• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.48-52
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• 2020

Composite skull defects in patients with severe head injuries are very challenging to manage. The dilemma when deciding whether to perform a definitive reconstruction is how long to wait for physiological recovery before an intervention complicates the situation. The inability of such patients to tolerate prolonged anesthetic exposure is a driving factor for performing the minimal intervention necessary to facilitate recovery. Herein, we present a case involving the successful immediate reconstructive treatment of a severely head-injured adolescent with a composite scalp defect secondary to trauma. A 14-year-old boy sustained a severe head injury from a motor vehicle accident with a composite scalp defect in the right fronto-parietal region. The frontal lobe was exposed, and the right eye was crushed and devitalized. The patient was deeply unconscious for 3 days, without any significant improvements before reconstructive surgery was proposed due to fear of possible meningitis resulting from the exposure of brain structures. We successfully managed the patient with a fronto-parieto-occipital flap, after which the patient promptly recovered consciousness.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.67-70
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• 2007

Aconitum is an extremely dangerous plant that contains various toxic diterpenoid alkaloids, primarily concentrated in the roots. We report a case of acute intoxication of a 60-year-old man admitted to our emergency department after ingestion of a large amount of homemade aconitine decoction. At presentation about one hour after intake, the patient was unconscious and electrocardiographic analysis showed a ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation. Several times defibrillation was applied and antiarrhythmic agents were administered, but the patient still exhibited a refractory ventricular fibrillation and failed to return to spontaneous circulation. Sustained cardiopulmonary resuscitation finally produced a pulsatile cardiac rhythm at two hours after intake. The patient was discharged from our hospital on day 8. The authors stress that clinicians must be aware of the possible occurrence of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmia in cases of aconitine intoxication and be prepared to persist with prolonged CPR as necessary.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.60-65
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• 2007

An unconscious 5-year-old girl was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. She was neglected by her parents; she suffered from inadequate nutritional, medical and emotional care. The girl appeared to be emotionally detached, dehydrated and malnourished; she had edematous extremities, moderately bruised skin and brittle coarse hair. Laboratory testing showed electrolyte imbalance, anemia, pneumonia, copper deficiency, and liver dysfunction in addition to severe protein-energy malnutrition (PEM). Medical intervention was followed by improvement of most of the symptoms. During the rehabilitation phase, the patient showed a voracious appetite and gained weight too fast. The liver became enlarged and the patient developed a mild fever due to excessive nutrition. The microcytic anemia with severe PEM did not responded to iron supplementation possibly due to the copper deficiency. Addition of copper without zinc and iron helped to improve the anemia. The patient was discharged to a childcare center where she received cognitive and psychosocial therapy.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.45-48
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• 2004

Paraquat, a widely used herbicide, is extremely toxic, causing multiple organ failure in human. Many treatment modality has been used, but now paraquat is very fatal drug. Elimination rate of plasma paraquat seems to be a factor for the survival rate. So early diagnosis and early treatment are very important. Plasma paraquat concentration could be measured by radioimmunoassay. But it is impossible that the test was done at Emergency room and the result was checked immediately. There was relation between plasma paraquat concentrations and urine paraquat concentration. Because of its simplicity and low cost, urine paraquat concentration test is complementary to the plasma concentration measurement. If the patient has psychotic problem or unconscious mental state, and is observed unexplained dyspnea and oral ulcer, urine paraquat test is very important to rule out acute paraquat intoxication. We experienced a patient who was presented as unexplained acute renal failure initially and was diagnosed as paraquat intoxication later.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.249-252
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• 2001

Total spinal anesthesia is a serious life threatening complication of spinal and epidural anesthesia. We report an accidental total spinal anesthesia developed during a thoracic epidural block in a practitioner's pain clinic. A 69-year-old female with post-herpetic neuralgia was treated by a thoracic epidural block. A thoracic tapping for the epidural block was performed in the right lateral position at a level between $T_{5-6}$, using a 23 gauge Tuohy needle. After the epidural space was identified, a mixed solution of 10 ml of 0.3% lidocaine and 20 mg of triamcinolone was injected into the epidural space. After removal of the syringe, fluid was dripping through the needle. The patient subsequently complained of dyspnea and dizziness, and she became unconscious. She was intubated immediately and cardiopulmonary resuscitation was performed because there was no pulse palpable. The patient recovered an hour after transfer to a general hospital and was discharged without any further complication 19 days later.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.201-208
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• 2001

The somatoform disorder are distinguished by physical symptoms suggesting a medical condition, yet the symptoms are not fully explained by the medical condition, by substance use, or by another mental disorder. This is that an unconscious intrapsychic conflict, wish, or need is converted to a somatic symptom and clinically express various symptoms such as headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting dyspepsia, diarrhea and constipation, etc. We report a case of somatoform disorder patient, who was 9 years old female and complained of nausea, vomiting and dysdipsia. She had her case diagnosed as somatoform disorder in Yong-dong severance hospital and took anti-depressant (chlomipramine) with counseling for 2 months. After treatment, her emotional instability and depression were improved, yet the somatic symptoms remain same. We diagnosed her case as vomiting induced by deficiency of the stomach(胃虛嘔吐) and administered Bihe-yin(比和飮) to her. After administration of Bihe-yin(比和飮) for one month, her somatic symptoms of nausea, vomiting and dysdipsia were almost disappeared and she got acquired her confidence in school life.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.221-223
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• 2010

C1 lateral mass and C2 pedicle (C1LM-C2P) fixation is a relatively new technique for atlantoaxial stabilization. Complications from C1LM-C2P fixation have been rarely reported. The authors report unilateral rod migration into the posterior fossa as a rare complication after this posterior C1-C2 stabilization technique. A 23-year-old man suffered severe head trauma and cervical spine injury after vehicle accident. He was unconscious for 2 months and regained consciousness. He underwent C1LM-C2P fixation for stabilization of type II odontoid process fracture described by Harms. The patient recovered without a major complication. Twenty months after operation, brain computed tomogram performed at psychology department for disability evaluation showed rod migration into the right cerebellar hemisphere. The patient had mild occipital headache and dizziness only regarding the misplaced rod. He refused further operation for rod removal. To our knowledge, this complication is the first report regarding rod migration after Harms method. We should be kept in mind the possibility of rod migration, and C1LM-C2P fixation should be performed with meticulous technique and long-term follow-up.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.729-734
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• 2008

Purpose: The evaluation and management of a completely transected tendon of the hand is relatively clear. In most cases, the integrity is assessed by physical examination(eg, broken normal cascade, motion loss) but occasionally, It happens in troubles. because of pain, limited patient cooperation(eg, child, unconscious patient), and other associated injuries(eg, fractures, foreign bodies). Methods: From september 2006 to August 2007, 28 patients were evaluated with real time ultrasonography preoperatively and postoperatively. Twenty eight patients with injured tendon were evaluated using an HDI 5000 Sono CT(Philips Medical Systems, Bothell, WA) machine with a high resolution, 7.5MHz hockey stick linear probe. Dynamic evaluation was performed in real time. Results: Surgery was performed after the ultrasonographic evaluation. Sonographic diagnosis and intraoperative findings were correlated. Ultrasonographic findings show tendon discontinuity, gaps, and fluid collection. Conclusion: We conclude that ultrasonography is helpful in evaluating and managing acute tendon injury. Especially, in cases of completely lacerated tendon, ultrasonography can identify the location of the proximal tendon stump and partial lacerated tendon, ultrasonographic diagnostic tool can decrease misdiagnosis.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.885-892
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• 2016

Few studies have reported the effects of traditional Korean medical (TKM) therapy in patients with traumatic brain hemorrhage. The patient was a 93-year-old female who was unconscious after a traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and was not a candidate for any surgical treatment because of her age. We treated her with acupuncture and herbal medicine. After 28 days of treatment, we observed an improvement in consciousness on the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and in other symptoms (aphasia, weakness in both legs, and headache).

• The Academic Congress of Korean Shoulder and Elbow Society
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• 2009.03a
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• pp.160-160
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• 2009

Compartment syndrome is not uncommon in the forearm or lower extremity, but it is relatively rare in the upper arm. This rarity might delay the diagnosis, especially in the unconscious or intoxicated patient. Therefore, a high index of suspicion is needed to make an accurate, early diagnosis. Although excessive muscle strain leading to localized compartment syndrome is seldom encountered in the upper arm, three cases of compartment syndrome in the upper arm after blunt injury have been reported. Interestingly, there were no bony injuries in any of these patients. However, there are only two reports of isolated dorsal compartment syndrome after blunt trauma. The present report presents the case of a patient who had blunt trauma to the upper arm that resulted in the development of compartment syndrome in the isolated dorsal compartment of the upper arm.