• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.687-694
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• 2021

Objectives: The aim of this case report is to present abdominal pain relief in a patient diagnosed with colorectal cancer with several organ metastases. Methods: The patient was treated with herbal medicine, acupuncture, and moxibustion. The effect of the treatment was measured by a numeric rating scale (NRS). Results: The NRS of the patient's abdominal pain was reduced after Korean medicine treatment. Conclusions: This case report suggests that Korean medicine may be effective for treating abdominal pain in cancer patients. However, additional study is needed to confirm interactions between Korean medicine and the control of abdominal pain.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.417-421
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• 2009

This report describes the normal radiographic and ultrasonographic morphological features of premature minipigs at 4, 8, 12 and 20 weeks of age. Radiographic examination is a simple diagnostic method used to identify the general morphologic state of major organs and their adjacent structures, and to assess the presence of abnormalities. The parameters for evaluation in plain abdominal radiographs are the degree of diffuse serosal margin details, extent of visualization of each organ, their size, shape, and contour, locations of main organs - such as the liver, stomach, spleen, kidneys, urinary bladder - the distribution of the intestines, and assessment of the retroperitoneal space and its contents. Ultrasonographic examinations are used to investigate their internal condition. The parameters for evaluation in abdominal ultrasonography are echogenicity, echotexture, and size and shape of the main organs such as the liver, spleen, kidney, urinary bladder and gastrointestinal tract. Minipigs had similar findings compared to dogs or cats.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.134-141
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• 2010

Purpose: A classic approach to abdominal stab wounds has been a routine laparotomy for the purpose of diagnosis or treatment. However, management protocols for abdominal stab wounds are still contentious in most trauma centers. We examined the relationship between the character of the stab wound and the injured intraabdominal organs by retrospectively analyzing the medical records of patients with abdominal stab wounds admitted to Gil hospital, and the findings for our patients are then confronted with a review of the literature. We aimed to propose proper management protocols to approach abdominal stab wounds. Methods: The medical records of all 80 patients sustaining abdominal stab wounds, admitted at the Department of Surgery, Gil Hospital, Gachon Medical School, from January 2004 to December 2008 were retrospectively reviewed. All the abdominal stab wounds were collated based on the site and the character of the injury, investigations performed on admission, results of investigations, operations performed and findings at the time of the operation. Results: The most prevalent age group was patients in their forties and the average age of the patients was 41 years for both genders. The stab wounds were most commonly located at the periumbilical area (16.9%), followed by the epigastric area (15.6%), and 18.2% of the patients had multiple wounds. The most commonly eviscerated organ was the omentum (9 out of 16 cases); 61.7% of non-eviscerated patients underwent a therapeutic laparotomy while 81.3% of eviscerated patients underwent a therapeutic laparotomy. The small bowel was the most commonly injured organ (22.7%, 17 out of 75 injuries). The review revealed a relatively common diaphragmatic injury in abdominal stab wound patients (8 cases, 10.5%). The average hospital stay was 11 days. Conclusion: This review revealed commonly eviscerated and injured intraabdominal organs in abdominal stab wound patients and their relationship with a therapeutic laparotomy. Although the management is still controversial, the authors suggest indications for an immediate laparotomy and a protocol for managing abdominal stab wounds. Hemodynamic instability and peritoneal irritation signs are definite indicators for an immediate laparotomy, but the review revealed intraabdominal organ evisceration alone not to be a statistically significant factor. In addition, the authors suggest that abnormal CT findings can be valuable for making a decision on management of hemodynamically stable stab wound patients. Further study may clarify a role for a more selective approach to operative intervention and for a more extensive use of selective observation.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.151-156
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• 2010

Purpose: The liver is the second most common organ injured by blunt abdominal trauma. The purpose of this study was to determine the utility of liver transaminase in screening blunt abdominal trauma patients for traumatic liver injury. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 231 patients who sustained blunt trauma and were at risk for traumatic liver injury between June 2009 and August 2010. All of them underwent a focused assessment with sonography for trauma (FAST) and abdominal computed tomography (CT). Based on the diagnosis of abdominal CT, patients were divided into two groups: group I with liver injury and group II without liver injury. We compared the two groups and calculated the sensitivity, the specificity and the predictive values of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) by using multiple cutoff values. Results: Of 231 patients with no abdominal free fluid in the FAST, 33 had traumatic liver injury on abdominal CT. The mean AST and ALT levels in group I (311.6 IU/L and 228.1 IU/L, respectively) were significantly higher than the values in group II (48.4 IU/L and 35.6 IU/L, respectively). The cutoff to distinguish liver injury is 60 IU/L for AST and 58 IU/L for ALT, with 93.8% sensitivity and 79.8% specificity for AST, and 90.6% sensitivity and 87.4% specificity for ALT. Conclusion: We recommend that all patient with suspected blunt abdominal trauma be evaluated using serum liver transaminase as a screening test for liver injury even though no abdominal free fluid is shown on the FAST. If AST > 60 IU/L and/or ALT > 58 IU/L, abdominal CT was useful to confirm liver injury in this study.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.183-187
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• 2006

An increase has been see in fall injuries at construction sites and in penetrating injuries by iron bars or pipes associated with the fall. In particular, a thoraco-abdominal penetrating injury had the worse prognosis, and multiple organ injury occurred because of blunt trauma associated with fall. Iron bars were the most common penetrating materials, and pipe penetrating injuries were uncommon. However, because the diameter of the pipes were large than those of the bars, penetrating injuries associated with pipes were more often fatal. A secondary thoraco-abdominal injury worsened the prognosis. We reported a case of a 33-year-old man with a thoraco-abdominal trauma secondary to a penetrating injury with a scaffolding pipe following a fall.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.214-217
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• 2015

Surgeons occasionally encounter a patient with a gastric cancer invading an adjacent organ, such as the pancreas, liver, or transverse colon. Although there is no established guideline for treatment of invasive gastric cancer, combined resection with radical gastrectomy is conventionally performed for curative purposes. We recently treated a patient with a large gastric cancer invading the abdominal wall, which was initially diagnosed as a simple abdominal wall abscess. Computed tomography showed that an abscess had formed adjacent to the greater curvature of the stomach. During surgery, we made an incision on the abdominal wall to drain the abscess, and performed curative total gastrectomy with partial excision of the involved abdominal wall. The patient received intensive treatment and wound management postoperatively with no surgery-related adverse events. However, the patient could not receive adjuvant chemotherapy and expired on the 82nd postoperative day.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.87-91
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• 2003

Objectives: To examine the relaxational response to the water extract of Rheum palmatum L. and Rheum undulatum L. on rat thoracic aorta and abdominal aorta. Methods: Segments of thoracic aorta and abdominal aorta obtained from rats immediately after delivery were mounted in organ baths superfused on a polygraph. Results : We found that the thoracic aorta segments responded to the water extract of genus Rheum with a dose-dependent vasorelaxation. At $10^{-4}$ M 5-HT, the maximal contraction force was 93.5% of the maximum KCI-response. The 5-HT induced contractions at $10^{-4}$ M were inhibited by 86.4% and 62.1 % after addition of the high concentrations of R. palmatum root (RPR) and leaf (RPL) and R. undulatum root (RUR) and leaf (RUL). At 10 mg/ml RPR and RUR, the relaxational response at thoracic aorta and abdominal aorta with and without endothelium were 86.4%, 83.2%, 85.8%, and 62.1% of the maximum 5-HT induced contraction. Conclusion: Our result showed that RPL and RUL induced dose-dependent vasorelaxation on rat thoracic aorta and abdominal aorta, and that RPL and RUL roots have more potent effects than the leaves.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.116-123
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• 2016

Purpose: To develop an inclusive and sustainable trauma system as the assessment of burden of injuries is very much important. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the estimates and characteristics of abdominal traumatic injuries. Methods: The data were extracted from the National Emergency Department Information System. Based on Korean Standard Classification for Disease 6th version, which is the Korean version of International Classification of Disease 10th revision, abdominal injuries were identified and abdominal surgeries were evaluated with electronic data interchange codes. Demographic factors, numbers of surgeries and clinical outcomes were also investigated. Results: From 2011 to 2014, about 24,696 patients with abdominal trauma were admitted to the hospitals annually in South Korea. The number of patients who were admitted to regional and local emergency medical centers was 8,622 (34.91%) and 15,564(63.02%), respectively. Based on National Emergency Department Information System, liver was identified as the most commonly injured abdominal solid organ (39.50%, 9,754/24,696, followed by spleen (17.57%, 4,338/24,696) and kidney (12.94%, 3,195/24,696). Conclusion: This study shows that the demand for abdominal trauma care is considerable in South Korea and most of the patients with abdominal trauma were admitted to regional or local emergency centers. The results of this study can be used as good source of information for staffs to ensure proper delivery of abdominal trauma care in trauma centers nationally.

• Advances in pediatric surgery
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.115-122
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• 2005

Falls from a height are the leading cause of injury and death among urban children. This study describes the incidence, clinical characteristics, and treatment results of children under 15 year of age who fell from a height of more than one meter and were admitted for abdominal injury. The medical records of 585 consecutive patients treated between January 1997 and December 2003 at Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital were analyzed retrospectively. The falling heights were 1 to 31.2 meters, and 28 patients(4.8 %) suffered from blunt abdominal trauma. The male to female ratio was 2.1: 1. The median age of the victims was 5.5 years, and the median height fallen was 3 meters. Fifteen patients (53.6 %) were injured during the summer and seventy-nine percent of the falls occurred between noon and 9 pm. Eighteen (64.3 %) of falls occurred in residential place and 19(67.8 %) of patients arrived at the emergency department within 30 minutes of the accident. Only 16 patients (57.1 %) complained of abdominal pain. Liver injuries were found in 12(42.9 %), spleen injuries in 5(17.9 %), kidney injuries 3(10.7 %), pancreatic injuries in 1(3.6 %) and nonspecific abdominal injuries in 9(32.1 %) cases. Increased SGOT and SGPT were found in 23(82.2 %) and 18(64.3 %) cases. Eleven patients (39.3 %) had associated head injuries. Limb injuries were present in 17.9% and thoracic injuries in 7.1%. Twenty-five patients (89.3 %) recovered without operation. The median length of hospital stay was 6 days (2 -20 days). Despite the absence of abdominal symptoms or shock, falls from a height in children may carry significant intra-abdominal organ injuries. The height falling could not predict the degree of the abdominal injury. For the evaluation of potential abdominal injuries, CT scan should be utilized.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.33-42
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• 2010

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate the frequency of side effects, and the range of the side effects from Korean herb medicine on children. Methods: The study has been carried out from 212 children who took Korean herb medicine in Department of Pediatrics, $\bigcirc\;\bigcirc$ Oriental Medical Hospital from September 2009 to February 2010. The study was completed through patients chart review and telephone survey. Results: 1. There were 6 side effect cases on male, and 3 side effect cases on female out of 212 children. The incidence of side effect was 4.2%. 2. The most common side effect was abdominal pain. The most common related organ was digestive organ. 3. The side effect occurred within one to three days after taking Korean herb medicine, and the symptoms were mostly disappeared after taking the Korean herb medicine into divided dose or less dose. Conclusions: The symptom of side effects on children was not as severe as other adverse drug reactions often seen in Western medication. The most common symptom was abdominal pain. Further studies are needed.