A case of typhoid fever complicated with pleurisy and hepatitis / 대한내과학회지

Typhoid fever often manifests hepatic involvement but pleural involvement has rarely been reported to occur as a complication of typhoid fever. One case of typhoid pleurisy, in which Salmonella was isolated from the blood, is presented with the brief review of the literature. A 44 year old female was admitted to the hospital because of high fever, abdominal pain. Typhoid fever was diagnosed by blood culture, Widal test, and liver function test. Chest X-ray and pleural effusion examination demonstrated pleurisy. With the administration of ceftriaxone and pleural aspiration, she became afebrile with subsidence of pleural effusion.

A case of typhoid fever complicated with pleurisy and hepatitis / 대한내과학회지

Typhoid fever often manifests hepatic involvement but pleural involvement has rarely been reported to occur as a complication of typhoid fever. One case of typhoid pleurisy, in which Salmonella was isolated from the blood, is presented with the brief review of the literature. A 44 year old female was admitted to the hospital because of high fever, abdominal pain. Typhoid fever was diagnosed by blood culture, Widal test, and liver function test. Chest X-ray and pleural effusion examination demonstrated pleurisy. With the administration of ceftriaxone and pleural aspiration, she became afebrile with subsidence of pleural effusion.

A Case of Double Pylorus Associated with Chronic Bronchitis and Gastric Ulcer / 대한소화기내시경학회지

The double pylorus is a fistulous communication between gastric antrum and duodenal bulb. It appears to be an acquired lesion in the majority of cases. Upon routine endoscopic procedures, it is frequently seem to occur in males who are either alcoholics, diabetics, those with chronic renal failure, chronic lung disease. If it is no developing complications such as septal rupture, double pylorus is well response to medical treatment. A 51-year-old man who had been taking medication over a long period for the chronic bronchitis was admitted to this hospital because of epigastric soreness and indigestion for 1 month. Endosopic findings showed two large openings of the pyloric channel and gastric ulcer in the channel. We thought that this case was an acquired lesion reasult of repeated gastric ulcer. We report a case of double pylrous with the brief review of literatures.

The Pattern of Smoking Habit in Soldiers Who Visited a Military Hospital and Effects of Anti-tobacco Smoking Campaign on It

BACKGROUND: Despite the direct and indirect harmfulness of tobacco smoking, its consumption increases after joining the army, which is a national duty in Korea. Therefore, a study was done on soldiers, who visited a military hospital for a certain period of time in order to reduce the amount of smoking, by investigating the pattern of tobacco smoking after joining the army and the influence of anti-tobacco education on smoking. METHODS: Self-administered questionnaires were performed on 800 soldiers who visited an army hospital in Seoul, Korea, from March to May 2002. This questionnaire asked information concerning general characteristics of population, smoking status, smoking amount, anti-tobacco education and sociodemographic characteristics. Excluding 26 of them, who answered insincerely, the data collected from 774 soldiers were analyzed using SPSS/PC. RESULTS: The subjects were total 774 soldiers and the distribution of age in 20 to 22 year-olds accounted for 88%. Among the total 540 (69.7%) have answered that they smoke at present. Among them, 53.6% have stated that they had started smoking in the high school years, 12.2% while in college and 7.2% after joining the army. For the motive of smoking curiosity accounted for 52.7%. Interestingly, 39 (15%) out of 252 non-smokers before enlistment had started smoking after joining the army and 21 (4%) out of 522 smokers before enlistment had quit it. In comparison of smoking amount before and after enlistment, increment was shown in 52.1%, reduction in 12% and no change in 35.9%. The most common reason for the increase in smoking amount was stress in 82.1% and that for reduction was caring for health in 65%. Among the subjects 68.6% have answered that they have had anti-tobacco education after joining the army, and among them 59.3% received it during recruit training and 39.5% after the troop disposition. CONCLUSION: The smoking rate of soldiers who visited a military hospital was high as 69.7%. It was found out that the number of smokers and daily smoking amount increased after enlistment. Therefore, specific measures such as anti-tobacco education or stress management schemes are necessary to induce the reduction of smoking rate in the army.

A prospective study on the antihypertensive monotherapy in family practice

BACKGROUND: There are very few cohort studies on the hypertension in family practice. In order to investigate epidemiological characteristics of hypertensive patients and assess the safety and tolerability of newly prescribed antihypertensive monotherapies in Korean patients, a prospective study was carried out. METHODS: A total of 1,181 patients were observed from July 1997 to August 1999. At 2, 4, 8 and 12 weeks after initiation of antihypertensive monotherapy, the patients were evaluated for whether treatment is continued and development of any adverse reactions. RESULTS: Calcium channel blockers(CCBs) were the most commonly prescribed initial drug class (44.2%) in family practice, followed by angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors(ACEI)(21.0%), angiotensin II receptor antagonists(ARA)(11.8%), beta blockers(9.6%), alpa blockers(3.9%), and diuretics(3.6%). During the first 12 weeks, the percentage of subjects continuing their initial ACEIs(40.7%) was substantially lower than the percentages that of subjects continuing ARAs(66.2%), alpa blockers(63.0%), CCBs(61.3%), beta blockers(55.8%), and diuretics(53.5%), respectively(P<0.01). The following adverse reactions were detected: cough(7.5%), headache(6.1%), dizziness(3.9%), flushing(3.7%) and impotence(2.4%). The incidence of cough associated with ACEI(27.9%) was higher than those of other classes(P<0.01). CONCLUSION: CCBs were the most commonly prescribed initial drug class in family practice, followed by ACEIs, ARAs, beta blockers, alpa blockers, and diuretics. The tolerability of antihypertensive medication was the highest in Korean patients treated with ARAs, followed by CCBs, beta blockers, diuretics, alpa blockers, and ACEIs.