Yonsei medical journal
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Yonsei medical journal · Oct 2005
Atopy and house dust mite sensitization as risk factors for asthma in children.
Asthma is commonly described as an atopic disease in childhood, but some cases of this disorder do not fit this description. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of atopy, asthma, and sensitization to house dust mites in children with allergic symptoms. This study was performed at the Severance Hospital of Yonsei University with patients who visited the allergy clinic for evaluation of nonspecific upper respiratory symptoms, typical symptoms of asthma, or a general health workup. ⋯ As risk factors for asthma symptoms, the positive values of house dust mite (HDM) sensitivity were significantly increased in groups 1, 2, and 3 to 53.5%, 68.9%, and 80.2%, respectively. A significant difference between the percentage of asthmatics sensitized to HDM and that of asthmatics not sensitized to HDM was found only in group 3. In conclusion, asthma is related to atopy with increasing age, and house dust mite sensitization seems to be an important determinant of asthma in older children in Korea.
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Retroperitoneal cystic lymphangioma is a rare congenital malformation. The majority of lymphangiomas are present at birth and nearly all present before the age of two years. We report a case of giant cystic retroperitoneal lymphangioma in a patient who first presented with symptoms at the age of 7, underwent surgery, and who then suffered a recurrent mass 11 years later.
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Yonsei medical journal · Oct 2005
Comparative StudyComparison of anthropometric data between end-stage renal disease patients undergoing hemodialysis and healthy adults in Korea.
Protein-calorie malnutrition is prevalent in hemodialysis (HD) patients. The prevalence of obesity in healthy Korean adults has increased rapidly during the last 10 years. However, there are few large scale data collections available about the current weight status of Korean HD patients. ⋯ The 6th decade age group showed the highest prevalence ratio for UW in the HD group for both sexes, compared to the controls (Male: 17.33, Female: 17.68). The percentages of UW were related to HD duration and age in both sexes. In conclusion, Korean HD patients seem to have small proportions of OW and OB, compared to the general population, and protein-calorie malnutrition may still be an important nutritional condition.
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Yonsei medical journal · Aug 2005
Case ReportsSubmental intubation with reinforced tube for intubating laryngeal mask airway.
Submental endotracheal intubation is a simple and secure alternative to either nasoendotracheal intubation or a tracheostomy in the airway management of maxillofacial trauma. However, a submental endotracheal intubation is quite difficult to manage if adverse events such as a tube obstruction, accidental extubation, or a leaking cuff with the endotracheal tube in the submental route occur, which could endanger the patient. This paper describes the use of a LMA-FastrachTMETT in the submental endotracheal intubation of patients suffering from maxillofacial trauma. ⋯ A submental intubation with a LMA-FastrachTMETT was performed in both cases, and the operation proceeded without any difficulties. These cases show that the use of the LMA- FastrachTMETT can improve the safety and efficacy of submental endotracheal intubation. This is because the LMA- FastrachTMETT has a freely detachable connector, and is flexible enough to keep the patency despite the acute angle of airway.
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Yonsei medical journal · Aug 2005
Intradiscal electrothermal treatment for chronic lower back pain patients with internal disc disruption.
Chronic lower back pain is one of the most common musculoskeletal problems; it is also the most expensive industrial injury. Not surprisingly, many treatments have been developed to combat this expensive and debilitating condition. One of these, intradiscal electrothermal treatment (IDET), was developed for patients with chronic discogenic lower back pain who failed to improve with any of the wide variety of non- surgical treatments. ⋯ Consequently, 5 patients (20%) underwent fusion surgery at 1 year after IDET. Although other studies have shown good results with IDET for at least 2 years, this investigation suggests the IDET may be somewhat less effective. In order to firmly establish the efficacy of IDET for treating chronic discogenic lower back pain, additional studies with larger numbers of patients evaluated over longer time periods are recommended.