascular structures.
Adult ; Fibrosis ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Penile Induration ; Penis ; Ultrasonography

Piebaldism is a rare, autosomal dominant inherited disorder, characterized by inborn hypopigmented skin and hair. It is characterized by stable leukoderma with white forelock and vitiligo like amelanotic macules usually containing hyperpigmented macules at the periphery. As the leukodermic lesions in piebaldism are unresponsive to any form of topical or systemic medical treatment, several methods for autologous transplantation of melanocytes and epidermal transplantation methods have been developed and there are no specific treatment methods for hyperpigmented patch in piebaldism. A 12-year-old female had piebaldism from birth. Suction blister epidermal graft was tried at hypopigmented patches on the posterior aspects of both lower legs and the Q-switched Alexandrite laser was used at the site of the hyperpigmented patches. Combination therapy with suction blister epidermal graft and a Q-switched Alexandrite laser on piebaldism may be effective method.
Autografts ; Blister* ; Child ; Female ; Hair ; Humans ; Lasers, Solid-State* ; Leg ; Melanocytes ; Parturition ; Piebaldism* ; Skin ; Suction* ; Transplantation, Autologous ; Transplants* ; Vitiligo

BACKGROUND: A lipo-prostaglandin E1 agonist is effective for the treatment of neurological symptoms of spinal stenosis when administered by an oral or intravenous route. we would like to reveal the therapeutic effect of an epidural injection of lipo-prostaglandin E1 on hyperalgesia in foraminal stenosis. METHODS: A total of 40 male Sprague-Dawley rats were included. A small stainless steel rod was inserted into the L5/L6 intervertebral foramen to produce intervertebral foraminal stenosis and chronic compression of the dorsal root ganglia (DRG). The rats were divided into three groups: epidural PGE1 (EP) (n = 15), saline (n = 15), and control (n = 10). In the EP group, 0.15 microg.kg-1 of a lipo-PGE1 agonist was injected daily via an epidural catheter for 10 days from postoperative day 3. In the saline group, saline was injected. Behavioral tests for mechanical hyperalgesia were performed for 3 weeks. Then, the target DRG was analyzed for the degree of chromatolysis, chronic inflammation, and fibrosis in light microscopic images. RESULTS: From the fifth day after lipo-PGE1 agonist injection, the EP group showed significant recovery from mechanical hyperalgesia, which was maintained for 3 weeks (P < 0.05). Microscopic analysis showed much less chromatolysis in the EP group than in the saline or control groups. CONCLUSIONS: An epidurally administered lipo-PGE1 agonist relieved neuropathic pain, such as mechanical hyperalgesia, in a rat foraminal stenosis model, with decreasing chromatolysis in target DRG. We suggest that epidurally administered lipo-PGE1 may be a useful therapeutic candidate for patients with spinal stenosis.
Alprostadil ; Animals ; Catheters ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Diagnosis-Related Groups ; Fibrosis ; Ganglia, Spinal ; Humans ; Hyperalgesia ; Inflammation ; Injections, Epidural ; Male ; Neuralgia ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Spinal Stenosis* ; Stainless Steel

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical and radiographic findings of localized foreign body (FB) granulomas onmammograms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study involved 13 patients with localized FB granulomas on mammograms;their history of mammoplasty or other plastic procedures was obtained by telephone interviews. Two radiologistsanalyzed the location and morphology of FB granulomas and the presence of associated linear densities orparenchymal distortion on mammograms. Four patients underwent ultrasonography. RESULTS: No patient had a historyof mammoplasty. All 13, however, had a history of plastic procedure, three to 22 (average, 12) years previously,as follows : foreign materials including silicone liquid and oil such as paraffin been injected into the anteriorneck area of nine patients, the infra-auricular area of two, and the nose of two. Multiple small, high-density,flocculent nodules representing FB granulomas were distributed bilaterally in nine patients; they were noted inthe upper inner portion of 11 of 26 breasts. In eight patients, mammograms showed linear opacities suggestingfibrosis. There was no calcification or parenchymal distortion. Though in three cases, the masses were palpable.Ultrasonography revealed several anechoic nodules with posterior enhancement in subcutaneous fatty layers, and inone, 0.2cc of oil droplet had been aspirated under ultrasonographic guidance. CONCLUSION: Localized FB granulomasof the breast could be caused by the migration of FB from cervicofacial areas. Mammography showed characteristicdistribution of upper inner portions, and the findings were similar to those of mild interstitial mammoplasty.
Breast* ; Female ; Foreign Bodies* ; Granuloma ; Granuloma, Foreign-Body* ; Humans ; Interviews as Topic ; Mammaplasty ; Mammography ; Nose ; Paraffin ; Plastics ; Silicones ; Ultrasonography