Changes in VWF-cleaving Metalloprotease (ADAMTS 13) activity in the thrombotic microangiopathy after kidney tranplantation / 대한내과학회지

The thrombotic microangiopathy associated with cyclosporine A after kidney transplantation is a detrimental complication that could lead to the loss of transplanted kidney. Although the pathogenesis is still unclear, the decrease in the activity of von Willebrand Factor (VWF)-cleaving metalloprotease that cleaves unusually large von-Willebrand factor (UL-VWF), such as disintegrin-like metalloprotease with thrombospondin type 1 repeats (ADAMTS) 13, and the inhibitory factors of ADAMTS 13 are reported. Therefore, we measured the activity of ADAMTS 13 and the inhibitory factors in a patient with thrombotic microangiopathy after kidney transplantation. A 28 year-old female patient with hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia and impaired renal function after the kidney transplantation was diagnosed as thrombotic microangiopathy after renal biopsy. The activity of ADAMTS 13 during the acute stage of thrombotic microangiopathy was reduced to 12%, but when the renal function returned to normal, ADAMTS 13 level returned to 100%. However, the autoantibody of ADAMTS 13 was not detected. The results from this study suggest that the pathogenesis of thrombotic microangiopathy associated with cyclosporine A after the kidney transplantation could be associated with the decrease in the activity of ADAMTS 13.

A Case of Rhabdomyolysis Caused by Group A beta-hemolytic Streptococcal Tonsillopharyngitis / 대한신장학회잡지

Bywaters and beall first reported rhabdomyolysis during World War II; the pigmented casts were found in renal tubules of 4 patients who died of acute renal failure after crushing injury. Since then, several cases of rhabdomyolysis with or without acute renal failure have been reported. The causes such as surgical injuries, excessive exercise, and drug abuse have been suggested as possible etiologies of rhabdomyolysis. Rhabdomyolysis is a clinical syndrome as a result of releasing of myocyte components from the injured striated muscles into blood stream. Clinical manifestations have ranged from asymptomatic elevation of creatinine kinase to acute renal failure which is a life threatening medical emergency. The most common cause of rhabdomyolysis is traumatic muscular injury. The others include alcohol abuse, metabolic disorder, drug, toxins, carbon monoxide poisoning, burn, vascular occlusion, excessive exercise, and bacterial or viral infections and sepsis. Among these, rhabdomyolysis caused by Group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus is very rare. However, rhabdomyolysis due to pharyngitis has not been reported. We report a case of rhabdomyolysis associated with Group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus.

Clinical usefulness of Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score of ICU Patients with Sputum Culture positive for Multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii / 결핵

BACKGROUND: The hospital-acquired pneumonia is the most common nosocomial infection. Recently, the Acinetobacter baummannii infections are rapidly increasing, especially the frequency of Multi-drug resistant A. baumannii. Therefore we assessed clinical features and prognosis of patients in the ICU with Multi-drug resistant A. baumannii from the sputum culture using the Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score(CPIS). METHODS: The medical records of 43 patients with Multi-drug resistant A. baumannii from sputum culture who were suspected had clinically pneumonia and admitted to the ICU from January 2000 to July 2002 were retrospectively analyzed. RESULT: 19 patients were CPIS greater than 6 and 24 patients were CPIS less than or equal to 6. Mean age for the former was 71+/-11 years old, and the latter was 61+/-19 years old. The mean APACHE II score on admission and on sputum study was not different between two groups(17.4+/-5.7 vs 18.5+/-6.1, p=0.553, 20+/-6 vs 17+/-8, p=0.078). But the mortality rate was 73.7% for the former, and 16.7% for the latter(p<0.001). CONCLUSION: In ICU patients who had clinically suspected pneumonia with sputum culture positive for Multi-drug resistant A. baumannii, the mortality was significantly higher if CPIS was greater than 6.

The Usefulness of B-type Natriuretic Peptide test in Critically Ill, Noncardiac Patients / 결핵

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have suggested that a B-type natriuretic peptide(BNP) test can provide important information on diagnosis, as well as predicting the severity and prognosis of heart failure. Myocardial dysfunction is often observed in critically ill noncardiac patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit, and the prognosis of the myocardial dysfunction needs to be determined. This study evaluated the predictability of BNP on the prognosis of critically ill noncardiac patients. METHODS: 32 ICU patients, who were hospitalized from June to October 2002 and in whom the BNP test was evaluated, were enrolled in this study. The exclusion criteria included the conditions that could increase the BNP levels irrespective of the severity, such as congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation, ischemic heart disease, and renal insufficiencies. A triage B-Type Natriuretic Peptide test with a RIA-kit was used for the fluorescence immunoassay of BNP test. In addition, the acute physiology and the chronic health evaluation (APACHE)IIscore and mortality were recorded. RESULTS: There were 16 males and 16 females enrolled in this study. The mean age was 59 years old. The mean BNP levels between the ICU patients and control were significantly different (186.7+/-274.1pg/mL vs. 19.9+/-21.3 pg/mL, p=0.033). Among the ICU patients, there were 14(44%) patients with BNPlevels above 100 pg/mL. The APACHEIIscore was 16.5+/-7.6. In addition, there were 11 mortalities reported. The correlation between the BNP and APACHEIIscore, between the BNP and mortality were significant (r=0.443, p=0.011 & r=0.530, p=0.002). The mean BNP levels between the dead and alive groups were significantly different (384.1+/-401.7 pg/mL vs. 83.2+/-55.8 pg/mL p=0.033). However, the PaO2/FiO2 did not significantly correlate with the BNP level. CONCLUSION: This study evaluated the BNP level was elevated in critically ill, noncardiac patients. The BNP level could be a useful, noninvasive tool for predicting the prognosis of the critically ill, noncardiac patients.

The Application of B-Type Natriuretic Peptide Level of the Dyspneic Patients: Differentiation Between Cor Pulmonale and Left Ventricular Dysfunction / 결핵

BACKGROUND: The serum B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is released from the ventricles as a response to volume or pressure overload of the ventricles. A few studies have reported that the BNP measurements are useful in differentiating between heart failure and pulmonary causes in patients who visited the emergency department with dyspnea as the chief complaint. It is difficult to differentiate a right heart failure from a left heart failure in the emergency room. However, there is no report on the application of a BNP assay to differentiate in right heart failure from left heart failure. In this study, the BNP levels were measured from dyspneic patients in the emergency department to determine whether or not the BNP level would be useful in differentiating the cause of the dyspnea from right ventricular failure and left ventricular failure. METHOD: 89 patients who visited emergency department of the Bundang Cha Hospital with dyspnea from June 2002 to March 2003 were selected. The 29 patients from the outpatient clinics and inpatients were randomly selected as the control. RESULTS: The BNP levels of patients in the left heart failure group were significantly different from that of the patients in the right heart failure group (682+/-314 pg/mL vs. 149+/-94 pg/mL, p=0.000). When the BNP cut-off level was designated as 219 pg/mL using the receiver operating characteristic curve, the sensitivity was 94.3%, and specificity was 92.9%. In addition, the positive predictive value was 97% and the negative predictive value was 86.7% in differentiating right heart failure from left heart failure. CONCLUSION: Measurements of the serum BNP levels is an accurate and rapid method that can aid in distinguishing between right heart failure and left heart failure.