Blunt chest trauma to the heart may produce instantaneous death or, more frequently, congestive heart failure due to myocardial injury or disruption of intracardiac structures. Cardiac injury following by blunt chest trauma is often unsuspected and can range from cardiac contusion to chamber rupture, or to valvular dysfunction. The rate of occurrence of acute traumatic valvular insufficiency is extremely rare. Especially, the tricuspid valve is very rarely injured. Although clinical diagnosis of acute traumatic valvular insufficiency can be difficult to make for trauma patients with multiple injuries, echocardiography can establish diagnosis quickly and accurately. This report describes a patient who developed tricuspid regurgitation and acute heart failure following by an MCV.
Contusions ; Diagnosis ; Echocardiography ; Heart ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Multiple Trauma ; Rupture ; Thorax* ; Tricuspid Valve ; Tricuspid Valve Insufficiency*

No abstract available.
Emergencies* ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Emergency Treatment* ; Humans

Tetanus is a rare disease in the developed countries, including Korea, as a result of nearly universal active immunization. Because many physicians have little experience with its diagnosis and management, misdiagnosis and therapeutic delay may result in catastrophic consequences. We report one case of generalized tetanus. A previously healthy 35-year-old man was admitted to the emergency department because of stiffness on jaw and neck. board-like abdomen, extended and rigid both legs, chest tightness, and dyspnea. Seven days before admission, he was injured on the right thing at work. In the emergency department, he was given 5,000 units of human tetanus immunoglobulin intramuscularly, as well as diazepam 2 mg/hr intravenously. On the second hospital day, tracheostomy was performed. Ten days later, his condition was improved. Twenty eight days after admission, he was discharged without any complication.
Abdomen ; Adult ; Developed Countries ; Diagnosis ; Diagnostic Errors ; Diazepam ; Dyspnea ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins ; Jaw ; Korea ; Leg ; Neck ; Rare Diseases ; Tetanus* ; Thorax ; Tracheostomy ; Vaccination

No abstract available.
Female ; Ovary* ; Teratoma*

Superior gluteal artery rupture without pelvic fracture is extremely rare, but the rupture of this vessel is a well-known complication of pelvic fractures. This vessel appears to be at risk at the time of pelvic fracture because of its vulnerable anatomical position in the sacrosciatic notch. The rupture of this vessel causes profound hypotension and compartment syndrome of the gluteal or thigh region. Embolization is the most effective treatment. We report an unusual case of a superior gluteal artery rupture without pelvic fracture in blunt trauma.
Arteries* ; Compartment Syndromes ; Hypotension ; Hypovolemia* ; Rupture* ; Shock* ; Thigh

Pneumocephalus is defined as "the presence of air or gas within the cranial cavity." Intracranial air may represent an incidental finding of no clinical significance or more aggressive, life-threatening disease. It is usually associated with head trauma and surgery, tumor, brain abscess, postradiation necrosis, or diagnostic procedures. In the absence of head trauma or surgery, meningitis due to gas-forming organisms is an extremely rare cause of pneumocephalus. We report an unusual case of a localized spontaneous pneumocephalus caused by pneumococcal meningitis in the absence of head trauma, surgery, and brain abscess.
Abscess ; Brain Abscess ; Brain Neoplasms ; Craniocerebral Trauma ; Incidental Findings ; Meningitis ; Meningitis, Pneumococcal* ; Necrosis ; Pneumocephalus* ; Streptococcus pneumoniae

Although thrombolytic therapy is one of the most effective therapeutic option for acute ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic complication still remains major concern about its application. A patient with hemoperitoneum, who previously underwent thrombolytic therapy(intraarterial urokinase infusion, IAUK) for acute ischemic stroke was treated successfully with emergency transarterial embolization for rupture of hepatocellular carcinoma. We present a rare case of rupture of hepatocellular carcinoma after intraarterial urokinase infusion for acute ischemic stroke with brief review of the literature.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Emergencies ; Hemoperitoneum* ; Humans ; Rupture ; Stroke* ; Thrombolytic Therapy ; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator*

PURPOSE: Fever is the single most common problem in children visiting the emergency department. Fever is treated with a variety of methods, including the recommended combination of tepid massage, and antipyretics. We compared the effects of antipyretics and tepid massage for the management of febrile children. METHODS: We conducted a prospective, randomized, controlled study to assess 49 children who visited to the ED, Kyung Hee Medical Center, with complaints of fever. Ages ranged from 3 to 60 months. Patients were grouped into one of the following three treatment groups: 1) acetaminophen only, 2) tepid massage only, and 3) acetaminophen and tepid massage. We measured body temperature at 0 and 30 minutes after management. RESULTS: The mean temperature at 30 minutes had decreased by initial temperature 0.58degrees C, 0.48degrees C, and 0.90degrees C for groups 1), 2), and 3), respectively. Although body temperature for group 3) decreased to a greater degree than it did in the other groups, the differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Although tepid massage have been recommended for managing fever, their effect is still uncertain, so they are not recommended, especially in the cases of crowded emergency rooms.
Acetaminophen ; Antipyretics* ; Body Temperature ; Child ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Fever* ; Humans ; Massage* ; Prospective Studies

Most currently available statins are associated with an increase with risk of myositis, including rhabdomyolysis. Myopathy is believed to be caused by interference in the cytochrome P450 3A4 enzyme system, which results in a marked increase in reductase activity. Cerivastatin, a new synthetic HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, is a safe, well-tolerated effective drug for the treatment of patients with dyslipidemia. The drug is metabolized by the cytochrome P450 3A4 and cytochrome P450 2C8 hepatic isoenzymes. Because of this dual metabolic pathway, it has been suggested that cerivastatin is less subject to drug-todrug interactions. We describe a 60-year-old woman with rhabdomyolysis and localized myositis, after she had taken cerivastatin(lipobay, 0.3 mg/day) and gemfibrozil(lopid, 500 mg/day) for 1month.
Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System ; Dyslipidemias ; Female ; Gemfibrozil ; Humans ; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors ; Isoenzymes ; Metabolic Networks and Pathways ; Middle Aged ; Muscular Diseases ; Myositis ; Oxidoreductases ; Rhabdomyolysis*

PURPOSE: It is now well recognized that reperfusion of ischemic tissues initiates a complex series of reactions that can paradoxically injure tissues. Apoptosis occurs in select cell populations during morphologic development and during cellular injury, including oxygen radical exposure, ischemia-reperfusion, and sepsis. Thus, in this study, we examined relation of the melatonin effect to the injection time and the dose, and role of melatonin in apoptosis. METHODS: Intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury was induced in rats by clamping the superior mesenteric artery for 30 minutes. After reperfusion injury for 30 minutes, the experimental group was administered melatonin (10 mg/kg) intraperitoneally and the control group received saline and ethanol. At 30 minutes, 60 minutes, and 90 minutes, 1) pulmonary histological assessments (interstitial PMNs/10HPFs and lung (alveolar) injury score), 2) alveolar microvascular permeability assessments (wet-weignt to dry-weight ratio and lipid peroxidation activity, malondialdehyde, MDA), and 3) western blotting assessments (p53, p21, Bax, and bcl-2) were made. For comparison, long- time (60-minute) reperfusion and double- dosage melatonin (20 mg/kg) were also studied. RESULTS: The lung injury score was 1.00+/-0 in the melatonin group at 90 minutes and 3.28+/-0.30 in the saline group (p<0.01). The number of sequestered neutrophils was significantly higher in the control group at 90 minutes (34.38+/-16.76/10 HPFs) than in the melatonin-treated group (5.63+/-2.73/10 HPFs; p<0.01). In the melatonin group at 90 minutes, the wet-weight to dry-weight ratio was 4.69+/-0.16, and in the saline group, the ratio was 4.78+/-0.17 (p>0.05). A marked difference was found between the ischemia-reperfusion control group and the experimental group at 90 minutes regarding lipid peroxidation activity (Malondialdehyde, 16.45+/-0.19 micrometer vs 10.93+/-0.11 micrometer, p<0.01). In the melatonin group, p21 expressions were found to be much more than in the control group. But, p53, bcl-2, and Bax expressions were found to be in the control group. CONCLUSION: Melatonin injection within 60 min after reperfusion may promote recovery of reperfusion injury, but double-dose melatonin injection was inefficacious. Also, melatonin inhibit apoptosis by p21 expression.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Blotting, Western ; Capillary Permeability ; Constriction ; Ethanol ; Intestines* ; Lipid Peroxidation ; Lung ; Lung Injury ; Malondialdehyde ; Melatonin* ; Mesenteric Artery, Superior ; Neutrophils ; Oxygen ; Rats ; Reperfusion ; Reperfusion Injury ; Sepsis