• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제38권3호
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• pp.231-238
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• 2006

Whole-body exposure to high-dose radiation causes injury involving multiple organs that depends on their sensitivity to radiation. This acute radiation syndrome (ARS) is caused by a brief exposure of a major part of the body to radiation at a relatively high dose rate. ARS is characterized by an initial prodromal stage, a latent symptom-free period, a critical or manifestation phase that usually takes one of four forms (three forms): hematologic, gastrointestinal, or cardiovascular and neurological (neurovascular), depending upon the exposure dose, and a recovery phase or death. One of the most important factors in treating victims exposed to radiation is the estimation of the exposure dose. When high-dose exposure is considered, initial dose estimation must be performed in order to make strategy decisions for treatment as soon as possible. Dose estimation can be based on onset and severity of prodromal symptoms, decline in absolute lymphocyte count post exposure, and chromosomal analysis of peripheral blood lymphocytes. Moreover, dose assessment on the basis of calculation from reconstruction of the radiation event may be required. Experience of a criticality accident occurring in 1999 at Tokai-mura, Japan, showed that ARS led to multiple organ failure (MOF). This article will review ARS and discuss the possible mechanisms of MOF developing from ARS.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• 제24권1호
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• pp.52-55
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• 2011

The spleen is the most frequently injured organ following blunt abdominal trauma. However, delayed splenic rupture is rare. As the technical improvement of computed tomography has proceeded, the diagnosis of splenic injury has become easier than before. However, the diagnosis of delayed splenic rupture could be challenging if the trauma is minor and remote. We present a case of delayed splenic rupture in a patient with underlying liver cirrhosis. A 42-year-old male visited our emergency department with pain in the lower left chest following minor blunt trauma. Initial physical exam and abdominal sonography revealed only liver cirrhosis without traumatic injury. On the sixth day after trauma, he complained of abdominal pain and diarrhea after eating snacks. The patient was misdiagnosed as having acute gastroenteritis until he presented with symptoms of shock. Abdominal sonography and computed tomography revealed the splenic rupture. The patient underwent a splenectomy and then underwent a second operation due to postoperative bleeding 20 hours after the first operation. The patient was discharged uneventfully 30 days after trauma. In the present case, the thrombocytopenia and splenomegaly due to liver cirrhosis are suspected of being risk factors for the development of delayed splenic rupture. The physician should keep in mind the possibility of delayed splenic rupture following blunt abdominal or chest trauma.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• 제29권2호
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• pp.145-149
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• 2012

Systemic capillary leak syndrome (SCLS) is an unusual entity characterized by hypovolemic shock, hemoconcentration, and hypo-albuminemia associated with paraproteinemia as a result of marked capillary hyper-permeability. Complications of this syndrome can include compartment syndromes, pulmonary edema, thrombosis, and acute kidney injury. This paper reports a case of severe SCLS accompanied by acute tubular necrosis caused by hypoperfusion and myoglobinuria secondary to rhabdomyolysis, which resulted in chronic kidney disease that necessitated hemodialysis. However, there have been rare data of residual end-organ damage after acute attacks in Korea. Therefore, this paper reports a case of complicated SCLS enough to hemodialysis and that developed into chronic kidney disease.

• 한국임상수의학회지
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• 제38권4호
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• pp.189-193
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• 2021

An 11-years old spayed female Persian chinchilla cat presented with acute onset of blindness from bilateral retinal detachment and systemic hypertension. On physical examination, the cat was tachycardic (240 beats/min) with a systolic blood pressure of around 250 mmHg. Clinical findings, blood works, urinalysis, thyroid function test, radiography, echocardiogram, and ultrasonography were performed to rule out underlying diseases. Organ injury induced by systemic hypertension including bilateral retinal detachment and left ventricular hypertrophy were confirmed by ultrasound. Based on these results, it was diagnosed as feline idiopathic hypertension with target organ damage (TOD). The cat was treated with a combination therapy using high doses of amlodipine, telmisartan, and atenolol. After the treatment, its hypertension and TOD were improved. This case showed that appropriate therapeutic management can help prevent TOD associated with feline hypertension.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제67권5호
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• pp.402-408
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• 2009

Background: Pre-B-cell colony enhancing factor (PBEF) has been suggested as a novel biomarker in sepsis and acute lung injury. We measured the PBEF in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid of acute critically ill patients with lung infiltrates in order to evaluate the clinical utility of measuring PBEF in BAL fluid. Methods: BAL fluid was collected by bronchoscope from 185 adult patients with lung infiltrates. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was then performed on the collected fluids to measure the PBEF. Results: Mean patient age was 59.9 ${\pm}$14.5 years and 63.8% of patients were males. The mean concentration of PBEF in BAL fluid was 17.5 ${\pm}$88.3 ng/mL, and patients with more than 9 ng/mL of PBEF concentration (n=26, 14.1%) had higher Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores on the BAL exam day. However, there were no significant differences in clinical characteristics between survivors and non-survivors. In patients with leukocytosis (n=93) seen on the BAL exam day, the linear regression analysis revealed a significant, positive relationship between PBEF and APACHE II ($r^2$=0.06), SOFA score ($r^2$=0.08), Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score ($r^2$=0.05), and plateau pressure in patients on ventilators ($r^2$=0.07) (p<0.05, respectively). In addition, multivariate regression analysis with PBEF as a dependent variable showed that the plateau pressure ($r^2$=0.177, p<0.05) was correlated positively with PBEF. Conclusion: The PBEF level in the BAL fluid may be a useful, new biomarker for predicting the severity of illness and ventilator-induced lung injury in critically ill patients with lung infiltates and leukocytosis.

• Annals of Surgical Treatment and Research
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• 제95권5호
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• pp.278-285
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• 2018

Purpose: We investigated the clinical outcomes of deceased donor kidney transplantation (KT) using kidneys with terminal acute kidney injury (AKI). Methods: Between February 2000 and December 2013, we performed 202 deceased donor renal transplants from 159 brain dead donors. According to the expanded criteria donor (ECD) and AKI network criteria, we divided 202 recipients into 4 groups: Group I: Non-AKI & standard criteria donor (SCD) (n = 97); group II: Non-AKI & ECD (n = 15); group III: AKI & SCD (n = 52); and group IV: AKI & ECD (n = 38). Results: The incidence of delayed graft function (DFG) was significantly higher in patients with AKI than it was in the non-AKI group (P = 0.008). There were no significant differences among the 4 groups in graft survival (P = 0.074) or patient survival (P = 0.090). However, the long-term allograft survival rate was significantly lower in group IV than it was in other groups (P = 0.024). Conclusion: Allografts from deceased donors with terminal AKI had a higher incidence of DGF than did those from donors without AKI. However, there is no significant difference in graft and patient survival rates among the groups. So, the utilization of renal grafts from ECDs with terminal AKI is a feasible approach to address the critical organ shortage.

• 한국임상약학회지
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• 제32권3호
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• pp.251-259
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• 2022

Background: Intravenous fluid therapy is one of the most common interventions in critically ill patients. Normal saline is frequently used, but there have been some concerns about hyperchloremia. Due to closer to plasma composition, crystalloids have been used as alternatives to normal saline. However, the optimal choice of resuscitative fluids remains controversial. Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL were comprehensively searched until July 2021 to compare balanced crystalloids with normal saline in critically ill patients with the risk factors for multiple organ dysfunction syndromes (MODS).The primary endpoint was composite mortality. Secondary outcomes were acute kidney injury (AKI)/acute renal failure (ARF), and new receipt of renal replacement therapy (RRT). Results: A total of 1,240 studies were searched, and finally, 8 randomized controlled trials and 5 cohort studies were included. In the meta-analysis of composite mortality of 30,710 patients, balanced crystalloids compared to normal saline were significantly associated with reduced mortality (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.68-0.95). In AKI/ARF, balanced crystalloids had a lower risk than normal saline (OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.84-0.99). There was no difference between balanced crystalloids and normal saline in risk of new receipt of RRT (OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.80-1.04). Conclusion: In fluid resuscitation for patients at high risk of MODS, the use of balanced crystalloids showed a significantly lower incidence of mortality compared to normal saline.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제44권4호
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• pp.861-870
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• 1997

배 경 : 급성 췌장염의 사망률은 10~18%로 알려져 있으며 사망의 대부분은 급성 호흡 부전과 관련되어 있다. 급성 호흡 부전의 가장 심한 형태인 ARDS의 중요한 췌장염이 알려져 있으나 급성 췌장염 환자들 중 어떤 환자에서 ARDS가 더 잘 발생하는지는 확실히 밝혀져 있지 않다. 급성 췌장염 환자들의 입원 시점에서 ARDS의 발생과 연관된 인자들을 찾아보고자 본 연구를 시행하였다. 연구방법 : 1989년 5월부터 1995년 9월까지 아산 재단 서울 중앙 병원에 입원한 환자 86명 94예를 후향적으로 분석하였다. ARDS는 94예 중 13예(13.8%)에서 발생하였다. 통계 분석은 각 임상 지표들을 단변수 분석과 $x^2$-test를 이용하였다. 연구결과 : 내원 당시 흉부 단순 촬영상 이상 소견이 있는 경우 ARDS가 더 잘 발생하였으며(p<0.05)복부 컴퓨터 촬영 중증 지표가 높을 수록 ARDS가 더 잘 발생하였다(p<0.05). APACHE III score가 높을수록(p<0.01) Murray의 폐손상 점수가 1점 이상인 경우 0점인 경우보다 ARDS발생율이 더 높은 것으로 나타났다. 패혈증이 동반된 경우 그렇지 않은 경우보다 ARDS발생 위험도가 3.5 배 높았으며 (p<0.05) 다장기 부전이 3개 이상인 경우 다장기 부전이 없는 경우보다 ARDS 발생 위험도가 23.3 배 (p<0.01) 높은 것으로 나타났다. 결 론 : 급성 췌장염 환자 중 내원 당시 흉부 단순 촬영상 이상소견이 있거나 APACHE III score가 Murray의 폐손상 점수가 높을 수록 패혈증이 동반된 경우 다장기 부전이 3개 이상 동반된 경우에 ARDS가 더 잘 발생하는 것으로 나타났다.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• 제63권7호
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• pp.239-250
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• 2020

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is spreading globally. Although its etiologic agent is discovered as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), there are many unsolved issues in COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. The causes of different clinical phenotypes and incubation periods among individuals, species specificity, and cytokine storm with lymphopenia as well as the mechanism of damage to organ cells are unknown. It has been suggested that in viral pneumonia, virus itself is not a direct cause of acute lung injury; rather, aberrant immune reactions of the host to the insults from viral infection are responsible. According to its epidemiological and clinical characteristics, SARS-CoV-2 may be a virus with low virulence in nature that has adapted to the human species. Current immunological concepts have limited ability to explain such unsolved issues, and a presumed immunopathogenesis of COVID-19 is presented under the protein-homeostasis-system hypothesis. Every disease, including COVID-19, has etiological substances controlled by the host immune system according to size and biochemical properties. Patients with severe pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2 show more severe hypercytokinemia with corresponding lymphocytopenia than patients with mild pneumonia; thus, early immunomodulator treatment, including corticosteroids, has been considered. However, current guidelines recommend their use only for patients with advanced pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome. Since the immunopathogenesis of pneumonia may be the same for all patients regardless of age or severity and the critical immune-mediated lung injury may begin in the early stage of the disease, early immunomodulator treatment, including corticosteroids and intravenous immunoglobulin, can help reduce morbidity and possibly mortality rates of older patients with underlying conditions.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• 제45권4호
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• pp.236-241
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• 2012

Background: Prolonged usage of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) may induce multi-organ failure. This study is aimed to evaluate prognostic factors in the patients with ECMO. Also, the prognosis of ECMO with Kidney Injury Network Scoring system is studied. Materials and Methods: From May 2005 to July 2011, 172 cases of ECMO were performed. The cases of perioperative use of ECMO were excluded. Renal failure patient and younger than 15 years old one were also excluded. As a result, 26 cases were enrolled in this study. Male patients were 15 (57.7%), and mean age was $56.57{\pm}17.03$ years old. Demographic data, ECMO parameters, weaning from ECMO, and application of continuous renal replacement therapy are collected and Acute Kidney Injury Network (AKIN) scores were evaluated just before ECMO and day 1, day 2 during application of ECMO. Results: Venoarterial ECMO was applied in 22 cases (84.6%). The reasons for applications of ECMO were cardiac origin in 21 (80.8%), acute respiratory distress syndrome in 4, and septic shock in 1 case. Successful weaning from ECMO was achieved in 15 cases (57.7%), and survival discharge rate was 9 cases (34.6%). Mean duration of application of ECMO was $111.39{\pm}54.06$ hours. In univariate analysis, myocarditis was independent risk factors on weaning failure. Using the receiver operating characteristic curve, level of hemoglobin on 24 hours after ECMO, and base excess on 48 hours after ECMO were showed more than 0.7. AKIN score was not matched the prognosis of the patients with ECMO. Conclusion: In our study, the prognosis of the patients with myocarditis was poor. Hemoglobin level at first 24 hours, and degree of acidosis at 48 hours were useful methods in relating with prognosis of ECMO. AKIN scoring system was not related with the prognosis of the patients. Further study for prognosis and organ injury during application ECMO may be needed.