Analysis of Fracture Patterns and Characteristics in Sacral Insufficiency Fracture: Do Sacral Fractures Occur in Patients Who Had Previous Lumbosacral Fusion Insufficiency Fractures or Stress Fractures?

Methods@#In total, 55 patients with SIFs were retrospectively investigated in this study. The study population was divided into lumbosacral fusion (n=20) and non-fusion (n=35) groups. Subsequently, the patients’ demographic characteristics, comorbidities, medication history, results of diagnostic imaging studies, and bone mineral density were assessed. The fracture patterns were classified either according to the five typical types (H-pattern bilateral vertical plus horizontal component, unilateral vertical only, bilateral vertical only, unilateral vertical plus horizontal component, and horizontal only fracture) or atypical types. @*Results@#In total, 44 of 55 patients (80%) suffered from more than one senile disease and received corresponding medications that caused secondary osteoporosis. A total of 12 patients had S1 lumbosacral fixation. Moreover, three of these 12 patients who developed a SIF immediately after a lumbosacral fracture had an unstable sacral U fracture. The remaining nine patients showed fracture patterns similar to the non-fusion patients. Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/computed tomography (CT) can identify fracture recurrence in previously healed fractures. In total, 24 patients (43.6%) had fractures of the pelvis, femur, and thoracolumbar spine. @*Conclusions@#SIF develops in elderly patients with multiple adult diseases that can induce secondary osteoporosis. Such fractures may occur in the patients with instrumented lumbosacral fusion. Importantly, some patients showed stress fractures after multilevel instrumented lumbosacral fusion, whereas others showed insufficiency fractures. The different fracture patterns correspond to different grades of SIF, and SPECT/CT can easily identify the fracture status.

Letter to Editor Concerning “Total Hip Arthroplasty Using Ceramic-on-ceramic Bearing Surfaces: Long-term Assessment of Squeaking Sounds” by Kim et al. (Hip Pelvis. 2018;30(1):18–22, http://dx.doi.org/10.5371/hp.2018.30.1.18) / 대한고관절학회지

No abstract available.

Evaluation of Risk Factor for Development of Proteinuria in Spinal Cord Injury / 대한신장학회잡지

BACKGROUND: Patients with spinal cord injury have a significant degree of morbidity and mortality caused by renal disease. Tubulointerstitial form of renal disease with minimal proteinuria predominate in this population. A retrospective study was performed to investigate the risk factors that may contribte to the development of proteinuria in patient with chronic spinal cord injury. METHODS: Between December 1999 and May 2000, 40 spinal cord injury patient in Korean Veterans Hospital were recurited retrospectively into the study. The information was gathered included medical record, laboratory data, and radiological study. RESULTS: Proteinuric subjects were older, had a longer duration of injury, had undergone a greater number of decubitus ulcer procedures and hydronephrosis. CONCLUSION: Proteinuria in the patients with spinal cord injury was related to the increase of the therapy for the decubitus ulceration, hydronephrosis, and the duration of the spinal cord injury, and it developed significantly more in paraplegia patients than in quadriplegia patients, which might be due to the more duration of the spinal cord injury in paraplegia patients. Therapeutic efforts directed toward preserving renal function should focus on avoidance of hydronephrosis, and decubitus ulceration.

A Case of Pichia ohmeri Fungemia Related to the Central Venous Catheter / 감염

Pichia ohmeri is a very rare pathogen of human infection. To date, two cases of P. ohmeri infection were reported worldwide. We have experienced a case of catheter-related P. ohmeri fungemia. The patient had been admitted due to cerebrovascular accident in rehabilitation center since August 1998. He had been bedridden due to previous cerebrovascular accident and undergone several episodes of nosocomial infection. Multiple antimicrobial agents had been used with central venous catheter for parenteral nutrition. On February 1999, he had developed fever and dyspnea. Vancomycin and imipenem were administered empirically and central venous catheter was removed on the impression of central venous catheter related infection. Blood culture and catheter tip culture grew P. ohmeri. He developed septic shock and finally led to death before the administration of amphotericin B.

Effect of Propranolol on Portal Vein Pressure in Patients with Chronic Liver Disease: Evaluation by Perrectal Portal Scintigraphy / 대한핵의학회잡지

PURPOSE: Propranolol is known to decrease portal pressure by reducing blood flow of portal vein. Per-rectal portal scintigraphy with Tc-99m pertechnetate has been introduced to evaluate the portal circulation and early diagnosis of liver cirrhosis. We evaluated the effects of propranolol on portal circulation by using per-rectal portal scintigraphy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed the portal hemodynamics by per-rectal portal scintigraphy in 51 patients with liver cirrhosis, 10 chronic hepatitis and 10 normal subjects. 38 patients with cirrhosis underwent per-rectal portal scintigraphy before and after propranolol medication. Per-rectal portal scintigraphy was performed after per-rectal administration of 370 MBq of Tc-99m pertechnetate. The shunt index was calculated as the ratio, expressed as a percentage of heart radioactivity to the sum of heart and liver radioactivity during the first 30 seconds. RESULTS: The shunt index in 40 patients with cirrhosis (59.8+/-27.2%) was significantly higher than that of normal control (5.0+/-1.2%, p<0.01) and chronic hepatitis (11.4+/-3.5%, p<0.01). Shunt index was significantly different according to Child's classification and the degree of esophageal varix (p<0.01). After propranolol medication, shunt index was significantly decreased from 59.9+/-27.3% to 51.3+/-15.3% (p<0.01) in 38 patients with liver cirrhosis. There was no significant difference of the amount of shunt index reduction after propranolol according to Childs' classification and the degree of esophgageal varix. CONCLUSION: The effect of propranolol on portal circulation was demonstrated as decreasing shunt index on per-rectal portal scintigraphy in patients with liver cirrhosis. Per-rectal portal scintigraphy may be useful to evaluate the portal circulation and to predict the effect of propranolol in patients with liver cirrhosis.

A Case of Alport's Syndrome in an Adult / 대한신장학회잡지

Alport's syndrome is a hereditary disorder whose incidence is 1 in 10,000 in general population, and, majority are developed in childhood, so it is rare to develop in adults. This syndrome consists of hematuria, sensorineural hearing loss, and lenticonus, in classic form. However, there are many atypical forms which have not all clinical manifestations. Although most asymptomatic hematuria in adults results from IgA nephropathy(Berger's disease) or thin basement disease(benign hematuria), Alport's syndrome should be considered as a cause of hematuria. The authors experienced a case of Alport's syndrome in a 21-year-old man who showed only hematuria and proteinuria, and who was diagnosed by history, family history, audiogram, and kidney needle biopsy. So, we report this case with a review of literature.

The Evaluation of Gallbladder Function by Tc-99m-DISIDA Scintigraphy in Diabetic Patients / 대한내과학회지

OBJECTIVES: Diabetic autonomic neuropathy is a common complication of long standing diabetes mellitus and is well known to induce the motor dysfunction of cardiovascular system, genitourinary system and diges tive system. Although many studies have done to eval uate the diabetic autonomic neuropathy, gallbladder motor function and biliary dynamic study to evaluate the change of gallbladder function in diabetic patients is relatively rare. This study was performed to measure the gall bladder ejection fraction using Tc- 99m-DISIDA with fatty meal in order to evaluate the gallbladder motor func tion in diabetic patients and to examine the usefulness of it in analyzing diabetic autonomic neuropathy. METHODS: 51 diabetic patients(males 31, females 18, mean age 57yr(39-77yr)) and 18 control subjects(males 14, females 4, mean aged 47yr(31-70yr)) without gall stone and impaired liver function were enrolled in our study. Also the diabetic patients were categorized by age, disease duration, body weight and diabetic complications such as retinopathy, peripheral neuropathy and cardiovas cular autonomic neuropathy accompanying with or not. RESULTS: 1) Median value and interquartile range of gallbladder ejection fraction(%) were 66%(48-79%) in diabetic pa tients group and 75%(64-80%) in control subjects. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups, but the mean value of diabetic patients was slightly lower than that of control subjects. 2) There was no significant difference between the two groups in mean value of gallbladder ejection fraction in every age group(P>0.05). 3) Median value of gallbladder ejection fraction in diabetic groups with less than 10 years of duration (both under 5 years and 5 to 10 years groups) was similar to that of control subjects. However in patients whose diabetic conditions last more than 10 years, the median range of gallbladder ejection fraction was significantly lower than that of control subjects(p0.05). Also seven diabetic patients whose gallbladder ejection fraction was reduced under 35% have had at least two diabetic complications. CONCLUSION: We observed that gallbladder ejection fraction of diabetic patients was reduced compared with that of control subjects. This is due to the reduced gallbladder muscle contractility resulting from diabetic autonomic dysfunction. These results suggest that the assessment of gallbladder ejection fraction using 99m- Tc-DISIDA would be useful to diagnose diabetic auto nomic neropathy.