• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.18-23
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• 2017

Background: To assess the incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) following shoulder surgery and to evaluate the role of postoperative duplex ultrasonography. Methods: The study comprised a total of 224 patients who underwent shoulder surgery, including 180 shoulder arthroscopic surgeries, 28 shoulder arthroplasties, and 16 plate fixations for proximal humerus fracture between January 2014 and December 2014. The mean age of patients was 59.0 years, and there were 81 men and 143 women. Clinical data, including body mass index, blood tests, metabolic work-up for liver and renal function, previous, and present medical history, were evaluated. Duplex ultrasonography in the operative arm was performed on 2 to 4 days after surgery. Results: The overall incidence of VTE following shoulder surgery was 0.45% (1/224). One patient with open reduction and plate fixation for proximal humerus fracture had asymptomatic deep vein thrombosis that showed complete remission after anticoagulant medication during a 2-month period. Four patients had asymptomatic superficial cephalic vein thrombosis and complete remission without any treatment. There was no case of pulmonary embolism. Conclusions: The incidence of VTE following shoulder surgery was extremely low in Asians. Duplex ultrasonography may be not considered a routine follow-up of shoulder surgery and can be selectively performed in high-risk or symptomatic patients for VTE.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.205-212
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• 2009

Purpose : Chronic urticaria is a disorder characterized by the appearance of wheals for more than 6 weeks; in most cases, the etiology is unknown. This study was aimed to discover the clinical aspects, the etiologic factors, and the course of chronic urticaria. Methods : 51 children who were diagnosed with chronic urticaria in the past 4 years, and who had had follow-ups more than 6 months after diagnosis in the pediatric department of Soonchunhyang University Hospital in Bucheon, were enrolled in the study. The laboratory findings, clinical aspects, and courses were retrospectively investigated by medical record review and telephone interview. Results : The median age of children with chronic urticaria was 4 years (8 months to 16 years) and the ratio of male to female was 1.4:1. Of the total, 39.2% of patients had a history of atopy. Angioedema occurred concurrently with urticaria in 11.8% of patients, and dermographism was seen in 41.2%. Results of thyroid function tests were normal and thyroid autoantibodies were absent in all cases. Regarding etiology, most cases (74.5%) were forms of idiopathic urticaria. Urticaria was induced by physical factors in 19.6% of patients. Open challenge tests revealed that 3 patients were allergic to food additives (glutamate 2, glutamate, and sulfite 1). In this study, most of the patients reported good response after medication of 1st- or 2nd-generation antihistamines alone. Follow-up at 6 months revealed that 70.6% of patients had experienced remission, and 84.8% of children who had follow-up at 1 year presented remission. Conclusion : Chronic urticaria in most patients was idiopathic. Remission occurred within 1 year of diagnosis, in most cases so chronic urticaria in children seems to have good prognosis.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.100-106
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• 2012

Purpose: The survival rate for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has improved significantly. However, overall prognosis for the 20 to 25% of patients who relapse is poor, and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) offers the best chance for cure. In this study, we identified significant prognostic variables by analyzing the outcomes of allogeneic HSCT in ALL patients in second complete remission (CR). Methods: Fifty-three ALL patients (42 men, 79%) who received HSCT in second CR from August 1991 to February 2009 were included (26 sibling donor HSCTs, 49%; 42 bone marrow transplantations, 79%). Study endpoints included cumulative incidence of acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), relapse, 1-year transplant-related mortality (TRM), disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS). Results: Cumulative incidences of acute GVHD (grade 2 or above) and chronic GVHD were 45.3% and 28.5%, respectively. The estimated 5-year DFS and OS for the cohort was $45.2{\pm}6.8%$ and $48.3{\pm}7%$, respectively. Only donor type, i.e., sibling versus unrelated, showed significant correlation with DFS in multivariate analysis ($p$=0.010). The rates of relapse and 1 year TRM were $28.9{\pm}6.4%$ and $26.4{\pm}6.1%$, respectively, and unrelated donor HSCT ($p$=0.002) and HLA mismatch ($p$=0.022) were significantly correlated with increased TRM in univariate analysis. Conclusion: In this single institution study spanning more than 17 years, sibling donor HSCT was the only factor predicting a favorable result in multivariate analysis, possibly due to increased TRM resulting from unrelated donor HSCT.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.14
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• pp.5957-5961
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• 2015

Background: We designed this randomized controlled trial (RCT) to assess whether lobaplatin-based concurrent chemotherapy might be superior to cisplatin-based concurrent chemotherapy for FIGO stage II and III cervical cancer in terms of efficacy and safety. Materials and Methods: This prospective, open-label RCT aims to enroll 180 patients with FIGO stage II and III cervical cancer, randomly allocated to one of the three treatment groups (cisplatin $15mg/m^2$, cisplatin $20mg/m^2$ and lobaplatin $35mg/m^2$), with 60 patients in each group. All patients will receive external beam irradiation (EBRT) and high-dose-rate intracavitary brachytherapy (HDR-ICBT). Patients in cisplatin $15mg/m^2$ and $20mg/m^2$ groups will be administered four cycles of $15mg/m^2$ or $20mg/m^2$ cisplatin intravenously once weekly from the second week to the fifth week during EBRT, while patients inthe lobaplatin $35mg/m^2$ group will be administered two cycles of $35mg/m^2$ lobaplatin intravenously in the second and fifth week respectively during pelvic EBRT. All participants will be followed up for at least 12 months. Complete remission rate and progression-free survival (PFS) will be the primary endpoints. Overall survival (OS), incidence of adverse events (AEs), and quality of life will be the secondary endpoints. Results: Between March 2013 and March 2014, a total of 61 patients with FIGO stage II and III cervical cancer were randomly assigned to cisplatin $15mg/m^2$ group (n=21), cisplatin $20mg/m^2$ group (n=21) and lobaplatin $35mg/m^2$ group (n=19). We conducted a preliminary analysis of the results. Similar rates of complete remission and grades 3-4 gastrointestinal reactions were observed for the three treatment groups (P=0.801 and 0.793, respectively). Grade 3-4 hematologic toxicity was more frequent in the lobaplatin group than the cisplatin group. Conclusions: This proposed study will be the first RCT to evaluate whether lobaplatin-based chemoraiotherapy will have beneficial effects, compared with cisplatin-based chemoradiotherapy, on complete remission rate, PFS, OS, AEs and quality of life for FIGO stage II and III cervical cancer.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.65-71
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• 1990

Between January,1974 and December 1980, fifty eight patients with locoregional recurrent breast carcinoma who did not have evidence of distant metastasis after initial treatment of surgery with or without adjuvant chemotherapy were treated with radiation therapy. Among them, five patients were excluded from this study because of incomplete record or incomplete treatment. The 5-year overall survival and disease free survival from the time of locoregional recurrence was $27\%\;and\;15\%$ respectively. In univariate analysis of prognostic variables, the clinical stage at initial diagnosis, recur duration, number of recurrence sites, size of recurrences, response to the treatment, remission duration were all found to have no significant effect on survival or disease free survival. On the other hand, menopausal status at initial diagnosis, number of positive node at initial surgery, whether or not the use of adjuvant chemotherapy after initial mastectomy had definite prognositc significance. In multivariate analysis of prognostic variables, remission duration, menopausal status at diagnosis, number of axillary node at mastectomy had definite prognostic significance. On the other hand, remission duration more than 12 months, premenopaus at initial mastectomy, less than four positive axillary lymph nodes at mastectomy predicted a good prognosis.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.9-21
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• 2018

Objective: Graves' disease, the most common cause of primary hyperthyroidism, is a thyroid specific autoimmune disorder. When resistance to medication is shown in spite of long term therapy with anti-thyroid drugs, radioactive iodine therapy would be chosen in Western medicine. However, this therapy has often been reported to cause patients have hypothyroidism, thus requiring them to take levothyroxine for the rest of their lives. In this study, we evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of Ahnjeonbaekho-tang (AJBHT) on patients with Graves' disease. Methods: We prescribed AJBHT for 3 months to two groups: patients who had been taking antithyroid drugs were administered AJBHT after discontinuing the antithyroid drugs ($Com-Tx{\rightarrow}Single-Tx$), and patients who had not been taking antithyroid drugs were started with AJBHT (Single-Tx) immediately. We evaluated the thyroidal function test (TFT) and visual analogue scale (VAS) for clinical symptoms for 3 months. Results: Serum T3 and fT4 were significantly decreased in both groups and remission rate of thyroidal hormones were significantly improved in the Single-Tx group. The clinical symptoms of palpitation, fatigue, and heat intolerance were significantly improved in both groups. In the safety analysis, all patients were in normal range of liver, renal function blood test and common blood count. Conclusion: From these results, we suggested that AJBHT was effective on TFT and clinical symptoms of Graves' disease. The study supports that AJBHT may be a useful agent for patients with Graves' disease who are resistant to antithyroid medication or radioactive iodine therapy, and for patients at first diagnosis.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.389-400
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• 2022

Objectives: Depression is a highly prevalent disease, and the market for antidepressant drugs continues to grow at a steady rate. Although current antidepressants are reported to be effective, because of their low remission rate and side effects, new antidepressants are needed. The use of Banhahubak-tang (BHT) to treat the symptoms of depression is supported by experimental evidence. The proposed study will evaluate the efficacy and safety of BHT in treating depression. Methods: A randomized, waitlist-controlled, parallel clinical trial will be conducted to assess the efficacy of BHT in depression. A total of 84 participants with depression will be randomized into the intervention group or waitlist-control group at a 1:1 ratio. Patients in the intervention group will be administered BHT three times a day for four weeks and followed up for four more weeks after therapy completion. Patients in the waitlist-control group will undergo the same intervention and follow-up after a four-week waiting period. The primary outcome is change in the Korean version of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (K-HDRS) scores for major depressive disorders after four weeks. The secondary outcomes include scores on the K-HDRS, Korean Symptom Check List 95 (KSCL-95), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Korean version (STAI-K), State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-Korean version (STAXI-K), and the Instrument on Pattern Identifications for Depression and EuroQol-5 Dimension (EQ-5D). Conclusions: This trial will provide high-quality clinical evidence of the efficacy and safety of BHT in the management of depression.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.180-187
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• 2020

Giant cell hepatitis with autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AHA) is a rare disease of infancy characterized by the presence of both Coombs-positive hemolytic anemia and progressive liver disease with giant cell transformation of hepatocytes. Here, we report a case involving a seven-month-old male infant who presented with AHA followed by cholestatic hepatitis. The clinical features included jaundice, pallor, and red urine. Physical examination showed generalized icterus and splenomegaly. The laboratory findings suggested warm-type AHA with cholestatic hepatitis. Liver biopsy revealed giant cell transformation of hepatocytes and moderate lobular inflammation. The patient was successfully treated with four doses of rituximab. Early relapse of hemolytic anemia and hepatitis was observed, which prompted the use of an additional salvage dose of rituximab. He is currently in clinical remission.

• Journal of Korean Traditional Oncology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.1-21
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• 2006

This study was undertaken to evaluate safety and antitumor activity of Nexia, a processed extract of Rhus verniciflua STOKES by heating according to Korean patent 0504160 through toxicology, cancer research and clinical application. Nexia did not exhibit any toxicological symptoms through 13 week continuous treatment, dosage accumulation study and anaphylaxis response. The lifespan of four patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia under complete remission were 110, 83, 97, and 86 months after treatment of Nexia, respectively. These data suggest that Nexia, a processed extract by removing allergen from Rhus verniciflua STOKES, may have safety and antitumor activity and also still need continuous study on its mechanism and clinical trial.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.22
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• pp.9707-9711
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• 2014

Background: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a complex disease caused by interactions between hazardous exogenous or/and endogenous agents and many mild effect inherited susceptibility mutations. Some of them are known, but their functional roles still requireinvestigation. Age is a recognized risk factor; children with disease onset after the age of ten have worse prognosis, presumably also triggered by inherited factors. Materials and Methods: The MDR1 gene polymorphisms rs1045642, rs2032582 and MTHFR gene polymorphisms rs1801131 and rs1801133 were genotyped in 68 ALL patients in remission and 102 age and gender matched controls; parental DNA samples were also available for 42 probands. Results: No case control association was found between analyzed polymorphisms and a risk of childhood ALL development. Linkage disequilibrium was not observed in a family-based association study either. Only marginal association was observed between genetic marker rs2032582A and later disease onset (p=0.04). Conclusions: Our data suggest that late age of ALL onset could be triggered by mild effect common alleles.