• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.64 no.2
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• pp.143-150
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• 2021

Spinal dysraphism often causes neurological impairment from direct involvement of lesions or from cord tethering. The conus medullaris and lumbosacral roots are most vulnerable. Surgical intervention such as untethering surgery is indicated to minimize or prevent further neurological deficits. Because untethering surgery itself imposes risk of neural injury, intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) is indicated to help surgeons to be guided during surgery and to improve functional outcome. Monitoring of electromyography (EMG), motor evoked potential, and bulbocavernosus reflex (BCR) is essential modalities in IONM for untethering. Sensory evoked potential can be also employed to further interpretation. In specific, free-running EMG and triggered EMG is of most utility to identify lumbosacral roots within the field of surgery and filum terminale or non-functioning cord can be also confirmed by absence of responses at higher intensity of stimulation. The sacral nervous system should be vigilantly monitored as pathophysiology of tethered cord syndrome affects the sacral function most and earliest. BCR monitoring can be readily applicable for sacral monitoring and has been shown to be useful for prediction of postoperative sacral dysfunction. Further research is guaranteed because current IONM methodology in spinal dysraphism is still deficient of quantitative and objective evaluation and fails to directly measure the sacral autonomic nervous system.

• Journal of Audiology & Otology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.40-47
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• 2020

Because the psychophysical symptoms of hearing loss and dementia in the elderly are very similar, untrained healthcare professionals in dementia facilities can easily overlook a severity of hearing loss in their patients. The present study identifies their knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) on hearing loss using a survey whether they may help hearing problem of the patients with dementia. A total of 29 health-care professionals responded to the KAP survey. Also, 2 family members participated. The results showed that most of the nurses and caregivers in elderly medical welfare facilities who worked with dementia patients did not have knowledge of their hearing loss. Even the facility managers did not know how to conduct hearing tests for their patients although they did recognize that some of their patients had a hearing loss. Eventually, actual practice was not possible at this moment by the professionals. However, our respondents did have a positive attitude toward screening for hearing loss and help their patients with dementia wear hearing aids if a clinical guideline was provided. We suggest to develop clear and precise clinical guidelines of the hearing screening test for the dementia patients due to the interrelationship between dementia and hearing loss. When these guidelines apply to elderly residents in a medical welfare facility, early diagnosis and treatment of their sensory loss will help alleviate their dementia as well.

• Korean Journal of Audiology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.40-47
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• 2020

Because the psychophysical symptoms of hearing loss and dementia in the elderly are very similar, untrained healthcare professionals in dementia facilities can easily overlook a severity of hearing loss in their patients. The present study identifies their knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) on hearing loss using a survey whether they may help hearing problem of the patients with dementia. A total of 29 health-care professionals responded to the KAP survey. Also, 2 family members participated. The results showed that most of the nurses and caregivers in elderly medical welfare facilities who worked with dementia patients did not have knowledge of their hearing loss. Even the facility managers did not know how to conduct hearing tests for their patients although they did recognize that some of their patients had a hearing loss. Eventually, actual practice was not possible at this moment by the professionals. However, our respondents did have a positive attitude toward screening for hearing loss and help their patients with dementia wear hearing aids if a clinical guideline was provided. We suggest to develop clear and precise clinical guidelines of the hearing screening test for the dementia patients due to the interrelationship between dementia and hearing loss. When these guidelines apply to elderly residents in a medical welfare facility, early diagnosis and treatment of their sensory loss will help alleviate their dementia as well.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.59-67
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• 2006

There exist patients complaining speech problem due to dysesthesia or anesthesia following dental surgical procedure accompanied by local anesthesia in clinical setting. However, it is not clear whether sensory problems in orofacial region may have an influence on motor speech abilities. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether transitory sensory impairment of mandibular nerve by local anesthesia may influence on the motor speech abilities and thus to evaluate possibility of distorted motor speech abilities due to dysesthesia of mandibular nerve. The subjects in this study consisted of 7 men and 3 women, whose right inferior alveolar nerve, lingual nerve and long buccal nerve was anesthetized by 1.8 mL lidocaine containing 1:100,000 epinephrine. All the subjects were instructed to self estimate degree of anesthesia on the affected region and speech discomfort with VAS before anesthesia, 30 seconds, 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 minutes after anesthesia. In order to evaluate speech problems objectively, the words and sentences suggested to be read for testing speech speed, diadochokinetic rate, intonation, tremor and articulation were recorded according to the time and evaluated using a Computerized Speech $Lab^{(R)}$. Articulation was evaluated by a speech language clinician. The results of this study indicated that subjective discomfort of speech and depth of anesthesia was increased with time until 60 minutes after anesthesia and then decreased. Degree of subjective speech discomfort was correlated with depth of anesthesia self estimated by each subject. On the while, there was no significant difference in objective assessment item including speech speed, diadochokinetic rate, intonation and tremor. There was no change in articulation related with anesthesia. Based on the results of this study, it is not thought that sensory impairment of unilateral mandibular nerve deteriorates motor speech abilities in spite of individual's complaint of speech discomfort.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.464-469
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• 2011

Introduction: As dental implant surgery is becoming increasingly popular, it has become one of the causes for the hypesthesia of the inferior alveolar nerve, along with other surgical procedures, such as a third molar extraction. In addition, it tends to cause legal problems between the operator and patient. Therefore, there must be a proper method that is reliable, objective and economical to assess the nerve impairment. For this reason, an attempt was made to use an Electric Pulp Tester to assess inferior alveolar nerve block anesthesia. Materials and Methods: Thirty patients were tested. Electric pulp testing of the lower jaw skin was performed at the three different times, before anesthesia, at the onset of sensory changes and after 15 minutes waiting from the onset, and on the 10 points of the chin, which produced 10 sections on the skin area. Results: Twenty seven patients (90%) could feel the electric stimulus on the chin at all 10 points before local anesthesia and the scores represent the statistical differences between the right and left points except R4 and L4. After anesthesia, the difference between the right and left points (L3-R3, L4-R4, L5-R5) increased significantly with time but two points (L2, R2) showed no significant difference. The scores on the left chin (L3, L4, L5) increased, whereas the other points (R1-R5, L1, L2) showed no significant differences. Conclusion: This study highlights the potential clinical use of an electric pulp tester for an assessment of inferior alveolar nerve impairment.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.380-385
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• 2010

Introduction: The iliac crest has been the accepted place to obtain bone for reconstruction in oral and maxillofacial surgery. The iliac crest has many advantages because of its accessibility, large amount of cancellous bone, relative ease of bone harvest, possibility of two team approach and ability to close the wound primarily. This study evaluated retrospectively the morbidity of bone harvesting from the anterior iliac crest to provide a logical guide for recognizing the complications and morbidities of an iliac crest bone graft. Materials and Methods: Fifty healthy patients (mean age of 35.5 years; range 7 to 59) underwent iliac crest bone harvesting for a maxillofacial reconstruction from January 2007 to September 2009 at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in Kyungpook National University Hospital. Age, sex, size and kind of grafted bone, duration of pain on donor site, duration of gait disturbance, sensory deficit, scar, contour defect were measured in each patients by retrospective research. Results: The mean duration of pain is 6.7 days, and mean duration of gait disturbance is 7.2 days. Most patients were free from gait disturbances and pain within 2 weeks and there was no correlation between the size of the harvesting block bone and the duration of gait disturbance or pain. However, this study showed that the duration of pain is associated with gait disturbance. In addition, most patients had no complaints regarding their surgical scar and contour defect, and only one patient had permanent impairment of the sensory function. Moreover, an iliac bone graft did not extend the length of hospitalization. Conclusion: This study suggests that split thickness bone harvesting from the inner table of the anterior iliac crest is a well accepted procedure with relatively low morbidity.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.356-366
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• 2012

Background: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) involving sensory and motor nerve damage or dysfunction is a common and serious clinical problem that affects many patients receiving cancer treatment. This condition may pose challenges for the clinician to diagnose and manage, particularly in patients with coexisting conditions or disorders that involve the peripheral nervous system. Many chemotherapeutic agents used today are associated with the development of serious and dose-limiting CIPN that can adversely affect the administration of planned therapy and can impair quality of life by interference with the patients' activities of daily living. The most important clinical objective in the evaluation of patients with CIPN is to determine their level of functional impairment involving activities of daily living. These findings are used to make medical decisions to continue, modify, delay, or stop treatment. The most commonly reported drugs to cause CIPN include taxanes, platinum agents, vinca alkaloids, thalidomide, and bortezomib. We aimed to determine PN incidence during cisplatin, carboplatin and oxaliplatin administration. Methods: We collected data from 125 patients who received at least one cycle of cisplatin, carboplatin or oxaliplatin. They completed a self-reported questionnaire and items related to their disease and peripheral neuropathy. The investigators filled in part of items about disease and treatment. Patient Neurotoxicity Qeustionnaire developed by Bionumerik company were applied for PN assessment. Results: The incidences of sensory neurotoxicities of cisplatin, carboplatin and oxaliplatin were respectively 23%, 56% and 50%. The incidences of motor neurotoxicities of cisplatin, carboplatin and oxaliplatin were respectively 18%, 42% and 19%. The incidences of severe neurotoxicities of cisplatin, carboplatin and oxaliplatin were respectively 13%, 28% and 14%. The incidences of PN were associated with cumulative dose but not age, gender and concurrent illness. 19.2% of the patients (24/125) were prescribed with gabapentin, nortriptyline or gabapentin plus nortriptyline to reduce these peripheral symptoms and 75% of the patients answered the drug were effective. Conclusion: Incidence of PN after cisplatin or oxaliplatin administration is cumulative dose-related. Physician-based assessments under-reported the incidence and severity of CIPN. To overcome this limitation, diagnostic tools specifically designed to assess peripheral neuropathy severity associated with chemotherapy must be developed.

• Journal of Digital Contents Society
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.615-620
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• 2018

Evaluation of clinical usefulness of current perception threshold test and vibration sense perception threshold test in diagnosing the diabetic poly-neuropathy patients is one of the diagnosis methods for diabetic poly-neuropathy. Up to the present, some diagnostic methods were used for diabetic poly neuropathy patients. For example, there are neuropathy impairment score test of lower limbs, nerve conduction test, cooling detection threshold test, heat-pain threshold test and so on. However, most of the above tests require very expensive cost and take a lot of time in test. In this paper, a new apparatus estimating vibration sense ability is introduced. For this purpose, the VCM(voice coil motor) stimulating patient's peripheral nerve and current amplifier were manufactured. Also, softwares sensing and driving the vibration detection threshold test in order to measure the quantitative vibration sensory levels in diabetic poly-neuropathy patients were developed.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.41-48
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• 2020

Objectives: One of the most common complications of bilateral sagittal split ramus osteotomy (BSSRO) is neurosensory impairment of the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN). Accurate preoperative determination of the position of the IAN canal within the mandible using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) is recommended to prevent IAN dysfunction during BSSRO and facilitate neurosensory improvement after BSSRO. Materials and Methods: This randomized clinical trial consisted of 86 surgical sites in 43 patients (30 females and 13 males), including 21 cases (42 sides) and 22 controls (44 sides). Panoramic and lateral cephalographs were obtained from all patients. In the experimental group, CBCT was also performed from both sides of the ramus and mandibular body. Neurosensory function of the IAN was subjectively assessed using a 5-point scale preoperatively and 7 days, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months post-surgery. Data were analyzed using Fisher's test, Spearman's test, t-test, linear mixed-model regression, and repeated-measures ANCOVA (α=0.05, 0.01). Results: Mean sensory scores in the control group were 1.57, 2.61, 3.34, 3.73, and 4.20 over one year and were 1.69, 3.00, 3.60, 4.19, and 4.48 in the CBCT group. Significant effects were detected for CBCT intervention (P=0.002) and jaw side (P=0.003) but not for age (P=0.617) or displacement extent (P=0.122). Conclusion: Preoperative use of CBCT may help surgeons to practice more conservative surgery. Neurosensory deficits might heal faster on the right side.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.279-286
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• 2011

Purpose: Chin is located in a prominent position, and is important to balance and harmony of the face. Genioplasty is widely performed with patients' high satisfaction, yet being relatively simple procedure. Recently in analysis of dentofacial trait, three rotational variables of yaw, pith, and roll are considered with three translational variables (forward/backward, up/down, right/left). And we could correct chin deformity effectively by applying the three rotational variables with three translational variables in genioplasty. Methods: Twenty-eight patients who have chin deformity underwent osseous genioplasty. Preoperative photography, facial three dimensional computed tomography, and cephalography were taken while chin deformities were accessed. The chin deformity was classified into four categories; macrogenia, microgenia, asymmetric chin deformity, and combined chin deformity groups. According to the nature of chin deformities and the patients' desire, preoperative plans were formulated, in consideration of three rotational variables and translational variables. Through intraoral approach, anterior mandible was exposed in the subperiosteal plane between the mental foramens and beneath the mental foramens. In the anterior mandible, vertical and horizontal grid lines with 5 mm intervals were marked to confirm the spatial location of osteomized bone segment after osteotomy. Chin repositioning was done in consideration of axial rotation and planar translation. Results: Most of the patients had achieved satisfactory results with few complications. By considering the three rotational variables, it was possible to make the chin repositioning effectively. One of the patients complained about insufficient chin correction. In other case, persistent sensory impairment around chin was observed. Conclusion: In conclusion, it is worthwhile to apply preoperative analysis and operative procedures in consideration of a three rotational variables with three translational variables in genioplasty.