No abstract available.
Drug Therapy, Combination* ; Necrosis* ; Radiotherapy* ; Small Cell Lung Carcinoma*

No abstract available.
Thoracoscopy*

Protozoa of the genus Cryptosporidium are small coccidian parasite known to infect the mucosal epithelium of a variety of animals including human, causing fatal course in immunodeficient patients as well as self-limited illness in healthy individuals. Various life cycle stages including trophozoite, meront, merozoite, gametocyte and oocyst in infected mucosa are a diagnostic feature. Electron microscopy (EM) provides sufficient findings for genus and species identification of this parasitic organism. The authors presented scanning and transmission EM findings of Cryptosporidium parvum infection in two children: one with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and the other without any evidence of immune compromise.
Animals ; Child ; Cryptosporidium parvum ; Cryptosporidium* ; Epithelium ; Humans* ; Intestines* ; Life Cycle Stages ; Merozoites ; Microscopy, Electron ; Mucous Membrane ; Oocysts ; Parasites ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; Trophozoites

Primary dissociated neuronal cultures are widely used research tools to investigate of pathological mechanisms and to treat various central and peripheral nervous system problems including trauma and degenerative neuronal diseases. We introduced a protocol that utilizes hippocampal and cortical neurons from embryonic day 17 or 18 mice. We applied appropriate markers (GAP-43 and synaptophysin) to investigate whether neurite outgrowth and synaptogenesis can be distinguished at a particular period of time. GAP-43 was found along the neural processes in a typical granular pattern, and its expression increased proportionally as neurites lengthened during the early in vitro period. Unlike GAP-43, granular immunoreactive patterns of synaptophysin along the neurites were clearly found from day 2 in vitro with relatively high immunoreactive levels. Expression of synaptic markers from cortical neurons reached peak level earlier than that of hippocampal neurons, although neurite outgrowths of hippocampal neurons were faster than those of cortical neurons. The amount of peak synaptic markers expressed was also higher in cortical neurons than that in hippocampal neurons. These results strongly suggest the usefulness of primary cultured neurons from mice embryos for synaptic function and plasticity studies, because of their clear and typical patterns of morphology that establish synapses. Results from this study also suggest the proper amount of time in vitro according to neuronal types (cortical or hippocampal) when utilized in experiments related with synaptogenesis or synaptic activities.
Animals ; Embryonic Structures ; GAP-43 Protein ; Mice ; Neurites ; Neurons ; Peripheral Nervous System ; Plastics ; Synapses ; Synaptophysin

PURPOSE: This study was done to verify effects of a self-directed feedback practice using smartphone videos on nursing students' basic nursing skills, confidence in performance and learning satisfaction. METHODS: In this study an experimental study with a post-test only control group design was used. Twenty-nine students were assigned to the experimental group and 29 to the control group. Experimental treatment was exchanging feedback on deficiencies through smartphone recorded videos of nursing practice process taken by peers during self-directed practice. RESULTS: Basic nursing skills scores were higher for all items in the experimental group compared to the control group, and differences were statistically significant ["Measuring vital signs" (t= - 2.10, p =.039); "Wearing protective equipment when entering and exiting the quarantine room and the management of waste materials" (t= - 4.74, p <.001) "Gavage tube feeding" (t= - 2.70, p =.009)]. Confidence in performance was higher in the experimental group compared to the control group, but the differences were not statistically significant. However, after the complete practice, there was a statistically significant difference in overall performance confidence (t= - 3.07. p =.003). Learning satisfaction was higher in the experimental group compared to the control group, but the difference was not statistically significant (t= - 1.67, p =.100). CONCLUSION: Results of this study indicate that self-directed feedback practice using smartphone videos can improve basic nursing skills. The significance is that it can help nursing students gain confidence in their nursing skills for the future through improvement of basic nursing skills and performance of quality care, thus providing patients with safer care.
Humans ; Learning* ; Nursing* ; Quarantine ; Students, Nursing

PURPOSE: We studied to compare computed tomographic(CT) findings of liver injury with management methods in adults and, moreover, to present the CT basis for the management. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed CT scans of 43 adults diagnosed as liver injury during a 66-month period. Thirty-eight patients were hemodynamically stable. Thirty-two of them were managed conservatively, whereas six managed operatively. Five unstable patients underwent emergency operation. We classified CT findings according to the severity of liver injuries(ie, hematoma, laceration, and periportal tracking) and hemperitoneum, ranging from grade 1 to 5 and from 0 to 3+, respectively. Thus, we compared the CT classificafions with their management(ie, operation rate), especially hemodynamically stable patients. RESULTS: Operation rates of all patients and hemodynamically stable patients were 26% and 16%, respectively. Operation rate at each grade of liver injury was low, especially in hemodynamically stable, despite relatively high operation rate in grade 4. Operation rate of 3+ hemoperitoneum was 100%, including hemodynamically stable patients, in contrast to otherwise low operation rate of others. CONCLUSION: Most liver injury in adults, including grade 4, were managed conservatively, especially hemodynamically stable. Though large amount of hemoperitoneum(ie, 3+) required operation, most hemoperitoeum were managed conservatively. Thus, CT findings of liver injury is helpful in the decision for the management method.
Adult* ; Classification* ; Emergencies ; Hematoma ; Hemoperitoneum ; Humans ; Lacerations ; Liver* ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Ovarian serous tumors of low malignant potential (borderline serous tumors) are intermediate in their clinical behavior between benign serous cystadenoma and malignant neoplasm, and are associated with 10 year survival rates in excess of 90%. Borderline ovarian serous tumors are characterized by absence of stromal invasion but presence of some characteristics of malignancy. Borderline ovarian tumors occur predominantly in premenopausal women, and associated with a very good prognosis. The principal treatment of borderline malignancy is surgical resection of the primary tumor. But approximatley 20% of patients with ovarian tumors of low malignant potential present with Stage III or IV disease at the time of diagnosis. The benefit of postsurgical therapy in this group of patients has not been well established. We report two cases of advanced ovarian serous borderline tumor, one of which was treated with 3 cycles of cisplatin-taxol chemotherpy.
Cystadenoma, Serous ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Prognosis ; Survival Rate

OBJECTIVES: This study quantifies the efficacy of a short-term systemic steroid therapy in the patients with anosmia or hyposmia using the butanol threshold test (BTT) and the visual analogue scale (VAS). MATERIALS AND METHOD: Thirty patients with anosmia or hyposmia were included in this study from June 1996 through April 1997. The patients were divided into inflammatory and noninflammatory groups depending on the etiology. We evaluated the patients before and after the systemic steroid admi-nistration using both BTT and VAS. RESULTS: Overall improvements of olfactory function was observed upto 70% by BTT and 53% by VAS, and the therapeutic effect of steroid on olfactory malfunction was statistically significant (p=0.0001). Improvements in the olfaction was measured by BTT, which correlated strongly with the measurements by VAS with statistical significance (r=0.77578, p=0.0001). The inflammatory group showed better steroid response (83%) than the noninflammatory group (61%), but there was no statistical significance. CONCLUSION: The systemic steroid administration may be effective in the treatment of olfactory disturbance with a good correlation between BTT and VAS.
Evaluation Studies as Topic* ; Humans ; Olfaction Disorders ; Smell

A 59 year old woman visited the hospital complaining of sore throat, chill, myalgia and whole body skin rash. There was abnormal finding of fever, sinus tachycardia, increased lactic dehydrogenase and elongation prothrombin time. We started treatment with acetaminophen and fluid because she had not specific history of visiting to the mountain or field, etc. After treatment increased aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase and thrombocytopenia appeared without symptomatic improvement so that we investigated tsutsugamushi antibodies and diagnosed her condition as Tsutsugamushi disease with polyuria. But the clinical manifestation in our case showed atypical symptom which had polyuria. There is no report on that in Korea and over the world therefore the author et al. report of case of Tsutsugamushi disease with polyuria, atypical symptom.
Acetaminophen ; Antibodies ; Aspartic Acid ; Exanthema ; Female ; Fever ; Humans ; Korea ; Myalgia ; Oxidoreductases ; Pharyngitis ; Polyuria ; Prothrombin Time ; Scrub Typhus ; Tachycardia, Sinus ; Thrombocytopenia

BACKGROUNDS: The advent of laparoscopic abdominal surgery made it possible to perform a laparoscopic adrenalectomy (LA). We have successfully performed 10 such operations since November 21, 1995. We retrospectively compared the effectiveness and the safety of a laparoscopic adrenalectomy with the effectiveness and the safety of an open adrenalectomy (OA). METHODS: The 45 patients with adrenal diseases who underwent an adrenalectomy from March 1990 to January 1998 were included in this study. Ten (10) laparoscopic cases comprised the study group, and 17 of the 32 open adrenalectomy cases, performed by anterior approach, comprised the control group. RESULTS: No one died from an adrenalectomy. Nine cases (45%) from the OA group needed transfusions (average:661 ml), but one patient from the LA group, who had required a conversion to a celiotomy, required a transfusion (400 ml). The operating times were, on average, 191 minutes in the OA group and 230 minutes in the LA group (p = 0.0384). The average size of the masses was 6.5 cm. The first days of walking after the operation was 3.4 days for the OA group and 1.3 days for the LA group (p = 0.0002). The patients' former regular diets were started on days 6.9 and 3.2 for the OA and LA groups, respectively (p = 0.0001). Postoperative in-hospital days were 17.5 for the OA group and 7.9 for the LA group (p = 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: In comparison with an open adrenalectomy, a laparoscopic adrenalectomy showed better convalescent features:that is, less chance of transfusion, earlier recovery, faster resumption of the former diet, shorter postoperative hospital stays, and cosmesis. We think and suggest that a laparoscopic adrenalectomy is a safe and effective procedure, and hopefully it will become the standard choice of operation for various adrenal diseases.
Adrenalectomy* ; Diet ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Length of Stay ; Retrospective Studies ; Walking