Myopericarditis in a Korean Young Male With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Myocardial involvement with clinical symptoms is a rare manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), despite the relatively high prevalence of myocarditis at autopsies of SLE patients. In this review, we report the case of a 19-year-old male SLE patient who initially presented with myopericarditis and was successfully treated with high dose of glucocorticoids.

Concurrent Coronary Thromboembolism and Pulmonary Thromboembolism without Right-to-Left Shunt / 대한내과학회지

A 65-year-old woman was referred for management of chest pain and ST segment elevation on electrocardiography. Emergency coronary angiography revealed a well demarcated thrombus that near totally occluded the mid portion of the left anterior descending artery, with a Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) flow grade 1, and a fusiform aneurysm on the left main coronary artery. No significant stenosis was observed after aspiration of the thrombus; however, complete coronary reperfusion by urgent aspiration did not improve her dyspnea and tachypnea. Echocardiography revealed a D-shaped left ventricle; thus, we performed a chest computed tomography scan and diagnosed a pulmonary embolism. The patient's coagulation studies were normal. She was prescribed chronic anticoagulation, and we carried out transthoracic echocardiography using second harmonic imaging with agitated saline. Second harmonic imaging with the Valsalva maneuver revealed no right-to-left shunt. We report here a case of concurrent coronary embolism and pulmonary embolism without right-to-left shunt.

Synovial Biopsy Findings among Patients with Monoarthritis

OBJECTIVE: Any joint disorders can present as monoarthritis initially, which makes the range of differential diagnosis of monoarthritis extensive. Synovial biopsy may play a role in the diagnosis of monoarthritis. We reviewed the synovial biopsy findings of monoarthritis patients in order to assess its diagnostic value. METHODS: Synovial pathologic findings of 39 patients who visited the rheumatology or orthopedic surgery clinic for acute or chronic monoarthritis from Feb., 2006 to Jul., 2010 were reviewed retrospectively. RESULT: Four (10.3%) of 39 patients could be diagnosed with specific arthritis after synovial biopsy (rheumatoid arthritis, tuberculous arthritis, giant cell tumor, and osteochondroma, each). CONCLUSION: The result showed that the synovial biopsy is useful for differential diagnosis of monoarthritis in a limited number of cases.

A Case of Paraplegia Following Endovascular Stent Repair of Descending Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm

Paraplegia secondary to spinal cord infarction is a recognized complication of open thoracic and thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAA) repair. TAA is serious and unpredictable condition. Therefore, aortic repair requires thorough information on managing the potential complications will facilitate improve control the problem. We report the symptoms and management of paraplegia in a patient who underwent stent insertion as TAA.

Comparison of the Model for End-stage Liver Disease and hepatic venous pressure gradient for predicting survival in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis / 대한간학회지

BACKGROUND/AIMS: This study compared the prognostic values of the Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) and the hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) in the prediction of death within 3 and 12 months in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis. METHODS: We used data from 136 consecutive patients with decompensated cirrhosis who underwent HVPG between January 2006 and June 2008. Cox regression analysis was used to investigate the independent relationships with death of MELD and HVPG. The prognostic accuracies of MELD and HVPG were analyzed by calculating the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) for the occurrence of death within 3 and 12 months. RESULTS: Both MELD and HVPG were independent predictors of death [hazard ratio (HR)=1.11 and 1.12, respectively; 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.04~1.20 and 1.08-1.16]. Analysis of the AUROC demonstrated that the prognostic power did not differ between MELD and HVPG for predicting the 3-month survival (HR=0.76 and 0.68, respectively; 95% CI=0.62~0.89 and 0.52~0.84; P=0.22) or the 12-month survival (HR=0.72 and 0.73, 95% CI=0.61~0.83 and CI=0.61~0.84). CONCLUSIONS: Both MELD and HVPG are independent prognostic factors of death within 3 and 12 months in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis, and their accuracies are similar. However, HVPG has a limited role in the prediction of death in decompensated cirrhosis due to its invasiveness and limited use.