Prevalence and Clinical Characteristics of Noncardiac Chest Pain with Reflux Esophagitis in Korea

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Noncardiac chest pain (NCCP) is substernal, squeezing chest pain, unrelated to the cardiac problem. Our study aimed to define the prevalence and clinical characteristics of reflux esophagitis in NCCP patients in Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed medical records of patients who visited Department of Cardiology, St. Paul's Hospital due to chest pain and had normal coronary arteriography and who had received endoscopy within 6 months. Patients diagnosed with peptic ulcer or gastric cancer were excluded. The patients were classified into two groups according to their endoscopic results; the reflux esophagitis group and the control group. RESULTS: Two hundred seventeen NCCP patients were enrolled and 96 patients (44.2%) were diagnosed with reflux esophagitis: 68 patients (31.3%) with minimal change esophagitis; 26 patients (12.0%) with Los Angeles (LA) grade A; 2 patients (0.9%) with LA grade B. There were no patients with severe erosive reflux disease. There were no significantly different characteristics in the reflux esophagitis group and the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of reflux esophagitis in NCCP patients in Korea was 44.2%. Most patients had mild reflux esophagitis.

Primary Granulomatous Hypophysitis Presenting with Panhypopituitarism and Central Diabetes Insipidus / 대한내과학회지

Primary granulomatous hypophysitis is a rare inflammatory disorder of the pituitary gland and patients commonly present with symptoms of sellar compression and hypopituitarism. A 48-year-old woman was admitted due to headache and fatigue. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a 21 x 18 x 13-mm round sellar mass with a thickened pituitary stalk. The endocrinological examination revealed panhypopituitarism and diabetes insipidus. Suspecting hypophysitis, the patient was given steroid and hormone replacement therapy. Six months later, she continued to complain of severe headaches and nausea. Computed tomography showed no significant change in the sellar mass. Subsequently, transsphenoidal surgery was performed. The pathological examination revealed granulomatous changes with multinucleated giant cells and primary granulomatous hypophysitis was diagnosed. Her headache resolved, but the pituitary functions did not improve. This is the first reported case in Korea of primary granulomatous hypophysitis with dysfunction of anterior and posterior pituitary gland, including the stalk, without optic chiasm compression.

A Case of Squamoid Cyst of Pancreatic Ducts Shown Malignant Behavior / 대한췌담도학회지

Detection of cystic lesions in the pancreas has increased because of the widespread use of high-resolution diagnostic imaging techniques. Therefore, cystic lesions of the pancreas constitute an increasingly important category with a challenging differential diagnosis. Squamoid cyst of pancreatic ducts is a recently recognized type of cystic lesion in the pancreas in which cystically dilated ducts are lined by non-keratinized squamous epithelium. Although it is clinically known as benign cystic lesion, we experienced its malignant behavior and report here with review of the international literatures.

Insulin Resistance as a Risk Factor for Gallbladder Stone Formation in Korean Postmenopausal Women

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The objective of this study was to determine whether insulin resistance is associated with gallbladder stone formation in Korean women based on menopausal status. METHODS: The study included 4,125 consecutive Korean subjects (30-79 years of age). Subjects who had a medical history of diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, other cardiovascular disorders, or hormone replacement therapy were excluded. The women were subdivided into two groups according to their menopausal status. RESULTS: Analysis of premenopausal women showed no significant differences in the homeostasis model of assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index between the two groups in terms of gallstone disease. The associations between the occurrence of gallbladder stones and age, obesity, abdominal obesity, hyperinsulinemia, and high HOMA-IR index were statistically significant in the analysis with postmenopausal women. In a multiple logistic regression analysis, low high density lipoprotein-cholesterol was an independent predictor of gallbladder stone formation in premenopausal women. However, the multiple logistic regression analysis also showed that age and HOMA-IR were significantly associated with gallbladder stone formation in postmenopausal women. In an additional analysis stratified by obesity, insulin resistance was a significant risk factor for gallbladder stone formation only in the abdominally obese premenopausal group. CONCLUSIONS: Insulin resistance may be associated with gallbladder stone formation in Korean postmenopausal women with abdominal obesity.

Cystatin C as an Early Biomarker of Nephropathy in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

This study was done to evaluate clinical usefulness of cystatin C levels of serum and urine in predicting renal impairment in normoalbuminuric patients with type 2 diabetes and to evaluate the association between albuminuria and serum/urine cystatin C. Type 2 diabetic patients (n = 332) with normoalbuminuria (n = 210), microalbuminuria (n = 83) and macroalbuminuria (n = 42) were enrolled. Creatinine, urinary albumin levels, serum/urine cystatin C and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR by MDRD [Modification of Diet in Renal Disease] and CKD-EPI [Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration] equations) were determined. The cystatin C levels of serum and urine increased with increasing degree of albuminuria, reaching higher levels in macroalbuminuric patients (P < 0.001). In multiple regression analysis, serum cystatin C was affected by C-reactive protein (CRP), sex, albumin-creatinine ratio (ACR) and eGFR. Urine cystatin C was affected by triglyceride, age, eGFR and ACR. In multivariate logistic analysis, cystatin C levels of serum and urine were identified as independent factors associated with eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 estimated by MDRD equation in patients with normoalbuminuria. On the other hand, eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 estimated by CKD-EPI equation was independently associated with low level of high-density lipoprotein in normoalbuminuric patients. The cystatin C levels of serum and urine could be useful markers for renal dysfunction in type 2 diabetic patients with normoalbuminuria.

Clinical Manifestations of Elderly Patients Admitted Because of Severe Hyponatremia / 대한신장학회지

PURPOSE: Recently the incidence of severe hyponatremia is increasing in old patients but there is no report about clinical findings of old patients with hyponatremia. We evaluated the cause and clinical manifestations of severe hyponatremia in old patients who had been admitted via emergency room. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed clinical records of the hyponatremic patients who had been admitted from 2000 to 2007. We enrolled 53 patients (Age >60 years, Na <125 mEq/L) without severe liver cirrhosis, heart failure or chronic kidney disease. We analyzed data to evaluate the differences of clinical manifestations according to the presence of symptoms, taking diuretics, urine sodium concentrations and the degree of hyponatremia. RESULTS: Mean serum sodium concentration was 111.4+/-6.9 mEq/L and urine sodium concentration was 68.7+/-43.8 mEq/L. There was no difference in serum sodium concentration according to age. Twenty-nine (54.7%) patients had nausea and vomiting and 19 patients (35.8%) had neurologic symptoms. Patients with neurologic symptoms showed lower serum and urine sodium concentration than patients without neurologic symptoms. The main causes of severe hyponatremia were poor oral intake (79.2%), diuretics use (37.7%) and recent operation (15.1%). The mean sodium concentration of the fluid administered to achieve 125 mEq/L of serum sodium level was 336.5+/-160.6 mEq/L. CONCLUSION: The urinary sodium loss, e.g., diuretics abuse, may be the main cause of severe hyponatremia in elderly patients over 60 years. In elderly patients, diuretics should be carefully administered with frequent electrolyte monitoring.

Adiponectin Concentrations in Type 2 Diabetic Patients with or without Metabolic Syndrome / 당뇨병

BACKGROUND: Adipocytes produce several adipokines that modulate insulin action as well as glucose and lipid metabolism. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between serum adiponectin concentrations and metabolic syndrome (MS) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS: This study included 127 type 2 diabetic patients (males 63, females 64). The subjects were divided into two groups as with or without metabolic syndrome (MS(+) or MS(-)). The MS was diagnosed by International Diabetes Federation. Serum adiponectin, leptin, fasting plasma insulin, glucose, glycated hemoglobin, lipid profile, white blood corpuscle (WBC), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), uric acid and C-reactive protein (CRP) were examined. RESULTS: Serum adiponectin concentrations were significantly lower in MS(+) than MS(-) (4.8 +/- 2.4 microgram/mL vs 7.6 +/- 5.8 microgram/mL, 7.6 +/- 3.7 microgram/mL vs 11.5 +/- 7.2 microgram/mL, P < 0.05 in males and females). After adjustment for age and body mass index (BMI), in MS (+), the serum levels of adiponectin correlated positively with high density lipoprotein - cholesterol (HDL-C) and negatively with height, body weight, ALT and CRP. In MS(-), the serum levels of adiponectin correlated positively with HDL-C and negatively with diastolic blood pressure (DBP), triglyceride and CRP. By multiple regression analysis, no parameters were independently correlated with serum adiponectin concentrations in MS(+), while DBP and HDL-C were independently related to serum adiponectin concentrations in MS(-). CONCLUSION: Serum adiponectin concentrations were lower in type 2 diabetic patients with MS than without MS. There were no significant parameters related to decrease serum adiponectin concentrations in MS. But further study is needed to confirm this result.