• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.32 no.2
• /
• pp.164-170
• /
• 1999

Background: The diffuse infiltrative lung disease often requires biopsy for its final diagnosis. Unlike the limited exposure that can be achieved through small thoracotomy incisions in open lung biopsy technique, the thoracoscopic approach allows visualization and biopsy of nearly entire surface of the lung without morbidity of large standard thoracotomy. The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic efficacy and operative safety of thoracoscopic lung biopsy(TLB) with open lung biopsy(OLB) in the diagnosis of diffuse infiltrative lung disease. Material and Method: From March 1993 to August 1997, 81 patients were referred for diagnostic lung biopsy. 51 of them underwent standard open lung biopsy and the remaining 30 patients underwent thoracoscopic lung biopsy. Result: Mean operative time was 63 minutes for TLB and 79 minutes for OLB (p=0.04). The volume of biopsy specimen was not different between two groups(TLB 7.8 cm3, OLB 6.9 cm3 : p=0.72) and the diagnostic accuracy of each methods was comparable (TLB 100%, OLB 96%). The duration of hospital stay was significantly less in TLB (TLB 13days, OLB 22days : p=0.01). The duration of parenteral narcotics administration was also less for TLB(TLB 2.5days, OLB 5.2days, p=0.05). Meanwhile, the duration of chest tube drainage, the frequency of parenteral narcotic injection were not significantly different between two groups. Complications occurred in 2 among the TLB patients (6.67%) and 4 among the OLB patients (7.84%). There was no operative mortality in both groups. Conclusion: We concluded that TLB is a good alternative procedure to OLB in the diagnosis of diffuse infiltrative lung disease with lower morbidity and comparable diagnostic accuracy.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.68 no.5
• /
• pp.267-272
• /
• 2010

Background: Pulmonary sarcoidosis often involves mediastinal or hilar lymph nodes in the lung parenchyma. Mediastinoscopy is the gold standard for diagnosis, but it is invasive and expensive. Transbronchial needle aspiration using conventional bronchoscope is less invasive than mediastinoscopy, but its diagnostic accuracy is in question due to the blind approach to targeting lymph nodes. Transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) via endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) has high diagnostic value due to direct visualization of lymph nodes and to its relatively safeness. The purpose of this study was to assess the usefulness of EBUS-TBNA in the diagnosis of pulmonary sarcoidosis. Methods: Twenty-five patients with symptoms of sarcoidosis were enrolled into this study. Core tissue was obtained for a definitive diagnosis. Endobronchial biopsy, transbronchial lung biopsy, and bronchoalveolar lavage were performed to verify diagnosis. For patients without a confirmed diagnosis after the above procedures were performed, the additional procedures of mediastinoscopy or video-associated thoracoscopic surgery were performed to confirm a final diagnosis. Results: A total 25 EBUS procedures were done and 50 lymph nodes were aspirated. Thirty-three (37) out of 50 lymph nodes were consistent with non-caseating granuloma, confirming sarcoidosis as the final diagnosis. Sarcoidosis was the final diagnosis for all 25 patients, and 21 required EBUS-TBNA for a final diagnosis. There were no complications associated with the procedure. Conclusion: EBUS-TBNA is already a well-known procedure for diagnosing mediastinal or hilar lymphadenopathy. We used EBUS-TBNA for the diagnosis of pulmonary sarcoidosis and our results showed 84% diagnostic accuracy and no complications related to the procedure. EBUS-TBNA is a reliable and practical diagnostic modality in the diagnosis of pulmonary sarcoidosis.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.258-261
• /
• 2011

An 8-year-old spayed female, Yorkshire terrier dog was presented with a urinary incontinence. Unaware urine dribbling during sleeping was observed eight months after spaying. Polyuria and polydipsia were also reported. Physical examination revealed obesity and hypertension. Characteristic laboratory findings in this dog were polycythemia, hyperlipidemia and elevated hepatic enzyme. Other causes of the urinary incontinence were ruled out through further diagnostic tests and spay-related urethral sphincter mechanism incompetence (USMI) was made as a presumptive diagnosis. In addition, the dog was also diagnosed with pituitary-dependent hyperadrenocorticism. Both conditions can cause urinary incontinence in dogs; therefore, definite diagnosis was made through a therapeutic approach. The synthetic estrogen, diethylstilbesterol, was initially administered and successfully managed the urinary incontinence in this dog. To the best of the author's knowledge, this is the first case report describing the clinical and laboratory features of spay-related USMI concurrent with hyperadrenocorticism and treatment outcomes in our country.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.43 no.3
• /
• pp.339-347
• /
• 1996

Background : Transthoracic fine needle aspiration and biopsy(TNAB) has become a frequently used technique in the investigation of the intrathoracic lesions because of its safety, reliability, and accuracy. Method : Data on 125 patients who underwent TNAB from 1990 through 1994 were studied to determine the diagnostic sensitivity, accuracy and complications of this procedure as related to lesion type and location. Results : 1. The over-all diagnostic sensitivity of TNAB was 61.6%(77 of 125 patients). 2. The diagnostic yields were as high as 89.9% for malignant lesions, but a specific diagnosis of benign lesions were obtained only in 30% of benign lung lesions. 3. The correlation between results of TNAB cytology and of final histology was as high as 88.2%. 4. Lung lesions that were greater than 3cm in size had a higher proportion of correct diagnosis(73.3%) as compared with lesions 3cm or less in size(38.1%). But there was no significant difference between the central and peripheral lung lesions. 5. There were no serious complications to TNAB. In 12.8% of the procedures a pneumothorax developed, indicating a chest tube in 1.6% of the procedures. In 2 cases, minimal hemoptysis developed which did not require treatment. Conclusion : In our experience, TNAB represents a minor and safe procedure, which permits a direct approach to localized malignant lung lesions with a high degree of accuracy.

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.143-152
• /
• 2007

Sono-guided fine needle aspiration (FNA) of the thyroid is widely used, but the aspirated samples are typically not well preserved and low cellularity makes diagnosis difficult in many cases. The object of the current study is to evaluate the adequacy and diagnostic accuracy of the use of $SurePath^{TM}$ liquid-based cytology (SP-LBC) in the sonoguided fine needle aspiration of the thyroid nodule and to compare its use with that of the use of a conventional smear (CS). A total of 172 sono-guided FNAs of thyroid nodules from April to June, 2006 were prepared by the use of the split method with either SP-LBC or CS; the samples were stained with the use of hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) and Papanicolaou (Pap) stains. A cyto-histological correlation was performed in 69 (30 SP and 39 CS) cases that had been histologically confirmed. The rate of producing unsatisfactory slides by the use of the SP-LBC method (9.3%) was less than that of the use of the CS method (20.9%). The diagnostic accuracy of the SP method (93.3%) was better than that of the CS method (85.3%). The sensitivity and specificity of the SP method (94.4% and 92.3%) was better than that of the CS method (83.3% and 70%), respectively (p < 0.05). The CS of sono-guided aspirated specimens had some unavoidable limitations related to inadequate sampling such as a bloody background, low cellularity and an indication that some clinicians smeared many useless slides (averaging four to ten slides), and that most slides showed only blood that included few follicular cells. The SP method resulted in more thinly smeared slides and showed cleaner background and greater cellularity than the use of the CS method. Each follicular cell shows superior nuclear detail, and more distinct cytoplasmic features than with the use of the CS method. SP-LBC appears to be an easy, highly accurate, and reliable cytological method for employ for a diagnostic approach of thyroid disease and thyroid nodules. The SP-LBC method is a suitable alternative to the CS method to overcome diagnostic difficulties.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.40 no.1
• /
• pp.58-62
• /
• 2006

Objective : Development of diagnostic tools has resulted in early detection of thoracic disc herniations[TDH] even when the herniated disc is soft in consistency. In some of the cases, it is considered better not to opt for surgical treatment due to the unduly high morbidity and potential complications associated with conventional approaches. The authors have applied percutaneous endoscopic thoracic discectomy[PETD] technique to soft TDHs in order to avoid the morbidity associated with conventional approaches. Methods : Eight consecutive patients [range, 31 to 75 years] with soft lateral or central TDH [from T2-3 to T11-12] underwent PETD between May 2001 and June 2004. The patient was positioned in a prone position with intravenous sedation and local anesthetic infiltration. The authors introduced a cannula into the thoracic intervertebral foramen using endoscopic foraminoplasty technique. Discectomy was performed with mechanical tools and a laser under continuous endoscopic visualization and flu oroscopic guidance. Functional status was assessed preoperatively and postoperatively using the Oswestry Disability Index[ODI]. Results : The mean ODI scores improved from 52.8 before the surgery to 25.8 at the final follow-up. In cases of myelopathy, long tract signs showed improvement. The mean operative time was 55 minutes, and no patient required conversion to open surgery. Conclusion : The technique allows a smaller incision and less morbidity. Soft TDH is amenable to this minimally invasive approach in selected patients with myeloradiculopathy.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• /
• v.16 no.4
• /
• pp.447-457
• /
• 1994

Authors have studied retrospectively the facial nerve injury after TMJ surgery through the preauricular approach routine. The study material used was 4 patients of all 113 patients who were diagnosed as internal derangement and have been operated from March 1989 to February 1991 in Youngdong severance hospital, and were induced postoperatived facial nerve injury. The patient group who had the postoperative injured facial nerve was recognized degree of injury using the diagnostic method, Electromyography(EMG) and Nerve conduction test(NCT) which are used widely at present and was treated as conservative care and we identified the recovery time as the same method. The results as follows : 1. The meticulous care and precious surgical technique are needed in both operation and postoperation. During the TMJ surgery, the excessive retraction of the flap and frequent use of nerve stimulator and electric surgical knife should be avoided as possible and postoperative hematoma and swelling should be minimized. 2. The 4 patients were experienced with the postoperative facial nerve injury of all 133 patients who had been operated the TMJ surgery through the routine preauricular approach on our hospital. And the incidence of postoperative facial nerve injury happened was about 0.3% and its incidence was relatively low comparing with any other previous reports. 3. EMG and NCT were considered as useful methods which can diagnose the nerve injury objectively and identified the effect of treatment and recovery time. 4. The faical nerve-injured patients who were induced postoperatively after TMJ surgery, were diagnosed as second-degree nere injury through the EMG and NCT. And the patient group was treated well as conservative physical therapy for about 2 to 4 months.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.10
• /
• pp.6069-6075
• /
• 2013

Background: At present, the diagnosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) requires a colorectal biopsy which is an invasive procedure. We undertook this pilot study to develop an alternative method and potential new biomarkers for diagnosis, and validated a set of well-integrated tools called ClinProt to investigate the serum peptidome in CRC patients. Methods: Fasting blood samples from 67 patients diagnosed with CRC by histological diagnosis, 55 patients diagnosed with colorectal adenoma by biopsy, and 65 healthy volunteers were collected. Division was into a model construction group and an external validation group randomly. The present work focused on serum proteomic analysis of model construction group by ClinProt Kit combined with mass spectrometry. This approach allowed construction of a peptide pattern able to differentiate the studied populations. An external validation group was used to verify the diagnostic capability of the peptidome pattern blindly. An immunoassay method was used to determine serum CEA of CRC and controls. Results: The results showed 59 differential peptide peaks in CRC, colorectal adenoma and health volunteers. A genetic algorithm was used to set up the classification models. Four of the identified peaks at m/z 797, 810, 4078 and 5343 were used to construct peptidome patterns, achieving an accuracy of 100% (> CEA, P<0.05). Furthermore, the peptidome patterns could differentiate the validation group with high accuracy close to 100%. Conclusions: Our results showed that proteomic analysis of serum with MALDI-TOF MS is a fast and reproducible approach, which may provide a novel approach to screening for CRC.

• Journal of information and communication convergence engineering
• /
• v.4 no.4
• /
• pp.170-173
• /
• 2006

Recently, with increasing efficiency of DSC (photo-electrochemical using a nano-particle), The Performance of DSC solar generation system also needs improvement. The approach consists of a Fly-back DC-DC (transfer ratio 1:10) converter to boost the DSC cell voltage to 300VDC. The four switch (MOSFET) inverter is employed to produce 220V, 60Hz AC outputs. High performance, easy manufacturability, lower component count., safety and cost are addressed. Protection and diagnostic features form an important part of the design. Another highlight of the proposed design is the control strategy, which allows the inverter to adapt to the: requirements of the load as well as the power source. A unique aspect of the design is the use of the DSP TMS320LF2406 to control the inverter by current and voltage feed-back. Efficient and smooth control of the: power drawn from the DSC Cell is achieved by controlling the front end DC-DC converter in current mode.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• v.52 no.11
• /
• pp.1194-1199
• /
• 2009

Child abuse is defined by a recent act or failure to act that results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation, or imminent risk of serious harm; involved a child; and is carried out by a parent or caregiver. This report provides guidance in the clinical approach to the evaluation of suspected physical abuse in children, and role of pediatrician. The medical assessment is outlined with obtaining a medical history, physical examination, and diagnostic testing. A minor form of child abuse which only involves skin injury is most frequently seen by a pediatrician. This kind of child abuse can be followed by more severe forms of child abuse, which have high mortality rates and cause serious physical and mental sequelae to the survivor. Therefore, a pediatrician's role in an early detection and prevention of child abuse is very important.