The eruptive collagenoma is a connective tissue nevus without family history. We report a case of eruptive collagenoma in a 5 year old boy, who had multiple, variable sized orange colored nodules on his back since birth. The histopathologic finding showed increased number and size of collagen fiber and increased dermal thickness.
Child, Preschool ; Citrus sinensis ; Collagen ; Connective Tissue ; Humans ; Male ; Nevus ; Parturition

BACKGROUND: A number of recent reports have described the usefulness of the epidural injection of narcotics for the relief of postoperative pain. Morphine, a u-receptor agonist, produce strong analgesic effect with some side effects. Nalbuphine, is a u-antagonist and k-agonist, has an analgesic effect comparable to morphine with little side effects. METHOD: We divided 60 patients into 3 groups utilizing the five-day Baxter Infusor in 0.125% bupivacaine at 0.5 ml/hr: 1) Group M (n=20) received initial 2 mg of bolus + 2 mg/day of maintenance morphine 2) Group N(n=20); initial 4 mg of bolus + maintenance 8 mg/day nalbuphine 3) Group M+N(n=20); initial 2 mg morphine of bolus + maintenance 8 mg/day nalbuphine. Analgesic effect was evaluated by visual analogue scale(0-10) at 6, 12, 18, 24 and 48 hour postoperatively. Changes in blood pressure, heart rate, and incidence of side effects were observed. RESULTS: No significant hemodynamic changes were seen in any of the groups. The patients of group M and M+N get less pain than group N but side-effects of group M were significantly more than group N, M+N. CONCLUSIONS: Nalbuphine hydrochloride could be better agent than morphine in terms of complication and the dose of group M+N (initial morphine 2mg of bolus + maintenance 8 mg/day nalbuphine) may be recommended for postoperative analgesia.
Analgesia ; Blood Pressure ; Bupivacaine ; Heart Rate ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infusion Pumps ; Injections, Epidural ; Morphine* ; Nalbuphine* ; Narcotics ; Pain, Postoperative*

Mucin-hypersecreting biliary neoplasm excretes excessive mucin that fills the biliary tree and results in marked dilatation of the bile ducts and obstructive jaundice. In these neoplasm, the mucin produced by the tumor rather than the tumor itself plays an important role in clinical course and radiologic patterns. The purpose of this paper is to report characteristic radiologic patterns of mucin-hypersecreting biliary neoplasms in two cases. These neoplasms were characterized by not only multilocular cystic hepatic mass or extra-hepatic bile duct mass resulting in marked biliary dilatation distal to the mass on US or CT, but also change of shape and extent of amorphous filling defects in the markedly dilated bile duct on serial cholangiograms.
Bile Ducts ; Biliary Tract ; Dilatation ; Jaundice, Obstructive ; Mucins

A 36-year-old male patient with no remarkable medical history was admitted to our hospital for a health check up. On chest radiography, bilateral aortic notches at the level of aortic arch were shown suggesting aortic arch anomaly without any clinical symptoms. Two aortic arches were almost same-in-size on suprasternal view of transthoracic echocardiography. In addition, multidetector computed tomography showed balanced type double aortic arch forming a complete vascular ring which encircled the trachea and esophagus. The trachea was slightly compressed by the vascular ring whereas the esophagus was intact. Nevertheless, the pulmonary function test was normal. The patient was discharged from hospital with instructions for periodic follow-up.
Adult ; Aorta, Thoracic ; Echocardiography ; Esophagus ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Multidetector Computed Tomography ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Thorax ; Trachea

Neurogenic pulmonary edema (NPE) occurs in association with CNS lesions and in the absence of underlying cardiopulmonary disease. The dramatic increase in intracranial pressure (ICP) that follows aneurysmal rupture appears to trigger a massive autonomic discharge which causes virtually instantaneous circulatory adjustments i.e. NPE. When we anesthetize a cerebral aneurysmal patient combined with NPE, not only is there the risk of hypoxemia due to NPE, but also we have difficulty in managing to control hemodynamics and hypervolemia. As we experienced a cerebral aneurysmal patient combined with NPE, we report this case with a review of the literature.
Aneurysm ; Anoxia ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Intracranial Aneurysm* ; Intracranial Pressure ; Pulmonary Edema* ; Rupture*

Achromobacter xylosoxidans can cause various types of infections, but its infection in humans is rare. A. xylosoxidans has been reported as a rare etiological agent of infections including primary bacteremia, catheter-related bloodstream infection, endocarditis, otitis, and pneumonia, particularly in immunocompromised hosts. We encountered a case of septic shock caused by A. xylosoxidans in a 52-year-old, immunocompetent woman with no underlying disease, who received extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy to remove a left upper ureteral stone. She was treated with antibiotics to which the organism was susceptible but died as a result of septic shock.
Achromobacter denitrificans* ; Achromobacter* ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Bacteremia ; Endocarditis ; Female* ; Humans ; Immunocompromised Host ; Lithotripsy* ; Middle Aged ; Otitis ; Pneumonia ; Shock* ; Shock, Septic* ; Ureter*

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The clinical use of measuring infliximab (IFX) trough levels (TLs) and antibodies against IFX (ATIs) in patients with pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remains unclear. We propose measuring these variables to create individual IFX treatment strategies for patients with pediatric IBD. METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted in pediatric patients with IBD who received IFX from July 2009 to June 2014. RESULTS: Samples were available from 39 patients with pediatric IBD. A significant difference was observed in IFX TLs in 16 patients who were in clinical remission (group A) after IFX therapy (median, 3.99 μg/mL; interquartile range [IQR], 0.30 to 21.96) compared to 23 patients who had a poor response to treatment (group B) (median, 0.88 μg/mL; IQR, 0.00 to 6.80, p=0.002). In group B, 21 patients underwent empiric intensification of IFX treatment. After dose intensification, 17 patients had an improved response to treatment. Four patients still had no response to dose intensification. Therefore, these patients were switched to other biologics. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who had poor responses and subtherapeutic IFX TLs had an improved response to dose intensification. Patients who had ATIs were likely to continue to have no response after dose intensification. Therefore, tailoring individual IFX treatments based on IFX TLs, ATIs, and the clinical response should be considered.
Antibodies* ; Biological Products ; Humans ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases* ; Infliximab* ; Retrospective Studies

We report a case in an inoperable patient with the hilar malignant biliary obstruction treated palliatively by the use of a newly designed Y-shaped covered stent without interfering contra-lateral bile duct. We percutaneously inserted a newly designed Y-shaped covered stent into a biliary tree in an inoperable patient with Bismuth Type II cholangiocarcinoma. We checked tubograms, enhanced CT studies, and blood bilirubin levels before, one week after, and at every three month after the stenting, by observing closely the signs of clinical infection as well. The follow-up period was about 12 months. The placement of the Y-shaped covered stent was successful and resulted in adequate biliary drainage in the immediate post-procedural tubogram and in the follow-up abdominal CT. The serum bilirubin levels did not show elevation after the insertion of the Y-shaped covered stent.
Aged ; Bile Duct Neoplasms/pathology/radiography/*therapy ; *Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic ; Bilirubin/blood ; Cholangiocarcinoma/pathology/radiography/*therapy ; Cholangiography ; Drainage/instrumentation ; Female ; Humans ; *Palliative Care ; Prosthesis Design ; *Stents ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

BACKGROUND: Ischemic stroke is a complex condition influenced by many factors. Previous studies have demonstrated that inflammatory markers might play a role in such vascular diseases. Therefore the purpose of this study was to compare the expression of inflammatory markers in Korean ischemic stroke patients and to investigate their relationship to APOE polymorphism. METHODS: The patient group consisted of 275 patients with large artery atherosclerosis (LAA, n=169) and small artery occlusion (SAO, n=106). One hundred and nineteen age matched healthy subjects were recruited as the control group. Serum levels of three inflammatory markers (matrix metalloproteinase, MMP-9; tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1, TIMP-1; and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, hs-CRP) were measured in each patient by using commercially available kits. Comparison of clinical risk factors, inflammatory marker levels, and APOE genotypes between the stroke patient group and control group and between the two patient subgroups was assessed. RESULTS: Comparison of the stroke group to control group showed significantly elevated levels of circulating MMP-9 (P<0.01) and hs-CRP (P=0.01). Comparison between the individual subgroups revealed a significantly higher level of only TIMP-1 in the LAA subgroup compared to the SAO subgroup (P<0.01). There was no significant difference in inflammatory marker levels among each allele carrier. CONCLUSIONS: The present study revealed the obvious tendency of increased circulating inflammatory markers in the patients with acute ischemic attack, especially MMP-9 and hs-CRP. Our observations suggest that measurement of serum MMP-9, TIMP-1, and hs-CRP levels may be useful in the diagnosis of ischemic stroke patients.
Aged ; Apolipoproteins E/*genetics ; Biological Markers/blood ; Brain Ischemia/complications/*diagnosis ; C-Reactive Protein/analysis ; Carotid Artery Diseases/complications ; Female ; Genotype ; Humans ; Inflammation Mediators/*blood ; Korea ; Male ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9/blood ; Middle Aged ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Stroke/*diagnosis/etiology/immunology ; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1/blood

BACKGROUND: It is known that severe infection and inflammation lead to hemostatic abnormalities. Recently, much attention is focused on the mechanisms of infection or inflammation and on how it plays a central role in effecting the coagulation system. Disseminated intravascular coagulation in particular, is a common phenomenon in patients with sepsis, but the clinical implications of this condition are not clear. Therefore we attempted to evaluate the changes of the coagulation system in patients with sepsis and studied the factors that lead to such changes. METHODS: One hundred one patients diagnosed with sepsis were enrolled in this study. The patients were clinically evaluated for underlying disease and data for inflammatory status and coagulative changes were evaluated retrospectively. RESULTS: The WBC count increased in 76% and decreased in 6% of sepsis patients in comparison to the reference interval. The platelet count decreased in 65.3%. Changes in coagulative tests such as prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, antithrombin III, and D-dimer were observed in 70.4%, 52.7%, 87.2% and 100% of the patients, respectively. Correlation between ESR and fibrinogen was the highest in relation to the other coagulation factors. CRP also showed the highest correlation with fibrinogen in contrast to the other coagulation factors. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirmed the clear activation of coagulation in patients with sepsis. Of the evaluated factors involved in coagulation and fibrinolysis, fibrinogen showed the highest correlation to indices representing the inflammatory state. However further studies on the anticoagulant pathway are necessary in elucidating this matter.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Bacterial Infections/diagnosis ; Biological Markers/analysis ; *Blood Coagulation ; Blood Coagulation Tests ; C-Reactive Protein/analysis ; Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation/*diagnosis/etiology ; Female ; Humans ; Inflammation/diagnosis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Platelet Count ; Retrospective Studies ; Sepsis/*blood/complications/diagnosis ; Statistics as Topic