BACKGROUND/AIMS: For decades, thiopurines have been the mainstay of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) treatment and will play an important role in the future. However, complex metabolism and various side effects limit the use of these potent drugs in clinical practice. The Korean Association for the Study of Intestinal Diseases developed a set of consensus statements with the aim of guiding clinicians on the appropriate use of thiopurines in the management of IBD. METHODS: Sixteen statements were initially drafted by five committee members. The quality of evidence and classification of recommendation were assessed according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation system. The statements were then circulated to IBD experts in Korea for review, feedback, and then finalized and accepted by voting at the consensus meeting. RESULTS: The consensus statements comprised four parts: (1) pre-treatment evaluation and management strategy, including value of thiopurine S-methyltransferase screening, dosing schedule, and novel biomarkers for predicting thiopurine-induced leukopenia; (2) treatment with thiopurines with regards to optimal duration of thiopurine treatment and long-term outcomes of combination therapy with anti-tumor necrosis factors; (3) safety of thiopurines, especially during pregnancy and lactation; and (4) monitoring side effects or efficacy of therapy using biomarkers. CONCLUSIONS: Thiopurines are an effective treatment option for patients with IBD. Management decisions should be individualized according to the risk of relapse and adverse events.
Appointments and Schedules ; Biomarkers ; Classification ; Committee Membership ; Consensus* ; Female ; Humans ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases* ; Intestinal Diseases* ; Korea ; Lactation ; Leukopenia ; Mass Screening ; Metabolism ; Necrosis ; Politics ; Pregnancy ; Recurrence

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is major source of chronic liver disease in Korea. However this virus might have different nucleotide sequence according to races, different region, etc. Recently the novel method that allows sensitive amplification with dramatically decreased mis-incorporation has developed. We determined to get the major form of HBV nucleotide sequence from whole sequencing data of 26 Korean HBV carriers. METHODS: HBV DNA were collected from 26 Korean chronic HBV carriers. We used the novel PCR with pfu for the amplification of HBV DNA, and specific primers were made with combination sequence bases of non-HBV part and HBV parts which were located head and tail in the virion. Then whole length of HBV were directly sequenced and analysed. RESULT: HBV DNA was consisted of 3215 bases in 20 cases of 26 Korean chronic HBV carriers. And the remainder had smaller or larger number due to deletion, insertion or both in pre-S2 and S gene. They were 99.03% homology of their nucleotide sequence and belong to genotype C. The variability of nucleotide sequence was significantly higher in the singly coding region (SCR) than doubly coding region (DCR), and also high in pre-S1 and pre-S2 gene among the DCR. Hot-spots were more frequently found in the SCR, pre-S1 and pre-S2 gene. CONCLUSION: In Korean chronic HBV carriers, HBV is consisted of 3215 nucleotides, and belongs to genotype C. And it might exist one genotype with the variability in Korea.
Base Sequence* ; Clinical Coding ; Continental Population Groups ; DNA ; Genome* ; Genotype* ; Head ; Hepatitis B virus* ; Hepatitis B* ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Korea ; Liver Diseases ; Nucleotides ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymerization* ; Polymers* ; Virion

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

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Recently, due to the adoption of a Western lifestyle, the incidence of colonic diverticulosis is increasing in the Korean population. The purpose of this study is to review the prevalence and clinical characteristics of colonic diverticulosis as diagnosed by a colonoscopic examination. METHODS: We retrospectely analyzed the medical records of 3,352 patients that had undergone a colonoscopy from 1 January 2002 to 31 July 31 2005. We recorded the extent (1, 2~5, 6>) and the location of a diverticulum. We also reviewed the medical records of the patients that had symptoms and other clinical features. RESULTS: A total of 2,831 patients were selected. The overall prevalence of colonic diverticulosis was 10.1%; the mean patient age was 53+/-11 years and the ratio of males to females was 2.3:1. A diverticulum occurred more frequently in the right side colon (79.0%) than the left side colon (13.9%). The most common symptom was abdominal pain (63.5%). Complications were diverticulitis (2.0%) and bleeding (0.3%). The prevalence of a colon polyp was 39.1% and the prevalence of a fatty liver was 26.4% in the diverticular patients. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of colonic diverticulosis is increasing in the Korean population and a diverticulum occurred more frequently in the right side colon.
Abdominal Pain ; Colon* ; Colonoscopy ; Diverticulitis ; Diverticulosis, Colonic* ; Diverticulum ; Fatty Liver ; Female ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Incidence ; Life Style ; Male ; Medical Records ; Polyps ; Prevalence*

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Two comparable anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) agents with different routes of administration (intravenous [iv] infliximab [IFX] vs subcutaneous [sc] adalimumab [ADA]) are available for patients with Crohn's disease (CD) in Korea. This study aimed to identify the preferences of Korean CD patients for a specific anti-TNF agent and the factors contributing to the decision. METHODS: A prospective survey was performed among anti-TNF-naive CD patients in 10 tertiary referral hospitals. A 16-item questionnaire addressed patient preferences and the factors contributing to the decision in favor of a particular anti-TNF agent. A logistic regression was conducted to assess predictive factors for ADA preference. RESULTS: Overall, 189 patients (139 males; mean age, 32.47±11.71 years) completed the questionnaire. IFX and ADA were preferred by 63.5% (120/189) and 36.5% (69/189) of patients, respectively. The most influential reason for choosing IFX was ‘doctor's presence' (68.3%, 82/120), and ADA was “easy to use” (34.8%, 24/69). Amid various clinicodemographic data, having a >60-minute travel time to the hospital was a significant independent predictive factor for ADA preference. CONCLUSIONS: A large number of anti-TNF-naive Korean patients with CD preferred anti-TNFs with an iv route of administration. The reassuring effect of a doctor's presence might be the main contributing factor for this decision.
Crohn Disease* ; Humans ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Necrosis* ; Patient Preference ; Prospective Studies ; Tertiary Care Centers

Background/Aims: The prospective Crohn’s Disease Clinical Network and Cohort Study is a nationwide multicenter cohort study of patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) in Korea, aiming to prospectively investigate the clinical features and long-term prognosis associated with CD. Methods: Patients diagnosed with CD between January 2009 and September 2019 were prospectively enrolled. They were divided into two cohorts according to the year of diagnosis: cohort 1 (diagnosed between 2009 and 2011) versus cohort 2 (between 2012 and 2019). Results: A total of 1,175 patients were included, and the median follow-up duration was 68 months (interquartile range, 39.0 to 91.0 months). The treatment-free durations for thiopurines (p<0.001) and anti-tumor necrosis factor agents (p=0.018) of cohort 2 were shorter than those of cohort 1. Among 887 patients with B1 behavior at diagnosis, 149 patients (16.8%) progressed to either B2 or B3 behavior during follow-up. Early use of thiopurine was associated with a reduced risk of behavioral progression (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.69; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.50 to 0.90), and family history of inflammatory bowel disease was associated with an increased risk of behavioral progression (aHR, 2.29; 95% CI, 1.16 to 4.50). One hundred forty-one patients (12.0%) underwent intestinal resection, and the intestinal resection-free survival time was significantly longer in cohort 2 than in cohort 1 (p=0.003). The early use of thiopurines (aHR, 0.35;95% CI, 0.23 to 0.51) was independently associated with a reduced risk of intestinal resection. Conclusions The prognosis of CD in Korea appears to have improved over time, as evidenced by the decreasing intestinal resection rate. Early use of thiopurines was associated with an improved prognosis represented by a reduced risk of intestinal resection.