Primary Adenocarcinoma with Focal Choriocarcinomatous Differentiation in the Sigmoid Colon / 대한소화기학회지

Primary colorectal choriocarcinoma is a rare neoplasm. Only 19 cases have been reported worldwide, most of which involved adenocarcinomas. The prognosis is usually poor, and the standard therapy for this tumor has not been established. A 61-year-old woman presented with constipation and lower abdominal discomfort. She was diagnosed with primary adenocarcinoma with focal choriocarcinomatous differentiation in the sigmoid colon and liver metastasis. Because the serum beta-human chorionic gonadotropin level was not significantly elevated, and because only focal choriocarcinomatous differentiation was diagnosed, we selected the chemotherapy regimen that is used for the treatment of metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma. The patient survived for 13 months after the initial diagnosis. This is the first case in Korea to assess the suppressive effects of the standard chemotherapy for colorectal adenocarcinoma against coexisting colorectal choriocarcinoma and adenocarcinoma.

A Case of Postcardiac Injury Syndrome Presenting as Acute Mediastinitis

A 41-year-old man sought evaluation at the emergency department for pain in the anterior chest that had been ongoing for approximately 35 hours. The electrocardiogram showed marked ST segment elevation in the precordial leads. Cardiac biomarker levels were elevated. He subsequently underwent coronary angioplasty and stenting of the left anterior descending artery using two sirolimus-eluting stents. The following day, the patient complained of severe pain in his chest and shoulders. Computed tomography (CT) of the chest showed small gas bubbles around the aortic wall and mild pericardial thickening with subtle air densities, suggesting acute mediastinitis. With an impression of postcardiac injury syndrome and acute mediastinitis, he was treated with intravenous antibiotics and oral ibuprofen. Two days later, the patient had subjective improvement and the friction rub was no longer heard.

Determinants of 1-Year Changes of Brachial Ankle Pulse Wave Velocity (baPWV) in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus / 당뇨병

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality in type 2 diabetes. PWV correlates well with arterial distensibility and stiffness and a useful approach for evaluating the severity of systemic atherosclerosis in adults, and, in particular, the measurement of brachial-ankle PWV (baPWV) has been commonly reported as a simple, noninvasive and practicable method. baPWV was mainly affected by age, SBP and sex. And also, baPWV was affected by many different factors such as body weight, BMI, waist to hip ratio, HbA1c, microalbuminuria, triglyceride, gammaGTP, duration of DM. We evaluated determinants of 1-year changes of baPWV in patients with type 2 DM. METHODS: The study group comprised 189 diabetic patients who measured ankle brachial pressure index (ABI), baPWV at base line and 1-year later. The anthropometric parameters, blood pressure, pulse pressure, fasting plasma glucose (FBS), fasting insulin, A1c, lipid profile, hsCRP, microalbuminuria, AST/ALT, gammaGTP were also checked concurrently. We also analyzed correlation between change of baPWV and subject's medications. We retrospectively analyzed the relationship between the 1-year changes of baPWV and the other factors. All analyses were performed with the SPSS Version 14.0 and P values < 0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS: baPWV change was affected by systolic blood pressure change, diastolic blood pressure change, pulse pressure change, body weight, BMI, triglyceride change, insulin treatment and total cholesterol. Multiple regression analysis of the relationship between change of baPWV and other associated variables shows that the 1-year change of baPWV was significantly associated with the changes of blood pressure and insulin treatment in patients with type 2 DM. CONCLUSION: 1-year change of baPWV was significantly associated with the changes of blood pressure in patients with type 2 DM.