BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine adverse reactions needing medical support: a vaccine center experience

Objective@#The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has not yet been controlled and herd immunity through vaccination against COVID-19 has been considered the best option to prevent the spread of COVID-19 worldwide. We encountered several patients in our emergency department presenting with adverse reactions after COVID-19 vaccinations. Hence, we investigated the clinical characteristics of patients with adverse reactions after vaccination. @*Methods@#In South Korea, 10,510 doses of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine was administered to 5,304 medical staff. To investigate adverse reactions, we reviewed the case report forms from the vaccination centers and the medical charts from the date of first dose administration until two weeks after the last planned second dose. @*Results@#A total of 187 cases, out of the 10,510, experienced adverse reactions and these were more common in females. Dizziness (44.4%), nausea and vomiting (28.3%), and fever (24.1%) were the most reported adverse reactions. Immediate adverse reactions included dizziness, nausea, and vomiting, palpitation, sensory changes, and delayed adverse reactions included fever, myalgia, headache, nausea, and vomiting. The delayed reactions of fever and myalgia were significantly more common after the second, rather than after the first dose (P<0.01 and P=0.03, respectively). One case of anaphylaxis was reported. All adverse reactions improved after conservative care. @*Conclusion@#Our findings show diverse adverse reactions to the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, but none of them required hospitalization. However, since this vaccine has been manufactured using a newly developed technique, more research focused on the clinical significance of the adverse reactions is necessary.

Clinical Features of the Patients with Merkel Cell Carcinoma in Korea / 대한피부과학회지

Background@#Merkel cell carcinoma is an uncommon primary cutaneous neuroendocrine cancer. It is a highly aggressive cancer with high rates of local recurrence and nodal metastasis. While there are some case reports on Korean patients with Merkel cell carcinoma, there has been no comparison study between Western patients and Korean patients regarding its clinical features. @*Objective@#This study aimed to identify the clinical features of Merkel cell carcinoma in Korean patients and compare them with those seen in Western studies. @*Methods@#We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who were diagnosed with Merkel cell carcinoma between January 1995 and May 2019. Clinical features were compared with those seen in Western studies. @*Results@#Thirty-one patients were enrolled in the analysis. The mean age of onset was 67.6 years, and there were more female patients (1:1.58). The head and neck was the most common primary site (38.7%, 12/31). Patients treated by surgical methods alone were the most common (58.1%, 18/31). Twelve patients (38.7%) had recurrence, and seven patients (22.6%) died of Merkel cell carcinoma. Patients younger than 70 years were more frequent in Korea than in Western countries (Fishers exact test, p＜0.05). In addition, patients with distant metastasis were less frequent in Korea than in Western countries (Fishers exact test, p＜0.05). @*Conclusion@#Compared with Western studies, there were no differences between demographic and clinical features, except that older patients and patients with distant metastasis were less frequent in Korea.

Tenofovir and Entecavir Have Similar Renal Adverse Events on Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients Treated with Transarterial Chemoembolization

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) is potentially nephrotoxic in chronic hepatitis B patients. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients treated using transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) are at an increased risk of renal injury. The aim of this study was to determine whether TDF is associated with more renal adverse events than entecavir (ETV) in HCC patients treated with TACE. METHODS: In this retrospective single-center study, we selected 53 HCC patients who were treated with TDF from January 2012 to July 2013 and had their first TACE procedure in the same period. These patients were matched by age and sex to patients treated with ETV. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics, including HCC factors, and nephrotoxic drug use, between the two groups. The median follow-up period was 17.0 and 20.0 months for the TDF and ETV groups, respectively. There was no difference during the follow-up period between the TDF and ETV groups in the increase in creatinine over 0.5 mg/dL (17.0% and 17.0%, P=1.00, respectively) and the decrease in eGFR over 25% (43.4% and 41.5%, P=0.84, respectively). Multivariate analysis revealed that Child-Pugh class over B (hazard ratio [HR], 7.30; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.79–19.10; P<0.01) was associated with increase in creatinine, and Child-Pugh class over B (HR, 82.74; 95% CI 12.31–555.83; P<0.01) and Barcelona-Clinic Liver Cancer stage over B (HR, 14.93; 95% CI 1.60–139.51; P=0.02) were associated with decrease in eGFR. CONCLUSIONS: TDF has comparable safety to that of ETV for HCC patients undergoing TACE.

A Case of Nivolumab-Induced Lichen Planus

No abstract available.

Clinical Features and Outcomes of Bilateral Decompression Surgery for Immediate Contralateral Hematoma after Craniectomy Following Acute Subdural Hematoma / 대한신경손상학회지

OBJECTIVE: Immediate contralateral epidural hematoma (EDH) and traumatic intracerebral hematoma (T-ICH) after craniectomy for traumatic subdural hematoma (SDH) are rare but devastating post-operative complications. Their clinical features and outcomes are not well studied. In this report, we present the clinical features and outcomes of immediate contralateral acute hematoma cases requiring a second operation. METHODS: This study includes 10 cases of immediate contralateral EDH and T-ICH following bilateral craniectomy for the evacuation of traumatic SDH and contralateral hematoma between 2004 and 2015. Their medical records and radiographic findings were reviewed and analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: Ten of the 528 patients (1.89%) who underwent craniectomy for the evacuation of traumatic SDH developed post-operative EDH (n=5), T-ICH (n=5). The trauma was caused by a fall in 5 patients and by a traffic accident in 5 patients. The patients who suffered trauma due to pedestrian accidents died. Seven patients had a low admission Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS; GCS≤8) score in the preoperative state (average admission GCS, 7.7; average discharge GCS, 3.4; and average discharge Glasgow Outcome Scale, 2.0). Severe intra-operative brain swelling was noted in all patients, while skull fracture was observed in 8. Multiple associated injuries and medication for heart disease were characteristic of patients who died. CONCLUSION: The prognosis of delayed contralateral hematoma was very poor. Multiple associated injuries, past medical history and traffic accidents, especially pedestrians were seemed to be associated with higher mortality rates. Finally, contralateral skull fractures can indicate high risk of delayed contralateral acute intracranial hematoma.

Compliance of a Bypassing Hospital Trauma Protocol Using the Field Triage Decision Scheme between Metropolitan VS Non-Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services

PURPOSE: A trauma protocol for transport bypassing hospital for severe trauma patients was developed and implemented in Korea in 2012 using the field triage decision scheme of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of US. The aim of this study is to evaluate the compliance with the protocol in severe trauma between metropolitan versus non-metropolitan area. METHODS: Severe trauma patients were identified by the new protocol and collected from a trauma registry and EMS run sheet in one metropolitan and one non-metropolitan province from October 2012 (one month). Data variables included demographic, clinical information on vital signs and mental status, injury related variables like mechanisms, geographic information on place of the event, and distance to nearest, bypassed, and destination hospitals. Exposures are metropolitan versus non-metropolitan ambulances defined. Study end point was compliance-direct transport (C-DT), compliance-bypassing transport (C-BT), violation-non-bypassing transport (V-NT), and violation-bypassing transport (V-BT). The protocol violation with number of V-NT and V-BT divided by number of eligible patients were compared between metropolitan and non-metropolitan ambulances. RESULTS: Of the 863 patients with severe trauma were identified by the protocol. No statistical difference in demographics and clinical parameters except injury mechanism and distance to destination hospital. Between metropolitan versus non-metropolitan area. The C-DT, C-BT, V-NT, and V-BT were 27.4%, 18.5%, 20.2%, and 33.4% respectively. V-NT rate was significantly lower in metropolitan than in nonmetropolitan (8.2% versus 30.6%, p=0.001), while V-BT rate was significantly higher in metropolitan than in non-metropolitan (46.2% versus 23.3%, p=0.001), respectively. CONCLUSION: Protocol violation rates were significantly different in non-bypassing and inappropriate bypassing to hospital between metropolitan versus non-metropolitan ambulances when using the bypassing hospital trauma protocol.

Pravastatin-induced Stevens-Johnson syndrome

Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) manifests with severe cutaneous reactions, most commonly triggered by medications, which are characterized by fever and mucocutaneous lesions leading to necrosis and sloughing of the epidermis. To our knowledge, pravastatin-induced SJS has not yet been reported. Here, we describe a case of SJS due to pravastatin, which was diagnosed by a patch test. A 70-year-old woman presented with maculopapular skin rashes, which developed 2 weeks after medication of bisoprolol, amlodipine, pravastatin, spironolactone, and indobufene for cardiac problems. Various bullous-erosive mucocutaneous lesions occupied less than 10% of the total body surface area. Painful oropharyngeal mucous membrane lesions were observed. The vermilion border of the lips became denuded and developed serosanguinous crusts. With the drug withdrawal and the use of systemic corticosteroids, her manifestations resolved. Drug patch tests with bisoprolol, amlodipine, pravastatin, spironolactone, and indobufene were performed, resulting in a positive reaction to pravastatin, but not to the other drugs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of pravastatin-induced SJS.

Effect of Short-term Fenofibrate Therapy on Blood Creatinine Levels in Patients with Hypertriglyceridemia / 대한내과학회지

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Previous studies have reported that fenofibrate therapy increases blood creatinine levels. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of fenofibrate therapy on the renal function in patients with hypertriglyceridemia and to determine the parameters associated with changes in renal functions. METHODS: This prospective study enrolled 86 hypertriglyceridemic patients (triglycerides > or = 200 mg/dL) who were divided into two groups: the fenofibrate group (n = 43), who received 160 mg of fenofibrate, and the control group (n = 43). Lipid profiles and renal function were measured at the beginning of the study and after 2 months. RESULTS: The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) decreased in the fenofibrate group (p < 0.001), but did not change in the control group (p = 0.80). Accordingly, the decrease was more pronounced in the fenofibrate group than the control group (-18.6 +/- 8.6 vs. 0.9 +/- 9.6%, respectively; p < 0.001). Changes in serum creatinine (p < 0.001) and blood urea nitrogen (p < 0.005) levels were similar to those of eGFR. In a stepwise linear regression analysis, the percent change in creatinine was independently associated with fenofibrate therapy (r = 0.71; p < 0.001) and old age (r = 0.27; p < 0.05) in all patients. In the fenofibrate group, percent change in creatinine was associated with age (r = -0.51; p < 0.001) and smoking (r = 0.42; p < 0.005), while percent change was associated with body mass index (r = 0.31; p < 0.05) in the control group. Elevation of creatinine by 20% or more was associated with fenofibrate therapy (p < 0.001) and old age (p < 0.005) in all patients, and with old age (p < 0.001) in the fenofibrate group. CONCLUSIONS: Short-term fenofibrate therapy significantly impaired the renal function of hypertriglyceridemic patients, and this effect was more pronounced in elderly patients. This finding suggests that creatinine levels should be followed in patients receiving fenofibrate therapy.

A Case of Serum Sickness-Like Reaction and Anaphylaxis - Induced Simultaneously by Rifampin

Rifampin is commonly used as a first-line anti-tuberculosis drug, but it can induce a serum sickness-like reaction or anaphylaxis. However, it is possible for 1 drug antigen to induce 2 or more simultaneous immunologic reactions. Here, we report a case of a serum-sickness-like reaction and anaphylaxis induced concurrently by rifampin. A 25-year-old male presented with high fever and a maculopapular rash with vesicles on the hands, which developed 2 weeks following regular administration of anti-tuberculosis drugs for tuberculous meningitis, including rifampin. Elevated liver enzymes, peripheral neuropathy, and decreased serum C3 and C4 levels were found. Interestingly, these symptoms were accompanied by severe hypotension. A serum-sickness-like reaction was considered after excluding other potential causes for the fever. A drug provocation test showed that the fever developed after oral administration of rifampin, suggesting that rifampin was the cause of the allergic reaction. However, hypotension, epigastric discomfort, and diarrhea also accompanied these symptoms, indicating that IgE-mediated type I hypersensitivity could be part of the serum sickness-like reaction. An intradermal skin test clearly showed an immediate positive reaction to rifampin. This case was diagnosed as concurrent serum-sickness-like reaction and anaphylaxis induced by rifampin. One drug may therefore induce combined allergic reactions via 2 or more simultaneous hypersensitivity responses.

Peripheral nerve injury caused by needle impalement: Synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering study in ex-vivo rat sciatic nerve

BACKGROUND: Direct puncture by a needle is a risk factor for nerve damage. This study was designed to demonstrate nerve damage caused by a needle using the synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) technique. METHODS: A 15 mm section of rat (Male Spargue-Dawley, about 250 grams) sciatic nerves were involved in this study. The nerve specimen for the experiment (N = 5) was punctured 5 times by a needle (25 G, 100 beveled) under general anesthesia with enflurane. The needle was placed perpendicular to the nerve and the needle bevel was placed parallel to the nerve. The SAXS patterns of the punctured nerves, extracted about 15 min prior to the experiment, were acquired after 1 week. The SAXS patterns of a normal sciatic nerve (N = 5), extracted about 15 min prior to the experiment, were measured in order to provide a comparison. Experiments were carried out at 4C1 beamline at Pohang Accelerator Laboratory in Korea. Incoming X-rays were monochromatized at 11 keV using a double multilayer (WB4C) monochromator; the beam size was around 0.5 (V) x 0.8 (H) mm2. The exposure time was 60 sec, and 8 to 12 images were acquired per sample with a 0.5 mm interval. RESULTS: In the punctured group, the periodic peaks of myelin sheath and collagen fiber were not changed. However, the periodic peaks of interfibrillar distance of collagen were greatly changed. CONCLUSIONS: Direct needle-nerve impalement did not cause damages in myelin sheath and collagen fibers when the needle was placed perpendicular and the needle bevel paralleled to the nerve fiber. This result can imply that the needle slipped into the interfibrillar packing of collagen fibrils.

Influence of Previous Statin Therapy on Cholesterol-Lowering Effect of Ezetimibe

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The inhibition of cholesterol absorption by ezetimibe increases cholesterol synthesis. The effect of inhibition of cholesterol synthesis on cholesterol absorption is controversial. The influence of these interactions on cholesterol levels is unknown. We investigated on the extent to which cholesterol levels were affected by the reaction of one pathway to the inhibition of the other pathway. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This case-controlled study enrolled 198 patients who needed cholesterol-lowering drugs. Ezetimibe (10 mg) was administered to the patients with (n=58) and without on-going statin therapy (n=58). Simvastatin (20 mg) was administered to the patients treated with (n=41) and without ezetimibe (n=41). RESULTS: Ezetimibe without statin lowered the total cholesterol by 13.3+/-8.8% (p<0.001) and the low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) by 18.7+/-15.3% (p<0.001). Ezetimibe added to statin decreased the total cholesterol by 21.1+/-7.7% (p<0.001) and the LDL-C by 29.9+/-12.6% (p<0.001). The total cholesterol and LDL-C were reduced more by ezetimibe in patients with statin therapy than in those without statin therapy (p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). The differences in the effect of simvastatin on total cholesterol and LDL-C between the patients with and without ezetimibe showed borderline significance (p=0.10 and p=0.055, respectively). CONCLUSION: A prior inhibition of cholesterol synthesis by statin enhanced the effect of ezetimibe on total cholesterol and LDL-C by 7.8% and 11.2%, respectively. This finding suggests that ezetimibe increased cholesterol synthesis, resulting in a significant elevation of cholesterol levels.

Effect of Fenofibrate Therapy on Blood Creatinine Levels in Patients with Hypertension and Hypertriglyceridemia

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies have reported that fenofibrate therapy increased blood creatinine levels. We investigated the effect of fenofibrate therapy on creatinine levels in patients with hypertension and hypertriglyceridemia. METHODS: This retrospective study included 36 hypertensive patients with hypertriglyceridemia taking fenofibrate for 1-3 years (Fenofibrate group) and 36 control patients with similar age, sex, follow-up duration, creatinine levels, and lipid levels to those of fenofibrate therapy (Control group). RESULTS: Baseline parameters except lipid profiles were similar between the fenofibrate and control groups. Creatinine levels increased in the fenofibrate group (from 0.90+/-0.18 mg/dL to 1.05+/-0.22 mg/dL, p<0.001) and did not change in the control group (from 0.91+/-0.12 mg/dL to 0.92+/-0.14 mg/dL, p=0.39). The elevation was more pronounced in the fenofibrate group than in the control group (0.15+/-0.12 vs. 0.02+/-0.11 mg/dL, p<0.001). Changes in creatinine levels were only associated with fenofibrate therapy (r=0.52, p<0.001) in the stepwise linear regression analysis. CONCLUSION: Fenofibrate therapy for 1-3 years significantly increased creatinine levels in hypertensive patients with hypertriglyceridemia. This finding suggests that follow-up measurement of creatinine level is necessary with fenofibrate therapy.

XDS-I Gateway Development for HIE Connectivity with Legacy PACS at Gil Hospital / 대한의료정보학회지

OBJECTIVES: The ability to support healthcare document sharing is imperative in a health information exchange (HIE). Sharing imaging documents or images, however, can be challenging, especially when they are stored in a picture archiving and communication system (PACS) archive that does not support document sharing via standard HIE protocols. This research proposes a standard-compliant imaging gateway that enables connectivity between a legacy PACS and the entire HIE. METHODS: Investigation of the PACS solutions used at Gil Hospital was conducted. An imaging gateway application was then developed using a Java technology stack. Imaging document sharing capability enabled by the gateway was tested by integrating it into Gil Hospital's order communication system and its HIE infrastructure. RESULTS: The gateway can acquire radiology images from a PACS storage system, provide and register the images to Gil Hospital's HIE for document sharing purposes, and make the images retrievable by a cross-enterprise document sharing document viewer. CONCLUSIONS: Development of an imaging gateway that mediates communication between a PACS and an HIE can be considered a viable option when the PACS does not support the standard protocol for cross-enterprise document sharing for imaging. Furthermore, the availability of common HIE standards expedites the development and integration of the imaging gateway with an HIE.

Cooling Effect of Biocellulose Sheet (Bestian M(R) Pack) in Burn Patients

PURPOSE: The optimal initial treatment for burn wound is generally applying cold running tap water of temperature 12~18degrees C for approximately 20 minutes. But most of the patients are not susceptible to this initial treatment because they are likely to get embarrassed in such situation. According to statistics of our hospital, 92.2% of patients who visited ER (emergency room) had less than 10 minutes of water cooling. In this study, our aim was to find out the clinical effect of biocellulose sheet (Bestian M(R) pack) as an emergent treatment. METHODS: Between November 2010 and October 2011, 93 patients with burn wound showing first or superficial second degree at first inspection were evaluated in our study. Biocellulose sheet (Bestian M(R) pack) was applied at the wound as soon as possible for 25 minutes and second inspection was done. Routine moisture dressing was done thereafter and patients were followed as outpatient. RESULTS: Among 93 patients, 28 were male and 65 were female. Scalding burn, contact burn, flame burn and other causes were 78, 6, 4 and 5 patients respectively. Average complete healing time was 7.99 days and average follow-up time was 5.49. CONCLUSION: Biocellulose sheet has the effect of cooling down the skin temperature up to 6~8degrees C after 10 minutes of its application. Recent studies reported that appropriate cooling in burn wound improves the zone of stasis and zone of erythema histologically eventually reducing the chance of skin graft. Therefore, biocellulose sheet has the effect of improving initial pain, histologic status, healing time and cost in patients with burn wound whose depth is not deep. Furthermore it reduces the risk of scar formation.

Relation Between RR Intervals and Early Diastolic Mitral Annular Velocities in Atrial Fibrillation

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Irregular RR intervals in atrial fibrillation (AF) make beat-to-beat changes in left ventricular (LV) systolic performance. Early diastolic mitral annular velocity (E') is one of the well-established parameters for evaluating LV diastolic function. The relation between RR intervals and E's is unknown. The aim of this study was to observe the influence of continuous changes in RR interval on the parameter for diastolic function in AF. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Echocardiography was performed in 117 patients with AF. E' was adjusted for the effect of pre-preceding RR interval (RR-2) using the logarithmic equation between RR-2 and E'. The logarithmic equation between adjusted E' and preceding RR interval (RR-1) was calculated. RESULTS: The slope in the relation between RR-1 and E' varied from -2.5 to 2.6. The slope was lower (more likely negative) in patients with higher ratio of early diastolic mitral flow velocity (E) to E' (r=-0.21, p=0.023), ischemic heart disease (IHD, r=0.21, p=0.026), and higher systolic blood pressure (r=-0.19, p=0.046). When patients were divided into these 3 groups on the basis of slope, the lowest slope group (0.57, n=39). The slope with regards to the relationship between RR-2 and E' also varied from -3.4 to 3.1. CONCLUSION: Changes in RR intervals had variable effects on E's according to clinical variables in AF.

Fenofibrate Reduces C-Reactive Protein Levels in Hypertriglyceridemic Patients With High Risks for Cardiovascular Diseases

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The effects of fenofibrate on C-reactive protein (CRP) are under debate. We investigated the effect of fenofibrate on CRP levels and the variables determining changes. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This case-control study enrolled 280 hypertriglyceridemic patients who were managed either with 200 mg of fenofibrate (Fenofibrate group, n=140) or with standard treatment (comparison group, n=140). CRP levels were measured before and after management for 2 months. RESULTS: CRP levels decreased in both the fenofibrate (p=0.003) and comparison (p=0.048) groups. Changes in CRP levels were not significantly different between the two groups (p=0.27) and were negatively associated with baseline CRP levels (r=-0.47, p or =1 mg/L, CRP levels also decreased in both groups (p=0.000 and p=0.001 respectively), however, more in the fenofibrate group than in the comparison group (p=0.025). The reduction of CRP was associated with higher baseline CRP levels (r=-0.29, p=0.001), lower body mass index (BMI, r=0.23, p=0.007), and fenofibrate therapy (r=0.19, p=0.025). CRP levels decreased more in the fenofibrate group than in the comparison group in patients with a BMI < or =26 kg/m2 with borderline significance (-1.21+/-1.82 mg/L vs. -0.89+/-1.92 mg/L, p=0.097). In patients with a high density lipoprotein-cholesterol level <40 mg/dL, CRP levels were reduced only in the fenofibrate group (p=0.006). CONCLUSION: Fenofibrate reduced CRP levels in hypertriglyceridemic patients with high CRP and/or low high density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels and without severe overweight. This finding suggests that fenofibrate may have an anti-inflammatory effect in selected patients.

A case of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in a patient on hemodialysis

We report an unusual case of probable Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in hemodialysis patient. A woman 59 years of age with a past history of hypertension and end-stage renal disease presented with a stuporous state preceded by rapidly progressive cognitive dysfunction, myoclonus, and akinetic mutism. At first, the cause of the altered mental status was assumed to be uremic or hypertensive encephalopathy combined with fever. Proper managements, however, did not improve the neurologic symptoms. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging revealed bilaterally asymmetric high signal intensity in both basal ganglia and cerebral cortices. Electroencephalography showed diffuse generalized theta-to-delta range slow wave and intermittent medium-to-high voltage complexes with a characteristic triphasic pattern on both hemispheres. Cerebrospinal fluid assay for the 14-3-3 protein was positive and diagnostic of CJD.

Benign Papilloma Developed in Completely-healed Burn Wound

A 72-year-old female with 10% TBSA flame, mostly partial thickness, was treated topically with 10% mafenide acetate cream and 1% silver sulfadiazine cream. On day 28, burn wound was nearly healed but black colored, 3~5 mm sized maculopapular lesions developed in healed facial burn wound. Similar skin lesion progressed in both hand and both wrist. All skin lesions were peeled off. On day 30, biopsy was performed. An excisional biopsy of the lesion in the left cheek revealed benign papilloma. On day 44, we excised all skin lesions and performed STSG. All graft sites were healed 14th day after STSG.

Skin Graft Fixation with Histoacryl Tissue Adhesive in STSG of Burn Patients

PURPOSE: Comparing with suture and staple, skin graft fixation with Histoacryl (N-butyl-cyanoacrylate, B.Braun, Germany) has two advantages. Fixation is simple, painless and removal process is unnecessary. There are few reports that compare histoacryl with conventional methods for skin graft fixation in FTSG. However, there are no comparative studies in STSG. The purpose of this study is to show our experience of skin graft fixation with histoacryl in STSG of burn patients. METHODS: This study included those who was burned less than 10% of TBSA and needed STSG. The patients who had underlying disease (DM, hypertension, liver disease, lung disease) were excluded. 29 patients who visited Bestian burn center from January to July 2009 was enrolled in the study. In STSG, skin graft was fixed with histoacryl and authors marked the fixed points with pen. Fixation rate was checked in 7 days after STSG and take rate was checked in 14 days after STSG. RESULTS: The patient group consisted of 7 males and 22 females. The mean extent of burn area was 2.3%. The type of injury consisted of 18 contact, 8 scald, 1 flame, 2 friction. 31 STSG of 29 patients was done. STSG was done at 24th day after burn, the mean area of wound for STSG was 51 cm2. Mean numbers of fixation point with histoacryl per patients were 14.1. 430 of 436 fixation were stable and fixation rate was 98.6%. There was no infection case. Take rate was 99.1% in 14 days after STSG and it took 21 days for wound opening. CONCLUSION: Until now, suture and staple are common methods in skin graft fixation. However, it is disadvantageous that suture and staples should be removed. Histoacryl does not need those process. This study showed that take rate was 99.1% and fixation rate was 98.6% in fixation with histoacryl. In STSG, Skin graft fixation with histoacryl could be alternative methods for suture and staple.

Development of Assessment Tools for Performance and Leadership of a Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Team / 대한구급학회지

BACKGROUND: The assessment tools for leadership and performance of resuscitation teams are have not been developed. We evaluated the checklists for resuscitation team performance and teamwork. METHODS: We developed two checklists for team dynamics (D1, D2) and two checklists for team performances (P1, P2). The videotaped mock resuscitation before and after a 2-hr Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) training were also evaluated by two emergency physicians and two nurses using the four checklists. The validity and agreement between assessors were determined. Internal consistency was determined using Cronbach-alpha. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in scores by expert consensus and the checklist score. The average scores between different assessors were different except for the D1 and D2 between doctors. The Cronbach-alpha for internal consistency were within acceptable ranges in the checklists D2 and P2. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that the D2 and P2 checklists are provisionally acceptable due to relatively high validity, agreement, and internal consistency. However, further research is needed to develop validated checklists for resuscitation teams.