Diffuse interstitial lung disease(DILD) is a large group of heterogeneous diseases that diffusely involve the pulmonary connective tissues, principally subpleural, interlobular and alveolar wall portions. Terminology and classification of these diseases are not uniform, and the cause and the pathogenesis are unknown in many entities. It is generally accepted that the response to therapy is related to the relative degree of cellularity and fibrosis present, therefore a histologic evaluation of the relative extent and severity of these changes is required. We reviewed 52 cases of DILD from January 1990 to May 1995 diagnosed by open lung biopsy to reappraise classification and quantitative assessment of the histopathologic features. Differential histopathologic features between usual interstitial pneumonia(UIP) and nonspecific interstitial pneumonia(NIP) were examined with a correlation of HRCT findings and clinical findings. Among 52 cases of DILD, 18 cases(34.6%) were UIP, 6 cases(11.5%) were hypersensitivity pneumonia was NIP was 5 cases(9.6%), interstitial lung diseases associated with the connective tissue diseases were 5 cases(9.6%), inorganic dusts were 4 cases(7.7%), infections were 4 cases(7.7%), durgs were 2 cases(3.8%), acute interstitial pneumonia was 1 case(1.9%), sarcoidosis was 1 case(1.9%) in order of frequency plus 6 other cases(11.5%). UIP was the most frequent DILD in this study which seemed to be a criteria bias of patient selection on open lung biopsy. Quantitative assessment of histopathologic features was useful in the differential diagnosis of DILD and differentiation of UIP from NIP was possible based on histopathologic features and supported by HRCT. UIP disclosed a significantly high score of fibrotic changes, especially in the interstitial fibrosis, smooth muscle proliferation and honeycombing, otherwise NIP appeared relatively high score in inflammatory changes. Correlation between histopathologic scores and the clinical outcome after steroid therapy or no therapy in UIP was not evident.
Diagnosis, Differential ; Biopsy

We found an error in this article. The author's name should be corrected as following: from "Younsuk Koh" to "Younsuck Koh".

BACKGROUND: Critical care physician staffing is a crucial element of the intensive care unit (ICU) organization, and is associated with better outcomes in ICUs. Adult ICUs in Korea have been suffering from inadequate full-time intensivists and nurses because of insufficient reimbursement rates (<50% of the original critical care cost) from the National Health Insurance System. Recently, full-time intensivists have been introduced as a prerequisite for adult ICUs of tertiary hospitals in Korea. The purpose of this study was to examine the perception of intensivist staffing among critical care program directors regarding the barriers and solutions when implementing an intensivist model of critical care in Korea. METHODS: An email survey of critical care program directors in designated teaching hospitals for critical care subspecialty training by the Korean Society of Critical Care Medicine was performed. The survey domains included vision, culture, resources, barriers, and potential solutions to implementing intensivist physician staffing (IPS). RESULTS: Forty-two critical care program directors were surveyed. A total of 28 directors (66.7%) responded to email queries. Of these, 27 directors (96.4%) agreed that IPS would improve the quality of care in the ICU, although half of them reported a negative perception of relevant clinical colleagues for the role of full-time intensivists and poor resources for IPS in their hospitals. Increased financial burden due to hiring full-time intensivists and concerns regarding exclusion from the management of their critically ill patients in the ICU, together with loss of income for primary attending physicians were stated by the respondents to be major barriers to implementing IPS. Financial incentives for the required cost from the health insurance system and enhancement of medical law relevant to critical care were regarded as solutions to these issues. CONCLUSIONS: Critical care program directors believe that intensivist-led critical care can improve the outcome of ICUs. They indicated the financial burden due to IPS and underestimation of a full-time intensivist's role to be major barriers. The program directors agreed that a partnership between hospital leaders and the Ministry of Health and Welfare was needed to overcome these barriers.
Adult* ; Critical Care ; Critical Illness ; Electronic Mail ; Hospitals, Teaching ; Humans ; Insurance, Health ; Intensive Care Units ; Jurisprudence ; Korea ; Motivation ; National Health Programs ; Personnel Staffing and Scheduling ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Tertiary Care Centers

Angiofibroma is a benign tumor that predominantly affects male adolescent and the most common benign tumor of nasopharynx. These tumors are highly vascular and usually with extension to the nose, paranasal sinus, pterygomaxillary fossa, infratemporal fossa, cranium, and the neck. There are many therapeutic approaches to huge sized angiofibroma with intracranial extension. Recently we experienced two cases of nasopharyngeal angiofibroma invading cranial base that was resected by facial translocation approach after superselective embolization and direct intratumoral embolization with good results. So, we report these with the review of literature.
Adolescent ; Angiofibroma* ; Humans ; Nasopharynx ; Neck ; Nose ; Skull ; Skull Base

A total 48 cases of tuberculous lesion in the lymph nodes(43 cases), lung (3 cases) and soft tissue(2 cases), was subjected to fine needle aspiration cytology(FNAC). The age of the patients ranged from 19 to 77 year-old(average 33.6 years in age) and the male to female ratio was 1:4. Thirty-four cases (70.8%) demonstrated distinct granulomatous reaction with or without caseastion necrosis, nine cases(18.8%) showed no granulomas, but large amount of necrotic debris with numerous polymorphonuclear cells and histiocytes, and five cases (10.4%) revealed acellular material only. The overall AFB positivity in smears was 62.5%. In areas associated with granulomatous reaction and necrosis, AFB positivity was 55.8%, while it was 80.0% in cases with acellular necrotic material. There were 2 cases of parasitic infestation which could not be easilty differentiated from tuberculosis based on aspiration smears only.
Biopsy, Fine-Needle* ; Diagnosis* ; Female ; Granuloma ; Histiocytes ; Humans ; Lung ; Male ; Necrosis ; Tuberculosis*

BACKGROUND: Primary splenic vascular lesions include the tumor and the inflammatory condition. A primary splenic vascular tumor is rare but is the most common tumor of the benign primary splenic tumors. METHODS: We describe the clinicopathological, radiological, and immunophenotypical findings of 40 cases of primary vascular lesions identified at our hospital from 1996 to 2009. RESULTS: The patients included 18 men and 22 women, aged 12 to 74 years, with a mean of 43.3-years and median of 40-years. They comprised 14 hemangiomas (35%), 13 lymphangiomas (32.5%), three hamartomas (7.5%), three littoral cell angiomas (7.5%), three sclerosing angiomatoid nodular transformations (SANT, 7.5%) and four angiosarcomas (10%). The majority of the patients (65%) were asymptomatic. Some of the patients (32.5%) complained of abdominal pain, and 2.5% of the patients presented with fever. Metastases were identified in 75% of the patients with an angiosarcoma at the initial work-up. One angiosarcoma patient died of the disease despite adjuvant chemoradiotherapy. The radiological findings for hamartoma, littoral cell angioma, and SANT were nonspecific. Microscopically, six types of vascular lesions showed classic morphological and immunophenotypical features of their type. CONCLUSIONS: One should be aware of rare splenic vascular lesions when radiological findings are nonspecific. Histomorphological and immunophenotypical features are helpful for the differential diagnosis.
Abdominal Pain ; Aged ; Chemoradiotherapy, Adjuvant ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Fever ; Hamartoma ; Hemangioma ; Hemangiosarcoma ; Humans ; Lymphangioma ; Male ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Spleen ; Splenic Neoplasms ; Statistics as Topic

Littoral cell angioma (LCA) of spleen is an uncommon vascular neoplasm of littoral cell origin. It is well established that LCA may be associated with other malignancy or autoimmune disorders. We describe a 34-year-old woman with viral hepatitis C associated liver cirrhosis who presented with the incidental finding of LCA. She showed ascites, esophageal varix and drowsy mentality. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) showed multiple benign looking nodules in both hepatic lobes, but no abnormality in spleen. Liver transplantation and splenectomy were performed. Microscopic findings revealed narrow anastomosing vascular channels lined with plump cells that exfoliated into the lumen. Immunohistochemically the lining cells were positive for CD31, CD68 and negative for CD34, consistent with LCA. Herein, a second case of an incidentally detected LCA with cirrhosis, viral hepatitis C associated in Korea is reported.
Adult ; Ascites ; Esophageal and Gastric Varices ; Female ; Fibrosis ; Hemangioma ; Hepatitis ; Hepatitis C ; Humans ; Incidental Findings ; Korea ; Liver ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Liver Transplantation ; Spleen ; Splenectomy ; Splenic Neoplasms ; Vascular Neoplasms

PURPOSE: Voice change after thyroidectomy has generally been the result of damage to the recurrent or superior laryngeal nerve. But many patients complain voice alteration without laryngeal nerve injury after thyroidectomy. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether strap muscle division results in any subjective or objective functional sequelae in voice, through long-term follow-up prospectively. METHODS: Twenty-two female patients who had undergone thyroid surgery between July 1998 and December 1999, were studied. The patients who were planned for neck dissection, who had benign laryngeal disease or vocal cord paresis, and whose vocal cord paresis were developed after thyroid surgery, were excluded from this study. Twelve patients had undergone thyroidectomy via retraction of strap muscle and ten patients had undergone thyroidectomy via cutting of strap muscle. For evaluation of voice, questionnaires for changes of voice, acoustics (fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer, signal to noise ratio, noise to harmonic ratio, voice range), and aerodynamic (maximal phonation time) analyses were done. RESULTS: The subjective voice symptoms after thyroidectomy were disturbances of high pitch, singing, loud voice, and easy fatigue at phonation. There were no significant differences in voice parameters on acoustic and aerodynamic analyses between the strap muscle retraction group and the cutting group through long-term follow-up. CONCLUSION: We conclude that strap muscle division does not result in any subjective or objective functional problems in voice. We suggest that surgical division and reconstruction of these muscles should be employed routinely when operating on large, toxic or neoplastic glands.
Acoustics ; Fatigue ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Laryngeal Diseases ; Laryngeal Nerve Injuries ; Laryngeal Nerves ; Muscles ; Neck Dissection ; Noise ; Phonation ; Prospective Studies ; Signal-To-Noise Ratio ; Singing ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroidectomy* ; Vocal Cord Paralysis ; Voice*

BACKGROUND: One of the most important prognostic factors in colorectal cancer is lymph node metastasis, which predicts a reduced survival time. Although lymph node metastases were not detected by a conventional hematoxylin-eosin stain technique, 20 to 30 percent of patients fail long-term survival on account of a local or systemic recurrence. Recurrent disease in these patients is believed to develop from occult tumor in lymph nodes. PURPOSE: The authors have conducted an immunohistochemical study with two different antibodies against cytokeratin to identify occult micrometastases in lymph nodes which were diagnosed as tumor negative by conventional histopathology. METHODS: Paraffin blocks of sixty-five patients with colorectal cancer (T2/3, N0, M0) after a curative resection between January 1991 and December 1993 at Kyung-Hee University Hospital were stained with avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex technique using two monoclonal antibodies (anti-cytokeratin AE1/AE3 and anti-cytokeratin No. 20, DAKO, Hamburg, Germany). To assess the clinical correlation between micrometastasis in lymph node and patients survial, 5-year disease-free survival rates were calculated by Kaplan-Meier method and the significance of the differences was estimated by the log-rank test. P values <0.05 were taken to be significant. RESULTS: Of the sixty-five patients with 1133 lymph nodes, tumor cells detected by anti-cytokeratin AE1/AE3 and anti-cytokeratin No. 20, were 2.4 percent (27/1133) and 3.4 percent (38/1133), respectively. Micrometastases were detected in twenty-six patients (40.0 percent). The histologic stage of four cytokeratin positive cases was upstaged from T2, N0, M0 to T2, N1/2, M0, and twenty-two of T3, N0, M0 to T3, N1/2, M0. Cytokeratin-positive cases showed statistically significant recurrence rate (42.3 percent) compared to that of cytokeratin -negative cases (17.9 percent)(x2 test, p=0.032). With the median follow-up of 62 months, 5-year disease-free survival rates of the micrometastses negative and positive cases were 81.7 percent and 61.3 percent, respectively (p=0.0438). CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, immunohistochemical technique to identify the occult micrometastases in lymph nodes overlooked in conventional histopathology is a useful staging method to anticipate a recurrence and a prognosis more precisely.
Antibodies ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; Colorectal Neoplasms* ; Disease-Free Survival ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Keratins ; Lymph Nodes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neoplasm Micrometastasis* ; Paraffin ; Prognosis ; Recurrence

BACKGROUND: Major hepatic surgery often requires temporary occlusion of the portal triad in order to minimize intraoperative bleeding. The Occlusion of portal triad may induce hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury. Hepatic hypothermia is intended to suppress hepatic metabolism by lowering the liver temperature, to reduce oxygen consumption, and to minimize ischemic damage to the liver. This study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of topical cooling following ischemia on the liver. METHODS: Twenty-four New Zealand white rabbits were divided into three groups; group A (n=8) received no clamping, group B (n=8) received only clamping, and group C(n=8) received topical cooling using ice slush during clamping. In group B and C, duration of ischemia was 30 miniutes and duration of reperfusion was 60 minutes. Serum alanine aminotransferase(ALT) and purine nucleoside phophorylase(PNP) were measured immediately before clamping, after 30-minute clamping, and after 60-minute reperfusion. Hepatic tissue adenosine triphosphate(ATP), xanthine oxidase, and malondialdehyde( MDA) plus 4-hydroxyalcenals(4HA) were measured after reperfusion. RESULTS: Group C was topically cooled and reached the lowest level of 23.3 degrees C after 20 minutes of cooling. The results showed that ALT levels were significantly lower in group C than in group B(p<0.01), but PNP levels showed no significant differences between them. ATP levels showed no significant differences among the three groups. Xanthine oxidase and MDA plus 4HA levels were significantly lower in group C than in group B(P<0.01). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that topical cooling has a protective effect on parenchymal cells by reduction of oxygen free radicals produced by xanthine oxidase.
Adenosine ; Adenosine Triphosphate ; Alanine ; Constriction ; Free Radicals ; Hemorrhage ; Hypothermia ; Ice ; Ischemia ; Liver* ; Metabolism ; Oxygen ; Oxygen Consumption ; Rabbits ; Reperfusion ; Reperfusion Injury* ; Xanthine Oxidase