Neuron-specific enolase as a novel biomarker reflecting tuberculosis activity and treatment response

BACKGROUND/AIMS: It is not clear which tests are indicative of the activity and severity of tuberculosis (TB). This study aimed to investigate the predictive value of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and to determine the origin of NSE in TB patients. METHODS: A single-center retrospective analysis was conducted on newly diagnosed TB patients between January and December 2010. Patients were categorized into one of two disease groups (focal segmental or extensive) based on chest X-ray. Pre- and post-treatment NSE concentrations were evaluated. To determine the origin of serum NSE concentration, NSE staining was compared with macrophage-specific CD68 staining in lung tissues and with a tissue microarray using immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. RESULTS: A total of 60 newly diagnosed TB patients were analyzed. In TB patients, NSE serum concentration was significantly increased and NSE level decreased after treatment (p < 0.001). In proportion to serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein concentration, the mean serum concentration of NSE in the extensive group (25.12 ng/mL) was significantly higher than that in the focal segmental group (20.23 ng/mL, p = 0.04). Immunohistochemical staining revealed a large number of macrophages that stained positively for both NSE and CD68 in TB tissues. In addition, NSE signals mostly co-localized with CD68 signals in the tissue microarray of TB patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that NSE may be a practical parameter that can be used to monitor TB activity and treatment response. Elevated serum NSE level originates, at least in part, from macrophages in granulomatous lesions.

A Case of Cervical Retrotracheal Metastatic Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma Diagnosed by Endobronchial Ultrasonography with Transbronchial Needle Aspiration

A 61-year-old woman who underwent total thyroidectomy for papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) five years previously referred for a cervical retrotracheal mass. The mass had intense fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake on positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT), and was thus thought to be malignant. Transcutaneous ultrasonography with fine needle aspiration (FNA) was not feasible, so we tried endobronchial ultrasonography (EBUS) with transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) to obtain a cytology specimen. After surgery, the mass was confirmed to be a metastatic lymph node from the previous PTC, confirming the TBNA results. Although the utility of EBUS-TBNA for evaluating mediastinal metastasis has been reported in a number of studies, few reports have addressed its utility in the cervical region. Here we report this unusual case of metastatic lymph node of PTC that recurred in the cervical retrotracheal area. It was found to exhibit esophageal muscular invasion, and was accurately diagnosed on EBUS-TBNA.

Percutaneous Dilatational Tracheostomy in Critically Ill Patients Taking Antiplatelet Agents / 대한구급학회지

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy (PDT) has been considered as an alternative to surgical tracheostomy in intensive care units (ICU), and is widely used for critically ill patients who need prolonged mechanical ventilation. Few studies have reported on PDT performed in critically ill patients taking antiplatelet agents. Our goals are to assess not only the feasibility and safety of PDT, but also bleeding complications in the patients receiving such therapy. METHODS: In a single institution, PDTs were performed by pulmonologists at the medical ICU bedside using the single tapered dilator technique and assisted by flexible bronchoscopy to confirm a secure puncture site. From March 2011 to February 2013, the patients' demographic and clinical data, procedural parameters, outcomes and complications were analyzed and compared complications between patients taking antiplatelet agents and those not. RESULTS: PDTs were performed for 138 patients; the median age was 72 years, mean body mass index was 20.3 +/- 4.8 kg/m2, and mean acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II score was 24.4 +/- 9.4. Overall, the procedural success rate was 100% and the total procedural time was 25 +/- 8.5 min. There were no periprocedural life-threatening complications, and no statistical difference in the incidence of bleeding complications between patients who had taken antiplatelet agents and those had not (p = 0.657). CONCLUSIONS: PDT performed in critically ill patients taking antiplatelet agents was a feasible procedure and was implemented without additional bleeding complications.

Therapeutic Hypothermia after Decompressive Craniectomy in Malignant Cerebral Infarction / 대한구급학회지

Decompressive hemicraniectomy followed by subsequent therapeutic hypothermia can reduce mortality in patients with malignant cerebral infarction without significantly increasing risk. We report three cases of malignant cerebral infarction treated with hemicraniectomy followed by hypothermia. Case 1 received elective decompressive surgery and hypothermia. Case 2 developed subsequent cerebral infarction with uncal herniation. Therefore, emergent decompressive surgery and hypothermia was performed in this case. Despite surgery and hyperosmolar therapy, case 3 received hypothermia treatment for refractory increased intracranial pressure. All patients survived with a score of 4 or 5 on the modified Rankin scale. Therefore, we suggest that application of hypothermia after hemicraniectomy is safe and feasible. Several possible modifications can be made to improve the management strategy in order to increase the benefits of hypothermia treatment.

A Closed-Suction Catheter with a Pressure Valve Can Reduce Tracheal Mucosal Injury in Intubated Patients / 대한구급학회지

BACKGROUND: Endotracheal suctioning is associated with complications that include bleeding, infection, hypoxemia, cardiovascular instability, and tracheal mucosal injury. Recently, a closed-suction catheter with a pressure valve (Acetrachcare, AceMedical Co., Republic of Korea) was developed. We hypothesized that this new catheter might reduce tracheal mucosal injury compared to a conventional closed-suction catheter (Trachcare, Kimberly-balla RD, USA). METHODS: This prospective, randomized study enrolled medical and surgical patients who required mechanical ventilation for more than 48 hours. Patients were randomized into two groups: one group was suctioned with the conventional closed-suction catheter (CCC) and the other group was suctioned with the closed-suction catheter with pressure valve (CCPV). Bronchoscopy was performed 48 hours later, and the severity of tracheal mucosal injury was graded on a 5-point scale, as follows: 0 = normal; 1 = erythema or edema; 2 = erosion; 3 = hemorrhage; and 4 = ulceration or necrosis. RESULTS: A total of 76 patients (37 with CCPV and 39 with CCC) were included. There were no significant differences between the groups regarding demographic characteristics, changes in hemodynamic parameters during suction, incidence of pneumonia, length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, or ICU mortality. On bronchoscopic evaluation, the use of the CCPV led to a significant decrease in tracheal mucosal injury (median tracheal mucosal injury grade 1 [IQR 0-1] vs. 2 [IQR 1-3], p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the novel closed-suction catheter with pressure valve may reduce tracheal mucosal injury compared to conventional catheters.

Efficacy of Foreign Body Removal using a Cryoprobe in Flexible Bronchoscopy / 고신대학교의과대학학술지

OBJECTIVES: Endobronchial foreign body impaction is a medical emergency because of the air way obstruction. Therefore, immediate foreign body removal is crucial in such situations. Recently, there have been several reports about cryoprobe use as a tool for removal of foreign bodies. In this study, we determined the efficacy and complications of foreign body removal using a cryoprobe during flexible bronchoscopy. METHODS: This is a retrospective review of 27 patients who visited Kosin University Gospel Hospital from August 2007 to August 2010 with respiratory symptoms due to a foreign body in the airway. There were 17 males and 10 females, aged from 7 to 78 years. The foreign bodies were more frequently located (55%) in the right bronchus. The cryoprobe was inserted through the forceps channel of the flexible bronchoscope under local anesthesia. The lesion was quickly frozen for 5 seconds at -80degrees C, and the bronchoscope was removed with the probe after crystal formation on the contacted area. RESULTS: The success rate of removal of foreign bodies was 85% (23/27) using the cryoprobe. One case of broncholith did not undergo attempted removal because of the possibility of excessive hemorrhage by the tight bronchus impaction, and three cases (plastic,silicon,and implant) failed due to limited crystal formation. There were no severe hemorrhages, arrhythmias, or casualties during the procedure. CONCLUSIONS: The removal of foreign body using a cryoprobe during flexible bronchoscopy was shown to be safe and effective. The nature of the material should be attempted before removing a foreign body.

Respiratory Review of 2012: Bronchoscopic Innovations and Advances / 결핵및호흡기질환

Recent advances in bronchoscopy have led to changes in clinical diagnostics and therapeutics in pulmonary medicine. In diagnostic bronchoscopy, there have also been new developments in endobronchial ultrasound technology which may be incorporated into clinical practice in the near future. Functional bronchoscopy, which evaluates information such as airway pressure, airflow, or gas exchange, suggests promising clinical advances in the near future. In therapeutic bronchoscopy, bronchoscopic volume reduction is a novel approach for the treatment of severe emphysema. In this review, seven recently published articles representing current advances in bronchoscopy are summarized and discussed.

Docetaxel, Cisplatin, 5-FU Combination Chemotherapy as a First-Line Treatment in Patients with Advanced Gastric Cancer / 대한내과학회지

BACKGROUND/AIMS: This study investigated the efficacy and safety of docetaxel/cisplatin/5-fluorouracil (DCF) combination chemotherapy as a first-line treatment in patients with advanced gastric cancer. METHODS: The study enrolled 48 patients diagnosed with unresectable pathologically proven gastric cancer who received DCF combination chemotherapy between April 2006 and August 2009. The dose administered was docetaxel 75 mg/m2 for 1 h and cisplatin 75 mg/m2 for 90 min on day 2, and 5-FU 750 mg/m2 for 24 h on days 1-5, every 3 weeks. The response was assessed every three cycles. The toxicity was evaluated for every chemotherapy course according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI) toxicity criteria ver. 2.0. RESULTS: The median age of the patients was 58 years (range 31-78 years). The median overall survival was 11.5 months (2.3-28.2 months) and the median time to progression was 5.5 months (0.3-18.9 months). No complete remission occurred. Of the patients, 56% achieved a partial response, 21% stable disease, and 10% progressive disease. The overall response rate was 56%. During a total 292 cycles, anemia worse than NCI toxicity grade 3 occurred in 2%, leukopenia in 33.1%, neutropenia in 67.1%, and thrombocytopenia in 4.4%. Neutropenic fever occurred in 33 cycles (11.3%), dose reduction due to side effects in 165 cycles (56.5%), and a regimen change due to side effect in five cycles (1.7%). CONCLUSIONS: Combination chemotherapy with docetaxel, cisplatin, and 5-FU is efficacious, but has relatively high toxicity. A DCF protocol that maximizes its efficiency, while minimizing toxicity, would be more useful as a first-line treatment in patients with advanced gastric cancer.

Serum Carcinoembryonic Antigen as an Index of the Therapeutic Effect of EGFR-TKIs in Patients with Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

PURPOSE: For treating advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) are known to be very effective in nonsmokers, women, Asian and person with EGFR mutations. The efficacy of EGFR-TKI was analyzed based on the radiologic studies and the serum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) to evaluate whether serum CEA can be used as a predicative marker of the response to EGFR-TKI therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-one patients with NSCLC treated with gefitinib at Kosin Medical Center from January 2007 to August 2009 were the subjects of this study. We assayed the serum CEA levels before and after gefitinib therapy with concomitant assessments of the tumor response by serial chest X-ray and chest computer tomograms (CT). RESULTS: The median age of the patients was 62.6 years (range, 32~77 years), 29 patients were women, 36 had adenocarcinoma (87.8%) and the baseline serum CEA was equal or above 5 ng/mL in 31 patients (75.6%). These 31 patients were more responsive to the gefitinib therapy (p=0.021). The overall response rate of the patients was 51.2%, the median survival time was 21.9 months and the time to progression was 8.3 months. Among the 21 responding patients, the serum CEA was decreased after 2 months in 17 (80.9%), and among the 14 progressed patients, the serum CEA was increased in 12 (85.7%) (p=0.000). CONCLUSION: The changes of serum CEA at 2 months after gefitinib therapy were closely related to the radiologic changes. The serum CEA could be used as a complimentary tool for monitoring the tumor response to EGFR-TKI in the advanced NSCLC patients.

A Case of Postradiation Osteosarcoma of the Pelvic Bone / 대한내과학회지

Most osteosarcomas arise spontaneously, but rarely they may be secondary to other benign osseous conditions and may occur following irradiation. Postradiation sarcoma of bone is approximately 5.5 percent of all osteogenic sarcoma. Diagnosis is possible when a sarcoma arising after long latent period(more than 3 years) in irradiated bone and the bone is normal or benign osseous lesion at the time of irradiation. The spontaneously arising osteogenic sarcomas are distribute mainly in the knee region, but postradiation sarcoma arise in any bones, such as long bone of the extremity, pelvic bone, vertebra, craniofacial bone and shoulder girdle bone. Recently we experienced a case of postradiation osteosarcoma of the pelvic bone who received radiation therapy for carcinoma of the uterine cervix 20 years ago.

Prevalence of Autoimmune Thyroid Disease and Correlation Between Thyroid Autoantibody and Acetylcholine Receptor Antibody in Myasthenia Gravis Patients / 대한내분비학회지

BACKGROUND: There were several reports that thyroid autoimrnune disease commonly found in myasthenia gravis patients. We performed this study to determine the prevalence of thyroid autoimmune disease as well as analyze correlation between acetylcholine receptor antibody and various thyroid autoantibadies among the myasthenia gravis patients in Korea. METHOD: The patient group, 48 patients, diagnosed as myasthenia gravis from January 1985 to December 1995 at the department of Neurology, Internal medicine at Dongsan Medical Center was compaired to the control group, 40 patients, with no age and sex difference from the patient group. The samples were collected from both group for the measure of the values of acetylcholine receptor antibody, thyroid autoantibody and thyroid hormones. RESULT: 1) The values of acetylcholine receptor antibody in myasthenia gravis group and control group were 5.78+-0.7nM and 0.05+-0.06nM respectively. Of 48 patients with myasthenia gravis, 38 patients have been measured acetylcholine receptor antibody value > 0.5nM, Their mean average value was 7.24+-0.66nM. 2) The severe myasthenia gravis group with value of acetylcholine receptor antibody 0.5nM and severe myasthenia gravis group with value of acetylcholine receptor antibody 0.5nM showed thyroglobulin antibody value of 159.6+-79.91IU/mL versus 56.86+-32.99IU/mL. also thyroid microsomal antibody value showed 159.0+-79.9IU/mL and 23.633+-0.19IU/mL respectively. 3) Of 48 myasthenia gravis patients, 12 patients (24%) had high value of antithyroglobulin antibody or anti-microsomal antibody and 5 patients (10%) had both antibodies at the same times. In contrast, only 3 patients (8%) were observed with high value of either one of antibodies. Patient with both antibodies was not observed in normal control group. CONCLUSION: According to the datas we have obtained, appearence of the thyroid autoantibody is significantly greater in severe myasthenia gravis group than normal control group. Therefore it is suggested that the prevalence of thyroid autoimmune disease is higher in severe myasthenia gravis group than mild myasthenia gravis group or normal control group.