A case of hypereosinophilic syndrome with pleural effusion and pulmonary embolism / 천식및알레르기

Hypereosinophilic syndrome is characterized by prolonged eosinophilia of blood and bone marrow and eosinophil-related tissue damage to variable organs without an identifiable underlying cause. We report a case of hypereosinophilic syndrome with pleural effusion and pulmonary embolism in a 29-year-old man. Chest CT and lung perfusion scan demonstrated multiple segmental perfusion defects in both lungs. After intravenous injection of methyl-prednisone for 3 weeks, blood eosinophil count and pulmonary lesions were normalized.

A Case of Acute Hepatitis E / 대한간학회지

Hepatitis E is an infectious viral disease with clinical and morphologic features of acute hepatitis. Although HEV infection is endemic in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast and Central Asia, a large outbreak of hepatitis E was identified in China. Smaller outbreaks have been observed in the Middle East, northern and western parts of Africa, and Mexico. Sporadic hepatitis E also has been observed in several countries. In nonendemic regions, the sporadic cases of hepatitis E are almost always associated with travel to HEV-endemic regions. In Korea, there has been no report on hepatitis E. Recently, we experienced a case of acute icteric hepatitis in which serologic study showed seroconversion of IgM anti-HEV. The patient did not have any travel history to an HEV-endemic area. We report this as an initial case of acute hepatitis E in Korea.

A case of Churg-Strauss syndrome associated with zafirlukast / 천식및알레르기

Churg-Strauss syndrome (CSS) is an eosinophil associated disease, characterized by vaculitis and granulomatosis on small vessel, asthma and eosinophil tissue infiltration. Several cases of CSS have been reported in patients treated with cysteinyl leukotriene receptor antagonist and weaned-off systemic or inhaled corticosteroids. A 39-year-old man with a history of childhood allergic rhinitis was diagnosed with bronchial asthma and his symptoms were well controlled with fluticasone propinate, salmeterol and zafirlukast. However four months later, he was admitted again with prominent skin lesions, tingling sensation on both extremities and fever. We diagnosed CSS with a history of sinusitis and bronchial asthma, marked peripheral eosinophilia, vasculitis and neuropathy. His symptoms and laboratory findings promptly improved after ten days of intravenous corticosteroid and cessation of zafirlukast without recurrence for six months during the follow-up period. We conclude that zafirlukast may cause CSS and attention should be taken when using zafirlukast.

A case of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis with liver abscess / 대한내과학회지

Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is an acute inflammatory demyelinating disease of central nervous system, and is related to allergic or immune-mediated reaction to systemic viral infection or vaccination, which is usually self limited monophasic illness. As the clinical manifestations or laboratory findings is nonspecific, it is diagnosed by brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showing multiple foci of increased T2 signal within white matter. We report the clinical and radiologic imaging findings in a 36-year-old man in whom acute disseminated encephalomyelitis developed after serologically proven herpes infection combined with liver abscess. His clinical course, despite without corticosteroid or plasmapheresis because of liver abscess, was shown spontaneous remission.