• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.39 no.4 s.261
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• pp.320-322
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• 2006

A 60-year-old male was admitted because of dyspnea and angina like chest pain. Noninvasive findings showed a mass at the posterior aspect of the left atrium. The mass was removed under cardiopulmonary bypass. An encapsulated adipose mass, which originated from the left atrium without any invasion to the pericardium, was completely excised. Histological examination showed mature adipose tissue with partial necrosis, confirming the diagnosis of lipoma. We report a rare of case of massive left atrial lipoma occupying the pericardial space.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.272-274
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• 2009

Xiphodynia is a term used to describe a painful xiphoid process, and this is a rare musculoskeletal disorder that can radiate to the anterior chest, epigastrium, neck, shoulders and back. Clinical awareness of xiphodynia is important for making its correct diagnosis. We report here on two cases of xiphodynia. The diagnosis was suggested by the reproduction of the anterior chest pain or/and the epigastrium pain with light pressure on the xiphoid process. The patient of case 1 had suffered from xiphodynia throughout the years, and this patient underwent surgical excision of the xiphoid process. The patient of case 2 received an injection of local anesthetic agent to the xiphoid process.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.1017-1022
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• 1996

Patients with fractured ribs necessarily suffer from severe chest ain, which prevents coughing, deep breathing and bronchial toilette, cause atelectasis and pulmonary shunting. Relief of chest pain is benecial to patients, providing consort and facilitating physiotherapy and effective expectoration. We compared the efficacy of pain relief be!ween continuous epidural analgesia and conventional intramlrscular analgesia in 20 patients with fractured ribs. Among 20 patients, epidural analgesia was done or 10 patients(experimental group) and the remainder ten received intramuscular analgesia(control group). The pain and ROM(range of motion) scores, vital sign, PaO2, forced vital capacity(FVC) and forced expiratory volume for 1 second(FEVI) were checked on immediate admission and 12, 24 hours, third, fifth, and seventh day after starting of continuous epidural block. The pain and ROM scores were decreased and the PaO2, FRC and FEVI were significantly increased in experimental group. The side effects of epidural analgesia were mild and reversible. With th se result, we can suggest that epidural analgesia is more effective for pain relief and restoration of pulmonary mechanics in patients with fractured ribs.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.12-24
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• 2014

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore whether emergency bell could shorten door to electrocardiograms (ECG) time in chest pain patients presenting to emergency department (ED) by self-transport. Methods: This was a planned 6-month before-and-after interventional study design. We set up the emergency bell in walk-in patients' waiting room. Prior to the change, patients were triaged before an ECG was obtained. In new process, as soon as patient with chest pain push the emergency bell, emergency physicians examined patient and prioritized performing ECG. We analyzed door to electrocardiograms (DTE) times for patients with chest pain and ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients between two periods. Results: During the enrollment period, a total of 63 patients called emergency bell. The median DTE time was 6 min (interquartile range: 3.0 - 9.0) and 82.5% received an ECG within 10 minutes, and only three patients were STEMI. DTE time in patient with chest pain was not different between two periods (p=0.980). Before intervention period, 15 walk-in patients admitted in ED for STEMI and 53.8% of STEMI patients received an ECG within 10 minutes. After intervention period, total 19 walk-in patients admitted in ED for STEMI. Of these, 89.5% met the time requirement. Conclusion: Because a small portion of patients with chest pain activated the emergency bell, new strategy for promotion of emergency bell must be needed.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.269-276
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• 1996

A theroretical study was made on the psychodynamism of somatoform disorder. Somatoform disorder is caused by a defense mechanism of somatization. Somatization is the tendency to react to stimuli(drives, defenses, and conflict between them) physically rather than psychically(Moore, 1990). Ford(1983) said it is a way of life, and Dunbar(1954) said it is the shift of psychic energy toward expression in somatic symptoms. As used by Max Shur(1955), somatization links symptom formation to the regression that may occur in response to acute and chronic conflict. In the neurotic individual psychic conflict often provokes regressive phenomena that may include somatic manifestations characteristic of an earlier developmental phase. Schur calls this resomatization. Pain is the most common example of a somatization reaction to conflict. The pain has an unconscious significance derived from childhood experiences. It is used to win love, to punish misdeeds, as well as a means to amend. Among all pains, chest pain has a special meaning. Generally speaking, 'I have pain in my chest' is about the same as 'I have pain in my mind'. The chest represent the mind, and the mind reminds us about the heart. So we have a high tendency to recognize mental pain as cardiac pain. Kellner(1990) said rage and hostility, especially repressed hostility, are important factors in somatization. In 'Psychoanalytic Observation on Cardiac Pain', psychoanalyst Bacon(1953) presented clinical cases of patients who complained of cardiac pain in a psychoanalytic session that spread from the left side of their chests down their left arms. The pain was from rage and fear which came after their desire to be loved was frustrated by the analyet. She said desires related to cardiac pain were dependency needs and aggressions. Empatic relationship and therapeutic alliances are indispensable to psychotherapy in somatoform disorder. The beginning of therapy is to discover a precipitating event from the time their symptoms have started and to help the patient understand a relation between the symptom and precipitating event. Its remedial process is to find and interpret a intrapsychic conflict shown through the symptoms of the patient. Three cases of somatoform disorder patients treated based on this therapeutic method were introduced. The firt patient, Mr. H, had been suffering from hysterical aphasia with repressed rage as ie psychodynamic cause. An interpretation related to the precipitating event was given by written communication, and he recovered from his aphasia after 3 days of the session. The second patient was a dentist in a cardiac neurosis with agitation and hypochondriasis, whose psychodynamism was caused by a fear that he might lose his father's love. His symptom was also interpreted in relation to the precipitating event. It showed the patient a child-within afraid of losing his father's love. His condition improved after getting a didactic interpretation which told him, to be master of himself, The third patient was a lady transferred from the deparment of internal medicine. She had a frequent and violent fit of chest pains, whose psychodynamic cause was separation anxiety and a rage due to the frustration of dependency needs. Her symptom vanished dramatically when she wore a holler EKG monitor and did not occur during monitoring. By this experience she found her symptom was a psychogenic one, and a therapeutic alliance was formed. later in reguar psychotherapy sessions, she was told the relaton between symptoms and precipitating events. Through this she understood that her separation anxiety was connected to the symptom and she became less terrifide when it occurred. Now she can travel abroad and take well part in social activities.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.40 no.10
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• pp.719-721
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• 2007

Patients with congenital pericardial defect display few symptoms and this is an unusual disease, so it is generally found incidentally in most of the cases. In some cases, symptoms such as chest pain are found due to partial cardiac herniation. We report here on a 14-year-old girl with dyspnea and chest pain that started during physical activity 3 months before the hospital visit. She was diagnosed with herniation of the left atrial appendage with a partial pericardium defect and she was treated with an operation.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.53-57
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• 2010

Background: The purpose of this study is to evaluate intercostal neuropathy after rib fracture and to determine the severity of intercostal neuropathy with using a numerical rating scale and according to the duration of pain and the body mass index. Material and Method: We measured the positive sharp wave and fibrillation on the intercostal and paraspinal muscles in the thoracic region by performing needle electromyography in 47 patients who had intercostal neuralgia after rib fracture and who had needed daily analgesic for more than three months. Result: We diagnosed 11 cases as intercostal neuropathy among the 47 cases. Of the total 11 cases, 8 were male and 3 were female and they were most often of an active generation in the community. The common location of intercostal neuropathy was the intercostal space below the rib fracture and from the 7th to the 12th intercostal rib area. The incidence of intercostal neuropathy was significantly related with multiple rib fracture rather than single rib fracture. The symptoms observed were chest pain (90.9%), sensory change (81.8%), paresthesia and numbness (63.6%), back pain (27.2%) and muscle atrophy (18.2%). The numerical rating scale, the duration of pain and the body mass index showed no significant correlation with the severity of intercostal neuropathy. Conclusion: We concluded that the electrodiagnostic approach with considering the affecting factors and the clinical findings will be helpful for diagnosing and treating persistent intercostal neuralgic pain (more than 3 months) after rib fracture.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.40 no.12
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• pp.851-854
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• 2007

A 76-year-old woman with a history of chest pain and palpitation, was diagnosed with bilateral coronary to pulmonary artery fistulae with a concomitant saccular aneurysm, which is quite rare. Suture closure of the fistular vessels around the pulmonary artery root, the removal of a saccular aneurysm, and the transpulmonary closure of coronary to pulmonary artery fistulae were performed. The patient was well at 4 months after surgery.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.181-184
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• 1999

Systolic coronary arterial narrowing, secondary to myocardial bridging which is capable of producing chest pain, myocardial infarction and ventricular fibrillation is a known but an uncommon entity. A supra-arterial myotomy in a case of myocardial bridge causing medication-refractory angina is described. Under the partial sternotomy incision, we performed a supra-arterial myotomy in the left anterior descending coronary artery without cardiopulmonary bypass. The postoperative course was uneventful.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.33 no.7
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• pp.601-604
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• 2000

Actinomycosis is an indolent, suppurative infection caused by an anaerobic gram-positive organism(usually actinomyces israelii) which usually causes infection in the face, mediastitum, lung, and abdomen. Primary esophageal actinomycosis which is not related with pulmonary or mediastinal actinomycosis, is very rare, especially in immunocompetent host. A 58-year-old woman has been suffered from dysphagia, odynophagia, and chest pain after insertion of esophageal stent in esophageal acid stricture. She underwent a esophagectomy with esophagogastrostomy for above mentioned symptoms. Pathologic diagnosis was a esophageal actinomycosis.