Boerhaave's syndrome is a spontaneous tear through all the layers of the left lateral wall of the esophagus just above the diaphragm, produced by a sudden increase in esophageal pressure. Boerhaave's syndrome is a rare but grave syndrome, with a mortality rate around 40%. Most affected patients are middle-aged men who experience violent vomiting after heavy eating or alcohol intake or both. Vomiting followed by the abrupt onset of pain, dyspnea, and/or shock are the major symptoms. The most important diagnostic tool may be an upright chest X-ray. However, esophagograms and/or a chest CT may be required to locate the lesion. The management of esophagopleural fistula must be individualized, and both the patient's condition and the specific characteristics of the fistula must be considered. Successful management of patients must include adequate nutritional support and effective therapy of the associated empyema. A case of esophagopleural fistula complicated by Boerhaave's syndrome, which was successfully treated by endoscopic injection of Histoacryl , in herein reported.
Diaphragm ; Dyspnea ; Eating ; Empyema ; Enbucrilate* ; Esophagus ; Fistula* ; Humans ; Male ; Mortality ; Nutritional Support ; Shock ; Thorax ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Vomiting

BACKGROUND: This article reports annual data of intensive care units (ICU) module of the Korean Nosocomial Infections Surveillance (KONIS) system from July 2011 through June 2012. METHODS: We performed a prospective surveillance of nosocomial urinary tract infections (UTI), bloodstream infections (BSI), and pneumonia (PNEU) at 143 ICUs in 81 hospitals using the KONIS system. Nosocomial infection (NI) rates were calculated as the number of infections per 1,000 patient days or device days. Asymptomatic bacteriuria was excluded on or after October 1, 2011. RESULTS: A total of 3,374 NIs were found during the study period: 1,356 UTIs (1,336 cases were urinary catheter-associated), 1,253 BSIs (1,091 were central line-associated), and 765 PNEUs (481 were ventilator-associated). The rate of urinary catheter-associated UTIs (CAUTIs) was 2.26 cases per 1,000 device-days (95% confidence interval, 2.14-2.39) and urinary catheter utilization ratio was 0.85 (0.849-0.851). The rate of central line-associated BSIs was 3.01 (2.84-3.19) and the utilization ratio was 0.52 (0.519-0.521). The rate of ventilator-associated PNEUs (VAPs) was 1.70 (1.56-1.86) and the utilization ratio was 0.40 (0.399-0.401). Ventilator and urinary catheter utilization ratios were lower in the ICUs of hospitals with 400-699 beds than those in hospitals with 700-899 beds or more than 900 beds. Nevertheless, VAPs and CAUTIs were more common in hospitals with 400-699 beds. CONCLUSION: Nosocomial infection rates were similar to the findings of those of the previous period, July 2010-July 2011. Implementation of proven infection-control strategies are needed, especially in the hospitals having fewer than 700 beds.
Bacteriuria ; Cross Infection* ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units* ; Pneumonia ; Prospective Studies ; Urinary Catheters ; Urinary Tract Infections ; Ventilators, Mechanical

A glomus tumor is a benign neoplasm arising from the neuromyoarterial glomus body, a specialized arteriovenous communication. It functions as a temperature regulator, predominantly in the skin. The glomus tumor occurs rarely in the stomach. The common presenting symptoms are upper gastrointestinal bleeding, epigastric discomfort, nausea, and vomiting. This benign tumor is seen as an intramural mass and is most frequently located in the gastric antrum. Because of its highly cellular nature, the frozen section is often misinterpreted as malignant, and an unduly extensive resection is sometimes performed. A 57-year-old woman was recently admitted due to hematemesis and melena for one day. A gastrofibroscopy was performed and a 3 4 cm sized submucosal mass with central ulceration was found on the anterior wall of the antrum. Fresh blood clots were noted on the ulcer base. Due to recurrent bleeding, a hemigastrectomy was performed. Pathologic findings, including immunoreactivity to alpha-smooth muscle actin and vimentin, was consistent with a glomus tumor of the stomach.
Actins ; Female ; Frozen Sections ; Glomus Tumor* ; Hematemesis ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Melena ; Middle Aged ; Nausea ; Pyloric Antrum ; Skin ; Stomach ; Ulcer ; Vimentin ; Vomiting

BACKGROUND: The Korean Society for Nosocomial Infection Control (KOSNIC) ran a surveillance system, called as Korean Nosocomial Infections Surveillance (KONIS), since July 2006. Here, we report the annual data of the intensive care unit (ICU) module of the system from July 2012 through June 2013. METHODS: This is a prospective surveillance of nosocomial urinary tract infections (UTI), bloodstream infections (BSI), and pneumonia (PNEU) at 161 ICUs in 91 hospitals using the KONIS system. The nosocomial infection (NI) rate was calculated as the number of infections per 1,000 patient days or device days. RESULTS: A total of 3,042 NIs were reported during the study period: 877 UTIs (854 cases were urinary catheter-associated), 1,272 BSIs (1,096 were central line-associated), and 893 PNEUs (526 cases were ventilator-associated). The rate of urinary catheter-associated UTIs (CAUTIs) was 1.26 cases per 1,000 device days (95% confidence interval; 1.18-1.34) and urinary catheter utilization ratio was 0.78 (0.779-0.781). The rate of central line-associated BSIs was 2.57 (2.42-2.72) and the utilization ratio was 0.49 (0.489-0.491). The rate of ventilator-associated PNEUs was 1.64 (1.50-1.78) and the utilization ratio was 0.37 (0.369-0.371). The urinary catheter utilization ratio was lower in the ICUs of hospitals with 400-699 beds than in those of hospitals with more than 900 beds; nevertheless, CAUTIs were more common in the hospitals with 400-699 beds. The central line-associated BSI (CLABSI) rate was lower in the study period than in the previous period of July 2011-June 2012 [2.57 (2.42-2.72) vs. 3.01 (2.84-3.19)]. CONCLUSION: The CLABSI rates were lower in the study period than those in the previous years. CAUTIs were more common in the ICUs of hospitals with 400-699 beds than in those of larger hospitals.
Cross Infection* ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units* ; Critical Care* ; Pneumonia ; Prospective Studies ; Urinary Catheters ; Urinary Tract Infections