Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyze the temporal change of resuscitation fluid use based on all fluids administered in a surgical intensive care unit (ICU). Methods: The administration of resuscitation fluid to all patients admitted to a surgical ICU of a tertiary referral hospital was investigated from 2008 to 2015. The types and volumes of fluid, and laboratory data taken within 7 days after ICU admission were evaluated. Resuscitation fluids were defined as fluids infused according to stat orders, rather than routine orders. Results: There were a total of 8,885 admissions to the ICU for 7,886 patients. The volumetric proportion of crystalloid to total resuscitation fluids increased significantly over the study period (p < 0.001; 79.6% in 2008; 93.7% in 2015). Although the proportion of 0.9% saline to crystalloids decreased, that of balanced solutions increased (p < 0.001; 29.5% in 2008; 55.6% in 2015). The use of colloids decreased from 20.4% in 2008, to 6.3% in 2015 (p < 0.001). Proportions calculated using the number of individual fluids administered revealed trends similar to those calculated using volumetric data. The amount of infused 0.9% saline was weakly correlated with the lowest blood pH and the highest serum chloride levels (ρ = -0.26 and 0.19, respectively). Conclusion Changes in the trends of fluid resuscitation practice were noted in a single surgical ICU over the 8-year study period. Crystalloid use increased owing to a rise in the utilization of balanced solutions with a downward trend in colloid use.

BACKGROUND: Circulating apolipoprotein J (ApoJ) is closely associated with insulin resistance; however, the effect of exercise on circulating ApoJ levels and the association of ApoJ with metabolic indices remain unknown. Here, we investigated whether a combined exercise can alter the circulating ApoJ level, and whether these changes are associated with metabolic indices in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS: Postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes mellitus were randomly assigned into either an exercise (EXE, n=30) or control (CON, n=15) group. Participants in the EXE group were enrolled in a 12-week program consisting of a combination of aerobic and resistance exercises. At baseline, 4, 8, and 12 weeks, body composition and metabolic parameters including homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and serum ApoJ levels were assessed. RESULTS: In the EXE group, ApoJ levels decreased 26.3% and 19.4%, relative to baseline, at 8 and 12 weeks, respectively. Between-group differences were significant at 8 and 12 weeks (P<0.05 and P<0.001, respectively). In the EXE group, 12 weeks of exercise resulted in significant decreases in body weight, percent body fat, and HOMA-IR indices. Concurrently, weight-adjusted appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM/wt) was increased in the EXE group compared with the CON group. Importantly, changes in the ApoJ level were significantly correlated with changes in ASM/wt. CONCLUSION Exercise training resulted in a significant decrease in the circulating ApoJ level, with changes in ApoJ associated with an improvement in some insulin resistance indices. These data suggest that circulating ApoJ may be a useful metabolic marker for assessing the effects of exercise on insulin resistance.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyze the temporal change of resuscitation fluid use based on all fluids administered in a surgical intensive care unit (ICU). Methods: The administration of resuscitation fluid to all patients admitted to a surgical ICU of a tertiary referral hospital was investigated from 2008 to 2015. The types and volumes of fluid, and laboratory data taken within 7 days after ICU admission were evaluated. Resuscitation fluids were defined as fluids infused according to stat orders, rather than routine orders. Results: There were a total of 8,885 admissions to the ICU for 7,886 patients. The volumetric proportion of crystalloid to total resuscitation fluids increased significantly over the study period (p < 0.001; 79.6% in 2008; 93.7% in 2015). Although the proportion of 0.9% saline to crystalloids decreased, that of balanced solutions increased (p < 0.001; 29.5% in 2008; 55.6% in 2015). The use of colloids decreased from 20.4% in 2008, to 6.3% in 2015 (p < 0.001). Proportions calculated using the number of individual fluids administered revealed trends similar to those calculated using volumetric data. The amount of infused 0.9% saline was weakly correlated with the lowest blood pH and the highest serum chloride levels (ρ = -0.26 and 0.19, respectively). Conclusion Changes in the trends of fluid resuscitation practice were noted in a single surgical ICU over the 8-year study period. Crystalloid use increased owing to a rise in the utilization of balanced solutions with a downward trend in colloid use.

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is associated with the development of various complications, such as exit site infection or peritonitis, and rarely, intestinal obstruction in prolonged PD patients with recurrent peritonitis. However, post-colonoscopy acute intestinal obstruction has not been reported in PD patients to date. Herein, we report a case of severe ileus after a colonoscopy without previous episodes of peritonitis in a PD patient. A 51-year-old man undergoing PD for 7 years visited our emergency department due to severe abdominal pain and vomiting after colonoscopic polypectomy. A simple abdominal radiography and abdominal computed tomography showed ileus with collapsed distal ileal loop. A peritoneal dialysate study revealed no evidence of peritonitis. The patient was treated with decompression therapy, and ileus was successfully treated without complications. This case suggests that it is not only necessary to prevent peritonitis, but also important to monitor the development of ileus after colonoscopy in PD patients.
Abdominal Pain ; Colonoscopy* ; Decompression ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Humans ; Ileus* ; Intestinal Obstruction ; Middle Aged ; Peritoneal Dialysis* ; Peritonitis ; Radiography, Abdominal ; Vomiting

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is associated with the development of various complications, such as exit site infection or peritonitis, and rarely, intestinal obstruction in prolonged PD patients with recurrent peritonitis. However, post-colonoscopy acute intestinal obstruction has not been reported in PD patients to date. Herein, we report a case of severe ileus after a colonoscopy without previous episodes of peritonitis in a PD patient. A 51-year-old man undergoing PD for 7 years visited our emergency department due to severe abdominal pain and vomiting after colonoscopic polypectomy. A simple abdominal radiography and abdominal computed tomography showed ileus with collapsed distal ileal loop. A peritoneal dialysate study revealed no evidence of peritonitis. The patient was treated with decompression therapy, and ileus was successfully treated without complications. This case suggests that it is not only necessary to prevent peritonitis, but also important to monitor the development of ileus after colonoscopy in PD patients.
Abdominal Pain ; Colonoscopy ; Decompression ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Humans ; Ileus ; Intestinal Obstruction ; Middle Aged ; Peritoneal Dialysis ; Peritonitis ; Radiography, Abdominal ; Vomiting

BACKGROUND: Prealbumin, a sensitive marker for protein–energy status, is also known as an independent risk factor for mortality in hemodialysis patients. We investigated the impact of prealbumin on survival in incident peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. METHODS: In total, 136 incident PD patients (mean age, 53.0 ± 15.8 years) between 2002 and 2007 were enrolled in the study. Laboratory data, dialysis adequacy, and nutritional parameters were assessed 3 months after PD initiation. Patients were classified into 2 groups according to prealbumin level: high prealbumin (≥ 40 mg/dL) and low prealbumin (< 40 mg/dL). RESULTS: The patients in the low-prealbumin group were older and had more comorbidities such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases compared with the patients in the high-prealbumin group. Mean subjective global assessment scores were lower, and the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels were higher in the low-prealbumin group. Serum creatinine, albumin, and transferrin levels; percent lean body mass; and normalized protein catabolic rate were positively associated, whereas subjective global assessment scores and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels were negatively associated with prealbumin concentration. During the median follow-up of 49 months, patients in the lower prealbumin group had a higher mortality rate. Multivariate analysis revealed that prealbumin < 40 mg/dL (hazard ratio, 2.30; 95% confidence interval, 1.14–4.64) was an independent risk factor for mortality. In receiver operating characteristic curves, the area under the curve of prealbumin for mortality was the largest among the parameters. CONCLUSION: Prealbumin levels were an independent and sensitive predictor for mortality in incident PD patients, showing a good correlation with nutritional and inflammatory markers.
C-Reactive Protein ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Comorbidity ; Creatinine ; Dialysis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Mortality* ; Multivariate Analysis ; Peritoneal Dialysis* ; Prealbumin* ; Renal Dialysis ; Risk Factors ; ROC Curve ; Transferrin

Porcine to rat corneal xenotransplantation resulted in severe inflammation and rejection of the corneal stroma, whereas an allograft showed mainly endothelial cell-associated rejection. We, therefore, investigated and compared the gene expression between porcine keratocytes and corneal endothelial cells. RNA was isolated from primary cultured porcine or human keratocytes and porcine corneal endothelial cells. Gene expression was comparatively analyzed after normalization with microarray method using Platinum pig 13 K oligo chip (GenoCheck Co., Ltd., Ansan, Korea). Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed for C1R, CCL2, CXCL6, and HLA-A in porcine keratocytes and corneal endothelial cells. As a result, upregulated expression more than 2 folds was observed in 1,162 genes of porcine keratocytes versus porcine endothelial cells. Among the immune-regulatory genes, SEMA3C, CCL2, CXCL6, F3, HLA-A, CD97, IFI30, C1R, and G1P3 were highly expressed in porcine keratocytes, compared to porcine corneal endothelial cells or human keratocytes. When measured by real-time PCR, the expression of C1R, CCL2, and HLA-A was higher in porcine keratocytes compared to that in porcine corneal endothelial cells. In conclusion, the increased expression of C1R, CCL2, and HLA-A genes in porcine keratocytes might be responsible for the stromal rejection observed in a porcine to rat corneal xenotransplantation.
Animals ; Cells, Cultured ; Chemokine CCL2/metabolism ; Complement C1r/metabolism ; Corneal Transplantation/*immunology/pathology ; Endothelium, Corneal/*metabolism/pathology ; *Gene Expression Profiling ; Graft Rejection/*immunology/pathology ; HLA-A Antigens/metabolism ; Humans ; Keratinocytes/*metabolism ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; Rats ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Swine ; Transplantation, Heterologous ; Up-Regulation

PURPOSE: This study aimed to assess the mechanical properties of the abdominal aorta in school-aged patients treated for Kawasaki disease and in normal, healthy children. METHODS: This study examined 28 children with Kawasaki disease who had been followed up on and 30 healthy subjects of the same age and gender. We recorded systolic (Ps) and diastolic (Pd) blood pressure values and the aortic diameter at both minimum diastolic (Dd) and maximum systolic (Ds) expansion using two-dimensional echocardiography. These measurements were used to determine 1) aortic strain: S=(Ds-Dd)/Dd; 2) pressure strain elastic modulus: Ep=(Ps-Pd)/S; and 3) normalized Ep: Ep*=Ep/Pd. RESULTS: Ep (P=0.008) and Ep* (P=0.043) of the Kawasaki disease group were relatively high compared to those of the control group. Ep (P=0.002) and Ep* (P=0.015) of patients with coronary aneurysm were also relatively high compared with those of patients without coronary aneurysm, but lipid profiles did not differ, except for homocysteine (P=0.008). Therefore, in patients with coronary aneurysm, aortic stiffness was higher, compared to not only the control group but also patients without coronary aneurysm. However, in patients without coronary aneurysm, aortic stiffness was not significant, different compared to the control group. CONCLUSION: Measuring aortic distensibility may be helpful in assessing the risk of early atheroscletic change in the long-term management of Kawasaki disease.
Aorta, Abdominal ; Blood Pressure ; Child ; Coronary Aneurysm ; Echocardiography ; Homocysteine ; Humans ; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome ; Sprains and Strains ; Vascular Stiffness

BACKGROUND: Serum cystatin C has been reported as a better marker than serum creatinine for estimation of kidney function and may be associated with cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to elucidate the association of serum cystatin C with metabolic syndrome (MS), a constellation of cardiovascular risk factors, and its related components and the usefulness of serum cystatin C for the cardiovascular risk assessment. METHODS: 1,468 healthy subjects (814 men and 655 women), who visited health promotion center of Pusan National University Hospital for routine medical checkup were included. MS was defined by modified, revised National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Adult Treatment Panel (ATP) III criteria. RESULTS: Mean serum cystatin C value was 0.87 +/- 0.17 mg/L. In partial correlation analysis adjusted by age, sex and Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR), cystatin C was associated with most of metabolic parameters and especially had significant positive correlation with waist circumference (r = 0.215), triglyceride (TG) (r = 0.141), diastolic blood pressure (BP) (r = 0.116), and correlated negatively with high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (r = -0.152) (all P < 0.001). There were increasing trends of prevalence of MS with the increase of quartiles of cystatin C and as the number of MS components increased, cystatin C values significantly increased. Serum cystatin C was also significantly increased in MS (0.90 +/- 0.19 mg/L vs. 0.86 +/- 0.16 mg/L). In stepwise multiple regression analysis including the components of MS, Waist circumference, diastolic BP, triglyceride, and HDL cholesterol were independent determinants of serum cystatin C, but with creatinine, only waist circumference was independent determinant. CONCLUSIONS: Serum cystatin C was closely associated with MS and its related cardiovascular risk factors and might be useful as a tool of cardiovascular risk assessment.
Adult ; Blood Pressure ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cholesterol ; Cholesterol, HDL ; Creatinine ; Cystatin C ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Kidney ; Lipoproteins ; Male ; Prevalence ; Risk Assessment ; Risk Factors ; Waist Circumference

OBJECTIVE: Adrenomedullin (AM), a potent vasorelaxing agent associated with the maintenance of pregnancy, is synthesized in response to inflammation, which is also associated with the biosynthesis of prostaglandin (PG) and nitric oxide (NO). To clarify the interrelationships of PG, NO and AM in the inflammatory process, we tested the effects of the PG synthase inhibitor indomethacin and the NO synthase inhibitor N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) on AM production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated cultured rat macrophages. METHODS: RAW 257.8, rat macrophages were incubated with LPS, and AM production was measured by ELISA. Cells were pretreated with indomethacin, L-NAME, or both, and the effect on LPS-induced AM production was assayed. To exclude the effect of cell death, a cell viability test on these cultures was performed. RESULTS: The largest increase of AM was seen between 1 microgram (36.33+/-2.05 pg/ml) and 10 microgram (89.33+/-6.02 pg/ml) of LPS concentration (p<0.01), making the latter the optimal LPS dose to stimulate AM production. AM secretion was proportional to time in culture (p<0.006). Addition of indomethacin, L-NAME, or both 1 hr before LPS stimulation decreased AM production 2 hr later, with the AM decrement greatest in cells pretreated with both indomethacin and L-NAME, followed by L-NAME alone and then indomethacin. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that PG and NO increase AM synthesis in rat macrophages with the presence of LPS. These results suggest that the biosynthetic pathways of PG, NO, and AM may be linked.
Adrenomedullin* ; Animals ; Biosynthetic Pathways ; Cell Death ; Cell Survival ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Indomethacin ; Inflammation ; Macrophages* ; NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester ; Nitric Oxide ; Nitric Oxide Synthase ; Pregnancy ; Rats