No abstract available.
Morus ; Streptococcus ; Streptococcus mutans

The association between aplastic crisis and human parvovirus (HPV) B19 infection is well described in patients with sickle cell anemia. This association has also been described, although much less frequently, in patients with hereditary spherocytosis (HS). However, most cases of aplastic crises in patients with HS and induced by HPV B19 have been reported in children or adolescents. In this paper, we describe an aplastic crisis induced by HPV B19 in an adult with HS. A 34-year-old female presented with presyncope, febrile sensation, and myalgia. The complete blood counts showed severe anemia. The peripheral blood smear revealed spherocytosis with reticulocytopenia and pancytopenia. The direct Coombs' test was negative; the osmotic fragility test was positive. In the bone marrow aspirates, a few giant pronormoblasts with deep blue cytoplasm, pseudopods, and intracellular inclusion bodies were observed. The patient was given eight units of packed red blood cells. HPV B19 infection was proven by the presence of IgM antibodies to HPV B19 and the detection of viral DNA using the PCR technique. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in Korea that describes an adult with aplastic crisis presenting initially with HS.
Adult ; Anemia, Aplastic/*etiology ; Female ; Humans ; Parvoviridae Infections/*complications/diagnosis ; Parvovirus B19, Human ; Spherocytosis, Hereditary/*diagnosis

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To evaluate the association between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and gastric cancer (GC) according to tumor subtype in Korea. METHODS: H. pylori status was determined serologically using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In total, 2,819 patients with GC and 562 healthy controls were studied. A logistic regression method was used after adjusting for possible confounders. RESULTS: The prevalence of H. pylori infection was significantly higher in the GC patients (84.7%) than in the controls (66.7%) (odds ratio [OR], 3.13; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.46-3.97). The adjusted OR was significantly higher in H. pylori-infected patients aged <60 years (OR, 4.69; 95% CI, 3.44-6.38) than in those aged > or =60 years (OR, 1.48; 95% CI, 0.88-2.46; p<0.001). Subgroup analyses revealed no differences in seroprevalence between early gastric cancer (84.8%; OR, 3.01; 95% CI, 2.27-4.01) and advanced gastric cancer (84.6%; OR, 2.94; 95% CI, 2.24-3.85), cardia cancer (83.8%; OR, 2.98; 95% CI, 2.16-4.02) and noncardia cancer (84.8%; OR, 3.17; 95% CI, 2.48-4.04), and differentiated carcinoma (82.7%; OR, 2.99; 95% CI, 2.21-4.04) and undifferentiated carcinoma (86.8%; OR, 3.05; 95% CI, 2.32-4.00). CONCLUSIONS: The seroprevalence of H. pylori was higher in GC patients than in healthy controls, especially in younger patients. H. pylori infection is associated with GC, regardless of the tumor location, stage, or differentiation.
Aged ; Carcinoma ; Cardia ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Helicobacter ; Helicobacter pylori ; Humans ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Odds Ratio ; Prevalence ; Seroepidemiologic Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms

PURPOSE: Tumor bleeding is a major complication in inoperable gastric cancer. The study aim was to investigate the effects of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) treatment for the prevention of gastric tumor bleeding. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was a prospective double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Patients with inoperable gastric cancer were randomly assigned to receive oral lansoprazole (30 mg) or placebo daily. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of tumor bleeding, and the secondary endpoints were transfusion requirement and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: This study initially planned to enroll 394 patients, but prematurely ended due to low recruitment rate. Overall, 127 patients were included in the analyses: 64 in the lansoprazole group and 63 in the placebo group. During the median follow-up of 6.4 months, tumor bleeding rates were 7.8% and 9.5%, in the lansoprazole and placebo groups, respectively, with the cumulative bleeding incidence not statistically different between the groups (P=0.515, Gray's test). However, during the initial 4 months, 4 placebo-treated patients developed tumor bleeding, whereas there were no bleeding events in the lansoprazole-treated patients (P=0.041, Gray's test). There was no difference in the proportion of patients who required transfusion between the groups. The OS between the lansoprazole (11.7 months) and the placebo (11.0 months) groups was not statistically different (P=0.610). Study drug-related serious adverse event or bleeding-related death did not occur. CONCLUSIONS: Treating patients with inoperable gastric cancer with lansoprazole did not significantly reduce the incidence of tumor bleeding. However, further studies are needed to evaluate whether lansoprazole can prevent tumor bleeding during earlier phases of chemotherapy (ClinicalTrial.gov, identifier No. NCT02150447).
Drug Therapy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemorrhage* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Lansoprazole ; Primary Prevention ; Prospective Studies ; Proton Pump Inhibitors ; Proton Pumps* ; Protons* ; Stomach Neoplasms*

BACKGROUND: Tsutsugamushi disease is an acute febrile disease in Korea. Some patients with tsutsugamushi disease have severe illness, which needs care in intensive care unit, and may die due to the disease. We analyzed the cases with tsutsugamushi disease who lived in Chuncheon and neighboring communities to find out clinical manifestations, laboratory findings especially in severe cases. METHODS: We reviewed the clinical records of the 81 cases who were diagnosed as tsutsugamushi in Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital from April, 1997 to December, 2002. We analyzed the clinical and laboratory findings of the 81 cases, and the treatment results of 79 cases who recieved the treatment in this hospital. We also compared the characteristics of the patients between admission to general ward and intensive care unit (ICU). RESULTS: Seventy three cases developed the disease in autumn. Seventy cases had fever. 58 cases had eschar in their bodies. With the doxycycline treatment, forty five cases subsided the fever within 48 hours, but in 13 cases, fever continued after 5 days of treatment. Twenty five cases were admitted to ICU, 8 cases among them were treated with ventilator, 3 cases died due to the multi-organ failure. When we compared the clinical characteristics of the patients admitted to ICU with those to general wards, leukocyte count, the level of BUN and creatinine were higher, the albumin level was lower in ICU patients than those of general ward patients. CONCLUSION: Tsutsugamushi disease can progress to severe disease, and be fatal to the patients. So it is necessary to diagnose early and treat carefully. We suggest that leukocyte count, BUN, creatinine, or albumin can be used to predict the prognosis.
Creatinine ; Doxycycline ; Fever ; Gangwon-do* ; Heart ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Korea ; Leukocyte Count ; Orientia tsutsugamushi ; Patients' Rooms ; Prognosis ; Scrub Typhus* ; Ventilators, Mechanical