Comparison of chewing ability and quality of life before and after the dental implantation / 대한치과보철학회지

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: Recently the populations of patients receiving implant surgery are greatly increase for maintaining oral health. PURPOSE: This study was conducted for implanted patients to assess the chewing ability patient satisfaction level and changes in quality of life before and after the implant surgery. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The current study subjected 109 adult patients, older than 20 years of age, who received implant surgery from December, 2006 to October, 2007 at the 6 dental clinics located at Daegu and Ulsan metropolitan cities. Twice of surveys were conducted for the patients before and after receiving the dental implant surgery. RESULTS: As the motivation of receiving implant surgery, 45.9% of the patients selected the surgery for the chance of "chewing function recovery", and "failure of treatment and complications" was found to be the most worrisome at the time of surgery by recording 38.5%. The satisfaction level before the implant surgery scored 30.37, while the score was increased to 45.01 after the surgery by showing a significant difference before and after receiving the surgery (P < .001). Regard on the surgery, 91.8% of the patients responded as "Satisfy", and 89% of the study subjects responded that they have willingness to recommend the surgery to their families and friends. The chewing ability score measured by using the surveys on edible foods, the score before the surgery was 15.24, while the score was increased to 19.11 after the surgery by showing a significant difference before and after receiving the surgery (P < .001). The quality of life score was also found to be increased to 11.17 after the surgery from 9.99 before the surgery by showing a significant difference (P < .001). CONCLUSION: In a future, the studies on the numbers of implanted loss teeth and the location of tooth loss are necessary, more long-term follow study are needed, and it is thought to be necessary to enlarge the sample size of subjects in conducting the studies.

The Efficacy of MIBG Scan as a Diagnostic and Docalization Test for Pheochromocytoma / 대한내분비학회지

BACKGROUND: Computed tomography(CT) is currently considered as the initial imaging procedure of choice for the localization of pheochromocytomas in most of the cases. 131I-or 123I-Metaiodobenzylguanidine scintigraphy(MIBG scan) was proven to be a highly specific tool for the detection of adrenal and extra-adrenal pheochromocytomas, but was less sensitive than CT. The present study is aimed to evaluate the usefulness of a MIBG scan in diagnosis and localization of pheochromocytoma when compared to CT. METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated 27 patients who underwent a MIBG scan for a pheochromocytoma at the Seoul National University Hospital from the year 2000 and 2002. According to the pathological and clinical findings, in 16 the patients pheochromocytoma was confirmed to be positive and the rest 11 of the patients were excluded from the study. RESULTS: Pheochromocytomas was identified in 16 patients. Eleven of them were localized in adrenal gland and 5 were extra-adrenal lesions. The sensitivity to MIBG scan in adrenal lesions and extra-adrenal lesions, was 72%(8/11) and 40%(2/5) respectively. In our study, the overall sensitivity to MIBG scan was 62%(10/16), and overall specificity was 90.9%(10/11). By CT four were identified to have equivocal biochemical abnormalities, but were definite and extraadrenal tumors by MIBG scan showed abnormal uptakes in two of them. CONCLUSION: The MIBG scan was especially useful in 2 of the 27 patients but we had no experienced about the additional benefits of a MIBG scan in the other 25 cases. Our results reveal that a MIBG scan should be performed carefully for the diagnosis and localization of a pheochromocytoma, while considering cost and time of operation.

A CLINICAL REVIEW OF EXPOSED FRONTAL SINUS

No abstract available.

Three Cases of Generalized Convulsive Status Epilepticus; As Initial Symptom of Nonketotic Hyperglycemia

Status epilepticus is commonly defined as a condition characterized by an epileptic seizure that is so frequently repeated or so prolonged as to produce a fixed and enduring epileptic condition. Common etiologies are brain tumor, CNS infection, vascular insults, trauma, withdrawal of antiepileptic drug, and metabolic disturbance such as hypoglycemia, hypocalcemia, hyponatremia and hyperosmolarity caused by hyperglycemia, hypernatremia, and uremic encephalopathy etc. Although some cases of epilepsia partialis continua in the patient with nonketotic hyperglycemia were reported in the previous literature, we could hardly find the report that generalized convulsive status epilepticus was the initial symptom of nonketotic hypergycemia. We recently experienced three eases of nonketotic hyperglycemia who manifested generalized convulsive status epilepticus as a initial clinical feature. Two cases were completely controlled within a few hours after the correction of hyperglycemia and intravenous dilantinization. Another case was needed an additional phenobarbital administration to control the status epilepticus. In all cases, afterthen no further seizure occurred under the normal serum glucose level without use of antiepileptics.