• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.289-299
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• 2016

This study is aimed to report two cases of chronic kidney disease treated with Korean traditional medicine. We treated the patients with traditional herbal medicine and other treatments including acupuncture. We measured serum creatinine, estimated glomerular filtration rate(eGFR), blood urea nitrogen(BUN), albumin, red blood cell count(RBC), hemoglobin for several times during admission. Case 1 patient was diagnosed with right medulla infarction, bladder stone, chronic kidney disease. The symptoms were quadriplegia, right side dysesthesia, drowsiness and edema. Case 2 patient was diagnosed with acute cerebral infarction, hypertension, chronic kidney disease. The symptoms were right side weakness, delusion, anorexia, low back pain. Case 1 patient was hospitalized for 80 days, and case 2 patient was for 31 days. Korean traditional medicine decreased serum creatinine and BUN level, improved eGFR, increased RBC and hemoglobin. The symptoms of chronic kidney disease such as edema, general body weakness and anorexia were also improved. These cases suggest that Korean traditional medicine can be effective and safe for patients with chronic kidney disease.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.31 no.12
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• pp.1159-1164
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• 1998

Background: Although operative outcome is progressing due to the development of operative techniques and myocardial protection, some patients face an increased morbidity and mortality. Therefore, it has become increasingly important to predict the operative morbidity and mortality. Material and Method: This retrospective study reports the results of risk factor analysis of morbidity and mortality of 137 consecutive patients who were underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery(CABG). Preoperative variables were age, sex, preoperative myocardial infarction, operative priority, left ventricular ejection fraction, obesity and triple vessel disease. Postoperative morbidities were arrhythmia, wound infection, cerebral infarction, prolonged postoperative hospitalization, pneumonia, acute renal failure, prolonged use of ventilator and operative death. Result: The mean age of total patients was 56.7 years, from 27 to 74. The overall mortality was 6.6%(9 of 137) with the mortality of 3.9%(5 of 128) for elective operation, and 44.4%(4 of 9) for emergent or urgent cases. The morbidity of patients over 65 years was stastistically higher than that of under 65 years. Sex distribution showed no difference in morbidity, however operative mortality rate was slightly higher in women (5/41, 12.19%) than in men(4/96, 4.17%). Morbidity of emergent or urgent operation was 100%, much higher than that of the elective operation. Mortality of the patients whose left ventricular ejection fraction was under 50% was higher than that of those over 50%. Conclusion: We concluded that the risk factors of morbidity after CABG were old age above 65 years and emergent or urgent operation, and that risk factors of mortality were low left venticular ejection fraction under 50% and emergent or urgent operation.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.215-219
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• 2011

Background: Selective antegrade perfusion via axillary artery cannulation along with circulatory arrest under deep hypothermia has became a recent trend for performing surgery on the ascending aorta and aortic arch and when direct aortic cannulation is not feasible. The authors of this study tried using moderate hypothermia with right brachial and femoral artery perfusion to complement the pitfalls of single axillary artery cannulation and deep hypothermia. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 36 patients who received ascending aorta or aortic arch replacement between July 2005 and May 2010. The adverse outcomes included operative mortality, permanent neurologic dysfunction and temporary neurologic dysfunction. Results: Of these 36 patients, 32 (88%) were treated as emergencies. The mean age of the patients was 61.9 years (ranging from 29 to 79 years) and there were 19 males and 17 females. The principal diagnoses for the operation were acute type A aortic dissection (31, 86%) and aneurysmal disease without aortic dissection (5, 14%). The performed operations were ascending aorta replacement (9, 25%), ascending aorta and hemiarch replacement (13, 36%), ascending aorta and total arch replacement (13, 36%) and total arch replacement only (1, 3%). The mean cardiopulmonary bypass time was $209.4{\pm}85.1$ minutes, and the circulatory arrest with selective antegrade perfusion time was $36.1{\pm}24.2$ minutes. The lowest core temperature was $24{\pm}2.1^{\circ}C$. There were five deaths within 30 post-op days (mortality: 13.8%). Two patients (5.5%) had minor neurologic dysfunction and six patients, including three patients who had preoperative cerebral infarction or unconsciousness, had major neurologic dysfunction (16.6%). Conclusion: When direct aortic cannulation is not feasible for ascending aorta and aortic arch replacement, the right brachial and femoral artery can be used as arterial perfusion routes with the patient under moderate hypothermia. This technique resulted in acceptable outcomes.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.11
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• pp.1875-1885
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• 2021

Objective: Central nervous system involvement in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been increasingly reported. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the incidence of radiologically demonstrated neurologic complications and detailed neuroimaging findings associated with COVID-19. Materials and Methods: A systematic literature search of MEDLINE/PubMed and EMBASE databases was performed up to September 17, 2020, and studies evaluating neuroimaging findings of COVID-19 using brain CT or MRI were included. Several cohort-based outcomes, including the proportion of patients with abnormal neuroimaging findings related to COVID-19 were evaluated. The proportion of patients showing specific neuroimaging findings was also assessed. Subgroup analyses were also conducted focusing on critically ill COVID-19 patients and results from studies that used MRI as the only imaging modality. Results: A total of 1394 COVID-19 patients who underwent neuroimaging from 17 studies were included; among them, 3.4% of the patients demonstrated COVID-19-related neuroimaging findings. Olfactory bulb abnormalities were the most commonly observed (23.1%). The predominant cerebral neuroimaging finding was white matter abnormality (17.6%), followed by acute/subacute ischemic infarction (16.0%), and encephalopathy (13.0%). Significantly more critically ill patients had COVID-19-related neuroimaging findings than other patients (9.1% vs. 1.6%; p = 0.029). The type of imaging modality used did not significantly affect the proportion of COVID-19-related neuroimaging findings. Conclusion: Abnormal neuroimaging findings were occasionally observed in COVID-19 patients. Olfactory bulb abnormalities were the most commonly observed finding. Critically ill patients showed abnormal neuroimaging findings more frequently than the other patient groups. White matter abnormalities, ischemic infarctions, and encephalopathies were the common cerebral neuroimaging findings.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.313-323
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• 2009

Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) has been demonstrated to be a practical method for the diagnosis of various brain diseases such as acute infarction, brain tumor, and white matter disease. In this study, we used two techniques to examine the average signal intensity (SI) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of the brains of patients who ranged in age from 10 to 60 years. Our results indicated that the average SI was the highest in amygdala (as derived from DWI), whereas that in the cerebrospinal fluid was the lowest. The average ADC was the highest in the cerebrospinal fluid, whereas the lowest measurement was derived from the pons. The average SI and ADC were higher in $T_2^*$-DW-EPI than in FLAIR-DW-EPI. The higher the b-value, the smaller the average difference in both imaging techniques; the lower the b-value, the greater the average difference. Also, comparative analysis of the brains of patients who had experienced cerebral infarction showed no distinct lesion in the general MR image over time. However, there was a high SI in apparent weighted images. Analysis of other brain diseases (e.g., bleeding, acute, subacute, chronic infarction) indicated SI variance in accordance with characteristics of the two techniques. The higher the SI, the lower the ADC. Taken together, the value of SI and ADC in accordance with frequently occurring areas and various brain disease varies based on the b-value and imaging technique. Because they provide additional useful information in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with various brain diseases through signal recognition, the proper imaging technique and b-value are important for the detection and interpretation of subacute stroke and other brain diseases.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.67-80
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• 2000

The purpose of this study was to identify hindlimb muscle atrophy in stroke induced rat and determine the effect of endurance exercise on body weight, weight of hindlimb muscle during 7 days after stroke induction. Thirty four male Sprague-Dawley rats with 200-270g body weight were divided into four groups : control, control+exercise(Con+Ex), stroke, and exercise after stroke(St+Ex) group. The control group and Con+Ex group received sham operation and the stroke group and St+Ex group received right MCA occlusion operation by using silicon-coated probe. The Con+Ex and St+Ex groups ran on a treadmill for 20min/day at 10m/min and $10^{\circ}grade$. Daily body weight and diet intake were measured every morning for 7 days. Cerebral infarction of stroke and St+Ex groups were identified by staining with TCC for 30minutes. The data were analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney U test using the SPSSWIN 9.0 program. Body weight of the control group at the 7th day increased by 18.3% significantly from the first day of experiment, that of the stroke group at the 7th day decreased by 6.7% significantly compared to the day of receiving right MCA occlusion operation. Body weight of the Con+Ex group at the 7th day increased by 10.3% significantly form the first day of experiment, that of St+Ex group at the 7th day also increased by 13.4% significantly compared to the day of receiving right MCA occlusion operation. The total amount of diet in stroke group decreased significantly compared to that of St+Ex and that of control group. In stroke group the wet weight of both sides of soleus, plantaris, and gastrocnemius muscles decreased significantly compared to that of control group. The relative weight of affected(left) plantaris and gastrocnemius muscles decreased significantly compared to that of the control group. The difference between the weight of affected and unaffected soleus, plantaris, and gastrocnemius muscles were not significant in stroke group. The wet weight of right gastrocnemius muscles in Con+Ex group increased compared to that of control group. The relative weight of right gastrocnemius muscle increased significantly compared to that of the control group. The wet weight of St+Ex group increased significantly compared to that of the stroke group in both sides of soleus, plantaris, and gastrocnemius muscles. The relative weight of affected plantaris muscle increased significantly compared to that of the stroke group. The difference between the weight of affected and unaffected soleus, plantaris, and gastrocnemius muscles were not significant in St+Ex group. Body weight and wet weight of soleus, plantaris, and gastrocnemius muscles in the St+Ex group did not recover to the values of control group. Based on these results, it can be suggested that endurance exercise during acute stage of stroke can reduce muscle atrophy related to denervation, inactivity and undernutrition.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.57 no.5
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• pp.342-349
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• 2015

Background : Higher reperfusion rates have been established with endovascular treatment for acute ischemic stroke patients. There are limited data on the comparative performance of mechanical thrombectomy devices. This study aimed to analyse the efficacy and safety of the stent retriever device (Solitaire stent) by comparing procedure time, angiographic outcome, complication rate and long term clinical outcome with previous chemical thrombolysis and mechanical thrombectomy using penumbra system. Method : A retrospective single-center analysis was undertaken of all consecutive patients who underwent chemical thrombolysis and mechanical thrombectomy using Penumbra or Solitaire stent retriever from March 2009 to March 2014. Baseline characteristics, rate of successful recanalization (modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction score 2b-3), symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage, procedure time, mortality and independent functional outcomes ($mRS{\leq}2$) at 3 month were compared across the three method. Results : Our cohort included 164 patients, mechanical thrombectomy using stent retriever device had a significant impact on recanalization rate and functional independence at 3 months. In unadjusted analysis mechanical thrombectomy using Solitaire stent retriever showed higher recanalization rate than Penumbra system and chemical thrombolysis (75% vs. 64.2% vs. 49.4%, p=0.03) and higher rate of functional independence at 3 month (53.1% vs. 37.7% vs. 35.4%, p=0.213). In view of the interrelationships between all predictors of variables associated with a good clinical outcome, when the chemical thrombolysis was used as a reference, in multiple logistic regression analysis, the use of Solitaire stent retriever showed higher odds of independent functional outcome [odds ratio (OR) 2.62, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.96-7.17; p=0.061] in comparison with penumbra system (OR 1.57, 95% CI 0.63-3.90; p=0.331). Conclusion : Our initial data suggest that mechanical thrombectomy using stent retriever is superior to the mechanical thrombectomy using penumbra system and conventional chemical thrombolysis in achieving higher rates of reperfusion and better outcomes. Randomized clinical trials are needed to establish the actual benefit to specific patient populations.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.60 no.6
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• pp.723-729
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• 2017

Objective : Acute subdural hematoma (ASDH) is generally considered a condition that should be managed surgically. However, some patients initially receive conservative treatment, a subset of whom require surgical intervention later. This study aimed to evaluate the predictors of delayed surgical intervention in ASDH patients who are initially managed conservatively. Methods : From January 2007 to December 2015, 842 patients diagnosed with ASDH were treated at our institution. Among them, 158 patients with convexity ASDH were initially treated conservatively. Patients were divided into a delayed surgery group and a conservative group. Demographic characteristics, past medication and medical histories, and radiological and laboratory data were collected by retrospective chart review. Independent risk factors were identified with univariate and multivariate analyses. Results : Twenty-eight patients (17.7%) underwent delayed surgical intervention. Their mean age was 69.0 years, and 82.1% were male. Hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and heart disease prevalence and use of anti-platelet agents did not significantly differ from the conservative group. However, age (p=0.024), previous cerebral infarction history (p=0.026), increased maximal hematoma thickness (p<0.001), midline shifting (p=0.001) and accompanying subarachnoid hemorrhage (p=0.022) on initial brain computed tomography (CT) scan, low hemoglobin level (p<0.001), high leukocyte count (p=0.004), and low glucose level (p=0.002) were significantly associated with delayed surgical intervention. In multivariate analysis, increased maximal hematoma thickness (odds ratio [OR]=1.279, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.075-1.521; p=0.006), low hemoglobin level (OR=0.673, 95% CI 0.467-0.970; p=0.034), and high leukocyte count (OR=1.142, 95% CI 1.024-1.272; p=0.017) were independent risk factors for delayed surgical intervention. Conclusion : Due to the high likelihood of delayed surgical intervention among minimal ASDH patients with a thicker hematoma on initial brain CT, lower hemoglobin level, and higher leukocyte count, these patients should receive more careful observation.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.284-293
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• 2007

Objectives : Hypertension(HTN), diabetes mellitus(DM) and hyperlipidemia(HL) are the most common risk factors of cerebro-vascular attack(CVA). To prevent CVA, early diagnosis (awareness before CVA) of HTN, DM and HL is essential, and for the effective early diagnosis we need to analyze the data of CVA patients concerned with HTN, DM and HL. In this study, we studied characteristics of patients early diagnosed before CVA. Methods : We analyzed the data of 363 patients with acute ischemic stroke from Hanbang Stroke Registry supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of Korea. Subjects' enrollment was done in the oriental medical hospitals of 3 universities located in the metropolitan region from October 2005 to October 2006. We analyzed all registered data about HTN. DM and HL, for example, how many patients were aware of their HTN, DM or HL before CVA, differences in characteristics of early diagnosed patients, effects of early diagnosis on CAV, etc. Results : Patients aware of their HTN. DM and HL before CVA have more past history and family history about HTN, DM or HL. Early diagnosis rate of HL is lower than HTN and DM, and early diagnosed HL patients were younger and deucated longer than patients who weren't aware of their HL before CVA. These results mean that publicity is the key to promoting early diagnosis rates of HTN, DM and HL. In DM and HL, early diagnosed patients had more SVO type cerebral infarction than patients who weren't aware of risk factors. We can thus see that early diagnosis even affects CVA types. Conclusion : This work helps us to understand the realities and importance of early diagnosis of HTN, DM and HL before CVA. There should be further research, which can contribute to much more improved early diagnosis rates of HTN, DM and HL.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.62 no.6
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• pp.643-648
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• 2019

Objective : Shunt-dependent hydrocephalus (SdHCP) is a well-known complication of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). The risk factors for SdHCP have been widely investigated, but few risk scoring systems have been established to predict SdHCP. This study was performed to investigate the risk factors for SdHCP and devise a risk scoring system for use before aneurysm obliteration. Methods : We reviewed the data of 301 consecutive patients who underwent aneurysm obliteration following SAH from September 2007 to December 2016. The exclusion criteria for this study were previous aneurysm obliteration, previous major cerebral infarction, the presence of a cavum septum pellucidum, a midline shift of >10 mm on initial computed tomography (CT), and in-hospital mortality. We finally recruited 254 patients and analyzed the following data according to the presence or absence of SdHCP : age, sex, history of hypertension and diabetes mellitus, Hunt-Hess grade, Fisher grade, aneurysm size and location, type of treatment, bicaudate index on initial CT, intraventricular hemorrhage, cerebrospinal fluid drainage, vasospasm, and modified Rankin scale score at discharge. Results : In the multivariate analysis, acute HCP (bicaudate index of ${\geq}0.2$) (odds ratio [OR], 6.749; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.843-16.021; p=0.000), Fisher grade of 4 (OR, 4.108; 95% CI, 1.044-16.169; p=0.043), and an age of ${\geq}50years$ (OR, 3.938; 95% CI, 1.375-11.275; p=0.011) were significantly associated with the occurrence of SdHCP. The risk scoring system using above parameters of acute HCP, Fisher grade, and age (AFA score) assigned 1 point to each (total score of 0-3 points). SdHCP occurred in 4.3% of patients with a score of 0, 8.5% with a score of 1, 25.5% with a score of 2, and 61.7% with a score of 3 (p=0.000). In the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the area under the curve (AUC) for the risk scoring system was 0.820 (p=0.080; 95% CI, 0.750-0.890). In the internal validation of the risk scoring system, the score reliably predicted SdHCP (AUC, 0.895; p=0.000; 95% CI, 0.847-0.943). Conclusion : Our results suggest that the herein-described AFA score is a useful tool for predicting SdHCP before aneurysm obliteration. Prospective validation is needed.