We describe a 44-year-old woman with paresthesia, fatigue, and palpitation, 10 days after human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. The quantitative sensory test showed abnormal detection threshold in her foot. Tilt test result indicated postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. Symptoms were improved after immunomodulating therapy, pain control drug, and oral beta blocker medication. This is first case report for small fiber neuropathy and autonomic dysfunction after HPV vaccination in Korea.
Adult ; Erythromelalgia ; Fatigue ; Female ; Foot ; Humans ; Korea ; Papillomavirus Vaccines ; Paresthesia ; Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome ; Vaccination

PURPOSE: We evaluated the usefulness of intracranial stent implantation for treating patients with atherosclerotic stenosis and with recurrent, ischemic, neurological symptoms despite having undergone medical therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between March 2004 and April 2010, we attempted intracranial, stent-assisted angioplasty in 77 patients with 85 lesions (anterior circulation 73 cases, posterior circulation 12 cases) and who had ischemic neurological symptoms with more than 50% major cerebral artery stenosis. We analyzed the results regarding the technical success rate, complication rate, and restenosis rate during the mean 29.4 month follow-up period. RESULTS: Intracranial stent implantation was successfully performed in 74 cases (87.1%). In nine cases among the 11, failed cases, stent implantation failure was due to the tortuosity of the target vessel. One patient experienced middle cerebral artery rupture during the procedure, and we embolized the vessel using a microcoil. Five patients developed cerebral infarction in three weeks after the procedure, three of whom improved using conservative management, although the other, two patients expired. The mean number of residual stenoses decreased from 72.3% to 14.7%. Three patients demonstrated significant in-stent restenosis, i.e. more than 50%, during the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: As stent-assisted angioplasty in intracranial, atherosclerotic stenosis is effective and relatively safe, it can be considered as an alternative treatment for patients with recurrent, ischemic, neurologic symptoms despite having undergone medical therapy.
Angioplasty ; Cerebral Arteries ; Cerebral Infarction ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Follow-Up Studies ; Glycosaminoglycans ; Humans ; Intracranial Arteriosclerosis ; Middle Cerebral Artery ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Rupture ; Stents

PURPOSE: A 70-gene prognostic signature has prognostic value in patients with node-negative breast cancer in Europe. This diagnostic test known as "MammaPrint(TM) (70-gene prognostic signature)" was recently validated and implementation was feasible. Therefore, we assessed the 70-gene prognostic signature in Korean patients with breast cancer. We compared the risk predicted by the 70-gene prognostic signature with commonly used clinicopathological guidelines among Korean patients with breast cancer. We also analyzed the 70-gene prognostic signature and clinicopathological feature of the patients in comparison with a previous validation study. METHODS: Forty-eight eligible patients with breast cancer (clinical T1-2N0M0) were selected from four hospitals in Korea. Fresh tumor samples were analyzed with a customized microarray for the 70-gene prognostic signature. Concordance between the risk predicted by the 70-gene prognostic signature and risk predicted by commonly used clinicopathological guidelines (St. Gallen guidelines, National Institutes of Health [NIH] guideline, and Adjuvant! Online) was evaluated. RESULTS: Prognosis signatures were assessed in 36 patients. No significant differences were observed in the clinicopathological features of patients compared with previous studies. The 70-gene prognosis signature identified five (13.9%) patients with a low-risk prognosis signature and 31 (86.1%) patients with a high-risk prognosis signature. Clinical risk was concordant with the prognosis signature for 29 patients (80.6%) according to the St. Gallen guidelines; 30 patients (83.4%) according to the NIH guidelines; and 23 patients (63.8%) according to the Adjuvant! Online. Our results were different from previous validation studies in Europe with about a 40% low-risk prognosis and about a 60% high-risk prognosis. The high incidence in the high-risk group was consistent with data in Japan. CONCLUSION: The results of 70-gene prognostic signature of Korean patients with breast cancer were somewhat different from those identified in Europe. This difference should be studied as whether there is a gene disparity between Asians and Europeans. Further large-scale studies with a follow-up evaluation are required to assess whether the use of the 70-gene prognostic signature can predict the prognosis of Korean patients with breast cancer.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Breast ; Breast Neoplasms ; Diagnostic Tests, Routine ; Europe ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Genes, vif ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; National Institutes of Health (U.S.) ; Prognosis

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Carvedilol is an antioxidant that inhibits smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration. The aim of this study was to investigate the beneficial effects of carvedilol-loaded stents on 2-year clinical outcomes after stent implantation in patients with coronary artery disease. METHODS: We performed a prospective trial with male subjects to compare the safety and effects of carvedilol-loaded BiodivYsio(R) stents implanted into 20 patients with those of bare-metal BiodivYsio(R) stents implanted into 21 patients for de novo coronary lesions. The primary end point was the degree of neointimal hyperplasia, which was measured by intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) 6 months after the procedure; the secondary end point was major adverse cardiac events (MACE) at 2 years after implantation. All carvedilol and control stents were deployed successfully. RESULTS: A 2-year follow-up was completed for 19 patients (95%) in the carvedilol stent group and 20 patients (95%) in the control stent group. IVUS showed a trend toward a larger luminal area (6.86 +/- 2.59 vs. 5.47 +/- 1.52 mm2, p = 0.267), smaller neointimal area (1.34 +/- 0.70 vs. 2.40 +/- 1.73 mm2, p = 0.18), and reduced net decrease in luminal area (-0.78 +/- 0.97 vs. -1.89 +/- 1.78 mm2, p = 0.106) in the carvedilol stent group compared with the control stent group, respectively. There were no significant differences in the incidence of MACE (10.5 vs. 30.0%, respectively, p = 0.132) between the groups at 2 years after stent implantation. Stent thrombosis did not occur in either group after 2 years. CONCLUSIONS: The carvedilol-loaded stents tended to inhibit neointimal hyperplasia without the occurrence of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, or stent thrombosis at 2-year follow-up.
Aged ; *Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary ; Carbazoles/*administration & dosage ; Coronary Artery Disease/*therapy ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Propanolamines/*administration & dosage ; Prospective Studies ; *Stents ; Treatment Outcome ; Ultrasonography, Interventional

The objective of this study was to determine the nutritional support in patients treated in medical intensive care units (MICUs) by evaluating the extent of current nutritional support using the patient care plan and considering the association between nutritional status and the amount of nutrition supplied. From April to December 2010, 114 patients (age > or = 18 years) admitted to the MICU and who underwent nutritional support for > 5 days were included. Descriptive statistics showed that the 114 patients received nutritional support within 1.2 +/- 0.7 days and for 16.2 +/- 11.7 days in the MICUs. The total delivered/required caloric ratio was 81.08 +/- 27.31%, and the protein ratio was 80.32 +/- 28.93%. Patients who received > 80% of required calories and protein showed improved nutritional status (p < 0.05). The results showed that adequate nutritional support is crucial to critically ill patients. We suggest early nutritional screening using simple tools such as periodic monitoring and management to recalculate nutritional status and nutritional requirements and nutritional support using a multidisciplinary method. Systematic nutritional support teams are needed to provide adequate nutritional support for patients in the MICU.
Critical Illness ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Mass Screening ; Nutritional Requirements ; Nutritional Status ; Nutritional Support ; Patient Care

PURPOSE: We evaluated the impact of renal tumor size on the oncologic and surgical efficacy of laparoscopic renal cryosurgery (LRC) according to our intermediate-term experience in Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From June 2005 to October 2008, we enrolled 37 patients who underwent LRC for 40 renal tumors. Patients were stratified into four groups according to renal tumor size. Patients who presented with a maximum tumor diameter (MTD) of at least 1 cm but less than 2 cm were assigned to Group 1, those with an MTD equal to or greater than 2 but less than 3 cm were assigned to Group 2, those with an MTD equal to or greater than 3 but less than 4 cm were assigned to Group 3, and those with an MTD equal to or greater than 4 cm were assigned to Group 4. Oncologic and clinical outcomes in each group were compared. RESULTS: The four groups showed no statistically significant differences in preoperative variables, including age, sex, body mass index, American Society of Anesthesiologists scores, baseline renal function and hemoglobin, and length of hospital stay. Regarding surgical aspects, however, operation time, estimated blood loss, and postoperative complications were significantly increased in patients with larger tumors. Three patients in Group 3 required postoperative transfusions, and 1 patient in Group 4 required conversion to open renal cryosurgery. During the mean follow-up period of 31.6 months, radiologic evidence of tumor recurrence was found in only 2 patients in Group 4. CONCLUSIONS: In this series, LRC for renal tumors smaller than 3 cm was conducted safely without radiologic evidence of tumor recurrence during intermediate-term follow-up. For tumors larger than 3 cm, however, the transfusion rate increased, and for renal tumors larger than 4 cm, the tumor recurrence rate increased significantly.
Body Mass Index ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; Cryosurgery ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemoglobins ; Humans ; Korea ; Laparoscopy ; Length of Stay ; Postoperative Complications ; Recurrence

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Symptom-to-door time is associated with the prognosis for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. However, this value has not been a concern in patients with non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between symptom-to-door time and clinical outcomes in patients with NSTEMI. METHODS: In total, 1,971 patients with NSTEMI (64.8+/-12.1 years, 23.6% women) were enrolled between Nov. 2005 and Jan. 2008. The patients were divided into two groups according to the time difference between the presentation of symptoms and first medical contact: group I (<12 hours, n=1433) and group II (>12 hours, n=538). One-year mortality rates were compared between the groups. Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) and Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) risk scores were calculated in all study patients. RESULTS: The mean age was 64.4+/-12.2 years in group I and 65.6+/-12.0 years in group II (p=0.046). No significant differences existed between the two groups, except for the prevalence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, initial systolic blood pressure, and initial serum creatinine levels. One-year mortality rates decreased significantly in group I patients [hazard ratio (HR)=1.35, 95% CI (confidential interval): 1.03~1.75, p=0.028] based on a multivariate Cox proportional analysis, which was adjusted by GRACE score, baseline characteristic variables, and predictors of a 1-year mortality in a univariate analysis. In intermediate-to high-risk patients (n=1,184, defined as having a TIMI risk score above 3 points), significant differences were observed in mortality rates between the two groups (HR=1.35, 95% CI: 1.02~1.80, p=0.037); the low-risk patients (n=787, HR=1.57, 95% CI: 0.80~3.05, p=0.188), however, showed no such differences. CONCLUSIONS: Symptom-to-door time was an independent long-term clinical predictor in patients with NSTEMI, especially in intermediate-to high-risk groups.
Blood Pressure ; Creatinine ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Myocardial Infarction ; Prevalence ; Prognosis

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Although balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (BRTO) has been used as a new procedure for gastric variceal bleeding due to its feasibility and minimal invasiveness, reports regarding the results of BRTO are not well presented in Korea. Therefore, we analyzed the results of our experience in recent 39 months. METHODS: Twenty eight patients who received BRTO for primary hemostasis or secondary prevention of gastric variceal bleeding from December 2001 to March 2005 were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: Twenty three men and five women were involved, and the mean age was 53.7+/-9.6 years. Technical and clinical success rates were 89.3% and 85.7%, respectively. Follow-up duration was 17.5+/-12.5 months in 23 patients. Gastric varices disappeared in 78.3% and decreased in 21.7%. Relapses occurred in 4.3% of the patients. Preexisting hepatic encephalopathy improved in all 11 patients. Aggravation of ascites, esophageal varices, portal hypertensive gastropathy were observed in 45.8%, 30.4%, 56.5%, respectively. Increased Child-Pugh score (p<0.001) and decreased albumin concentration (p=0.002) were observed 3 days after BRTO, but resolved 7 days later. Increased albumin concentration and decreased Child-Pugh score maintained thereafter. Rebleeding occurred in 3 patients which were caused by esophageal varices. Two-year survival rate was 54.6%. Presence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (p=0.001) and Child-Pugh grade (p=0.033) affected the survival, but HCC was the only independent risk factor (p=0.010, OR=15.837) in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: BRTO is an effective therapeutic procedure for primary hemostasis, secondary prevention, and for improving survival in gastric variceal bleeding patients.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; *Balloon Occlusion ; Esophageal and Gastric Varices/*complications ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage/etiology/*therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Recurrence

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Cardiovascuar MR using contrast enhancement has recently been reported to be useful for diagnosing myocarditis. It is also well known that irreversible myocardial injury by epicardial coronary artery flow obstruction spreads from the endocardium to the epicardium in a wave-front pattern with a time-dependent manner. We investigated characteristics of the patterns of contrast-enhanced MR imaging according to the underlying myocardial injury mechanism. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Of all 275 patients who underwent coronary angiogram at our hospital due to cheat pain and elevated cardiac enzymes between October, 2002 and August, 2003, 48 patients who underwent cardiac MR were enrolled in this study. We retrospectively analyzed the pattern of delayed hyperenhancement according to presence or absence of a documented infarct related artery. Endomyocardial biopsies were done in selected patients. RESULTS: Contrast MR images of all patients showed delayed hyperenhancement. The study group was divided into 2 groups according to whether the areas of hyper-enhancement were involved in the sub-endocardial portion (endocardial sparing pattern, ESP) or not. In 8 patients (Group A, 17%) who showed the endocardial sparing pattern on contrast MR, the findings of coronary angiogram were all normal. In 40 patients (Group B, 83%), who did not show the endocardial sparing pattern on contrast MR, 39 patients (97.5 %) had an infarct related artery on coronary angiogram (p=0.001). Endomyocardial biopsies were performed in 3 patients of group A. The findings of the 3 biopsies were 2 cases of definite myocarditis and 1 case of myocardial degeneration. CONCLUSION: The endocardial sparing pattern of myocardial injury demonstrated by delayed enhancement MR imaging was very useful to predict the presence of an infarct related artery in patients with myocardial necrosis that has been determined by elevated cardiac enzymes. This result can be a useful clue to determine the nature of the underlying injury mechanism such as ischemic or non-ischemic.
Arteries ; Biopsy ; Coronary Vessels ; Endocardium ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Myocardial Infarction ; Myocarditis ; Necrosis ; Pericardium ; Retrospective Studies