• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.175-185
• /
• 2016

Purpose: To investigate the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, investigations and management, and prognosis of patients with Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP). Methods: We performed a retrospective review of 212 HSP patients under the age of 18 years who were admitted to Inje University Sanggye Paik Hospital between 2004 and 2015. Results: The mean age of the HSP patients was 6.93 years, and the ratio of boys to girls was 1.23:1. HSP occurred most frequently in the winter (33.0%) and least frequently in the summer (11.3%). Palpable purpura spots were found in 208 patients (98.1%), and gastrointestinal (GI) and joint symptoms were observed in 159 (75.0%) and 148 (69.8%) patients, respectively. There were 57 patients (26.9%) with renal involvement and 10 patients (4.7%) with nephrotic syndrome. The incidence of renal involvement and nephrotic syndrome was significantly higher in patients with severe GI symptoms and in those over 7 years old. The majority of patients (88.7%) were treated with steroids. There was no significant difference in the incidence of renal involvement or nephrotic syndrome among patients receiving different doses of steroids. Conclusion: In this study, the epidemiologic features of HSP in children were similar to those described in previous studies, but GI and joint symptoms manifested more frequently. It is essential to carefully monitor renal involvement and progression to chronic renal disease in patients ${\geq}7$ years old and in patients affected by severe GI symptoms. It can be assumed that there is no direct association between early doses of steroids and prognosis.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.618-626
• /
• 1986

Univentricular heart is a rare congenital cardiac anomaly in which the atrial chambers are connected to only one ventricular chamber and it consists of a diverse group of cardiac malformation characterized by both AV valves or a common AV valve opening into the same ventricle, or the presence of only a solitary AV valve. In spite of recent development in cardiac surgery, corrective operations for univentricular heart still have high mortality and complication rate. Twenty eight patients underwent corrective operation for univentricular heart at Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital from February 1979 to July 1986. Of the 28 patients, 7 patients were operated on by ventricular septation and 21 patients by modified Fontan operation. Of the 28 patients, 19 patients were male and 9 patients female and ages ranged from 5 months to 18 years old with the average age of 7.3 years. There were 2 mortalities in 7 patients operated on by septation with the mortality rate of 28.6% and 5 complications, 3 complete AV block, 1 low cardiac output and 1 arrhythmia. All survived patients are being followed up without specific problem till now. There were 10 mortalities in 21 patients operated on by modified Fontan operation with the mortality rate of 47.6% and 10 complications, 2 low cardiac output, 2 respiratory failure necessitating tracheostomy, 2 persistent cyanosis, 2 arrhythmia, 1 missing of left AV valve in situs inversus patient due to misdiagnosis and one rupture of closed right AV valve. Incremental risk factors for operative mortality are young age less than 5 years old, anomalous pulmonary and systemic venous drainage and atrial septation procedure. In 11 survived patients, 9 patients show good follow-up results but one patient complains of persistent cyanosis and another one patient is suffered from CHF. In our series, results of corrective operation for univentricular heart shows continuing improvement but still high mortality and complication rate. So there must be continuing improvement in surgical result by selection of patient, by adequate decision making for timing and method of operation and by improving operative methods.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.56 no.2
• /
• pp.113-119
• /
• 2018

Cryptosporidium species is an important cause of gastrointestinal infections globally. This study aimed to shed light on its role in diarrheic immunocompetent patients in Beni-Suef, Egypt and to compare three diagnostic methods. Two hundred diarrheic patients, $37{\pm}16.8year$ old, were enrolled. Stool samples were examined by light microscopy, using modified Ziehl-Neelsen stain (MZN) for Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts. Coproantigens were detected by sandwich ELISA. DNA molecular diagnosis was done by nested PCR. PCR yielded the highest detection rates (21.0%), compared to ELISA (12.5%) and MZN staining method (9.5%). The higher infection rates were in 20-40 year-old group, followed by 40-60 year-old. Association between epidemiologic factors was statistically not significant; positivity and gender, clinical manifestations, residence, source or water, or contact with animals. Cryptosporidiosis is an important enteric parasitic infection in Beni-Suef and PCR remains the gold standard for diagnosis.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
• /
• v.47 no.2
• /
• pp.101-105
• /
• 2024

Three dogs (7-year-old, neutered male Chihuahua; case 1, 1-year-old, spayed female mixed breed; case 2, 10-month-old, female Maltese; case 3) were referred to Jeju Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital for traumatic brain injury. All three patients exhibited abnormal neurological symptoms. The patients were diagnosed through medical history obtained from their caregivers and through computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Structural brain abnormalities were observed in two dogs through CT scans and in one dog through MRI. Decompression therapy with mannitol was administered to all three dogs. Case 1, which showed CT findings of pulmonary hemorrhage but no significant brain injury, and case 2, which had mild brain damage on CT imaging, showed improvement in neurological symptoms and gait abnormalities after decompression therapy. However, case 3, which showed suspected brain hemorrhage and brain edema on MRI, did not respond to decompression therapy and was euthanized one month later. Imaging evaluation through CT or MRI in dogs with traumatic brain injury can assist clinical veterinarians in assessing the prognosis of patients.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
• /
• v.38 no.6
• /
• pp.821-828
• /
• 2011

Purpose: The authors applied Bilhaut-Cloquet procedure to Wassel type III and IV duplicated thumb, which was limited to patients with Wassel type I, II. This procedure was applied in order to improve the growth potential, range of joint motion, joint stability and cosmetic outcome. Methods: Sixteen patients received Bilhaut-Cloquet procedures to correct duplicated thumbs from May, 2005 to December, 2010. Seven patients were Wassel type III, nine patients were type IV. This procedure was applied not only to balanced type, but also unbalanced type or convergent type. Five patients were balanced type and eleven patients were unbalanced type. Convergent type of Wassel type IV was three. Sex ratio was the same, mean age at the operation was 20.1 months old (8~52 months old). Angular deformity, joint stability and range of joint motion and cosmetic outcome were considered together and estimated in Tada score. Also, postoperative subjective satisfaction score of the parents was evaluated by a 100-points scale. Results: Mean subjective satisfaction scored 75 points at 28 months after the operation. Radiologic study showed bony union of proximal phalangeal bone and stable joint in all patients. Range of motion was mean 20 degrees in interphalangeal joint and mean 73 degrees in metacarpophalangeal joint. Tada score showed 'good' in eleven patients (68.8%), 'fair' in three patients (18.7%) and 'poor' in two patients (12.5%). In seven patients those who were able to follow up for a long term showed no significant difference in length of proximal and distal phalangeal bones compared to the opposite thumb. Conclusion: Bilhaut-Cloquet procedure can be applied not only to balanced type of Wassel type III, IV duplicated thumb, but also to unbalanced type or convergent type that focused on functional reconstruction and cosmetic improvement.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.3
• /
• pp.1375-1379
• /
• 2014

Background: Differences in clinicopathological characteristics of gastric cancer (GC) between young and older patients are controversial and a matter of debate. Determining the statistical significance of clinicopathological information with respect to age might provide clues for better management and treatment ofGC. Materials and Methods: A total ofl03 Indiao GC patients were enrolled for study and specimens were classified according to the AjCC-TNM system. Patients were grouped into two age-wise categories, young patients (<40 years; n=13) and older patients (${\geq}40$ years, n=90). The clinicopathological features of both groups were retrospectively examined and compared. p53 alterations were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformational polymorphism and immunohistochemistry methods at gene and protein levels respectively. The cases were considered p53 over-expressed if it was present in more than 25% of the tumor cells and p53 alterations was correlated with the clinicopathological characteristics of the patients as well as etiological factors for GC in both groups. Results: We found significant association of young patients with cancer stage (p=0.01), and very strong association with histology grade (p=0.064) and poorly differentiated (p=0.051) state of GC. However, neither young nor elderly patients showed associations with location, gender, etiological factors and p53 expression and alteration. Overall the male-to-female ratio of GC patients was 3.12 and the value was higher in the young (5.5) than in the older group (2.91). Conclusions: Clinicopathological features of GC like caocer stage, cell differentiation and histological grades were significantly different among young and old age cohorts. We observed a male predominance among the young group that decreased significantly with advancing age. More awareness of GC onset is required to detect cancer at an early stage for successful treatment.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.116-121
• /
• 2011

Purpose: Gastric cancer surgery is a common operation in East Asia, such as Korea and Japan, and there has been a significant increase in the need for this procedure due to the aging population. As a result, surgery for the treatment of gastric cancer for elderly patients is expected to increase. This study examined the effect of old age on gastric cancer surgery, and analyzed the operative risk factors for elderly patients. Materials and Methods: From November 2008 to August 2010, 590 patients, who underwent a curative resection for gastric cancers, were enrolled. Patients who underwent palliative or emergency surgery were excluded. A retrospective analysis of the correlation between surgical outcomes and age was performed. The elderly were defined as patients who were over the age of 65 years. Results: The mean age of all patients was 58.3 years, and complications occurred in 87 cases (14.7%). The most common complication was wound infection and severe complications requiring surgical, endoscopic, or radiologic intervention developed in 52 cases (8.8%). The rate of complications increased with increasing age of the patients. Univariate analysis revealed age, comorbidity, extent of resection, operation time, and combined resection to be associated with surgical complications. In particular, age over 75 years old, operation time, and comorbidity were predictive factors in multivariate analysis. In the elderly, only comorbidity was associated with surgical complications Conclusions: The patients' age is the most important factor for predicting surgical complications. Surgeons should pay an attention to the performance of gastric cancer surgery on elderly patients. In particular, it must be performed carefully for elderly patients with a comorbidity.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.1-15
• /
• 2010

Objectives: By analyzing data of pediatric patients who had visited the emergency room of an oriental medical hospital, we can understand their characteristics and diseases. The purpose of this study was to introduce the excellence of Oriental medicine, to develop various treatments and to revitalize pediatric emergency care at oriental medical hospital. Methods: The study was composed of 371 pediatric patients who had visited the emergency room of the $\bigcirc\bigcirc$ university oriental hospital from January 2008 to December 2009. Results: 1. Average age of the pediatric patients was 4.28 years old, and it has showed that 1 to 3 years old patients (36.7%) were the most common age. 2. The number of pediatric patients was increased in June. According to the weekly distribution data, the number of pediatric patients who had visited on Sunday was the most (29.1%). Also, the number of pediatric patients who had visited ER for 18 to 21 hours(35.6%) were the most common. 3. The major problems of hospitalization were digestive symptoms and nervous symptoms. The nervous symptoms were the most at infancy. The musculoskeletal symptoms were the most common in adolescence. The digestive symptoms were common in other stages of development. 4. The time interval between arrival and onset; within 6 hours were the most(48.0%). Acupuncture and herbal medication treatment(75.2%) were the most common medical treatments. Most of the pediatric patients(97.3%) were discharged after medical treatments. Conclusions: Pediatric patients who had visited emergency room at the oriental medical hospital were mostly not due to acute form of serious diseases. The most common disease states that have preferred to treat with oriental medicine were dyspepsia, crying, febrile fit, and ankle sprain. We have to introduce the excellence of oriental medicine, and we need to try to develop other treatments such as magnetic acupuncture, moxa therapy, aroma therapy and revitalize pediatric emergency care at oriental medical hospital.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.75-90
• /
• 2001

Although it is presumed that cancer patients take various alternative therapies, the present status is not well recognized. The purpose of this study is to survey alternative therapies used by cancer patients receiving radiation therapy and then, find associated factors of taking alternative therapies. The study subjects were composed of those who receiving radiation therapy in the department of radiation oncology in 5 hospitals located at Extended Busan city and who were on follow-up after medical cure. They were 394 male and female patients over 20 years old. The mean age of the subjects was 53.2 years old and the age ranged from 23 to 83 years old. 188 patients($47.7\%$) used alternative therapies. Total 68 different kinds of alterative therapies were used, average 7.3 kinds per patient were experienced, and average total cost expenditure was 2,830,000 won. Among the alternative therapies, black bean($38.8\%$) was the most commonly used and brown rice($38.3\%$), ganoderm lucidum($37.8\%$), elm tree($33.5\%$), and phellinus linteus($30.8\%$) were followed in order of frequency. However in considering the time, cost and effort spent, phellinus linteus was the first. In terms of cost, phellinus linteus was the highest with average expenditure of 2,740,000 won. Among the motivation of using alternative therapies, expecting auxiliary help for the hospital therapy was the highest ($31.4\%$). About half of users($56.9\%$) of alternative therapies were recommended by their relatives to use alternative therapies. In comparing the characteristics of experienced and unexperienced groups, alternative therapy was experienced significantly more in patients of younger age(p=0.001), in patient of higher educational level(p=0.001), and in patients of higher income(p=0.030) The proportion of using alternative therapies was significantly higher in the group treated with chemotherapy(p=0.005), and in the patients who did not satisfy with radiation therapy(p=0.001). The frequency of drinking was significantly higher tendency in the inexperienced group(p=0.046), There was no significant difference in marital status, job, religion, other disease, surgical operation of the cancer and smoking staus between the two groups. Among the unexperienced group, $34.0\%$ of the patients did not take the alternative therapies because they did not have know]edge for the alternatives, and $22.3\%$ worried about negative effects on hospital-based therapy $58.7\%$ of them were willing to take the alternative therapies if the effects and safety were proven by the government or research institutes. $21.9\%$ of the patients wanted to take the alternatives if they were affordable. $72.3\%$ of the patients was willing to take them if their families recommend, but $27.2\%$ responded they would not take them in any situation. Conclusively, various kinds of alternative therapies which were not proved medically were exposed to patients, In these circumstances, it is required to investigate, study and evaluate the medical effects and safety of the alternative therapies.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.97-101
• /
• 2012

Objective: With the background of aging population in China and advances in clinical medicine, the amount of operations on old patients increases correspondingly, which imposes increasing challenges to critical care medicine and geriatrics. The study was designed to describe information on the length of ICU stay from a single institution experience of old critically ill gastric cancer patients after surgery and the framework of incorporating data-mining techniques into the prediction. Methods: A retrospective design was adopted to collect the consecutive data about patients aged 60 or over with a gastric cancer diagnosis after surgery in an adult intensive care unit in a medical university hospital in Shenyang, China, from January 2010 to March 2011. Characteristics of patients and the length their ICU stay were gathered for analysis by univariate and multivariate Cox regression to examine the relationship with potential candidate factors. A regression tree was constructed to predict the length of ICU stay and explore the important indicators. Results: Multivariate Cox analysis found that shock and nutrition support need were statistically significant risk factors for prolonged length of ICU stay. Altogether, eight variables entered the regression model, including age, APACHE II score, SOFA score, shock, respiratory system dysfunction, circulation system dysfunction, diabetes and nutrition support need. The regression tree indicated comorbidity of two or more kinds of shock as the most important factor for prolonged length of ICU stay in the studied sample. Conclusions: Comorbidity of two or more kinds of shock is the most important factor of length of ICU stay in the studied sample. Since there are differences of ICU patient characteristics between wards and hospitals, consideration of the data-mining technique should be given by the intensivists as a length of ICU stay prediction tool.