Is There a Difference in the Prevalence of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease between Peritoneal Dialysis and Hemodialysis Patients? / 대한소화기학회지

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a common upper gastrointestinal disorder in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, little is known about the prevalence of GERD in dialysis patients. The aim of the present study was to investigate the difference in the prevalence of GERD in peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis patients. METHODS: From July 2010 to August 2011, peritoneal dialysis patients (n=30) and hemodialysis patients (n=38) were enrolled. The prevalences of GERD were assessed at a single center with endoscopic findings and interviews using a questionnaire. Also, risk factors of GERD were evaluated. RESULTS: The prevalences of GERD in peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis patients were 33.3% and 39.5% (p=0.748), respectively. The prevalences of erosive reflux esophagitis (ERD) in peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis patients were 16.7% and 23.7% (p=0.477), respectively. The prevalences of nonerosive reflux disease (NERD) in peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis patients were 16.7% and 13.2% (p=0.685), respectively. The prevalences of GERD, ERD and NERD were higher than those of the general population. The risk factor for GERD was age in hemodialysis patients. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of GERD in dialysis patients was higher than that in the general population. However, there was no significant difference between peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis patients.

Carrier Woman of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Mimicking Inflammatory Myositis

Carrier woman of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) can mimic the inflammatory myositis in presenting symptoms. Two diseases should be differentiated by the clinical history, muscle biopsy and genetic study. There are few reports in which both histochemical and genetic study showed the possible link of overlapping inflammatory pathophysiology with dystrophinopathy. We report a 40-yr-old woman who presented with subacute proximal muscle weakness and high serum level of creatine kinase. She had a history of Graves' disease and fluctuation of serum liver aminotransferase without definite cause. MRI, EMG and NCV were compatible with proximal muscle myopathy. Muscle biopsy on vastus lateralis showed suspicious perifascicular atrophy and infiltration of mono-macrophage lineage cells complicating the diagnosis. Dystrophin staining showed heterogeneous diverse findings from normal to interrupted mosaic pattern. Multiple ligation probe amplification and X chromosome inactivation test confirmed DMD gene deletion mutation in exon 44 and highly skewed X inactivation.

A Comparison of Three Different Guidelines for Osteoporosis Treatment in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis in Korea

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Osteoporotic fractures are an important comorbidity with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We determined the overall fracture risk as assessed by the World Health Organization (WHO)'s FRAX(R) tool in Korean patients with seropositive RA. Additionally, we compared treatment eligibility according to the criteria of the Korean Health Insurance Review Agency (HIRA), FRAX, and the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF). METHODS: Postmenopausal women and men > or = 50 years of age with seropositive RA were recruited from one rheumatism center in Korea. The FRAX score was estimated using the Japanese model. Patients were classified as eligible for treatment using the HIRA, NOF, and FRAX thresholds for intervention. RESULTS: The study of 234 patients included 40 men (17%). The mean age was 60 +/- 9 years, and 121 (52%) patients had osteoporosis according to the WHO criteria. The overall median 10-year fracture risk was 13% for major osteoporotic fractures and 3.5% for hip fractures. HIRA guidelines identified 130 patients (56%) eligible for treatment, FRAX included 126 patients (54%), and 151 patients (65%) were included according to NOF guidelines. Older patients with a greater number of risk factors were included by FRAX compared to HIRA. The overall concordance between HIRA and FRAX, expressed as the kappa index, was 0.67, but was as low as 0.44 when limited to patients > or = 60 years of age. CONCLUSIONS: One-half of the patients had osteoporosis requiring treatment. RA patients have a high risk of fracture, and the adoption of a risk-scoring system should be considered.

Clinical Characteristics of Tuberculosis in Combat and Auxiliary Police in Korea

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to document the incidence and clinical characteristics of patients with tuberculosis (TB) in combat and auxiliary police, living in a group, in Korea where the incidence rate of active TB in a general population is higher than in Western countries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of all tuberculosis patients diagnosed at National Police Hospital from January 2002 through December 2004. RESULTS: In 2002-2004, a total of 156 cases of tuberculosis were identified with the mean (Standard deviation) age of 20.6 (+/-1.0) years. Of these, 134 (85.9%) patients were registered as new cases, 11 (7.1%) as relapse, 2 (1.3%) as failure, 5 (3.1%) as treatment-after-default cases whereas 4 (2.6 %) patients were not included in any categories. Average annual new TB rate and smear-positive TB rate were 86.5/105 and 17.4/105 person-years, respectively. In 12 of 31 smear-positive cases, time from onset of symptoms to diagnosis was more than 30 days. Two multidrug-resistance TB cases were identified and two suspected outbreak episodes of TB had occurred during 3 years. CONCLUSION: There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence rate of new cases of TB between the general population aged 20 to 29 years and combat and auxiliary police in Korea.

Clinical Characteristics of Tuberculosis in Combat and Auxiliary Police in Korea

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to document the incidence and clinical characteristics of patients with tuberculosis (TB) in combat and auxiliary police, living in a group, in Korea where the incidence rate of active TB in a general population is higher than in Western countries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of all tuberculosis patients diagnosed at National Police Hospital from January 2002 through December 2004. RESULTS: In 2002-2004, a total of 156 cases of tuberculosis were identified with the mean (Standard deviation) age of 20.6 (+/-1.0) years. Of these, 134 (85.9%) patients were registered as new cases, 11 (7.1%) as relapse, 2 (1.3%) as failure, 5 (3.1%) as treatment-after-default cases whereas 4 (2.6 %) patients were not included in any categories. Average annual new TB rate and smear-positive TB rate were 86.5/105 and 17.4/105 person-years, respectively. In 12 of 31 smear-positive cases, time from onset of symptoms to diagnosis was more than 30 days. Two multidrug-resistance TB cases were identified and two suspected outbreak episodes of TB had occurred during 3 years. CONCLUSION: There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence rate of new cases of TB between the general population aged 20 to 29 years and combat and auxiliary police in Korea.