A case of autoimmune hepatitis accompanied by systemic lupus erythematosus / 대한내과학회지

Autoimmune hepatitis accompanied by systemic erythematosus lupus is rare. Usually, lupus-related advanced liver involvement is indistinguishable from autoimmune hepatitis accompanied by lupus, as they share common clinical, biochemical, serological, and histological manifestations. However, each disease has its own diagnostic criteria, and they have been defined as two different categories. Therefore, distinguishing between the two diseases is important to determine the correct diagnosis and treatment. A 41-year-old woman was hospitalized with jaundice and a malar rash. The patient met the diagnostic criteria of both systemic erythematosus lupus and autoimmune hepatitis. After corticosteroid treatment, the patient's condition improved. Therefore, we report our experience of a rare case of autoimmune hepatitis accompanied by systemic erythematosus lupus with a review of the literature.

A clinical comparison between early-onset and late-onset asthma in the elderly / 대한내과학회지

BACKGROUND: The asthma mortality has risen during last decades, especially in the elderly. This study was performed to investigate whether newly-developed asthma in the elderly has any difference in clinical features relating to asthma severity compared to early-onset asthma (EOA). METHODS: Thirty-three asthma patients (> or = 60 years-old) hospitalized due to severe attack were classified to late-onset (LOA) when their asthma developed after the age of 60 and the remaining to EOA. Data obtained from their medical records were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: Ten out of the 33 patients (30.3%) were LOA. Duration of asthma was significantly longer in EOA (21.6+/-14.8 years vs. 2.9+/-2.4 years, p<0.001). There were no significant differences between both groups in age, sex, atopy history (personal and familial), sinusitis, and peripheral blood eosinophils. However, EOA showed more smoking history and frequent exacerbations following URI-like symptoms (p<0.05, respectively), and higher serum total IgE level (geographic mean: 228 vs. 20 IU/mL, p<0.001). Life-threatening asthma attack was developed more frequently (89.5% vs. 40%, p<0.05), and the lung function measurements obtained just before discharge were significantly lower (FEV1/FVC: 54.8+/-10.1% vs. 64.6+/-11.7%, p<0.05) in EOA. Severity of chronic asthma was significantly more severe in EOA (moderate to severe persistent asthma: 95.6% vs. 60.0%, p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Many elderly asthmatics develop asthma newly in their old age. EOA is more related to atopic allergy, and seems to have more severe and long-standing asthma leading to chronic persistent airflow obstruction.