Journal of Korean medical science
-
J. Korean Med. Sci. · Aug 2007
Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin as a marker of heavy drinking in Korean males.
This study was performed to evaluate the usefulness of carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) as a marker of heavy drinking in Korean males. The subjects (143 Korean males) were classified into 2 groups according to the amount of drinking, moderate drinkers (72 individuals) who drank 14 drinks or less per week and heavy drinkers (71 individuals) who drank more than 14 drinks per week. Using %CDT, gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) as clinical markers for heavy drinking, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were investigated. ⋯ Negative predictive values were 79.3%, 58.9%, 60.5%, and 50.6% respectively. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (95% confidence interval) for %CDT, GGT, AST, and ALT were 0.823 (0.755-0.891), 0.578 (0.484-0.673), 0.622 (0.528-0.717), and 0.516 (0.420-0.613), respectively. CDT is considered as the most reliable marker for detecting heavy drinking in Korean males.
-
J. Korean Med. Sci. · Aug 2007
Comparative StudyPostoperative changes in paraspinal muscle volume: comparison between paramedian interfascial and midline approaches for lumbar fusion.
In this study, we compared the paramedian interfascial approach (PIA) and the traditional midline approach (MA) for lumbar fusion to determine which approach resulted in the least amount of postoperative back muscle atrophy. We performed unilateral transforaminal posterior lumbar interbody fusion via MA on the symptomatic side and pedicle screw fixation via PIA on the other side in the same patient. We evaluated the damage to the paraspinal muscle after MA and PIA by measuring the preoperative and postoperative paraspinal muscle volume in 26 patients. ⋯ The degree of postoperative paraspinal muscle atrophy was significantly greater on the MA side than on the contralateral PIA side (-20.7% and -4.8%, respectively, p<0.01). In conclusion, the PIA for lumbar fusion yielded successful outcomes for the preservation of paraspinal muscle in these 26 patients. We suggest that the success of PIA is due to less manipulation and retraction of the paraspinal muscle and further studies on this technique may help confirm whether less muscle injury has positive effects on the long-term clinical outcome.