A case of primary hepatic actinomycosis: an enigmatic inflammatory lesion of the liver

Primary hepatic actinomycosis is one of the chronic abscess-forming infections of the liver. Accurate diagnosis is frequently delayed due to its indolent course and nonspecific clinical and radiological manifestations. We report a case of a 57-year-old man presenting with asymptomatic multiple hepatic masses on follow-up abdominal computed tomography performed 1 year after stomach cancer surgery. Although a percutaneous liver biopsy procedure was conducted twice in order to obtain confirmative pathology, only a nonspecific organizing abscess with plasma cell infiltration was revealed, without identification of any organism in the tissue cultures. Ultimately, actinomycosis was diagnosed following the detection of sulfur granules on open surgical biopsied tissue. This case suggests that primary hepatic actinomycosis should be considered as one of the possible causes for enigmatic inflammatory lesions of the liver.

A Case of Pleural Endometriosis Presented as Right Sided Hemothorax in a Patient Who Underwent Kidney Transplantation / 영남의대학술지

Thoracic endometriosis is an uncommon disease that has four main forms: catamenial pneumothorax, hemothorax, hemoptysis, and pulmonary nodules. Since the growth of endometrial tissue depends on the presence of estrogen, thoracic endometriosis usually occurs in menstruating women between 25 and 35 years of age. Menstrual disturbances are common in women with chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, they could be reversed after kidney transplantation. Therefore, previously asymptomatic endometriosis may become symptomatic after kidney transplantation. A 49-year-old woman with CKD underwent kidney transplantation. A month later, she experienced dyspnea, and hemothorax in her right hemithorax. However, there was no evidence of infectious diseases and malignancy in thoracentesis, pleural biopsy, and computed chest tomography (CT). The serum and pleural fluid levels of his carbohydrate antigen 125 were elevated. Hemothorax secondary to pleural endometriosis was suspected. We tried hormonal therapy, and the hemothorax disappeared. At the sixth-month follow-up, there was no recurrence of hemothorax.

A Case of Sunitinib-Associated Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura / 대한내과학회지

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and hemolytic uremic syndrome (TTP-HUS) is an acute condition with abnormalities of multiple organ systems. It is characterized by microangiopathic hemolytic anemia and thrombocytopenia. Several chemotherapeutic agents have been implicated in causing TTP-HUS. We report a case of TTP-HUS during treatment with sunitinib in a patient with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. A 53-year-old woman visited our hospital for fever and cough. She was diagnosed with sunitinib-induced TTP. Discontinuation of sunitinib and plasmapheresis improved her TTP. When she experienced disease progression after a prolonged period without treatment, sorafenib was tried, resulting in a partial response without recurrence of TTP-HUS.