No abstract available.
Prospective Studies* ; Prostate*

BACKGROUND: The perfect preanesthetic medication and its ideal route of administration are still debated. Transmucosal administration of midazolam has been of interest because of the rapid, reliable onset of action, predictable effects and avoidance of injections. Because many medications are well absorbed from the mucosa, we conducted a randomized, prospective, blinded study to compare acceptance and efficacy of intranasal and sublingual administration of midazolam as a preanesthetic medication in children. METHODS: One hundred twenty eight patients aged 0.5-12year were stratified by age: 38 infants and toddlers, 0.5-3yr; 48 preschoolers, 3.1-7yr; and 42 school age, 7.1-12yr. They were randomized to received 0.2 mg/kg of midazolam in the nose or under the tongue. Hemoglobin oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry and sedation score were recorded before drug administration, at 2.5min intervals for 15min, at separation from parents and during induction with enflurane in O2. Retention time of sublingual drug and duration of crying were recorded. RESULTS: The incidence of crying at the time of administration of midazolam was greater following intranasal compared with sublingual administration(60% vs 17%, p<0.05). Within age groups, only infants and toddlers showed a significant difference in the incidence of crying between treatment groups. Significant changes in sedation occured in both groups from 2.5min after administration. CONCLUSIONS: Sublingual midazolam is better accepted than intranasal midazolam as a preanesthetic sedative in children.
Administration, Mucosal ; Administration, Sublingual ; Child ; Crying ; Enflurane ; Humans ; Hypnotics and Sedatives ; Incidence ; Infant ; Midazolam* ; Mucous Membrane ; Nose ; Oximetry ; Oxygen ; Parents ; Preanesthetic Medication* ; Premedication ; Prospective Studies ; Tongue

One of the goals of anesthesia is complete, comfortable and rapid recovery without sequelae from anesthesia. We compared the recovery pattern between anesthesia with propofol and thiopental/isoflurane. The fifty patients undergoing emergency appendectomy were allocated randomly to receive one of the anesthesia with propofol or thiopental/isoflurane. All of the patients were also given fentanyl, atracurium in equivocal dosage per weight and 50% N2O. Group 1(patient No; 25) was received anesthesia with fentanyl, atracurium, N2O and continuous injection of 6~12 mg/kg/hour of propofol. Group 2(patient No; 25) was received anesthesia with thiopental, fentanyl, atracurium, N2O and 1~2 MAC(minimal alveolar concentration) of isoflurane. We studied the duration of return of self respiration from discontinuation of anesthetics and recovery pattern in time sequence. The results were as following; The group 1 compared with group 2 at early recovery phase. 1) The duration of return of self respiration from discontinuation of anesthetics retured more rapid. 2) Emergence time was more rapid. 3) Postoperative sequelae(nausea, vomiting, sedation, drowsiness, memory dysfunction, pain) rate was less severe. But at recovery phase after 24 hours, there were no significant difference in postoperative sequelae and recovery condition in both groups. Therefore, we concluded that propofol is better than thiopental/isoflurane for anesthesia of emergency appendectomy in view of early recovery pattern.
Anesthesia* ; Anesthetics ; Appendectomy ; Atracurium ; Emergencies ; Fentanyl ; Humans ; Isoflurane ; Memory ; Propofol* ; Respiration ; Sleep Stages ; Thiopental ; Vomiting

Injury of diaphragm mainly occur in penetrating, crush and blunt injuries to the lower chest or upper abdomen, and it is most often secondary to automobile accidents. Diaphragmatic rupture is most frequent in blunt chest trauma and the rate is below 1% of them. Traumatic rupture of the diaphragm is responsible for the herniation of abdominal viscera. Physical finding and radiographic sign of diaphragmatic hernia is nonspecific and misreading. Therefore, the diagnosis of traumatic rupture of diaphragm may be difficult during the early period after the injury, especially when clinical features are dominated by associated injuries. Emergency surgical management is necessary when it is complicated with serious complication. We experienced the case of traumatic diaphragmatic hernia detected after the operation of femur fracture. The patient was injured by motor vehicle accident 6 days before the operation of the femur fracture. There was no specific symptom and sign and the manifestation of the diaphragmatic hernia. in radiographic studies until operation of the femur fracture was done. Diaphragmatic hernia was confirmed by chest X-ray and arterial blood gas analysis after operation of the femur fracture. The repair of the diaphragmatic hernia was directly performed after the diagnosis. The prognosis was favorable, and she was discharged to ward from intensive care unit after 1 day of operation. We must consider the possibility of traumatic diaphragmatic hernia in the patient who have the history of blunt chest or abdominal trauma.
Abdomen ; Analgesia, Patient-Controlled* ; Automobiles ; Blood Gas Analysis ; Diagnosis ; Diaphragm ; Emergencies ; Femur* ; Hernia, Diaphragmatic ; Hernia, Diaphragmatic, Traumatic* ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Morphine* ; Motor Vehicles ; Prognosis ; Rupture ; Thorax ; Viscera ; Wounds, Nonpenetrating

To investigate effects of cytokines on rheumatoid synovial cells, proliferation and expression of cytokine and metalloproteinase genes were studied with the primary culture of rheumatoid synovial cells which was treated with TNF-alpha, GM-CSF, TGF-alpha, PDGF and IL-B. By [3H] thymidine incorporation assay, TGF-beta and PDGF increased proliferation of synovial cells by 1.5 and 2.5 folds respectively. Cytokine gene expression was assessed by RT-PCR. Rheumatoid synovial cells expressed constitutively TGF-beta and IL-B at a high level and IL-1B, GM-CSF, and MIP-1a at a relatively low level. TGF-beta, GM-CSF and PDGF increased IL-B expression. Expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines was increased by GM-CSF and PDGF. Both GM-CSF and PDGF increased the expression of IL-1B, GM-CSF MIP-la and IL-8. In addition, GM-CSF enhanced expression of TNF-alpha. Stromelysin and collagenase are the major proteinases responsible for destruction ot joints in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). These genes were expressed constitutivefy in rheumatoid synovial cells. In summary, PDGF and GM-CSF may piay an important role by inducing or increasing expression of IL-1B, TGF-beta and PDGF by increasing proliferation of rheumatoid synovial cells.
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

The occurrence of the colonic obstruction secondary to colorectal carcinoma (CRC) has been reported in 7~30% of the CRC patients. It is generally believed that obstructive CRC is associated with a poor prognosis with respect to operative mortality and five-year survival. A series of 1064 cases of the CRC treated surgically at Asan Medical Center from June 1989 to December 1996 has been analyzed to compare clinicopathological findings between obstructive and non-obstructive CRC and to evaluate surgical treatment options in obstructive CRC. Complete obstruction was present in 49 cases (4.6%). There were no differences between obstructive and non-obstructive CRC in tumor location, size, Dukes' stage, and differentiation. In forty-nine obstructive CRC cases, primary resections were performed in 29 cases after peri-operative bowel decompression. In this group, right colon cancer was more prevalent than staged operation group (45% vs. 5%, P<0.05) and hospital stay was significantly short (16 days vs. 38 days, P<0.05). Postoperative complication rate was higher in staged operation group (65% vs. 28%, P=0.01). It may be due to stoma related wound complication. In obstructive left colon cancer, there was a significant difference in complication rate between primary resection and staged operation (P<0.05). Overall 5-year survival rate were 66% and 53% in non-obstructive and obstructive group, respectively. Survival rate according to the Dukes' B and C stages did not show statistical differences, either. Conclusively, primary resection is preferred to the obstructive CRC when supportive care, preoperative bowel decompression, and intraoperative colonic irrigation were performed adequately.
Chungcheongnam-do ; Colon ; Colonic Neoplasms ; Colorectal Neoplasms* ; Decompression ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Mortality ; Postoperative Complications ; Preoperative Care ; Prognosis ; Survival Rate ; Wounds and Injuries

PURPOSE: Although PSA(prostate specific antigen) is an excellent tumor marker, it is not prostate cancer-specific but organ-specific. The objective of this study is to assess the efficacy of prostate specific antigen adjusted for the transition zone voume(PSATZ) in diagnosing prostate cancer in men with intermediate PSA levels of 4.1 to 10.0 ng/ml. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between March 1997 and September 1998, PSATZ was obtained from 67 patients who underwent ultrasound-guided systemic sextant biopsies and had a PSA of 4.1-10.0ng/ml. PSATZ was compared with PSA, PSAD(PSA density) and free-to-total PSA ratio(F/T ratio) via receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curves. RESULTS: Of 67 patients, 22(32.8%) had prostate cancer and 45(67.2%) had benign prostatic hyperplasia on pathologic examination. Mean PSA, F/T ratio, PSAD and PSATZ were 7.96+/-2.01ng/ml 0.10+/-0.06, 0.28+/-0.14ng/ml/cc and 0.70+/-0.28ng/ml/cc in patients with prostate cancer and 6.39+/-1.68ng/ml, 0.15+/-0.05, 0.16+/-0.06ng/ml/cc and 0.29+/-0.11ng/ml/cc in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia, respectively. ROC curve analysis demonstrated that PSATZ, F/T ratio and PSAD predicted the biopsy outcome significantly better than PSA in all 67 patients(p<0.01, respectively). In a subset of 45 men with normal digital rectal examination, PSATZ predicted the biopsy outcome better than PSAD or F/T ratio significantly(p<0.01, respectively). With cutoff value of 0.35ng/ml/cc, PSATZ had a sensitivity of 86% and a specificity of 89% for predicting prostate cancer. With cutoff value of 0.12, F/T ratio had a sensitivity of 73% and a specificity of 71% for predicting prostate cancer. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that PSATZ is more specific and more accurate than PSA, PSAD or F/T ratio in distinguishing benign prostatic disease from prostatic cancer in men with intermediate PSA levels of 4.1 to 10 ng/ml. But large prospective studies are requested to assess the precise role of PSATZ in early prostate cancer detection.
Biopsy ; Digital Rectal Examination ; Humans ; Male ; Prostate* ; Prostate-Specific Antigen* ; Prostatic Diseases ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; Prostatic Neoplasms* ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the usefulness of the oxygen uptake efficiency slope (OUES) in the evaluation of cardiorespiratory fitness of the stroke patients. METHOD: 25 stroke patients who could walk independently were included in this syudy. The symptom-limited graded treadmill test was performed to assess cardiovascular fitness. During the test, minute ventilation (VE), oxygen consumption (VO2), carbon dioxide production (VCO2), respiratory exchange ratio (RER) and anaerobic threshold (AT) were measured through respiratory gas analysis. A linear relationship was established between the oxygen consumption and the logarithmic transformation of minute ventilation. From this linear relationship, we obtained a slope that represented the OUES. OUES values were obtained from data corresponding to 75% (OUES75), 90% (OUES90) and 100% (OUES100) of the exercise duration. RESULTS: The differences among OUES75, OUES90 and OUES100 groups were not statistically significant and these three groups were highly correlated to each other. Maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) was positively correlated with OUES75 (r=0.723), OUES90 (r=0.762), OUES100 (r=0.809) and AT (r=0.696), respectively (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: OUES is considered to be the valuable submaximal index to evaluate the cardiorespiratory fitness of stroke patients who can not reach maximal exercise.
Anaerobic Threshold ; Carbon Dioxide ; Exercise Test ; Humans ; Oxygen Consumption ; Oxygen* ; Stroke* ; Ventilation

The incidence of recurrence and anal stricture after surgical hemorrhoidectomy were reported in about 5% and 2.5~13%, respectively Generally, complete and adequate surgery for hemorrhoids was not infrequently neglected because the treatment of hemorrhoids was based on symptoms rather than pathogenesis. This study was performed to analyze the clinical features of recurrent hemorrhoids and to assess the adequate surgical management for the prevention of recurrence. From June 1989 to December 1997, we reviewed 222 (10.6%) recurrent hemorrhoids of surgically treated at Asan Medical Center. Median follow-up period was 38 months (range, 4 months~8 years 9 months). The most common symptom was prolapse (37%). Previous treatment for hemorrhoids was surgical hemouhoidectorny in 99 cases (45%) and sclerotherapy in 111 cases (50%). The most common location and associated complication of recurrent hemorrhoids were sites of major piles (83%) and anal stricture (37%), respectively. Anal stricture was more prevalent in patients with previous sclerotherapy (P<0.05). In respect to the numbers of combined surgical procedures, one procedure was more frequently performed in the non-complicated recurrent hemorrhoids group (P<0.05) whereas over four in the complicated group (P<0.05). Internal sphincterotomy and anoplasty were frequently needed in the complicated recurrent hemorrhoids (P<0.05). Mean hospital stay and healing time were 5 days (range, 2~26 days) and 21 days (range, 6~180 days), respectively. We had excellent or satisfactory results in 175 of 197 patients (89%). Conclusively, multiple combined surgical procedures in accordance with individual status might be useful in treating the recurrent hemorrhoids. An adequate and complete surgical procedure must be applied during the initial operation of hemorrhoids, especially on major piles.
Chungcheongnam-do ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemorrhoidectomy ; Hemorrhoids* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Length of Stay ; Prolapse ; Recurrence ; Sclerotherapy

Tailgut cyst is a rare congenital lesion in retrorectal space. The clinical significance of tailgut cyst presents its morbidity that occurs in the unrecognized and incompletely treated lesion. A forty four year-old female patient visited with lower abdominal pain during defecation. Preoperative abdominopelvic MRI and endorectal ultrasonography revealed a retrorectal mass suggestive of leiomyoma, dermoid cyst, teratoma, or duplication cyst of rectum. She underwent complete resection of retrorectal mass by transsphincteric approach. The mass was multilocular cyst lined by multiple types of epithelium. It was histologically confirmed as a tailgut cyst. She recovered uneventfully. This report includes the case and a brief review of tailgut cyst.
Abdominal Pain ; Defecation ; Dermoid Cyst ; Epithelium ; Female ; Humans ; Leiomyoma ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Rectum ; Teratoma ; Ultrasonography