PURPOSE: Nutritional therapy (NT), such as enteral nutrition (EN) or parenteral nutrition (PN), is essential for the malnourished patients. Although the complications related to NT has been well described, multicenter data on symptoms in the patients with receiving NT during hospitalization are still lacking. METHODS: Nutrition support team (NST) consultations, on which NT-related complications were described, were collected retrospectively for one year. The inclusion criteria were patients who were (1) older than 18 years, (2) hospitalized, and (3) receiving EN or PN at the time of NST consultation. The patients' demographics (age, sex, body mass index [BMI]), type of NT and type of complication were collected. To compare the severity of each complication, the intensive care unit (ICU) admission, hospital stay, and type of discharge were also collected. RESULTS: A total of 14,600 NT-related complications were collected from 13,418 cases from 27 hospitals in Korea. The mean age and BMI were 65.4 years and 21.8 kg/m2. The complications according to the type of NT, calorie deficiency (32.4%, n=1,229) and diarrhea (21.6%, n=820) were most common in EN. Similarly, calorie deficiency (56.8%, n=4,030) and GI problem except for diarrhea (8.6%, n=611) were most common in PN. Regarding the clinical outcomes, 18.7% (n=2,158) finally expired, 58.1% (n=7,027) were admitted to ICU, and the mean hospital days after NT-related complication were 31.3 days. Volume overload (odds ratio [OR]=3.48) and renal abnormality (OR=2.50) were closely associated with hospital death; hyperammonemia (OR=3.09) and renal abnormality (OR=2.77) were associated with ICU admission; “micronutrient and vitamin deficiency” (geometric mean [GM]=2.23) and volume overload (GM=1.61) were associated with a longer hospital stay. CONCLUSION: NT may induce or be associated with several complications, and some of them may seriously affect the patient's outcome. NST personnel in each hospital should be aware of each problem during nutritional support.
Adult ; Body Mass Index ; Demography ; Diarrhea ; Enteral Nutrition ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Hyperammonemia ; Intensive Care Units ; Korea ; Length of Stay ; Multicenter Studies as Topic ; Nutrition Therapy ; Nutritional Support ; Parenteral Nutrition ; Referral and Consultation ; Retrospective Studies ; Vitamins

PURPOSE: This study was performed to evaluate the compliance with, and adequacy of, the Korean national guidelines which had been recommended until 2011 for isolation of patients with group 1 nationally notifiable infectious diseases (NNIDs), namely cholera, typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever, shigellosis, and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) infection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We evaluated the clinical and microbiological characteristics of confirmed cases of group 1 NNIDs and compliance with the guidelines in 20 Korean hospitals nationwide in 2000-2010. We also compared the Korean guidelines with international guidelines. RESULTS: Among 528 confirmed cases (8 cases of cholera, 232 of typhoid fever, 81 of paratyphoid fever, 175 of shigellosis, and 32 EHEC infections), strict compliance with the Korean guideline was achieved in only 2.6% to 50.0%, depending on the disease. While the Korean guidelines recommend isolation of all patients with group 1 NNIDs, international guidelines recommend selective patient isolation and screening for fecal shedding, depending on the type of disease and patient status. CONCLUSION: Compliance with the previous national guidelines for group 1 NNIDs in Korea was generally very low. Further studies are needed to evaluate whether compliance was improved after implementation of the new guideline in 2012.
Cholera ; Communicable Disease Control ; Communicable Diseases* ; Compliance* ; Dysentery, Bacillary ; Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli ; Guideline Adherence ; Humans ; Korea* ; Mass Screening ; Methods ; Paratyphoid Fever ; Patient Isolation ; Typhoid Fever

BACKGROUND/AIMS: In several recent studies, renal biopsies in patients with type 2 diabetes and renal disease have revealed a heterogeneous group of disease entities. Our aim was to study the prognosis and clinical course of nondiabetic renal disease (NDRD) and to determine risk factors for NDRD in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: Renal biopsy reports of 110 patients with type 2 diabetes who were seen at Kyung Hee University Medical Center and Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, Seoul, Korea between January 2000 and December 2011 were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: Of 110 patients with type 2 diabetes, 41 (37.3%) had diabetic nephropathy (DN), 59 (53.6%) had NDRD, and 10 (9.1%) had NDRD superimposed on DN. Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (43.5%) was the most common NDRD. Patients with NDRD had a shorter duration of diabetes, lower frequency of diabetic retinopathy, and better renal outcomes, which might have resulted from the use of aggressive disease-specific treatments such as steroids and immunosuppressants in patients with NDRD. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with DN, NDRD was associated with better renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes, as evidenced by a higher cumulative renal survival rate and lower rate of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Shorter duration of diabetes and absence of retinopathy were independent predictors of NDRD in patients with type 2 diabetes and renal involvement. Renal biopsy is recommended for patients with type 2 diabetes and risk factors for NDRD, to obtain an accurate diagnosis, prompt initiation of disease-specific treatment, and ultimately better renal outcomes with the avoidance of ESRD.
Adult ; Biopsy ; Chi-Square Distribution ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/*complications/diagnosis/therapy ; Diabetic Nephropathies/diagnosis/etiology ; Disease Progression ; Female ; Glomerulonephritis, IGA/complications/diagnosis ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Kidney Diseases/*complications/diagnosis/therapy ; Kidney Failure, Chronic/diagnosis/etiology ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Odds Ratio ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Time Factors

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

Churg-Strauss syndrome (CSS) is an uncommon disorder that is characterized by asthma or allergic rhinitis, fever, systemic vasculitis, extravascular granulomas and hypereosinophilia. Cutaneous manifestations of CSS are one of the most common extra-pulmonary findings, and they occur in approximately 60% of the cases. Other manifestations include pulmonary infiltrates and heart, kidney, gastrointestinal tract, peripheral and central nervous system involvement and the patients also complain of systemic symptoms, including malaise, fever, myalgia and weight loss. The diagnosis of CSS is difficult because the manifestations vary with the disease stage and delayed treatment can lead to fatal major organ damage. We report here on 3 cases of CSS that were first diagnosed by the dermatologic department and with consultation from other departments. So, we want to remind dermatologists that if the patients of asthma or other allergic diseases have purpuric skin lesion, then CSS should be included in the differential diagnosis.
Asthma ; Central Nervous System ; Churg-Strauss Syndrome ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Fever ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Granuloma ; Heart ; Humans ; Kidney ; Rhinitis ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial ; Skin ; Systemic Vasculitis ; Vasculitis ; Weight Loss

Gastrinoma is the most frequent functional pancreaticoduodenal endocrine tumor in patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN 1). Primary hepatic gastrinomas in MEN 1 are very rare, with no previous reports published in the literature. We reported the case of a 39 yr old female patient with a history of repeated peptic ulcers and a hypoglycemia episode. Abdominal CT indicated a well-defined liver mass and a pancreatic head mass. Somatostatin-receptor scintigraphy with [111In] DTPA octeotride demonstrated a strong uptake of the radiotracer in the left lateral segment at the site of the hepatic mass. After operation, immunohistochemical staining was consistent with pancreatic insulinoma and primary hepatic gastrinoma. As the liver is a common site of metastases from gastrinoma, primary liver gastrinoma has not yet been reported with MEN 1. We diagnosed this patient using immunohistochemical studies and treated this patient by hepatic segmentectomy.

PURPOSE: Carotid artery intima-media thickness (cIMT) has been reported as the predictive factor of mortality of cardiovascular disease in dialysis patients but only a few reports are available on the patients with earlier stages. We compared cIMT according to the stage of chronic kidney disease, and analyzed the data in association with cardiovascular risk factors. METHODS: Study subjects were 88 patients with chronic kidney disease less than 60 ml/min/1.73m2 of glomerular filtration rate. cIMT was measured by means of high- resolution B-mode ultrasonography. Cardiovascular risk factors and cIMT were analyzed and compared with 30 subjects with normal renal function. RESULTS: cIMT was significantly increased with the stage of chronic kidney disease. When the stage was increased from 3 to 5, cIMT was increased (p=002). cIMT was further increased in all stages of chronic kidney disease than in patients with normal kidney function. But association of diabetic chronic kidney disease with non-diabetic chronic kidney disease was not significant (p=0.127). Multiple regression analysis showed that cIMT in patients with chronic kidney disease was significantly correlated to age, glomerular filtration rate, and the stage of chronic kidney disease. CONCLUSION: We suggest that carotid atherosclerosis could increase in no dialysis patients with early stage of chronic kidney disease. Carotid artery intima-media thickness was correlated with age, glomerular filtration rate, and the stage of chronic kidney disease.
Atherosclerosis ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Carotid Arteries ; Carotid Artery Diseases ; Dialysis ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; Humans ; Kidney ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic ; Risk Factors

Pigmented spindle cell nevus (PSCN) is a solitary heavily pigmented macule or papule that usually occurs on the lower legs of women in the second decade of life. Histologically, fascicles of uniform, elongated, pigmented nevoid cells at the dermo-epidermal junction tend to fuse with neighboring nests. PSCN should be differentiated from Spitz nevus, dysplastic nevus, and malignant melanoma. For making the differential diagnosis of PSCN from malignant melanoma of nevoid cells, the overall symmetry, relative uniformity, maturation with depth and no nuclear atypia are important clues. A 3-year-old girl presented with a black papule on the anterior aspect of the ankle. We diagnosed PSCN by the histologic findings and the specific "starburst" dermoscopic pattern.
Animals ; Ankle ; Dermoscopy ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Dysplastic Nevus Syndrome ; Female ; Humans ; Leg ; Melanoma ; Nevus, Epithelioid and Spindle Cell ; Nevus, Spindle Cell ; Preschool Child

Infectious aneurysms in hemodialysis patients are very rare. It is assumed that injuries on atherosclerotic vessel walls are involved in the development of aneurysms associated with septicemia. Rupture of infectious aneurysms carries a high mortality rate because it often leads to hemorrhagic shock. Here we report the case of a hemodialysis patient with rupture of an abdominal aortic infectious aneurysm secondary to Staphylococcus aureus septicemia. A 72 year-old male hemodialysis patient presented with diarrhea and fever. Staphylococcus aureus was identified in his blood culture. On the sixth day after admission, he developed sudden abdominal pain, distension and hypotension, so we assumed hypovolemic shock due to intraabdominal hemorrhage. On abdominal CT, he was found to have a ruptured, 2.4x2 cm infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm with a large amount of retroperitoneal hemorrhage. His final diagnosis was rupture of an infectious aneurysm based on the presence of Staphylococcal bacteremia. He underwent a percutaneous stent graft in the infrarenal aorta successfully. However, two weeks later, he developed septic shock due to a newly developed intestinal perforation and died of multiorgan failure.
Abdominal Pain ; Aneurysm ; Aorta ; Aortic Aneurysm ; Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal ; Bacteremia ; Diarrhea ; Fever ; Glycosaminoglycans ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hypotension ; Intestinal Perforation ; Male ; Renal Dialysis ; Rupture ; Sepsis ; Shock ; Shock, Hemorrhagic ; Shock, Septic ; Staphylococcus ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Stents ; Transplants

Sarcoidosis is a multi-system granulomatous disorder of an unknown etiology and affects individuals worldwide. It is characterized pathologically by the presence of non-caseating granulomas in more than one involved organ. However, pleural involvement of sarcoidosis is rare and there are no reported cases in Korea. Traditionally, sarcoidosis has often been treated with systemic corticosteroids or cytotoxic agents. In particular, chylothorax with sarcoidosis is usually treated with corticosteroid for approximately 3~6 months, followed by repeated therapeutic thoracentesis, talc pleurodesis, dietary treatment, or thoracic duct ligation where needed. We encountered a 46 years old female patient presenting with cough, dyspnea and both hilar lymphadenopathy (stage I) on chest radiograph. The patient was diagnosed with a non-caseating granuloma, sarcoidosis by a mediastinoscopic biopsy. For one month, she had suffered from dyspnea due to right side pleural effusion, which was clearly identified as a chylothorax on thoracentesis. Corticosteroid therapy with dietary adjustment was ineffective. She was treated successfully with a subcutaneous injection of octreotide for 3 weeks and oral corticosteroid. We report a case of successful and rapid treatment of chylothorax associated with sarcoidosis using octreotide and oral corticosteroid.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Biopsy ; Chylothorax* ; Cough ; Cytotoxins ; Dyspnea ; Female ; Granuloma ; Humans ; Injections, Subcutaneous ; Korea ; Ligation ; Lymphatic Diseases ; Mediastinoscopy ; Middle Aged ; Octreotide* ; Pleural Effusion ; Pleurodesis ; Radiography, Thoracic ; Sarcoidosis* ; Talc ; Thoracic Duct