Early-Onset Postcardiac Injury Syndrome after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Recovered with Steroids / 대한내과학회지

Postcardiac injury syndrome (PCIS) is an inflammatory process that usually occurs within 1 to 6 weeks after an injury to the pericardium, epicardium, or myocardium. As more interventions are performed for complicated coronary artery obstructive lesions, there have been some recent reports on PCIS following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The medical management of PCIS depends on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), in addition to colchicine or steroids. An 80-year-old male patient underwent a PCI. Unfortunately, the guidewire piercing failed but he showed no immediate signs of complication. However, 5 hours after the procedure, he complained of chest discomfort. An electrocardiogram showed widespread ST elevation. Chest X-ray and computed tomography showed pulmonary congestion with pleural effusion, while thoracic echocardiography showed a moderate amount of pericardial effusion. NSAIDs were initiated, but there was no improvement of symptoms. We describe an unusual case of atypical earl onset PCIS after PCI, recovered rapidly by steroids.

Acute myocardial infarction with a giant left main aneurysm in atypical Kawasaki disease / 영남의대학술지

Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute vasculitis of small and medium sized arteries. Even many years after onset, aneurysms and stenosis in coronary arteries may lead to an acute myocardial infarction, which is described as atypical or missed KD in childhood. KD is an underlying disease of young adults with acute myocardial infarction. We report on a rare case involving a total occlusion in the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery combined with a giant left main aneurysm in a young adult patient with acute myocardial infarction ascribed to antecedent KD that is undefined but almost certain.

Acute myocardial infarction with a giant left main aneurysm in atypical Kawasaki disease / 영남의대학술지

Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute vasculitis of small and medium sized arteries. Even many years after onset, aneurysms and stenosis in coronary arteries may lead to an acute myocardial infarction, which is described as atypical or missed KD in childhood. KD is an underlying disease of young adults with acute myocardial infarction. We report on a rare case involving a total occlusion in the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery combined with a giant left main aneurysm in a young adult patient with acute myocardial infarction ascribed to antecedent KD that is undefined but almost certain.

A Case of Cerebellar Infarction with Renal Artery Stenosis / 대한뇌졸중학회지

Renal artery stenosis (RAS) is defined as a narrowing of main renal artery or its major branches over 50%, and can be the cause of pulmonary edema, renal failure, malignant hypertension and cerebrovascular diseases. The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system works as a key role. In this paper, we report a case of a 53 year-old patient with left middle cerebellar peduncle infarction, who showed malignant hypertension and RAS. The RAS was diagnosed by renal artery computed tomography angiography and treated with renal artery angioplasty, stenting and antihypertensive medication. In a young patient with ischemic stroke who has refractory hypertension against antihypertensive medications, RAS should be suspected and evaluated.

Right Ventricular Myocardial Infarction due to Right Coronary Artery Total Occlusion Originating From the Distal Left Circumflex Artery

An isolated single coronary artery is rare but often associated with other congenital cardiac malformations and myocardial ischemia. We report a rare case of right ventricular myocardial infarction due to total occlusion of the right coronary artery originating from the distal left circumflex artery.

Impact of Metabolic Syndrome and Its Individual Components on the Presence and Severity of Angiographic Coronary Artery Disease

PURPOSE: Metabolic syndrome (MS) has been reported as a potential risk factor of coronary artery disease (CAD). The aims of this study were to assess whether there was a relationship between MS score and CAD angiographic severity, and to assess the predictive value of individual components of MS for CAD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively enrolled 632 patients who underwent coronary angiography for suspected CAD (394 men, 61.0 +/- 10.6 years of age). MS was defined by the National Cholesterol Education Program criteria with the waist criterion modified into a body mass index (BMI) of more than 25 kg/m2. The MS score defined as the number of MS components. CAD was defined as > 50% luminal diameter stenosis of at least one major epicardial coronary artery. CAD angiographic severity was evaluated with a Gensini scoring system. RESULTS: Of the patients, 497 (78.6%) had CAD and 283 (44.8%) were diagnosed with MS. The MS score was significantly related to the Gensini score. High fasting blood glucose (FBG) was the only predictive factor for CAD. A cluster including high FBG, high blood pressure (BP), and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) showed the highest CAD risk. CONCLUSION: The MS score correlates with the angiographic severity of CAD. The predictive ability of MS for CAD was carried almost completely by high FBG, and individual traits with high BP and low HDL-C may act synergistically as risk factors for CAD.

Duodenal Mucosa-Associated Lymphoid Tissue Lymphoma: A Case Report

Primary duodenal mucosa associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma is very rare, and little is known about its clinical course or effective treatment. We describe a case of primary duodenal MALT lymphoma that was resistant to Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication and regressed after chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisolone (CVP). A 71-year-old woman was referred to our department because of epigastric pain and dyspepsia. Gastroduodenoscopy revealed an irregular mucosal nodular lesion with ulceration extending from the bulb to the second portion of the duodenum. Histopathological examination of a biopsy specimen disclosed low-grade MALT lymphoma composed of atypical lymphoid cells with lymphoepithelial lesion. Abdominal CT scans revealed 0.5 to 1.5 cm lymph nodes in the peritoneal cavity, suggestive of lymph node metastasis. We successfully eradicated H. pylori but did not see signs of remission. We administered systemic CVP chemotherapy every 3 weeks. After 6 courses of CVP, the patient achieved complete remission and was followed up without recurrence for about a year.

A Case of Pulmonary Thromboembolism in a Patient with Hyperhomocysteinemia / 결핵및호흡기질환

Hyperhomocysteinemia is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and peripheral vascular diseases that are complicated by atherosclerosis and a thromboembolism. An increased level of plasma homocysteine develops from a genetic defect in the of enzyme for the homocysteine metabolism or a vitamin deficiency. Hyperhomocysteinemia has direct toxic effect on the vascular endothelium and causes damages to the antithrombotic action of vascular endothelial cells. Most cases of hyperhomocysteinemia are asymptomatic, but cardiopulmonary or cerebrovascular incidents developin rare cases. In the case of a thromboembolism with an unknown cause, hyperhomocysteinemia should be considered in a differential diagnosis. The authors report a case of pulmonary thromboembolism in a patient with hyperhomocysteinemia with a review of the relevant literature.

Risk Stratification of Patients with Minor Troponin-I Elevation Unassociated with Acute Myocardial Infarction

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Although cardiac troponin I is widely used as a marker for myocardial infarction (MI), minor elevations of cardiac troponin I are also observed in other clinical situations. The prognostic factors for patients with these clinical features are not well established. The aim of this study was to discover the predictors of mortality for the patients who had minor troponin elevations without acute MI. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We enrolled consecutive 154 patients from the emergency department or inpatient units who had a peak troponin I level greater than the lower limit of detectability (0.04 ng/mL), and the level was also less than the suggestive value of MI (0.6 ng/mL). They were with chest pain or nonspecific symptoms of circulatory abnormality, but they lacked the traditional features of acute MI. The endpoint was defined as death from all causes. The Cox proportional hazard model was used to test the relationship between the clinical and biochemical variables and the outcomes. RESULTS: During the follow-up period of 7.9+/-7.3 months, mortality occurred in 15 patients. Age, the creatine kinase myocardial isoform (CK-MB) level and the C-reactive protein (CRP) level as continuous variables had significant correlations with the occurrence of death. After adjusting for any possible confounders in the multivariate model, these variables remained as independent predictors of mortality: age (HR 1.07, CI 1.02-1.14, p=0.012), CK-MB level (HR 1.61, CI 1.16-2.24, p=0.005), and CRP level (HR 1.01, CI 1.00-1.01, p=0.025). CONCLUSION: Integration of the CK-MB and CRP levels, as well as age, can be used for risk-stratification in the patients showing minor troponin I elevation for reasons other than acute MI.