• Title/Summary/Keyword: Improved Methods

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Evaluation of Image Quality Using CT Attenuation Correction in SPECT/CT (SPECT/CT에서 CT감쇠보정에 따른 영상의 질 평가)

  • Cho, Sung Wook;Kim, Gye Hwan;Sung, Yong Joon;Lee, Hyung Jin;Kim, Jin Eui
    • The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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    • v.17 no.2
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    • pp.78-83
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    • 2013
  • Purpose: SPECT/CT, a combination of SPECT and CT, is capable of expressing the results of attenuation correction on images biased by automatic program. As a result, this research evaluates the usefulness of images with CT attenuation correction, using various phantoms and images of patients. Materials and Methods: From July of 2012 to September of 2012, this research was conducted on the contrast, spatial resolution, and images of patients. We studied the contrast with IEC body phantom and Jaszczak phantom, while the spatial resolution was evaluated with NEMA triple line phantom. Further, a comparative study was carried out on the quality of the images, on the difference between the images before and after the CT attenuation correction. Results: Compared the differences between the contrast before and after the CT attenuation correction in IEC body phantom. The contrast was improved by 33.6% at minimum, 89.8% at maximum. In case of Jaszczak Phantom, the contrast was enhanced by 9.9% at minimum, 27.8% at maximum. In NEMA Triple line phantom, the resolution was raised by 4.5% in average: 4.4% in horizontal, 4.5% in vertical. In Anthropomorphic Torso Phantom, the perfusion score of the interior wall with the most severe attenuation was measured to be 29.4%. In the experiment carried out on myocardial perfusion SPECT/CT patients, 9% improvement was discovered in the interior wall, where the most dramatic attenuation occurred, after the CT attenuation correction. Conclusion: SPECT/CT proved its clinical usefulness by enabling the acquisition of images with enhanced contrast and spatial resolution compare to the ones resulted from SPECT.

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Differences of Garlic Powder Ingestion and Exercise Training on Blood Lipids, MDA and SOD in Rats (운동훈련과 마늘가루 섭취에 의한 흰쥐의 혈중 지질 및 MDA, SOD 활성 차이)

  • Jeon, Byung-Duk;Kim, Jin-Ha;Ryu, Sung-Pil
    • Journal of Life Science
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    • v.19 no.10
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    • pp.1337-1345
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    • 2009
  • This study investigated the effect of exercise training and garlic powder ingestion on blood lipids and antioxidants activity in rats. Twenty-eight male Sprague Dawley rats were fed a high-fat diet with or without garlic powder (500 mg/kg) for four weeks as grouped in control (CON), exercise (EXE), garlic (GAR), and garlic + exercise training (GAREXE), respectively. EXE and GAREXE were trained on the treadmill for the same periods. Weight of fats (mesentery, perirenal, and epididymal) were weighed and blood glucose, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and high density lipoprotein- cholesterol (HDL-C) were analyzed and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) was calculated. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) for lipid peroxidation were analyzed in liver tissue. Body weight in GAREXE was significantly lower in the statistics than that in other groups (p<0.05), and the volume of fat in GAR and GAREXE was also much lower (p<0.05). Blood glucose was significantly lower in EXE and GAR (p<0.05), however, there was no effect of exercise training. Blood TG was lower in GAR and GAREXE (p<0.05), however, there was no effect of exercise training. HDL-C was significantly improved in EXE and GAR compared to CON (p<0.05), and GAREXE was higher than EXE (p<0.05). MDA content was considerably lower in GAREXE compared to EXE (p<0.05), and SOD activity was much higher in other groups compared to CON (p<0.05). In addition, GAREXE was significantly higher than EXE and GAR, thus there was significant increase when a garlic diet was carried out together with exercise (p<0.05). These results suggested that garlic powder ingestion during the training periods had a beneficial effect of lowering glucose and enhancing blood lipids profiles. Moreover, it also has antioxidant effects, which means that it could possibly suppress aging. It is necessary to inspect various effects of garlic with a variety of research methods regarding sampling process, production process, intake method, etc.

Effect of Microwave Preheating and Hydrogenated Frying Fats on the Storage Stability of Yackwa (마이크로웨이브 열처리 및 경화튀김유가 약과의 저장 안정성에 미치는 영향)

  • 김창순;윤미화
    • Korean journal of food and cookery science
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    • v.15 no.3
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    • pp.264-271
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    • 1999
  • This study was conducted to know the storage stability of Yackwa, a traditional Korean fried cookie, prepared by two different cooking methods; deep fat frying at 160$^{\circ}C$ for 8 min (DFF), and preheating Yackwa dough and then deep fat frying at 180$^{\circ}C$ for 2 min (MW/DFF). Soybean oil (SBO), hydrogenated soybean oil (HSBO) or hydrogenated palm oil (HPO) were used for frying Yackwa. Compared to Yackwa prepared by DFF, all MW/DFF Yackwa samples had low fat content and high moisture content. MW/DFF saved frying time 6 min compared with DFF. Non-hydrogenated soybean oil for frying fats was replaced with hydrogenated types of soybean oil and palm oil to improve the storage stability of Yackwa. To investigate the oxidation stability of Yackwa during the accelerated storage for 15 days at 60$^{\circ}C$, acid value, anisidine value, peroxide value and oxidation value of Yackwas were measured. Acid values of Yackwa made by MW/DFF were higher than those made by DFF through the whole storage periods, regardless of frying fats. Peroxide and anisidine values of Yackwa coated with syrup were much lower than those without syrup. MW/DFF cooking method, using hydrogenated soybean oil or hydrogenated palm oil for frying, showed lowering effects on peroxide value as well as anisidine value, resulting in improved oxidation stability of Yackwa during the storage. In sensory evaluation, the acceptability of MW/DFF Yackwa was higher than those of the commerical products. Yackwa prepared by MW/DFF cooking method using hydrogenated palm oil, showed the highest acceptability in color, taste and texture among the samples.

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Preferences of Foodservice Types for the Elderly Patients at the Long-term Care Facilities through Conjoint Analysis (컨조인트 분석에 의한 노인의료전문 병원의 급식서비스 선호도 연구)

  • Yoon, Hei-Ryoe;Cho, Mi-Sook
    • The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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    • v.22 no.1
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    • pp.141-149
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    • 2009
  • The elderly population in Korea is growing rapidly and their needs for long-term care has also increased. By the year 2018, our society will be approaching aged society and by 2026 it will be a super-aged society. The purpose of this study was to employ conjoint analysis to establish the relative importance of foodservice encounters in terms of determining the utility values of hospital foodservice for elderly patients. According to the results pearson's R(0.420) and Kendall's tau(0.402) statistics showed that the model fits the data well(p<0.05). The relative importance scores of hospital foodservice encounters were as follows: dietary counseling with dietetics(51.2%), foodservice personnel(48.7%), and food(0.1%). A soft cooking method(0.001) was preferred to a general cooking method(0.001), and kind foodservice personnel(0.086) were preferred to quick service(-0.086). Finally, counseling with a dietitian once a week(-0.138) was preferred to counseling twice a week (-0.276). Based on this conjoint analysis, the most preferable model for foodservice at a long-term care facility would be; soft cooking methods, kind service by foodservice personnel, and dietetic counseling once a week. Overall, a better understanding of the specific needs of our institutionalized elderly is one of the key elements that can help our long-term care system develop improved foodservice programs.

Pregnancy and Implantation Rates Related to Serum Estradiol Concentrations of Controlled Ovarian Hyperstimulation in Fresh IVF-ET and Frozen-thawed ET Cycles (과배란 유도에서의 혈중 에스트라디올 농도에 따른 신선주기와 동결-융해 배아이식 주기에서의 임신율과 착상율)

  • Kim, Myo-Kyung;Choi, Su-Jin;Choi, Hye-Won;Bang, Kyoung-Hee;Kim, Hye-Ok;Yang, Kwang-Moon;Koong, Mi-Kyoung;Jun, Jong-Young;Jun, Jin-Hyun
    • Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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    • v.34 no.3
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    • pp.197-205
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    • 2007
  • Objective: This study evaluated the pregnancy and implantation rates in fresh IVF-ET cycles or frozen-thawed ET (F-ET) cycles based on serum estradiol concentrations of controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH). Methods: Clinical outcomes of 1,565 cycles of fresh IVF-ET with COH and 670 cycles of F-ET were retrospectively analyzed. Serum estradiol levels on the day of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) administration were categorized into Group-A (1,000$\sim$2,000 pg/ml), Group-B (2,000$\sim$3,000 pg/ml), Group-C (3,000$\sim$4,000 pg/ml) and Group-D (> 4,000 pg/ml). Clinical pregnancy (CPR), implantation (IR) and delivery rates (DR) were compared among four groups subdivided into younger (< 35 years) and older ($\geq$ 35 years) women. Statistical analysis was performed by Student's t-test and chi-square test. Results: Overall clinical outcomes with fresh IVF-ET and F-ET cycles were similar: 41.2% vs 44.8% of CPR, 18.8% vs 19.6% of JR, and 33.2% vs 34.5% of DR, respectively. There were no significant differences in the clinical outcomes of all four groups between fresh IVF-ET and F-ET cycles of younger women according to the estradiol levels. However, the clinical outcomes of F-ET cycles of older women in Group-D were significantly higher than those of fresh IVF-ET cycles (51.3% vs 25.0% of CPR*, 18.6% vs 9.9% of IR and 33.3% vs 19.4% of DR;* p<0.05). Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that supraphysiological levels of estradiol during COH in fresh IVF-ET cycles of older women ($\geq$ 35 years) may be detrimental to implantation environments of endometrium and clinical outcomes, which could be improved by F-ET cycles.

The Effects of Catheter Revision and Mupirocin on Exit Site Infection/Peritonitis in CAPD Patients (복막 투석 환자에서 도관 관련 감염 및 복막염에 대한 Mupirocin과 도관 전환술(Catheter revision)의 효과)

  • Park, Jun-Beom;Kim, Jung-Mee;Choi, Jun-Hyuk;Jo, Kyu-Hyang;Jung, Hang-Jae;Kim, Yeung-Jin;Do, Jun-Yeung;Yoon, Kyung-Woo
    • Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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    • v.16 no.2
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    • pp.347-356
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    • 1999
  • Background: Exit site/tunnel infection causes considerable morbidity and technique failure in CAPD patients. We presently use a unique revision method for the treatment of refractory ESI/TI in CAPD patients and mupirocin prophylaxis for high risk patients. Materials and Methods: We reviewed 139 CAPD patients about the ESI/TI from October 1993 to February 1999 at Yeungnam University Hospital. At the beginning of the ESI. we usually started medications with rifampicin and ciprofloxacin and then changed the antibiotics according to the sensitivity test. If the ESI had persisted and there were TI symptoms (purulent discharge, abscess lesion around exit site). we performed catheter revision(external cuff shaving, disinfection around tunnel and new exit site on opposit direction) with a combination of proper antibiotics. We applied local mupirocin ointment at the exit site three times per week to the 34 patients who had the risk of ESI starting from October 1998. Results: The total follow-up was 2401 patient months(pt. mon). ESI occurred on 105 occasions in 36 out of 139 patients, and peritonitis occurred on 112 occasions in 67 out of 139 patients. The total number of incidences of ESI and peritonitis was 1 per 23.0 pt. mon and 1 per 2l.6 pt.mon. The most common organism responsible for ESI was Staphylococcus aureus (26 of 54 isolated cases, 48%), followed by the Methicillin resistant S. aureus(MRSA) (13 cases, 24%). Seven patients(5: MRSA. 2: Pseudomonas) had to be treated with a revision to control infection. Three patients experienced ESI relapse after revision. One of them improved with antibiotics, while another needed a second revision and the remaining required catheter removal due to persistent MRSA infection with re-insertion at the same time. But, there was no more ESI in these 3 patients who were received management to relapse (The mean duration: 14.0 months). The rates of ESI were significantly reduced after using mupirocin than before(1 per 12.7 vs 34.0 pt.mon, P<0.01). Conclusions: In summary, revision technique can be regarded as an effective method for refractory ESI/TI before catheter removal. Also local mupirocin ointment can play a significant role in the prevention of ESI.

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Decitabine in the Treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Myelodysplastic Syndromes, Which Combined with Complex Karyotype Respectively

  • Gao, Su;Li, Zheng;Fu, Jian-Hong;Hu, Xiao-Hui;Xu, Yang;Jin, Zheng-Ming;Tang, Xiao-Wen;Han, Yue;Chen, Su-Ning;Sun, Ai-Ning;Wu, De-Pei;Qiu, Hui-Ying
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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    • v.16 no.15
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    • pp.6627-6632
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    • 2015
  • Background: We conducted a study exploring the clinical safety and efficacy of decitabine in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), combined with a complex karyotype. Materials and Methods: From April 2009 to September 2013, a total of 35 patients with AML/MDS combined with a complex karyotype diagnosed in the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University were included for retrospective analysis. All patients were treated with decitabine alone ($20mg/m^2$ daily for 5 days) or combination AAG chemotherapy (Acla 20mg qod*4d, Ara-C $10mg/m^2$ q12h*7d, G-CSF $300{\mu}g$ qd, the dose of G-CSF adjusted to the amount in blood routinely). Results: In 35 patients, 15 exhibited a complete response (CR), and 6 a partial response (PR), the overall response rate (CR+PR) being 60% (21 of 35). Median disease-free survival was 18 months and overall survival was 14 months. In the 15 MDS patients with a complex karyotype, the CR rate was 53.3% (8 of 15); in 20 AML patients with complex karyotype, the overall response rate was 65% (13 of 20). The response rate of decitabine alone (22 cases) was 56.5% (13 of 22), while in the combination chemotherapy group (13 cases), the effective rate was 61.5% (8 of 13)(P>0.05). There are 15 patients with chromosome 7 aberration, after treatment with decitabine, 7 CR, 3 PR, overall response rate was 66.7% (10 of 15). Of 18 patients with 3 to 5 kinds of chromosomal abnormalities, 66.7% demonstrated a response; of 17 with more than 5 chromosomal abnormalities, 52.9% had a response. In the total of 35 patients, with one course (23 patients) and ${\geq}$two courses (12 patients), the overall response rate was 40.9% and 92.3% (P<0.05). Grade III to IV hematological toxicity was observed in 27 cases (75%). Grade III to IV infections were clinically documented in 7 (20%). Grades I to II non-hematological toxicity were infections (18 patients), haematuria (2 patients), and bleeding (3 patients). With follow-up until September 2013, 7 patients were surviving, 18 had died and 10 were lost to follow-up. In the 6 cases who underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) all were still relapse-free survivors. Conclusions: Decitabine alone or combination with AAG can improve outcome of AML/MDS with a complex karyotype, there being no significant difference decitabine in inducing remission rates in patients with different karyotype. Increasing the number of courses can improve efficiency. This approach with fewer treatment side effects in patients with a better tolerance should be employed in order to create an improved subsequent chance for HSCT.

The Clinical Outcomes of Arthroscopic Repair of Isolated type II SLAP Lesion in Non-athletes (비 운동선수에 있어 단독 제 2형 SLAP 병변의 관절경적 봉합수술의 임상적 결과)

  • Yoo, Jae-Chul;Ahn, Jin-Hwan;Koh, Kyoung-Hwan;Kim, Seung-Yeon
    • Journal of the Korean Arthroscopy Society
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    • v.12 no.3
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    • pp.185-190
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    • 2008
  • Purpose: The purpose of this study is to provide the clinical outcomes of arthroscopic type II SLAP repair in non-athletes, and to compare the clinical outcomes between those who had isolated type II SLAP lesion and those who had combined partial thickness supraspinatus tear that did not required a combined repair. Materials and Methods: From July 2005 to January 2007, 142 consecutive type II SLAP lesions were treated with arthroscopic surgery. The inclusion criteria for the study were; (1) younger than 50 years old; and (2) non-athletes. Exclusion criteria were; (1) prior surgery, fracture or combined recurrent dislocation history on the affected shoulder; (2) combined full thickness rotator cuff tear or PTST (>50% thickness) patient that needed repair; and (3) combined infection, arthritis or inflammatory disease. Remaining 19 patients meet the criteria. Among them, 13 had combined PTRCT that did not require repair (Group I), and 6 had isolated type II SLAP lesion without combined supraspinatus tear (Group II). The mean age was 36.7 years (29~49 years), mean symptom duration was 39.1 months (3~216 months) and mean follow-up was 19.0 months (12~27 months). In all patients, the range of motion of affected shoulder, pain and function visual analogue scale (PVAS, FVAS), the Constant score and UCLA score were evaluated preoperatively and postoperatively. Results: In group I, external rotation at side was decreased significantly (p=0.003),but there were no statistical significant change at the remains(p>0.05). And there were no differences between groups (p>0.05). At the final follow-up, all clinical outcome measurements improved after surgery with statistical significance (p<0.05): UCLA score, $22.8{\pm}5.2$ to $32.8{\pm}2.1$; Constant score, $79.4{\pm}8.6$ to $94.9{\pm}4.3$; PVAS $5.4{\pm}2.7$ to $1.1{\pm}1.4$; FVAS $63.2{\pm}15.3$ to $93.4{\pm}7.3$. But, in group comparison of the mean UCLA score and Constant score, there were no statistical significant differences between two groups. Conclusion: Arthroscopic repair of type II SLAP lesion provided good clinical outcomes in nonathletic population. Combined partial thickness supraspinatus tear does not seem to hamper the final outcome at minimal 1 year follow-up.

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The Results of Arthroscopic Double-Row Rotator Cuff Repairs with Combined Knot-tying and Knotless Suture Anchors (매듭 결속과 비매듭 봉합나사를 이용한 관절경적 이열 회전근개 봉합술의 결과)

  • Ku, Jung-Hoei;Lee, Choon-Key;Cho, Hyung-Lae;Choi, Seung-Hyun
    • Journal of the Korean Arthroscopy Society
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    • v.12 no.3
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    • pp.172-179
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    • 2008
  • Purpose: To evaluate the functional and structural results of arthroscopic double-row repair using combined knot-tying and knotless suture anchors in rotator cuff tears. Materials and Methods: From March 2006 to June 2007, twenty-one patients (15 males, 6 females; mean age 55.6 years; range 48 to 67) were included who underwent arthroscopic double-row repair for full-thickness tears of the rotator cuff following conservative treatment for a mean of 6.5 months (range 3 to 11). The tear size was carefully inspected arthroscopically and we found 2 small, 13 medium and 6 large-sized rotator cuff tears, with a mean tear size of 2.5cm(range 1.8 to 3.2). The repair constructs were consisted of horizontal mattress sutures using conventional knot-tying suture anchors medially and simple suture at the same level of medial row stitch with Bioknotless RC anchors (DePuy Mitek, Norwood, MA) as lateral row. Clinical and functional evaluations were made according to the range of motion, the ASES, UCLA scale and the isokinetic strength testing. Postoperative cuff integrity was determined through magnetic resonance imaging. The mean follow-up was 15 months (range 13 to 24). Results: The average clinical outcome scores and strength were all improved significantly at the time of the final follow-up (p < 0.01). Nineteen patients (90%) were satisfied with the result of the treatment. In 17 of 21 patients (81%) were judged to reveal healed tendon on magnetic resonance imaging at a mean of 7 months postoperatively. There were no significant functional differences according to the preoperative tear size (p<0.01), but large-sized tear shows less favorable structural results in 3 out of 6 cases(50%). Conclusion: Our results document the usefulness and variability of arthroscopic double-row rotator cuff repairs comparable to the results of the other types of double-row repairs.

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Arthroscopic Decompression of Spinoglenoid Ganglion Cyst (견갑골 극관절와 결절종의 관절경하 감압술)

  • Hwang, Tae Hyok;Wang, Tae Hyun;Cho, Hyung Lae;Kim, Keun Young
    • Journal of the Korean Arthroscopy Society
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    • v.15 no.2
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    • pp.92-98
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    • 2011
  • Purpose: We describe a all-arthroscopic technique for decompression of spinoglenoid ganglion cyst and present our clinical results for this procedure. Materials and Methods: From March 2006 to June 2009, eight patients (7 males, 1 female; mean age 40.6 years; range: 21~61) were included who underwent arthroscopic decompression of spinoglenoid ganglion cyst. The most common symptoms were vague shoulder pain and external rotation weakness, which lasted 6.4 months (range: 3~8) on average. Five of eight patients were noted abnormalities on electromyographic (EMG) examination to have suprascapular nerve neuropathy and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed spinoglenoid ganglion cysts in all eight patients and the cyst size was 2.6 cm (range: 1.8~3.6). Labral pathology was identified intraoperatively in all patients and the cysts were decompressed by the posterosuperior capsulotomy under arthroscopic control and labral repair with suture anchors was performed in six patients. Results: The average clinical outcome scores including Constant and Murley, Simple shoulder test (SST) all improved significantly at the time of the final follow-up and there were no complications resulting from the procedures. All patients including the patients with abnormal EMG study recovered strength on isokinetic strength testing. Follow-up MRI scans were performed on all patients at a mean of 5.2 months postoperatively (range: 3~12) revealed complete resolution of the cysts and no evidence of recurrences were seen at an average of 18 months (range: 12~26) of follow-up. Conclusion: Arthroscopic decompression of spinoglenoid ganglion cyst effectively restores patient function and all patients in this study showed improvement in their postoperative MRI findings. Arthroscopic decompression is also useful in the appropriate treatment for labral pathology and may contribute to decreased risk of cyst recurrence.

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