Acrylonitrile is most commonly used aliphatic nitrile compounds characterized by the structural formula R-C=N and used mossy to make acrylic fibers, plastics, synthetic rubber, and wall coverings. In recent, because of its extensive usage and the rapid expansion of the chemical industry, many poisonings have been reported and many studies on its health effects have been performed. Acute toxicity resembles cyanide poisoning and results mainly in effects on the nervous system. High exposure also can cause temporary damage to red blood cells and the liver and can cause lead to death. Because long-term occupational exposure to the acrylonitrile has been with cancer in humans, the U.S EPA classifies acrylonitrile as probable carcinogen. For this reason, The federal government has developed regulations and advisories to protect individuals firm the potential health effects of acylonitrile in the environment, but there are few studies, case reports and regulations of the government in our country. We experienced acute poisoning caused by acrylonitrile inhalation that occurred in an industrial accident. So, we report this case with literature reveiw.
Accidents, Occupational ; Acrylonitrile* ; Chemical Industry ; Elastomers ; Erythrocytes ; Federal Government ; Humans ; Inhalation* ; Liver ; Nervous System ; Occupational Exposure ; Plastics ; Poisoning* ; Social Control, Formal

A clinical observation was made on 19 patients of renal cell carcinoma who were treated by radical nephrectomy with extended retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy in the Department of Urology, Catholic Medical College during the period from May, 1980 to August, l985. Results were as follows; 1. Clinical stages by Robson`s staging system were 7 cases of stage I, 6 cases of stage II, 5 cases of stage III and 1 case of stage IV. Acuracy rate of clinical staging was 68.4%. 2. Pathologic stages were 8 cases of stage I, 5 cases of stage II, 4 cases of stage HI and 2 cases of stage IV. 3. Metastatic sites were perirenal fat(5 cases), regional lymphnode (2 cases), vessel(4 cases) and lung (2 cases). The rate of regional lymphnode involvement was 10.5%. 4. Postoperative complications were colocutaneous fistula (1 case), prolonged ileus (1 case) and pleural effusion (1 case). 5. Out of 19 cases 13 cases were alive without recurrence, 2 cases were alive with metastasis, 3 cases died with recurrence and 1 case died with other cause. 1 year survival rate was 77.8%.
Carcinoma, Renal Cell* ; Fistula ; Humans ; Ileus ; Lung ; Lymph Node Excision* ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Nephrectomy* ; Pleural Effusion ; Postoperative Complications ; Recurrence ; Survival Rate ; Urology

Partial nephrectomy frequently accompanies serious complications such as secondary bleeding and urinary fistula and these complications result from necrosis of renal cut margin after partial nephrectomy. We have performed experimental partial nephrectomy to compare the extent of necrosis of renal cut margin after the wedge resection(Group l), the transverse polar resection(Group 2) and the chromic ligature resection(Group 3). In order to investigate which type of 3 partial nephrectomies cause less complications, 15 adult mongrel dogs were divided into three groups and partial nephrectomy was performed at the lower one quarter of 10 kidneys of 5 dogs in each group. The gross and microscopic findings of renal cut margin were observed at 1, 2, and 3 weeks after the operation. The results were as follows; 1. Mean depth of necrosis of the renal cortex at cut margin in Groups 1, 2 and 3 were 1.Ocm, O.2 cm and O.3cm, respectively. 2. Mean depth of necrosis of the renal medulla in Groups 1, 2 and 3 were 1.1cm, O.9cm and O.8cm, respectively. 3. On microscopic examination of the renal cortex at the 3rd week after operation, Groups 2 and 3 showed complete healing of necrosis but Group 1 showed delayed healing with remained necrotic tissue. From the present experiment it was found that both the transverse polar and chromic ligature resection cause less complications than the wedge resection.
Adult ; Animals ; Dogs* ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Kidney ; Ligation ; Necrosis* ; Nephrectomy* ; Urinary Fistula

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between acute physiologic and chronic health examination (APACHE) II and sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) scores and outcomes of post-cardiac arrest patients treated with therapeutic hypothermia (TH). METHODS: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survivors treated with TH between January 2010 and December 2012 were retrospectively evaluated. We captured all components of the APACHE II and SOFA scores over the first 48 hours after intensive care unit (ICU) admission (0 h). The primary outcome measure was in-hospital mortality and the secondary outcome measure was neurologic outcomes at the time of hospital discharge. Receiver-operating characteristic and logistic regression analysis were used to determine the predictability of outcomes with serial APACHE II and SOFA scores. RESULTS: A total of 138 patients were enrolled in this study. The area under the curve (AUC) for APACHE II scores at 0 h for predicting in-hospital mortality and poor neurologic outcomes (cerebral performance category: 3-5) was more than 0.7, and for SOFA scores from 0 h to 48 h the AUC was less than 0.7. Odds ratios used to determine associations between APACHE II scores from 0 h to 48 h and in-hospital mortality were 1.12 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03-1.23), 1.13 (95% CI, 1.04-1.23), and 1.18 (95% CI, 1.07-1.30). CONCLUSIONS: APACHE II, but not SOFA score, at the time of ICU admission is a modest predictor of in-hospital mortality and poor neurologic outcomes at the time of hospital discharge for patients who have undergone TH after return of spontaneous circulation following OHCA.
APACHE ; Area Under Curve ; Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation ; Hospital Mortality ; Humans ; Hypothermia* ; Hypothermia, Induced ; Intensive Care Units ; Logistic Models ; Odds Ratio ; Organ Dysfunction Scores* ; Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest* ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; Retrospective Studies ; Survivors

A clinical observation was made with particular attention to radiologic diagnosis, complication and management on 69 patients of renal injury admitted to the Catholic Medical Center during the last 10 years. The results were as follows: 1. Minor renal injury was in 49 cases (71%), major renal injury in 19 cases (27.5%) and pedicle injury in 1 case (1.5%) according to Scott's classification. 2. IVU was performed in 68 cases for initial diagnostic study and 18 cases (31%) needed additional radiologic study for accurate staging. 3. CT was performed in 14 cases and its diagnostic accuracy was 93%. 4. Renal angiography was performed in 6 cases. Angioinfarction was performed in 1 case due to continuous bleeding and the other 5 cases showed localized parenchymal infarction or normal finding. 5. Sonography was performed in 6 cases for initial diagnostic study and in 3 cases for follow up study. 6. In major renal injury patients, the group which decided treatment after CT study revealed 16 7% of complication rate but the group which decided treatment without CT study revealed 38 5% of complication rate. 7. In major renal injury or pedicle injury patients, initial operative treatment group resulted in kidney loss in 70% of cases without complication but initial conservative treatment group resulted in kidney loss in 60% of cases and the delay of operation resulted in 70% of complication rate.From these results, CT is the choice of additional staging technique after initial IVU and initial surgical operation is adequate treatment procedure in major renal injury or pedicle injury patients.
Angiography ; Classification ; Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Infarction ; Kidney

BACKGROUND: Head injury is one of the most common causes of emergency department visits and hospital admission in the pediatric populations, and most injuries are mild. In mild head injury, grading of severity and decision of hospital admission are difficult in the emergency department. Recent studies have suggested that patients with a normal head CT scan and neurologic exam following head injury can be safely discharged from the emergency department. However, previous studies have relied on incomplete patient follow-up and been limited for the most part to adult population. So we performed this study to assess clinical course and the incidence of significant CNS sequelae in children with a normal head CT scan and no focal neurologic sign after mild head injuries during hospital admission and follow-up for 1 month. METHODS: We reviewal the records of children(n=209) admitted to the department of emergency medicine with closed head injuries from Jan. 1, 1996 to Dec. 31, 1996, who's initial Glasgow Coma Scale was 13 to 15, and have no focal neurologic sign and a normal head CT scan. RESULT: 209 patients were studied with a mean age of 6.8(range 3 months to 15years), and 66.5% were male. The most common mechanisms of injury were pedestrian T.A(50.2%) and fall(11.5%). Patients had a mean Glasgow coma scale of 14.8 and mean Abbreviated Injury Score of 1.3. Patients had clinical symptoms of headache(49.3%), vomiting(44.5%), loss of consciousness(LOC)(29.6%), amnesia(10.0%), sleepiness(8.6%), irritability(8.6%), confusion(2.9%) and seizure(1.9%). The mean duration of admission was 4.3 days(range: 6 hours-20 days) and the mean duration of symptom was 36.4 hours. No child developed significant CNS sequelae during hospital admission. However, during hospital admission, aye children(all were preschooler) had psychologic complication ; one child developed post-traumatic stress disorder requiring psychologic treatment for 3 months. Three children developed enuresis and two children developed night terror. During 1 month fallow-up, one child developed a symptomatic hemorrhagic contusion 5 days after the head injury, not requiring neurosurgical treatment. CONCLUSION: Among children with an initial Glasgow Coma Scale of 13 to 15, a normal head CT scan and no focal neurologic sign after mild head injuries, delayed intracranial sequelae are extremely uncommon. So these patient may be discharged home with parental supervision and education for dose observation.
Adult ; Child* ; Contusions ; Craniocerebral Trauma* ; Education ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Medicine* ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Enuresis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Glasgow Coma Scale ; Head Injuries, Closed ; Head* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Organization and Administration ; Parents ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

BACKGROUND: Pneumonia is the most common cause of death among patients with infectious disease in Korea. However, studies of pneumonia with septic shock in patients presenting to the emergency department are limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic factors associated with pneumonia with septic shock in patients presenting to the emergency department. METHODS: From January 2008 to September 2014, patients with pneumonia with septic shock admitted through the emergency department were retrospectively examined. RESULTS: Of the 561,845 patients who visited the emergency department, 398 were admitted for pneumonia with septic shock. The 28-day mortality rate in these patients was 36.4%. The independent prognostic factors were old age (>70 yrs) (odds ratio [OR], 2.42; 95%, confidence interval [CI], 1.35-4.32), Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score (OR, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.01-1.08), leukopenia (OR, 3.63; 95% CI, 1.48-8.94), prolonged PT-INR (OR, 2.53; 95% CI, 1.41-4.54), and hypoxemia (OR, 2.88; 95% CI, 1.30-6.38). CONCLUSIONS: A poor prognosis of patients with pneumonia is associated with old age (>70 yrs), increased APACHE II score, leukopenia, prolonged PT-INR, and hypoxemia.
Anoxia ; APACHE ; Cause of Death ; Communicable Diseases ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Humans ; Korea ; Leukopenia ; Mortality ; Pneumonia* ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Shock, Septic*

Many patients whose chief complaint is headache caused by accident such as traffic accident, falling, or assaults visit to emergency center. Majority of these patients has mild or moderate symptoms, and there is no need to treat surgically. However, the fact that head injury can cause SIADH(syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone) is likely to be overseen. Acute hyponatremia might have been associated with death or permanent brain damage. Hyponatremia is best handled by early recognition and correction of a downward trend in the serum sodium. Unfortunately, this is often difficult in the head-injured patient, where hyponatremia may occur fairly rapidly and is confused by symptoms of head injury. when moderate to severe hyponatremia occurs, it is important to determine its etiology and expeditiously initiate corrective action. There has not been any reported case of the occurrence of symptomatic SIADH after mild head injury in Korea yet. The authors report the experience of three cases of symptomatic SIADH after mild head injury with review of the literatures.
Accidents, Traffic ; Brain ; Craniocerebral Trauma* ; Emergencies ; Head* ; Headache ; Humans ; Hyponatremia* ; Inappropriate ADH Syndrome ; Korea ; Sodium

PURPOSE: To evaluate the usefulness of the CT-guided percutaneous lung biopsy for the solitary pulmonary nodules smaller than 15 mm in diameter. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between April 2002 and May 2003, we evaluated twenty-five patients (11 men, 14 women, mean ages: 52.5 years) who had solitary pulmonary nodules, which we could not discriminate as being benign or malignant on the CT findings. All the subjects had CT-guided percutaenous cutting needle biopsy (PCNB) performed on them at our institution. A definitive diagnosis of benignity or malignancy was established to retrospectively analyze the patient's records. We evaluated the accuracy, sensitivity, specificity and complications of PCNB for the definitive diagnosis of benignity or malignancy. The sensitivity and specificity of PCNB were determined using the Chi-square test, and the correlations with pneumothorax and emphysema after biopsy were analyzed using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. RESULTS: In two nodules of the twenty-five nodules, no definitive diagnosis could be established. Of the remaining twenty-three nodules, 7 (30.4%) were malignant and 16 (69.6%) were benign. Twenty (87%) of the twenty-three definitively diagnosed nodules were correctly diagnosed with PCNB. Of the twenty nodules, 6 (30%) were malignant and 14 (70%) were benign. The sensitivity and specificity of the malignant nodules were 85.7% (6/7) and 100% (16/16), respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the benign nodules were 87.5% (14/16) and 85.7% (6/7), respectively. Post-biopsy complication occurred in nine patients (36%): Hemoptysis (n=4, 16%) and pneumothorax (n=5, 20%). However, there was not a statistical significance between pneumothorax and emphysema after biopsy (r=0.3, p=0.15). CONCLUSION: When CT-guided percutaneous lung biopsy of the solitary pulmonary nodules smaller than 15 mm in diameter was performed without an on-site cytopathologist, we know that PCNB can yield high diagnostic accuracy and very few complications.
Biopsy ; Biopsy, Needle* ; Diagnosis ; Emphysema ; Female ; Hemoptysis ; Humans ; Lung ; Male ; Needles* ; Pneumothorax ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Solitary Pulmonary Nodule*

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: There have been a few national population-based epidemiological studies of myasthenia gravis (MG) with wide variation of incidence and prevalence rates worldwide. Herein we report the first nationwide population-based epidemiological study of MG in Korea. METHODS: We attempted to estimate the incidence and prevalence rates of MG using the Korean National Health Insurance claims database for 2010 to 2013. Cases with MG were defined as those having claim records with a principal diagnosis of MG and the prescription of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors or immunosuppressive agents including corticosteroids and azathioprine within 2 years after the diagnosis. The year 2010 was set as a washout period, such that patients were defined as incident cases if their first records of MG were observed in 2011. RESULTS: In 2011 there were 1,236 incident cases, and the standardized incidence rate was 2.44 per 100,000 person-years. The standardized prevalence rates were 9.67 and 10.66 per 100,000 persons in 2010 and 2011, respectively. The incidence and prevalence rates peaked in the elderly population aged 60 to 69 years for both sexes. CONCLUSIONS: This is one of the largest national population-based epidemiological studies of MG, and it has confirmed the high incidence and prevalence rates of MG in the elderly population of South Korea.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Aged ; Azathioprine ; Cholinesterase Inhibitors ; Diagnosis ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Epidemiology ; Humans ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; Incidence* ; Korea* ; Myasthenia Gravis* ; National Health Programs* ; Prescriptions ; Prevalence*