• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권10호
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• pp.4421-4427
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• 2015

Objectives: To investigate the prognosis significance of preoperative serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and the correlation with clinicopathological factors of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients who underwent hepatectomy. Materials and Methods: Clinicopathological data of retrospective analysis were collected for 251 HCC patients undergoing hepatectomy in this study. According to preoperative AFP level, patients were categorized into AFP-negative (0-20ng/mL) and AFP-positive (>20 ng/mL) groups for Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazard regression modeling. Results: The results demonstrated that increased AFP was associated with longer prothrombin time (PTs), liver capsule invasion, low grade differentiation, and late Barcelona Clinic Liver Center (BCLC) stage. Moreover, the female patients had a greater prevalence of increased preoperative AFP than male patients [284.8 (3.975-3167.5) vs (3.653-140.65); Z-2.895, p=0.004]. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) rates were 78.1, 57.5, and 40.6 % in the AFP-negative group and 61.8, 37.7, and 31.4 %, respectively, in the AFP-positive group (log-rank test 8.312, p=0.004). The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were 94.4, 83.8, and 62.3% in the AFP-negative group and 87.2, 60.0, and 36.7%, respectively, in the AFP-positive group. The difference was statistically significant (log-rank test, 16.884, p=0.000). Cox proportional-hazards model identified preoperative AFP to be an independent prognostic predictor of overall survival. Conclusions: Preoperative serum AFP is an independent predictor of prognosis among HCC patients following surgical resection. Female patients have a higher preoperative AFP than their male counterparts.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• 제7권2호
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• pp.164-171
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• 2009

Purpose: The number of patients who take warfarin is growing and so is the number of complications. Hemorrhage is the major complication, but the clinical characteristics and outcomes have not been determined for Korean patients. Therefore, we tried to evaluate the characteristics of the patients with hemorrhagic complications after taking warfarin as anticoagulation therapy. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of the patients who visited the emergency room with bleeding complications after taking warfarin anticoagulation at the out-patient clinic for 1 year from 1 st January 2008. We compared between two groups (the major hemorrhage group vs. the minor hemorrhage group) according to the clinical criteria, the unstable vital signs that required blood transfusion, transfusion more than 2 units of blood, the need for further laboratory follow-up, the need for interventional treatment and the development of critical complications or death due to bleeding. Results: There were 150 patients who met the criteria and had acute hemorrhagic complications (the major group: 90 patients and the minor group: 60 patients). In the major hemorrhage group, the frequent sites of bleeding were the gastro-intestinal system (40 patients), lung (14 patients) and intracranium (7 patients). At the emergency room, the major group showed a higher initial INR of the activated prothrombin time than did the minor group (p=0.02). The bleeding sites of the fatal cases were the gastro-intestinal system (3 patients), lung (3 patients) and intracranium (3 patients), but the percentage of fatality was the highest for intracranium bleeding. Conclusion: In the major hemorrhage group, gastrointestinal bleeding was the most frequent complication and fatality was the highest for intracranium bleeding. An initially higher INR showed a greater risk of major bleeding, but not more fatalities.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• 제18권1호
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• pp.36-43
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• 2015

Objectives: Water-soluble carthami flos (WCF) is a new mixture of Carthami flos (CF) pharmacopuncture. We conducted a 4-week toxicity test of repeated intramuscular injections of WCF in Sprague-Dawley rats. Methods: Forty male and 40 female rats were divided into 4 groups of 10 male and 10 female SD rats: The control group received 0.5 mL/animal/day of normal saline whereas the three experimental groups received WCF at doses of 0.125, 0.25, and 0.5 mL/animal/day, respectively. For 4 weeks, the solutions were injected into the femoral muscle of the rats alternating from side to side. Clinical signs, body weights, and food consumption were observed; opthalmological examinations and urinalyses were performed. On day 29, blood samples were taken for hematological and clinical chemistry analyses. Then, necropsy was conducted in all animals to observe weights and external and histopathological changes in the bodily organs. All data were tested using a statistical analysis system (SAS). Results: No deaths were observed. Temporary irregular respiration was observed in male rats of the experimental group for the first 10 days. Body weights, food consumptions, opthalmological examinations, urinalyses, clinical chemistry analyses, organ weights and necropsy produced no findings with toxicological meaning. In the hematological analysis, delay of prothrombin time (PT) was observed in male rats of the 0.25- and the 0.5-mL/animal/day groups. In the histopathological test, a dose-dependent inflammatory cell infiltration into the fascia and panniculitis in perimuscular tissues was observed in all animals of the experimental groups. However, those symptoms were limited to local injection points. No toxicological meanings, except localized changes, were noted. Conclusion: WCF solution has no significant toxicological meaning, but does produce localized symptoms. No observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) of WCF in male and female rats is expected for doses over 0.5 mL/animal/day.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• 제31권10호
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• pp.952-963
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• 1998

Background: Cardiopulmonary bypass(CPB)-induced hemostatic defects may result increased possibility of excessive hemorrhage and additional multiple transfusion reactions or reoperation. Particularly, fibrinolytic activation and decreased platelet count and function by CPB were proposed as a predictor of hemorrhage during postoperative periods in several reports. Materials and methods: Present study, which was conducted in 20 adult patients undergoing CPB, was prospectively designed to examine the hematologic changes, including fibrinolytic activation during and after CPB and to clarify the relationships between these changes and the magnitude of the postoperative nonsurgical blood loss. The serial blood samples for measurment of hematologic parameters were taken during operation and postoperative periods. Blood loss was respectively counted via thoracic catheter drainage at postoperative 3, 6, 12, 24, 48 hours and total period. Results: The results were obtained as follows:Platelet count rapidly declined following CPB(p<0.01), which its decreasing rate was an inverse proportion to total bypass time(TBT, r=0.55, p=0.01), And platelet count in postoperative 7th day was barely near to its control value. Fibrinogen degradating product(FDP) and D-dimer level significantly increased during CPB(p<0.0001, p<0.0001, respectively), and both of fibrinogen and plasminogen concentration correlatively decreased during CPB(r=0.57, p<0.01), implying activation of fibrinolytic system. Postoperative bleeding time (BT), postoperative activated partial thromboplastin time(aPTT) and postoperative prothrombin time (PT) were significantly prolonged as compare with each control value (p=0.05, p<0.0001, p<0.0001, respectively). Total blood loss was positively correlated with patient's age, aortic clamping time (ACT) and TBT, while there was negative correlation between platelet count and blood loss at pre-CPB, CPB-off and the 1st postoperative day, and in some periods. Postoperative aPTT and postoperative PTwere positively related to postoperative 6 hr and 48 hr blood loss(r=0.53, p=0.02; r=0.43, p=0.05) but not to total blood loss, whereas there was no relationship between postoperative BT and blood loss at any period. Conclusions: These observations suggest that CPB results various hematologic changes, including fibrinolytic activation and severe reduction in platelet count. Diverse factors such as age, platelet count, ACT, TBT and postoperative aPTT and PT may magnify the postoperative bleeding. This study will be a basic reference in understanding CPB-induced hemostatic injuries and in decreasing the postoperative hemorrhage

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• 제30권7호
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• pp.677-685
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• 1997

Thromboelastography(TEG) is the unique measure that gives rapid information about the whole clotting process. Simplifying the diagnosis of coagulopathy during operations, TEG can provide an adequate therapy for postoperative bleeding. Remarkable improvement in hemostasis after cardiopulmonary bypass(CPB) has been achieved by the treatment with proteinase inhibitor aprotinin, but the hemostatic mechanism of aprotinin during CPB is still unclear. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of aprotinin on coagulation system during CPB by using TEG. Forty patients who underwent CPB were divided into two groups: aprotinin(2u 106 kallikrein inhibition units, as a single dose into the cardiopulmonary bypass priming solution) treatment group(male 14, female 8, mean age=50.Byears) and no aprotinin treatment(control) group(male 10, female 8, mean age=53.4 years). TEG, activated clotting time, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, platelet counts, fibrinogen an (ibrinogen degradation product(FDP) concentrations were checked before and after CPB(30 minutes after neutralization of heparin effect by protamine sulfate). There was no significant difference in other conventional coagulation tests of two groups except postcardiopulmonary bypass FDP concentration in control group, which was significantly increased compared to that in aprotinin group(p<0.05). In TEG variables of both groups, clot formation time(K) and alpha $angle(\alpha^{\circ})$ were significantly increased and decreased, respectively, after CPB(p<0.05), but fibrinolytic index(LYS60) was not changed during CPB. In aprotinin group, reaction time(R) was decreased significantly after CPB(p<0.05) but maximum amplitude(MA) was not changed(p>0.05). On the contrary, R was not changed markedly but MA was decreased significantly in control group after CPB(p<0.05). This result shows that main change in coagulation system during CPB is not hyperfibrinolysis but cecrease in clot strength by platelet dys unction, and the main effect of aprotinin during cardiopulmonary bypass is the maintenance of clot strength to the pre-CPB level by the preservation of platelet function.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• 제24권3호
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• pp.442-450
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• 2011

Numerous studies have suggested that dietary flavonoids contribute to prevent cardiovascular disease. Onion contains many functional phytochemicals such as quercetin. The aim of this study was to examine whether onion peel extracts supplementation affect blood lipid profiles and blood coagulation in animal model. Total 48 Sprague-Dawley male rats at 5 weeks old were divided into 6 groups with different diets(C: control, HF: high fat diet, HFOE 0.01%: high fat+onion peel extract 0.01% diet, HFOE 0.02%, HFOE 0.05%, HFOE 0.1%) for 8 weeks. Onion peel extract supplementation significantly decreased serum levels of LDL-cholesterol and increased HDL-cholesterol, while total cholesterol and triglyceride levels were not affected. Hematological parameters(hematocrit, white blood cell, red blood cell, and platelet count) and blood coagulation parameters(prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, thrombin time, and fibrinogen) were not significantly different among 6 groups. However, activated partial thromboplastin time of HFOE 0.05% group was significantly longer than that of HF group. These results indicate that onion peel extract supplementation displays hypocholestrolemic effects but does not seem to have anti-coagulation effects in high fat fed SD rats.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• 제8권3호
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• pp.115-125
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• 2002

Gram-negative septicemia, which continues to be a serious clinical problem, is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients. Endotoxin of gram-negative bacteria is a pivotal pathogen of sepsis. To understand the effect of endotoxin on hematological aspect and the time course in early childhood, this study was designed with experimental septic model of young rabbits (8 week-old). Rabbits were divided into control (n=7) and endotoxin group (0.50 mg/kg of endotoxin). The endotoxin group was subdivided into six groups by the sampling times: 3, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 hr-group (E-G$_{3}$, E-G$_{6}$, E-G$_{12}$, E-G$_{24}$, E-G$_{48}$ and E-G$_{72hrs}$, each n=7). The evaluation of CBC, activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), prothrombin time (PT), fibrinogen concentration, coagulation factors and D-dimer were taken from the bloods. The number of leukocytes was lower in E-G$_{3}$ and E-G$_{6hrs}$ (due to pantocytopenia), whereas it was higher in E-G$_{24}$ and E-G$_{48}$ (due to neutrophilia and/or lymphophilia) than in control group (P<0.05). Platelet counts in E-G$_{3}$, E-G$_{6}$, E-G$_{12}$, E-G$_{24}$ and E-G$_{48hrs}$ were lower than those of control group (P<0.05). Normoblast counts in E-G$_{3}$, E-G$_{6}$, E-G$_{12}$, E-G$_{24}$ and E-G$_{48hrs}$ were higher than those of control group (p<0.01). APTT in E-G$_{3}$, E-G$_{6}$, E-G$_{12}$, E-G$_{24}$ and E-G$_{72hrs}$ were longer while PT in E-G$_{3}$, E-G$_{6}$, E-G$_{48}$ and E-G$_{72hrs}$ were higher than those of control group (p<0.05). Fibrinogen concentrations were lower in E-G$_{3}$, E-G$_{6}$ and E-G$_{12}$ but higher in E-G$_{48}$ and E-G$_{72hrs}$ than those of control (p<0.05). Intrinsic coagulation factors (XII, XI, IX, VIII) in all endotoxin groups were significantly lower than those of control group (p<0.05). Extrinsic coagulation factor (X, VII, V, II) were lower in E-G$_{3}$, E-G$_{6}$, E-G$_{12}$ and E-G$_{24hrs}$ whereas they were higher in E-G$_{48}$ and E-G$_{72hrs}$ than in control group (p<0.05). D-dimer concentrations in E-G$_{48}$ and E-G$_{72hrs}$ were higher than those of control group (P<0.001). We concluded that endotoxin led to extensive hematological disturbances including disseminated intravascular coagulation in the young rabbits and that this pathologic condition in the infant and childhood groups will cause the grave results.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제61권4호
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• pp.347-355
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• 2006

Background: Pneumonia is the most common cause of death among infectious diseases with community-acquired pneumonia being the sixth leading cause of death in the USA. In Korea, several studies have evaluated the prognosis of community-acquired pneumonia with a limited number of patients and risk factors. This study, evaluated all the possible risk factors (including the pneumonia severity index; PSI) in for the community-acquired pneumonia patients admitted to a referral hospital. Methods: The medical records of patients admitted to the Chung-Aug University Yongsan Hospital between January 2002 and January 2005 for community-acquired pneumonia were reviewed retrospectively. The demographic data, comorbidity, radiographic findings and laboratory results which might influence the prognosis of pneumonia were analyzed. Results: Among 179 patients admitted for community-acquired pneumonia, 29 patients died (mortality 16%). The risk factors for mortality in the comorbidity category were congestive heart failure and a myocardial infarction. The laboratory data, showed that albumin, LDH, total cholesterol, HDL, PT, aPTT, hemoglobin and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were related to the prognosis. For the pneumonia severity index, the mortality rate increased in a step-wise manner from class I through class V. Conclusions: Comorbidities such as congestive heart failure and myocardial infarction as well as the albumin, LDH, total cholesterol, HDL cholestreol, prothrombin time, activated partial thrombotin time, hemoglobin and blood urea nitrogen(BUN) are important risk factors for mortality in patients with community-acquired pneumonia. PSI is a valuable index for evaluating the prognosis of community-acquired pneumonia.

• Journal of Life Science
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• 제27권2호
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• pp.131-138
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• 2017

In this study, for the efficient use of the byproduct of the omija (Schizandra chinensis Baillon: SC) processing industry, the ethanol extracts of the fruit (F), seed (S), and pomace (P) of SC were prepared, and their useful bioactivities were evaluated. For F-SC, S-SC, and P-SC, the extraction yields were 28.3%, 22.1%, and 7.2%, respectively, and the polyphenol contents were 8.81, 37.22, and 9.20 mg/g, respectively. The total flavonoid content in P-SC (4.31 mg/g) was 3.5-fold higher than that in F-SC (0.76 mg/g). In an antioxidation activity assay, P-SC showed stronger radical scavenging activities against DPPH anion, ABTS cation, and nitrite and stronger reducing power activities than the other extracts. The calculated concentration required for 50% radical scavenging activity, $RC_{50}s$, of P-SC for DPPH anion, ABTS cation, and nitrite was 226.2, 192.5, and $92.5{\mu}g/ml$, respectively. In an antimicrobial activity assay, F-SC, S-SC, and P-SC showed similarly strong growth inhibitions against Bacillus subtilis and P. vulgaris at a concentration of 0.5 mg/disc. F-SC and P-SC showed 15-fold extended time in thrombin, prothrombin, and activated partial thromboplastin time assays at a concentration of 5 mg/ml. The anticoagulation activity of P-SC (2.5 mg/ml) was comparable to that of aspirin (1.5 mg/ml). Furthermore, F-SC and S-SC showed very good platelet aggregation inhibitory activities. F-SC, S-SC, and P-SC did not show significant hemolysis against human red blood cell up to a concentration of 0.5 mg/ml. These results suggest that S-SC and P-SC, both of which are byproducts of the omija processing industry, show strong potential as novel antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antithrombosis agents.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• 제5권2호
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• pp.111-124
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• 2002

Purpose : Although the average life expectancy has increased due to advances in medicine, mortality due to cancer is on an increasing trend. Consequently, the number of terminally ill cancer patients is also on the rise. Predicting the survival period is an important issue in the treatment of terminally ill cancer patients since the choice of treatment would vary significantly by the patents, their families, and physicians according to the expected survival. Therefore, we investigated the prognostic factors for increased mortality risk in terminally ill cancer patients to help treat these patients by predicting the survival period. Methods : We investigated 31 clinical parameters in 157 terminally ill cancer patients admitted to in the Department of Family Medicine, National Health Insurance Corporation Ilsan Hospital between July 1, 2000 and August 31, 2001. We confirmed the patients' survival as of October 31, 2001 based on medical records and personal data. The survival rates and median survival times were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method and Log-rank test was used to compare the differences between the survival rates according to each clinical parameter. Cox's proportional hazard model was used to determine the most predictive subset from the prognostic factors among many clinical parameters which affect the risk of death. We predicted the mean, median, the first quartile value and third quartile value of the expected lifetimes by Weibull proportional hazard regression model. Results : Out of 157 patients, 79 were male (50.3%). The mean age was $65.1{\pm}13.0$ years in males and was $64.3{\pm}13.7$ years in females. The most prevalent cancer was gastric cancer (36 patients, 22.9%), followed by lung cancer (27, 17.2%), and cervical cancer (20, 12.7%). The survival time decreased with to the following factors; mental change, anorexia, hypotension, poor performance status, leukocytosis, neutrophilia, elevated serum creatinine level, hypoalbuminemia, hyperbilirubinemia, elevated SGPT, prolonged prothrombin time (PT), prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), hyponatremia, and hyperkalemia. Among these factors, poor performance status, neutrophilia, prolonged PT and aPTT were significant prognostic factors of death risk in these patients according to the results of Cox's proportional hazard model. We predicted that the median life expectancy was 3.0 days when all of the above 4 factors were present, $5.7{\sim}8.2$ days when 3 of these 4 factors were present, $11.4{\sim}20.0$ days when 2 of the 4 were present, and $27.9{\sim}40.0$ when 1 of the 4 was present, and 77 days when none of these 4 factors were present. Conclusions : In terminally ill cancer patients, we found that the prognostic factors related to reduced survival time were poor performance status, neutrophilia, prolonged PT and prolonged am. The four prognostic factors enabled the prediction of life expectancy in terminally ill cancer patients.