PURPOSE: To evaluate the feasibility of the interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) as a supplementary diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of genitourinary tuberculosis (GUTB). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-seven patients who were tested with the IGRA to diagnose GUTB were included. All patients had clinical or radiologic features suspicious for GUTB. Signs and symptoms included chronic dysuria with long-standing sterile pyuria, renal calcification with distorted renal calyces and contracted renal pelvis, and chronic epididymitis. Patients who had a history of tuberculosis in other organs were excluded. Tests including IGRA, urine acid-fast bacilli (AFB) stain and culture, urine tuberculosis polymerase chain reaction (UT-PCR), and radiological examinations were performed to confirm GUTB. The medical records of the patients were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: The IGRA result was positive in 30 patients (52.6%). The results of the urine AFB stain and culture were positive in 5 patients (8.8%) and 7 patients (12.2%), respectively. The results of UT-PCR were positive in 9 patients (15.8%). The 7 patients who showed positive results in the urine AFB stain and culture also had positive results on the IGRA. A UT-PCR-negative patient was diagnosed with GUTB by positive results on both the IGRA and AFB stain and culture. CONCLUSIONS: The IGRA might feasibly be used as a supplementary or screening tool for the diagnosis of GUTB in addition to urine AFB stain and culture. Further studies for statistical evaluation of its sensitivity, specificity, and efficacy are needed.
Contracts ; Dysuria ; Epididymitis ; Humans ; Interferon-gamma ; Interferon-gamma Release Tests ; Kidney Pelvis ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Medical Records ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Pyuria ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Urogenital

PURPOSE: This study aimed to improve prostate biopsy compliance by analyzing the factors that influence the acceptance of prostate biopsy by patients to whom transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)-guided prostate biopsy is recommended for suspected prostate cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The subjects of this study were 268 patients to whom TRUS-guided prostate biopsy was recommended from January to June 2011 and who completed a questionnaire. Patients who showed a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) increase to more than 4.0 ng/mL or abnormal findings on a digital rectal examination and TRUS were recommended to undergo prostate biopsy. The questionnaire consisted of 9 questions about the subjects' demographic characteristics and 15 questions that assessed their knowledge of prostate disease. Fisher exact probability test was conducted to assess the influence of the demographic characteristics and levels of knowledge of prostate disease on acceptance of prostate biopsy. RESULTS: The mean age of the subjects was 66.2 years (range, 43-83 years). Of the cohort, 188 patients (70.7%) agreed to the prostate biopsy and 78 patients (29.3%) refused. In terms of demographic characteristics, the patients' acceptance of prostate biopsy was associated only with education level. Patients with relatively lower education levels had a higher acceptance rate for prostate biopsy (80.0% vs. 65.9%, p=0.018). Other demographic factors, as well as the degree of knowledge of prostate disease, had no significant effect on the acceptance rate. CONCLUSIONS: The patients' acceptance of prostate biopsy can be influenced by demographic characteristics, especially education level. Therefore, when prostate biopsy is recommended to patients, their demographic characteristics should be taken into consideration.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Biopsy, Needle/methods/psychology ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Kallikreins/blood ; Male ; Middle Aged ; *Patient Acceptance of Health Care ; Prospective Studies ; Prostate-Specific Antigen/blood ; Prostatic Neoplasms/*pathology/psychology/ultrasonography ; Republic of Korea ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Ultrasonography, Interventional

We report a case of subcutaneous phaeohyphomycosis caused by Exophiala(E,) jeanselmei in a 66-year-old female, who showed a mild tender, 4.5x3.5cm sized, erythematous cystic mass with satellite lesions on the left forearm for 4 months. Histopathologically, suppurative granulomatous inflammation, brownish conidia in a chain and hyphae were observed. Fungal culture grew out the typical black-gray velvety colonies of E. jeanselmei after 2 weeks. The isolate grow well at 25 C, but very poorly at 37 C. No growth could be observed at 40 C. Sporulation adequate for evaluation was present on the malt extract agar. We confirmed E. jeanselmei by colony and microscopic morphology, temperature tolerance and sugar assimilation tests. The patient had been treated with itraconazole for 6 momths. Complete remission was observed.
Agar ; Aged ; Exophiala* ; Female ; Forearm ; Humans ; Hyphae ; Inflammation ; Itraconazole ; Phaeohyphomycosis* ; Spores, Fungal

Purpose: To compare improvement of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) due to benign prostatic hyperplasia in diabetic versus nondiabetic patients after transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) or holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP). Methods: The medical records of 437 patients who underwent TURP or HoLEP at a tertiary referral center from January 2006 to January 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 71 patients had type 2 diabetes. Patients in the diabetic mellitus (DM) and non-DM groups were matched 1:1 according to age, baseline International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), and ultrasound measured prostate volume. Changes in LUTS were assessed at 3 months after surgery using IPSS and evaluated by categorizing patients according to prostatic urethral angulation (PUA; <50° vs. ≥50°). Medication-free survival after surgery was also investigated. Results: No significant differences were noted between the DM and non-DM groups in baseline characteristics except for comorbidities (i.e., hypertension, cerebrovascular disease, and ischemic heart disease, P=0.021, P=0.002, and P=0.017, respectively) and postvoid residual urine volume (115±98 mL vs. 76±105 mL, P=0.028). Non-DM patients showed significant symptomatic improvement regardless of PUA, while DM patients demonstrated improvement in obstructive symptoms only in those with large PUA (≥51°). Among patients with small PUA, DM patients had worse medication-free survival after surgery compared to controls (P=0.044) and DM was an independent predictor of medication reuse (hazard ratio, 1.422; 95% confidence interval, 1.285–2.373; P=0.038). Conclusions DM patients experienced symptomatic improvement after surgery only in those with large PUA. Among patients with small PUA, DM patients were more likely to reuse medication after surgery.

PURPOSE: The tertiary lymphoid structure (TLS) is an important source of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), which have a strong prognostic and predictive value in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). A previous study reported that the levels of CXCL13 mRNA expression were associated with TLSs, but measuring the gene expression is challenging in routine practice. Therefore, this study evaluated the MECA79-positive high endothelial venule (HEV) densities and their association with the histopathologically assessed TLSs in biopsy samples. In addition, the relationship of TLSs with the CXCL13 transcript levels and clinical outcomes were examined. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 108 TNBC patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) were studied. The amounts of TILs and TLSs were measured histopathologically using hematoxylin and eosin–stained slides. The HEV densities and TIL subpopulations were measured by immunohistochemistry for MECA79, CD3, CD8, and CD20. CXCL13mRNA expression levels using a NanoString assay (NanoString Technologies). RESULTS: The mean number of HEVs in pre-NAC biopsies was 12 (range, 0 to 72). The amounts of TILs and TLSs, HEV density, and CXCL13 expression showed robust correlations with each other. A lower pre-NAC clinical T stage, higher TIL and TLS levels, a higher HEV density, CD20-positive cell density, and CXCL13 expression were significant predictors of a pathologic complete response (pCR). Higher CD8-positive cell density and levels of CXCL13 expression were significantly associated with a better disease-free survival rate. CONCLUSION: MECA79-positive HEV density in pre-NAC biopsies is an objective and quantitative surrogate marker of TLS and might be a valuable tool for predicting pCR of TNBC in routine pathology practice.
Biomarkers ; Biopsy ; Cell Count ; Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Therapy ; Gene Expression ; Hematoxylin ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating ; Pathology ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Prognosis ; RNA, Messenger ; Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms* ; Venules*

No abstract available.
Drug Therapy, Combination* ; Melphalan* ; Multiple Myeloma* ; Prednisone* ; Vincristine*

Histiocytic sarcoma is a rare hematologic malignancy, with very few cases of primary histiocytic sarcoma of the breast described in English scientific literature. Herein, we describe a case of primary histiocytic sarcoma of the breast in a 75-year-old woman, with no clinical history of malignant tumors, who presented with a palpable solitary breast mass. Microscopically, the resected breast mass showed large pleomorphic cells, some multinucleated giant cells, and admixed inflammatory components. The pleomorphic tumor cells further showed a diffuse, noncohesive growth pattern, an abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm, and strong and diffuse immunoreactivity for cluster of differentiation (CD) 68 and CD163. Furthermore, a whole-body positron-emission tomography/computed tomography using deoxy-2-[¹⁸F]fluoro-D-glucose performed after surgery showed no other masses or lesions. After surgical excision, the patient was followed up, and no evidence of tumor recurrence or metastasis was noted.
Aged ; Breast ; Cytoplasm ; Eosinophils ; Female ; Giant Cells ; Hematologic Neoplasms ; Histiocytes ; Histiocytic Sarcoma ; Humans ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Recurrence

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There have been many studies about elevated bone conduction (BC) thresholds in patients with chronic otitis media (COM) with or without cholesteatoma and the relationships between operative techniques and postoperative changes of BC thresholds. The purposes of this study are evaluation of the effect of chronic otitis media on BC thresholds, the relationships between various operative techniques and postoperative BC threshold changes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Preoperative BC thresholds in 237 patients with ipsilateral COM were evaluated and pre- and postoperative differences of BC thresholds were compared by each frequency in all patients. The patients were divided into three groups according to the severity of diseases: (1) Simple: relatively healthy middle ear mucosa and thus only simple mastoidectomy (SM) was done (N=92), (2) Severe: mastoidectomy with posterior tympanotomy (ICWM) or open cavity mastoidectomy (OCM) were done because of severe edematous middle ear mucosa, granulation tissues, or poor ventilation (N=89), (3) cholesteatomas (Chole, N=56). RESULTS: Preoperative audiograms revealed a significant relationship between the elevation of BC threshold and the severity of diseases. Postoperative BC thresholds were improved in 49% of SM (13.8 +/- 8.5), 51% of ICWM (13.8 +/- 6.1), and 35% of OCM (14.4 +/- 8.4), maintained in 45% of SM, 37% of ICWM, and 43% of OCM, but worsened in 6% of SM (-8.7 +/- 1.4), 12% of ICWM (-10.9 +/- 5.2), and 22% of OCM (-13.8 +/- 6.0). CONCLUSION: The preoperative BC threshold were maintained or improved in the majority of patients postoperatively. In OCM, more patients were worsened in BC hearing postoperatively than the others.
Bone Conduction* ; Cholesteatoma ; Ear, Middle ; Granulation Tissue ; Hearing ; Humans ; Mucous Membrane ; Otitis Media ; Ventilation

Purpose: This study was to investigate the dentists’ experience and awareness of foreign body ingestion and aspiration during dental prosthetic treatment. Materials and Methods: A survey of 157 dentists working at 108 dental institutions in Daejeon and Chungcheong provinces was carried out and frequency analysis was conducted. Chi-square test was conducted to find out the difference between the sociodemographic data and experience of foreign body ingestion and aspiration of patients and independent sample t-test was conducted to find out the difference in awareness depending on whether receiving related education. Results: The percentage of dentists experiencing dropping foreign body into patients’ oral cavity was 99.4% and the percentage of dentists experiencing foreign body ingestion and aspiration of patients was 53.5%. There were more dentists who experienced foreign body ingestion and aspiration of patients in male than female, longer working career, and general practitioners than specialists (P < .05). 50.3% of the respondents received related education. When they receive related education, they had low degree of concern, high confidence in coping with situations, and low willingness to receive education in the future (P < .05). Conclusion The percentage of foreign body dropping was 16% higher in prosthetic treatment than general treatment. The percentage of dentists with experience of foreign body ingestion and aspiration of patients was 53.5%. Among them, 92.9% experienced foreign body ingestion of patients and 7.1% of them experienced foreign body aspiration of patients.

Lymphomatoid papulosis (LyP) is a relatively uncommon CD30＋ lymphoproliferative disorder with a good prognosis. However, it is important to be cautious because 4%∼25% of the cases are accompanied by secondary lymphoma. LyP is divided into subtypes of infiltrate-descriptive categories based on the histological findings. Classically, LyP shows a patchy, wedge-shaped, dermal infiltrate of small to intermediate-sized lymphocytes, with atypical lymphoid cells and a variable mixture of neutrophils, histiocytes, and eosinophils. Follicular LyP (type F LyP), which was recently described and is not yet included as an official subtype in the World Health Organization classification, shares these characteristics, although its infiltrate is folliculocentric. Variable folliculotropism, follicular dilation, rupture, and mucinosis can occur. This entity is commonly misdiagnosed and is possibly underreported because its histopathologic features can masquerade as more common follicular-based entities. Herein, we report the case of follicular type LyP, which has not been reported in in Korean dermatology literature.