Endoscopic Treatment of Bile Duct Calculi in Patients with Gallbladder in Situ / 대한소화기내시경학회지

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST) is a safe and effective method of managing CBD calculi. But whether EST of CBD calculi in patients with gallbladder in situ should be followed by routine post-EST cholecystectomy, is still a subject of controversy. The aims of this study was to identify the recurrence rate and predictive factors of biliary symptoms after EST of CBD calculi in patients with gallbladder in situ. METHODS: 90 patients of CBD calculi with intact gallbladder treated with endoscopic sphincterotomy from 1992 to 1998 were reviewed. Follow up on the patients consisted of phone calls or personal interviews and the length of the follow up ranged from 6 to 77 months. RESULTS: Cholecystectomy was required in 12 patients (13.3%) due to recurrent biliary symptoms and the remaining 78 patients (86.6%) were symptom free. Of the recurrence, 67.7% occurred within 12 months after EST and only one occurred after 5 years of follow-up. The risk of recurrence was higher in those patients with periampullary diverticulum in ERCP. CONCLUSIONS: The low recurrence rate of 13.3% after EST of CBD stones in patients with gallbladder in situ hardly justifies routine post-EST cholecystectomy and rather suggests selective post-EST cholecystectomy especially in high operative risk patients.

A Case of Recurrent Urolithiasis after Renal Transplantation / 대한신장학회잡지

Urolithiasis is uncommon and one of the late complication of kidney transplantation. Urolithiasis is reported in approximately 1% of all renal allografts. Nonabsorbable suture material, recurrent urinary tract infection and persistent secondary hyperparathyroidism are knowned as the major predisposing factors. The clinical presentations have differd from that in the nontrans plant patient because of cutting off the nervous system and they usually manifested renal failure. We experienced a case of recurrent urolithiasis after renal transplantation. The bladder stone was discovered at the site of ureteroneocystostomy site by cystoscopy 4 months after and the stone was removed by cystolitholapaxy. The stone analysis revealed calcium stone. One month later, ureteropelvic stone recurred and ESWL was done. No further calculi have developed during observational period and allograft function remains satisfactory.

Two cases of asymptomatic granular cell tumor of the bronchus detected incidentally by bronchoscopy / 결핵

Granular cell tumor(formerly named to be granular cell myoblastoma) was first described by Abrikossoff in 1926 and is a rare tumor thought to be of Schwann cell origin. It can occur at any soft tissue of the body, but most cases are found at the tongue, skin, breast and GI tract. Only 6% of them occur in respiratory system. We report two cases of asymptomatic granular cell tumor of the bronchus that were detected incidentally by bronchoscopy. One patient had aspiration pneumonia, the other had immotile cilia syndrome. The former patient was simply observed and bronchoscopic extirpation of the tumor was done in the latter patient.

Three Cases of Polymyositis Developed Associated with Chronic Liver Disease / 대한내과학회지

Polymyositis is characterized by symmetrical proximal muscle weakness, nonsuppurative inflammation of striated skeletal muscle, elevation of muscle enzyme, and abnormality of electromyographical change, but its pathogenesis is not clear. The incidence of polymyositis is low, and that associated with chronic liver disease is rare. Clinical importance of polymyositis associated with chronic liver disease is that it is a reversible disease which can be treated with glucocorticoid. We experienced three cases of polymyositis associated with chronic liver disease which was treated with prednisolone. And we report these cases with a brief review of literature. So, the further study about the influence of chronic liver disease on the polymyositis is warranted.

Quantification of Tranexamic Acid Reversal of Fibrinolysis Using Thromboelastography and Low Dose Tranexamic Acid Effect in Open Heart Surgery / 대한마취과학회지

BACKGROUND: Prophylactic administration of tranexamic acid (TA) reduces bleeding and transfusion requirement after open heart operations. This study was performed to determine the relationship between inhibition of fibrinolysis and TA blood concentration. METHOD: In phase I, recombinant tissue plasminogen activator[r-tPA (0, 50, 100, 150 ng/ml)] was added to the blood of volunteer and induced fibrinolysis. In phase II, 4 thromboelastography (TEG) models of severe fibrinolysis in which TA was added to achieve blood levels (0, 0.72, 1.44, 2.88 mg/ml) were compared to determine the lowest effective dose. In phase III, the lowest dose (0.72 mg/ml) was mixed with the blood and evaluated on TEG in open heart operation. In phase IV, a placebo group and study group receiving TA in an loading dose of 5 mg/kg before bypass following infusion of 2 mg/kg/hour. Used analysis is Mann Whitney U test and Wilcoxon rank signed test. RESULT: In phase I, fibrinolytic inhibition at A30/MA (r=0.752) and A60/MA (r=0.735) were linearly correlated with the blood r-tPA concentration. In phase II, severe fibrinolysis (r-tPA 100 ng/ml) was reversed completely at all doses of TA. In phase III, the fibrinolysis index at 10 min. after starting bypass, aorta declamping, and 1 hour after operation were improved when the patient's blood was treated with TA (0.72 mg/ml). In phase IV, blood treated with TA showed less fibrinolysis and better TEG results than the placebo group. CONCLUSION: A small dose of TA (5 mg/kg), which was determined by an in vitro model of fibrinolysis on TEG, was effective in preventing changes in fibrinolytic index during cardiopulmonary bypass in open heart surgery.