BACKGROUND: Noninvasive estimation of pulmonary artery pressure is an important component of echocardiographic studies. A number of methods are available for estimation of pulmenary pressure, each with varying degrees of reported accuracy. To assess accuracy and difficulties, noninvasive pulmonary artery pressure estimates were performed in infants and children with congenital heart diseases. METHODS: Noninvasive estimates from 8 methods were compared with catheterization measurements. Systolic pressure was estimated by the Burstin method and from perak tricuspid regurgitation velocity, and also from systolic pressure gradients through the VSD(ventricular septal defect) and PDA(patent ductus arteriosus). Mean pressure was estimated by acceleration time divided by ejection time measured from Koppler spectrum obtained at the right ventricular out flow tract. Diastolic pressure was estimated from pulmonary regurgitation velocity spentrum at end-diastolic, and also from diastolic pressure gradient through the patent ductus arteriosus. RESULTS: IN systolic pressure, Burstin and tricuspid regurgitation velocities estimates correlated significantly(r=0.92, 0.90 respectively), whereas VSD and PDA estimates correlated less well with catheterization estimates(r=0.83, 0.65 respectively). The mean pressure, measured from RVOT(right ventricular outflow tract) Doppler spectrum corresponded well with catheterization pressure(r=0.89), whereas those obtained from the main pulmonary artery correlated less well(r=0.74). The diastolic pressure estimates from pulmonary regurgitation velocity spectrum, revealed good correlation(r=0.79), but those from diastolic Doppler spectrum at PDA correlated less well with catheterization estimates(r=0.63). CONCLUSION: All of eight Doppler echocardiographic methods seemed to be easily performable for estimation of pulmonary artery pressure. But, the degree of accuracy was variable. Because a pressure estimante from only a single method may be in error, care should be taken in combining use of other(one or two) methods.
Acceleration ; Blood Pressure ; Catheterization ; Catheters ; Child ; Ductus Arteriosus, Patent ; Echocardiography* ; Echocardiography, Doppler ; Heart Diseases ; Humans ; Infant ; Pulmonary Artery* ; Pulmonary Valve Insufficiency ; Tricuspid Valve Insufficiency

PURPOSE: Lymphoma is considered when multiple, nonnecrotic lymph nodes are present in the superficial and deep lymphatic chains, especially if they are large and bilateral, on CT scan. It is reported that combined nodal and extranodal presentation of HD is uncommon. However, we found central low density in involved lymph node of NHL, and combined nodal and extranodal disease in HD, not infrequently. The purpose of this study is to ascertain whether our findings may be characteristics of NHL and HD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: CT findings with contrast enhancement were reviewed in 23 patients with untreated neck lymphoma:18 NHL and 5 HD. The followings were analyzed in each case: nodal or extranodal involvement; unilateral or bilateral involvement; presence or absence of central low density with peripheral enhancement in nodal lesion ;infiltration into adjacent structures. Nodal and extranodal lesions were confirmed by pathologic studies. RESULTS: Of 18 patients with NHL, nine cases had nodal disease and the rest had combined nodal and extranodal disease. Lymphadenopathy was bilateral in ten cases and unilateral in eight. Five cases with HD were composed of three combined nodal and extranodal diseases and two nodal diseases. Central low density of involved lymph node was shown in eight cases of 18 NHL and in one case of five HD. CONCLUSION: Central low density with peripheral enhancement was not uncommon in NHL, in contrast to HD. Hence, it is suggested that in case of nodal necrosis, NHL be also considered, besides tuberculous lymphadenitis and metastatic lymphadenopathy. It is not considered that nodal or extranodal disease, and unilateral or bilateral involvement are of high significance in differentiation of NHL from HD.
Hodgkin Disease* ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Lymphatic Diseases ; Lymphoma ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin* ; Neck* ; Necrosis ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Tuberculosis, Lymph Node

The wrist joint is exposed to trauma easily which is a small portion of human body. Because there are many structures(tendons, vessels and nerves) in the wrist, it is necessary to examine carefully and treat properly when it is damaged. We have treated 230 cases of soft tissue injuries around the wrist and the result can be summarized as follows; 1. Among the 230 cases, the male ratio was 85% and the highest incidence was in the third decade. 2. Right side injuries were more than left and flexor surface injuries were more than extensor surface. 3, The main cause of injury was glass, 149 cases(64.8%) and the next on was knife, 37 cases(16%). 4. Injuries in the night were more than daytime. 5. Injuries in the summer were more than winter.
Glass ; Human Body ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Soft Tissue Injuries ; Tendons ; Wrist Joint ; Wrist

No abstract available.
Humans ; Inpatients*

A pathologic fracture is a fracture of a bone with preexisting structural weakness. When considering the local treatment of pathologic fractures, those resulting from disorders which cause a generalized weakness of the whole or part of the skeleton can be largely treated conservatively. And those because of localized bone destruction or weakness often require operative treatment. For ten years from 1973 to 1983, we observed and analysed 26 cases of pathologic fractures, excluding those due to osteoporosis. The results were as follows: 1. The age distribution showed an even pattern, and the male to female ratio was 58% (15 Males): 42% (11 Females). 2. The underlying etiologies were infection in 6 cases (23%), disturbance in skeletal development in 7 cases (27%), benign tumorous lesion in 10 cases (38%) and malignant tumorous lesion in 3 cases (12%). 3. The most common site was femur, 54% (14 cases). 4. Previous treatment was carried on 38% (10 cases). 5. Of the 26 cases, conservative treatment was done in 4 cases (15%) and surgical treatment was done in 22 cases (85%).
Age Distribution ; Clinical Study ; Female ; Femur ; Fractures, Spontaneous ; Humans ; Male ; Osteoporosis ; Skeleton

BACKGROUND: The usage of appropriate disinfectants is essential for infection control in a hospital. Inadequate use of disinfectants is the cause of human or environmental toxicity and is a waste of cost. The objective of this study was to describe the status of the usage of disinfectants in Korean hospitals. METHOD: One hundred and eighty three hospitals of over 300 beds were investigated by a questionnaire distributed by mall. Data collection was done on November 1999. The questionnaire was made by the Association of Infection Control Nurses in Korea, based on references and protocols of the Korean Society of Nosocomial Infection Control. Numerical and percentage data were analyzed by SPSS. RESULTS: The collection rate of the questionnaire was 43.7% (80/300). Thirty five hospitals (46.7%) had an official process in selecting disinfectants in their hospitals. Regarding skin antiseptics, 10% povidone iodine and 70% alcohol were commonly used in skin preparation for intravenous catheterization or pre-operative skin disinfection, For disinfection of mucosal membranes such as mouth and periurethral area, 3% boric acid solution or 3% H202 were used. Most of the hospitals decontaminated contaminated medical instruments manually with dodecyl diamino ethyl glycine (20.8%). glutaraldehyde (15.6%). quaternary ammonium compounds (13.8%), virkon (12.3%) and sodium hypochlorites (11.7%). Glutaraldehyde and virkon were frequently used for disinfection of endoscopes. Sodium hypochlorites (48.9%) and quaternary ammonium compounds (19.8%) were the most commonly used environmental disinfectants. Some noticeable problems in disinfectants were as follows. First, for mouth care, many hospitals (41.7%) over-used boric acid, which has cumulative toxicity for humans. Second, many hospitals had an incorrect protocol of disinfecting endoscopes. Third, for environmental decontamination and instrument cleaning, some hospitals used high level disinfectants such as glutaraldehyde, which is too costly and provides unnecessary safety problems. Fourth, after patient discharge, many hospitals did not use disinfectants at all. Considering the specific Korean medical environment of high incidence of multi-drug resistant microorganisms, use of disinfectants for discharged environments may be warranted. CONCLUSION: This study included only hospitals of over 300 beds, which has a limitation in representing the status of disinfectants usage in a country. However, significant problems from misunderstanding the basic principles of disinfectants and misusages of disinfectants were observed in this investigation. These observations will provide useful information for designing a guideline for the appropriate uses and for efficient education of disinfectants, and also for planning a national control program for proper disinfectants usage in this country.
Anti-Infective Agents, Local ; Catheterization ; Catheters ; Cross Infection ; Data Collection ; Decontamination ; Disinfectants* ; Disinfection ; Education ; Endoscopes ; Glutaral ; Glycine ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infection Control ; Korea* ; Membranes ; Mouth ; Patient Discharge ; Povidone-Iodine ; Quaternary Ammonium Compounds ; Skin ; Sodium ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: This study examined the effects of spirituality promoting intervention for the stomach and colon cancer patients. METHOD: A quasi-experimental design was used. Data collection was carried out from April 2004 to June, 2004 at a cancer center in Korea. The intervention included pray, meditation, group education and discussion for coping with cancer. The experimental group were received a 1-hour intervention per week for 6 weeks, while the control group received usual care. Data collection was done at pre and post intervention. The degree of spirituality was measured by the Korean version of WHOQOL-SRPB pilot test(WHO Quality of Life-Spirituality, Religiousness and Personal Beliefs pilot test) Module, and social support was measured using scores on a PRQ 85(Personal Resources Questionnaire). Fighting spirit was measured by the scores of MAC(Mental Adjustment to Cancer) scale. RESULTS: The experimental group showed significant increase in the scores of social support and fighting spirit compared to those in the control group after the intervention. There were no significant changes in terms of the spirituality score compared to the baseline score in the experimental group and the control group. CONCLUSION: This intervention appeared to be effective in increasing social support and fighting spirit, which considered to be very helpful in cancer adjustment.
Colonic Neoplasms ; Data Collection ; Education ; Humans ; Korea ; Meditation ; Spirituality* ; Stomach

In this article, the sixth author's affiliation was misprinted unintentionally.

Objective: This study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an individually tailored program based on self-measurement of blood glucose on health behavior and HbA1c in diabetes and pre-diabetes patients. Methods: The program consisted of seven sessions for 12 weeks which were carried out every two weeks. Almost all sessions were progressed on untact method except for the first and last session. The 71 subjects were assessed for their knowledge of diabetes, health behavior, the experience of self-measurement of blood glucose, body mass Index (BMI) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) at before and after the program. They were also evaluated on their degree of utilization of blood glucose measurements after the program. Results: Each mean score on their knowledge of diabetes, health behavior and the experience of self-measurement of blood glucose was significantly increased from 14.77, 25.50, and 2.70 to 15.41, 28.40, and 4.81, respectively. Each mean score on both BMI and HbA1c (n=53) was significantly decreased from 24.47kg/m2 and 7.27% to 24.01kg/m2 and 6.67%, respectively. The post-HbA1c had a significant negative correlation(r=-0.415) with the degree of utilization of blood glucose measurements. The degree of utilization of blood glucose measurements had a significant positive correlation(r=0.581) with post-health behavior. Conclusions The program shows effectiveness in improving HbA1c in Type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes patients. The post-HbA1c might be related to the degree of utilization of blood glucose measurements which might be related to the health behavior.

Protozoa of the genus Cryptosporidium are small coccidian parasite known to infect the mucosal epithelium of a variety of animals including human, causing fatal course in immunodeficient patients as well as self-limited illness in healthy individuals. Various life cycle stages including trophozoite, meront, merozoite, gametocyte and oocyst in infected mucosa are a diagnostic feature. Electron microscopy (EM) provides sufficient findings for genus and species identification of this parasitic organism. The authors presented scanning and transmission EM findings of Cryptosporidium parvum infection in two children: one with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and the other without any evidence of immune compromise.
Animals ; Child ; Cryptosporidium parvum ; Cryptosporidium* ; Epithelium ; Humans* ; Intestines* ; Life Cycle Stages ; Merozoites ; Microscopy, Electron ; Mucous Membrane ; Oocysts ; Parasites ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; Trophozoites