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Biomedical subjects

K Choi

Publications and source records attributed to K Choi.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Complications of combined surgery and radiation therapy for carcinoma of the endometrium.

Long-term gastrointestinal (GI) and urinary tract (UT) complications were evaluated in 133 women with carcinoma of the endometrium who were treated by both radiotherapy and hysterectomy. Major complications developed in 8% of patients who received external pelvic radiation but in none with intracavitary radiation. GI complications were more frequent and more severe in patients receiving external pelvic radiation than in those who received only intracavitary radiotherapy, irrespective of the sequence of treatment. UT complications were more frequent with prehysterectomy external radiotherapy (N = 39) than with posthysterectomy external radiotherapy (N = 21).

Brachytherapy↗
PubMed1985

Metabolic epidemiology of colon cancer: fecal mutagens in healthy subjects from rural Kuopio and urban Helsinki, Finland.

Fecal mutagenic activity and dietary pattern of rural and urban Finnish population groups with distinct risk for the development of colon cancer were studied in a low-risk population in rural Kuopio and an intermediate-risk population in urban Helsinki. The average daily intake of protein and fat was the same in the two groups but the frequency of consumption of whole-grain cereals and whole-grain bread, as well as the amount of fiber from the bread were higher in Kuopio as compared to Helsinki. Fecal samples collected for 2 days were incubated under anaerobic conditions at 37 degrees C for 96 h, extracted with hexane: peroxide-free diethyl ether, partially purified on a silica Sep-Pak cartridge, and assayed for mutagenic activity using the Salmonella typhimurium/mammalian microsome system. The fecal mutagenic activity was observed with the tester strains TA98 and TA100 with and without microsomal activation in both the population groups. The percentage of samples showing fecal mutagenic ratio greater than 3 with TA98 and TA100 with microsomal activation, was higher in volunteers from Helsinki than in Kuopio.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Epidemic keratoconjunctivitis: report of an outbreak in an ophthalmology practice and recommendations for prevention.

In Fall 1981, an outbreak of acute infectious conjunctivitis with keratitis (EKC) occurred in patients who had visited a private ophthalmology clinic just prior to onset of illness. Among an estimated 2,200 patient visits to the office from August 10 to October 15, 1981 for problems unrelated to infectious conjunctivitis, 39 (1.8%) persons subsequently developed EKC. The median incubation period was 6.5 days (range, 1 to 14 days). A case-control study was done to identify risk factors associated with contracting EKC; patients with EKC were more likely than control patients to have been examined by one or the other of two of the four ophthalmologists at the clinic and to have undergone procedures such as tonometry or foreign body removal. Adenovirus was isolated from conjunctival swabs from four of five persons with conjunctivitis; three were type 8 and one was type 7. Recognition of the problem and improved handwashing practices were associated with terminating the outbreak. This outbreak illustrates the potential for transmission of adenovirus infection during the provision of eye care. Infection control practitioners should be familiar with measures for the prevention of such infections among ophthalmology patients.

Adenoviridae Infections↗
PubMed1984

Epidemiologic investigation of an oil-associated pneumonic paralytic eosinophilic syndrome in Spain.

From May 1 to December 26, 1981, a previously undescribed illness caused 277 deaths and the hospitalization of 12,656 persons in Spain. The disease was characterized by pneumonitis, eosinophilia, and marked loss of muscle mass and function. A succession of case-control studies was done in the town of Las Navas del Marqués (province of Avila) located 47 miles northeast of Madrid and with a population of 4009 people. The studies confirmed the association between illness and consumption of an illegally sold cooking oil. Other risk factors identified in the linear logistic regression analysis included involvement in various kitchen activities, increased average time spent inside the house, and the purchase of cooking oil from a specific street vendor. Although the oil was found to be a mixture of vegetable and animal fats contaminated with aniline and anilide-oil complexes, the specific etiologic mechanism of the disease has not been determined.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Twenty-five years' experience treating cerebro-rhino-orbital mucormycosis.

Mucormycosis is an acute fungal disease with high mortality exhibiting craniofacial, pulmonary, cutaneous, gastrointestinal and disseminated forms. Cerebro-rhino-orbital (CRO) mucormycosis is the type that most frequently involves the structures of the head and neck. While usually non-pathogenic, these saprophytic organisms can be particularly lethal in chronically debilitated patients. Between the years 1957 and 1982, 18 cases of CRO mucormycosis were seen at the Medical College of Virginia Hospital and the McGuire VA Medical Center. Four illustrative cases of CRO mucormycosis are presented to emphasize: the importance of clinical awareness of the disease, the necessity of tissue biopsy for diagnosis, the need of appropriate management of any underlying disorder, administration of amphotericin-B, and the performance of adequate surgery.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Sudden death among Southeast Asian refugees. An unexplained nocturnal phenomenon.

In the period July 15, 1977, through March 30, 1982, there were at least 51 sudden, unexplained deaths in the United States among refugees from Southeast Asia. These deaths involved relatively young (median age, 33 years), previously healthy persons. All except one were male, and all died at night. Available data from studies among young adults in this country suggest that this specific phenomenon has an unusually high incidence among Laotian and Kampuchean refugees and, furthermore, has not previously been observed in the United States. Interviews with families of the decedents and a case-control study have failed to establish causal factors, but emotional stress cannot be ruled out as a contributing element. While reviews of the forensic investigations have confirmed the absence of important common pathological or toxicological findings, preliminary findings of special postmortem cardiac studies, now in progress, suggest that at least some of these deaths may be associated with developmentally abnormal conduction system pathways. Further studies are required to confirm this association, to define the apparently sleep-induced mechanism that triggers these deaths, and to explain the male preponderance in this disorder.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

The surveillance of infectious diseases.

Surveillance is the collection, collation, and analysis of data and the dissemination to those who need to know so that an action can result. This article describes the clinician's critical role in disease reporting and outlines the benefits of surveillance to clinical practice. Four commonly used systems of disease surveillance are notifiable disease reporting, laboratory-based surveillance, hospital-based surveillance, and population-based surveillance. We analyze the relative strengths and limitations of each of these systems and present current efforts to evaluate and improve surveillance activities.

Communicable Disease Control↗
PubMed1983

National case-control study of Kaposi's sarcoma and Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in homosexual men: Part 1. Epidemiologic results.

To identify risk factors for the occurrence of Kaposi's sarcoma and Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in homosexual men, we conducted a case-control study in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. Fifty patients (cases) (39 with Kaposi's sarcoma, 8 with pneumocystis pneumonia, and 3 with both) and 120 matched homosexual male controls (from sexually transmitted disease clinics and private medical practices) participated in the study. The variable most strongly associated with illness was a larger number of male sex partners per year (median, 61 for patients; 27 and 25 for clinic and private practice controls, respectively). Compared with controls, cases were also more likely to have been exposed to feces during sex, have had syphilis and non-B hepatitis, have been treated for enteric parasites, and have used various illicit substances. Certain aspects of a lifestyle shared by a subgroup of the male homosexual population are associated with an increased risk of Kaposi's sarcoma and pneumocystis pneumonia.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1982

Morbidity and mortality associated with the July 1980 heat wave in St Louis and Kansas City, Mo.

The morbidity and mortality associated with the 1980 heat wave in St Louis and Kansas City, Mo, were assessed retrospectively. Heat-related illness and deaths were identified by review of death certificates and hospital, emergency room, and medical examiners' records in the two cities. Data from the July 1980 heat wave were compared with data from July 1978 and 1979, when there were no heat waves. Deaths from all causes in July 1980 increased by 57% and 64% in St Louis and Kansas City, respectively, but only 10% in the predominantly rural areas of Missouri. About one of every 1,000 residents of the two cities was hospitalized for or died of heat-related illness. Incidence rates (per 100,000) of heatstroke, defined as severe heat illness with documented hyperthermia, were 26.5 and 17.6 for St Louis and Kansas City, respectively. No heatstroke cases occurred in July 1979. Heatstroke rates were ten to 12 times higher for persons aged 65 years or older than for those younger than 65 years. The ratios of age-adjusted heatstroke rates were approximately 3:1 for nonwhite v white persons and about 6:1 for low v high socioeconomic status. Public health preventive measures in future heat waves should be directed toward the urban poor, the elderly, and persons of other-than-white races.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Risk factors for heatstroke. A case-control study.

To identify risk factors associated with heatstroke, a case-control study in St Louis and Kansas City, Mo, was conducted during July and August 1980. Questionnaire data were gathered for 156 persons with heatstroke (severe heat illness with documented hyperthermia) and 462 control subjects matched by age, sex, and neighborhood of residence. A stepwise linear logistic regression procedure was used to identify factors significantly associated with heatstroke. Alcoholism, living on the higher floors of multistory buildings, and using major tranquilizers (phenothiazines, butyrophenones, or thioxanthenes) were factors associated with increased risk. Factors associated with decreased risk were using home air conditioning, spending more time in air-conditioned places, and living in a residence well shaded by trees and shrubs. Being able to care for oneself, characteristically undertaking vigorous physical activity, but reducing such activity during the heat, and taking extra liquid were also associated with decreased risk. Our findings also suggest effective preventive measures. During a heat wave, the greatest attention should be directed toward high-risk groups, and relief efforts should include measures shown to be associated with reduced risk.

Air Conditioning↗
PubMed1982

Mortality during influenza epidemics in the United States, 1967-1978.

Excess deaths due to pneumonia and influenza and excess deaths for all causes were estimated using a time-series analysis for each of the eight influenza epidemics in the United States that occurred between 1967-1978. The effects of different analytic methods and different methods of structuring data are compared. Future directions for estimating the impact of influenza on mortality include a combination of regression techniques and multiple time-series analyses of surveillance data.

Disease Outbreaks↗
PubMed1981

An evaluation of influenza mortality surveillance, 1962-1979. I. Time series forecasts of expected pneumonia and influenza deaths.

Proposed in this paper is a new method of forecasting the expected number of pneumonia and influenza deaths based on a time series analysis of the historical mortality data. Currently, the method for forecasting the expected pneumonia and influenza deaths used by the Center for Disease Control is based on regression analysis. These forecasts are used to estimate the excess deaths attributable to pneumonia and influenza. Careful comparative analysis demonstrates that the proposed method provides a more accurate forecast of pneumonia and influenza mortality than the existing method.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

An evaluation of influenza mortality surveillance, 1962-1979. II. Percentage of pneumonia and influenza deaths as an indicator of influenza activity.

In this paper, the percentage of all deaths that are related to pneumonia and influenza (P & I ratio) is evaluated as an indicator of influenza activity and as a method to quantify the impact of influenza on mortality. Analysis of data from 1962-1979 indicates that the P & I ratio is an accurate indicator of influenza activity, as confirmed by independent systems of morbidity and laboratory surveillance. A rule using the P & I ratio for detecting an outbreak of an influenza epidemic was evaluated. It was found to be much more specific than a rule based on the regression model, but did not provide more timely detection of outbreaks of influenza during the past 17 years. The use of the P & I ratio in the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model of forecasting provided the most accurate prediction of the expected pneumonia and influenza mortality.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.↗
PubMed1981

Parasitic disease control in a residential facility for the mentally retarded: failure of selected isolation procedures.

Asymptomatic infection with either Entamoeba histolytica or Giardia lamblia was found in 60 per cent of the residents in an institution for the mentally retarded one year after eradication of these parasites. The residents were then segregated into infected and noninfected groups and drug therapy was again successfully undertaken. The two groups remained separated except during periods of play. A one-year follow-up showed that both study and control groups were equally infected. The failure of segregation was confounded by patient age and infection with nonpathogenic parasites.

Adolescent↗