BACKGROUND/AIMS: In spite of increased concerns about the overlaps among the various functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs), studies for the overlap between constipation and other common FGIDs are rare. Therefore, we investigated the patterns of overlaps between constipation and other common FGIDs. METHODS: This study was designed as a prospective nationwide multi-center questionnaire study using Rome III questionnaires for functional dyspepsia (FD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and functional constipation (FC), as well as various questionnaires about patients’ information, degree of symptoms, and quality of life. For the evaluation of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), GERD-Q was used. RESULTS: From 19 centers, 759 patients with constipation were enrolled. The proportions of FC and IBS subtypes of constipation (IBS-C) were 59.4% and 40.6%, respectively. Among them, 492 (64.8%) showed no overlap. One hundred and thirty-six patients (17.9%) presented overlapping GERD, and 80 patients (10.5%) presented overlapping FD. Fifty one (6.7%) of patients were overlapped by both GERD and FD. Coincidental herniated nucleus pulposus (HNP) (P = 0.026) or pulmonary diseases (P = 0.034), reduced fiber intake (P = 0.013), and laxative use (P < 0.001) independently affected the rate of overlaps. These overlapping conditions negatively affected the constipation-associated quality of life, general quality of life, and degree of constipation. CONCLUSIONS: The overlap of GERD or FD was common in patients with constipation. Coincidental HNP or pulmonary diseases, reduced fiber intake, and laxatives use were found to be independent associated factors for overlapping common FGIDs in Korean patients with constipation.
Constipation* ; Dyspepsia ; Gastroesophageal Reflux ; Gastrointestinal Diseases* ; Humans ; Irritable Bowel Syndrome ; Laxatives ; Lung Diseases ; Prospective Studies ; Quality of Life

Pheochromocytoma crisis is a life-threatening endocrine emergency. Stimuli that can elicit a pheochromocytoma crisis include anesthesia, tumor manipulation, and several drugs. Rarely, glucocorticoids can induce a pheochromocytoma crisis. Here, we describe the case of a 65-year-old female who developed an adrenergic crisis with blood pressure fluctuations, dizziness, and seizures after receiving glucocorticoids for the treatment of urticaria. The symptoms led us to speculate that a pheochromocytoma was present. We confirmed the diagnosis based on abdominal imaging and biochemical studies. The patient's symptoms improved after surgical removal of the pheochromocytoma.
Aged ; Anesthesia ; Blood Pressure ; Diagnosis ; Dizziness ; Emergencies ; Female ; Glucocorticoids ; Humans ; Pheochromocytoma* ; Seizures ; Urticaria*

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Heart rate variability (HRV) is a method for evaluation of autonomic nervous system activity by expressing the balance of sympathetic and parasympathetic tones. Some studies of HRV in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) have been performed in Korea. However, few have examined kidney transplantation (KT) patients. Therefore, we investigated autonomic nervous system activity by means of HRV in patients with KT due to ESRD. METHODS: We compared the pattern of cardiac sympathetic and parasympathetic activity by time- and frequency-domain analysis of HRV with 24-h Holter monitoring of 23 KT and 56 dialysis patients. Patients underwent KT between January, 2008 and June, 2011. RESULTS: The mean ages of KT and dialysis patients were 54.2 +/- 12.3 and 53.7 +/- 12.6 years, respectively. The KT group showed increased time- and frequency-domain HRV (including HRV index), very low frequency (VLF), means and standard deviations of all normal R-R intervals for all 5-min segments of the entire recording (SDNNi), low frequency (LF), LF in normalized units (LF norm), and LF to high-frequency power ratio, compared with the dialysis group. CONCLUSIONS: Autonomic tone in patients with KT is higher than that in patients with ESRD on dialysis.
Autonomic Nervous System ; Dialysis ; Electrocardiography ; Electrocardiography, Ambulatory ; Heart ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Kidney ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Kidney Transplantation ; Korea

Renal biopsy is an essential diagnostic tool for detecting acute and chronic kidney rejection as well as recurrent and de novo nephropathies in renal allograft recipients. However, a well-known complication of percutaneous renal biopsy is arteriovenous fistula (AVF). Most post-biopsy AVFs are asymptomatic and regress spontaneously but some AVFs result in hypertension, hematuria, and renal insufficiency. Whether post-biopsy AVF superimposed on transplant renal artery stenosis (TRAS) also regresses spontaneously is unknown. We present a case of acute renal insufficiency in a 51-year-old female renal allograft recipient with post-biopsy AVF and TRAS. Percutaneous angioplasty with stent implantation was performed for the TRAS and transcatheter arterial coil embolization therapy applied for AVF. The patient's renal function returned to baseline levels and is currently being followed up for 6 months.
Acute Kidney Injury ; Angioplasty ; Arteriovenous Fistula ; Biopsy ; Female ; Hematuria ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Kidney ; Rejection (Psychology) ; Renal Artery ; Renal Artery Obstruction ; Renal Insufficiency ; Stents ; Transplantation, Homologous ; Transplants

Duodenal abscess is a form of phlegmonous enterocolitis and is a rarely reported disease throughout the entire world. Duodenal abscess mostly develops from complications of duodenal ulcer perforation, and may result in a clinically fatal course because it is difficult to differentiate from some diseases such as gastric ulcer, gastric cancer, hepatobiliary disorders etc.. The therapeutic gold standard is surgical intervention including abscess removal and drainage. We experienced a case of duodenal abscess that expressed non-specific symptoms, weight loss and epigastric pain, and diagnosed by gastrointestinal endoscopy, abdominal computed tomography. We successfully treated it through surgical intervention with intravenous antibiotics.
Abscess ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Cellulitis ; Drainage ; Duodenal Ulcer ; Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal ; Enterocolitis ; Foreign Bodies ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Stomach Ulcer ; Weight Loss

Persistent atrial standstill is an extremely rare arrhythmia that was first described by Chavez et al. Electrocardiographically, atrial standstill is characterized by bradycardia, the absence of a P wave, and a junctional narrow complex escape rhythm. Atrial standstill is usually classified into two types. The transient type is observed in drug intoxication, such as with digitalis or quinidine, and hyperkalemia. The persistent type is uncommon, often accompanied by syncopal attacks or brain embolism. We report a case of persistent atrial standstill in an 83-year-old man who was treated with implantation of a permanent pacemaker.
Aged, 80 and over ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Bradycardia ; Cardiomyopathies ; Digitalis ; Electrocardiography ; Genetic Diseases, Inborn ; Heart Atria ; Heart Block ; Humans ; Hyperkalemia ; Intracranial Embolism ; Quinidine ; United Nations

INTRODUCTION: Skeletal homeostasis is normally maintained by the stability between bone formation by osteoblasts and bone resorption by osteoclasts. However, the correlation between the inflammatory reaction and osteoblastic differentiation of cultured osteoprogenitor cells has not been fully investigated. This study examined the effects of inflammatory cytokines on the osteoblastic differentiation of cultured human periosteal-derived cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Periosteal-derived cells were obtained from the mandibular periosteum and introduced into the cell culture. After passage 3, the periosteal-derived cells were further cultured in an osteogenic induction Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) medium containing dexamethasone, ascorbic acid, and beta-glycerophosphate. In this culture medium, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha with different concentrations (0.1, 1, and 10 ng/mL) or interleukin (IL)-1beta with different concentrations (0.01, 0.1, and 1 ng/mL) were added. RESULTS: Both TNF-alpha and IL-1beta stimulated alkaline phosphatase (ALP) expression in the periosteal-derived cells. TNF-alpha and IL-1beta increased the level of ALP expression in a dose-dependent manner. Both TNF-alpha and IL-1beta also increased the level of alizarin red S staining in a dose-dependent manner during osteoblastic differentiation of cultured human periosteal-derived cells. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that inflammatory cytokines TNF-alpha and IL-1beta can stimulate the osteoblastic activity of cultured human periosteal-derived cells.
Alkaline Phosphatase ; Anthraquinones ; Ascorbic Acid ; Bone Resorption ; Cell Culture Techniques ; Cytokines ; Dexamethasone ; Durapatite ; Glycerophosphates ; Homeostasis ; Humans ; Interleukins ; Osteoblasts ; Osteoclasts ; Osteogenesis ; Periosteum ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) is considered to be a noninvasive, alternative method for evaluating stent restenosis. However, the diagnostic accuracy of 16-channel MDCT for stent stenosis is reported to have severe limitations because of high-attenuation stent-related artifacts. 64-channel MDCT, which recently became available in clinical practice, has better spatial and temporal resolution than 16-channel MDCT. The diagnostic accuracy of 64-channel MDCT for stent restenosis (in-segment and in-stent) was assessed by comparing it with conventional coronary angiography. METHODS: In-segment and in-stent restenosis (> or =50% in diameter) were evaluated in 96 stent segments in 68 patients [61+/-12 years, 51 (75%) male] using both 64-channel MDCT and conventional coronary angiography. The in-stent analysis was confined to the portion of the artery covered by the stent and the in-segment analysis included the stent and 5 mm proximal or distal to the stent edges. RESULTS: The 64-channel MDCT could evaluate stent restenosis in 93 of 96 (97%) stent segments. Quantitative conventional coronary angiography found in-segment restenosis (> or =50% in diameter) in 16 of 68 (23%) patients and 16 of 96 (17%) segments. For the patients with interpretable stent segments, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of 64-channel MDCT for in-segment restenosis per patient were 63, 96, 83, and 89%, respectively; per segment they were 63, 97, 83, and 93%, respectively; and for in-stent restenosis per stent they were 82, 98, 82, and 98%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnostic accuracy of 64-channel MDCT for assessing stent restenosis had high specificity and negative predictive value in the clinical setting. The 64-channel MDCT may be a promising, less-invasive imaging tool for stent restenosis, especially for the purpose of excluding stent restenosis.
Arteries ; Artifacts ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Restenosis ; Humans ; Multidetector Computed Tomography ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Stents

The spontaneous perforation of sinus of Valsalva without congenital anomaly such as aneurysm and trauma has not been reported. We report a 66-year-old female presenting with ST elevation myocardial infarction due to compressing the proximal part of right coronary artery by hematoma attributed to spontaneous perforation of sinus of Vaslava. The patient was stabilized after surgical primary repair.
Aged ; Aneurysm ; Coronary Vessels ; Female ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Myocardial Infarction ; Sinus of Valsalva

PURPOSE: To evaluate correlations between vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) which is associated with tissue remodeling and bone repair and systemic and tissue inflammation in osteoarthritis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty patients who were above grade 2 in Kellgren-Lawrence radiologic classification of osteoarthritis were classified into group 1 (grade 2, 16 patients), group 2 (grade 3, 18 patients) and group 3 (grade 4, 26 patients). All patients were checked C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and total WBC count in the blood and VEGF and total WBC count in the synovial fluid by ELISA. RESULTS: The severe in osteoarthritic change in radiographs, the more VEGF in the synovial fluid (mean value; group 1 82.7 pg/ml, group 2 111.6 pg/ml, group 3 152.6 pg/ml). VEGF in the synovial fluid were related with total WBC count in the blood and in the synovial fluid (p=0.012, p=0.028 respectively), but not related with CRP and ESR in the blood. CONCLUSION: The severe in osteoarthritic change in radiographs, the more VEGF in the synovial fluid. This facts suggested that there were much neovascularization and bone repair in the synovium of advanced osteoarthritis. Therefore further study elucidating mechanisms of tissue remodeling and its associated factors will be needed.
Acute-Phase Proteins ; Blood Sedimentation ; C-Reactive Protein ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Osteoarthritis ; Synovial Fluid ; Synovial Membrane ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A