• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• v.50 no.11
• /
• pp.1110-1115
• /
• 2007

Purpose : Idiopathic central diabetes insipidus (CDI) is defined in CDI patients without definite etiology. Some patients initially diagnosed as idiopathic CDI progressed to organic causes. We reviewed clinical, endocrinological, and radiological courses of 20 patients who was initially diagnosed as idiopathic CDI, to assess the predicting factors for progression to brain tumors. Methods : We reviewed the medical data and followed up their clinical courses in 20 CDI patients who had no definite organic etiology, such as malformation, tumor, at the time of diagnosis. Results : Our study included 15 males and 5 females. Mean age of CDI diagnosis was $7.8{\pm}3.6$ (2.1-14.7) years. Mean follow-up duration was $8.6{\pm}5.1$ (1.5-18) years. Six (30%) patients were diagnosed as brain tumor during follow-up. Ten (50%) of 20 patients had growth hormone deficiency. Multiple pituitary hormone deficiencies were found more frequently in brain tumor patients than idiopathic patients (60% vs 7%, P=0.037). Pituitary stalk thickening (PST) and loss of posterior pituitary signal were observed in 9 patients (47%), respectively. The newly development of PST was observed in patients diagnosed as brain tumor. Conclusion : About 30% of idiopathic CDI patients progress to organic disease such as germ cell tumor or histiocytosis. If there are multiple anterior pituitary hormone deficiency or newly development of PST, more close and careful follow-up is needed.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.22 no.6
• /
• pp.1626-1632
• /
• 2008

Among patients who are receiving treatments at an oriental medical hospital for various symptoms and diseases, patients whose main disease is accompanied by metabolic syndrome with abnormal liver function. This research was performed in order to observe the progression of changes in the liver function and serum lipid profile after the oriental medical treatments to patients who have been receiving oriental medical treatment for various other diseases and have been diagnosed as having metabolic syndrome at their first visit to the hospital based on NCEP ATP III diagnosis criteria and WHO Asia Pacific region criteria. Total number of subject patients were 39cases(mean age:55.58${\pm}$2.09 years) which had 20 male and 19 female. For the references for hepatic enzyme levels and blood lipid profile were measured in before treatment and four times after treatments(every 2.31${\pm}$06.17 weeks). Serum AST was 48.86${\pm}$7.46 IU/L before oriental medical treatment. After the treatment, 40.63${\pm}$4.69, 43.12${\pm}$5.46, 37.82${\pm}$4.52 IU/L were measured where although the level decreased to the normal level compared to pre-treatment, the value was not significant statistically(P>0.05). ALT was 66.26${\pm}$11.01 IU/L before oriental medical treatment. After the treatment 62.10${\pm}$8.20, 61.10${\pm}$8.76, 43.79${\pm}$5.68 were measured where although the level decreased, abnormally high level was maintained. The last result was significant statistically(P<0.05) compared to pre-treatment. ALP was 193.06${\pm}$14.20 IU/L before oriental medical treatment. After the treatment, 176.80${\pm}$6.48, 177.46${\pm}$11.81, 162.41${\pm}$9.06 where although compared to pre-treatment the last result was significant statistically(P<0.05), the change was within the normal range. ${\gamma}$-GGT was 87.83${\pm}$12.59 IU/L before oriental medical treatment. After the treatment, progressively near normal level was achieved with 118.73${\pm}$46.45, 85.03${\pm}$17.12, 70.64${\pm}$10.93 and the last result was statistically significant compared to pre-treatment (P<0.05). Blood triglyceride was 217.63${\pm}$32.18 mg/dL before oriental medical treatment. After treatment 215.09${\pm}$22.18, 189.93${\pm}$22.44, 191.22${\pm}$18.51 where abnormal values continued even after treatment although results was not statistically significant compared to pre-treatment(P>0.05). Total-cholesterol was 197.28${\pm}$9.24 mg/dL before oriental medical treatment, after treatment 201.55${\pm}$11.13, 186.87${\pm}$8.77 and 186.68${\pm}$7.61 were measured that results were not statistically significant compared to pre-treatment(P>0.05). HDL-cholesterol was 41.88${\pm}$2.38 mg/dL before oriental medical treatment, after treatment 48.75${\pm}$4.22, 44.10${\pm}$1.91, 48.00${\pm}$2.06 the results were not statistically significant compared to pre-treatment(P>0.05). LDL-cholesterol was 111.66${\pm}$13.08 mg/dL before oriental medical treatment, after treatment 109.94${\pm}$10.18, 101.79${\pm}$8.63, 104.00${\pm}$6.98 the results were not statistically significant compared to pre-treatment(P>0.05). With such results, even if common oriental medical treatments were given to metabolic syndrome patients with abnormal liver function, the liver function was confirmed not to be aggravated, and the concentration of lipids in the blood was confirmed not to be affected in most patients.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.44 no.4
• /
• pp.776-784
• /
• 1997

Background : Various combinations of treatment modalities have been reported in stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). however, the standard treatment modality has not established yet. Recently, the efficacy of concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy has been reported in locally advanced lung cancer. We evaluate the response rate, toxicity, and survival of concurrent chemotherapy with etoposide and cisplatin(EP) and radiation therapy for unresectable stage III NSCLC. Method : Between October 1995 and December 1996, 32 patients with histologically proven unresectable stage III NSCLC without malignant pleural effusion were entered into this study. Twenty-nine patients were eligible for the response, survival, and toxicity analysis. Induction was two cycles of chemotherapy with etoposide and cisplatin plus concurrent chest RT to 4500cGy. Resection was attempted if the clinical response offered surgical resectability. Boost radiation therapy upto 5940cGy and one cycle of EP were performed if the disease were stable or responsive but still unresectable. Results : Of 29 eligible patients, 22(75.9%) showed partial response(PR). The progression free interval was 6.3months(range 1.1 to 19.5months). Surgical resection was performed in one patient. The median survival was 12.1months and one-year survival rate was 50.6%. The major toxicity was leukopenia($\geq$ grade 3, 46%). Thrombocytopenia over grade 3 was found in 11%. Radiation pneumonitis occurred in 13 patients(46%). Conclusion : Concurrent chemotherapy(EP) plus radiotherapy was effective and tolerable in the treatment of unresectable stage III NSCLC.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.13-24
• /
• 1994

Despite optimal local therapy such as surgery and/or radiotherapy, the long term outcome is poor for patients with advanced squamous cell carcinomma of head and neck, due to frequent loco-regional recurrence and distant metastases. We studied to determine whether the combination chemotherapy, especially as an adjuvant chemotherapy, would improve the survival of these patients. Between January, 1986 and December, 1992, 57 patients with previously untreated, locally advanced squamous cell arcinoma of head and neck were assigned to receive 2-3 cycles of induction chemotherapy consisting of 5-fluorouracil(F) and cisplatin(P) every 3 weeks and standard local therapy such as surgery and/or radiotherapy followed by adjuvant chemotherapy with the same FP regimens. Of the 57 enroled patients, 45 patients were evaluable. The obtained results were as following: 1) Among 45 evaluable patients, 18 patients finished all treatment protocol including adjuvant chemotherapy and 27 patients had no adjuvant chemotherapy. The difference of age, sex, performance status, disease stage, and tumor differentiation was not significant statistically between adjuvant chemotherapy group and no-adjuvant chemotherapy group. 2) After induction chemotherapy, 7/45(15.4%), 30/45(67%) achieved complete remission and partial remission respectively with 82.4% overall response rates in entire patients. 3) The 4year progression free survival was 43.3% in adjuvant chemotherapy group and 24.1% in no-adjuvant chemotherapy group(p>0.05). The 4year overall survival was 56.9% and 25.5% respectively(p>0.05). There was no significant different in the patterns of local recurrence and distant metastasis between the two groups. 4) Adverse reactions from combination chemotherapy included nausea, vomiting, mucositis, diarrhea and hematologic bone marrow depression. These were mild and tolerated by patients, and these was no episode of any life threatening toxicities. In conclusion, adjuvant chemotherapy after induction chemotherapy and local therapy did not show statistically significant survival improvement, but there was trend of prolongation of survival when compared to no adjuvant chemotherapy. Thus, large scale phase III randomized controlled studies are strongly recommended.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
• /
• v.3 no.2
• /
• pp.153-160
• /
• 1999

Purpose : Present study was undertaken to find out significance of clinical presentation, initial laboratory data and renal biopsy findings on subsequent clinical course of IgA nephropathy in children. Methods : Clinical and laboratory data were analysed retrospectively from 60 children who have been admitted to the Pediatric Department of Kyungpook National University Hospital for the past 11 years and diagnosed as IgA nephropathy. Renal biopsy findings were graded according to the pathologic subclass proposed by Haas. Results : Pathologic grading according to Haas subclassification showed 10 cases in subclass I, 36 in II, 12 in IV and 2 in V and none in subclass II. Sex distribution showed male predominance (male to female ratio = 3 : 1) and mean age at onset of disease was $10.4{\pm}2.8$ years. Episodes of gross hematuria was seen in 71.7% and IgA level increased in 28.3% of children and these were not associated with pathologic grading nor clinical outcomes. With increasing subclass grading, serum protein and albumin decreased and 24 hours urinary protein excretion increased. Normalization of urinalysis (disappearance of hematuria) was seen in 14% at 1-2 years and 37.1% at 3-4 years of follow up period. In 3 cases, renal function deteriorated progressively and they belonged one each to the Haas subclass III, IV and V. Conclusion : In children with IgA nephropathy, progression to chronic renal failure appears to be quite high and pathologic grading according to Haas' subclassification seems to predict patient's outcome faily well. However, firm conclusion cannot be drawn from present study due to the small numbers of patients and short follow-up period. Therefore further multicenter study involving larger numbers of patients and longer periods of follow-up over 10 years was to be undertaken.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
• /
• v.24 no.2
• /
• pp.96-102
• /
• 2006

Purpose: A retrospective study was performed to evaluate the efficiency and feasibility of twice daily radiation therapy plus concurrent chemotherapy for limited-stage small cell lung cancer in terms of treatment response, survival, patterns of failure, and acute toxicities. Materials and Methods: Between February 1993 and October 2002, 76 patients of histologically proven limited-stage small cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC) were treated with twice daily radiation therapy and concurrent chemotherapy. Male was in 84% (64/76), and median age was 57 years (range, 32-75 years). Thoracic radiation therapy consisted of 120 or 150 cGy per fraction, twice a day at least 6 hours apart, 5 days a week. Median total dose was 50.4 Gy (range, 45-51 Gy). Concurrent chemotherapy consisted of CAV ($cytoxan\;1000mg/m^2,\;adriamycin\;40mg/m^2,\;vincristine\;1mg/m^2$) alternating with PE ($cisplatin\;60mg/m^2,\;etoposide\;100mg/m^2$) or PE alone, every 3 weeks. The median cycle of chemotherapy was six (range, 1-9 cycle). Prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) was recommended to the patients who achieved a complete response (CR). PCI scheme was 25 Gy/10 fractions. Median follow up was 18 months (range, 1-136 months). Results: Overall response rate was 86%; complete response in 39 (52%) and partial response in 26 (34%) patients. The median overall survival was 23 months. One, two, and three year overall survival rate was 72%, 50% and 30%, respectively. In univariate analysis, the treatment response was revealed as a significant favorable prognostic factor for survival (p<0.001). Grade 3 or worse acute toxicities were leukopenia in 46 (61%), anemia in 5 (6%), thrombocytopenia in 10 (13%), esophagitis in 5 (6%), and pulmonary toxicity in 2 (2%) patients. Of 73 evaluable patients, 40 (55%) patients subsequently had disease progression. The most frequent first site of distant metastasis was brain. Conclusion: Twice daily radiation therapy plus concurrent chemotherapy produced favorable response and survival for LS-SCLC patients with tolerable toxicities. To improve the treatment response, which proved as a significant prognostic factor for survival, there should be further investigations about fractionation scheme, chemotherapy regimens and compatible chemoradiotherapy schedule.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.42 no.3
• /
• pp.292-298
• /
• 2009

Background: Surgery for mitral valve disease in children carries both technical and clinical difficulties that are due to both the wide spectrum of morphologic abnormalities and the high incidence of associated cardiac anomalies. The purpose of this study is to assess the outcome of mitral valve surgery for treating congenital mitral regurgitation in children. Material and Method: From 1997 to 2007, 22 children (mean age: 5.4 years) who had congenital mitral regurgitation underwent mitral valve repair. The median age of the patients was 5.4 years old and four patients (18%) were under 12 months of age. 15 patients (68%) had cardiac anomalies. There were 13 cases of ventricular septal defect, 1 case of atrial septal defect and 1 case of supravalvar aortic stenosis. The grade of the preoperative mitral valve regurgitation was II in 4 patients, III in 15 patients and IV in 3. The regurgitation was due to leaflet prolapse in 12 patients, annular dilatation in 4 patients and restrictive leaflet motion in 5 patients. The preoperative MV Z-value and the regurgitation grade were compared with those obtained at follow-up. Result: MV repair was possible in all the patients. 19 patients required reduction annuloplasty and 18 patients required valvuloplasty that included shortening of the chordae, papillary muscle splitting, artificial chordae insertion and cleft closure. There were no early or late deaths. The mitral valve regurgitation after surgery was improved in all patients (absent=10, grade I=5, II=5, III=2). MV repair resulted in reduction of the mitral valve Z-value ($2.2{\pm}2.1$ vs. $0.7{\pm}2.3$, respectively, p<0.01). During the mid-term follow-up period of 3.68 years, reoperation was done in three patients (one with repair and two with replacement) and three patients showed mild progression of their mitral reguration. Conclusion: our experience indicates that mitral valve repair in children with congenital mitral valve regurgitation is an effective and reliable surgical method with a low reoperation rate. A good postoperative outcome can be obtained by preoperatively recognizing the intrinsic mitral valve pathophysiology detected on echocardiography and with the well-designed, aggressive application of the various reconstruction techniques.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.63-70
• /
• 2011

Purpose: To evaluate the extent of pain response and objective response to palliative radiotherapy (RT) for bone metastases from hepatocellular carcinoma according to RT dose. Materials and Methods: From January 2007 to June 2010, palliative RT was conducted for 103 patients (223 sites) with bone metastases from hepatocellular carcinoma. Treatment sites were divided into the high RT dose and low RT dose groups by biologically effective dose (BED) of 39 $Gy_{10}$. Pain responses were evaluated using the numeric rating scale. Pain scores before and after RT were compared and categorized into 'Decreased', 'No change' and 'Increased'. Radiological objective responses were categorized into complete response, partial response, stable disease and progression using modified RECIST (Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors) criteria; the factors predicting patients' survival were analyzed. Results: The median follow-up period was 6 months (range, 0 to 46 months), and the radiologic responses existed in 67 RT sites (66.3%) and 44 sites (89.8%) in the high and low RT dose group, respectively. A dose-response relationship was found in relation to RT dose (p=0.02). Pain responses were 75% and 65% in the high and low RT dose groups, respectively. However, no statistical difference in pain response was found between the two groups (p=0.24). There were no differences in the toxicity profiles between the high and low RT dose groups. Median survival from the time of bone metastases diagnosis was 11 months (range, 0 to 46 months). The Child-Pugh classification at the time of palliative RT was the only significant predictive factor for patient survival after RT. Median survival time was 14 months under Child-Pugh A and 2 months under Child-Pugh B and C. Conclusion: The rate of radiologic objective response was higher in the high RT dose group. Palliative AT with a high dose would provide an improvement in patient quality of life through enhanced tumor response, especially in patients with proper liver function.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.38 no.3 s.248
• /
• pp.191-196
• /
• 2005

We analysed the characteristics of anastomotic sites after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) using coronary angiographies (CAGs) performed at one and five years postoperatively in the same patient population. Material and Method: Among the 219 patients who underwent isolated CABGs between January 1995 and December 1997, follow-up coronary angiograms were performed in 149 ($75.3\%$) patients at one year and in 115 ($58.1\%$) patients at five years postoperatively. FitzGibbon grading system was used to evaluate the anastomotic sites. Result: The patency rates of arterial grafts at one- and five-year were $96.5\%$ (192/199) and $93.1\%$ (134/144), which were higher than those of saphenous vein grafts (SVGs) ($82.9\%$ (224/270) and $77.5\%$ (141/182), respectively) (p=0.01). Although there were significant decreases in the patency rates between one- and five-year CAGs of both arterial and venous grafts, the proportion of FitzGibbon grade B among the SVGs was increased from $5.2\%$ (one-year) to $8.2\%$ (five-year), suggesting the progression of vein graft disease (p < 0.01). Conclusion: The patency rate of the arterial graft was higher than that of SVG in both one- and five-year CAGs. The attrition rate of saphenous vein graft was higher than arterial grafts.

• The Journal of the Korean bone and joint tumor society
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.1-11
• /
• 2003

Purpose: To analysis of the result of the treatment of metastatic diaphyseal fracture of the humerus with closed interlocking intrameduallry nailing. Materials and Methods: Among surgically treated 29 patients with pathologic or impending fracture of diaphysis of the humeurs, 13 patients (16 cases) treated with closed intramedullary interlocking nail were selected for the study. The final result of pain relief and functional recovery was evaluated by modified rating system of Perez et al. Results: Primary cancer was diagnosed after fracture was developed in 2 patients and pathologic or impending fracture was occurred average period of 28.9 months after primary cancer was diagnosed. The main primary malignancies were multiple myeloma, lung cancer and breast cancer. Mean survival after humeral metastasis was 11.7 months. The final result was superior to fair in 13 of 16 cases, and poor in 3 cases with progression of tumor spread or distant dissemination to the ipsilateral fingers. Except the latter 3 patients and other 3 patients, who died before 3 months postoperatively, bony union was achieved in 10 cases. There were no complications related to surgery. Conclusion: Closed interlocking intrameduallry nailing is accomplished with brief operative time, small amount of bleeding and provides immediate stability with resultant early return of function to the arm. Additionally it allows early postoperative irradiation. However, some of our cases shows that intramedullary nailing can accelerate tumor spread and metastases elsewhere, so that serious consideration must be given in planning this treatment. In conclusion, the functional status before fracture, life expectancy, type of tumor and extent of involvement should be carefully considered to decide operative treatment of metastatic disease.