Low-dose steroid-induced tumor lysis syndrome in a hepatocellular carcinoma patient.

Tumor lysis syndrome is rare in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but it has been reported more frequently recently in response to treatments such as transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE), radiofrequency thermal ablation (RFTA), and sorafenib. Tumor lysis syndrome induced by low-dose steroid appears to be very unusual in HCC. We report a patient with hepatitis-C-related liver cirrhosis and HCC in whom tumor lysis syndrome occurred due to low-dose steroid (10 mg of prednisolone). The patient was a 90-year-old male who presented at the emergency room of our hospital with general weakness and poor oral intake. He had started to take prednisolone to treat adrenal insufficiency 2 days previously. Laboratory results revealed hyperuricemia, hyperphosphatemia, and increased creatinine. These abnormalities fulfilled the criteria in the Cairo-Bishop definition of tumor lysis syndrome. Although the patient received adequate hydration, severe metabolic acidosis and acute kidney injury progressed unabated. He finally developed multiple organ failure, and died 3 days after admission. This was a case of tumor lysis syndrome caused by administration of low-dose steroid in a patient with HCC.

Deep biopsy via endoscopic submucosal dissection in upper gastrointestinal subepithelial tumors: a prospective study.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: Preoperative pathological diagnosis may improve clinical management decisions in patients with upper gastrointestinal subepithelial tumors (SETs). The aims of this study were to evaluate the diagnostic yield of deep biopsy via an endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) technique, the complications associated with the procedure, and the impact on management of patients with upper gastrointestinal SETs. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 68 patients with SETs in the stomach or esophagus were voluntarily assigned to two groups. One group underwent endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) and endoscopic deep biopsy using the ESD technique (40 patients), and the other group (28 patients) underwent surgical resection after EUS without obtaining preoperative pathological diagnosis, in accordance with accepted clinical management algorithms. RESULTS: The diagnostic yield of deep biopsy was 90 % (36/40). The results of deep biopsy changed the treatment plans in 14/40 patients (35 %). One patient with lymphoepithelial carcinoma was scheduled for surgical resection, and 13 patients with benign SETs of diameter ≥  2 cm avoided surgery. Of the 28 patients who underwent surgical resection without preoperative pathological diagnosis, 12 (42.9 %) were confirmed to have benign lesions. The mean procedure time for deep biopsy was 13.7 minutes. There were no procedure-related complications in the deep biopsy group.  CONCLUSIONS: Deep biopsy by the ESD technique is a safe, high-yield, diagnostic method in patients with upper gastrointestinal SETs. Pathologic confirmation could improve clinical decision making in the management of patients with upper gastrointestinal SETs. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT 01993199.

Assessment of risk of complications in cirrhosis using portal thallium scans.

AIM: To investigate the usefulness of a novel thallium scan shunt index for assessing portosystemic shunt-related cirrhotic complications. METHODS: We enrolled 209 chronic hepatitis B-related cirrhosis patients. After rectal thallium instillation, radioactive isotope activity in the heart and liver was measured. The ratio of radiation uptake between the heart and the liver was calculated (the shunt index). This value indicates the degree of portosystemic circulation shunting. Blood tests, serum biochemistry tests, abdominal ultrasonography, gastroscopy and examination of clinical features such as the occurrence of varices, bleeding and hepatic encephalopathy were performed. Multivariate analysis was used to identify independent risk factors for complications. We compared the cumulative incidence rates of complications during the follow-up period. RESULTS: The thallium scan shunt index was significantly higher in the decompensated liver cirrhosis group than in the compensated liver cirrhosis group (0.91 ± 0.39 vs 0.39 ± 0.32, P < 0.001). It was also higher in the varices group, the hepatic encephalopathy group, and the variceal bleeding group than in the control group (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that the index was an independent risk factor for predicting decompensated liver cirrhosis. When the cut-off value was 0.75, the shunt index had a sensitivity of 82.6%, a specificity of 84%, a positive predictive value of 61.5%, and a negative predictive value of 94.4% in diagnosing decompensated cirrhosis. When the shunt index was greater than 0.75, there was a significant increase in the number of decompensated events. CONCLUSION: The thallium shunt index is a good predictor of cirrhosis-related complications.

Correlation between complicated diverticulitis and visceral fat.

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship of complications related to diverticulitis and visceral obesity. The study was based on a retrospective case note review conducted at the Hanyang University Hospital. Patients were diagnosed with diverticulitis based on clinical symptoms and abdominal computed tomography (CT) findings and divided into two groups: those admitted with complicated diverticulitis and those with a simple diverticulitis episode. We compared the body mass index (BMI) and degree of visceral obesity, measured by abdominal CT. The study included 140 patients, 87 (62.1%) were simple diverticulitis and 53 (37.9%) were complicated diverticulitis. In the complicated diverticulitis group, 9 (6.4%) cases were recurrent, 29 (20.7%) were perforation or abscess patients, and 28 (20%) were patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). Of the SIRS patients, 13 were involved in other complication groups. When comparing in the two groups, the complicated diverticulitis group had a significantly higher visceral fat area (128.57 cm(2) vs 102.80 cm(2), P = 0.032) and a higher ratio of visceral fat area/subcutaneous fat area (0.997 vs 0.799, P = 0.014). Visceral obesity is significantly associated with complications of diverticulitis.

[A case of pegylated interferon alpha-2a monotherapy in a peritoneal dialysis patient with chronic hepatitis C].

Pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) is now the standard treatment for chronic hepatitis C. But, there are few reports about patients with end stage renal disease, and treatment protocol for HCV infection has not been determined, particularly in patients on peritoneal dialysis. We experienced a case of a peritoneal dialysis patient with chronic hepatitis C who was successfully treated with PEG-IFN monotherapy. A 50-year old man was undergoing peritoneal dialysis because of diabetic nephropathy. Considering that his HCV genotype was 2, we decided to treat him with PEG-IFN alpha-2a monotherapy 4 month after the beginning of peritoneal dialysis. We adopted a 90 mg of PEG-IFN administration. After the injection of PEG-IFN, dialysate concentration of PEG-IFN did not change significantly. HCV-RNA disappeared at the 4th week and sustatined virus response was achieved thereafter. No side effects were observed during the treatment of 24 weeks. PEG-IFN monotherapy with dose modification may be a safe and effective treatment for HCV infection in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis.