A case of typhoid fever with manifestations of acute hepatitis / 대한내과학회지

Typhoid fever is a febrile illness with a variety of systemic manifestations; however, icteric typhoid hepatitis, mimicking the clinical features of acute hepatitis, is very uncommon. A 45-year-old man was admitted to the hospital for evaluation of fever, dark-colored urine, and jaundice. On admission, the total bilirubin was 4.3 mg/dL, and the AST and ALT were 468 and 319 IU/L, respectively. Salmonella typhi was identified by blood culture. A liver biopsy revealed some mononuclear cell infiltrations without hepatocyte necrosis or typhoid nodules. CT scan findings showed splenomegaly and mesenteric lymphadenopathy. With the administration of ceftriaxone, he became afebrile and showed improvement in the jaundice, with normalization of AST and ALT.

A Case of Autoimmune Pancreatitis Diagnosed by Immunohistochemical Staining of IgG4 / 대한소화기내시경학회지

Autoimmune pancreatitis is a distinct entity with characteristic morphological, histological and clinical features. Since the first report in 1961, there have been many reports on autoantibodies associated with autoimmune pancreatitis. Lymphoplasmacytic infiltration with fibrosis is the characteristic histological feature of autoimmune pancreatitis. Elevation of immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4), a subtype of IgG, can be seen in autoimmune pancreatitis. A few reports of autoimmune pancreatitis based on immunostaining of IgG4 have been published, but no reports have been published in Korea. We present here the first report of autoimmune pancreatitis, based on an increased serum IgG4 level and plasma cell infiltration that showed IgG4 positivity by immunohistochemical staining of the major papilla.

A Case of Eneropathy-associated T-cell Lymphoma Presenting with Persistent Abdominal Pain and Diarrhea / 대한소화기내시경학회지

Enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma (EATL) is an unusual primary gastrointestinal lymphoma, and it is particularly associated with celiac sprue. These patients typically suffer from abdominal pain, diarrhea and/or weight loss. Primary intestinal T-cell lymphoma without celiac sprue is known to be rare. We report here on a case of EATL that presented with persistent abdominal pain and diarrhea, but this patient was without celiac sprue.

A Case of Eneropathy-associated T-cell Lymphoma Presenting with Persistent Abdominal Pain and Diarrhea / 대한소화기내시경학회지

Enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma (EATL) is an unusual primary gastrointestinal lymphoma, and it is particularly associated with celiac sprue. These patients typically suffer from abdominal pain, diarrhea and/or weight loss. Primary intestinal T-cell lymphoma without celiac sprue is known to be rare. We report here on a case of EATL that presented with persistent abdominal pain and diarrhea, but this patient was without celiac sprue.

Comparative Usefulness of Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate and C-reactive Protein in Assessing the Severity of Ulcerative Colitis / 대한소화기학회지

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Although erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is included as a laboratory parameter in Truelove and Witts' classification, C-reactive protein (CRP) is also used for severity assessment in ulcerative colitis (UC). Frequently, the discordance between ESR and CRP is observed in clinical practice. The aim of this study was to determine which parameter is more related with clinical activity in UC patients. METHODS: A total of 155 patients with UC were identified from January 2004 to March 2005. Their medical records were reviewed within these patients, a total of 541 assessments of disease activity were made. Correlation of clinical activity and laboratory tests were evaluated by Pearson's correlation coefficient. RESULTS: Pearson's correlation coefficients of ESR and CRP with clinical symptoms were 0.376 and 0.258, respectively. The correlation coefficient between ESR and CRP was 0.403 (p=0.000). A total of 131 (24.2%) assessments revealed discordance between ESR and CRP. When discordance occurred, the correlation coefficients with clinical symptoms were 0.338 for ESR (p=0.000) and 0.034 for CRP (p>0.01). Dividing discordant patients into high ESR/low CRP group and low ESR/high CRP group, the coefficients were 0.420 for ESR and 0.226 for CRP in high ESR/low CRP group, and 0.333 for ESR and 0.068 for CRP in low ESR/high CRP group. CONCLUSIONS: The correlation analysis indicates that ESR appears to be a more reliable laboratory parameter of disease activity than CRP in assessing the severity of UC. In particular, when the level of ESR and CRP is discordant, ESR is more useful in assessing the disease activity in UC patients.

A clinical study on the eradication therapy on multiple gastric polyposis associated with H. pylori infection / 대한내과학회지

BACKGROUND: Little has been known about the incidence, the relationship with H. pylori infection and the prognosis of the multiple gastric polyposis. Recently, it was suggested that the eradication of H. pylori infection led the disappearance of the gastric polyps associated with H. pylori. We carried out a prospective study to determine the effect of H. pylori eradication on multiple gastric polyposis associated with H. pylori. METHODS: From July 1997 through August 2000, 13 patients who had multiple gastric polyposis on upper gastrointestinal endoscopy were recruited for this study. After eradication of H. pylori, we performed follow-up endoscopy at 2-3 months and 5-6 months later. RESULTS: The topographical distributions of gastric polyps were as following : antrum only in 7 cases, antrum and lower body in 4 cases, antrum and fundus area in 1 case, and entire stomach in 1 cases, respectively. The histopathological findings were as following : 13 cases showed chronic active gastritis, 2 cases with hyperplastic polyps, and 1 case with adenomatous polyps. After eradication of H. pylori infection, regression of multiple gastric polyps occurred in 7 cases (53.8%). In 7 cases with regression, regression was observed in 5 cases with chronic active gastritis alone, 1 case with hyperplastic polyps, and 1 case with adenomatous polyps. The re-biopsy specimens in 7 cases with regression revealed that the grade of inflammation decreased from 2.2 to 1.5 by the histological index of the updated Sydney system. CONCLUSION: With these results, we may conclude that the development of multiple gastric polyposis might be closely related with chronic H. pylori infection, and the eradication of H. pylori could lead to the regression of polyposis.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in Chronic Renal Failure Patients Undergoing Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis(CAPD) / 대한신장학회잡지

BACKGROUND: Carpal tunnel syndrome(CTS) is a long-term complication in dialysis patients which results from compression of the median nerve within the carpal tunnel. It has been reported to occur with increased frequency in the hemodialysis population, but, there are few reports concering long-term complications in CAPD because of the relatively shorter duration of dialysis in most CAPD patients. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of CTS in patients undergoing CAPD. METHODS: We analyzed 21 chronic renal failure (CRF) patients(males 14, females 7; age range 19-79 yr) undergoing CAPD. The patients were evaluated by questionnare, physical examination, and nerve conduction test(NCT). Age, gender, duration of CRF before CAPD, duration of CAPD, diabetic history were determined. RESULTS: Among the total 21 patients undergoing CAPD, only 5 patients(24%) were CTS, diagnosed by NCT. Two of these patients were symptomatic CTS, three patients were non-symptomtic CTS. So, there were no relationship between the incidence of CTS and clinical symptoms. Among the diabetic dialysis patients, the incidence of CTS was 28.57%. Also there was no increase in the number of diatetic patients with CTS. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that the incidence of CTS in CAPD patients was similar with the previous reported incidence(2-31%) of hemodialysis patients. Since CTS is treatable, annual or even semiannual nerve conduction tests is indicated all CRF patients on chronic dialysis.