BACKGROUND/AIMS: Acute suppurative cholangitis (ASC), a severe form of acute cholangitis, is a life-threatening condition that must be treated with appropriate and timely management. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that predispose patients to ASC. METHODS: We retrospectively investigated 181 patients (100 men, 81 women; age, 70.66+/-7.38 years, mean+/-SD) who were admitted to Wonkwang University Hospital between January 2005 and June 2007 for acute cholangitis with common bile duct (CBD) stones. All patients underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatogram to remove the stones. Variables and factors that could be assessed upon admission were analyzed to identify the risk factors for the development of ASC. RESULTS: Of the 181 patients, 44 (24.3%) presented with ASC. On multivariate analysis, the followings were found to be independent risk factors for the development of ASC: impacted common bile duct stone (p=0.010), current smoker status (p=0.008), advanced age (>70 years; p=0.002), and gallstone (p=0.016). The most commonly isolated organisms in bile culture were Enterococcus species, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella species. CONCLUSIONS: Impacted bile-duct stones, current smoking, advanced age, and gallstones were identified as independent risk factors for the development of ASC in patients with CBD stones. These results suggest that emergency biliary drainage is beneficial in patients with these risk factors.
Bile ; Cholangitis ; Common Bile Duct ; Drainage ; Emergencies ; Enterococcus ; Escherichia coli ; Gallstones ; Humans ; Klebsiella ; Male ; Multivariate Analysis ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to investigate trends in admission to the emergency department and the use of invasive or surgical procedures during hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in Korea. METHODS: The National Health Insurance (NHI) claims database between 2007 and 2011 was used. We identified all admission claims that included codes from the tenth revision of the International Classification of Diseases beginning with I21 as the primary or secondary diagnosis. Information about the admission route, admission date, discharge date, and whether coronary artery angiography, angioplasty, or bypass surgery was performed was also obtained from the NHI database. RESULTS: Of the 513,886 relevant admission claims over the five years encompassed by this study, 295,001 discrete episodes of admission for AMI were identified by analyzing the date and length of each admission and the interval between admissions. The number of AMI admissions gradually decreased from 66,883 in 2007 to 47,656 in 2011. The number and proportion of admissions through the emergency department also decreased from 38,118 (57.0%) in 2007 to 24,001 (50.4%) in 2011. However, during the same period, admissions in which invasive or surgical procedures were performed increased from 15,342 (22.9%) to 17,505 (36.7%). CONCLUSIONS: The reported numbers of emergency department visits and admissions for AMI decreased from 2007 to 2011. However, only a small portion of the patients underwent invasive or surgical procedures during hospitalization, although the number of admissions involving invasive or surgical procedures has increased. These findings suggest that simply counting the number of admission claims cannot provide valid information on trends in AMI occurrence.
Angiography ; Angioplasty ; Coronary Vessels ; Diagnosis ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Hospitalization* ; Humans ; International Classification of Diseases ; Korea ; Myocardial Infarction* ; National Health Programs* ; Vascular Surgical Procedures

This paper reports two cases of schwannomas arising from the oral cavity. One is an intraoral ancient schwannoma located at the left cheek, which evolved over a period of 13 years. The tumor was a well-demarcated buccal mass, which was located in the left lower first premolar area, with an obliterated the buccal vestibule, leaving the overlying mucosa intact. The second case was a central intraosseous schwannoma located from the left lower 1st molar periapical area to the left 3rd molar periapical area. Pathologically, the first mass was composed of the spindle shaped tumor cells with wavy nuclei beneath the fibroconnective tissue of the gingiva but second case mass was not. Occasional nuclear pleomorphism was observed but mitosis or necrosis was absent. There were Antoni A and B areas along with strong, diffuse staining with the S-100 protein. Ancient schwannomas were diagnosed. Schwannoma is a slow-growing benign tumor, and an ancient schwannoma that shows cellular atypism is a variant of a schwannoma caused by purely degenerative changes. To date, only limited cases of ancient schwannomas in the oral cavity have been reported.
Bicuspid ; Cheek ; Gingiva ; Mitosis ; Molar ; Mouth ; Mucous Membrane ; Necrosis ; Neurilemmoma ; S100 Proteins

Anisakiasis of the gastrointestinal tract is caused by the ingestion of raw fish or uncooked foods infested with Anisakis larvae belonging to the subfamily Anisakidae. With the increasing popularity of Japanese cuisine such as sashimi in Korea, the incidence of anisakiasis is expected to increase. The entire gastrointestinal tract from the esophagus to the rectum can be involved. Colonic anisakiasis is rare in comparison with gastric involvement. We report the anisakiasis concurrently invading the stomach, ileocecal valve and transverse colon treated by endoscopy with a brief review of the relevant literature.
Anisakiasis* ; Anisakis ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Colon ; Colon, Transverse* ; Eating ; Endoscopy ; Esophagus ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Humans ; Ileocecal Valve* ; Incidence ; Korea ; Larva ; Rectum ; Stomach*

Carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma is transformed at the incidence of 1-20% in pleomorphic adenoma and frequently recurred. It accounts for 10% of all malignant salivary tumors and its average age of occurrence is 60s. It will present in a large, long-standing pleomorphic adenoma or in one that was previously treated but has recurred. According to cell composition in malignant cell carcinoma, and clear cell adenocarcinoma. Most (75%) occur in parotid gland, while about 20% occur in the minor gland of the oral mucosa. The metastasis rate to regional lymph node is about 25%, and to distant organs about 33% and the 5-year survival rates are 40%. Though the treatment of the carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma is not established, it is treated ideally with and extensive resection, neck dissection, postoperative radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. When occurred in parotid gland, facial paralysis is reported. With a review of literatures, we report a case of carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma which operated with total parotidectomy and supraomohyoid neck dissection.
Adenocarcinoma, Clear Cell ; Adenoma, Pleomorphic ; Incidence ; Lymph Nodes ; Mouth Mucosa ; Neck Dissection ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Parotid Gland ; Survival Rate

Primary hepatic tuberculoma is a rare malady that is not accompanied by local symptoms, so the diagnosis can frequently be delayed or misconceived as other disease. We report here on an unusual case of primary hepatic tuberculoma that was misconceived as a cholangiocarcinoma on the imaging study. A 54-year-old man presented with dyspepsia and weight loss for 1 month. Abdominal computerized tomography demonstrated a solitary space-occupying lesion on the left lobe of the liver that suggested there was a cholangiocarcinoma accompanied with gastric outlet obstruction. The lesion was diagnosed by the ultrasonographic guided liver biopsy as a chronic granulomatous inflammation with necrosis, and the patient was treated via surgical resection with gastro-jejunostomy followed by antituberculosis chemotherapy. Twelve months later, no evidence of recurrence was noted when examining the patient's symptoms and the imaging studies.
Biopsy ; Cholangiocarcinoma* ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Dyspepsia ; Gastric Outlet Obstruction ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Liver ; Middle Aged ; Necrosis ; Recurrence ; Tuberculoma* ; Weight Loss

Eosinophilic cholecystitis is a rare, poorly understood inflammatory condition of the gall bladder. It is characterized by transmural inflammation of the gallbladder wall in which more than 90% of the white cells are eosinophils. The etiology of eosinophilic cholecystitis remains obscure, although suggested causes include allergies, parasites, eosinophilic enteritis, and local reaction to gall stones. We report the case of a 66-year-old man who had eosinophilic cholecystitis associated with gall stones.
Aged ; Cholecystitis ; Enteritis ; Eosinophilia ; Eosinophils ; Gallbladder ; Gallstones ; Gastritis ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Inflammation ; Parasites ; Urinary Bladder

We report on a case involving total en bloc uncinatectomy of C7 without removal of the previously inserted cage, performed on a patient with a history of previous anterior cervical discectomy and fusion without uncoforaminotomy at C5-6-7 who had persistent pain radiating to the upper extremity along with progressive weakness. Satisfactory results were achieved. This procedure should be regarded as an effective option for surgical treatment of persistent or recurrent radiculopathy caused by remaining foraminal stenosis following anterior cervical fusion, and we suggest it as a new indication for this procedure.
Constriction, Pathologic ; Diskectomy* ; Humans ; Radiculopathy* ; Upper Extremity

Ameloblastoma ; Curettage ; Enamel Organ ; Facial Asymmetry ; Mandible ; Molar ; Molar, Third ; Odontogenic Cysts ; Phenobarbital ; Recurrence ; Tooth ; Tooth, Impacted

Cicatrix ; Endoscopes ; Facial Nerve ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Jaw Fixation Techniques ; Mandible ; Mouth ; Surgery, Oral