The Risk of Venous Thromboembolism in Korean Patients with Breast Cancer: A Single-Center Experience.

The relationship between cancer and venous thromboembolism (VTE) has long been described. The risk of VTE in Asian patients with breast cancer remains largely unknown. This study described the incidence and risk factors of VTE in Korean patients with breast cancer. Data were collected from a retrospective database of patients who underwent breast cancer surgery between 2011 and 2020 at a single institution. The Cox proportional-hazards model was used to identify factors associated with VTE occurrences. Among the 2246 patients with breast cancer, 48 (2.1%) developed VTE during a median follow-up period of 53 months. The average incidence of VTE was 459 per 100,000 person-years. Age ≥ 60 years, male sex, chronic kidney disease, reconstructive procedures, and stage II or higher were independent predictive factors for VTE. VTE was associated with poor disease-free survival (hazard ratio (HR), 6.140; 95% confidence interval (CI), 3.480-10.835), and overall survival (HR, 8.842; 95% CI 4.386-17.824). Most VTE events were manageable with anticoagulation; three (6.3%) patients died of VTE, despite intensive care. The incidence of VTE was significantly elevated in Korean patients with breast cancer. Since VTE has a negative effect on oncologic outcomes of breast cancer, clinicians should manage its risk throughout their lifetime.

Complete Surgical Excision Is Necessary following Vacuum-Assisted Biopsy for Breast Cancer.

Vacuum-assisted breast biopsy (VABB) has been replacing excisional biopsy in the treatment of benign breast lesions. Complete surgical excision is still needed for the lesions occasionally diagnosed with breast cancer after VABB. We aimed to characterize residual tumors after VABB and define a subset of patients who do not need surgical excision after VABB. From a retrospective database, we identified patients diagnosed with breast cancer after VABB guided with ultrasonography. Patients who underwent stereotactic biopsies were excluded. We reviewed clinicopathologic data and radiologic findings of the sample. We identified 48 patients with 49 lesions. After surgical excision, the residual tumors were identified in 40 (81.6%) lesions, and there was no residual tumor in nine (18.3%) patients. Imaging studies could not accurately locate residual tumors after VABB. A small tumor size on a VABB specimen was associated with no residual tumor on final pathology. However, residual tumors were identified in four (40%) of 10 lesions with a pathologic tumor size less than 0.5 cm. In conclusion, complete surgical excision remains the primary option for most of the patients diagnosed with breast cancer after VABB. Imaging surveillance without surgery should be carefully applied for selected low-risk patients.

Unveiling Genetic Variants Underlying Vitamin D Deficiency in Multiple Korean Cohorts by a Genome-Wide Association Study.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological data have shown that vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in Korea. Genetic factors influencing vitamin D deficiency in humans have been studied in Europe but are less known in East Asian countries, including Korea. We aimed to investigate the genetic factors related to vitamin D levels in Korean people using a genome-wide association study (GWAS). METHODS: We included 12,642 subjects from three different genetic cohorts consisting of Korean participants. The GWAS was performed on 7,590 individuals using linear or logistic regression meta- and mega-analyses. After identifying significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), we calculated heritability and performed replication and rare variant analyses. In addition, expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) analysis for significant SNPs was performed. RESULTS: rs12803256, in the actin epsilon 1, pseudogene (ACTE1P) gene, was identified as a novel polymorphism associated with vitamin D deficiency. SNPs, such as rs11723621 and rs7041, in the group-specific component gene (GC) and rs11023332 in the phosphodiesterase 3B (PDE3B) gene were significantly associated with vitamin D deficiency in both meta- and mega-analyses. The SNP heritability of the vitamin D concentration was estimated to be 7.23%. eQTL analysis for rs12803256 for the genes related to vitamin D metabolism, including glutamine-dependent NAD(+) synthetase (NADSYN1) and 7-dehydrocholesterol reductase (DHCR7), showed significantly different expression according to alleles. CONCLUSION: The genetic factors underlying vitamin D deficiency in Korea included polymorphisms in the GC, PDE3B, NADSYN1, and ACTE1P genes. The biological mechanism of a non-coding SNP (rs12803256) for DHCR7/NADSYN1 on vitamin D concentrations is unclear, warranting further investigations.

Risk factors for the development of Clostridium difficile colitis in a surgical ward.

PURPOSE: Clostridium difficile colitis (CDC) is a nosocomial infection. We attempted to discover the risk factors for the development of CDC in patients admitted to our surgical ward. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective chart review of all patients admitted to our surgical ward between January 2010 and July 2011. CDC was confirmed when toxin A/B or toxin B polymerase chain reaction was detected in the stool and clinical symptoms, such as diarrhea, were present. We divided patients into the CDC and non-CDC groups, and compared the clinical features between the two groups. RESULTS: The rate of CDC occurrence was 0.4% (19/4,720 patients). Univariate analysis showed that colectomy (P < 0.001), hospital stays longer than 10 days (P < 0.001), aged over 55 years (P < 0.001) and transfer from medical ward (P = 0.009) were significant parameters for CDC. Multivariate analysis showed that colectomy (P < 0.001; odds ratio [OR], 8.405; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.927 to 24.132) and hospital stays longer than 10 days (P = 0.035; OR, 10.253; 95% CI, 1.176 to 89.392) were high risk factors for CDC occurrence in the surgical ward. CONCLUSION: The risk factors for CDC in a surgical ward could be colectomy and a long duration of hospitalization. Therefore, clinicians should consider the possibility of CDC when patients undergo colectomy, are admitted for a long time, and have postoperative diarrhea.

Abdominal compartment syndrome caused by a bulimic attack in a bulimia nervosa patient.

We present a rare case of abdominal compartment syndrome due to a bulimic attack in a 19-year-old female patient with bulimia nervosa. She was admitted to our emergency room with complaints of progressive abdominal pain following bulimia. Computed tomography showed dilated stomach with food and air pressed other visceral organs and major abdominal vessels. Decompression using nasogastric tube or gastric lavage tube failed. At laparotomy, we performed gastrotomy and decompression was performed. After decompression, she fell into hypovolemic shock due to bleeding in the intra-gastric and peritoneal cavity. Twelve hours after the operation, the patient died due to refractory hypovolemic shock from uncontrolled bleeding following decompression of abdominal compartment. It should keep in mind that binge-eating habits in patients with bulimic nervosa could cause abdominal compartment syndrome due to gastric distension and this may be a potentially fatal condition.