BACKGROUND: Neutropenic fever is one of the most common and potentially severe complications of chemotherapy in pediatric oncology patients, while urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most prevalent bacterial infections in these patients. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate features of UTI with neutropenic fever in pediatric oncology patients. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed and analyzed the medical records, laboratory results and image findings of cases of neutropenic fever in the Department of Pediatrics of Yeungnam University Medical Center, South Korea between November 2013 and May 2015. Episodes were divided into two groups, UTI vs. non-UTI group according to the results of urine culture. The results were then compared between groups. The analysis was performed using IBM SPSS 23.0. A p-value <0.05 was considered to indicate a significant difference between groups. RESULTS: Overall, 112 episodes of neutropenic fever were analyzed, among which 22 episodes (19.6%) showed organisms on urine culture and were classified as UTI. The remaining 90 episodes were classified as non-UTI. Only four episodes (18.2%) of the UTI group showed pyuria on urine analysis. In the UTI group, 76.5% were sensitive to the first line antibiotics and showed higher clinical response than the non-UTI group. Among hematologic malignancy patients, the UTI group revealed higher serum β 2-microglobulin levels than the non-UTI group (1.56±0.43 mg/L vs. 1.2±0.43 mg/L, p<0.028). CONCLUSION: UTI in pediatric neutropenic fever responds well to antibiotics. Hematologic malignancy cases with UTI reveal increased serum β2-microglobulin level. These results will be helpful to early phase diagnosis of UTI.
Academic Medical Centers ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Bacterial Infections ; Child ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Febrile Neutropenia* ; Fever ; Hematologic Neoplasms ; Humans ; Korea ; Medical Records ; Pediatrics ; Pyuria ; Retrospective Studies ; Urinary Tract Infections* ; Urinary Tract*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to determine the usefulness of arterial embolization on sacral and pelvic giant cell tumor (GCT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 9 patients who had undergone serial arterial embolization between December 1996 and May 2008. We analyzed the clinical outcomes and therapeutic responsiveness of arterial embolization on sacral and pelvic GCT. RESULTS: Six of 9 cases showed progression of disease (PD) status, even if 5 cases showed PD status despite of additional treatments including surgery and radiation, implying that serial arterial embolization on sacral and pelvic GCT is not effective. Three of 9 cases showed stable disease (SD) or continuous disease free (CDF) status and we analyzed associated factors with these good responses for embolization by chi2 test. The number of feeding vessels under six (p=0.048) and the number of collateral arterial supply under three (p=0.048) in the first angiogram showed significant relationships with good response for embolization, while remaining tumor staining by contrast after the first embolization and repeated embolization times were not significant. CONCLUSION: Although serial arterial embolization is not an effective modality on sacral and pelvic giant cell tumors, it may be a pilot modality under narrow indication of tumors with poor vascularity at first angiogram.
Giant Cell Tumors* ; Giant Cells* ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Pelvic Bones ; Retrospective Studies ; Sacrum

BACKGROUND: Flow cytometric immunophenotyping has been used to identify neoplastic plasma cell populations in patients with multiple myeloma (MM). Previous reports have described the use of several antigens, including CD38, CD138, CD56, CD117, CD52, CD19 and CD45, to distinguish distinct populations of plasma cells. The aim of this study was to evaluate a simplified immunophenotyping panel for MM analysis. METHODS: A total of 70 patients were enrolled in the study, 62 of which were newly diagnosed with MM (untreated), whereas the remaining 8 were undergoing bone marrow assessment as part of follow-up after treatment (treated). Treated cases included 3 patients with relapse and 5 patients with persistence of MM. Multiparametric flow cytometric immunophenotyping was performed using monoclonal antibodies against CD56, CD19, CD138 (CD38), and CD45. RESULTS: In differential counts, plasma cells in bone marrow (BM) accounted for 3.6-93.2% of the total nucleated cell count. The positive expression rates of CD56, CD19, CD138, and CD45 in neoplastic myeloma cells were 83.9%, 0%, 98.4%, and 37.1%, respectively, among the 62 untreated cases, and 75.0%, 0%, 87.5%, and 37.5%, respectively, among the 8 treated cases. CD19 expression of neoplastic plasma cells was negative in both untreated and treated cases. CONCLUSION: The simplified immunophenotyping panel, CD56/CD19/CD138(CD38)/CD45, is useful for distinguishing neoplastic myeloma cells from reactive plasma cells in clinical practice. In addition, CD19 represents the most valuable antigen for identifying neoplastic myeloma cells in patients with MM.
Antibodies, Monoclonal ; Bone Marrow ; Cell Count ; Flow Cytometry ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Immunophenotyping ; Multiple Myeloma ; Plasma ; Plasma Cells ; Recurrence

PURPOSE: Pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS) is a rare soft tissue tumor, which usually arises in larger joints, such as the knee. It has a high recurrence rate after surgical treatment. The purpose of this study is to evaluate and analyze the clinical results of diffuse-type pigmented villonodular synovitis cases that were treated with open total synovectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between 1994 and 2006, 21 patients who had diffuse-type pigmented villonodular synovitis were selectively reviewed. Among the 21 cases studied, 14 patients presented at the knee, 5 at the ankle, and 2 at the shoulder and elbow. The mean follow up period was 5.5 years (range, 36-157 months). The average age of the patients was 34 years consist of 7 men and 14 women. Clinical outcomes were analyzed retrospectively, including range of motion and complications. RESULTS: Open total synovectomy and adjuvant electrocautrization were done in all cases except one. During the regular follow-up period after the surgery, two patients showed symptoms of recurrence. After re-operation, only one case was pathologically confirmed as a recurrence. The patient who had partial synovectomy and the other patient who had second operation due to recur rence received additional radiation therapy. Clinical outcome scores were improved in every aspect (p<0.0001). 2 out of 14 Patients who had pigmented villonodular synovitis at the knee developed stiff knee after the surgery. CONCLUSION: After the open total synovectomy with electrocautrization, a low recurrence rate and satisfactory clinical outcome was achieved, observed in a minimum of 3 years of follow-up.
Animals ; Ankle ; Elbow ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Joints ; Knee ; Male ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Shoulder ; Synovitis ; Synovitis, Pigmented Villonodular

PURPOSE: We analyzed disease free survival and the prognostic factors of liposarcoma in the extremity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between 1994 and 2005, of 44 patients who were diagnosed and treated for liposarcoma of the extremity, 40 patients were restrospectively analysed. 13 out of 40 patients got postoperative radiotherapy. We examined local recurrence, distant metastasis and disease free 5-year survival rate. We also analyzed clinical prognostic factors, such as age, gender, size of tumor, prior unplanned excision, histologic type, surgical excision margin and postoperative radiotherapy respectively. RESULTS: There were 3 cases of local recurrence and 4 cases of distant metastasis. The disease free 5-year survival rate was 85.0%. 26 patients presented with myxoid, 8 well differentiated, 4 round cell, 1 pleomorphic and 1 dedifferentiated histology. The disease free 5-year survival rate of mixoid, well differentiated and round cell liposarcoma were 100.0%, 84.6% and 75.0% (p=0.419). The 5-year disease free survival rate was 90.6% in negative surgical margin (n=25) and 62.5% in positive surgical margin (n=15) (p=0.003). CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that surgical excision margin is significant prognostic factor for 5-year disease free survival rate.
Disease-Free Survival ; Extremities ; Humans ; Liposarcoma ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Recurrence ; Survival Rate

PURPOSE: To investigate the care patterns for radiation therapy and to determine inter-hospital differences for patients with laryngeal carcinoma in Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 237 cases of laryngeal carcinoma (glottis, 144; supraglottis, 93) assembled from 23 hospitals, who underwent irradiation in the year of 1998 and 1999, were retrospectively analyzed to investigate inter-hospital differences with respect to radiotherapy treatment. We grouped the 23 hospitals based on the number of new patients annually irradiated in 1998; and designated them as group A (> or =900 patients), group B (> or =400 patients and <900 patients), and group C (<400 patients). RESULTS: The median age of the 237 patients was 62 years (range, 25 to 88 years), of which 216 were male and 21 were female. The clinical stages were distributed as follows: for glottis cancer, I; 61.8%, II; 21.5%, III; 4.2%, IVa; 11.1%, IVb; 1.4%, and in supraglottic cancer, I; 4.3%, II; 19.4%, III; 28.0%, IVa; 43.0%, IVb; 5.4%, respectively. Some differences were observed among the 3 groups with respect to the dose calculation method, radiation energy, field arrangement, and use of an immobilization device. No significant difference among 3 hospital groups was observed with respect to treatment modality, irradiation volume, and median total dose delivered to the primary site. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that radiotherapy process and patterns of care are relatively uniform in laryngeal cancer patients in Korean hospitals, and we hope this nationwide data can be used as a basis for the standardization of radiotherapy for the treatment of laryngeal cancer.
Female ; Glottis ; Humans ; Immobilization ; Korea ; Laryngeal Neoplasms ; Male ; Retrospective Studies

Recent study shows that implant design has a great impact on initial stability in bone. The ITI TE(R) implant, designed originally for immediate placement has a tapered/ cylindrical form which fits the anatomical shape of the natural alvelous or tooth root. The increased diameter at the collar region coupled with more threads lead to more bone contact and enhanced stability. The aim of this retrospective study is to evaluate the clinical use and the efficacy of recently introduced ITI TE(R) implant with a new macro-design. The following results are compiled from 139 patients who received ITI TE(R) implant surgery at the periodontal department. of Yonsei University Hospital between July 2002 and September 2005. 1. 139 patients received 173 ITI TE(R) implants in their maxilla and mandible (Mx 82, Mn 91). Posterior area accounted for 84% of the whole implant surgery. 2. In the distribution of bone quality, type III(41.0%) was the most, followed by type IV(41.0%) and type II (27.7%). As for the bone quantity, type B(43.9%) was the most, followed by type C(42.2%), type D(12.2%) and type A(1.7%). 3. 125 implants(83.9%) were treated by single crown, which accounted for the majority. 4. The total implant survival rate was 100% after a mean follow-up period of 21.2 months. This preliminary data with ITI TE(R) implant showed excellent survival rate although the majority of implants evaluated in this study were placed in the posterior region of the jaw and compromised sites.
Ants* ; Crowns ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Jaw ; Mandible ; Maxilla ; Retrospective Studies* ; Survival Rate* ; Tooth Root

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the apical sealing ability of Super-EBA, MTA and Dyract-flow as retrofilling materials. Forty-eight extracted human teeth with straight and single root canal were used in this study. The root canals were prepared to a #40 apical canal size and obturated with gutter-percha. Apicoectomies were performed and root end cavities were prepared to a depth of 3mm using an ultrasonic device. The root end cavities were filled with Super-EBA, MTA or Dyract-flow. Leakage was measured using an electrochemical technique for 4 weeks. According to this study, the results were as follows. 1. Increasing leakage with time was observed in all groups. 2. No significant difference was noted among the 3 groups with time (p = 0.216). 3. No significant difference was noted among the 3 groups when measured within the same time interval (p = 0.814). The results of this study suggest that the sealing ability of Dyract-flow is equal to that of Super-EBA and MTA, and Dyract-flow may be an alternative to other materials for root-end filling.
Apicoectomy ; Dental Pulp Cavity ; Electrochemical Techniques ; Humans ; Tooth ; Ultrasonics ; Pemetrexed

PURPOSE: To determine the patterns of evaluation and treatment in the patient with early breast cancer treated with conservative surgery and radiotherapy and to improve the radiotherapy techiniques, nationwide survey was performed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A web-based database system for Korean Patterns of Care Study (PCS) for 6 common cancers was developed. Two hundreds sixty-one randomly selected records of eligible patients treated between 1998~999 from 15 hospitals were reviewed. RESULTS: The patients ages ranged from 24 to 85 years(median 45 years). Infiltrating ductal carcinoma was most common histologic type (88.9%) followed by medullary carcinoma (4.2%) and infiltrating lobular carcinoma (1.5%). Pathologic T stage by AJCC was T1 in 59.7% of the casses, T2 in 29.5% of the cases, Tis in 8.8% of the cases. Axillary lymph node dissection was performed in 91.2% of the cases and 69.7% were node negative. AJCC stage was 0 in 8.8% of the cases, stage I in 44.9% of the cases, stage IIa in 33.3% of the cases, and stage IIb in 8.4% of the cases. Estrogen and progesteron receptors were evaluated in 71.6%, and 70.9% of the patients, respectively. Surgical methods of breast-conserving surgery was excision/lumpectomy in 37.2%, wide excision in 11.5%, quadrantectomy in 23% and partial mastectomy in 27.5% of the cases. A pathologically confirmed negative margin was obtained in 90.8% of the cases. Pathological margin was involved with tumor in 10 patients and margin was close (less than 2 mm) in 10 patients. All the patients except one recieved more than 90% of the planned radiotherapy dose. Radiotherapy volume was breast only in 88% of the cases, breast+supraclavicular fossa (SCL) in 5% of the cases, and breast+SCL+posterior axillary boost in 4.2% of the cases. Only one patient received isolated internal mammary lymph node irradiation. Used radiation beam was Co-60 in 8 cases, 4 MV X-ray in 115 cases, 6 MV X-ray in 125 cases, and 10 MV X-ray in 11 cases. The radiation dose to the whole breast was 45~9.4 Gy (median 50.4) and boost dose was 8~20 Gy (median 10 Gy). The total radiation dose delivered was 50.4~70.4 Gy (median 60.4 Gy). CONCLUSION: There was no major deviation from current standard in the patterns of evaluation and treatment for the patients with early breast cancer treated with breast conservation method. Some varieties were identified in boost irradiation dose. Separate analysis for the datails of radiotherapy planning will be followed and the outcome of treatment is needed to evaluate the process.
Breast Neoplasms ; Breast* ; Carcinoma, Ductal ; Carcinoma, Lobular ; Carcinoma, Medullary ; Estrogens ; Humans ; Korea* ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymph Nodes ; Mastectomy, Segmental* ; Radiotherapy

PURPOSE: Hemangioma of the extremity is a painful soft tissue tumor. Many treatment modalities (surgical excision, sclerotherapy, radiation, etc) have been used, but results have rarely been reported. This study addressed the efficacy of surgical excision on hemangioma of the extremities. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighty cases were analysed, all diagnosed as hemangioma between January 1994 and September 2001, and were followed up for at least 1 year. The male to female ratio was 31: 49, and the mean age 22.1 years. Sixty-one of the cases received surgical treatment, nine cases sclerotherapy, and the other ten cases received both. RESULTS: The main complaint of 54 of the 71 people who received surgery, was pain. After surgery, 49 were completely relieved of pain, and the reminder showed more than 50% pain relief. The mean size of the mass was 6x4 cm, and in 49 cases, it was larger than 5 cm. Hemangioma recurred in 4 patients (5.6%), 3 of the 4 received sclerotherapy and surgical treatment, only one received excision. Complications requiring surgical treatment occurred in only 2 patients (2%). The most common type was cavernous hemangioma which occurred in 51 cases (71.8%). Nineteen patients who received sclerotherapy showed reduced pain to about 50% average. Retreatment was required after a 1.5 years interval. CONCLUSION: Surgical excision is a reliable treatment for pain relief and for removing symptomatic hemangioma.
Extremities* ; Female ; Hemangioma* ; Hemangioma, Cavernous ; Humans ; Male ; Retreatment ; Sclerotherapy