A Case of Needle Tract Seeding of Hepatocellular Carcinoma after Percutaneous Ethanol Injection Therapy; Needle Tract Seeding after Percutaneous Ethanol Injection Therapy / 대한간학회지

The tumor seeding after percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) therapy has been considered to be a rare complication in hepatocellular carcinoma. We report a case of needle tract implantation of hepatocellular carcinoma following PEI manifested as subcutaneous nodule. A 57-years old male patient had been treated with PEI for hepatocellular carcinoma. Thirteen months after completion of the PEI session, a subcutaneous nodule was palpated at the site of the needle puncture. A CT scan showed that the subcutaneous nodule was 1.7 cm in size and enhanced in the early phase. The nodule was surgically removed. Microscopic examination showed hepatocellular carcinoma.

A Case of Empyema and Retropharyngeal Abscess Complicated by Acute Epiglottitis / 감염

After the introduction of antibiotics, empyema is a rare complication of retropharyngeal abscess caused by acute epiglottitis. But once it occurs, it may be a fatal outcome. Retropharyngeal abscess may spread to mediastinum and pleural cavity along the deep cervical fascia, then it can induce pneumonia, mediastinitis, empyema, and sepsis. Because of its fatal complication, early diagnosis and intensive surgical treatment, such as incision and drainage, is necessary. Now we have a experience of empyema caused by retropharyngeal abscess in a 56-year old diabetic patient with nephropathy. He was admitted to our hospital because of hoarseness and sore throat due to acute epiglottitis. Several days after his admission, he complained of swelling of neck, which was diagnosed as retropharyngeal abscess by the computerized tomography. Retropharyngeal abscess was managed with antibiotics, incision and drainage and culture revealed Peptostreptococcus prevotii. Subsequently empyema developed in his right chest, which was managed with closed thoracotomy, though, he expired due to progression of sepsis.

Effects of Dialyzer Reuse on Clearances of Blood Urea Nitrogen and beta2-Microglobulin in the Three Different Membranes / 대한신장학회잡지

BACKGROUND: We performed the study on the changes of beta2-microglobulin(beta2M) clearance and urea reduction ratio after reuse of dialyzers with three different membranes. METHODS: 9 patients who had received regular hemodialysis more than five years were enrolled. Three kinds of dialyzer membrane were used; i.e. : Two of them were high-flux and the other was low-flux. Dialyzer reprocessing was performed by an automated machine using glutaraldehyde and bleach. Each dialyzer was reused 10 times. Solute clearance was determined for each dialyzer after the 1st, 5th, 8th and 10th reuse. RESULTS: Urea clearance was well maintained after reuse with both high-flux and low-flux membrane but beta2M clearance was significantly greater with high-flux dialyzers than low-flux dialyzer. Effects of each dialyzer reuse on beta2M clearance showed no significant decrease until the 10th reuse and no significant difference in beta2M clearance between the two high-flux dialyzers(polyamide vs PEPA membrane, p= 0.197). CONCLUSION: Reuse of dialyzers was cost-effective. After reuse of dialyzer, clearance of solute was maintained in both small and large solutes until the 10 th reuse. Further study is needed regarding the maintenance of solute clearance with increased number of reuses.