Staphylococcus aureus Pericardial Abscess Presenting as Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock After Acupuncture Therapy

Pericardial abscess is an extremely rare complication of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia. We report a case of a 72-year-old woman with multiple acupuncture scars on both knees who presented with shortness of breath and general weakness. Transthoracic echocardiography and pericardiocentesis confirmed the presence of pericardial fluid collection. Staphylococcus aureus grew in both pericardial fluid and blood. Although an aggressive medical treatment including intravenous antibiotics and percutaneous drainage, the patient died 2 days after admission.

A Case of Pseudomembranous Colitis in Old Age which was Misdiagnosed as Acute Appendicitis with Perforation

Pseudomembranous colitis is mostly related to antibiotics and it presents symptoms of diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, hypoalbuminemia and hypovolemia. Diarrhea is the most common manifestation, but in geriatric patients, symptoms of pseudomembranous colitis can be different from those of usual cases and the course of disease can be more aggressive. For these reasons, it can be misdiagnosed. So physicians must take pseudomembranous colitis into consideration in older patients with acute abdominal pain, who have been treated with antibiotics. We reported a case of an older patient with pseudomembranous colitis which was misdiagnosed as acute appendicitis with perforation.

A Case of Acute Cerebral Infarction in Adult Cor Triatriatum Sinistrum / 대한내과학회지

Cor triatriatum is a rare congenital malformation of the heart characterized by a fibromuscular membrane dividing the atrium into two distinct chambers. In the majority of cases, it is diagnosed in early childhood, whereas adult cases are extremely rare [1,2]. The hemodynamics of cor triatriatum are similar to those of mitral stenosis, which sometimes cause embolic infarction. We describe an unusual case of cor triatriatum sinistrum in a 48-year-old man who presented with relapsed embolic infarction.

Successful Treatment of an Iatrogenic Giant Femoral Artery Pseudoaneurysm With Percutaneous Thrombin Injection

A femoral artery pseudoaneurysm (FAP) is one of the most troublesome complications following invasive procedures related to the femoral arterial access. Post-procedure FAP rarely occurs; however, its occurrence tends to increase with the more frequently antiplatelet agents, anticoagulants, and larger-sized catheter used for interventional procedures. Traditionally, surgical repair has been considered as the standard treatment modality for FAP; however, less invasive methods currently exist such as blind manual or ultrasound-guided compression repair (UGCR) as well as percutaneous thrombin injection, both of which have replaced the need for surgery. We report a case of a giant pseudoaneurysm in a femoral artery, which had developed as a complication of stenting in a patient with carotid artery stenosis and ischemic heart disease, and was subsequently successfully treated using percutaneous thrombin injection.

Review of the Patch Test Results in patients with the Cosmetic Contact Dermatitis / 대한피부과학회지

BACKGROUND: Contact dermatitis is frequently caused by cosmetics. Detection of causative allergens is important in prevention and treatment of cosmetic contact dermatitis. Patch test has been accepted as the only reliable diagnostic method to detect allergens. OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this study were to clarify evoluting trends of positive patch tests and to compare the positive frequencies of various allergens between different time sequences. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed patch test results of the 806 cosmetic contact dermatitis patients, who had visited our clinic from 1982 to 1997. We divided the patients into three groups as follows: I group:1982-1987, II group:1988-1992, III group:1993-1997 and compared the test results. The patch tests were performed with standard batteries, cosmetic-related allergens and the patients's own cosmetics. RESULTS: The results of the studies were summarized as follows; 1. Trends of increasing positivity in cosmetic-induced dermatitis was noted in a chronologic point of view. Among the patients, an increased proportion of males was notable. 2. In age distribution, a decreasing proportion of patients at the third & the fourth decades was observed. Contrary to this, the proportion of patients over the fifth decades was increased. 3. Among standard allergens, nickel sulphate showed the highest positive rate in all defined triple periods, whereas positive rates of neomycin sulphate & balsam of Peru were diminishing sequentially. Among fragrance allergens, cinnamic alcohol & cinnamic aldehyde revealed the highest positive rates. 4. In as is test, skin care products showed the highest positive rate, followed by toiletries and makeup products. Increasing positive rates of the toiletry products were observed in order of time. In fragrance products, positive rates reached their peak in the second period and declined in the third period. CONCLUSION: This study showed that perfume components were the most frequent allergens in cosmetics followed by preservative agents. Our study showed that comestic allergies in men seems to have increased.