Therapeutic Response to 20 mg of Esomeprazole Twice Daily in Patients with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease-related Non-cardiac Chest Pain: An Open-Label Randomized Pilot Study / 대한소화기학회지

Background/Aims@#Non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP) is defined as recurrent angina pectoris-like pain without evidence of coronary heart disease, and is usually related to esophageal diseases, such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are important for diagnosis and treatment. Many studies have been conducted on the use of PPIs in patients with GERD-related NCCP. In contrast to standard-dose esomeprazole, the efficacy of half-dose esomeprazole twice daily (BD) has not been established. This study compared the efficacies of the two esomeprazole regimens in GERD-related NCCP. @*Methods@#In this prospective, open-label study, 37 participants with GERD-related NCCP were randomized to receive either 20 mg of esomeprazole BD (n=21) (esomeprazole BD group) or 40 mg once daily (n=16) (esomeprazole once daily [OD] group) for 4 weeks. In both groups, the chest pain score, which was calculated based on the frequency and severity, was evaluated before and 2 and 4 weeks after administering the medication. @*Results@#The chest pain score significantly improved in both groups (p50% was 7.7% higher in the esomeprazole BD group than in the esomeprazole OD group (95.2% vs. 87.5%), but the difference was not significant. @*Conclusions@#Esomeprazole BD was as effective as esomeprazole OD in improving GERD-related NCCP. Although statistically insignificant, the percentage of patients with >50% reduction in the chest pain score was higher in the esomeprazole BD group than in the esomeprazole OD group. Large-scale studies will be needed to assess these findings further.

A Case of Autoimmune Hepatitis after Occupational Exposure to N,N-Dimethylformamide

N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), a widely used solvent in the chemical industry, is known to induce toxic hepatitis. However, there have been no reported cases of DMF-associated autoimmune hepatitis. A 31-year-old healthy man working at a glove factory since July 2015 had intermittently put his bare hands into a diluted DMF solution for his first 15 days at work. After 2 months, he felt nausea, fatigue, and hand cramping, and a jaundice followed. His laboratory findings showed positive autoantibodies and elevated immunoglobulin G (IgG), and his liver biopsy pathology was typical of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). Prednisolone and azathioprine therapy began, and he recovered rapidly without adverse events. Though his liver chemistry was normalized, the IgG level remained persistently upper normal range. His 2nd liver biopsy performed in April 2019 showed mild portal activity, and he was well under a low dose immunosuppressive therapy up to April 2020. This case warns of the hazard of occupational exposure to DMF, and clinicians should be aware of DMF-related AIH for timely initiation of immunosuppressive therapy.

Glomeruloid Hemangioma as a Marker for the Early Diagnosis of POEMS Syndrome

No abstract available.

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Presenting with Idiopathic Retroperitoneal Fibrosis / 대한내과학회지

Retroperitoneal fibrosis (RPF) is a rare inflammatory fibrotic condition affecting the peri-aortic retroperitoneum in which fibrosis of the surrounding tissue can encase the ureters, resulting in obstructive uropathy. RPF is generally idiopathic in nature, but may also arise in response to other conditions, such as malignancies, infections, surgery, radiotherapy, or drugs. Idiopathic RPF is commonly seen in association with various autoimmune diseases, such as autoimmune thyroiditis, autoimmune pancreatitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Here, we describe the first case of RPF in Korea. A 44-year-old man with SLE presenting with pain in both flanks due to RPF is discussed, along with a review of the relevant literature.

Resolution of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Following Interferon-alpha Therapy for Chronic Hepatitis C / 임상당뇨병

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) mainly affects the liver, but several tissues outside the liver have also been reported to be involved. It has been hypothesized that diabetes could be one of these extrahepatic conditions attributable to HCV infection. The specific mechanisms by which HCV leads to type 2 diabetes are not fully understood, but it seems that an increase in insulin resistance associated with both steatosis and overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines could play a crucial role. We report a patient whose type 2 diabetes that was resolved following interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) therapy for HCV. A 57-year-old man presented with fatigue, polyuria, and polydipsia. He was newly diagnosed as type 2 diabetes and chronic hepatitis C. He was started on subcutaneous insulin and IFN-alpha. After 24 weeks of treatment with IFN-alpha, the results of HCV polymerase chain reaction were negative, and his diabetes had resolved. Our case shows a resolution of diabetes after IFN-alpha therapy for chronic hepatitis C. Although it is unclear whether the resolution of diabetes in this case occurred as an effect of IFN-alpha or as a result of becoming HCV RNA-negative, our finding suggest roles of IFN-alpha and HCV infection in the pathogenesis of diabetes.

Myocardial Ischemia by Aggravation of Myocardial Bridging

Myocardial bridging (MB) occurs when the myocardium covers a segment of a major epicardial coronary artery, resulting in a tunneled arterial segment. Although MB is generally considered benign, it has been associated with myocardial ischemia. A 70-year-old man with MB (50% luminal narrowing during systole) at the mid-left anterior descending artery (LAD) on previous coronary angiography (CAG) visited our hospital with worsening chest pain. His blood pressure (BP) was not well controlled because of poor compliance. Follow-up CAG showed that MB at the mid-LAD progressed to severe stenosis (>90% luminal narrowing during systole) and the total length of tunneled artery extended from 22.5 to 23.9 mm. His chest pain was relieved by BP control. This is the first report of myocardial ischemia secondary to progression of MB demonstrated by CAG in Korea.

Intramural Hematoma with Air Density on Computed Tomography after Percutaneous Kyphoplasty

Iatrogenic aortic dissection occurs in association with diverse invasive procedures. It occurs primarily as a complication of cardiac surgery or after catheterization procedure. We found a case of iatrogenic abdominal aortic dissection caused by traumatic needle injury. The patient complained of abdominal pain after balloon kyphoplasty. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) showed intramural hematoma with air density suggestive of an iatrogenic cause. The patient was managed conservatively, and no lesion progression was noted in the follow-up CT. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of iatrogenic aortic dissection associated with kyphoplasty.