BACKGROUND: Various hemodynamic changes occur during left ventriculography, such as myocardial depression, hypotension, peripheral circulatory changes, ECG changes(such as arrhythmias and conduction abnormalities) and anaphylactic reaction etc. These effects are somewhat caused by osmolality, ionic concentration of Na+, viscosity and molecular weight of contrast dye and underlying various heart disease itself during left ventriculography. We compared the hemodynamic differences between ionic(ioxaglate) and non-ionic(iopromide) low osmolar contrast agents during routine ventriculography. METHODS: In a prospective, randomized, double blind study of 124 patients underwent left ventriculography, we examined the various hemodynamic effects of the two contrast agents on left ventricle. All subjects were divided into 2 groups : ioxaglate and iopromide groups. Also, each agent was used in randomized double blind fashion in both groups ; normal control subjects(14 in ioxaglate group : 12 in iopromide group) and subjects whose ejection fraction less than 50%(12 in ioxaglate group : 16 in iopromide group). Left ventricular systolic pressure(LVSP), left ventricular end-diastolic pressure(LVEDP), maximum dP/dt, (dP/dt)/P ratio, peak - dP/dt and Tau were obtained immediately before and left ventriculography. RESULTS: 1) In total(normal+angina+MI) subjects of both groups, LVEDP(p<0.001) and maximum dP/dt(p<0.001) were increased and T(au) was reduced significantly(p<0.05). But LVSP(p<0.001) and peak - dP/dt(p<0.005) were increased significantly only in ioxaglate group. 2)In normal(control) subjects, there were no significant differences in both groups, except LVEDP that was increased by equal magnitude(p<0.001). 3) In subjects with ejection fraction less than 50%, there were no significant hemodynamic differences in both contrast agent groups bur LVEDP increased significantly in both groups(p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This present study showed that both ionic(ioxaglate) and non-ionic(iopromide) low osmolar contrast agents were very safe without any significant side effects except two agents caused an increase in LVEDP and did not show major differences between ioxaglate and iopromide contrast agents from a hemodynamic point of view. Two contrast agents tend to improve contractilities and diastolic properties of left ventricle since both caused an increase in maximum dP/dt and a reduce in Tau, in total subjects. This effect may be caused by cardiac compensation, probably because of osmolality, volume loading by contrast agents and secondary activation of sympathetic system immediately after injection of contrast agents. Thus, it is concluded that two ioxaglate and iopromide contrast agents amy be used safely in left ventriculography in patients with and without left ventricular dysfunction, with paying attention to an increase in LVEDP.
Anaphylaxis ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Compensation and Redress ; Contrast Media* ; Depression ; Double-Blind Method ; Electrocardiography ; Heart Diseases ; Heart Ventricles ; Hemodynamics* ; Humans ; Hypotension ; Ioxaglic Acid ; Molecular Weight ; Osmolar Concentration ; Prospective Studies ; Ventricular Dysfunction, Left ; Viscosity

No abstract available.
Animals ; Mice* ; Mycobacterium bovis*

OBJECTIVES: Childhood allergic diseases are a major concern because they lead to a heavy economic burden and poor quality of life. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of childhood atopic dermatitis, asthma, allergic rhinitis, and the comorbidity of allergic diseases in Seoul, Korea. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey between May and October 2010 to evaluate the prevalence of childhood allergic diseases, including atopic dermatitis, asthma, and allergic rhinitis, using a questionnaire from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood group. Each questionnaire was completed by the parent or guardian of a child. RESULTS: In the 31,201 children studied, the prevalence of atopic dermatitis symptoms in the past 12 months was 19.3% in children 0 to 3 years of age, 19.7% in children 4 to 6 years of age, 16.7% in children 7 to 9 years of age, and 14.5% in children 10 to 13 years of age (p for trend < 0.001). The prevalence of asthma in these age groups was 16.5%, 9.8%, 6.5%, and 5.4%, respectively (p for trend < 0.001). The prevalence of allergic rhinitis in these age groups was 28.5%, 38.0%, 38.5%, and 35.9%, respectively (p for trend = 0.043). The percentage of subjects with both atopic dermatitis and asthma, both asthma and allergic rhinitis, or both atopic dermatitis and allergic rhinitis was 2.5%, 4.7%, and 8.7%, respectively. The prevalence of comorbid allergic diseases decreased with age (p for trend < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed that the prevalence of some allergic diseases, such as atopic dermatitis and asthma, was relatively high in very young children and that all of the principal allergic diseases in children often co-exist.
Asthma ; Child ; Comorbidity ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Parents ; Prevalence ; Quality of Life ; Rhinitis ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the association between socioeconomic factors and asthma symptoms. METHODS: A total of 6,919 elementary school children in Seoul were enrolled in the study. Data were obtained from a web-based questionnaire survey. The questionnaire was based on the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood core module. The prevalence of wheeze in the past 12 months and severe asthma symptoms were obtained. The potential risk factors for asthma symptoms included household income and the number of siblings. A multiple logistic regression analysis was used to calculate the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for the risk factors of asthma symptoms. RESULTS: The prevalence of current wheeze (wheeze in the past 12 months) was 5.2%. Household income and asthma symptoms were inversely associated after adjusting for other potential risk factors (p for trend=0.03). This association was modified by the number of siblings. With two or more siblings, the effect of household income on asthma symptoms was not significant. However, low household income was still a significant variable for patients with fewer than two siblings (OR 1.41; 95% CI, 1.09-1.81). CONCLUSIONS: It appears that childhood asthma disparity is dependent on household income. Therefore, policies to improve childhood health inequities should be emphasized.
Asthma ; Child ; Family Characteristics ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Logistic Models ; Odds Ratio ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Siblings ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Tick paralysis is caused by a neurotoxin secreted by female tick. Characteristic initial manifestation is bilateral flaccid ascending paralysis similar to Guillain-Barr? syndrome. The predominant electrophysiological abnormality is a reduction in complex muscle action potentials. Here, we present a 62-year-old man who initially experienced a sudden biting pain on his scalp. Subsequently he developed bilateral lower extremity paralysis that ascended symmetrically involving the upper extremities. Within 2 weeks, the patient showed a full recovery without treatment.
Action Potentials ; Bites and Stings ; Female ; Humans ; Lower Extremity ; Middle Aged ; Muscles ; Paralysis ; Scalp ; Tick Paralysis ; Ticks ; Upper Extremity

The diagnosis of gastric cancer in young age group was sometimes missed .The operative risk in senile age group was high because of combined other organ diseases. We tried to determine the difference in their correct clinicopathologic features and the prognosis of young and senile patients with gastric cancer. Clinicopathologic characteristics and surgical results were compared in 40 senile gastric cancer patients who were aged 65 years or above, and in 48 young gastric cancer patients who were aged 40 years or less. In clinicopathologic features, the senile group was characterized by a high incidence of well differentiated adenocarcinoma and intestinal type by Lauren classification. The young age group was characterized by high incidence of undifferentiated type adenocarcinoma and diffuse type by Lauren classification . The others were unremarkable. When the survival rate was compared in all cases between young and senile group, the young age group showed a more favorable prognosis than the senile group, but without statistical difference ( P=0.0058 ) . Also, the survival rate according to UICC stage showed no statistical difference when the same stage of the two different groups were compared . Both group showed better survival in curative surgery cases than in noncurative surgery cases.Our findings ruled out any relationships between age and length of survival time in patients undergoing curative gastrectomy for gastric cancer.
Adenocarcinoma ; Classification ; Diagnosis ; Gastrectomy ; Humans ; Incidence ; Prognosis ; Stomach Neoplasms* ; Survival Rate

We report here on the use of the Venture(TM) catheter to facilitate successful advancement of a guidewire across difficult, complex lesions after the prior attempts at guide wire passage were unsuccessful with using standard wires. This Venture(TM) catheter may increase the success rate and reduce the procedural time for such a challenging interventional procedure.
Angioplasty ; Catheters

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Patients with metabolic syndrome (MS) have an increased risk of cardiovascular events. However, only limited studies are available on the effect of MS on restenosis and on the clinical outcome of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The aim of this study is to assess the role of MS in the development of restenosis, and risk of a 6-month major adverse cardiac event (MACE) and a 12-month MACE, as well as the difference of outcome between the use of bare metal stents (BMSs) and the use of drug eluting stents (DESs). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This is a one center, retrospective study. The study population comprised 151 patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with BMSs and 200 patients undergoing PCI with DESs. The study population was classified into two groups of patients with MS and patients without MS. RESULTS: The baseline clinical characteristics were similar in the two groups (with or without MS) except for hypertension, diabetes, body mass index, triglyceride level and high-density lipoprotein level. The frequency of in-stent restenosis of the patients that were implanted with BMSs or DESs was not different between two groups, based on a 6 month follow-up quantitative coronary angiographic analysis (BMSs: 30% vs 22.2%, p= 0.352; DES: 3.3% vs 2.2%, p=0.76; for patients with and without MS, respectively). The percent of patients with a 6-month MACE for patients implanted with BMSs was not statistically different for patients with or without MS (30% vs 22.2%, p=0.352) but the percent of patients with a 12-month MACE showed a statistically significant higher level for the MS group (38.6% vs 23.5%, p=0.044). The percent of patients with a 6-month MACE for patients implanted with DESs was also not statistically different between two groups (5.8% vs 1.7%, p= 0.123). CONCLUSION: Patients with MS undergoing BMSs or DESs implantation do not show higher levels of in-stent restenosis and levels of a 6-month MACE. The number of 12-month MACEs of patients implanted with BMSs is statistically higher, but the number of 6-month MACEs of patients implanted with DESs is not different for the MS group. We conclude that MS is not risk factor of in-stent restenosis in PCI but MS may influence the long-term clinical outcome in patients undergoing PCI.
Body Mass Index ; Coronary Restenosis ; Drug-Eluting Stents ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Lipoproteins ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention* ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Stents ; Triglycerides

The prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is estimated to be 1–5% of the adult population world-wide, and in Korea, it is reported at 4.5% of men and 3.2% of women (Age 40 to 69 years old). Active treatment of OSA is associated with decrease in insulin resistance, cardiovascular disease, psychosocial problems, and mortality. Surgical treatment of OSA has evolved in the era of neuromodulation with the advent of hypoglossal nerve stimulation (HGNS). We share this review of HGNS with our maxillofacial surgical colleagues to expand the scope of surgical care for OSA.
Adult ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Female ; Humans ; Hypoglossal Nerve* ; Insulin Resistance ; Korea ; Male ; Mortality ; Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons* ; Prevalence ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive* ; Snoring

Hepatic adverse drug reactions (ADRs) to certain drugs may differ within each country, reflecting different patterns of prescription, socioeconomic status, and culture. The purpose of this study was to assess the suspected cause of hepatic ADRs using the spontaneously reported pharmacovigilance data from Korea. A total of 9,360 spontaneously reported adverse drug events (ADEs) from nine Pharmacovigilance Centers were analyzed. Risk of hepatic ADEs was assessed by calculating the reporting odds ratio (ROR). Of the 9,360 cases, 567 hepatic ADEs were reported. The most frequently prescribed drug classes inducing hepatic ADEs were anti-tuberculotics, cephalosporins, valproic acids, penicillins, quinolones, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), anti-viral agents, and statins. ROR values were especially high in anti-tuberculosis drugs, systemic antifungal drugs for systemic use, anti-epileptics, propylthiouracil, and herbal medicines. Underlying diseases such as tuberculosis (6.9% vs 0.9%), pneumonia (4.9% vs 1.7%), intracranial injury including skull fracture (4.5% vs 0.9%), HIV (3.4% vs 0.4%), subarachnoid hemorrhage (2.8% vs 0.5%), and osteoporosis (2.4% vs 1.4%) were significantly more common in hepatic ADE group. In conclusion, anti-infective drugs, anti-epileptics, NSAIDs and statins are the most common suspects of the spontaneously reported hepatic ADEs, in Korea. Careful monitoring for such reactions is needed for the prescription of these drugs.
Adult ; *Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting Systems/statistics & numerical data ; Aged ; Anti-Infective Agents/adverse effects ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/adverse effects ; Anticonvulsants/adverse effects ; Drug Monitoring ; Drug-Induced Liver Injury/*epidemiology/*etiology ; Female ; Humans ; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors/adverse effects ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Odds Ratio ; Pharmacovigilance ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Risk Factors