• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.20-27
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• 1998

It is well known that troponin T(below TnT) is present in the myocardial cells and released during myocardial damage, so it`s very specific enzyme to myocardium. Availability of cardiac specific TnT in assessing perioperatively myocardial damage was evaluated from 34 open heart surgery patients. They consisted of 11 ischemic heart, 13 acquired valvular heart and 10 congenital heart cases. Patients were divided into two groups, group A(patients with myocardial damage) and group B(patients without myocardial damage), according to the symptom of chest pain suspecting angina and the ECG findings of ST segment and T wave changes which show myocardial ischemia and injury. Serum TnT levels were measured by enzyme immunoassay method preoperatively, immediately postoperatively, postoperative day 1, day 2, day 3, and day 7. We observed and analyzed the changes of serum TnT levels in two groups and compared the serum TnT levels with CK-MB levels measured at the same time. In group A, serum TnT levels showed 1.37$\pm$0.26$\mu$g/L, 3.16$\pm$0.66$\mu$g/L, 2.39$\pm$0.74$\mu$g/L, 2.49$\pm$0.76$\mu$g/L, and 1.23$\pm$0.60$\mu$g/L, immediate postoperatively, postoperatively day1, day2, day3, and day7, respectively. It was observed there were significant differences compared with those of group B(0.38$\pm$0.04$\mu$g/L, 0.34$\pm$0.05$\mu$g/L, 0.25$\pm$0.03$\mu$g/L, 0.24$\pm$0.04$\mu$g/L, and 0.11$\pm$0.03$\mu$g/L) during identical periods(P<0.01). Serum CK-MB level in group A significantly elevated to 145.04$\pm$35.08 IU/L on the postoperative day 1 compared to group B(31.28$\pm$5.87 IU/L, P<0.05), However, it stiffly decreased from day 2 and returned to preoperative level at day 3. When serum TnT level more than 1.0$\mu$g/L is thought to reflect myocardial damage, serum TnT had 100% of sensitivity and 87% of specificity in diagnosing the postoperative myocardial damage(p<0.01). I conclusion, serum TnT levels increased significantly at very early stage of myocardial damage and persisted much longer period than CK-MB. This suggests that serum TnT has more advantage and availability in assessing the perioperatively myocardial damage than any other tests.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.182-187
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• 2002

Background: There have been many reports of coronary angiographic findings after coronary bypass grafting, most of which are focused on the graft patency rate of the bypass conduits. However, postoperative angiography can provide numerous informations other than patency rates that are useful for establishing operative strategy. Material and Method: We studied 73 patients in whom coronary angiography was done after more than 1 month of CABG. Mean interval from the operation to coronary angiography was 10.6 months and the reasons for coronary angiography follow up were residual or recurrent angina in 54 patients, abnormalities on myocardial perfusion scan or echocardiography in 13 patients, and for simple follow up in 6 patients. Result: Overall graft patency rate was 80.9% (internal thoracic artery 100%, saphenous vein 75.0%) in patients of simple follow up and 61.6%(internal thoracic artery 81.1%, saphenous vein 55.3%) in patients with ischemia. Progression of native coronary arterial disease proximal to the grafting site was found in 50 patients(68.5%). Among 201 coronary arterial branches that had not been completely occluded preoperatively, ninty five branches(47.3%) revealed progression of diameter stenosis by more than 20% on the follow up study. Among them, 64 branches(31.8%) progressed to total occlusion. The incidence of disease progression was highter in the coronary arteries with patent grafts(57.5%) than in those with occluded grafts(36.3%)(p<0.05), Comparing internal thoracic artery graft with saphenous vein graft, internal thoracic artery was superior to saphenous vein, not only in terms of patency(83.3% vs 56.6%), but also in terms of result of later percutaneous intervention success rate(100% vs 62%, p<0.05). Conclusion: Due to the considerable incidence of progression of native coronary artery stenosis in the early postoperative periods, bypass grafting of a vessel with borderline stenosis, especially with vein graft, must be done prudently. And it was confirmed again that revascularization of left anterior descending artery is most important and that internal thoracic artery was superior to saphenous vein.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.155-162
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• 2006

Purpose: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a critical disease with higher rates of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality due to myocardial ischemia and infarction. There is glowing interest in how to determine high-risk patients who are candidates for screening testing. This study was performed to evaluate the incidence of coronary artery disease (CAD) in diabetic patients detected by Tc-99m MIBI myocardial perfusion SPECT (MPS) and to assess risk factors of CAD and cardiac hard events. Subjects and Methods: 203 diabetic patients (64 male, mean age $64.1{\pm}9.0$ years) who underwent MPS were included between Jan 2000 and July 2004. Cardiac death and nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI) were considered as hard events, and coronary angioplasty and bypass surgery >60 days after testing were considered as soft events. The mean follow-up period was $36{\pm}18$ months. Patients underwent exercise (n=6) or adenosine stress (n=197) myocardial perfusion SPECT. Results: Perfusion defects on MPS were detected in 28.6% (58/203) of the patients. There was no cardiac death but 11 hard events were observed. The annual cardiac hard event rate was 1.1%. In univariate analysis of clinical factors, typical anginal pain, peripheral vascular disease, peripheral polyneuropathy, and resting ECG abnormality were significantly associated with the ocurrence of hard events. Anginal pain, peripheral vascular disease, and resting ECG abnormality remained independent predictors of nonfatal MIs with multivariate analysis. Abnormal SPECT results were significantly associated with high prevalence of hard events but not independent predictors on uni- and multivariate analyses. Conclusion: Patients who were male, had longer diabetes duration (especially over 20 years), peripheral vascular disease, peripheral polyneuropathy, or resting ECG abnormality had higher incidence of CAD. Among clinical factors in diabetic patients, typical angina, peripheral vascular disease, peripheral polyneuropathy, and resting ECG abnormality were strong predictors of hard events.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.282-292
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• 1994

Brain perfusion SPECT shows typical regional perfusion abnormalities in Alzheimer's disease(AD) and is useful for its diagnosis. However, there is also arguement that these patterns show significant overlap with other causes, and the accuracy for SPECT in differentiating AD has shown conflicting results. We postulate that the variation in re-ported results are partly due to a difference in patient or control selection with special reference to the mixture of ischemic cerebral disease in the studied population. To deter-mine the effect of ischemic lesions and the nature of control subjects on SPECT studies for AD, we performed $^{99m}Tc$-HMPAO single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in 11 probable AD patients with a low (<4) Hachinski ischemic score and 12 non-demented age matched controls. Magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) disclosed ischemic cerebral lesions in 27% (3/11) of the PAD group and 25% (3/12) of the control group. Regional perfusion indices were quantitated from the SPECT images as follows and the distribution of perfusion indices from both groups were compared. This was repeated with controls after excluding those with significant ischemic lesions by MRI : regional perfusion index = average regional count/average cerebellar count All PAD patients showed perfusion abnormality in SPECT. However, 53% (10/12) of controls also showed perfusion at-normalities, and no pattern could reliably differentiate the two groups. After excluding controls with significant cerebral ischemia, the difference in temporal and parietal perfusion index was increased. A decreased tempore-parietal and any parietal or temporal per-fusion index had a sensitivity of 18% and 36% in detecting AD, respectively. When using a separate group of normal age mathced controls, the indices showed an even more difference in the temporal and parietal lobes and the sensitivity of a decreased tempore-parietal and any parietal or temporal perfusion index had a sensitivity of 36% and 55% in detecting AD, respectively. Thus, the type of control with special reference to the pres-once of ischemic cerebral lesions contribute significantly to the accuracy of perfusion SPECT in diagnosing AD. This nay have particular importance in the diagnosis of AD in populations where the prevalance of cerebrovascular disease is high.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.317-325
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• 1994

The accuracy of dipyridamole stress/rest $^{99m}Tc$-MIBI myocardial imaging for detection of ischemia depends on reproducible image interpretation. To evaluate the reproducibility of visual assessment, agreement in interpretation among two independent observers, blind-ed to clinical data, was evaluated in SPECT images of 131 patients (94 males, 38 females; mean age $58{\pm}7yr$) with suspected coronary artery disease who underwent both dipyridamole stress/rest $^{99m}Tc$-MIBI myocardial SPECT and coronary angiography. The left ventricle was divided into twenty-nine segments in stress and rest SPECT images and each segment was visually graded according to a five-point scale (segmental score : 0=normal, 1=equivocal, 2=mild decrease, 3=severe decrease and 4=absent uptake). Overall concordance of segmental scoring between the two observers was 80%. The Pear-son's correlation coefficient (r) of the segmental scores for stress and rest images were 0.67 and 0.65, respectively, while the difference in score between the two images showed a correlation of 0.45 (all p<0.001). Agreement between two observers in final SPECT diagnosis as absence or presence of disease was 93%. The degree of agreement in segmental scoring showed no difference between patients with or without agreement as to the presence of disease. Therefore it appeared that cases with inconcordant diagnosis between the 2 observers were mainly due to a difference in individual threshold for interpretating the significance of a particular decreased uptake area rather than to a difference in perceiving the degree of the hypoactivity Thus, establishment of individual optimum thresholds in visual interpretation of myocardial SPECT may be helpful to improve reproducibility and accuracy of scan diagnosis.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.115-122
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• 2011

Background: The intramural coronary artery has been known as a risk factor for early death after an arterial switch operation (ASO). We reviewed the morphological characteristics and evaluated the early and mid-term results of ASO for patients with an intramural coronary artery. Materials and Methods: From March 1994 to September 15th 2010, 158 patients underwent ASO at Dong-A and Pusan National University Hospitals for repair of transposition of the great arteries and double outlet right ventricle. Among these patients, 14 patients (8.9%) had an intramural coronary artery. Mean age at operation was $13.4{\pm}10.2$ days (4 to 39 days) and mean body weight was $3.48{\pm}0.33$ kg (2.88 to 3.88 kg). All patients except one were male. Eight patients had TGA/IVS and 4 patients had an aortic arch anomaly. Two patients (14.3%) had side-by-side great artery relation, of whom one had an intramural right coronary artery and the other had an intramural left anterior descending coronary artery. Twelve patients had anterior-posterior relation, all of whom had an intramural left coronary artery (LCA). The aortocoronary flap technique was used in coronary transfer in 8 patients, of whom one patient required a switch to the individual coronary button technique 2 days after operation because of myocardial ischemia. An individual coronary button implantation technique was adopted in 6, of whom 2 patients required left subclavian artery free graft to LCA during the same operation due to LCA injury during coronary button mobilization and LCA torsion. Results: There was 1 operative death (7.1%), which occurred in the first patient in our series. This patient underwent an aortocoronary flap procedure for coronary transfer combining aortic arch repair. Overall operative mortality for 144 patients without an intramural coronary artery was 13.2% (19/144). There was no statistical difference in operative mortality between the patients with and without an intramural coronary artery (p>0.1). There was no late death. The mean follow-up duration was $52.1{\pm}43.0$ months (0.5 to 132 months). One patient who had a subclavian artery free graft required LCA stenting 6.5 years after surgery for LCA anastomotic site stenosis. No other surviving patient needed any intervention for coronary problems. All patients had normal ventricular function at latest echocardiography and were in NYHA class 1. Conclusion: The arterial switch operation in Transposition of Great Arteries or Double Outlet Right Ventricle patients with intramural coronary can be performed with low mortality; however, there is a high incidence of intraoperative or postoperative coronary problems, which can be managed with conversion to the individual coronary button technique and a bypass procedure using a left subclavian free graft. Both aortocoronary flap and individual coronary button implantation techniques for coronary transfer have excellent mid-term results.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.30 no.11
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• pp.1083-1091
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• 1997

This study was purposed to assess the result of coronary artery bypass graft surgery by analyzing and comparing the pre and postoperative myocardial perfusion state quantitatively by using myocardial SPECT. Twenty patients who received coronary artery bypass graft surgery since 1993 underwent both preoperative and postoperative myocardial SPECT and the result were analyzed. The mean age was 56.4$\pm$9.0 years, and the patients were composed of thirteen males and seven females. For quantitative analysis, we used polar maps of SPECT generated by Cedars-Sin i Medical Center program and we calculated perfusion scores, ischemic myocardial area ratios and reperfusion scores from polar maps. Preoperative mean stressfrest perfusion score was 7.3$\pm$ 1.117.7$\pm$ 1.0 and postoperative score was 8.1 $\pm$ 1 118.3$\pm$ 1.1. Preoperative mean stress ischemic myocardial area ratio was 0.32$\pm$0.2 and postoperative ratio was 0.15 $\pm$0.1. Postoperative mean perfusion score was significantly increased but, on the other hand, mean ischemic myocardial area ratio was significantly decreased as compared with preoperative values(p<0.01). Preoperative mean perfusion score of patients with postoperative roper(usion score more than 1.5 was significantly higher(p<0.01) than that of patients with postoperative reperfusion score less than 1.5. Preoperative perfusion scores of coronary artery territories that had fixed perfusion defect at myocardial SPECT were significantly low(4.3 $\pm$0.514.6$\pm$0.6, stresslrest), nevertheless it proved quantitatively that there was improvement in myocardial perfusion after surgery by showing improved perfusion scores postoperatively. In conclusion, myocardial SPECT is useful method for quantitative analysis of the myocardial perfusion state after coronary artery bypass grafting surgery.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.317-326
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• 1999

Background: Neural control of airway function is through parasympathetic, sympathetic and non-adrenergic, non-cholinergic mechanisms. The autonomic nervous system controls the airway smooth muscle tone, mucociliary system, permeability and blood flow in the bronchial circulation and release of mediators from the mast cells and other inflammatory cells. The cardiovascular and respiratory autonomic efferent fibers have a common central origin, so altered cardiovascular autonomic reflexes could reflect the altered respiratory autonomic status. Therefore, we performed this study to assess the autonomic abnormality and determine the correlating factors of severity of autonomic neuropathy in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD) using easily reproducible cardiovascular autonomic reflex function test. Method: The study included 20 patients with COPD and 20 healthy persons obtained on Health Promotion Center in Yeungnam university hospital. All the patients had history and clinical features of COPD as defined by the American Thoracic Society. Any patients with myocardial ischemia, cardiac arrythmia, hypertension, central or peripheral nervous system disease, diabetes mellitus, or any other diseases known to produce autonomic neuropathy, has excluded. The autonomic nervous system function tests included three tests evaluating the parasympathetic system and two tests evaluating the sympathetic system. And also all subjects were subjected to pulmonary function test and arterial blood gas analysis. Results: Autonomic dysfunction was more commonly associated with patients with COPD than healthy person The parasympathetic dysfunction was frequent in patient with COPD, but sympathetic dysfunction seemed preserved. The severity of parasympathetic dysfunction in patients with COPD was correlated with the degree of duration of disease, smoking, reductions in the value of $FEV_1$ and FVC, and arterial hypoxemia but no such correlation existed for age, type of COPD, $FEV_1$/FVC, or $PaCO_s$. Conclusion: There is high frequency of parasympathetic dysfunction associated with COPD and the parasympathetic abnormality in COPD is increased in proportion to severity of airway disease. In COPD, parasympathetic dysfunction probably does not the cause of disease, but it may be an effect of disease progression.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.89-109
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• 1999

Vascular spasm which has been reported to occur in 25% of clinical cases continues to be a problem in microvascular surgery; When prolonged and not corrected, it can lead to low flow, thrombosis, and replant or free flap failure. Ischemia, intimal damage, acidosis and hypovolemia have been implicated as contributors to the vascular spasm. Although much work has been done on the etiology and prevention of vasospasm, a spasmolytic agent capable of firmly protecting against or reversing vasospasm has not been found. Therefore vascular freezing was introduced as a new safe method that immediately and permanently relieves the vasospasm and can be applied to microsurgical transfers. Cryosurgery can be defined as the deliberate destruction of diseased tissue or relief the vascular spasm in microvascular surgery by freezing in a controlled manner. 96 Sprague Dawley rats each weighing within 250g were used and divided into 2 group, experimental 1 and 2 group. In the experimental 1 group, right epigastric vessels (artery and vein) were freezed with a cryoprobe using $N_2O$ gas for 1 min. In the experimental 2 group, after freezing for 1 min, thawing for 30 secs and repeat freezing for 30 secs. Left side was chosen as control group in both group. We sacrified the experimental animals by 1 day, 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks & 5 months and observed the sequential change that occur during regeneration of epigastric vessels using a histologic, histomorphometric, immunohistochemical and SEM study after the vascular freezing. The results were as follows1. In epigastric arteries, internal diameters had statistically significant enlargement in 1 day, 3 days of Exp-1 group and 1 day, 3 days, 1 week & 2 weeks of Exp-2 group. Wall thickness had statistically significant thinning in 2 weeks of Exp-2 group. 2. In epigastric veins, internal diameters had enlargement of statistical significance in 1 day of Exp-1 and Exp-2 group. 3. The positive PCNA reactions in smooth muscle appeared in 1 week and increased until 2 weeks, decreased in 4 weeks. There was no statistical significance between Exp-1 and Exp-2 group. 4. The positive ${\alpha}$-SMA reaction in smooth muscles showed weak responses until 1 week and slowly increased in 2 weeks and showed almost control level in 4 weeks. 5. The positive S-100 reactions in the perivascular nerve bundles showed markedly decrease in 1 day, 3 days and increased after 1 week and showed almost control level in 4 weeks. Exp-1 group had stronger response than Exp-2 group. 6. In SEM, we observed defoliation of endothelial cell and flattening of vessel wall. Exp-2 group is more destroyed and healing was slower than Exp-1 group. To sum up, relief of vasospasm (vasodilatation) by freezing with cryoprobe was originated from the damage of smooth muscle layer and perivascular nerve bundle and the enlargement of internal diameter in vessels was similar to expeimental groups, but Exp-2 group had slower healing course and therefore vessel freezing in microsurgery can be clinically used, but repeat freezing time needs to be studied further.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.181-191
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• 2013

Purpose : To evaluate the usefulness of in vivo magnetic resonance (MR) imaging for tracking intravenously injected superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO)-labeled human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in an acute renal failure (ARF) rat model. Materials and Methods: HUVECs were labeled with SPIO and poly-L-lysine (PLL) complex. Relaxation rates at 1.5-T MR, cell viability, and labeling stability were assessed. HUVECs were injected into the tail vein of ARF rats (labeled cells in 10 rats, unlabeled cells in 2 rats). Follow-up serial $T2^*$-weighted gradient-echo MR imaging was performed at 1, 3, 5 and 7 days after injection, and the MR findings were compared with histologic findings. Results: There was an average of $98.4{\pm}2.4%$ Prussian blue stain-positive cells after labeling with SPIOPLL complex. Relaxation rates ($R2^*$) of all cultured HUVECs at day 3 and 5 were not markedly decreased compared with that at day 1. The stability of SPIO in HUVECs was maintained during the proliferation of HUVECs in culture media. In the presence of left unilateral renal artery ischemia, $T2^*$-weighted MR imaging performed 1 day after the intravenous injection of labeled HUVECs revealed a significant signal intensity (SI) loss exclusively in the left renal outer medulla regions, but not in the right kidney. The MR imaging findings at days 3, 5 and 7 after intravenous injection of HUVECs showed a SI loss in the outer medulla regions of the ischemically injured kidney, but the SI progressively recovered with time and the right kidney did not have a significant change in SI in the same period. Upon histologic analysis, the SI loss on MR images was correspondent to the presence of Prussian blue stained cells, primarily in the renal outer medulla. Conclusion: MR imaging appears to be useful for in vivo monitoring of intravenously injected SPIO-labeled HUVECs in an ischemically injured rat kidney.