Effects of online hemodiafiltration on anemia and nutritional status in chronic hemodialysis patients

Background@#Online hemodiafiltration (OL-HDF) offers considerable advantages in clearance of molecules of various sizes. However, evidence of clinical effects of OL-HDF is scarce in Korea. In this study, we investigated changes in laboratory values over more than 12 months after switching to OL-HDF. @*Methods@#Adult patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing hemodialysis (HD) were prospectively enrolled in a K-cohort (CRIS no. KCT0003281) from 6 tertiary hospitals in South Korea. We recruited 435 patients, 339 of whom were on HD at enrollment. One hundred eighty-two patients were followed for more than 24 months. Among them, 44 were switched to OL-HDF for more than 12 months without conversion to HD. We used a paired t test to compare baseline and 24-month follow-up results. @*Results@#The mean age of the subjects was 61.2 ± 12.2 years, and 62.6% were male. The baseline hemoglobin level was not significantly different between HD and OL-HDF group (10.61 ± 1.15 vs. 10.46 ± 1.03 g/dL, P = 0.437). However, the baseline serum protein and albumin levels were significantly lower in the OL-HDF group (6.82 ± 0.49 vs. 6.59 ± 0.48 g/dL, P = 0.006; 3.93 ± 0.28 vs. 3.73 ± 0.29 g/dL, P < 0.001). In patients switched to OL-HDF, levels of hemoglobin and serum albumin significantly increased (10.46 ± 1.03 vs. 11.08 ± 0.82 g/dL, P = 0.001; 3.73 ± 0.29 vs.

Calcification of the urinary bladder and ureter in schistosomiasis

No abstract available.

Metastatic breast cancer with osteolytic skull lesions suspected to be multiple myeloma

We report a case of breast cancer with osteolytic skull lesions which mimicked osteolytic lesions in multiple myeloma. A 60-year-old female was admitted to our hospital due to confused mentality. Laboratory tests showed the findings of an increased calcium level, kidney failure, and anemia. Multiple osteolytic lesions were detected in the ribs, spine, humerus, and pelvis on X-rays. The skull showed the punched out sign. Accordingly we initially suspected multiple myeloma; however, monoclonal protein was not detected in serum and urine and the number of plasma cells was not increased in bone marrow examination. In bone marrow examination, metastatic cancer was detected and biopsy revealed breast cancer. Finally, breast cancer with multiple metastases including those to bone, liver, and lung was diagnosed. Therefore, when a patient presents with multiple osteolytic lesions, we need to consider metastasis from solid cancer in the differential diagnosis as well as multiple myeloma.

A Case of Azygos Vein Thombosis Associated with Transient Antiphospholipid Syndrome in Urinary Tract Infection with Escherichia coli

A 73-year-old female with diabetes admitted for treatment of an intertrochanter fracture of the femur and a urinary tract infection (UTI) with Escherichia coli developed thrombosis in her right azygos vein, which was thought to be associated with antiphospholipid and immunoglobulin M anticardiolipin antibodies. After antibiotic therapy, antiphospholipid antibody was undetectable, and a repeat chest computed tomography showed complete resolution of the azygos vein thrombosis. A wide variety of infections can be associated with thrombotic events in patients with transient antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), and this case serves as a reminder that the possibility of transient APS should be considered in patients with venous thrombosis in the setting of a UTI.

A Case of Biliary Cast Developed in a Patient with Long-Standing Biliary Sludge

Development of biliary casts is very unusual, especially in patients who have not undergone liver transplantation. Variable causes of biliary cast formation in nonliver transplantation patients have been suggested. However, stasis of bile flow and/or gallbladder hypocontractility is known to eventually result in the promotion of biliary sludge and subsequent cast formation. Here we present one case of biliary cast syndrome, which developed in a nonliver transplant patient who had biliary sludge for a long period of time, providing evidence that long-standing biliary sludge may lead to cast formation.

A Case of Linezolid-Associated Lactic Acidosis / 대한내과학회지

Linezolid has been used for treatment of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium infection, nosocomial pneumonia caused by Staphylococcus aureus, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or Streptococcus pneumoniae, and complicated and uncomplicated skin and skin structure infections. Lactic acidosis is an adverse effect associated with drugs, including metformin, the nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors and, rarely, linezolid. We report a case in which severe lactic acidosis developed as an adverse effect of linezolid in a 75-year-old woman who had been on linezolid for 30 days for treatment of a wound infection caused by methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococcus. Discontinuation of linezolid and hemodialysis improved her lactic acidosis.

Etiology of Hypokalemic Paralysis in Korea: Data from a Single Center

Recognizing the underlying causes of hypokalemic paralysis seems to be essential for the appropriate management of affected patients and their prevention of recurrent attacks. There is, however, a paucity of documented reports on the etiology of hypokalemic paralysis in Korea. We retrospectively analyzed 34 patients with acute flaccid weakness due to hypokalaemia who were admitted during the 5-year study period in order to determine the spectrum of hypokalemic paralysis in Korea and to identify the differences in clinical parameters all across the causes of hypokalemic paralysis. We divided those 34 patients into 3 groups; the 1st group, idiopathic hypokalemic periodic paralysis (HPP), the 2nd, thyrotoxic periodic paralysis (TPP), and the 3rd group, secondary hypokalemic paralysis (HP) without TPP. Seven of the patients (20.6%) were diagnosed as idiopathic HPP considered the sporadic form, and 27 patients (79.4%) as secondary HP. Among the patients diagnosed as secondary HP, 16 patients (47.1%) had TPP. Patients of secondary hypokalemic paralysis without TPP required a longer recovery time compared with those who had either idiopathic HPP or TPP. This is due to the fact that patients of secondary HP had a significantly negative total body potassium balance, whereas idiopathic HPP and TPP were only associated with intracellular shift of potassium. Most of the TPP patients included in our study had overt thyrotoxicosis while 3 patients had subclinical thyrotoxicosis. This study shows that TPP is the most common cause of hypokalemic paralysis in Korea. And we suggest that doctors should consider the presence of TPP in patients of hypokalemic paralysis even if they clinically appear to be euthyroid state.

A Case of Syndrome of Inappropriate Scretion of Anti-Diuretic Hormone Associated with Sodium Valproate

We report a rare case of the concurrent manifestation of central diabetes insipidus (CDI) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). A 56 year-old man was diagnosed as a type 2 DM on the basis of hyperglycemia with polyuria and polydipsia at a local clinic two months ago and started an oral hypoglycemic medication, but resulted in no symptomatic improvement at all. Upon admission to the university hospital, the patient's initial fasting blood sugar level was 140 mg/dL, and he showed polydipsic and polyuric conditions more than 8 L urine/day. Despite the hyperglycemia controlled with metformin and diet, his symptoms persisted. Further investigations including water deprivation test confirmed the coexisting CDI of unknown origin, and the patient's symptoms including an intense thirst were markedly improved by desmopressin nasal spray (10 microg/day). The possibility of a common origin of CDI and type 2 DM is raised in a review of the few relevant adult cases in the literature.

A Case of Linezolid-Associated Lactic Acidosis / 대한내과학회지

Linezolid has been used for treatment of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium infection, nosocomial pneumonia caused by Staphylococcus aureus, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or Streptococcus pneumoniae, and complicated and uncomplicated skin and skin structure infections. Lactic acidosis is an adverse effect associated with drugs, including metformin, the nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors and, rarely, linezolid. We report a case in which severe lactic acidosis developed as an adverse effect of linezolid in a 75-year-old woman who had been on linezolid for 30 days for treatment of a wound infection caused by methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococcus. Discontinuation of linezolid and hemodialysis improved her lactic acidosis.

Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation of Hemodynamically Unstable Ventricular Tachycardia Associated with Systemic Sclerosis

Systemic sclerosis (SS) is a connective tissue disease and cardiac involvement is common. Primary cardiac involvement such as conduction system disturbances and arrhythmias can also occur. However, reports of sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) are rare. We report a case of catheter ablation of sustained ventricular tachycardia in a patient with systemic sclerosis using a conventional mapping system. A 64-yr-old woman with a 10-yr history of SS was referred for management of her ventricular tachycardia. There was no structural abnormality in cardiac chambers. However, electrophysiologic study revealed electrical substrate of ventricular tachycardia which could be ablated with pacemapping and substrate mapping. This case demonstrated successful conventional mapping and catheter ablation in a hemodynamically unstable patient with SS.

Secondary Membranous Nephropathy with Salivary Gland Cancer / 대한신장학회지

We report here on a rare case of membranous nephropathy occurring concurrently with salivary gland cancer. A 67-year-old woman was admitted to our department for nephrotic syndrome. She was diagnosed with membranous nephropathy and this was initially managed with steroids and cyclophosphamide, which started in 2003 and continued for about 10 months, without deriving any therapeutic benefits. During the treatment, the patient was diagnosed with salivary gland cancer when an incidental salivary gland mass was discovered in 2005. The patient's urinary protein level began to decrease following resection of the malignant mass. The clinical findings represent an interesting case of secondary membranous nephropathy that was diagnosed prior to the incidental discovery of malignancy.

A Case of Biliary Cast Syndrome in a Non-liver Transplatation Patients / 대한소화기내시경학회지

The development of total biliary casts is very unusual, and especially in patients who have not undergone liver transplantation. There are only a few reports of total biliary casts in non-liver transplantation patients who have antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, cholecystectomy or allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Here we present the case of a previously well 77-year-old man who developed a total biliary casts without any risk factors and there was no obvious liver insult. The casts were managed endoscopically.

A Case of Jejunal Adenocarcinoma Diagnosed by Preoperative Double Balloon Enteroscopy

Despite a thorough history, physical examination, and complete diagnostic workup, the correct diagnosis of small-intestinal malignancy is established preoperatively in only 50% of cases; an exploratory laparotomy is often required. However, recent advances in endoscopic technologies, such as double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE), have been shown to facilitate the preoperative diagnosis of these tumors. Confirmation of malignancy using DBE in equivocal cases may greatly increase both patients' acceptance of surgery and the confidence of the physician planning a surgical resection. We describe herein the case of a 53-year-old woman with a stage I jejunal adenocarcinoma that was diagnosed by DBE and treated by laparoscopic jejunectomy. Histopathological examination revealed a stage I jejunal adenocarcinoma (T2N0M0) without muscularis propria invasion, lymphovascular invasion, or lymph-node metastasis.

A comparison of criteria of gestational diabetes using 100 gm oral glucose tolerance test in Korean women / 대한산부인과학회지

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare the National Diabetes Data Group (NDDG) with the American Diabetes Association (ADA) criteria proposed by Carpenter and Coustan for determining gestational diabetes using the 100 gm oral glucose tolerance test (GTT) in Korean women. METHODS: Seventeen-hundred pregnant women who underwent a 50 g oral GTT and delivered in the department of Ob/Gyn, Hanyang Univ Guri Hospital, between March, 1999 and February, 2004 were the subjects of this study. The women were categorized into A through D groups as follows: euglycemic control subjects (A), subjects with non gestational diabetes diagnosed by the NDDG and ADA criteria (B), subjects with gestational diabetes diagnosed by only the ADA criteria but not the NDDG criteria (C) and subjects with gestational diabetes diagnosed by only the NDDG criteria (D). The general characteristic and pregnancy outcomes were compared for each groups. The effectiveness of the ADA criteria was determinined by macrosomia and preeclampsia after controlling for confounding risk factors by logistic regression modeling. RESULTS: Of the 1700 pregnant women, 1420 women were classified in group A, 184 women were in group B, 28 women were in group C and 68 women were in group D. The group D showed more obese and less gestational weeks at delivery than the other groups. In pregnancy outcomes, groups B, C, and D showed more weighted average birth weight and higher frequency of macrosomia of the fetus than in group A. No differences existed among the 4 groups regarding intrauterine growth restriction, preeclampsia, and cesarean section. The risk factors of macrosomia were groups B, C, and D that shows glucose intolerance, obesity and more higher weight gain during pregnancy. Even after controlling for confounding risk factors by logistic regression modeling, groups B, C, and D were risk factors for macrosomia. Especially, the odds ratio for group C has shown a higher risk factor at 7.6 as compared to group D at 5.3. Glucose intolerance was not shown to be a risk factor of preeclampsia. CONCLUSION: Because glucose intolerance as shown in abnormal 50 g oral GTT is a risk factor for macrosomia and more weighted average birth weight of the fetus in Korean women, the diagnostic standards for Korean women are more suited to the ADA criteria compared to the NDDG criteria.

A study about the apoptosis of epithelial cells in the fusing fetal rat palate / 대한치과교정학회지

The purpose of this study was to prove that the medial edge epithelial cells covering the secondary palatal shelves were removed by apoptosis during palatal fusion. 12 mature female rats (Suprague-Dawley) were mated overnight with male rats and sacrificed on days 16.0, 16.5, 16.75, 17.0 of pregnancy. The embryos were removed from the uterus and the heads were embedded in paraffin. The paraffin blocks were sectioned and the sections were undergone H-E staining for general histologic feature and TdT staining for detection of apoptotic cells. The obtained results were as follows. 1. In the section of 16.0 and 16.5 day embryos, the palatal shelves were prior to contact and no apoptotic cells wereobserved in the medial edge epithelium. At the initial contact of palatal shelves, there was a few apoptotic cells in the fusing epithelium. 2. In the 16.75 day embryos, the samples that epithelial seams did not lost there continuity, apoptotic cells were rarely seen at the midline epithelial seam. In contrast, a lot of apoptotic cells were observed at epithelial triangles and the junction between palatal shelves and nasal septum. 3. In the 16,75 day embryos, the samples that epithelial seams lost their continuity and disrupted to epithelial islands, large number, of apoptotic cells were observed at epithelial islands and epithelial triangles. Some apoptotic cells were also observed at the oral, nasal epithelium near the midline. 4. In the 17.0 day embryos, most of epithelial islands were disappeared and mesenchymal confluence was achieved. Apoptotic cells were rarely observed in the mesenchymal tissue which replaced epithelial islands, but there were some apoptotic cells at the epithelial triangles, oral and nasal epithelium. From the results of the study, it was revealed that medial edge epithelial cells of fusing palate were removed by apoptosis. Apoptotic cells were found mainly in the disappearing midline epithelial seam and the oral and nasal epithelial triangles at some late stages of palatal fusion.

Results of Treatments for Inverted Nipples and chronic Subarelar Abscesses

An inverted nipple is a congenital disease that results from immature, shortened ducts and surrounding connective tissues. A number of treatment methods have been described for more than 100 years. The author managed 111 patients with inverted nipples and operated on 42 patients using the modified Hartrampf's method. No recurrence and no permanent complications were found in the patients with non-complicated inverted nipples. Recurrence was experienced in one case involving a chronic subareolar abscess. This series suggests that the modified Hartrampf's method is a safe and effective operation technique for patients with inverted nipples.

Localization of Nonpalpable Breast lesion with Ultrasonoguided Dye Injection

Ultrasonographic localizations were performed by methylene blue injection in 35 cases of nonpalpable breast lesion. The lesions were sized 0.3cm-1.3cm and biopsied just after localization with 100% success rate. All the patients tolerated well the procedure and had not any complications. Ultrasonoguided dye injection is an accurate, comfortable and simple method for prebiopsy localization of nonpalpable breast lesion.

Clinical Analysis of Bone and Joint Tuberculosis / 대한정형외과학회잡지

Prevalent is the concept that tuberculosis has completely been put under control and the actual number of the patients is decreasing. This study has been undertaken in part to give substantial evidence to this general idea about the tuberculosis. Total 921 patients with skeletal tuberculous lesions, selected out of all the patients consulted to the department of orthopedic surgery during the 13 consecutive years from Jaunary of 1963 to December of 1975, were subjected to this analysis. 1. Overall incidence of patients with skeletal tuberculosis was 4.8% of all the patients visited during the 13 years. 2. Of 921 patients, males were 591 and females 330, which showed the men were affected 1.8 times more than women. 3. More than half of them (51,5%) occurred under the age of 19 years. 4. Three anatomical sites were predisposed to this affection; 58.5% in spine, 10.5% in hip, and 11.6% in knee. 5. With the above study it can be safely be said that the actual number and also the incidence of skeletal tuberculosis has not shown any trend of decline and accordingly its management should be more regulated and thorough.

Diabetic Neuroarthropathy: 2 cases report / 대한정형외과학회잡지

Neuroarthropathy has infrequently been associated with diabetic patients. The initial presenting symptoms are in most cases the peripheral neuropathy involving chiefly the sensory components of peripheral nerves, leading to numbness, hyper-or paresthesia, and coldness of the extremity affected. The diabetic arthropathy, once occurred, is apt to show progressive deterioration of the function with destruction of both skeletal and supporting soft tissues Two cases of such arthropathy were presented here, the one was observed in a 29-year-old man with involvement of the left fourth and fifth tarsometatarsal joints and a large ulcer on the dorsal skin of the lesion, and the other in a 35-year-old man with destruction of the right ankle joint. Both of them showed remarkable remission of the symptoms with conservative measures such as arch support, cast immobilization and skin graft.