[A case of esophageal actinomycosis in a patient with normal immunity].

Actinomycosis is a chronic suppurative disease and caused by Actinomycosis species, principally Actinomyces israelii, which are part of the normal inhabitant on the mucous membrane of the oropharynx, gastrointestinal tract, and urogenital tract. It usually affects cervicofacial, thoracic and abdominal tissue. Cervicofacial type has the highest percentage of occurrence with 50%. Actinomycosis frequently occurs following dental extraction, jaw surgery, chronic infection or poor oral hygiene. It may also be considered as an opportunistic infection in immunocompromised patients such as malignancy, human immunodeficiency virus infection, diabetes mellitus, steroid usage or alcoholism. But, actinomycosis rarely occurs in adults with normal immunity and rare in the esophagus. We report an unusual case of esophageal actinomycosis which was developed in a patient with normal immunity and improved by therapy with intravenous penicillin G followed oral amoxicillin, and we also reviewed the associated literature.

A case of gossypiboma masquerading as a gastrointestinal stromal tumor.

Gossypiboma refers to a mass resulting from a retained gauze pad accidentally left within the body after surgery. Although the clinical features are diverse, it is often found incidentally as a mass having an internal cystic change and adhesion to adjacent organs. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) is helpful, yet the initial diagnosis can be misleading in cases with atypical findings. We report a case of gossypiboma in a 78-year-old woman that we suspected was a gastrointestinal stromal tumor according to abdominal CT and endoscopic ultrasound, yet was diagnosed as a gossypiboma postoperatively.

A case of cyclic vomiting syndrome responding to gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue.

Cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS) is a disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of incapacitating nausea and vomiting interspersed with symptom free periods. Common triggers of cyclic vomiting include noxious stress, excitement, fatigue and menstrual period. Here, we report a case of cyclic vomiting syndrome in adult patient characterized by stereotypical vomiting attack, occurring in every menstruation period. Recurrent vomiting episodes began 6 years ago and we treated this patient with subcutaneous injection of goserelin, a gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue (GnRHa) and oral estrogen. After 4 months of therapy, she was symptom free for the following 5 years, even with the resumed normal menstruation. Recurrence of vomiting attack with same pattern occurred 1 month before readmission. Treatment with intravenous lorazepam aborted vomiting, but could not prevent recurrences of vomiting and epigastric pain. We treated the patient with GnRHa and oral estradiol again which effectively prevented recurrence of the symptoms.