• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.68-71
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• 2016

Tumoral calcinosis (TC) is a condition resulting from extensive calcium phosphate precipitation, primarily in the periarticular tissues around major joints. Calciphylaxis is a fatal ischemic vasculopathy mainly affecting dermal blood vessels and subcutaneous fat. This syndrome is rare and predominantly occurs in patients with end-stage renal disease. Here, we report on a rare case involving a patient with TC complicated with calciphylaxis. Our patient was a 31-year-old man undergoing hemodialysis who presented with masses on both shoulders and necrotic cutaneous ulcers, which were associated with secondary hyperparathyroidism, on his lower legs. He underwent subtotal parathyroidectomy, and sodium thiosulfate (STS) was administered for 27 weeks. Twenty months after beginning the STS treatment course, he experienced dramatic relief of his TC and calciphylaxis.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.251-258
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• 2002

We report the experiences of pump-driven continuous venovenous hemofiltration therapy in three children with acute renal failure. The all three patients required mechanical ventilation and needed the support of vasopressors. Renal replacement therapy was needed to meet the metabolic and fluid balance, but intermittent hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis were not feasible because of hemodynamic instability and concurrent infection. We instituted pump-driven continuous venovenous hemofiltratlon (CVVH), and immediate improvement of pulmonary edema and successful removal of retained fluid were observed. Urea clearance also was satisfactory. During the filter running time, significant thromboembolic event or rapid drop of systemic blood pressure were absent. We concluded that the CVVH is an effective and safe method of renal support for critically ill pediatric patient.

• The Journal of Korea Assosiation for Disability and Oral Health
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.33-36
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• 2005

Manifestations in tuberous sclerosis such as seizure, mental retardation, end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and heart problems present a number of challenges to the dentist and anesthesiologist. Lack of cooperation in addition to the severe medical condition makes dental treatment more difficult. General anesthesia is often required for mentally and physically handicapped patients undergoing extensive dental treatment. We experienced a case of dental treatment under general anesthesia in a 36-year-old male patient with tuberous sclerosis associated with ESRD and mental retardation. He was treated on an outpatient basis followed by hemodialysis without any complications.

• Kidney Research and Clinical Practice
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.200-204
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• 2017

Administration of autologous mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has been shown to improve renal function and histological findings in acute kidney injury (AKI) models. However, its effects in chronic kidney disease (CKD) are unclear, particularly in the clinical setting. Here, we report our experience with a CKD patient who was treated by intravenous infusion of autologous MSCs derived from adipose tissue in an unknown clinic outside of Korea. The renal function of the patient had been stable for several years before MSC administration. One week after the autologous MSC infusion, the preexisting renal insufficiency was rapidly aggravated without any other evidence of AKI. Hemodialysis was started 3 months after MSC administration. Renal biopsy findings at dialysis showed severe interstitial fibrosis and inflammatory cell infiltration, with a few cells expressing CD34 and CD117, 2 surface markers of stem cells. This case highlights the potential nephrotoxicity of autologous MSC therapy in CKD patients.

• Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.366-371
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• 2019

Hemarthrosis occurring after arthroscopic surgery for lesions of the shoulder joint is a very rare complication that can develop due to an injury to the blood vessels when an anterior portal is formed. This is a complication that rarely develops in patients who are taking antithrombotic drugs or who do not have associated diseases, such as thrombocytopenia. We report a case of hemarthrosis that occurred after performing arthroscopic surgery to repair a rotator cuff tear in a patient with a stenosis in an arteriovenous fistula for hemodialysis in the ipsilateral upper arm.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.73-78
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• 2020

Background: As the population of patients with end-stage renal disease has grown older, the proportion of patients with poorly preserved vasculature has concomitantly increased. Thus, arteriovenous grafts (AVG) have been used more frequently to access blood vessels for hemodialysis. Despite this increasing demand, studies of AVG are limited. In this study, we examined the surgical outcomes of upper-limb AVG creation. Methods: Among the arteriovenous fistula formation procedures performed between January 2014 and March 2019 at Dankook University Hospital, 42 cases involved AVG creation. We compared patients in whom the axillary vein was used (group A; brachioaxillary AVG [B-Ax AVG]; n=20) with those in whom upper limb veins were used (group B; brachiobasilic AVG or brachioantecubital AVG; n=22). Results: The 1-year primary patency rate was higher in group A than in group B (57.9% vs. 41.7%; p=0.262). The incidence of postoperative complications was not significantly different between groups. Conclusion: AVG using the axillary vein showed no major differences in safety or functionality compared to AVG using other veins. Therefore, accounting for age, underlying disease, and expected patient lifespan, B-Ax AVG can be considered an acceptable surgical method.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.13-29
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• 2001

The enzyme activities of creatine kinase (CK), its isoenzyme MB (CK-MB) and of lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme 1 (LD-1) have been used for years in diagnosing patients with chest pain in order to differentiate patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) from non-AMI patients. These methods are easy to perform as automated analyses, but they are not specific for cardiac muscle damage. During the early 90's the situation changed. First, creatine kinase ME mass (CK-MB mass) replaced the measurement of CK-MB activity. Subsequently cardiac-specific proteins, troponin T (cTnT) and troponin I (cTnI) appeared and displacing LD-1 analysis. However, troponin concentrations in blood increase only from four to six hours after onset of chest pain. Therefore a rapid marker such as myoglobin, fatty acid binding protein or glycogen phosphorylase BB could be used in early diagnosis of AMI. On the other hand, CK-MB isoforms alone may also be useful in rapid diagnosis of cardiac muscle damage. Myoglobin, CK-MB mass, cTnT and cTnI are nowadays widely used in diagnosing patients with acute chest pain. Myoglobin is not cardiac-specific and therefore requires supplementation with some other analyses such as troponins to support the myoglobin value. Troponins are very highly cardiac-specific. Only the sera of some patients with severe renal failure, which requires hemodialysis, have elevated cTnT and/or cTnI without there being any evidence of cardiac damage. The latest studies have shown that elevated troponin levels in sera of hemodialysis patients point to an increased risk of future cardiac events in a similar manner to the elevated troponin values in sera of patients with unstable angina pectoris. In addition, the bedside tests for cTnT and cTnI alone- or together with myoglobin and CK-ME mass can be used instead of quantitative analyses in the diagnosis of patients with chest pain. These rapid tests are easy to perform and they do not require expensive instrumentation. For the diagnosis of patient with chest pain, routinely myoglobin and CK-ME mass measurements should be performed whenever they are requested (24 h/day) and cTnT or cTnI on admission to the hospital and then 4-6 and 12 hours later and maintained less than 10% in imprecision.

• Annals of Laboratory Medicine
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.524-529
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• 2018

Background: An increase in neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) indicates tubular injury. Diabetic nephropathy causes typical changes in the kidney, characterized by glomerulosclerosis and eventual tubular damage. We validated the usefulness of plasma NGAL (pNGAL) as a biomarker of tubular damage in patients with diabetic nephropathy. Methods: We included 376 patients with diabetes mellitus (260 patients with chronic renal insufficiency who had not received hemodialysis and 116 hemodialyzed due to diabetic nephropathy) and 24 healthy controls. Patients with chronic renal insufficiency were divided into three groups according to urinary albumin excretion (UAE) levels. pNGAL levels were measured using the Triage NGAL test (Alere, San Diego, CA, USA) and were compared between groups. We also examined whether pNGAL level was related to the degree of albuminuria and cystatin C-based glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Results: Mean pNGAL levels of the healthy controls, chronic renal insufficiency patients with diabetes mellitus, and hemodialyzed patients were $61.9{\pm}5.3ng/mL$, $93.4{\pm}71.8ng/mL$, and $1,536.9{\pm}554.9ng/mL$, respectively. pNGAL level increased significantly in patients with severe albuminuria (P <0.001) and had a moderate correlation with the degree of albuminuria (r=0.467; P <0.001) and GFR (r=0.519; P <0.001). Multivariate regression analysis showed that the pNGAL level was associated with tubular damage independent of patient age, sex, and GFR. Conclusions: pNGAL level independently reflects the degree of tubular damage in patients with diabetic nephropathy. Measurement of pNGAL, combined with UAE, would enable simultaneous, highly reliable assessments of tubular damage for such patients.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.329-339
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• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the frequency, patterns, and factors of reversals in decisions about life-sustaining treatment (LST) among older patients with terminal-stage chronic cardiopulmonary disease. Methods: This was a retrospective correlational descriptive study based on medical chart review. De-identified patient electronic medical record data were collected from 124 deceased older patients with terminal-stage cardiopulmonary disease who had made reversals of LST decisions in an academic tertiary hospital in 2015. Data were extracted about the reversed LST decisions, LST treatments applied before death, and patients' demographic and clinical factors. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify the factors associated with the reversal to higher intensity of LST treatment. Results: The use of inotropic agents was the most frequently reversed LST treatment, followed by cardiopulmonary resuscitation, intubation, ventilator therapy, and hemodialysis. Inconsistency between the last LST decisions and actual treatments occurred most often in hemodialysis. One-third of the reversals in LST decisions were made toward higher intensity of LST treatment. Patients who had lung diseases (vs. heart diseases); were single, divorced, or bereaved (vs. married); and had an acquaintance as a primary decision maker (vs. the patients themselves) were significantly more likely to reverse the LST decisions to higher intensity of LST treatment. Conclusion: This study demonstrated the complex and turmoil situation of the LST decision-making process among older patients with terminal-stage cardiopulmonary disease and suggests the importance of support for patients and families in their LST decision-making process.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.31-35
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• 2021

Background: Arteriovenous fistula (AVF) for hemodialysis is essential for patients with end-stage renal disease. However, it is difficult to maintain AVF reliably. It is vitally important to select proper blood vessels for AVF formation. In a previous study, a minimum diameter of 3 mm for the autologous vein was proposed. However, patients who did not meet the minimum vascular diameter before anesthesia, but fulfilled other criteria, showed satisfactory venous dilatation after brachial plexus block (BPB). This study investigated the extent of vein expansion by BPB and the surgical outcomes of dilated veins after BPB. Methods: Sixty-one patients who underwent AVF formation using an autologous vein between August 2018 and December 2019 were included in the study. The clinical characteristics of the patient groups, hemodynamic parameters including the diameter of blood vessels before and after BPB, and complications were investigated. Based on the venous diameter measured by sonography before anesthesia, patients were divided into group A (26 patients) and group B (35 patients), with venous diameters <3 mm and ≥3 mm, respectively. Results: The venous diameter expanded after anesthesia by 41% overall, by 62% in group A, and by 25% in group B. This difference between groups A and B was statistically significant (p=0.001). No other variables showed statistically significant differences. Conclusion: Sufficient venous dilatation was observed after BPB. Therefore, if the vein is sufficiently dilated after BPB, even in patients with a pre-anesthesia venous diameter <3 mm, surgery may still be performed with an expected desirable outcome.