The AIMS65 Score Is a Useful Predictor of Mortality in Patients with Nonvariceal Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding: Urgent Endoscopy in Patients with High AIMS65 Scores.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To validate the AIMS65 score for predicting mortality of patients with nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding and to evaluate the effectiveness of urgent (<8 hours) endoscopic procedures in patients with high AIMS65 scores. METHODS: This was a 5-year single-center, retrospective study. Nonvariceal, upper gastrointestinal bleeding was assessed by using the AIM65 and Rockall scores. Scores for mortality were assessed by calculating the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUROC). Patients with high AIMS65 scores (≥2) were allocated to either the urgent or non-urgent endoscopic procedure group. In-hospital mortality, success of endoscopic procedure, recurrence of bleeding, admission period, and dose of transfusion were compared between groups. RESULTS: A total of 634 patients were analyzed. The AIMS65 score successfully predicted mortality (AUROC=0.943; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.876 to 0.99) and was superior to the Rockall score (AUROC=0.856; 95% CI, 0.743 to 0.969) in predicting mortality. The group with high AIMS65 score included 200 patients. The urgent endoscopic procedure group had reduced hospitalization periods (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: AIMS65 score may be useful in predicting mortality in patients with nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Urgent endoscopic procedures in patients with high scores may be related to reduced hospitalization periods.

[Gastric perforation caused by primary gastric diffuse large B cell lymphoma].

Spontaneous gastric perforation is a rare complication of gastric lymphoma that is potentially life threatening since it can progress to sepsis and multi-organ failure. Morbidity also increases due to prolonged hospitalization and delay in initiating chemotherapy. Therefore prompt diagnosis and appropriate treatment is critical to improve prognosis. A 64-year-old man presented to the emergency department with severe abdominal pain. Chest X-ray showed free air below the right diaphragm. Abdominal CT scan also demonstrated free air in the peritoneal cavity with large wall defect in the lesser curvature of gastric lower body. Therefore, the patient underwent emergency operation and primary closure was done. Pathologic specimen obtained during surgery was compatible to diffuse large B cell lymphoma. Fifteen days after primary closure, the patient received subtotal gastrectomy and chemotherapy was initiated after recovery. Patient is currently being followed-up at outpatient department without any particular complications. Herein, we report a rare case of gastric lymphoma that initially presented as peritonitis because of spontaneous gastric perforation.

Evaluation of feasible timing of elective noncardiac procedure after antiplatelet discontinuation in patients treated with antiplatelet agents.

BACKGROUND: The current standard of care is to delay noncardiac procedure (NCP) 5 to 7 days after discontinuation of antiplatelet agents (APAs) in patients with coronary stents. However, it is often difficult to follow because of concerns over stent thrombosis. The point-of-care aspirin/P2Y(12) assay (VerifyNow; Accumetrics Inc, San Diego, CA) is useful to evaluate platelet reactivity in conjunction with APAs. In this study, we evaluated the feasible timing after discontinuation of APAs. METHODS AND RESULTS: Sixty-two patients taking APAs, who were scheduled to undergo elective NCP, were enrolled. All patients took either aspirin 100 mg or aspirin 100 mg plus clopidogrel 75 mg daily. The aspirin-reactivity unit (ARU) and P2Y(12)-reactivity unit (PRU) were measured from 0 days (day 0, no discontinuation) to as long as 5 days (day 5, 5 days after discontinuation) depending on each procedure schedule. For 15 patients, baseline ARU and PRU (592 and 288) before aspirin/clopidogrel loading at index percutaneous coronary intervention were collected as control. For ARU after discontinuation of APA, days 0 to 5 values progressively increased over time (489.4 T 85.3, 512.6 T 77.0, 589.9 T 58.8, 613.6 T 47.3, 632.6 T 49.2, 662.0 T 4.2). Likewise, for PRUs, days 0 to 5 values also increased over time (245.0 T 96.9, 253.9 T 80.9, 270.9 T 45.8, 289.0 T 68.6, 306.5 T 29.2, 351.0 T 8.5). The ARU and PRU well correlated with days after APA discontinuation by linear regression analysis ( y = 490.897 + 39.238 * x, R(2) = 0.43, P G 0.001; y = 241.739 + 16.701 * x, R(2) = 0.092, P = 0.018, respectively). Assuming baseline ARU and PRU as 592 and 288, the mean days after complete reversal of platelet reactivity by APAs are 2.6 and 2.8, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The feasible timing of NCP after discontinuation of APAs showed less than 5 days. VerifyNow is useful in the evaluation of antiplatelet reversal after discontinuation of APAs. .

Acute myocardial infarction due to vasospasm induced by prostaglandin.

Prostaglandin E (PGE) is the preferred agent for second-trimester pregnancy termination. Hypotension, bradycardia, ventricular arrhythmias, myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest and death associated with PGE have been reported. A case of acute myocardial infarction due to coronary vasospasm induced by PGE is described in the present report. The diagnosis was confirmed by electrocardiography and coronary angiography.

Bilateral subdural hemorrhage as a possible adverse event of gefitinib in a patient with non-small cell lung cancer.

Gefitinib, a selective inhibitor of epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase is an effective agent used in the treatment of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Adverse drug reactions were frequently observed in the skin, gastrointestinal tract, and liver, but they were generally mild in severity and reversible. Therefore, gefitinib has been regarded as a relatively safe agent. As a serious adverse effect, however, acute lung injury has been reported. The present report describes a patient with NSCLC who developed bilateral subdural hemorrhage as a possible adverse drug reaction after gefitinib therapy. We expect that this case may provide a reference for clinicians being involved in the treatment with gefitinib.