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A well-known functional gastrointestinal disorder called functional dyspepsia (FD) is defined by dyspeptic symptoms without any structural abnormalities. In alternative intervention, electrolyzed alkaline-reduced water (EARW) consumption is regarded as a treatment modality for gastrointestinal symptoms despite its mechanism not yet fully understood. The present clinical study aimed to investigate the effects of EARW on gastrointestinal symptoms of patients with FD. Forty-eight participants with FD were screened, and 42 were enrolled. Participants were randomly allocated to the EARW (n = 21) and purified water (PW) (n = 21) groups. The EARW group ingested EARW (10 mL/kg body weight/day) for 6 weeks. The gastrointestinal symptom rating scale (GSRS), functional dyspepsia-related quality of life (FD-QoL), the Korean version of the Nepean Dyspepsia Index (NDI-K) were used as primary outcome measures at baseline and at 6 weeks, and inflammatory markers were measured as the secondary outcome. Two participants dropped out, and 40 participants (EARW = 20 and PW = 20) completed the trial. Total GSRS score was significantly lower in the EARW group (34.27%, p < 0.01) than in the PW (18.16%) group. In the five subcategories of GSRS, the decreased score between baseline and post-intervention for the EARW and PW groups were 43.59% and 21.33% in abdominal pain score, respectively; 38.98% and 18.92% in reflux syndrome, respectively; 25.42% and 20.90% in diarrhea, respectively; 35.87% and 21.48% in indigestion, respectively; and 32.81% and 10.71% in constipation, respectively, and all the parameters were significantly different in the EARW group compared with those in the PW group. The NDI-K score was also lower in the EARW group (p < 0.01) than in the PW group. FD-QoL score decreased significantly more in the EARW group after intervention than in the PW group (p < 0.05). Additionally, inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IFN-γ) levels significantly suppressed in the EARW group after 6 weeks of drinking compared with the levels at the baseline. Our clinical study suggests that long-term drinking of EARW (pH 9.5) may improve FD-related symptoms and the quality of life of FD patients through home-based administration.

Subdural hygroma (SDG) is a complication of traumatic brain injury (TBI). In particular, the outcome and outpatient treatment period may vary depending on the occurrence of SDG. However, the pathogenesis of SDG has not been fully elucidated. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the risk factors associated with the occurrence of SDG after mild TBI.We retrospectively analyzed 250 patients with mild TBI admitted to a single institution between January 2021 and December 2021. The SDG occurrence and control groups were analyzed according to the risk factors of SDG, such as age, history, initial computed tomography (CT) findings, and initial laboratory findings.The overall occurrence rate of SDG was 31.6% (n=79). A statistically significant association was found between preoperative diagnoses and the occurrence of SDG, such as subarachnoid hemorrhage (odds ratio [OR], 2.36; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.26-4.39) and basal skull fracture (OR, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.12-0.83). Additionally, age ≥70 years (OR, 3.20; 95% CI, 1.74-5.87) and the use of tranexamic acid (OR, 2.12; 95% CI, 1.05-4.54) were statistically significant factors. The prognostic evaluation of patients using the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) did not show any statistical differences between patients with and without SDG.SDG was not associated with the prognosis of patients assessed using the GOS. However, depending on the occurrence of SDG, differences in patient symptoms may occur after mild TBI. Therefore, the early evaluation of patients with mild TBI and determination of the probability of developing SDG are important.

The crossing laminar screw fixation might be the most recently developed approach among various fixation techniques for C2. The new construct has stability comparable to transarticular or transpedicular screw fixation without risk of vertebral artery injury. Quantitative anatomical studies about C2 vertebra suggest significant variation in the thickness of C2 lamina as well as cross sectional area of junction of lamina and spinous process. We present an elderly patient who underwent an occipito-cervical stabilization incorporating crossed C2 laminar screw fixation. We preoperatively recognized that she had low profiles of C2 lamina, and thus made a modification of trajectory for the inferiorly crossing screw. We introduce a simple modification of crossing C2 laminar screw technique to improve stability in patients with low laminar profiles.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study is to investigate the incidence of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) in Youngdong district for 10 years. METHODS From Jan. 1997 to Dec. 2006, 732 patients (327 males, 405 females, mean age: 54.8+/-13.1 years) with spontaneous SAH were admitted to our hospital. We reviewed the medical records and radiological findings regarding to the ictus of SAH, location and size of the ruptured aneurysms, Hunt-Hess grade and Fisher grade on admission, personal details such as address, age, and sex, and previous history of medical diseases. RESULTS In these 732 patients, 672 cases were confirmed as aneurysmal SAH. Among them, 611 patients (262 males, 349 females, mean age: 54.9+/-13.2 years) came from Youngdong district. The average crude annual incidence of aneurysmal SAH for men, women, and both sexes combined in Youngdong district was 7.8+/-1.7, 10.5+/-2.7, and 9.1+/-2.1 per 100,000 population, respectively. Because of the problems related to the observation period and geographical confinement, it was suspected that the representative incidence of aneurysmal SAH in Youngdong district should be made during the later eight years in six coastal regions. Therefore, the average age-adjusted annual incidence for men, women, and both sexes combined was 8.8+/-1.4, 11.2+/-1.3 and 10.0+/-1.0, respectively in the coastal regions of Youngdong district from 1999 to 2006. CONCLUSION In overall, our results on the incidence of aneurysmal SAH was not very different from previous observations from other studies.

Fractures of lumbo-sacral junction involving bilateral sacral wings are rare. Posterior lumbo-sacral fixation does not always provide with sufficient stability in such cases. Various augmentation techniques including divergent sacral ala screws, S2 pedicle screws and Galveston rods have been reported to improve lumbo-sacral stabilization. Galveston technique using iliac bones would be the best surgical approach especially in patients with bilateral comminuted sacral fractures. However, original Galveston surgery is technically demanding and bending rods into the appropriate alignment is time consuming. We present a patient with unstable lumbo-sacral junction fractures and comminuted U-shaped sacral fractures treated by lumbo-sacro-pelvic fixation using iliac screws and discuss about the advantages of the iliac screws over the rod system of Galveston technique.