Association of the Extent of Atrophic Gastritis With Specific Dyspeptic Symptoms

BACKGROUND/AIMS: It remains unclear whether atrophic gastritis can affect dyspeptic symptoms. We aimed to investigate whether the extent of atrophic gastritis is associated with specific dyspeptic symptoms. METHODS: Consecutive adults in a routine health-checkup program were enrolled in the study. The extent of atrophic gastritis was classified into 3 groups based on the Kimura-Takemoto criteria; the gastritis with no or little atrophy (group A: C0), the gastritis with atrophy mainly in the antrum (group B: C1 and C2), and the gastritis with atrophy in the large area of the corpus (group C: C3 and O). Upper gastrointestinal symptoms were categorized into "typical reflux symptoms," "epigastric pain syndrome (EPS)-related symptoms," and "postprandial distress syndrome (PDS)-related symptoms." RESULTS: A total of 1827 patients (1009 males, mean age 45.1 years) were included in the analysis. The subgroups of atrophic gastritis were as follows: group A (n = 1218, 66.7%), group B (n = 392, 21.4%), and group C (n = 217, 11.9%). Typical reflux, EPS-related, and PDS-related symptoms were present in 10.5%, 19.8%, and 16.2% of the subjects, respectively. PDS-related and EPS-related symptoms were significantly more prevalent in the group C of male patients and the group B of female patients, respectively, compared with other groups. PDS-related and EPS-related symptoms were independently associated with the group C in males (OR, 2.123; 95% CI, 1.090-4.136) and the group B in females (OR, 2.571; 95% CI, 1.319-5.025), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The extent of atrophic gastritis appears to affect the generation of specific dyspeptic symptoms in a gender-dependent manner.

Prevalence of Congenital Coronary Artery Anomalies of Korean Men Detected by Coronary Computed Tomography

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: It has been demonstrated that the anomalous origin of coronary arteries (AOCA) are generally asymptomatic and rare diseases. However, some cases can cause severe life threatening events. To detect these anomalies, coronary angiographies and autopsies were used to detect coronary artery anomalies, but these procedures have limitations because of their invasiveness. The new device, Multidetector Computed Tomography (MDCT), now replaces the method of choice for detecting coronary anomalies. The prevalence of these anomalies in Korea has not been studied yet. This present analysis attempted to determine the prevalence of AOCA in Korean men by MDCT. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: 1582 Korean male police officers underwent coronary MDCT for their health screening voluntarily. After reconstruction of CT images, we could confirm coronary artery anomalies. RESULTS: The prevalence of AOCA in Korean men was 1.14% (18 out of 1582 cases). The most common abnormality (11 cases, 0.70%) was the origin of the coronary artery. Anomalies of the coronary artery end point were observed in 5 cases (0.32%). The anomalous location of coronary ostium on the aortic root was observed in 1 case (0.06%). An anomalous collateral vessel was observed in 1 case (0.06%). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of coronary artery anomalies in Korean men was 1.14%. Coronary CT is a safe and noninvasive modality for detecting coronary anomalies.

A Case of Community-Acquired Acinetobacter Meningitis

Acinetobacter baumannii infections have become significant pathogen in hospitalized patients, especially in the intensive care unit setting. Community-acquired Acinetobacter meningitis in adults is a very rare infection of the central nervous system. Most community-acquired Acinetobacter infections have been reported from countries with a tropical or subtropical climate. Acinetobacter infections mainly affect patients with some form of comorbidity and are also associated with heavy smoking and excess alcohol consumption. In our case, a 62-year-old male patient with DM, hypertension, and excess alcohol consumption developed meningitis. Bulging membrane and inflammation were observed in the right ear. A. baumannii meningitis was confirmed by blood, CSF, and ear discharge culture. The patient was treated effectively with meropenem for 21 days. After antibiotic treatment, follow-up cultures of CSF, blood, and ear discharge showed a negative result, and the CSF cell profile was normalized. However, the patient died of recurrent pneumonia on hospital day 45. We report on a case of community-acquired Acinetobacter meningitis in an adult in Korea.

A Case of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in Patient with Coombs' Negative Hemolytic Anemia and Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura / Journal of the Korean Cancer Association, 대한암학회지

Coombs' negative autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) is a rare disease which shares similar clinical and hematological features with Coombs' positive AIHA, but its exact frequency remains unknown. There have been few reports of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) and Coombs' negative AIHA associated with other lymphoproliferative disorders (LPDs). Since there is a well known association between LPDs and autoimmune phenomena, it is important to investigate the possibility of an underlying malignancy. We report a case of ITP and Coombs' negative AIHA associated with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.