PURPOSE: The correlation between sonographic findings and clinical symptoms was investigated in the patients with mesenteric lymphadenitis who had recurrent acute abdomen. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy-eight children with recurrent acute abdominal pain without obvious primary disease were evaluated by sonography. The initial and follow-up sonography were performed in 17 children. The abdomen was divided into 3 areas. The number and size of mesenteric lymph nodes were observed in each zone, and was compared with the clinical findings. RESULTS: In 56(71.8%) of 78 cases, good correlation was seen in the area of the greatest size and number of the lymph nodes in the sonography. Most severe symptom, was seen in the right lumbar area(49 cases) and umbilical area(7 cases). In 17 cases of follow up, 14 cases showed decrease size and number of mesenteric lymph nodes while 2 cases showed increase in size and number of the nodes with aggravated symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Ultrasonography was useful to detect and localize the enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes. Initial and follow-up sonography showed good correlation between the changes in number and size of the lymph nodes and symptoms.
Abdomen ; Abdomen, Acute* ; Abdominal Pain ; Child* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Mesenteric Lymphadenitis* ; Ultrasonography*

Fracuture-dislocation of the cuboid is an extremely rere injury compared with fracture-dislocation of other tarsal bones. We report a case of the fracture-dislocation of the cuboid treated by open reduction and internal fixation.
Tarsal Bones

Obesity is defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to a number of chronic diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Therefore, obesity is associated with decreases in life expectancy. Also weight loss of 5-10% is associated with clinically significant health benefits. In Korea, a person with a body mass index of 25 kg/m2 or more is considered obese. In 2012, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended screening all adults for obesity and USPSTF advised that clinicians offer or refer patients with obesity to intensive, multicomponent behavioral interventions. In Korea, management of obesity 2010 recommendation was published but there is no recommendation about screening for obesity. Because of the increasing prevalence of obesity, new recommendations on screening and efficient treatment for obesity and overweight are needed in Korea.
Adult ; Advisory Committees ; Body Mass Index ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Chronic Disease ; Humans ; Insurance Benefits ; Korea ; Life Expectancy ; Mass Screening ; Obesity ; Overweight ; Prevalence ; Weight Loss

Many young women suffer from premenstrual syndrome (PMS). The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of isoflavone on serum sex hormone and PMS during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. We investigated the incidence of PMS in 116 Korean female college students. The incidence of PMS was 19.8%. Among them, 9 PMS and 13 control were given 90 mg isoflavone per day during 2 menstrual cycles. The changes in anthropometric measurements, dietary intakes, serum parameters including sex hormones, and PMS symptoms were observed. Isoflavone supplementation did not affect anthropometric measurements. However, SBP and DBP were significantly decreased in control. Dietary intakes were not changed after supplementation of isoflavones. Serum SHBG was lower in PMS group than in control and significantly decreased in control with isoflavone supplementation. PMS symptoms such as backache, sweet, salty, and fatty food craving, coffee/tea drinking, and anxiety were significantly lessened. Based on these results, isoflavone supplementation may benefit young women by reducing some of PMS. Further studies of soy isoflavones effect on sex hormone and PMS may help to prepare for PMS management.
Anxiety ; Back Pain ; Drinking ; Female* ; Gonadal Steroid Hormones ; Humans ; Incidence ; Isoflavones ; Luteal Phase ; Menstrual Cycle ; Premenstrual Syndrome*

Objectives: The response of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder patients to antipsychotics remains insufficient. Therefore, augmentation with additional antipsychotics is common in clinical practice. This study examined the efficacy and safety of amisulpride augmentation in schizophrenia patients partially responsive to antipsychotics. Methods: Twenty-nine schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder patients without treatment response to antipsychotics monotherapy were included in this study. Psychotic symptoms were evaluated using Brief Psychiatry Rating Scale (BPRS), Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S), and Clinical Global Impression-Improvement (CGI-I). The side effects were evaluated using Barnes Akathisia Rating Scale (BARS) and Simpson-Angus Scale (SAS) at baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks after the amisulpride augmentation. Results: Among the 29 patients, 28 completed the study. At week 12, the mean BPRS score (p<0.001) and CGI-S score (p=0.002) showed significant improvement compared to the baseline. There was no increase in extrapyramidal symptoms according to SAS (p=0.090) and BARS (p=0.137) after the amisulpride augmentation. Conclusion This study demonstrated the efficacy and safety of amisulpride augmentation in schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder patients partially responsive to antipsychotics. Further studies investigating the efficacy of amisulpride augmentation therapy using placebo control are necessary to confirm the results.

Little data exists on metabolic syndrome (MetS) related with intake, especially for the South Korean. The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for nutritional assessment in the population with MetS in South Korea. Randomly selected female participants, mean age 21.9 years (n = 38) were invited to answer the FFQ twice (FFQ1 and FFQ2) over a nine-month interval and to complete twelve-day diet records (DR) during the months between in South Korea. The correlation coefficients for nutrient intake between FFQ1 and FFQ2 varied from 0.253 (niacin) to 0.573 (cholesterol), and the energy intake-adjusted correlation coefficients ranged from 0.187 for protein to 0.662 for iron. The energy intake-adjusted and de-attenuated correlation coefficients for comparison of FFQ1 and the DRs ranged between 0.277 (vitamin B1) and 0.768 (fiber), and between 0.229 (zinc) and 0.859 (fat) for comparison of DRs with FFQ2. The percentages of study subjects classified into the same quartiles in both the DRs and FFQ1 ranged from 15.8% (vitamin B6) to 47.4% (calcium), and for the same quartiles in DRs and FFQ2 from 13.2% (vitamin B1) to 44.7% (potassium). The FFQ has reasonably good validity and reproducibility. Further research is needed for an assessment of reproducibility and validation of present FFQ in the subjects with MetS.
Diet Records ; Female ; Humans ; Iron ; Korea ; Nutrition Assessment ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Republic of Korea

The anti-inflammatory effects of an ethanol extract of Angelica gigas (EAG) were investigated in vitro and in vivo using croton oil-induced inflammation models. Croton oil (20 microgram/mL) up-regulated mRNA expression of cyclooxygenase (COX)-I and COX-II in the macrophage cell line, RAW 264.7, resulting in the release of high concentrations of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). EAG (1~10 microgram/mL) markedly suppressed croton oil-induced COX-II mRNA expression and PGE2 production. Application of croton oil (5% in acetone) to mouse ears caused severe local erythema, edema and vascular leakage, which were significantly attenuated by oral pre-treatment with EAG (50~500 mg/kg). Croton oil dramatically increased blood levels of interleukin (IL)-6 and PGE2 without affecting tumor-necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and nitric oxide (NO) levels. EAG pre-treatment remarkably lowered IL-6 and PGE2, but did not alter TNF-alpha or NO concentrations. These results indicate that EAG attenuates inflammatory responses in part by blocking the COX-PGE2 pathway. Therefore, EAG could be a promising candidate for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.
Angelica/*immunology ; Animals ; Cell Line ; Cyclooxygenase 1/genetics/*immunology ; Cyclooxygenase 2/genetics/*immunology ; Dinoprostone/genetics/immunology ; Inflammation/drug therapy/enzymology/*immunology ; Interleukin-6/blood ; Macrophages ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Nitric Oxide/blood ; Phytotherapy/*methods ; Plant Extracts/*pharmacology/therapeutic use ; Plant Roots/immunology ; RNA, Messenger/chemistry/genetics ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/blood

BACKGROUND: This study was purposed to identify the knowledge and performance level of the infection control guidelines and to improve their performance level of infection control for those nurses who care patients directly. METHODS: This study was based on the survey questionnaires about infection control guidelines with the total 626 nurses in Seoul and Kyunggi areas for the period between May 26, 2003 and July 14, 2003. RESULTS: The average knowledge level of infection control was 0.84 +/-0.07 (score range 0-1) and the average performance level of the infection control was 4.44+/-10.27 (score range 0-5). The correlation between knowledge and performance of the infection control showed positive correlation (r=.39; P<.001). The knowledge and performance level of the 'Prevention of the central catheter infection' were higher than other infection control guidelines. The performance levels of the 'Prevention of the surgical site infection' were lower than other infection control guidelines. The correlation between knowledge and performance of the 'Prevention of the nosocomial pneumonia' (r=.389; P<.001). 'Prevention of the urinary tract infection' (r=.325; P<.001), 'Prevention of the central catheter infection (r=.290; P<.001) and 'Intravascular infection control' (r=.446; P<.001) showed positive correlation. CONCLUSION: The study demonstrated that the nurses' knowledge and performance of infection control guidelines showed positive correlation. So the education on the infection control is required indispensably and it would contribute to reduce the hospital infection rate by performing the right treatment on the infection control with the basis of accurate knowledge.
Catheters ; Cross Infection ; Education ; Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Infection Control* ; Seoul ; Urinary Tract ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Although increased serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) level has been suggested to be a surrogate marker of polycystic ovarian morphology (PCOM), its association with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is controversial, and its diagnostic value has not been determined. We aimed to observe the relationship between the AMH level and PCOS phenotypes and to determine the optimal cutoff value of AMH for the diagnosis of PCOS in young Korean women. METHODS: We recruited 207 women with PCOS (120 with PCOM and 87 without PCOM) and 220 regular cycling women with normoandrogenemia (100 with PCOM and 120 without PCOM). Subjects underwent testing at a single outpatient visit. Serum AMH level was measured. RESULTS: Women with PCOS had higher serum AMH levels than did regular cycling women with normoandrogenemia (p < 0.05). Women with PCOM had higher serum AMH levels than women without PCOM, regardless of PCOS status (p < 0.05). The optimal AMH cutoff value for the diagnosis of PCOS was 10.0 ng/mL (71% sensitivity, 93% specificity). Serum AMH was an independent determinant of total testosterone after adjustment for age, body mass index, and the number of menses/year (β = 0.31, p < 0.01). An association between AMH and hyperandrogenism was only observed in women with PCOS, and it was independent of the presence of PCOM. CONCLUSION: The serum AMH level can be useful for the diagnosis of PCOS at any age less than 40 years, and the optimal cutoff value for the diagnosis of PCOS identified in this study of young Korean women was 10.0 ng/mL.
Anti-Mullerian Hormone ; Biomarkers ; Body Mass Index ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperandrogenism ; Outpatients ; Ovarian Cysts ; Phenotype ; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome* ; Testosterone

BACKGROUND: The fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene is associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Obesity and insulin resistance are also common features of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Therefore, the FTO gene might be a candidate gene for PCOS susceptibility. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of FTO gene variants on PCOS susceptibility and metabolic and reproductive hormonal parameters. METHODS: We recruited 432 women with PCOS (24+/-5 years) and 927 healthy women with regular menstrual cycles (27+/-5 years) and performed a case-control association study. We genotyped the single nucleotide polymorphisms rs1421085, rs17817449, and rs8050136 in the FTO gene and collected metabolic and hormonal measurements. RESULTS: Logistic regression revealed that the G/G genotype (rs1421085, 1.6%), the C/C genotype (rs17817449, 1.6%), and the A/A genotype (rs8050136, 1.6%) were strongly associated with an increased risk of PCOS (odds ratio, 2.551 to 2.559; all P<0.05). The strengths of these associations were attenuated after adjusting for age and BMI. The women with these genotypes were more obese and exhibited higher free androgen indices (P<0.05) and higher free testosterone levels (P=0.053 to 0.063) compared to the other genotypes. However the significant differences disappeared after adjusting for body mass index (BMI). When we analyzed the women with PCOS and the control groups separately, there were no significant differences in the metabolic and reproductive hormonal parameters according to the FTO gene variants. CONCLUSION: The rs1421085, rs17817449, and rs8050136 variants of the FTO gene were associated with PCOS susceptibility and hyperandrogenemia in young Korean women. These associations may be mediated through an effect of BMI.
Body Mass Index ; Case-Control Studies ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Female ; Genotype ; Humans ; Hyperandrogenism ; Insulin Resistance ; Logistic Models ; Menstrual Cycle ; Obesity ; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Testosterone