No abstract available.
Electrocardiography, Ambulatory*

OBJECTIVE: Anorexia nervosa carries the highest mortality of any psychiatric disorder with largely attributed to a cardiovascular etiology. The aim of this study was to evaluate QT alteration and the factors to influence the QT alteration. METHODS: We evaluated a hospital cohort of patients with anorexia nervosa (n=78) and age-matched healthy women (n=89). The QT, QT dispersion and U wave were measured from electrocardiograms in both patients and controls, and QT was corrected for heart rate using Bazett's formula. We also gathered the data for serum electrolytes, cholesterol, uric acid, creatinine, thyroid hormone, and bone mineral density. RESULTS: QT dispersion was significantly greater in patients with anorexia nervosa whereas corrected QT interval did not differ between groups. U wave tended to appear more frequently in patients with anorexia nervosa. QT dispersion was influenced by lowest ever body mass index and serum thyroid hormone. CONCLUSION: QT dispersion and U wave look to be more reliable index than heart rate-corrected QT, which may reflect arrhythmia potential in patients with anorexia nervosa. Lowest ever body mass index and current metabolic status could be predictive factors to cardiac arrhythmia in anorexia nervosa. Longitudinal follow-up study to evaluate risk as well as protective factors to cardiac mortality is warranted.
Anorexia Nervosa* ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Body Mass Index ; Bone Density ; Cholesterol ; Cohort Studies ; Creatinine ; Electrocardiography ; Electrolytes ; Female ; Heart ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Mortality ; Thyroid Gland ; Uric Acid

BACKGROUND: Glycemic profile has traditionally been with the use of HbAlc over a 2 to 4 month period. Recently, serum fructosamine is highly sensitive to acute metabolic deterioration(period 2 to 3 weeks), and is suitable for automation, allowing multiple assays with minimal effort. In some report, despite evidence suggesting a reduction in serum albumin level with increasing age, serum fructosamine was strongly correlated with HbAlc in elderly diabetic patients. This study was conducted to define the correlation between fructosamine and other parameters in elderly diabetic patients. METHODS: The study group consisted of 56 elderly patients(age range : 66-85 years, group A) and 58 adult patients(age range: 18-64 years, group B), who were stable over recent 2 months in fasting glucose values and serum albumin levels. Fructosamine was measured in 114 diabetic patients. The measured levels were related to HbAlc and fructosamine/albumin index(FAI). RESULTS: 1) There was significant correlation between HbAlc and fructosamine in all diabetic patients(r=0.705, p=0.0001). The correlation between HbAlc and fructosamine was stronger in group A than in group B [group A: r=0.831, group B: r=0.367, p=0.0001](p<0.05). 2) The correlation between HbAlc and FAI was significantly stronger compared to that between HbAlc and fructosamine in elderly diabetic patients(p<0.05). 3) Glycation ratio provides a vector-like insight into the recent trend of glycemia, and Glycation ratio was stable in all diabetic patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that correlation between HbAlc and fructosamine in elderly daibetic patients was significantly lower in adult diabetic patients. Further studies are needed to determine the ultimate values of this test in the clinical management of elderly patient with diabetes.
Adult ; Aged* ; Automation ; Fasting ; Fructosamine* ; Glucose ; Humans ; Serum Albumin

Phenylpropanolamine is a sympathomimetic amine used widely as a decongestant or appetite suppressant. Reports of the myocardial injury from the use of phenylpropanolamine are rare and the mechanism of the myocardial injury is not known clearly. We experienced a case of myocardial injury after ingestion of phenyl-propanolamine. A 46-year-old woman was admitted because of chest pain and dyspnea after ingestion of 5 tablets of anorectic pill containing phenylpropanolamine 75 mg per tablet. The serum creatine kinase MB isoenzyme levels were elevated and electrocardiographic abnormalities suggesting myocardial infarction were seen in the precordial lead. In echocardiograpy, left ventricular anteroseptal wall motion was nearly akinetic but coronary angiography showed normal coronary arteries except sluggish blood flow in left anterior descending artery.
Appetite ; Arteries ; Chest Pain ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Vessels ; Creatine Kinase ; Dyspnea ; Eating* ; Electrocardiography ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Infarction ; Phenylpropanolamine* ; Tablets

OBJECTIVES: QT interval prolongation and dispersion known as indicators of an increased risk for ventricular arrhythmias and sudden death have been reported to be prolonged in patients with anorexia nervosa. The aims of this study were to compare conduction abnormalities in Korean patients with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, and to examine its relation with clinical and laboratory factors. METHODS: We retrospectively examined 45 women with anorexia nervosa and 75 women with bulimia nervosa who were assessed by 12-lead electrocardiogram at baseline. QT interval and corrected QT interval, QT dispersion of the difference between the longest and shortest QT intervals, and abnormal U wave were measured for conduction abnormalities. RESULTS: QT interval was significantly longer in patients with anorexia nervosa compared with those with bulimia nervosa. There were no differences in QTc (Corrected QT), QTd (QT dispersion) and abnormal U wave between patients with anorexia nervosa and those with bulimia nervosa. QTd was significantly correlated with the lowest ever lifetime body mass index (kg/m2) as well as the serum amylase level in patients with anorexia nervosa. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest some conduction abnormalities reported in patients with anorexia nervosa are also found in patients with bulimia nervosa. It appears that severity of weight loss and purging behavior could affect the cardiac arrhythmia in patients with eating disorders. Appropriate attention should be paid to cardiac involvement in patients with eating disorders.
Amylases ; Anorexia ; Anorexia Nervosa ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Body Mass Index ; Bulimia Nervosa ; Death, Sudden ; Eating ; Feeding and Eating Disorders ; Electrocardiography ; Female ; Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Weight Loss

Purpose: Fluid therapy for diarrhea-induced dehydration inadvertently increases emergency department length of stay (EDLOS). To prevent this delay, we investigated the usefulness of triage using point-of-care (POC) lactate in infants with diarrhea. Methods: This study was performed on infants with diarrhea who visited the emergency department from January 2019 through December 2020. According to the POC lactate concentration and the Korean Triage and Acuity Scale (KTAS) level, the infants were separately divided into the low (< 2 mmol/L), moderate (2-3.9), and high (≥ 4) lactate groups and the mild (KTAS 4-5) and severe (1-3) groups, respectively. Using these 2 group designations, we compared variables regarding the emergency medicine resource use and outcomes. To predict the prolonged EDLOS (≥ median value) we performed logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic analyses. Results: A total of 540 infants were included. The median of EDLOS was 169 minutes (interquartile range, 103-220). Fluid therapy was more frequently performed in the high lactate group than in the low-moderate lactate groups (85.0% vs. 60.4%-73.6%; P = 0.025). The high lactate and severe groups respectively showed higher rates of hospitalization (40.0% vs. 3.8%-7.6% [P < 0.001] and 10.9% vs. 1.4% [P = 0.015]), and longer median EDLOS (259 minutes vs. 147-178 [P < 0.001] and 185 vs. 131 [P = 0.001]) compared to the low-moderate lactate and mild groups. Compared to the KTAS, lactate is more strongly associated with the prolonged EDLOS (lactate, adjusted odds ratio, 4.80 [95% confidence interval, 1.87-15.34] vs. KTAS, 3.52 [1.90-6.54]). The areas under curve for lactate and for the KTAS were 0.66 (0.60-0.73) and 0.62 (0.55-0.69), respectively (P = 0.058). Conclusion In infants with diarrhea, POC lactate can be a predictor of emergency medicine resource use and outcomes.

Superior vena cava syndrome (SVCS) is usually caused by extrinsic compression or invasion of the superior vena cava (SVC) by malignant tumors involving mediastinal structures. Although thymomas are well-known causes of SVCS, cases of SVCS caused by malignant thymomas protruding into adjacent vessels draining the SVC with thrombosis have been very rarely reported worldwide. We experienced a 39-year-old female patient with SVCS that developed after the direct invasion of the left brachiocephalic vein (LBCV) and SVC by an anterior mediastinal mass with a high maximum standardized uptake value on the chest computed tomography (CT) and positron emission tomography-CT. Based on these results, she underwent en bloc resection of the tumor, including removal of the involved vessels, and was eventually diagnosed as having a type B2 thymoma permeating into the LBCV and SVC. We present this case as a very rare form of SVCS caused by an invasive thymoma.
Adult ; Brachiocephalic Veins ; Electrons ; Female ; Humans ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Superior Vena Cava Syndrome* ; Thorax ; Thrombosis ; Thymoma* ; Vena Cava, Superior*

Gastroduodenal Crohn's Disease (CD), which is uncommon in adults, involves the gastric antrum and proximal duodenum in most cases, and results in epigastric pain, weight loss, and gastric outlet obstruction, raising initial suspicion that it may be peptic ulcer disease or a malignancy. On upper endoscopy, aphthous ulcers are typical in the early stages but linear or stellate ulcers with a cobblestone appearance and luminal narrowing can be found in advanced diseases. Multiple mucosal biopsies are helpful for diagnosis despite the fact that granulomas are seen in less than one third of all cases. Gastroduodenal CD requires oral sulfasalazine therapy or systemic corticosteroid therapy in advanced cases. A case of gastroduodenal CD in a 37-year-old man admitted with epigastric pain, anorexia, vomiting and weight loss is herein reported. Malignancy was suspected as a result of the patient's clinical manifestations and endoscopic findings. An endoscopic biopsy revealed an active inflammation in the mucosa and lamina propria. The patient's condition improved with oral sulfasalazine and prednisolone therapy.
Adult ; Anorexia ; Biopsy ; Crohn Disease* ; Diagnosis ; Duodenum ; Endoscopy ; Gastric Outlet Obstruction ; Granuloma ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Mucous Membrane ; Peptic Ulcer ; Phenobarbital ; Prednisolone ; Pyloric Antrum ; Stomatitis, Aphthous ; Sulfasalazine ; Ulcer ; Vomiting ; Weight Loss

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The correlations between plaque characteristics and plaque rupture location according to segmental lesion analysis have not been well defined. The aim of this study was to assess those characteristics of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) culprit lesions according to segmental lesion geometry using virtual histology intravascular ultrasound (VH-IVUS). METHODS: Sixty single discrete lesions found in the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary arteries of 60 patients with STEMI were included. Each lesion was divided into 3 segments based on lumen area (LA) index, calculated by dividing the lesion LA by the reference LA. RESULTS: Among the 3 segments, the mid-segment showed the highest proportion of necrotic core (NC; proximal, mid-, and distal segments: 20.9±11.8%, 22.7±11.3%, and 17.5±11.2%, respectively, p=0.044). VH-IVUS-derived thin-cap fibroatheroma (VH-TCFA) was also more frequently found in the mid-segment than in proximal and distal segments (36.7%, 58.3%, and 16.7%, p < 0.001). The mid-segment also showed the highest prevalence of plaque rupture (45.0%, 78.3% and 11.7%, p < 0.001) and thrombus (61.7%, 95.0%, and 41.7%, p < 0.001) compared to proximal or distal segments. When the lesions were divided into 2 groups according to the median value (4.0 mm2) of minimum lumen area (MLA), plaque rupture at the distal segment was observed only in high MLA lesions (23.3% vs. 0.0%, p=0.011). CONCLUSION: Analysis of longitudinal lesion geometry using the LA index can be useful in evaluating plaque vulnerability and the incidence of plaque rupture and thrombus in STEMI patients.
Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Vessels ; Diagnostic Imaging ; Humans ; Incidence ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Plaque, Atherosclerotic ; Prevalence ; Rupture ; Thrombosis ; Ultrasonography

BACKGROUND: Although stress-induced cardiomyopathy (SCMP) is reported to be more common in women, little is known about gender differences in patients with SCMP. The aim of the study was to describe clinical features of patients with SCMP according to gender. METHODS: One hundred and three patients diagnosed with definite SCMP at a single tertiary institute from January 1997 to August 2014 were enrolled. SCMP was more common in women than in men. RESULTS: Age at presentation was not significantly different between the two groups (p = 0.758). Preceding physical stress, especially acute medical illness, was more common in male patients (p = 0.014), whereas emotional stress was more common in female patients (p = 0.016). Severity of medical illness classified by the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score at the time of SCMP diagnosis was not significantly different between men and women (p = 0.752). Clinical characteristics, including symptoms, laboratory and electrocardiographic findings, were similar. However, pump failure was more severe in men (p = 0.024). Clinical outcomes were not statistically different (p = 0.220). Preceding physical stress and lower left ventricular systolic function after 2 months were independent risk factors for all-cause mortality for both genders. Women with an APACHE II score ≥ 15 and men with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction after 2 months had a greater risk of poor prognosis. CONCLUSION: SCMP was more common in female patients. Female patients more commonly experienced preceding emotional stress, whereas physical stress was more common in male patients. Systolic dysfunction was more severe in men. Long-term clinical outcomes appeared to be similar between men and women.
APACHE ; Cardiomyopathies* ; Diagnosis ; Electrocardiography ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Mortality ; Prognosis ; Risk Factors ; Stress, Psychological ; Stroke Volume