No abstract available.
Acute Coronary Syndrome* ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention*

BACKGROUND: Propafenone is a new class Ic antiarrhythmic compound.This study was performed to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of propafenone by double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized cross-over comparison of propafenone and disopyramide in patients with stable ventricular ectopy. METHODS: All patients were included in the study if they had an average of at least 30 PVC/hr on a 24-hour Holter recordings. During the 1st 7 days, two placebo tablets(identical in apperance to the propafenone and the disopyramide tablets) were administrated in a double-blind manner(run-in period). Then 1st treatment period lasting 1 week with one verum and the other placebo, wish-out period of 3 day,2nd treatment period lasting 1 week with cross-over drugs were followed. RESULTS: Twenty patients were enrolled. During the run-in period, VPCs were reduced to 18%, compared to the baseline data before the administration of placebo.During the treatment period,propafenone 600mg/day reduced VPCs by 43% and disopyramide 400mg/day reduced VPCs by -10% Propafenone was effective(80% or greater reduction of VPCs) in 7 of 20 patients. Disopyramide was not effective in all patients. Propafenone and disopyramide produced no significant change of paired VPCs and VT events. Propafenone had no effect on heart rate. It increased the PR interval(7.9%;p<0.01) and QRS interval(5.2%;p<0.01). The drug did not change QTc interval(-1.1%) significantly. There were no cardiovascular side effects. Propafenone produced nausea in one patient. Disopyramide produced dysuria in 2 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Propafenone was more effective in controlling VPC than disopyramide, and there was no major limiting side effects.
Cross-Over Studies* ; Disopyramide* ; Dysuria ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Nausea ; Propafenone* ; Ventricular Premature Complexes*

Background: Hyponatremia is a common complication after transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) for pituitary adenomas. This study retrospectively reviewed various clinical factors of pituitary adenoma patients who underwent TSS and aimed to identify possible risk factors of postoperative hyponatremia. Methods: Total 1,343 patients who underwent TSS for their pituitary adenomas in a single institution were enrolled to this study. We identified and analyzed 93 patients (6.9%) with postoperative hyponatremia and compared them with other 1,250 patients in a control group. Patients’ age, sex, tumor extent based on the modified Hardy classification, tumor size and hormonal type of the tumors were analyzed in comparison between two groups. The results of pre- and post-operative combined pituitary function test and their comparison were analyzed to elucidate a possible association between postoperative hyponatremia and hypopituitarism. Results: The onset of postoperative hyponatremia was 7.8 days after surgery (range: postoperative day 3-13). The initial level of serum sodium (Na) level at the start of treatment was 123.5 mmol/L (range: 114-131 mmol/L) and the duration of treatment was 2.7 days (range: 1-9 days). Female predominance was evident in the hyponatremia group (77.4% vs. 61.4%, p=0.02). Preoperative hypopituitarism (58.5% vs. 71.5%, p=0.007) and postoperative hypocortisolism (33.7% vs. 23.4%, p=0.029) were related to postoperative hyponatremia. Other pre- and post-operative clinical factors were not associated with postoperative hyponatremia. Conclusion Postoperative hyponatremia is a common complication after TSS and is potentially fatal. Female patients were more likely to develop delayed hyponatremia. We demonstrated possible associations of delayed postoperative hyponatremia with preoperative and postoperative pituitary functions, but the mechanism behind it should be further investigated.

Background: Hyponatremia is a common complication after transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) for pituitary adenomas. This study retrospectively reviewed various clinical factors of pituitary adenoma patients who underwent TSS and aimed to identify possible risk factors of postoperative hyponatremia. Methods: Total 1,343 patients who underwent TSS for their pituitary adenomas in a single institution were enrolled to this study. We identified and analyzed 93 patients (6.9%) with postoperative hyponatremia and compared them with other 1,250 patients in a control group. Patients’ age, sex, tumor extent based on the modified Hardy classification, tumor size and hormonal type of the tumors were analyzed in comparison between two groups. The results of pre- and post-operative combined pituitary function test and their comparison were analyzed to elucidate a possible association between postoperative hyponatremia and hypopituitarism. Results: The onset of postoperative hyponatremia was 7.8 days after surgery (range: postoperative day 3-13). The initial level of serum sodium (Na) level at the start of treatment was 123.5 mmol/L (range: 114-131 mmol/L) and the duration of treatment was 2.7 days (range: 1-9 days). Female predominance was evident in the hyponatremia group (77.4% vs. 61.4%, p=0.02). Preoperative hypopituitarism (58.5% vs. 71.5%, p=0.007) and postoperative hypocortisolism (33.7% vs. 23.4%, p=0.029) were related to postoperative hyponatremia. Other pre- and post-operative clinical factors were not associated with postoperative hyponatremia. Conclusion Postoperative hyponatremia is a common complication after TSS and is potentially fatal. Female patients were more likely to develop delayed hyponatremia. We demonstrated possible associations of delayed postoperative hyponatremia with preoperative and postoperative pituitary functions, but the mechanism behind it should be further investigated.

BACKGROUND: Recently, body composition analyzer has been used widely clinically. Various indirectly measured values of body are calculated without direct measuring. The abdominal circumference that is presented by such instrument may be used for diagnosing abdominal obesity, but the reliable evidence of the accuracy and the validity may be not be enough for application to general population. For this reason, the author investigated the usefulness of automatically produced abdominal circumference for diagnosing abdominal obesity. METHODS: The medical records of 5,555 outpatients who had undergone body composition analysis in a tertiary hospital was collected. The usefulness of the automatically presented abdominal circumference for diagnosing abdominal obesity among general population was investigated. RESULTS: There was a significant positive correlation between abdominal circumference measured by body composition analyzer and measuring tape in the normal, the overweight, and the obese groups of both gender. But, the results were the same only in females in the underweight group. The most significant difference between the two values were 4.8+/-5.0 cm in normal male group and -5.7+/-5.5 cm in female obese group. The difference of the male obese group was lesser than that of the overweight, the normal and the underweight groups. The difference of the male overweight group was lesser than that of the normal group. The difference of the female obese group was lesser than that of the overweight, the normal and the underweight groups. The sensitivity and specificity to detect abdominal obese person among the total subjects was 76.3% and 79.1%, respectively. The specificity was higher in all male and the normal female groups, wheras the sensitivity was higher in the obese and the overweight female groups. CONCLUSION: Physicians should confirm the accuracy of abdominal circumference, especially in normal males and obese female group, although the automatically presented value is convenient and reflects the manually measured one very well which is useful to diagnose abdominal obesity.
Body Composition* ; Body Mass Index* ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Medical Records ; Obesity, Abdominal ; Outpatients ; Overweight ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Thinness ; Waist Circumference

Sebaceous trichofolliculoma, which is a variant of trichofolliculoma, is a rare disease that clinically show a centrally depressed lesion usually singly on the nose, and histologically a centrally located cavity, lined by squamous epithelium, with numerous sebaceous lobules connected to them. We describe a case of sebaceous trichofolliculoma in a 27-year-old woman who had several brown papules on the nose. We think that this is the first report of sebaceous trichofolliculloma in Korean literature.
Adult ; Epithelium ; Female ; Humans ; Nose ; Rare Diseases

PURPOSE: With our medical school accepting graduate level students, there may be more conflicts between the older students and hospital employees. These issues need to be dealt with in order to improve the quality of education of medical students during clerkship. This study aims to improve the setting of clerkship by analysing how knowledgeable hospital employees are about medical school clerkship. METHODS: Study subjects included 206 hospital employees working at a university hospital in Pusan. Subjects completed a self-reported questionnaires on the hospital employees' knowledge about medical student's clerkship. Means and standard deviations were based on a five point scale, and data were analyzed using statistical methods including chi-square-test, two-sample t-test, ANOVA, and partial correlation. RESULTS: Opinions about the awareness of educational role of the university hospital, necessity of clerkship, influence that clerkship has on doctor's careers, necessity for clerkship students to understand roles of other hospital employees, and degree to which hospital employee explain their roles to clerkship students, were positive, but opinions about the attitudes of clerkship students were neutral, and opinions about attachment to clerkship students, clerkship students' efforts to understand the roles of hospital employees were negative. Opinions about the necessity of clerkship, influence that clerkship had on doctor's careers, clerkship students' efforts to understand roles of hospital employees showed significantly positive correlations with opinions about the attitude of clerkship students, attachment to clerkship students and the degree of explaining hospital employee's roles to clerkship students. CONCLUSION: To increase attentiveness in hospital employees towards medical clerkships, it seems necessary both to educate hospital employees on the clerkship itself and on working together with medical students, and to have clerkship students continue to be taught on the roles of other employees of the hospital.
Busan ; Education ; Humans ; Schools, Medical ; Students, Medical ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND: There are several reports that vitamin C is one of antioxidants and can be used to protect cardiovascular diseases. Inflammation plays a major role in atherosclerosis, and the measurement of inflammatory markers such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs- CRP) may provide methods for risk prediction and reveal independent risk factors of cardiovascular diseases. The purpose of our study was to assess the correlation between vitamin C intake and plasma hs-CRP concentration. METHODS: The study subjects consisted of 2,012 individuals who underwent periodic health examination in a university hospital in Busan from June 2002 to January 2003. The subjects were questioned concerning their past medical history, alcohol intake, smoking status, physical activity. Body mass index, abdominal circumference, blood pressure, fasting glucose, lipid profile, general blood test, and hs-CRP were measured. The exclusive responsible dietitian evaluated the average calorie intake and vitamin C intake by food frequency questionnaire. To quantify the correlation between vitamin C intake and plasma hs-CRP concentration, Pearson correlation coefficient and Spearman correlation coefficient were presented. RESULTS: The vitamin C index (r=-0.051, P<0.05) and the vitamin C intake per calorie intake (r=-0.075, P<0.01) showed a significant correlation with the plasma hs-CRP level. The vitamin C intake and the vitamin C intake per calorie intake were significantly correlated with the plasma hs-CRP level after adjusting for sex, age, body mass index and smoking status. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that there was a significant correlation between the vitamin C intake and the hs-CRP concentration. Therefore, inflammatory status is higher in a person who takes small amount of vitamin C than a person who takes it plentifully. The former is presumed to have a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases thereafter.
Antioxidants ; Ascorbic Acid* ; Atherosclerosis ; Blood Pressure ; Body Mass Index ; Busan ; C-Reactive Protein* ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Fasting ; Glucose ; Hematologic Tests ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Motor Activity ; Nutritionists ; Plasma* ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking

Supine exercise test was done with bicycle ergometer and echocardiography in 28 patients with chronic aortic regurgitation. Ejection fraction was measured before and immediately after exercise from echocardiography, wall stress and radius/thickness ratio was calculated from echocardiography and systolic blood pressure. 1. There was no difference in left ventricular end systolic and diastolic dimension, ejection fraction at rest, radius/thickness ratio, wall stress between NYHA functional class I, II, III. But work capacity was greater in NYHA class I than in class II, III(39712+/-10778 watt-sec, 23766+/-14280 watt-sec, 11968+/-6052 watt-sec respectively). Ejection fraction after exercise was significantly increased in class I(66.3+/-8.9% at rast vs 71.3+/-10.7% after exercise). 2. Ejection fraction was increased more than 5% in 12 patients(group I) and increased less than 5% or decreased in 16 patients(group II). There was no difference in basal E.F., Ded, Des and postexercise heart rate-blod pressure product between group I and II. But between group I and II, there was significant difference in diastolic redius/thickness ratio(2.55+/-0.30 vs 3.00+/-0.51), mean radius/thickness ratio(1.86+/-0.23 vs 2.18+/-0.30), systolic wall stress(192.3+/-38.6mmHg vs 240.2+/-57.7mmHg), mean wall stress(265.8mmHg vs 334.8+/-68.7mmHg) and work capacity(33848+/-12682 watt-sec vs 19210+/-12342 watt-sce). 3. Work capacity was more than 23800 watt-sec in 16 patients(group A), and less than 23800 watt-sec in 12 patients(group B). There was no difference in ejection fraction at rest, radius/thickness ratio, wall stress, and left ventricular dimension. But ejection fraction after exercise was significantly different between group A and B(68.6+/-14.6% vs 55.8+/-14.2%). 4. In nine patients with end systolic dimension greater than 50 mm ejection fraction was decreased or increased less than 5% in 7 patients. So mean ejection fraction was significantly decreased after exercise(56.8+/-7.5% at rest, 51.0+/-16.3% after exercise).
Aortic Valve Insufficiency* ; Blood Pressure ; Echocardiography* ; Exercise Test ; Heart ; Humans

Papillary endothelial hyperplasia(PEH), usually originates in extracranial soft tissue, is considered a reactive proliferation of endothlium and an unusual form of thrombus organization. However the occurance of PEH in the cranial cavity is very rare. The authors report a case of a PEH involving intracranial sella, parasella, cavernous sius, ethmoid and sphenoid sinus in an 11-year-old boy. The patient was presented with sudden right visual disturbance. Magnetic resonance image showed a well-enhanced mass in the right cavernous sinus extending into the ethmoid and sphenoid sinus. The cerebral angiography demonstrated a vigorous tumor staining supplied by both internal and external carotid arteries. The right fronto-temporal craniotomy and subtotal resection of the tumor were performed. The mass was comprised in a highly vascular red-black nodular tissue associated with a mixture of fresh and organizing thrombi. The histopathological examination revealed papillary structures lined by endothelium within vascular space with organized thrombus. While the patient was waiting for second operation in order to remove remaining small tumor in the ethmoid and sphenoid sinues, the lesion exhibited rapid regrowth and the size became to the preoperative size at three months after operation. At reoperation, gross total removal was accomplished by a combination of trans-cranial and trans-sphenoidal approaches. Postoperative radiotherapy was given.
Carotid Artery, External ; Cavernous Sinus* ; Cerebral Angiography ; Child ; Craniotomy ; Endothelium ; Humans ; Hyperplasia* ; Male ; Radiotherapy ; Reoperation ; Sphenoid Sinus* ; Thrombosis