Pulmonary embolism is the impaction of material into branches of the pulmonary arterial bed. It usually occurs in patients with primary hypercoagulable states or secondary hypercoagulable states like cancer, preganancy, and estrogen replacement therapy. We report a case of a pulmonary embolism in a patient with positive lupus anticoagulant who received estrogen replacement therapy. The patient was referred due to suddenly developed shortness of breath and echogenic mass densities in the right atrium on 2 dimensional echocardiography. The patient was markedly improved with intravenous urokinase and subsequent oral anticoagulant therapy. Related articles are also reviewed.
Dyspnea ; Echocardiography ; Estrogen Replacement Therapy* ; Estrogens* ; Female ; Heart Atria ; Humans ; Lupus Coagulation Inhibitor* ; Pulmonary Embolism* ; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator

BACKGROUND: Measurements of coronary flow reserve(CFR) and phasic coronary flow profile are useful in assessment of the physiologic significance of coronary lesions. However, alterations in hemodynamic status are known to influence coronary flow reserve. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of increase in heart rate on maximal pharmacologin coronry flow reserve and phasic flow pattern. METHODS: We investigated 12 patients(9 females and 3 males, mean age : 49+/-12 years) with normal coronary artery and atypical chest pain syndrome for the measurement of CFR and coronary flow profile. CFR and systolic and diastolic coronary flow velocity integral(CFVI) were measured at the proximal portion of left anterior descending artery with 0.018 inch(12MHz) Doppler guide wire before and during intracoronary injection of 12 mcg of adenosine. The heart rate at the baseline ranging from 62 beats/min to 79 beats/min(mean : 70+/-5 beats/min) was increased to 100 beats/min and again to 120 beats/min by right atrial pacing. RESULTS: CFR progressively decreased from 3.0+/-0.5 at baseline to 2.4+/-0.4 during pacing at 100 beats/min and to 2.0+/-0.3 during pacing at 120 beats.min(p<0.001). CFVI/min at baseline was progressively increased(130+/-15% of control value at 100 beats.min, 135+/-30% at 120 beats.min(p<0.01) whereas in adenosine hyperemia remained unchanged(286+/-81% at hyperemia baseline, 296+/-91% at 100 beats/min, 289+/-105% at 120 beats/min, p>0.05). Systolic CFVI/min was increased at baseline(185+/-35% at 120 beats/min, p<0.01) and in adenosine hyperemia(377+/-153% at hyperemia baseline, 457+/-178% at 120 beats/min, p=0.01). Diastolic CFVI/min was increased at baseline(134+/-178% at 120 beats/min, p<0.01), but in adenosine hyperemia, no significant change was observed(278+/-77% at hyperemia baseline and 251+/-77% at 120 beats/min, p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Increase in heart rate induces a substantial reduction in maximal CFR. Thus,heart rate appears to be one of important variable for the measurement of CFR and phasin coronary flow profile.
Adenosine ; Arteries ; Chest Pain ; Coronary Vessels ; Female ; Heart Rate* ; Heart* ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Hyperemia ; Male

Spitz nevus is a variant of melanocytic nevus which is histopathologically defined as large spindle and/or epithelioid cells. Angiomatoid Spitz nevus is a rare histologic variant of desmoplastic Spitz nevus characterized by prominent vasculature. We present a case of angiomatoid Spitz nevus, celluar type, that has not been reported before. We provide another example to show the remarkable diversity of Spitz nevus.
Epithelioid Cells ; Nevus, Epithelioid and Spindle Cell ; Nevus, Pigmented

Calvus, callus, plantar warts and piezogenic papules are well known to cause discomfort and disturbance of gait in ordinary physical and sports activities. Furthermore, calcifying aponeurotic fibroma, whose mass slowly grows on the palms and soles of children and young adults, leads to pain, disturbance of gait, and even to skeletal deformities. A 22-year-old woman noticed an elevated subcutaneous mass on the left plantar surface of her big toe, which was accompanied with pain, tenderness and gait disturbance. The histologic findings showed an ill-circumscribed fibroblastic proliferation with foci of calcification and chondroid differentiation. After total excision of the mass, the patient became free of the above symptoms and the lesion did not recur for 9 months.
Bony Callus ; Child ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Female ; Fibroblasts ; Fibroma* ; Gait* ; Humans ; Sports ; Toes ; Warts ; Young Adult

Pseudoaneurysm is one of the undesirable complications of interventional cardiology procedures involving peripheral puncture site. Nowadays, it is not uncommon as a consequences of more complex interventional preocedures, larger catheters and prolonged anticoagulation treatment. Surgical repair has been mainstay of treatment for pesudoaneurysm. However, sucessful closures of pseudoaneurysms have been reported recently by using direct compression guided by color doppler ultrasound. We report a case of pseudoaneurysm in femoral artery, which was developed at the right inguinal puncture site in 38 year old male patient with unstabel angina who had received continuous intravenous infusion of heparin and had undergone coronary angiography treated successfully with direct compression guided by color doppler ultrasound.
Adult ; Aneurysm, False* ; Cardiology ; Catheters ; Coronary Angiography ; Femoral Artery* ; Heparin ; Humans ; Infusions, Intravenous ; Male ; Punctures ; Ultrasonography*

Signet-ring cells are cells in which the nucleus is crescentically compressed with a cellular border, so that the cell looks like a signet-ring. Many cutaneous signet-ring cell neoplasms originate from the stomach, lung and breast, and these appear to be the most common sites of origin. In skin, the appearance of signet-ring cells within a neoplasm can indicate metastatic adenocarcinoma of the stomach, lung and breast. Thus, the primary origin and other metastatic sites should be evaluated. A 44-year-old man presented with a six month history of cutaneous swelling on the left axillary and left supraclavicular area. Histopathologic findings of the axillary lesion showed signet-ring cells in the lymphatics. These clustered cells were PAS-positive, diastase-resistant, and stained with colloidal iron and CEA. During the work-up study to find the primary origin, we discovered advanced gastric cancer and multiple lymph node metastases.
Adenocarcinoma* ; Adult ; Breast ; Colloids ; Edema* ; Humans ; Iron ; Lung ; Lymph Nodes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Skin ; Stomach ; Stomach Neoplasms

Nicolau syndrome or embolia cutis medicamentosa is an acute necrotic condition of skin that follows intramuscular injection of drugs. A 36-year-old man developed a painful, purpuric and erythematous patch on his left buttock following an intramuscular injection of diclofenac sodium. Histologically, the patch lesion displayed epidermal necrosis, dermal degeneration, and vascular thrombosis. We report a rare case of Nicolau syndrome following intramuscular injection of diclofenac sodium. In our case, the patient was successfully treated by surgical excision with primary closure.
Adult ; Buttocks ; Diclofenac ; Humans ; Injections, Intramuscular ; Necrosis ; Skin ; Thrombosis

Clear cell acanthoma is a rare, benign, epidermal tumor. These tumors usually present as solitary lesions, often localized on the lower legs of middle aged or elderly individuals. Pigmented clear cell acanthoma, a variant of clear cell acanthoma, presents as macroscopically visible brown to black-colored, flat or dome-shaped, sharply-dermacated papules or nodules. Histopathologic findings in these tumors reveal markedly epidermal hyperplasia, with exception of the cells in the basal layer. Also, most of the epithelium showed pallor and slight enlargement. With these pigmented type tumors, dermal melanophages are often noticeable on low-power magnification, plus increased melanocytes with melanin granules in the epidermis. A 41-year-old man presented with a 7-year history of a 1.2x0.8cm sized, black plaque on the right inner thigh. The histologic findings revealed the typical features of pigmented clear cell acanthoma.
Acanthoma* ; Adult ; Aged ; Epidermis ; Epithelium ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Leg ; Melanins ; Melanocytes ; Middle Aged ; Pallor ; Thigh

BACKGRUND & OBJECTIVE: Prognosis of alopecia areata have been attributed to various factors; age of onset, duration before treatment, extent of hair loss, clinical type of alopecia areata, sex, nail changes or accompaniment of atopy. The study on prognostic factors has only been conducted from statistical data of patients and individualized medical conditions. The histopathologic findings of alopecia areata have been investigated by the minute pathologic changes associated with the hair growth cycle in the transverse section. Moreover, these findings were used mainly for diagnostic purpose, but clinical significance of histopathologic severity in prognosis has not been established to date. METHODS: A clinical study, including histopathological and clinical evaluation was conducted on 108 alopecia areata patients between July 1997 and August 2005 at the Department of Dermatology, Dong-A University Hospital. The evaluation criteria INCLUDED: sex, age, age at onset, duration before treatment, clinical types, extent of hair loss, nail changes, accompaniment of atopy, and scalp biopsy finding. The clinical types of alopecia areata were classified as follows; patchy, subtotalis, totalis, and universalis. The extent of hair loss before treatment was classified into 5 grades (S1~S5), according to the method designed by Olsen and Canfield. Clinical improvements after treatment were classified into 5 grades according to degree of regrowth and reduction of the alopecia areata area. Biopsy findings were classified into 4 grades (type I, II, III, and IV) according to classification by Uno and Orecchia. RESULTS: The mean age was 28.6 years, without any sex predominance. The severe histopathologic gradings were significantly associated with early age of onset (p=0.008), a long disease duration before treatment (p=0.003), a greater extent of hair loss (p=0.009), and poor response to treatment (p=0.036). The histopathologic gradings were not significantly associated with sex (p=0.657), clinical types of alopecia areata (p=0.529), nail changes (p=0.746), or accompaniment of atopy (p=0.924). CONCLUSION: Histopathologic gradings in alopecia areata, using vertical sections are significantly associated with prognostic factors such as age of onset, extent of hair loss, disease duration before treatment, as well as the response to treatment. Therefore we consider that the histopathologic grading system is recommendable as an independent prognostic factor in alopecia areata, in addition to the well-known clinical prognostic factors. They may also be used to predict the response to treatment.
Age of Onset ; Alopecia Areata* ; Alopecia* ; Biopsy ; Classification ; Dermatology ; Hair ; Humans ; Prognosis ; Scalp

BACKGROUND: In the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction, measurement of CK-MB is widely used as an enzyme test, but it needs special instruments, lacks specificity in the presence of concomitant skeletal muscle injuries, and has narrow diagnostic time window. Cardiac specific troponin T-a new marker for the diagnosis of myocardial injury-is now available. Besides the quantitative assay, rapid qualitative asay is also possible with the development of rapid assay Kit. We studied about the efficacy of the Troponin T rapid assay Kit in early doagnosis of actue myocardial infarction in the emergency room. METHODS: Total Ck, Ck-MB, LDH and serum troponin T activities were determined when the patients arrived at the emergency room and at the same time Troponin T rapid assay kit test was done. Final diagnosis was made through the serial measurement of CK, CK-MB and LDH. Diagnostic efficacy of each rest was evaluated. RESULTS: Overall diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of Troponin T rapid assay kit were 0.97 and 0.91. When evaluated only with the initial results, Troponin T rapid assay kit showed sensitivity 0.87, specificity 0.97, serum troponin T 0.75, 0.92, and Ck-Mb 0.81,0.95. In one patient who was finally diagnosed as a septic shock, Ck-MB was elevated but serum troponin T was not and Troponin T rapid assay kit test showed negative result. CONCLUSION: Troponin T rapid assay kit test seems to show nearly the same sensitivity and specificity in diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction compared to CK-MB. This test can be done simply and easily in a short time. Thus, with the use of this test, morbidity, mortality and economic loss due to misdiagnosis and delay of diagnosis of myocardial infarction might be reduced.
Diagnosis ; Diagnostic Errors ; Early Diagnosis* ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Humans ; Mortality ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Shock, Septic ; Troponin T* ; Troponin*