BACKGROUND: Several kinds of stents have shown their safety and efficacy to treat acute or subacute closure after balloon angioplasty as well as to reduce restenosis rate. However, one of the limitations of stents is difficult to deploy especially in tortuos vessels, lesions at a bend, and distal to previously deployed stents. The Micro stent II, which was one of the most recently developed stents, ia a rapid-exchage balloon expandable stainless steel stent with a zigzag design connected with a continuous single weld in each 3mm segments. It scores over excellent trackability and optimum radio-opacity. Therefore, it is easy to operate and feasible in tortuous, distal lesions and variety of lesion lengths. We report our experiences with Micro-II stent implanatation in the first 76 patients at Tonsei cardiovascular center to assess its safety and efficacy in patients with complex coronary anatomy and clinical results in the first months. METHODS: Between January 1996 and July 1996, eighty-six Micro-II stent were implanted in the coronary arteries of 76 patients(male 65.8%, age 59+/-10 year). Forty-five patients had unstable angina, the others had stable angina(17pts), acute myocardial infarction(14pts). RESULTS: 1) Indication of stenting was de novo 51(59.3%), suboptimal result 25(29.1%), restenosis 1(1.2%) and 9(10.4%) of lesions were stented in bail out situation. 2) Single stent were implanted in 76(88.4%)lesions, overlapping stent in 10(11.6%)lesions. Among overlapping stents, the second stent with Micro-II stent and with another kind of stent were 4.6%, 7.0%, respectively. 3) Procedure related complication including a subacute closure was occurred in 1(1.2%) patient who had distal dissection and 45% residual stenosis. In 12(14%) lesions, preistent dissection has been noticed after stent impantation. 4) Angiographic success(defined as a residual stenosis of <30% without major dissection) was achieved in 82 of 86 attempts(95.3%). The procedual success rate(defined as a residual stenosis of <30% without occurrence of major clinical events within 4 weeks after procesure) was 96.1%(73/76 patients). Angiographic success and procedural success rate in calcified lesion were 100% and 100%, respectively. Angiographic success and procedural success rate in more than 45` angulated lesion were 97% and 100%, respectively. 5) The mean minimal luminal diameter of the target lesions was increased from 0.42+/-0.40mm before stent implantation to 2.93+/-0.50mm(p<0.001). The percentage of diameter stenosis was reduced from 86.49+/-13.04% to 1.40+/-7.11%(p<0.001) after stent implantation. CONCLUSION: Coronary stenting with AVE Micro-II stent can be safety performed and is particularly beneficial in tortuous and calcified arteries. There was a high tendency for peristent dissection which need to special consideration to avoid. Follow-up data is needed to assess mid and term patency. Coronary artery disease . AVE Micro-II stent . Immediate results.
Angina, Unstable ; Angioplasty, Balloon ; Arteries ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Vessels ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Phenobarbital ; Stainless Steel ; Stents*

We have experienced two cases of coronary revascularization without extracorporeal circulation in a 63 year old female patient and a 75 year old male patient. The first patient had the lesion which was the nearly total occulusion of mid-LAD, about 90% luminal narrowing of second diagonal branch and less than 50% stenosis of proximal RCA. The other male patient had a single vessel disease involving about 95% stenosis of proximal LAD and 1st diagonal branch. PTCA failed in the first patient because of relatively long sinus pause during procedure. In both of the patients, the coronary revascularizations were done at distal LAD and diagonal branch using left internal mammary artery and saphenous vein graft under the beating state, respectively. The postoperative courses were uneventful and the patients were discharged without any complications.
Aged ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Extracorporeal Circulation* ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Mammary Arteries ; Middle Aged ; Phenobarbital ; Saphenous Vein ; Surgical Procedures, Minimally Invasive ; Transplants

BACKGROUND: Implantation of xenogenic chromaffin cells into the spinal subarachnoid space can produce analgesia in neuropathic pain models. However, transplantation of xenogeneic chromaffin cell has a potential risk of viral or bacterial infections from animals to humans including encephalopathy due to prion transmission. The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of developing a homogeneic source of therapeutic chromaffin cells. METHODS: Anti-allodynic effects of human chromaffin cells (HCCs) were evaluated in a neuropathic pain model in rats induced by chronic constriction injury of the sciatic nerve. HCCs encapsulated with alginate-poly-L-lysine-alginate were intrathecally implanted into rats (n = 10), while empty capsules were intrathecally implanted as a control (n = 8). Levels of norepinephrine from encapsulated HCCs before and after nicotinic stimulation were measured. We then perfomed a behavior test (cold allodynia) with acetone. In addition, to assess the potential contribution to pain reduction of opioid peptides released from the HCCs, all animals were injected with naloxone. RESULTS: The concentration of norepinephrine after nicotine stimulation was significantly increased compared to basal levels. Intrathecal implantation of encapsulated HCCs, significantly reduced cold allodynia as compared to rats receiving empty capsules (P < 0.05). Fifteen minutes after the injection of naloxone, cold allodynia significantly decreased in rats with HCCs (P < 0.05), while the degree of cold allodynia in control animals was unaltered. CONCLUSIONS: From these results, it appears that HCCs have a possibility as an analgesic source for transplants delivering pain-reducing neuroactive substances.
Acetone ; Analgesia ; Analgesics ; Animals ; Bacterial Infections ; Capsules ; Chromaffin Cells ; Cold Temperature ; Constriction ; Humans ; Hyperalgesia ; Naloxone ; Neuralgia ; Nicotine ; Norepinephrine ; Opioid Peptides ; Rats ; Sciatic Nerve ; Subarachnoid Space ; Transplants

BACKGROUND: Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) infections have become a major healthcare-associated pathogen problem worldwide. Nosocomial VRE infections could be effectively controlled by screening patients at high risk of harboring VRE and thereby lowering the influx of VRE into healthcare centers. In this study, we evaluated factors associated with VRE colonization in patients transferred to emergency departments, to detect patients at risk for VRE carriage. METHODS: This study was conducted in the emergency department of a medical college-affiliated hospital in Korea. Every patient transferred to the emergency department and admitted to the hospital from January to December 2016 was screened for VRE using rectal cultures. In this cross-sectional study, the dependent variable was VRE colonization and the independent variables were demographic and clinical factors of the patients and factors related to the transferring hospital. Patients were divided into two groups, VRE and non-VRE, and previously collected patient data were analyzed. Then we performed logistic regression analyses of characteristics that differed significantly between groups. RESULTS: Out of 650 patients, 106 (16.3%) had positive VRE culture results. Significant variables in the logistic analysis were transfer from geriatric long-term care hospital (adjusted odds ration [aOR]: 8.017; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.378–46.651), hospital days (4–7 days; aOR: 7.246; 95% CI: 3.229–16.261), duration of antimicrobial exposure (1–3 days; aOR: 1.976; 95% CI: 1.137–3.436), and age (aOR: 1.025; 95% CI: 1.007–1.043). CONCLUSION: VRE colonization in patients transferred to the emergency department is associated primarily with factors related to the transferred hospitals rather than demographic and clinical characteristics.
Bacterial Infections ; Colon* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Delivery of Health Care ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Enterococcus* ; Humans ; Infection Control ; Korea* ; Logistic Models ; Long-Term Care ; Mass Screening ; Vancomycin Resistance ; Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci

IgA nephropathy is the most common form of glomerulonephritis characterized by deposit of IgA on mesangium. We experienced an elderly patient who was admitted for generalized edema, and diagnosed IgA nephropathy and early gastric cancer concomittantly. It has been reported that the incidence of nephrotic syndrome combined with malignancy increases with aging. Moreover, close relationship between IgA nephropathy and malignancy has been reported especially in the elderly patient. So, active investigations for possible malignancy are required in case of elderly patient with IgA nephropathy. In this case, we found improved proteinuria and hematuria of the patient after tumor resection during following up. This case suggest causal association between early gastric cancer and IgA nephropathy clinically.
Aged* ; Aging ; Delirium ; Depression ; Edema ; Glomerulonephritis ; Glomerulonephritis, IGA* ; Hematuria ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin A* ; Incidence ; Nephrotic Syndrome ; Proteinuria ; Stomach Neoplasms*

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate the history of medical resource consumption and quality of life (QoL) in peripheral arterial disease (PAD) patients in Korea. METHODS: This was a prospective, multi-center (23 tertiary-hospitals, division of cardiology), non-interventional study. Adult patients (age ≥20 years) suffering from PAD for the last 12-month were enrolled in the study if they met with any of following; 1) ankle-brachial index (ABI) ≤0.9, 2) lower-extremity artery stenosis on computed tomography angiography ≥50%, or 3) peak-systolic-velocity-ratio (PSVR) on ultrasound ≥2.0. Medical chart review was used to assess patient characteristics/treatment patterns while the history of medical resource consumption and QoL data were collected using a patient survey. QoL was measured using EuroQoL-5-dimensions-3-level (EQ-5D-3L) score system, and the factors associated with QoL were analyzed using multiple linear regression analysis. RESULTS: This study included 1,260 patients (age: 69.8 years, male: 77.0%). The most prevalent comorbidities were hypertension (74.8%), hyperlipidemia (51.0%) and diabetes-mellitus (50.2%). The 94.1% of the patients took pharmacotherapy including aspirin (76.2%), clopidogrel (53.3%), and cilostazol (33.6%). The 12.6% of the patients were receiving smoking cessation education/pharmacotherapy. A considerable number of patients (500 patients, 40.0%) had visit history to another hospital before diagnosis/treatment at the current hospital, with visits to orthopedic units (50.4%) being the most common. At the time, 29% (or higher) of the patients were already experiencing symptoms of critical limb ischemia. Baseline EQ-5D index and EQ VAS were 0.64±0.24 and 67.49±18.29. Factors significantly associated with QoL were pharmacotherapy (B=0.05053; p=0.044) compared to no pharmacotherapy, and Fontaine stage improvement/maintain stage I (B=0.04448; p < 0.001) compared to deterioration/maintain stage II–IV. CONCLUSIONS Increase in disease awareness for earlier diagnosis and provision of adequate pharmacotherapy is essential to reduce disease burden and improve QoL of Korean PAD patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate the history of medical resource consumption and quality of life (QoL) in peripheral arterial disease (PAD) patients in Korea. METHODS: This was a prospective, multi-center (23 tertiary-hospitals, division of cardiology), non-interventional study. Adult patients (age ≥20 years) suffering from PAD for the last 12-month were enrolled in the study if they met with any of following; 1) ankle-brachial index (ABI) ≤0.9, 2) lower-extremity artery stenosis on computed tomography angiography ≥50%, or 3) peak-systolic-velocity-ratio (PSVR) on ultrasound ≥2.0. Medical chart review was used to assess patient characteristics/treatment patterns while the history of medical resource consumption and QoL data were collected using a patient survey. QoL was measured using EuroQoL-5-dimensions-3-level (EQ-5D-3L) score system, and the factors associated with QoL were analyzed using multiple linear regression analysis. RESULTS: This study included 1,260 patients (age: 69.8 years, male: 77.0%). The most prevalent comorbidities were hypertension (74.8%), hyperlipidemia (51.0%) and diabetes-mellitus (50.2%). The 94.1% of the patients took pharmacotherapy including aspirin (76.2%), clopidogrel (53.3%), and cilostazol (33.6%). The 12.6% of the patients were receiving smoking cessation education/pharmacotherapy. A considerable number of patients (500 patients, 40.0%) had visit history to another hospital before diagnosis/treatment at the current hospital, with visits to orthopedic units (50.4%) being the most common. At the time, 29% (or higher) of the patients were already experiencing symptoms of critical limb ischemia. Baseline EQ-5D index and EQ VAS were 0.64±0.24 and 67.49±18.29. Factors significantly associated with QoL were pharmacotherapy (B=0.05053; p=0.044) compared to no pharmacotherapy, and Fontaine stage improvement/maintain stage I (B=0.04448; p < 0.001) compared to deterioration/maintain stage II–IV. CONCLUSIONS: Increase in disease awareness for earlier diagnosis and provision of adequate pharmacotherapy is essential to reduce disease burden and improve QoL of Korean PAD patients.
Adult ; Angiography ; Ankle Brachial Index ; Arteries ; Aspirin ; Comorbidity ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Extremities ; Humans ; Hyperlipidemias ; Hypertension ; Ischemia ; Korea ; Linear Models ; Male ; Orthopedics ; Peripheral Arterial Disease ; Prospective Studies ; Quality of Life ; Smoking Cessation ; Ultrasonography

BACKGROUND/AIMS: In order to determine the malignant potential of gallbladder adenoma for progression to carcinoma, we evaluated the histopathologic features of adenoma and adenoma-related lesions on cholecystectomized specimens. METHODS: Among 1,847 cholecystectomized specimens, 63 specimens from 26 benign adenomas, 9 carcinomas in situ (CIS), and 28 invasive carcinomas were selected. A pathologist reviewed all specimens and selected benign adenomas, CIS in the adenoma, and adenoma residue in invasive carcinomas. Adenomas and adenoma-related lesions were classified according to morphology (tubular, tubulopapillary, and papillary) and the consisting epithelium (biliary, pyloric metaplasia, and intestinal metaplasia). The age and the size of the benign adenomas and carcinomas in the adenoma were also compared. RESULTS: Adenoma and adenoma-related lesions were found in 34 out (1.8%) of all resected gallbladder. Among 9 CIS and 28 invasive carcinomas, adenoma-related lesions were detected in 7 and 1 case, respectively. All eight carcinomas arising in the adenoma were well-differentiated solitary tumors. The diameters of the carcinomas in the adenoma were, on average, larger than that of the benign adenomas (1.8 cm vs. 0.9 cm, p=0.01). The patients with carcinomas in the adenoma were, on average, older than those with benign adenomas, although the difference was insignificant (57 years vs. 47 years, p=0.09). The morphology and consisting epithelium did not differ between the benign adenomas and carcinomas in the adenoma. The malignant transformation occurred in 23.5% of adenomas. CONCLUSIONS: Gallbladder adenoma is a rare disease, although malignant transformation occurs frequently. Adenoma is a precancerous lesion and the adenoma-carcinoma sequence is one of the gallbladder cancer carcinogenesis.
Adenoma/epidemiology/*pathology/surgery ; Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Carcinoma/epidemiology/pathology/surgery ; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic ; Cholecystectomy ; Cystadenoma/epidemiology/pathology/surgery ; Female ; Gallbladder Neoplasms/epidemiology/*pathology/surgery ; Gallstones/complications ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Invasiveness

Hepatoid adenocarcinoma (HAC) is a rare type of extrahepatic carcinoma whose morphology is similar to that of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Metachronous HCC and HAC in the same patient is extremely rare. The case of a 68-year-old man with chronic hepatitis B infection who had both HCC and HAC of the stomach is reported herein. Nine years previously this patient had been diagnosed with HCC and received a right lobectomy. HCC that recurred at the caudate lobe at 6 months after the operation was successfully treated with transarterial chemoembolization. The patient was followed up regularly thereafter without evidence of tumor recurrence for 9 years. In July 2010 his serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level elevated from 6.5 ng/mL to 625.4 ng/mL, and he developed a probable single metastatic lymph node around the hepatic artery without intrahepatic lesions. Subsequent evaluation with upper endoscopy revealed a 4-cm ulcerative lesion on the antrum of the stomach. Subtotal gastrectomy was performed with lymph-node dissection. Histologic examination revealed a special type of extrahepatic AFP-producing adenocarcinoma-HAC with lymph-node metastasis-which indicates that HAC can be a cause of elevated AFP even in patients with HCC. HAC should be considered if a patient with stable HCC exhibits unusual elevation of AFP.
Adenocarcinoma/*diagnosis/drug therapy/secondary ; Aged ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use ; Camptothecin/analogs & derivatives/therapeutic use ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/*diagnosis/drug therapy/pathology ; Chemoembolization, Therapeutic ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Fluorouracil/therapeutic use ; Gastroscopy ; Humans ; Leucovorin/therapeutic use ; Liver Neoplasms/*diagnosis/drug therapy/pathology ; Lymph Nodes/surgery ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Recurrence ; Silicates/therapeutic use ; Stomach Neoplasms/*diagnosis/drug therapy/secondary ; Titanium/therapeutic use ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; alpha-Fetoproteins/*analysis

Liver cancer is the 2nd most common cause of cancer related death in Korea. Especially, patients who present extrahepatic spread of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have a shorter life expectancy (50% survival at 1 year and less than 4 months of median overall survival). Molecular target agent like sorafenib was usually mentioned as a treatment for them, but that was still not firmly established. We present a 75 year-old who had expanding nodular type of HCC. The mass was removed by resection and radiofrequency ablation. However, lung metastasis were revealed shortly after surgery. That lesions were treated with lenvatinib and systemic chemotherapy.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* ; Catheter Ablation ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Korea ; Life Expectancy ; Liver Neoplasms ; Lung* ; Molecular Targeted Therapy ; Neoplasm Metastasis*