[Comparison of CTP, MELD, and MELD-Na scores for predicting short term mortality in patients with liver cirrhosis].

BACKGROUND/AIMS: MELD-Na (model for end-stage liver disease with incorporation of serum sodium) was suggested to provide better survival prediction than MELD alone for patients with end stage liver disease. However, there is no data verifying the usefulness of MELD-Na for predicting short term mortality of cirrhotic patients in Korea. This study was aimed to determine whether MELD-Na would be more accurate in predicting short term mortality than other scoring systems such as Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) or MELD. METHODS: Data from 355 patients admitted due to liver cirrhosis were retrospectively reviewed. The cumulative survival rates were obtained. Prediction of mortality rate for three months and one year were analyzed using the area under the receiver's operating characteristics curve (AUC). RESULTS: One hundred patients (28%) died during the study period. All of the three systems showed significant differences in the cumulative survival rate according to the scores on admission (p0.001). The AUC of CTP, MELD, and MELD-Na in predicting three-months mortality were 0.828, 0.845, and 0.862 (p0.05), and the AUC of each score system for death within one year were 0.792, 0.800, and 0.831, respectively (p0.05). The AUC of MELD-Na in predicting short term death were the highest, although it was not statistically significant. Multivariate analysis showed that only MELD-Na was significantly related to three-month mortality (p=0.012). CONCLUSIONS: MELD-Na is more appropriate in predicting short term mortality, but larger scale studies are needed to confirm the superiority of MELD-Na to MELD and CTP in patients with liver cirrhosis.

[A case of hepatic metastasis of small cell carcinoma from mixed small cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of the stomach].

Primary small cell carcinoma (SCC) of stomach is a rare and highly aggressive malignancy with extremely poor prognosis. We report a 71-year-old man with upper abdominal pain diagnosed as single hepatic metastasis of SCC from mixed SCC and adenocarcinoma of the stomach. An endoscopic examination showed the presence of Borrmann type 2 gastric cancer, 2 cm in size on the lesser curvature of antrum. An abdominal CT scan revealed a huge dumbbell shaped mass with peripheral arterial enhancement and central low density in left lobe of the liver. Endoscopic biopsies showed solid proliferation of small, monotonous tumor cells with hyperchromatic nuclei and scanty cytoplasm. The neoplastic cells were positive for immunostaining with anti-chromogranin and anti-synaptophysin. There were also other neoplastic cells with gland formation being positive for anti- cytokeratin. On the basis of these findings, we made a final diagnosis of mixed SCC and adenocarcinoma of the stomach. In addition, we also confirmed hepatic metastasis of SCC through the microscopic finding and immunostaining of tissues of liver mass. Conclusively, we report a case of hepatic metastasis of SCC only from mixed SCC adenocarcinoma of the stomach.

[Comparison of Helicobacter pylori eradication rate according to different PPI-based triple therapy--omeprazole, rabeprazole, esomeprazole and lansoprazole--].

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is an important cause of various gastrointestinal diseases. H. pylori eradication is essential for the cure and prevention of associated diseases. Nowdays, proton pump inhibitor (PPI)-based triple therapy is the standard eradication regimen. The aims of this study were to compare the H. pylori eradication rate of different PPI-based triple therapies and to find out the factors influencing the eradication rate. METHODS: From May 2002 through February 2004, H. pylori infected patients were treated with the eradication regimen based on one of the four PPIs (omeprazole, rabeprazole, esomeprazole and lansoprazole) for 1 or 2 weeks. After two weeks, drug compliance, adverse effects, and smoking history during the eradication therapy were obtained. The follow-up H. pylori test was performed 4 weeks after the completion of therapy. The data were analyzed by Chi-square test and multiple logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Overall eradication rate was 83.5%. There was no significant difference in eradication rate among four PPIs (p=0.379). Odds ratio (OR) for omeprazole and rabeprazole was 1.15 (95% CI 0.50-2.68); for omeprazole and esomeprazole, OR 1.63 (95% CI 0.68-3.89); and for omeprazole and lansoprazole, OR 1.13 (95% CI 0.50-2.56). Smoking habit, site of ulcer, and the duration of therapy affected the eradication rate significantly. CONCLUSIONS: The efficacy of four different PPIs for H. pylori eradication is similar to each other. Smoking, site of ulcer, and the duration of treatment have significant effects on eradication rates.