Fatal Intracranial Hemorrhage in a Patient with Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation associated with Sepsis / 대한구급학회지

In critically ill patients, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is a common and fatal hematological disorder. DIC is a physiological response to a variety of underlying stimuli that provoke generalized activation of the hemostatic mechanism and is common in septic patients and those with hematological or non-hematological malignant neoplasms. Bleeding is a common clinical feature, and diffuse or multiple-site mucocutaneous bleeding, such as petechia, ecchymosis and hemorrhage from gastrointestinal tract, is often seen. A 58-year-old male was recently diagnosed with intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) caused by DIC associated with sepsis. Mortality of ICH caused by DIC is very high because the underlying condition cannot be quickly treated. Awareness of the possibility of DIC developing in a critically ill patient and the need for immediate initiation of plasma or platelet replacement therapy are important. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of intracranial hemorrhage in a Korean patient with DIC associated with sepsis.

A Retrospective Analysis for Patients with HER2-Positive Gastric Cancer Who Were Treated with Trastuzumab-Based Chemotherapy: In the Perspectives of Ethnicity and Histology / Journal of the Korean Cancer Association, 대한암학회지

PURPOSE: While the Trastuzumab for Gastric Cancer (ToGA) trial demonstrated the efficacy and safety of trastuzumab-based chemotherapy in HER2-positive metastatic gastric cancer, the overall survival (OS) benefit was not found in Asian and diffuse-type cancer patients. The aim of the study is to investigate predictive markers for trastuzumab-based chemotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data of patients with HER2-positive gastric cancer treated with trastuzumab-based chemotherapy were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: A total of 168 Asian patients were included. The median age was 60 years (range, 27 to 85 years) and the male:female ratio was 118 (70.2%):50 (29.8%). Fourteen (8.3%), 63 (37.5%), 75 (44.6%), and 11 (6.5%) patients had well, moderately, poorly-differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma and signet ring cell carcinoma, respectively. With 14 complete responses and 73 partial responses, the response rate was 50.6%. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 10.2 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.7 to 11.7), and the median OS was 18.5 months (95% CI, 16.4 to 50.6). Next, we investigated the effect of poorly-differentiated histology (PDH, poorly-differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma+signet ring cell carcinoma) on clinical outcomes. The median PFS (8.9 months vs. 11.5 months, p=0.16) was slightly inferior in PDH patients, and the median OS was significantly shorter in PDH patients (14.6 months vs. 19.0 months, p=0.025). CONCLUSION: While subset analysis of the ToGA trial demonstrated that trastuzumab-based chemotherapy may not be beneficial for Asians and patients with PDH, our data may suggest that even in Asian patients and patients with PDH, trastuzumab-based chemotherapy could be associated with improved clinical outcomes in patients with HER2-positive gastric cancer.

Fatal Intracranial Hemorrhage in a Patient with Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation associated with Sepsis / 대한중환자의학회지

In critically ill patients, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is a common and fatal hematological disorder. DIC is a physiological response to a variety of underlying stimuli that provoke generalized activation of the hemostatic mechanism and is common in septic patients and those with hematological or non-hematological malignant neoplasms. Bleeding is a common clinical feature, and diffuse or multiple-site mucocutaneous bleeding, such as petechia, ecchymosis and hemorrhage from gastrointestinal tract, is often seen. A 58-year-old male was recently diagnosed with intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) caused by DIC associated with sepsis. Mortality of ICH caused by DIC is very high because the underlying condition cannot be quickly treated. Awareness of the possibility of DIC developing in a critically ill patient and the need for immediate initiation of plasma or platelet replacement therapy are important. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of intracranial hemorrhage in a Korean patient with DIC associated with sepsis.

Pulmonary Pneumatocele in a Pneumonia Patient Infected with Extended-Spectrum beta-Lactamase Producing Proteus mirabilis / 결핵및호흡기질환

Pulmonary pneumatoceles are air-filled thin-walled spaces within the lung and are rare in adult cases of pneumonia. We report the case of a 74-year-old male who was admitted with a cough and sputum production. He had been treated with oral dexamethasone since a brain tumorectomy 6 months prior. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) of the chest revealed a large pneumatocele in the right middle lobe and peripheral pneumonic consolidation. Bronchoalveolar lavage was performed; cultures identified extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producing Proteus mirabilis. A 4-week course of intravenous ertapenem was administered, and the pneumatocele with pneumonia resolved on follow-up chest CT. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of pulmonary pneumatocele caused by ESBL-producing P. mirabilis associated with pneumonia.