Clinical Manifestations of Eosinophilic Esophagitis in Children and Adolescents: A Single-Center, Matched Case-Control Study / 대한소아소화기영양학회지

Purpose@#To examine the prevalence and clinical manifestations of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) in Korea children. @*Methods@#The study was designed as a 1:2 matching case-control study. Using information from the endoscopic database of a tertiary center, we retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients aged 18 years or younger who underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy between January 2014 and December 2017. A total of 21 patients were diagnosed with EoE based on current diagnostic criteria. In addition, 42 controls with normal esophageal biopsy findings matched to each EoE case by sex, age (±1 months), and season were randomly selected during the study period. @*Results@#The mean age of EoE diagnosis was 12.1±4.0 years and the male-to-female ratio was 2:1. The proportion of allergic diseases in patients with EoE (28.6%) was higher than that in the controls (6.8%) (p=0.04). Most EoE patients tested for allergy were positive for at least one antigen, which was significantly different to the controls (88.2% vs. 47.4%, p=0.01). Characteristic endoscopic findings of EoE were noted in 19 patients (90.5%), but 2 patients (9.5%) showed normal esophageal mucosa. The clinical symptoms of EoE were improved by a proton-pump inhibitor in 10 patients (50.0%), and by an H2 blocker in 9 patients (45.0%). Only one patient (5.0%) required inhaled steroids. @*Conclusion@#While EoE is rare in the Korean pediatric population, the results of this study will improve our understanding of the clinical manifestations of the disease.

Non-Traumatic Myositis Ossificans in the Lumbosacral Paravertebral Muscle

Myositis ossificans (MO) is a benign condition of non-neoplastic heterotopic bone formation in the muscle or soft tissue. Trauma plays a role in the development of MO, thus, non-traumatic MO is very rare. Although MO may occur anywhere in the body, it is rarely seen in the lumbosacral paravertebral muscle (PVM). Herein, we report a case of non-traumatic MO in the lumbosacral PVM. A 42-year-old man with no history of trauma was referred to our hospital for pain in the low back, left buttock, and left thigh. On physical examination, a slightly tender, hard, and fixed mass was palpated in the left lumbosacral PVM. Computed tomography showed a calcified mass within the left lumbosacral PVM. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed heterogeneous high signal intensity in T1- and T2-weighted image, and no enhancement of the mass was found in the postcontrast T1-weighted MRI. The lack of typical imaging features required an open biopsy, and MO was confirmed. MO should be considered in the differential diagnosis when the imaging findings show a mass involving PVM. When it is difficult to distinguish MO from soft tissue or bone malignancy by radiology, it is necessary to perform a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis.

A Case of Hypersensitivity to Mosquito Bites without Peripheral Natural Killer Cell Lymphocytosis in a 6-Year-Old Korean Boy

Hypersensitivity to mosquito bites (HMB) is a rare disease characterized by intense skin reactions such as bulla and necrotic ulcerations at bite sites, accompanied by general symptoms such as high-grade fever and malaise occurred after mosquito bites. It has been suggested that HMB is associated with chronic Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection and natural killer (NK) cell leukemia/lymphoma. We describe here a Korean child who presented with 3-yr history of HMB without natural killer cell lymphocytosis. He has been ill for 6 yr with HMB. Close observation and examination for the development of lymphoproliferative status or hematologic malignant disorders is needed.

The Prognostic Subgroups as Defined by the Patterns of Epstein-Barr Virus Infection in Patients with Hodgkin Lymphoma

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate the prognostic significance of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infected non-neoplastic lymphocytes in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). METHODS: Seventy-seven cases of HL were evaluated by immunohistochemical analysis and EBV-encoded RNA in situ hybridization. The cases were divided into three groups according to the EBV status. EBV was negative in 48 cases (group 1), EBV was located in the Hodgkin/Reed-Sternberg (HRS) cells, but not in the non-neoplastic lymphocytes in 20 cases (26%) (group 2) and EBV was located in both the HRS cells and the non-neoplastic lymphocytes in 9 cases (12%) (group 3). RESULTS: The groups differed with respect to the age distribution, the clinical presentation and the prognosis. The median ages were 30 (group 1), 47.5 (group 2) and 23 years (group 3) (p = 0.011). B symptoms (p = 0.007) and the histologic subtype of mixed cellularity classical HL (p = 0.001) were more common in the EBV-positive patients than in their EBV-negative counterparts. Two patients from group 3 had associated chronic EBV infection syndrome. The five-year survival rate was 97.56% in group 1, 75.76% in group 2 and 100% in group 3 (p = 0.0178). CONCLUSIONS: HL with EBV located in both the HRS cells and the non-neoplastic lymphocytes is a distinct prognostic subgroup that has better survival than the HL with EBV located in only the HRS cells.

Fatal Injury Due to Shattered Fragments of Brittle Materials / 대한법의학회지

With fragments of brittle materials including glasses, ceramics, metals, plastics, and stones, various wounds can be formed by accident or homicide. We experienced two cases with fatal injury from shattering of brittle materials accidentally. In the first case, a woman died from the left subclavian artery transection by a projected fragment from a mug shattering. In the second case, a man pilfer died of the right popliteal artery and vein transection by fragments from shattering of a glass bottle. We represented these cases to adress it in depth the significance of deaths associated with fatal injuries caused by shattered fragments of brittle materials on the viewpoints of forensic pathology.

Graft-Versus-Host Disease of the Lung after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: A Report of Two Cases

Herein, we describe cases of pulmonary acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) in two patients occurring after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) due to precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in a 6-year-old patient and in acute myeloid leukemia in a 14-year-old boy. In both cases, chest CT revealed confluent ground-glass attenuation along the bronchovascular bundles, as well as some bronchial dilatation. Microscopically, in both cases we noted a characteristic bronchiolocentric pattern and bronchiolar epithelial changes, which included denudation of the bronchiolar epithelium, regenerating atypical cells, and wall thickening with subepithelial or transmural fibroblast proliferation, along with some lymphocytic infiltration. One patient died on day 86 after allogeneic HSCT due to sudden acute respiratory distress syndrome, and the other patient currently remains alive without active aGVHD. The authors' experiences in these two cases demonstrate that intense awareness of the pathologic findings of GVHD is mandatory after allogeneic HSCT.