PURPOSE: The incidence of urolithiasis has recently shown an increasing tendency in relation to improvements in living conditions in Korea. With the development of extracorporeal shock wave lithotriptor (ESWL), endourology and other new instruments, urolithiasis has become easier to treat, without surgical intervention. The incidence and treatment of urolithiasis, between the 1980 and 2000, were evaluated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 328 and 1,142 patients with urolithiasis, either admitted between January 1981 and December 1984 or treated at the out-patient clinic between January 2001 and December 2004, respectively, were analyzed. RESULTS: In the early 1980s, 328 (27.3%) patients of the total 1,203 admitted to the urology department had urolithiasis. In the early 2000s, 1,142 patients were treated for urolithiasis. The total number and incidence constantly increased over the stated period. The ratio of males to females was 1.3:1 in the 1980s and 2.0:1 in the 2000s. The occurrence rate for those under 20 years decreased, but increased after the 6th decade. And the seasonal occurrence was highest during the summer of the early 1980s, but there was no seasonal difference during the early 2000s. The incidences of lower ureteral, bladder and urethral calculi were decreased, but those of renal and upper ureteral calculi increased. In the management of urolithiasis, open surgery and expectant therapy decreased during the 2000s. In the endourological management of urolithiasis, the success rates of ESWL, percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL) and ureteroscopic removal of stone (URS) were 94.5, 86.6 and 96.4%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence and treatment modalities of urolithiasis have changed, especially since the late 1980s.
Calculi ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence* ; Korea ; Male ; Nephrostomy, Percutaneous ; Outpatients ; Seasons ; Shock ; Social Conditions ; Ureter ; Ureteral Calculi ; Urinary Bladder ; Urolithiasis* ; Urology

The purpose of this study was to elucidate the effects of fentanyl and morphine on the ability of epinephrine to induce arrhythmias in halothane-anesthetized dogs. Epinephrine was infused in progressively increasing doses from 0.5 ug/kg/min. Arrhythmogenic dose of epinephrine(ADE), defined as that induces 4 or more premature ventricular contractions within 15 s during 3 min iafusions of epinephrine, was determined before(control) and after pretreatment of either fentanyl(6 ug/kg i.v. plus 6 pg/kg/hr) or morphine(0.2mg/kg i.v. plus 0.2 mg/kg/hr). Blood pressure and heart rate were also measured immediately before(baseline), immediately after infusion of epinephrine. The results were as follows. l) Fentanyl and morphine increased ADE by 37%(2.19+/-0.49 to 3.00+/-0.44 ug/kg/min, p<0.01) and by 43%(2.50+/-0.60 to 3.58+/-0.93 ug/kg/min, p<0.05), respectively. 2) Percent increases in systolic blood pressure at control were similar to those after pretreatment with fentanyl or morphine in both groups, but systolic blood pressures at the time of arrhythmia after pretreatment were lower than those at control in fentanyl(p<0.05) and morphine group(NS). 3) Fentanyl and morphine decreased heart rate by 27%(127+/-8 to 93+/-6 beats/min, p<0.001) and by 13%(118+/-5 to 103+/-5 beats/min, p<0.05), respectively. These results suggest that fentanyl or morphine inhibits epinephrine induced arrhythmias during halothane-oxygen anesthesia. Thus, pretreatment of surgical patients, who were supposed to receive epinephrine during halothane anesthesia, with either fentanyl or morphine might be safe.
Anesthesia ; Anesthetics ; Animals ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac* ; Blood Pressure ; Dogs* ; Epinephrine* ; Fentanyl* ; Halothane* ; Heart ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Morphine* ; Pharmacology ; Sympathetic Nervous System ; Ventricular Premature Complexes

No abstract available.
Korea*

No abstract available.
Asthma*

Purpose: This study aimed at investigating the nutritional status, nutritional support, and nutritional indicators of critically ill patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygen (ECMO) in intensive care units (ICU). Methods: This descriptive study obtained data from the medical records of 37 patients who were treated using ECMO at a university hospital in Korea. The patients were admitted to the Korea University Anam Hospital ICU with acute or serious damage to vital organs from January 1, 2014 to June 30, 2016. Results: Although 32 patients (86.5%) were at a high risk of malnutrition, 26 patients (70.3%) were considered normal in terms of nutritional status by the nutritionist at the beginning of their ICU stay. However, after two weeks, nine patients had passed away and only one patient maintained normal status. Parenteral nutrition was started first but took 4.25 ± 6.95 days till initiation. Only eight patients (21.6%) were able to meet their requirement for both calories and protein. The group provided with adequate calorie and protein showed significantly longer use of the ECMO and respirator and longer ICU and total hospital stay than their counterparts. Normal levels of serum albumin and protein of the group at low-risk for malnutrition on the day of initiation of ECMO, which were significantly higher than the high-risk group, declined by the last day of ECMO leading to a lack of significant differences between the two groups. Conclusion Considering that the nutritional indicators of patients deteriorated as the days on ECMO increased, more aggressive nutritional management to ensure adequate nutritional support should be emphasized from the beginning and throughout the ICU stay.

No abstract available.
Humans ; Mesenteric Veins* ; Nephrotic Syndrome* ; Thrombosis*

Hunter syndrome is one of the mucopolysaccharidoses, characterized by abnormal accumulation and deposition of mucopolysaccharides in the tissues of several organs which are known to complicate anaesthetic and airway management. We experienced a case of pulmonary edema which developed during induction of general anesthesia of Hunter syndrome after several attempts of intubation and airway obstruction.
Airway Management ; Airway Obstruction ; Anesthesia, General ; Glycosaminoglycans ; Intubation ; Intubation, Intratracheal* ; Mucopolysaccharidoses ; Mucopolysaccharidosis II* ; Pulmonary Edema*

PURPOSE: Many investigators suggested that changes in hormonal environment in the postmenopausal women functionally or histologically effect the clitoris and vagina. We investigated the mechanism of female se xual dysfunction occurring in the decreased hormonal status, and aimed to establish and experimental base for the hormone replacement in postmenopausal women to correct sexual dysfunction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty mature female New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into three groups; control group, oophorectomy group, estrogen replacement group after oophorectomy. Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity and the degree of expression of neuronal NOS (nNOS) and endothelial NOS (eNOS), collagen content in clitoral tissues were analysed. RESULTS: nNOS and eNOS were significantly increased in the oohporectomized group while decreased in the estrogen replacement group (p<0.01). NOS activity showed the similar pattern of change (p<0.05). Oophorectomy induced a significant increase in collagen content, while the ratio of smooth muscle content was increased significantly after the estrogen replacement (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Estrogen deficiency induces collagen synthesis and decreases the content of smooth muscle in clitoris, resulting in a structural relaxation difficulty. We believe that NOS becomes more active to improve the relaxation difficulty and that hormone replacement helps to restore the normal state of smooth muscle relaxation. Considering these findings, we suggest that estrogen down-regulates NOS and its activity.
Clitoris* ; Collagen ; Estrogen Replacement Therapy ; Estrogens* ; Female ; Humans ; Muscle, Smooth ; Neurons ; Nitric Oxide Synthase ; Ovariectomy ; Rabbits ; Relaxation ; Research Personnel ; Vagina

PURPOSE: The treatment of chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) is based on antibiotic therapy, but many patients experience a relapse after treatment. Cranberry juice is known for its roles in both the treatment and prevention of urinary tract infections. This study was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of cranberry juice in the prevention of a relapse after the treatment of CPPS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty patients, diagnosed as CPPS (National Institutes of Health; NIH-catagory IIIa), were included in this study. All the patients had initially been treated with levofloxacin and supportive treatment for 8-12 weeks. After completion of the initial treatment, 26 volunteer patients were recommended to drink 150ml of cranberry juice twice a day, 24 patients, as a control group, received no cranberry juice and all the patients re-evaluated after 3 months. RESULTS: On initial diagnosis, the white blood cell (WBC) count in the high power field (HFP) of expressed prostatic secretions (EPS) and the NIH-Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI) in cranberry group were 18.2 3.4 and 23.1 4.4 and those of the control group 16.4 4.8 and 22.4 3.7, respectively. When the medical treatment was ended, the WBC of the EPS and NIH-CPSI in the cranberry group were 2.5 2.1 and 14.1 4.1, and those of the control group were 2.7 1.9 and 13.7 2.1, respectively. After the three month follow-up, the cranberry group showed a WBC of 2.2 2.5 in the EPS and a NIH-CPSI of 12.7 3.9, a slight decrease or similar result compared to the treatment completion period. No patient showed aggravation of symptoms after drinking cranberry juice, whereas five from the control group did. CONCLUSIONS: Cranberry juice showed an effect in the prevention of a relapse in CPPS patients, with no adverse effects.
Academies and Institutes ; Diagnosis ; Drinking ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Leukocytes ; Levofloxacin ; Pelvic Pain* ; Prostatitis ; Recurrence* ; Urinary Tract Infections ; Vaccinium macrocarpon* ; Volunteers

Aconite is a common remedy of herb doctors and is widely used in the Far East. Clinical aspects of the visual disturbance produced by this drug have been described, but little is known about its pathology. Tinctura aconiti (0.6 mg of total alkaloid/kg 2x) was administered intraperitoneally in rabbits to evaluate its toxic effects on the visual system. The alteration in the visual evoked potential following aconite injection consisted of a delay in the onset and peak latency. Histopathologically, there were damages to the myelin sheath of the visual pathway, spinal cord and peripheral nerves. These findings suggest that aconite may cause primarily myelo-optic neuropathy.
Aconitum/administration & dosage/*toxicity ; Animals ; Evoked Potentials, Visual/*drug effects ; Injections, Intraperitoneal ; Myelin Sheath/*drug effects/ultrastructure ; Optic Nerve/*drug effects/ultrastructure ; Optic Nerve Diseases/*chemically induced/pathology ; Rabbits ; Spinal Cord/*drug effects/ultrastructure