Incidence of congenital heart disease in the western part of Gyeongnam Province in Korea / 소아과

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to ascertain the incidence of congenital heart disease in the western part of Gyeongnam Province in Korea. METHODS: We enrolled 849 children (M:F=390:459) who were diagnosed with congenital heart disease (CHD) and received echocardiography during January 1997 to December 2005 in Gyeongsang National University Hospital. The subjects were limited to patients born from 1997 to 2004. The CHDs were classified into acyanotic types and cyanotic type. Further, acyanotic type CHDs were divided into shunt type and valvular types. RESULTS: Numbers of initially diagnosed patients from 1997 to 2004 were as follows: 113, 128, 116, 104, 129, 97, 84, and 78. The median age of initially diagnosed CHD patients was 1 month in the acyanotic type and 0.5 months in cyanotic type. Also, an annual frequency among CHD types and gender ratio were no significant difference in every year. Incidences of CHD from 2000 to 2004 in the western part of Gyeongnam Province were 8.9, 12.7, 10.9, 10.0, and 9.7 per 1,000 live births, respectively. CONCLUSION: From 1997 to 2001, 100-130, and from 2002 to 2004, less than 100 patients were diagnosed with CHD. This showed a decrease in the numbers of CHD patients in the last three years. However, the Incidence of CHD was 0.89-1.24% during the last five years. Therefore, the decrease in the annual frequency of CHD was due to the recent decline in birth rate in Korea.

A case of true thymic hyperplasia in the mediastinum with ectopic thymus in the neck / 소아과

True thymic hyperplasia and ectopic thymus are very rare in children. In embryologic aspect, thymus is distributed around cervical area and ends up in mediastinum. This case is simultaneous thymic hyperplasia of neck and mediastinum. Ectopic thymus in the neck and thymic hyperplasia in the mediastinum in children were reported 2 and 7 cases respectively in Korea. In Clinical aspects, these thymic hyperplasia were presented by mass. So we should suspect these benign condition to avoid unnecessary operation or biopsy. We report a case of true thymic hyperplasia in the mediastinum with ectopic thymus in the neck in a 4-month-old male infant and review the relevant literature. We believe this is the first reported case in the world of true thymus hyperplasia in the mediastinum with cervical ectopic thymus in the neck.

A Case of Meckel's Diverticulum Presented with Acute Abdomen in a Newborn / 대한소아소화기영양학회지

Meckel's diverticulum is generally acknowledged to be the most prevalent congenital anomaly of the gastrointestinal tract. The preoperative diagnosis of Meckel's diverticulum is difficult, especially in neonates, because of the lesions ability to masquerade as one of a variety of much more common abdominal pathologies. Recently we experienced a case of perforated Meckel's diverticulum with mild inflammatory reaction, intestinal adhesion, and small bowel obstruction in a previous healthy 9-day-old neonate. The spontaneous perforation of Meckel's diverticulum in neonate is very rare but serious entity. The course was rapid and progressed to sepsis. So despite its varied presentation, Meckel's diverticulum should be kept in mind as a cause of acute abdomen in neonates.