Low-dose diluted bupivacaine with fentanyl 25 microg or sufentanil 5 microg can provide adequate anaesthesia without haemodynamic instability for TURP in elderly patients. However, sufentanil was superior to fentanyl in the quality of the spinal block produced.

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Radiation therapy is widely used for thoracic cancers. However, it occasionally causes radiationinduced lung injuries, including pneumonitis and fibrosis. Chung-Sang-Bo-Ha-Tang (CSBHT) has been traditionally used to treat chronic pulmonary disease in Korea. PM014, a modified herbal formula derived from CSBHT, contains medicinal herbs of seven species. In our previous studies, PM014 exhibited anti-inflammatory effects in a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease model. In this study, we have evaluated the effects of PM014 on radiation-induced lung inflammation. Mice in the treatment group were orally administered PM014 six times for 2 weeks. Effects of PM014 on radiation pneumonitis were evaluated based on histological findings and differential cell count in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. PM014 treatment significantly inhibited immune cell recruitment and collagen deposition in lung tissue. Normal lung volume, evaluated by radiological analysis, in PM014-treated mice was higher compared to that in irradiated control mice. PM014-treated mice exhibited significant changes in inspiratory capacity, compliance and tissue damping and elastance. Additionally, PM014 treatment resulted in the downregulation of inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and fibrosis-related genes and a reduction in the transforming growth factor-β1-positive cell population in lung tissue. Thus, PM014 is a potent therapeutic agent for radiation-induced lung fibrosis and inflammation.

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at Severance Hospital. The controls with the positive or negative results were selected by matching 1:1 with the case for date of QFT-G IT assay. An indeterminate result was considered when the level in both the tuberculosis antigen and mitogen tube was less than 0.35 IU/ml, or the level in the nil tube was higher than 8.0 IU/ml. Through retrospective review of medical records, age, gender, total lymphocyte count at the QFT-G IT assay, underlying diseases, and medical conditions which can influence the immune function were collected as covariates. The predictive factors for the indeterminate results on QFT-G IT were assessed by multivariate logistic regression models.Results: Age and gender did not show the significant differences between case and control patients (p = 0.105 and 0.906). The percentage of patients with hematologic malignancy (19.4% vs. 11.1%, p = 0.049), chronic renal disease (22.2% vs. 9.7%, p = 0.004), and autoimmune disease (16.0% vs. 6.3%, p = 0.009) in the case group were the significantly higher than those in the control group. Also, the case group had the significantly higher percentage of steroid use (16.0% vs. 8.3%, p = 0.047) and solid organ transplantation (11.1% vs. 2.1%, p = 0.002) than the control group. The total lymphocyte count was the significantly lower in the case group than in the control group (median [interquartile range], 540 [220-1,030] vs. 1,370 [870-1,970], p < 0.001). In the final regression model, clinical factors associated with the indeterminate results were chronic renal disease (odds ratio [OR] 2.26, 95% confidential interval [CI] 1.03-4.94, p = 0.041), autoimmune disease (OR 3.99, 95% CI 1.65-9.66, p = 0.002), and solid organ transplantation (OR 5.06, 95% CI 1.30-19.73, p = 0.020).

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