Duodenal Diverticular Perforation Treated Conservatively: Reassessing Indications for Treatment.

A 59-year-old woman presented with a chief complaint of melena. She had no abdominal findings, such as tenderness or tapping pain. Laboratory tests revealed a white blood cell count of 5,300 cells/µL and C-reactive protein level of 0.07 mg/dL. Inflammation and anemia (hemoglobin 12.4 g/dL) were denied. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) revealed multiple duodenal diverticula and air surrounding a descending duodenal diverticulum. Based on these findings, duodenal diverticular perforation (DDP) was suspected. Oral food intake was stopped, and nasogastric tube feeding and conservative treatment with cefmetazole, lansoprazole, and ulinastatin were begun. On day 8 of hospitalization, follow-up CT revealed the disappearance of the air surrounding the duodenum, and the patient was discharged on day 19 after the resumption of oral feeding.

Acute obstructive suppurative pancreatic ductitis in pancreatic malignancies.

Background and study aims Acute obstructive suppurative pancreatic ductitis (AOSPD) is a suppurative pancreatic duct infection with main pancreatic duct (MPD) or accessory pancreatic duct obstruction in the absence of a pancreatic pseudocyst or necrosis, which is experienced usually in chronic pancreatitis. The diagnosis is confirmed by the finding of pancreatic duct obstruction on endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) with evidence of infection, such as a positive pancreatic juice culture or drainage of purulent pancreatic juice. Patients and methods We studied five patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and one with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), who suffered from AOSPD. Results Of the 281 PDAC and 39 CML patients who we treated in the past 2 years in our hospital, five with PDAC (1.8 %) and one with CML (2.6 %) experienced AOSPD. Each patient had fever, abdominal pain, and increased blood C-reactive protein. Pancreatography found that each patient had a MPD stricture and an upstream dilatation. Four had a disruption of the MPD in the upper stream of the stricture. Nasopancreatic drainage was successfully performed in all patients. Pancreatic juice culture was positive for Klebsiella pneumonia, Enterobacter agerogenes, or Enterococcus cloacae in four patients. Conclusion AOSPD should be considered in pancreatic malignancy with fever and abdominal pain. Prompt diagnosis of AOSPD could avoid shortening of survival of patients with an already poor prognosis by infection.

Clinical characteristics of autoimmune pancreatitis with IgG4 related kidney disease.

PURPOSE: To clarify the clinical characteristics of autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) in immunoglobulin (Ig)G4-related kidney disease (IgG4-RKD). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 92 patients with AIP were divided into an IgG4-RKD-positive group (RKD-P group, n = 13) and an IgG4-RKD-negative group (RKD-N group, n = 79) on the basis of the diagnostic criteria for IgG4-RKD. Clinical characteristics, including: age; sex; the presence of extrapancreatic lesions other than renal lesions, proteinuria, and hematuria; serum concentrations of IgG, IgG4, IgE, and creatinine; and urinary concentrations of liver-type fatty acid binding protein, α1-microglobulin, ß2-microglobulin, and N-acetyl-ß-d-glucosaminidase were compared between the RKD-P and RKD-N groups. The clinical course of the RKD-P group was also characterized. RESULTS: The prevalence of extrapancreatic lesions other than renal lesions was significantly higher in the RKD-P group (84.6% vs 43.0%,p < 0.01). Serum creatinine (1.19 mg/dl versus 0.74 mg/dl, p < 0.05), urinary ß2-microglobulin (6609.8 µg/l vs 265.8 µg/l, p < 0.05), and the prevalence of proteinuria (30.7% vs 7.6%, p < 0.05) were significantly higher in the RKD-P group. Nine out of thirteen patients in the RKD-P group had multiple low-density renal lesions on enhanced computed tomography, 3 patients had multiple high-intensity lesions on diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance images, and 1 patient had diffuse thickening of the renal wall, with a smooth intra-luminal surface. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who had AIP with IgG4-RKD were more likely to have extrapancreatic lesions other than those in the kidney, and their serum creatinine and urinary ß2-microglobulin concentrations were significantly higher than in those without IgG4-RKD.

A first case of primary gastric verrucous carcinoma with isolated squamous epithelium in the stomach.

Primary gastric squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a rare histological subtype of gastric cancer. Here, we report the first case of primary gastric verrucous carcinoma (VC), a well-differentiated variant of SCC. Gastroscopy revealed a papillary polypoid lesion at the posterior wall of the upper gastric body and isolated squamous epithelium at the greater curvature of the fornix in a 78-year-old woman. Endoscopic submucosal dissection was performed. Microscopically, the lesion comprised very well-differentiated squamous epithelium with minimal atypia and exhibited coarse papillary structure and bulbous epithelial downgrowth with submucosal invasion. Conventional SCC or adenocarcinoma components were not included, and the lesion was surrounded by the metaplastic intestinal mucosa. Human papillomavirus infection was not detected. Although the pathogenesis of primary gastric SCC remains controversial, here, the disease is suggested as having originated from squamous epithelium. Knowledge of primary gastric VC and difficulty in diagnosing it using surface biopsy is necessary.

Hypothyroidism in patients with autoimmune pancreatitis.

AIM: To examine thyroid function and clinical features of hypothyroidism in autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) patients. METHODS: We examined thyroid function in 77 patients with type 1 AIP (50 males, 27 females; median age 68 years, range 33-85) diagnosed according to the Japanese diagnostic criteria for AIP 2011. We compared clinical and serological findings between patients with and without various categories of hypothyroidism. The change in hypothyroidism after steroid therapy was also examined. RESULTS: Eight patients (10%) had hypothyroidism of 6 patients had subclinical hypothyroidism with a normal serum free thyroxine (FT4) and high thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) level, and 2 patients had central hypothyroidism with low serum free triiodothyronine (FT3), FT4 and TSH levels. A significant goiter of the thyroid was not observed in any patient. There were no significant differences in age; male to female ratio; serum concentrations of IgG and IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD); presence of anti-thyroglobulin antibody, antinuclear antigen or rheumatoid factor; or presence of extrapancreatic lesions between the 6 patients with subclinical hypothyroidism and patients with euthyroidism. After steroid therapy, both subclinical and central hypothyroidism improved with improvement of the AIP. CONCLUSION: Hypothyroidism was observed in 8 (10%) of 77 AIP patients and was subclinical in 6 patients and central in 2 patients. Further studies are necessary to clarify whether this subclinical hypothyroidism is another manifestation of IgG4-RD.

Acute obstructive suppurative pancreatic ductitis (AOSPD) in pancreatic cancer treated by nasopancreatic drainage.

An 80-year-old woman with pancreatic cancer was admitted with fever and abdominal pain. Blood examinations showed an elevated CRP level. On computed tomography (CT), a pancreatic tumor with a dilated upstream main pancreatic duct (MPD) was seen. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) showed the strictured part of the MPD at the head of the pancreas with upstream dilatation. A nasopancreatic drainage tube was placed. Through the tube, purulent pancreatic juice was discharged and culture of the pancreatic juice grew Klebsiella pneumoniae. On the day after ERCP, the patient's condition and the laboratory results improved. The patient's disorder was diagnosed as acute obstructive suppurative pancreatitis with pancreatic cancer.

Bile duct obstruction in a patient treated with nivolumab as second-line chemotherapy for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: a case report.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are becoming a standard therapy for non-small-cell lung cancer in the advanced stage. As these ICIs become widely available in clinical practice, immune-related adverse effects will become more common. Here we report a patient with lung adenocarcinoma who was treated with nivolumab and developed obstruction because of biliary inflammation. A 63-year-old Japanese man having lung adenocarcinoma with pleural dissemination complained of epigastric pain on the fifth cycle of nivolumab. Computed tomography showed wall thickening at the lower part of the bile duct and cholecystitis. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography was repeatedly performed for drainage and stenting of the bile duct. Biopsies did not show obvious malignancy. Laboratory data on day 85 demonstrated grade 3 elevation of serum alkaline phosphatase, transaminase, and amylase levels. We initiated high-dose oral prednisone, resulting in gradual improvement of symptoms and laboratory data. Follow-up magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography demonstrated no progression of duct obstruction, which confirmed the absence of biliary malignancy. Combined with results from previous reports, nivolumab may cause extrahepatic cholangitis.