Clinical Results of Internal Fixation of Subcapital Femoral Neck Fractures

BACKGROUND: Subcapital femoral neck is known to cause many complications, such as avascular necrosis (AVN) of the femoral head or nonunion, compared with other femoral neck fractures. The purpose of this study was to analyze the incidence of AVN and fixation failures in patients treated with internal fixation using cannulated screws for the subcapital femoral neck fractures. METHODS: This study targeted a total of 84 cases of subcapital femoral neck fractures that underwent internal fixation using cannulated screws. The average follow-up time after surgery was 36.8 months (range, 24 to 148 months). RESULTS: Nine hips (10.7%) showing AVN of the femoral head and 6 hips (7.1%) showing fixation failures were observed. The factors affecting the incidence of AVN of the femoral head after sustaining fractures correlated well with fracture types in the Garden classification (p = 0.030). The factors affecting fixation failure were the degree of reduction (p = 0.001) measured by the Garden alignment index and firm fixation (p = 0.009) assessed using the technique of 3-point fixation through the inferomedial cortical bone of the femoral neck. CONCLUSIONS: The complication rates for subcapital femoral neck fractures were lower than those previously reported; hence, internal fixation could be a primary treatment option for these fractures.

Graft-Versus-Host Disease after Liver Transplantation

PURPOSE: Graft-Versus-Host Disease (GVHD) is a rare (0.1~2%) but severe complication after liver transplantation (LT). It is the most lethal complication after LT and there are currently no effective preventive or therapeutic measures available. Approximately 90 such cases have been reported in the literature, but only one case has been reported in Korea. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of 767 patients who underwent LT (living donor:deceased donor=554:213) at Seoul National University Hospital, Korea from 1998 to 2009. Four patients (4/767, 0.52%) with histologically proven GVHD were found. The diagnosis of GVHD was made according to observing macrochimerism in the peripheral blood and the affected tissue biopsy. RESULTS: Four patients underwent LT due to Hepatitis B virus-related liver cirrhosis and two of these patients had coexisting hepatocellular carcinoma. Three patients received livers from deceased donors and one received a liver from a live donor. All their blood matching were identical. The first diagnosed case underwent human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing only after LT and it showed complete one-way donor-recipient HLA matching. The onset of GVHD occurred between 10 days and 55 days after LT. All the patients developed high-grade fever, skin rash, neutropenia, diarrhea and the main signs and symptoms related to GVHD. All the patients died because of sepsis despite intensive treatment. CONCLUSION: GVHD after LT is an extremely rare and fatal complication and it is difficult to diagnose. Therefore, we should perform pre-transplant HLA matching and try to establish an early diagnosis for patients who are clinical suspicious of having GVHD. Further study in this area is needed and physicians need to be alert to detect this malady.

Immediate and long-Term Results of Percutaneous Mitral Valvuloplasty Using the Inoue Balloon

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to assess the short- and long-term clinical outcomes and valvular changes after percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty (PMV) in Sejong Hospital. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: Four hundred sixty-seven patients received PMV (Ed-already defined above) using the Inoue Balloon at Sejong hospital from 1990 to 2002. Short and long-term results, restenosis-free survival rate and prognostic factors for each result were analyzed by Chi-square, Cox regression analysis, Life table method and Cox proportional hazard model. RESULTS: After PMV, mitral valve area increased from 0.94+/-0.21 cm2 to 1.76+/-0.37 cm2 and the success rate (MVA>1.5 cm2 or increased by at least 50% without the development of moderate to severe mitral regurgitation) was 78.9%. Age ( or =1.1 cm2, p=0.001) were independent favorable prognostic factors for short-term result. As for the development of moderate to severe mitral regurgitation, pre-procedural MVA (9, p=0.043) were independent predictive factors. Median restenosis-free survival was 82.98 months and the restenosis-free survival rate was 70.9% at 3 years post-PMV, 48.1% at 6 years and 29.6% at 10 years. The independent prognostic factor for restenosis-free survival rate was left atrial dimension (LAD or =1.0 cm2, p=0.24) and ejection fraction (EF> or =55%, p=0.146) had an effect on the good long-term results of PMV from multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: PMV was a very successful treatment method for mitral stenosis. Pre-procedural MVA was a representative predictive factor for short and long-term outcomes and the development of mitral regurgitation.

Usefulness of the IMI Channel of Sysmex SE-9000(TM) Automated Hematology Analyzer Predicting the Optimal Timing of Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Harvest / 임상검사와정도관리

BACKGROUND: An essential prerequisite for successful procurement of sufficient peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) for engraftment is the optimal timing of collection. The Sysmex SE-9000 automated hematology analyzer provides the immature information (IMI) channel for the identification and counting PBSC. In this study, The optimal timing of PBSC collection was studied using IMI channel. METHODS: 193 peripheral blood stem cell collections were performed from 52 patients with hematologic disorders or solid tumors and 15 donors. Pre-harvest peripheral blood WBC, mononuclear cells (MNC) and IMI were tested and compared with CD34+ cell count and CFU-GM count of harvested products. RESULTS: Peripheral blood WBC and MNC count showed a weak correlation with CD34+ cell yield (r=0.38, P1x10(6)/kg with sensitivity of 88.7%. Positive and negative predictive values of IMI >465/microliter for CD34+ cell >1x10(6)/kg were 65.5% and 87.5%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The automated IMI might be used as a simple and efficient indicator of PBSC mobilization and applying variable cutoff values of IMI would be a useful tool to predict the optimal timing of PBSC collection.