The development of total biliary casts is very unusual, and especially in patients who have not undergone liver transplantation. There are only a few reports of total biliary casts in non-liver transplantation patients who have antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, cholecystectomy or allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Here we present the case of a previously well 77-year-old man who developed a total biliary casts without any risk factors and there was no obvious liver insult. The casts were managed endoscopically.
Aged ; Antiphospholipid Syndrome ; B-Lymphocytes ; Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde ; Cholecystectomy ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Liver ; Liver Transplantation ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin ; Risk Factors ; Superior Mesenteric Artery Syndrome ; Transplants

Carbol fuchsin is a mixture of phenol and basics fuchsin, used in bacterial staining procedures. It is a component of Ziehl-Neelsen stain. Phenol in Carbol fuchsin is a toxic agent which can lead to various gastrointestinal, ocular, skin, neurologic and renal side effects. We hereby report a case of Carbol fuchsin poisoned patient. Acute renal failure with metabolic acidosis was rapidly progressed. However, she was treated successfully by continuous veno-venous hemodiafiltration.
Acidosis ; Acute Kidney Injury ; Dialysis ; Hemodiafiltration ; Hemoperfusion ; Humans ; Phenol ; Rosaniline Dyes ; Skin

Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis (TPP) occurs in 2% of the asian patients with hyperthyroidism and is characterized by bilateral flaccid paralysis of the extremity, especially lower limbs. It is well-known that hypokalemia is usually accompanied by TPP. However, hypophosphatemia is usually mild and well neglected. Although paralysis is generally recovered without treatment, in some cases, patients with TPP may die due to cardiopulmonary complications, such as cardiac arrhythmia. Therefore, proper and rapid replacement of potassium is essential. But it should be acknowledged that replacement may cause a rebound. TPP is often unrecognized and over-treated in the emergency room due to its non-specific symptoms. This is why clinicians must be familiar with this disease and its diagnostic clues such as Echocardiography change and clinical features. This is a case report of a 29-year-old male presenting with TPP accompanied by hypokalemia, hypophosphatemia and second degree atrioventricular block, who showed rebound hyperkalemia and hyperphosphatemia after rapid replacement of electrolytes. EKG changed to the normal sinus rhythm in the end after the correction of the electrolytes.
Adult ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Atrioventricular Block ; Echocardiography ; Electrocardiography ; Electrolytes ; Emergencies ; Extremities ; Humans ; Hyperkalemia ; Hyperphosphatemia ; Hyperthyroidism ; Hypokalemia ; Hypophosphatemia ; Lower Extremity ; Male ; Paralysis ; Potassium

We report a rare case of the concurrent manifestation of central diabetes insipidus (CDI) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). A 56 year-old man was diagnosed as a type 2 DM on the basis of hyperglycemia with polyuria and polydipsia at a local clinic two months ago and started an oral hypoglycemic medication, but resulted in no symptomatic improvement at all. Upon admission to the university hospital, the patient's initial fasting blood sugar level was 140 mg/dL, and he showed polydipsic and polyuric conditions more than 8 L urine/day. Despite the hyperglycemia controlled with metformin and diet, his symptoms persisted. Further investigations including water deprivation test confirmed the coexisting CDI of unknown origin, and the patient's symptoms including an intense thirst were markedly improved by desmopressin nasal spray (10 microg/day). The possibility of a common origin of CDI and type 2 DM is raised in a review of the few relevant adult cases in the literature.
Adult ; Blood Glucose ; Deamino Arginine Vasopressin ; Diabetes Insipidus, Neurogenic ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Diet ; Fasting ; Humans ; Hyperglycemia ; Metformin ; Polydipsia ; Polyuria ; Sodium ; Thirst ; Valproic Acid ; Water Deprivation

PURPOSE: Efonidipine, which inhibits both T- and L-type calcium channels, has been shown to be effective in reducing proteinuria and preserve renal function. This study was conducted to compare the effects of efonidipine versus amlodipine on the management of hypertension and proteinuria in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) receiving ACE inhibitors or ARB. METHODS: This study included 41 CKD patients who were at stages 2-4 and had a urine spot protein/ creatinine ratio of >0.5. Patients were administered amlodipine (5 mg/day) and efonidipine (40 mg/ day) for 3 months in a cross-over design. Blood pressure and spot urine protein/creatinine ratio were compared before and after the cross-over treatment. RESULTS: There were 24 male patients and 17 female patients. The mean age of the patients was 55.9+/-12.9 years. When the patients' medication was changed to eponidifine, we obtained the following results. First, there were no significant changes in blood pressure and serum creatinine. Second, the urine spot protein/creatinine ratio was significantly decreased (before the cross-over, 2.9+/-2.6; after the cross-over, 2.3+/-1.9 g/g; p=0.02). Finally, the reduction rate of proteinuria was significantly higher in patients with CKD at stages 2-3 than in those with CKD at stage 4 after the cross-over (stage 2, - 26.1%; stage 3, -17%; stage 4, +12.8%; p=0.03). CONCLUSION: It is concluded that efonidipine may significantly decrease proteinuria compared with amlodipine in CKD patients receiving ACE inhibitors or ARB. Further double-blind clinical trials with a larger sample size are needed to confirm our results.
Amlodipine ; Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors ; Blood Pressure ; Calcium Channels, L-Type ; Creatinine ; Cross-Over Studies ; Dihydropyridines ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Male ; Nitrophenols ; Organophosphorus Compounds ; Proteinuria ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic ; Sample Size

Recognizing the underlying causes of hypokalemic paralysis seems to be essential for the appropriate management of affected patients and their prevention of recurrent attacks. There is, however, a paucity of documented reports on the etiology of hypokalemic paralysis in Korea. We retrospectively analyzed 34 patients with acute flaccid weakness due to hypokalaemia who were admitted during the 5-year study period in order to determine the spectrum of hypokalemic paralysis in Korea and to identify the differences in clinical parameters all across the causes of hypokalemic paralysis. We divided those 34 patients into 3 groups; the 1st group, idiopathic hypokalemic periodic paralysis (HPP), the 2nd, thyrotoxic periodic paralysis (TPP), and the 3rd group, secondary hypokalemic paralysis (HP) without TPP. Seven of the patients (20.6%) were diagnosed as idiopathic HPP considered the sporadic form, and 27 patients (79.4%) as secondary HP. Among the patients diagnosed as secondary HP, 16 patients (47.1%) had TPP. Patients of secondary hypokalemic paralysis without TPP required a longer recovery time compared with those who had either idiopathic HPP or TPP. This is due to the fact that patients of secondary HP had a significantly negative total body potassium balance, whereas idiopathic HPP and TPP were only associated with intracellular shift of potassium. Most of the TPP patients included in our study had overt thyrotoxicosis while 3 patients had subclinical thyrotoxicosis. This study shows that TPP is the most common cause of hypokalemic paralysis in Korea. And we suggest that doctors should consider the presence of TPP in patients of hypokalemic paralysis even if they clinically appear to be euthyroid state.
Humans ; Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis ; Korea ; Paralysis ; Potassium ; Retrospective Studies ; Thyrotoxicosis

We report here on a rare case of membranous nephropathy occurring concurrently with salivary gland cancer. A 67-year-old woman was admitted to our department for nephrotic syndrome. She was diagnosed with membranous nephropathy and this was initially managed with steroids and cyclophosphamide, which started in 2003 and continued for about 10 months, without deriving any therapeutic benefits. During the treatment, the patient was diagnosed with salivary gland cancer when an incidental salivary gland mass was discovered in 2005. The patient's urinary protein level began to decrease following resection of the malignant mass. The clinical findings represent an interesting case of secondary membranous nephropathy that was diagnosed prior to the incidental discovery of malignancy.
Aged ; Cyclophosphamide ; Female ; Glomerulonephritis, Membranous ; Humans ; Incidental Findings ; Nephrotic Syndrome ; Salivary Gland Neoplasms ; Salivary Glands ; Steroids

An endobronchial leiomyoma is extremely rare benign tumor of the lung. Most endobronchial leiomyomas reported in the literature have been resected by either a lobectomy or a pneumonectomy. Herein is report a case whose tumor was successfully removed using a fiberoptic bronchoscope without surgical resection. A 64-year-old female presented with a fever, and a cough with purulent sputum of 10 days duration. The bronchoscopy revealed a 1cm sized, glistening, light yellow colored mass lesion totally obstructing the orifice of the superior segment of the right lower lobe. During the bronchoscopic biopsy procedures, the mass lesion was completely removed. A diagnosis of a leiomyoma was made from a histological examination of the obtained specimen. The early diagnosis and appropriate treatment including bronchoscopic removal may prevent respiratory complications.
Biopsy ; Bronchoscopes* ; Bronchoscopy ; Cough ; Diagnosis ; Early Diagnosis ; Female ; Fever ; Humans ; Leiomyoma* ; Lung ; Middle Aged ; Pneumonectomy ; Pneumonia ; Sputum

BACKGROUND: Although smoking is a major cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), only 10-20% of cigarette smokers develop symptomatic COPD, which suggests the presence of genetic susceptibility. This genetic susceptibility to COPD might depend on variations in the activities of the enzyme that detoxify hazardous chemical products, such as microsomal epoxide hydrolase (mEPHX) and glutathione-S transferase M1 subunit (GSTM1) genes. METHODS: The genotypes of 58 patients with COPD, and 79 age matched control subjects, were determined by a polymerase chain reaction, followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) for the mEPHX, and multiplex PCR for the GSTM1. RESULTS: GSTM1 was deleted in 53.3% of the subjects. There was no difference in GSTM1 deletion rates between the COPD patients (32/58, 55.2%) and the control subjects (41/79, 51.9%). The combination patterns of two polymorphisms of mEPHX showed slow enzyme activity in 29(21.2%), normal in 73(53.3%) and fast in 32(23.4%). The COPD group (7/57, 12.3%) showed a significantly lower incidence of slow enzyme activity compared to the control subjects (22/77, 28.6%, p<0.05). However, when the COPD and control groups were compared with smokers only, there were no significant differences in the genotypes of GSTM1 and mEPHX. CONCLUSION: The genotypes of GSTM1 and mEPHX were not significant risk factors of COPD in this cohort of study.
Cohort Studies ; Epoxide Hydrolases ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Genotype ; Humans ; Incidence ; Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Genetic* ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive* ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Tobacco Products ; Transferases