• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.46 no.11
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• pp.1095-1100
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• 2003

Purpose : Children with acute colonic diverticulitis(ACD), can be misdiagnosed with acute appendicitis. Methods : We reviewed 15 cases of ACD during five years, from January 1998 to June 2002 retrospectively. Results : Most patients(80%) with ACD in children presented with right lower quadrant pain. The primary diagnosis on admission was mostly acute appendicitis(87%), and all ACD in children occurred in the right colon. Fourteen patients were managed by conservative treatment including antibiotics. A follow-up study was performed in 15 patients. There were symptomatic recurrences in two patients, but no significant complication was noted. The frequency of ACD was 11.7 per 1000 acute appendicitis. Conclusion : ACD in children can mostly be cured by conservative treatment. It is prudent to choose the management through the diagnostic work up, including abdominal sonography and computed tomography, because there was no significant difference of clinical findings between ACD and acute appendicitis.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.51 no.9
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• pp.964-970
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• 2008

Purpose : Methylmalonic aciduria (MMA) and propionic aciduria (PA) are inborn errors in the catabolism of branched-chain amino acids. The study was undertaken to investigate the genotypes and clinical features of Korean patients with MMA and PA. Methods : This study examined 12 patients with MMA and eight with PA. We analyzed various clinical features, laboratory findings, treatments, and neuro-developmental outcomes. Diagnoses were based on the presence of characteristic compounds detected by amino acid analysis in serum and organic acid analysis in urine. Mutation analysis was performed in the genes of MUT, MMAA, MMAB, and MMACHC for MMA and PCCA and PCCB for PA. Results : Among the 20 patients, six patients were diagnosed before one month of age and nine patients were diagnosed after the newborn period. Five patients were diagnosed via a neonatal screening test. Patients with early-onset forms had more severe illness at presentation and generally poor outcomes. A favorable outcome was obtained in 55% patients; most of them were of a late-onset type or diagnosed by neonatal mass screening test without symptoms. Genotypes were confirmed in all patients with MMA. We detected 11 different mutations by MUT gene analysis in 10 patients, and three different mutations in MMACHC genes in two patients. PCCA and PCCB gene mutations were identified in 14 of the 16 alleles, in eight patients with PA. Conclusion : Organic aciduria is a fatal disease; however, better outcomes are expected whenever early diagnosis and prompt management are made possible. Mutation analysis is useful for confirming diagnoses and planning management strategies.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.45 no.11
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• pp.1373-1380
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• 2002

Purpose : Acute measles encephalitis(ME) is characterized by an abrupt onset of fever and obtundation, frequently accompanied by seizures and multifocal neurological signs. The aim of this study was to clarify the clinical manifestation, progression and the brain SPECT patterns in patients with acute ME. Methods : This study included 11 children with acute ME admitted to Chonbuk National University Hospital. Ten patients received a first dose of measles vaccine, one patient did not receive a first dose, and no patients received a second dose. ME was diagnosed based on characteristic clinical pictures, measles antibodies by ELISA and abnormal CSF findings. Brain MRI and brain SPECT were performed in 11 patients with acute ME. Results : There were four males and seven females whose ages at onset ranged between 18 months and 14 years(mean : 10.5 years). The main clinical neurologic pictures were loss of consciousness( 10) and seizure(five). The titer of IgG and IgM antimeasles antibodies in serum were positive in 10 patients. In CSF, nine patients had IgG antibodies and one patient had IgM antibodies. The concentration of protein(mean : $124{\pm}60mg/dL$) and WBC counts(mean : $158{\pm}157/{\mu}L$) in CSF were elevated in all patients. In electroencephalographic examination, nine patients showed increased slow waves. Seven of 11 patients(63.6%) revealed high signal intensity on the brain MRI. In contrast, all patients showed hypoperfusion in brain SPECT examination. According to brain SPECT, the perfusion deficits were frequently observed in the frontal lobe(nine), temporal (nine), parietal(eight) and thalamus(eight). Conclusion : Brain SPECT is more sensitive than MRI for the evaluation of brain damage in early stages of acute ME.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.54-61
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• 2008

Purpose: This study was performed to assess necessity of voiding cystourethrography (VCUG) for infants with urinary tract infection (UTI) who had both normal renal sonography and normal DMSA renal scans. Methods: We reviewed 117 infants hospitalized for UTI between February 2002 and July 2007 at Sanggye Paik Hospital. The diagnosis of UTI was made by culture from a urine specimen obtained by suprapubic puncture(n=57), catheterization(n=58), or collection bag method (n=2, twice positive culture of the same organism). All patients had undergone renal sonography, DMSA renal scan and VCUG. Children with both normal renal sonography and normal DMSA renal scans were evaluated for the presence or severity of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR). Results: Of the 117 patients, 96 were boys and 21 were girls. 28 patients(23.9%) had VUR. 59(50.4%) showed both normal renal sonography and normal DMSA renal scans. Among these 59 patients, 7(11.9%) showed VUR. Three of them had grade I-II reflux, two grade III reflux, and the other two grade IV reflux. One of them showed bilateral VUR, grade IV reflux on the right and grade III on the left. Conclusion: Although the negative predictive value of both normal renal sonography and normal DMSA renal scan for VUR was 88.1%, 7 patients had VUR and two of them had high grade reflux(grade IV). So, we suggest that VCUG should be performed in infants with UTI despite both normal renal sonography and normal DMSA renal scans.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.303-308
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• 2002

Purpose : To determine the optimal radiation dose in a localized non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the head and neck in the treatment setting for combined chemoradiotherapy. Materials an Methods :Fifty-three patients with stage I and II diffuse large ceil non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the head and neck, who were treated with combined chemoradiotherapy between 1985 and 1998 were retrospectively reviewed. The median age was 49 years, and the male-to-female ratio was approximately 1.6. Twenty-seven patients had stage 1 disease and 26 had stage II. Twenty-three patients had bulky tumors $(\geq5\;cm)$ and 30 had non-bulky tumors (<5 cm). The primary tumors arose mainly from an extranodal organ $(70\%)$, most cases involving Waldeyer's ring $(90\%)$. All patients except one were initially treated with $3\~6$ cycles of chemotherapy, which was followed by radiotherapy. Radiation was delivered either to the primary tumor area alone $(9\%)$ or to the primary tumor area plus the bilateral neck nodes $(91\%)$ with a minimum dose of 30 Gy $(range\;30\~60\;Gy)$. The failure patterns according to the radiation field were analyzed, and the relationship between the dose and the in-field recurrence was evaluated. Results : The 10-year overall survival and the 10-year disease free survival rates were similar at $75\%\;and\;76\%$, respectively. A complete response (CR) after chemotherapy was achieved in 44 patients $(83\%)$. Subsequent radiotherapy showed a CR in all patients. Twelve patients $(23\%)$ had a relapse of the lymphoma after the initial treatment. Two of these patients had a recurrence inside the radiation field. No clear dose response relationship was observed and no significant prognostic factors for the in-field recurrences were identified because of the small number of in-field recurrences. However, for patients with tumors <5 cm in diameter, there were no in-field recurrences after a radiation dose 30 Gy. The 2 in-field recurrences encountered occurred in patients with a tumor $\geq5\;cm$. Conclusion .A dose of 30 Gy is sufficient for local control in patients with a non-bulky (<5 cm), localized, diffuse large cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma when combined with chemotherapy. An additional boost dose in the primary site is recommended for patients with bulky tumors $(\geq5\;cm)$.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.309-315
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• 2002

Purpose : To evaluate the result of conservative management on recurrence, survival and prognostic factors of patient with operable breast cancer. Materials and Methods : Fifty three patients, treated for localized breast cancer by lumpectomy or quadrantectomy followed by radiotherapy between January 1985 and December 1996, were retrospectively studied. All patients followed up for at least five years. Their median age was 43 years $(range\;24\~72)$. The tumor stages were as follows : T1 in 30 patients, T2 in 21, Tis in 2. Thirty-eight patients had negative and 15 had positive axillary nodes. The histological types were 42 infiltrating ductal, 2 infiltrating lobular, and 2 intraductal carcinomas with 7 other histologies. The tumor locations were the outer quadrant in 38 breasts, the inner quadrant in 13 and central in 2. Radiation doses of $46\~50\;Gy$ were given to the entire breast areas with additional doses of 14-18 Gy delivered to the tumor bed areas. Results : The overall five and 10 yea actuarial and disease free survivals were $94.3\%\;and\;92.4\%,\;91.2\%\;and\;81\%$, respectively. The overall five year survivals were $100\%$ in stage I and IIa, and $66.7\%$ in stage IIb and IIIa tumors. Seven patients failed either locally or distantly. Incidence of local failure and distant metastasis for the first failure were $7.5\%\;and\;5.7\%$, respectively. Local recurrence appeared within 2 years of treatment at the primary site and after more than 8 years outside of primary lesion, whereas distant metastasis appeared between 2 and 6 years following treatment. The overall recurrences were high at a young age (< or = 35 years), with 5 out of 12 (2 local, 3 distant), and in T2 lesions with 5 out of 21 (1 local, 3 distant, and 1 in both). Distant metastasis was high in the positive axillary lymph node group with 4 out of 15 $(26.6\%)$. A high incidence in the axillary node was noted at a young age with 7 out of 12 $(58.3\%)$ and in T2 lesions with 8 out of 21 $(38.4\%)$. A young age, positive axillary node and large tumor size were all related with poor survival. Conclusion : Based on this study, lumpectomy or quadrantectomy, followed by radiation appears to be an adequate therapeutic method in operable breast cancer. A long term follow-up is necessary because a recurrence of breast can occur long time after treatment. The poor prognostic group, especially young patients with an aggressive biological behavior needs more effective treatment modalities to improve their survival.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.68-73
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• 2008

Background: The presence of infiltrated mediastinal lymph nodes is a crucial factor for the prognosis of lung cancer. The aim of our study is to investigate the pattern of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer that spreads to the mediastinal lymph nodes, in relation to the primary tumor site, in patients who underwent major lung resection with complete mediastinal lymph node dissection. Material and Method: We retrospectively. studies 293 consecutive patients [mean age $63.0{\pm}8.3$ years (range $37{\sim}88$) and 220 males (75.1%)] who underwent major lung resection due to non-small cell lung cancer from January 1998 to December 2005. The primary tumor and lymph node status was classified according to the international TNM staging system reported by Mountain. The histologic type of the tumors was determined according to the WHO classification. Fisher's exact test was used; otherwise the chi-square test of independence was employed. A p-value < 0.05 was considered significant. Result: Lobectomy was carried out in 180 patients, bilobectomy in 50, sleeve lobectomy in 10 and pnemonectomy in 53. The pathologic report revealed 124 adenocarcinomas, 138 squamous-cell tumors, 14 adenosquamous tumors, 1 carcinoid tumor, 8 large cell carcinomas, 1 carcinosarcoma, 2 mucoepidermoid carcinomas and 5 undifferentiated tumors. The TNM stage was IA in 51 patients, IB in 98, IIB in 41, IIIA in 71, IIIB in 61 and IV in 6. 25.9 % of the 79 patients had N2 tumor. Most common infiltrated mediastinal lymph node was level No.4 in the right upper lobe, level No. 4 and 5 in the left upper lobe and level No. 7 in the other lobes, but no statistically significant difference was observed. Thirty-six patients (12.3%) presented with skip metastasis to the mediastinum. Conclusion: Mediastinal lymph node dissection is necessary for accurately determining the pTNM stage. It seems that there is no definite way that non-small cell lung cancer spreads to the lymphatics, in relation to the location of the primary cancer. Further, skip metastasis to the mediastinal lymph nodes was present in 12.3% of our patients.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.143-149
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• 2002

Purpose: The following study was performed to reveal the relationship between Clostridium difficile colitis in childhood and associated antibiotics. Methods: From January 2000 to June 2002 at Seoul National University Children's Hospital, 85 symptomatic pediatric patients who showed positive stool culture for Clostridium difficile were included. The implicated antibiotics within 2 months before stool culture were analyzed. Of the 85 patients, there were 50 males and 35 females, and their average age was 2.5 years. Results: There was a history of implicated antibiotics within 2 months in 55 cases (67%). Forty-three patients (78%) of them showed Clostridium difficile in stool culture during antibiotics treatment. The time interval between the initiation of antibiotics and stool culture ranged from one day to 7 weeks (mean 10 days) in these patients. In the remaining 12 patients, Clostridium difficile was detected after the discontinuation of antibiotics. The time interval between the discontinuation and stool culture ranged from one day to 7 weeks (mean 12 days). The associated antibiotics were cefotaxime (20 cases), amikacin(15 cases), ampicillin (13 cases), cefazolin (8 cases), vancomycin (8 cases), etc. In 31 cases, more than one antibiotics were prescribed. Conclusion: When diarrhea occurred in young children during antibiotic usage or with a past history of recent antibiotic usage, Clostridium difficile should be investigated as a cause of diarrhea for proper management.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.853-860
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• 1997

Background : Chronic cough, defined as a cough persisting for three weeks or longer, is a common symptom for which outpatient care is sought. The most common etiologies of chronic cough are postnasal drip, asthma, and gastroesophageal reflux. Methacholine challenge is a useful diagnostic study in the evaulation of chronic cough, particularly useful in chronic cough patients with asthmatic symptom. Patients with chronic cough may have dysfunction of bronchial and extrathoracic airways. To evaluate if dysfunction of the bronchial and extrathoracic airways causes chronic cough, we assessed bronchial (BHR) and extrathoracic airway (EAHR) responsiveness to inhaled methacholine in patients with chronic cough. Method : 111 patients with chronic cough were enrolled in our study. Enrolled patients had no recorded diagnosis of asthma, bronchopulmonary disease, hypertension, heart disease or systemic disease and no current treatment with bronchodilator or corticosteroid. Enrolled patients consisted of 46 patients with cough alone, 24 patients with wheeze, 22 patients with dyspnea, 19 patients with wheeze and dyspnea. The inhaled methacholine concentrations causing a 20% fall in forced expiratory volume in 1s($PC_{20}FEV_1$) and 25% fall in maximal mid-inspiratory flow ($PC_{25}MIF_{50}$) were used as bronchial and extra thoracic hyperresponsiveness. Results : There were four response patterns to methacholine challenge study : BHR in 27 patients, EAHR in 16 patients, combined BHR and EAHR in 8 patients, and no hyperresponsiveness in 60 patients. In patients with cough alone, there were BHR in 3 patients, EAHR in 9 patients, and combined BHR and EAHR in 2 patients. In patients with wheeze and/or dyspnea, there were BHR in 24 patients, EAHR in 7 patients, and BHR and EAHR in 6 patients. Compared with patients with wheeze and/or dyspnea, patients with cough alone had more common EAHR than BHR. In patients with wheeze and/or dyspnea, BHR was more common than EAHR. Conclusion : These results show that among patients with hyperresponsiveness to methacholine, those with dyspnea and/or wheezing had mainly bronchial hyperresponsiveness, whereas those with chronic cough alone had mainly extrathoracic airway hyperresponsiveness.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.471-475
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• 2009

Purpose : Mitochondrial disorders are a clinical entity characterized by diverse symptoms and signs of involvement of various systems. Furthermore, the disorders are known to show ophthalmologic manifestations as well as neurological findings. Visually evoked potential is a sensitive measure to check the integrity of the visual pathway. In this study, we have investigated the value of visually evoked potential in mitochondrial disorders with respiratory chain defects. Methods : Nineteen patients diagnosed with mitochondrial respiratory chain complex I defect as confirmed by spectrophotometric enzyme assay in muscle samples were enrolled for this study. The patients underwent a visually evoked potential study. We classified the results into four groups and compared these with clinical ophthalmologic findings. Results : Among the 19 patients, 14 showed abnormal visually evoked potential findings. Seven patients showed abnormal clinical ophthalmologic findings. All patients with abnormal ophthalmologic findings showed abnormal visually evoked potential findings. Among the 12 patients with normal ophthalmologic findings, seven showed abnormal results in visually evoked potential. Conclusion : Visually evoked potential study could be used as an effective screening tool for mitochondrial disorders to detect ophthalmologic and neurological abnormalities.