Long-term outcomes after revascularization for advanced popliteal artery entrapment syndrome with segmental arterial occlusion

ObjectivesThere are few long-term follow-up studies about the result of revascularization surgery for the treatment of popliteal artery entrapment syndrome (PAES). We performed this retrospective study to analyze the long-term result of revascularization surgery in patients with advanced PAES during the last 16 years.MethodsTwenty-two limbs in 18 consecutive patients with PAES were treated surgically at Seoul National University Hospital between January 1994 and December 2009. The preoperative diagnosis of PAES was made by duplex ultrasonography, three-dimensional computed tomography angiography, magnetic resonance imaging, or conventional angiography. The method of surgical approach was determined by the extent of arterial occlusion in preoperative images.ResultsThe mean age was 31 years old and the majority of patients were men (94%). The chief complaints were claudication in 18 limbs, ischemic rest pain in three limbs, and toe necrosis in one limb. All 22 limbs underwent revascularization for advanced PAES with segmental arterial occlusion. Fourteen limbs underwent musculotendinous section and popliteo-popliteal interposition graft (13 posterior approaches, one medial approach), five femoropopliteal (below-knee) bypasses, one femoro-posterior tibial bypass, and two popliteo-posterior tibial bypasses. All revascularization surgeries were performed with reversed saphenous veins. The overall primary graft patency rates at 1, 3, and 5 years were 80.9%, 74.6%, and 74.6%, respectively. Comparing 5-year graft patency according to the extent of arterial occlusion, patients with occlusion confined to the popliteal artery (n = 14) showed a better patency rate than patients with occlusion extended beyond the popliteal artery (n = 8) with no statistical significance (83.6% vs 53.6%; P = .053). Comparing 5-year graft patency according to the inflow artery, superficial femoral artery inflow (n = 6) showed a worse patency rate than popliteal artery inflow (n = 16) (30.0% vs 85.9%; P = .015).ConclusionIn advanced popliteal entrapment syndrome, longer bypass with superficial femoral artery inflow showed poor long-term graft patency rate. The graft patency rate was excellent in patients whose arterial occlusion was confined to the popliteal artery and treated by popliteal interposition graft with reversed saphenous vein. With these data, we suggest that longer bypass extending beyond the popliteal artery might only be indicated in patients with critical limb ischemia when the extent of disease does not allow short interposition graft

A DNA barcode library of the beetle reference collection (Insecta: Coleoptera) in the National Science Museum, Korea

AbstractColeoptera is a group of insects that are most diverse among insect resources. Although used as indicator species and applied in developing new drugs, it is difficult to identify them quickly. Since the development of a method using mitochondrial DNA information for identification, studies have been conducted in Korea to swiftly and accurately identify species. The National Science Museum of Korea (NSMK) has been collecting and morphologically identifying domestic reference insects since 2013, and building a database of DNA barcodes with digital images. The NSMK completed construction of a database of digital images and DNA barcodes of 60 beetle species in the Korean National Research Information System. A total of 179 specimens and 60 species were used for the analysis, and the averages of intraspecific and interspecific variations were 0.70±0.45% and 26.34±6.01%, respectively, with variation rates ranging from 0% to 1.45% and 9.83% to 56.23%, respectively

Prevalence of human papillomavirus infection and genotype distribution among high-risk Korean women for prospecting the strategy of vaccine development

We investigated the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and the distribution of high-risk HPV genotypes among 2,308 high-risk Korean women to predict how much the current prophylactic HPV vaccines might affect the prevention of cervical cancer in Korea. HPV DNA was detected in 939 women (40.7%) but only one-third of women were positive for HPV-16 and/or HPV-18, the genotypes used for developing the HPV vaccines. Thus, the development of area-specific HPV vaccines based on dominant HPV genotypes in our country is needed for preventing HPV infection and the development of premalignant lesions in the cervix of Korean women

Trends in Deceased Organ Donation and Utilization in Korea: 2000-2009

Continuous efforts have been made by the organ donation and transplantation community in Korea to increase organ donation by the deceased. The authors detailed trends of organ donation and utilization over the past 10 yr using data provided by the KONOS. The yearly number of deceased donors has grown gradually since 2003. The number and percentage of old donors (≥50 yr) and donors dying from intracranial hemorrhage has increased continuously. Therefore, the percentage of standard criteria donors (SCD) has been declining significantly, from 94% in 2000 to 79.2% in 2009. The number of organs transplanted per donor (OTPD) has also declined slightly since 2007, from 3.28 in 2007 to 2.95 in 2009. This decline may be attributable to increases in the number and percentage of extended criteria donors (ECD) and donors after cardiac death (DCD), since the OTPD was 2.25 for DCD, 2.5 for ECD, and 3.09 for SCD in 2009. In summary, the makeup of donors has changed significantly. There is an urgent need for establishment of an institutional framework including an independent organ procurement organization and for improvement for the National Transplant Act to increase deceased donor pool and to optimize management of ECD and DCD