BACKGROUND/AIMS: P2/MS is known as a simple, accurate, and noninvasive marker for determination of the degree of hepatic fibrosis in patients with viral hepatitis. We aimed to validate P2/MS in patients with HCC. METHODS: Consecutive HCC patients who underwent surgical resection between June 2007 and March 2009 at Seoul National University Hospital were enrolled. Fibrosis stage was reviewed and assessed according to METAVIR scoring. P2/MS values [platelet count (109/L)]2/[monocyte fraction (%)xsegmented neutrophil fraction (%)] and other noninvasive fibrosis scoring systems were calculated. RESULTS: A total of 171 patients were included; seven patients with METAVIR F1, 31 with F2, 41 with F3, and 92 with F4. The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve of P2/MS was 0.804 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.681~0.927] for detection of significant fibrosis (F2-F4) and 0.769 (95% CI, 0.698~0.839) for detection of histological cirrhosis (F4). At a value < 62, P2/MS detected significant fibrosis with a specificity of 85.7% (95% CI, 42.0~99.2) and a positive likelihood ratio of 4.268 (95% CI, 0.692~26.309); and at a value > 115, P2/MS ruled out significant fibrosis with a sensitivity of 90.2% (95% CI, 84.4~94.1) and a negative likelihood ratio of 0.34 (95% CI, 0.106~0.095). P2/MS had a superior efficacy for detection of hepatic fibrosis in patients with HCC compared to the other noninvasive panels. CONCLUSIONS: P2/MS can accurately detect fibrosis in patients with HCC. Thus, P2/MS might be utilized as a noninvasive index reflecting the degree of hepatic fibrosis in HCC patients.
Aged ; Area Under Curve ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/complications/*diagnosis/pathology ; Cohort Studies ; Female ; Health Status Indicators ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis/complications/*diagnosis/pathology ; Liver Neoplasms/complications/*diagnosis/pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Monocytes/cytology ; Neoplasm Staging ; Neutrophils/cytology ; Platelet Count ; ROC Curve ; Reproducibility of Results ; Retrospective Studies ; Severity of Illness Index

Background: s/Aims: Rebleeding of gastric varices (GVs) after endoscopic variceal obturation (EVO) can be fatal. This study was performed to evaluate the usefulness of computed tomography (CT) for the prediction of rebleeding after EVO GV bleeding. Methods: Patients who were treated with EVO for GV bleeding and underwent CT before and after EVO were included. CT images of the portal phase showing pretreatment GVs and feeding vessels, and nonenhanced images showing posttreatment cyanoacrylate impaction were reviewed. Results: Fifty-three patients were included. Their mean age was 60.6±11.6 years, and 40 patients (75.5%) were men. Alcoholic liver disease was the most frequent underlying liver disease (45.3%). Complete impaction of cyanoacrylate in GVs and feeding vessels were achieved in 40 (75.5%) and 24 (45.3%) of patients, respectively. During the follow-up, GV rebleeding occurred in nine patients, and the cumulative incidences of GV rebleeding at 3, 6, and 12 months were 11.8%, 18.9%, and 18.9%, respectively. The GV rebleeding rate did not differ significantly according to the complete cyanoacrylate impaction in the GV, while it differed significantly according to complete cyanoacrylate impaction in the feeding vessels. The cumulative incidences of GV rebleeding at 3, 6, and 12 months were 22.3%, 35.2%, and 35.2%, respectively, in patients with incomplete impaction in feeding vessels, and there was no rebleeding during the follow-up period in patients with complete impaction in the feeding vessels (p=0.002). Conclusions Abdominal CT is useful in the evaluation of the treatment response after EVO for GV bleeding. Incomplete cyanoacrylate impaction in feeding vessels is a risk factor for GV rebleeding.

BACKGROUND: Unlike 99mTc-Sestamibi, microbubbles used during myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) exist only in the vascular space. Therefore, there may be a difference in the pattern of myocardial perfusion between MCE and 99mTc-Sestamibi Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to assess myocardial perfusion using MCE with intravenous infusion of perfluorocarbon-exposed sonicated dextrose albumin microbubbles (IV MCE), and to compare it with SPECT and MCE with intracoronary injection of sonicated Hexabrix (IC MCE). METHODS: Seventeen patients with AMI (male 13, age 59.5+/-8.8 years, anterior MI 10) underwent IV MCE at 8.1+/-3.7 days after onset. SPECT and IC MCE were also performed at 1.2+/-1.0 days and 2.0+/-1.5 days from IV MCE respectively. Any revascularization procedures were not performed between three studies. Perfusion defect by three methods was scored semiquantitatively as 1 : normal perfusion, 0.5 : moderate defect, and 0 : severe defect at 16 segments of the left ventricle. RESULTS: 1) Perfusion defect in infarction territory was detected in 15 patients with SPECT, 12 patients with IV MCE and 11 patients with IC MCE. 2) Concordance of perfusion score at each segment was 93% between IV MCE and IC MCE, 65% between IV MCE and SPECT, and 64% between IC MCE and SPECT. 3) With IV MCE, perfusion defect was observed in all 32 segments which were considered as having defect (score 0 and 0.5) by IC MCE. However, defect by IV MCE was found only in 31 out of 108 segments considered as having defect by SPECT. CONCLUSION: In the assessment of myocardial perfusion in pts with AMI, IV MCE and IC MCE showed similar results. However, there was some discrepancy in the extent of perfusion defect between MCE studies and SPECT.
Echocardiography ; Glucose ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Infarction ; Infusions, Intravenous ; Ioxaglic Acid ; Microbubbles ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Perfusion* ; Technetium Tc 99m Sestamibi ; Tomography, Emission-Computed ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon

BACKGROUND/AIMS: A recent study reported that entecavir had inferior efficacy in nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA)-experienced chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients compared to NA-naïve patients. We sought to compare the efficacy of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) in NA-experienced and NA-naïve CHB patients. METHODS: We retrospectively enrolled 252 consecutive patients who had a serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA level greater than 2,000 IU/mL at the initiation of TDF treatment and who received TDF for at least 6 months. Complete virologic suppression (CVS) was defined as undetectable serum HBV DNA. We generated a multivariate Cox proportional-hazard model to examine predictive factors that were independently associated with time to CVS. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 48.2 years, and the cohort included 181 NA-naïve patients and 71 NA-experienced patients. The median duration of TDF treatment was 14.4 (interquartile range, 9.5-17.8) months. A total of 167 (92.3%) of 181 NA-naïve patients achieved CVS, and 60 (84.5%) of 71 NA-exposed patients achieved CVS. Forty-nine (89.1%) of 55 patients who previously took an NA aside from adefovir and 11 (68.8%) of 16 adefovir-experienced patients achieved CVS. In multivariable analysis, previous adefovir exposure significantly influenced time to CVS (hazard ratio, 0.37; 95% confidence interval, 0.19-0.72; P=0.003), after adjusting for HBeAg positivity, baseline HBV DNA level and cirrhosis. CONCLUSIONS: Tenofovir had inferior efficacy in adefovir-experienced CHB patients compared to NA-naïve patients. The response of patients with previous adefovir exposure to TDF monotherapy should be monitored closely.
Cohort Studies ; DNA ; Fibrosis ; Hepatitis B ; Hepatitis B e Antigens ; Hepatitis B virus ; Hepatitis B, Chronic* ; Hepatitis, Chronic* ; Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Tenofovir*

BACKGROUND/AIMS: P2/MS is a noninvasive marker for detecting hepatic fibrosis in patients with viral hepatitis. However, the applicability of P2/MS in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has not yet been validated. This study aimed to validate P2/MS and compare it to other noninvasive fibrosis scoring systems in Korean patients with NAFLD. METHODS: Consecutive patients who underwent liver biopsy between January 2002 and December 2009 at Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea were enrolled in this study. Fibrosis stage was determined using the METAVIR scoring system. RESULTS: A total of 235 patients were included in the study: advanced fibrosis (METAVIR F3-F4) was present in 7 patients. No patient was over-staged among 162 patients with a P2/MS score above the high cut-off (95), resulting in a high negative predictive value (NPV) of 100% (95% confidence interval, 97.1-100). There was no significant difference between the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of the FIB-4 (0.964) and the AUROC of the NAFLD fibrosis score (0.964) or P2/MS (0.940) for detecting advanced fibrosis. If P2/MS was implemented in the Korean patients with NAFLD, 68.9% of liver biopsies might be avoided. CONCLUSIONS: P2/MS has a high NPV for excluding advanced fibrosis in Korean patients with NAFLD, and can reduce the burden of liver biopsy in the majority of cases. Since there were few patients with advanced fibrosis, further studies are warranted in a cohort including more patients with advanced fibrosis to validate the low cut-off value.
Adult ; Aged ; Alanine Transaminase/blood ; Area Under Curve ; Aspartate Aminotransferases/blood ; *Blood Cell Count ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Fatty Liver/complications/diagnosis/pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis/complications/*diagnosis/pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Monocytes/cytology ; Neutrophils/cytology ; Platelet Count ; Predictive Value of Tests ; ROC Curve ; Republic of Korea ; Severity of Illness Index

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Early resolution of ST-segment elevation improves the short and long-term mortalities in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, the correlations between the ST segment resolution and microvascular integrity, or functional recovery of the left ventricle, were not explored. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study population consisted of 42 AMI patients who received thrombolytic therapy (35 male, 54+/-11 years) and consecutive successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) (<30% of residual stenosis, recovered TIMI 3 flow) within 7 days. The coronary flow reserve (CFR) was measured at the segment just distal to the angioplasty site using intracoronary Doppler wire following a successful PCI. Electrocardiograms (ECG) were evaluated before, and within 90-150 minutes after, of the thrombolytic therapy. The percentage change in the ST segment resolution, from the baseline to follow-up, was categorized into complete resolution (70%, n=24), partial resolution (30% to <70%, n=10) and no resolution (0% to <30%, n=8). The ejection fraction (EF) and regional wall motion score indices (RWMSI) were assessed by 2D-echocardiography before, and following the PCI (9+/-5 months). RESULTS: Complete ST segment resolution was observed in 57%, partial resolution in 24%, and no resolution in 19% of patients. The CFR was significantly higher in the complete resolution group than in the no resolution group, and the minimal coronary vascular resistance index was significantly lower in the complete resolution group than in the no resolution group (2.1+/-0.5 vs. 1.4+/-0.4, p=0.006; 2.31+/-0.99mmHg sec cm-1 vs. 3.84+/-2.19mmHg sec cm-1, p=0.035, respectively). The changes in the EF and RWMSI were significantly better in complete resolution group than in the no resolution group (10+/-9% vs. 0+/-5%, p=0.028; -1.03+/-0.50 vs. 0.24+/-0.66, p=0.004, respectively), and the left ventricular end diastolic and systolic volume indices were significantly increased in the no resolution group at follow-up (42.0+/-14.8 mL/m2 vs. 55.8+/-18.1 mL/m2, p=0.006; 23.2+/-10.9 mL/m2 vs. 30.5+/-15.9 mL/m2, p=0.039, respectively). CONCLUSION: In the AMI patients, with a recovered TIMI 3 flow, following thrombolysis and successful elective PCI, there were differences in the coronary flow reserve according to the degree of early resolution of the ST segment. The patients with an early complete resolution of the ST segment showed the most favorable preservation of the microvascular integrities and improvement of the left ventricular function. The degree of early resolution of the ST segment might be a useful indicator for the prediction of left ventricular functional changes at follow-up.
Angioplasty ; Blood Flow Velocity ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Electrocardiography ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Male ; Mortality ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Thrombolytic Therapy ; Vascular Resistance ; Ventricular Function* ; Ventricular Function, Left

PURPOSE: Advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is associated with various clinical conditions including major vessel invasion, metastasis, and poor performance status. The aim of this study was to establish a prognostic scoring system and to propose a sub-classification of the Barcelona-Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage C. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study included consecutive patients who received sorafenib for BCLC stage C HCC at a single tertiary hospital in Korea. A Cox proportional hazard model was used to develop a scoring system, and internal validationwas performed by a 5-fold cross-validation. The performance of the model in predicting risk was assessed by the area under the curve and the Hosmer-Lemeshow test. RESULTS: A total of 612 BCLC stage C HCC patients were sub- classified into strata depending on their performance status. Five independent prognostic factors (Child-Pugh score, α-fetoprotein, tumor type, extrahepatic metastasis, and portal vein invasion) were identified and used in the prognostic scoring system. This scoring system showed good discrimination (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.734 to 0.818) and calibration functions (both p < 0.05 by the Hosmer-Lemeshow test at 1 month and 12 months, respectively). The differences in survival among the different risk groups classified by the total score were significant (p < 0.001 by the log-rank test in both the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group 0 and 1 strata). CONCLUSION: The heterogeneity of patientswith BCLC stage C HCC requires sub-classification of advanced HCC. A prognostic scoring system with five independent factors is useful in predicting the survival of patients with BCLC stage C HCC.
Calibration ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* ; Cohort Studies* ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Humans ; Korea ; Liver Neoplasms ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Population Characteristics ; Portal Vein ; Prognosis ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Retrospective Studies ; ROC Curve ; Tertiary Care Centers

Background: Prognosis of patients with diverse chronic diseases is reportedly associated with 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels. In this study, we investigated the potential role of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25[OH]D3) levels in improving the predictive power of conventional prognostic models for patients with liver cirrhosis. Methods: We investigated clinical findings, including serum 25(OH)D3 levels at admission, of 155 patients with cirrhosis who were followed up for a median of 16.9 months. Results: Median 25(OH)D3 levels were significantly different among patients exhibiting Child-Pugh grades A, B, and C. Mortality, including urgent transplantation, was significantly associated with 25(OH)D3 levels in univariate analysis. Severe vitamin-D deficiency (serum 25[OH]D3 level < 5.0 ng/mL) was significantly related to increased mortality, even after adjusting for Child-Pugh and Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) scores. In particular, the presence of severe vitamin D deficiency clearly defined a subgroup with significantly poorer survival among patients with Child-Pugh scores of 5–10 or MELD scores ≤ 20. A new combination model of MELD score and severe vitamin D deficiency showed significantly more accurate predictive power for short- and long-term mortality than MELD scores alone. Additionally, serum 25(OH)D3 levels and new model scores were significantly associated with the development of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, overt encephalopathy, and acute kidney injury. Conclusion Serum 25(OH)D3 level is an independent prognostic factor for patients with liver cirrhosis and has a differential impact on disease outcomes according to MELD and Child-Pugh scores.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: It is necessary to establish the most efficient diagnostic and therapeutic method for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), which is appropriate for Korean healthcare system. We aimed to evaluate current state of Korean clinician's diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for BPPV. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 16-item survey was emailed to the members of dizziness department of Otology Research Interest Group in the Korean Otologic Society (n=68). 43 were returned and analyzed. RESULTS: All respondents (100%) used Dix-Hallpike test as a diagnostic tool for vertical canal-BPPV. Supine roll test was used for diagnosing lateral canal BPPV in nearly all the respondents (97.7%). Epley maneuver was chosen as otolith repositioning maneuver (ORM) for posterior canal BPPV in all respondents and barbecue rotation (BBQ) was used for treating lateral canal BPPV with geotropic nystagmus in 95.3% of respondents. Extreme variation was noted for therapeutic approach of lateral canal BPPV with ageotropic nystagmus BBQ, with 4 kinds of ORM and adjunctive measures to liberate otolith from cupula, while BBQ was again the most commonly used ORM (76.7%). CONCLUSION: The development of practical and efficient ORM for lateral canal BPPV with ageotropic nystagmus is necessary.
Surveys and Questionnaires ; Delivery of Health Care ; Dizziness ; Electronic Mail ; Korea ; Otolaryngology ; Otolithic Membrane ; Public Opinion ; Vertigo