Radiofrequency for the treatment of allergic rhinitis refractory to medical therapy.

Objectives/hypothesis: The ideal treatment for allergic rhinitis refractory to medical therapy is still lacking. The aim of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of turbinate surgery with radiofrequency for the treatment of allergic rhinitis that is unresponsive to medical therapy.

Study Design: A prospective, nonrandomized clinical study.

Clinical features and in vitro antimicrobial susceptibilities of community-acquired Klebsiella pneumoniae meningitis in Taiwan.

Twenty-seven adult patients were identified as having community-acquired Klebsiella pneumoniae meningitis. The K. pneumoniae isolates, collected from cerebrospinal fluid samples, were tested for in vitro antimicrobial susceptibilities.

The safety and feasibility of transradial cutting balloon angioplasty: immediate results, benefits, and limitations.

Cutting balloon angioplasty can reduce the restenosis rate more than conventional balloon angioplasty, but is traditionally performed through a femoral artery. However, it is not clear how useful a transradial approach would be for cutting balloon angioplasty. This study was conducted to examine the safety, feasibility, and limitations of transradial as opposed to transfemoral cutting balloon angioplasty.

The feasibility and safety of early discharge for low risk patients with acute myocardial infarction after successful direct percutaneous coronary intervention.

There is a lack of consensus among cardiologists regarding the length of time patients should be hospitalized after an uncomplicated acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and successful direct percutaneous coronary intervention (d-PCI). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and safety of early discharge (discharge <4 days after the procedure) for low risk patients with AMI who underwent successful d-PCI. From May 1996 through December 2001, d-PCI was performed in 898 consecutive patients with AMI.

Trabeculectomy with mitomycin C versus trabeculectomy alone for juvenile primary open-angle glaucoma.

Purpose: We compare the intermediate-term outcome of initial trabeculectomy with adjunctive mitomycin C use versus initial trabeculectomy alone for juvenile primary open-angle glaucoma.

Methods: This retrospective consecutive analysis included 44 eyes from 36 patients with juvenile primary-open angle glaucoma, all of whom underwent either initial trabeculectomy with adjunctive mitomycin C use (15 eyes) or initial trabeculectomy alone without mitomycin C use (29 eyes). We compared the success rate and complications between the two groups in a three-year follow-up period following surgery.

The maturity of human cumulus-free oocytes is positively related to blastocyst development and viability.

Purpose: We investigated whether the human oocyte maturity at the removal of cumulus/corona cells affects the embryo outcome in vitro.

Methods: A total of 620 oocytes, which subsequently underwent blastocyst culture, were included in this analysis. Oocytes that were in prophase or Metaphase I of meiosis at the removal of cumulus/corona cells were in Group II.

Low expression levels of p27 correlate with loco-regional recurrence in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

To clarify the roles of p27 and c-myc in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), we used immunohistochemical studies to examine the expression of p27 and c-myc proteins in 69 patients with NPC. The results show that a low level of expression was observed in 47 and 41 cases, respectively. A low level of p27 expression was significantly correlated with loco-regional recurrence, and reduction in the c-myc protein was also correlated with neck metastasis in NPC.

Comparison of primary angioplasty and conservative treatment on short- and long-term outcome in octogenarian or older patients with acute myocardial infarction.

It has long been established that advanced age is not only associated with greater myocardial infarction frequency but also greater mortality and morbidity. The treatment of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in 80 year old patients remains problematic with conflicting results; in these patients, the risks of conservative treatment are high and the risks and benefits of thrombolytic therapy are still controversial. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether primary angioplasty can offer an important alternative method to improve short- and long-term outcomes in octogenarian or older patients who experience AMI.

Comparison of one- and two-layer vaginal cuff closure and open vaginal cuff during laparoscopic-assisted vaginal hysterectomy.

Study Objective: To evaluate clinical outcomes of three surgical techniques during laparoscopic-assisted vaginal hysterectomy.

Design: Prospective, randomized study (Canadian Task Force classification I).

Setting: Medical school-affiliated hospital.

Laparoscopic-assisted vaginal hysterectomy in women of all weights and the effects of weight on complications.

Study Objective: To compare intraoperative and postoperative complication rates for laparoscopic-assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LAVH) between women classified as obese, normal weight, or very thin based on body mass index (BMI).

Design: Retrospective cohort study (Canadian Task Force classification II-3).

Setting: University hospital.

Klebsiella meningitis in adults: clinical features, prognostic factors and therapeutic outcomes.

Sixty adult Klebsiella meningitis patients have been identified at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in a period of 13 years. Most cases were associated with debilitating diseases, and devastating metastatic septic abscesses are common in diabetic patients with K. pneumoniae meningitis.

Angiographic morphologic features of infarct-related arteries and timely reperfusion in acute myocardial infarction: predictors of slow-flow and no-reflow phenomenon.

Background: Growing evidence suggests that no-reflow reperfusion after direct percutaneous coronary intervention (d-PCI) is associated with an unfavorable clinical outcome. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether prerevascularization angiographic morphologic features of infarct-related arteries (IRAs) and timely reperfusion could convey information on slow-flow (Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction [TIMI] 2 flow) or no-reflow (TIMI grade < or = 1 flow) reperfusion after d-PCI.

Methods And Results: Between May 1993 and September 2000, d-PCI was performed in 794 consecutive patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Atrial electrophysiological properties evaluated by right and left atrial pacing in patients with or without atrial fibrillation.

Coronary sinus (CS) pacing has been shown to prevent induction of atrial fibrillation (AF) by suppression of the propensity of atrial premature beats at high right atrium (HRA) to induce local conduction delay at the posterior triangle of Koch. However, other mechanisms of CS pacing in preventing induction of AF have not been explored. This study investigated whether a differential conduction delay exists between the HRA and distal CS pacing in patients with paroxysmal AF but not in patients without AF.

Community-acquired bacterial meningitis in adults: the epidemiology, timing of appropriate antimicrobial therapy, and prognostic factors.

Between January 1986 and December 1999, 109 adult patients with culture-proven community-acquired bacterial meningitis were identified at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. To compare changes over time, the appearance of disease among our patients was divided into two equal time periods: an earlier time period (1986-1992) and a later time period (1993-1999). In this study, there was a decreasing proportion of community-acquired bacterial meningitis compared with nosocomial bacterial meningitis in adult patients in recent years.

Adult spinal epidural abscess: clinical features and prognostic factors.

Twenty-nine adult patients with spinal epidural abscess (SEA), aged 31-73 years, have been identified over a period of 8 years. The 29 SEA patients included 21 men and eight women with a mean age of 54 years. Initial diagnosis of SEA was made in only 17% of our patients and another 48% of patients were initially suggested of having infection or mass of the spine.

A prospective, randomized study of closed-suction drainage after laparoscopic-assisted vaginal hysterectomy.

Study Objective: To estimate whether closed-suction drainage of the pelvis after laparoscopic-assisted vaginal hysterectomy reduces the risk of postoperative morbidity.

Design: Prospective, randomized study (Canadian Task Force classification 1).

Setting: Teaching medical center.

Seasonal variation of microhabitat distribution of the polymorphic land snail Cepaea nemoralis.

We studied the seasonal variation of microhabitat distribution of the land snail Cepaea nemoralis over a 3-year period in a population at Dansville, New York. Stratified random quadrat sampling was used to determine snail densities and environmental variables in each month. The plant cover of each quadrat was estimated by a modified Daubenmire measure.