BACKGROUND/AIMS: Biofeedback therapy has been widely used for the treatment of constipated patients. However, there are only a few reports about the clinical factors that can predict the effectiveness of biofeedback therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate prognostic factors before the initiation of biofeedback treatment in constipated patients. METHODS: Biofeedback treatment was performed in 114 patients with constipation. After classifying the patients into two groups, responder and non-responder by subjective and objective parameters, univariate and multivariate analysis were performed to evaluate the factors associated with effectiveness of biofeedback therapy. RESULTS: Eighty-five patients (74.6%) responded to biofeedback therapy. Pre-treatment balloon expulsion test, paradoxical contraction on manometry, defecation index and anal residual pressure during straining were the factors that influenced the results of biofeedback treatment. On multivariate analysis, defecation index (odds ratio=67.5, p<0.05) and paradoxical contraction on manometry (odds ratio=0.053, p<0.05) were the factors that showed significant difference between the responders and non-responders. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that several pre-treatment prognostic factors are associated with response to biofeedback for the constipated patients. Using prognostic factors, we may be able to evaluate the patterns of pelvic floor dysfunction and responsiveness of biofeedback therapy for the patients with constipation.
*Biofeedback, Psychology ; Chronic Disease ; Constipation/physiopathology/*therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pelvic Floor/physiopathology ; Treatment Outcome

Since anorexia nervosa is a multi-systemic disorder, as well as a psychiatric disorder, it needs a multidisciplinary approach. It causes many medical problems, including irregular menstruation, hematologic problems, decreased bone density, electrolyte imbalance, and dysrhythmias. Sometimes, this disorder also causes rare, unexpected complications, including abnormal air collections, such as pneumomediastinum, retropneumoperitoneum, or subcutaneous emphysema. The cause of these phenomena is unknown, although fragile parenchymal tissue that is disrupted easily when the local pressure is increased by coughing, vomiting, or defecation is a suggested cause. We experienced a case of anorexia nervosa complicated with abnormal air collections. After we excluded other possible causes, such as perforation of the gastrointestinal tract, and ordered the patient to undergo a short fast and inhale oxygen, the abnormal air collections resolved. We report this case because of its rarity and benign course.
Anorexia ; Anorexia Nervosa ; Bone Density ; Cough ; Defecation ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Humans ; Mediastinal Emphysema ; Menstruation ; Oxygen ; Retropneumoperitoneum ; Subcutaneous Emphysema ; Vomiting

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Despite the efficacy of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) treatment, a considerable number of patients with non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) are resistant to treatment with a PPI at the standard dose. In these patients, doubling the dose of PPI is one of the potential therapeutic strategies. However, only few studies support this therapeutic strategy. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of 40 mg esomeprazole once daily in patients with persistent symptoms of NERD despite standard daily PPI therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 92 patients with NERD who had persistent symptoms of NERD despite standard dose (half dose) of PPI for more than 4 weeks, were enrolled in this multicenter (eight centers) open-label study. Efficacy and safety of a daily dose of 40 mg esomeprazole were evaluated after 4 weeks in all the patients. RESULTS: The sum score of two symptoms (heartburn and regurgitation) decreased significantly from 72.51 to 32.55 after 4 weeks of treatment (P<0.001). The percentage of patients with ≥50% improvement in symptom score (heartburn+acid regurgitation), during the study period was 66.7%. Patients with severe symptoms at baseline had significantly higher symptom improvement rate in comparison to patients who had milder symptoms. Adverse effects related to the treatment were reported by 3 (3.3%) patients. CONCLUSIONS: Esomeprazole 40 mg once daily is an effective and safe strategy to treat NERD patients with persistent symptoms despite standard daily PPI therapy.
Esomeprazole* ; Gastroesophageal Reflux ; Humans ; Proton Pump Inhibitors ; Proton Pumps* ; Protons*

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Albis(R) is a newly developed drug comprised of ranitidine, bismuth and sucralfate. The aim of the study was to demonstrate the efficacy and safety superiority of Albis(R) compared to Stillen(R) for treating erosive gastritis. METHODS: This study was a randomized, double-blind, multi-center trial. The primary endpoint was 2 weeks of treatment. RESULTS: Of the 229 patients in the intention-to-treat (ITT) population, 87 from the Albis(R), and 96 from the Stillen(R) group were included in the per protocol (PP) analysis. The endoscopic improvement rate was not different between the Albis(R)(R) group and the control in both the PP (42.5%, 39.6%) and ITT (35.3%, 34.5%) populations. The endoscopic cure of erosion was also not different in the Albis(R) group than that in the control group in both the PP (32.3%, 31.3%) and ITT (27.6%, 27.4%) populations. The endoscopic improvement rate for hemorrhage, edema, and erythema were also not different between the two groups in both the PP and ITT populations. No statistically significant differences were observed for adverse events between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Half of the approved dose of Albis(R) for peptic ulcers was superior to Stillen(R). A low dosage of Albis(R) is more cost efficient and safe than that of Stillen(R).
Bismuth ; Edema ; Erythema ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Peptic Ulcer ; Ranitidine ; Sucralfate

Infection due to Salmonella typhi and Salmonella paratyphi is called enteric fever which is manifested by fever, abdominal pain, and intermittently other gastrointestinal symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea. Although Salmonella species may invade any site of the gastrointestinal tract, it usually invades terminal ileum. The pathologic manifestation of salmonellosis may vary from nonspecific mucosal change (erythema, edema, ulceration etc.) of invaded site to intestinal perforation or hemorrhage. However, the report of upper gastrointestinal invasion by Salmonella species is rare, and confirmation by tissue culture is difficult because gastric acid and the normal propulsive peristaltic flow of the small bowel help to limit the bacterial populations of the upper gastrointestinal tract. We report here a case of Salmonella paratyphi infection proven by tissue culture in a 26-year-old man who presented with fever and watery diarrhea and was found to have multiple duodenal and terminal ileal ulcers.
Abdominal Pain ; Adult ; Diarrhea ; Edema ; Fever ; Gastric Acid ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Ileum ; Intestinal Perforation ; Salmonella Infections ; Salmonella paratyphi A* ; Salmonella typhi ; Salmonella* ; Typhoid Fever ; Ulcer* ; Upper Gastrointestinal Tract ; Vomiting

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To compare efficacy and tolerability of rabeprazole (RAB) 10 mg versus omeprazole (OME) 20 mg in patients with duodenal ulcer. METHODS: This randomized, comparative, multicenter study was conducted at 10 centers in Korea, from February to September in 1999. Patients with active duodenal ulcer as proven by endoscopy were randomized to RAB (n=123) or OME (n=123) groups. One hundred-twenty-three patients received RAB 10 mg once daily, and 123 patients received OME 20 mg once daily for 2 or 4 weeks. Primary efficacy parameter was complete healing by endoscopy and secondary parameter was the improvement in the severity of clinical symptoms after the therapy. RESULTS: After 2 weeks, complete healing was achieved in 81.7% (85/104) of patients given RAB 10mg and in 81.1% (77/95) of patients given OME 20 mg (p=0.902). After 4 weeks, complete healing was documented in 97.1% (101/104) of patients given RAB 10 mg and in 93.7% (89/95) of patients given OME 20 mg (p=0.315). The percentages of patients resolved daytime pain and night-time pain at Day 4 were 87.5% and 90.1% in RAB group and 79.0% and 80.5% in OME group (p=0.138 and p=0.087 for day-time k night-time pain, respectively). No clinically meaningful changes or other between-group differences were observed in laboratory parameters and adverse events which were evaluated to be related with medication. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, rabeprazole 10 mg produced healing rates and symptom relief equivalent to omeprazole 20 mg at weeks 2 and 4 in patients with active duodenal ulcer and provided a tendency of faster symptom relief than omeprazole 20 mg, although it didn't reach statistical significance. Both the treatments were well tolerated.
Duodenal Ulcer* ; Endoscopy ; Humans ; Korea ; Omeprazole* ; Rabeprazole*

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Because of the poor prognosis of diffuse-type gastric cancer, early detection is important. We investigated the clinical characteristics and prognosis of diffuse-type early gastric cancer (EGC) diagnosed in subjects during health check-ups. METHODS: Among 121,111 subjects who underwent gastroscopy during a routine health check-up, we identified 282 patients with 286 EGC lesions and reviewed their clinical and tumor-specific parameters. RESULTS: Patients with diffuse-type EGC were younger, and 48.1% of them were female. Serum anti-Helicobacter pylori IgG (Hp-IgG) was positive in 90.7% of diffuse-type EGC patients (vs 75.9% of intestinal-type EGC, p=0.002), and the proportion of diffuse-type EGC cases increased significantly with increasing Hp-IgG serum titers (p < 0.001). Diffuse-type EGC had pale discolorations on the tumor surface (26.4% vs 4.0% in intestinal-type EGC, p < 0.001) and were often located in the middle third of the stomach. Submucosal invasion or regional nodal metastasis was observed more commonly in patients with diffuse-type EGC. However, during the median follow-up period of 50 months, 5-year disease-free survival rates did not differ between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Diffuse-type EGC shows different clinical and endoscopic characteristics. Diffuse-type EGC is more closely associated with Hp-IgG seropositivity and a higher serum titer. Early detection results in excellent prognosis.
Disease-Free Survival ; Early Diagnosis ; Endoscopy ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gastroscopy ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prognosis* ; Stomach ; Stomach Neoplasms*

Carcinomas of the stomach can spread to adjacent structure by local extension or metastasize to lymph nodes, peritoneum and distant organs. However, the incidence of metastatic bladder cancer originated at the stomach is very rare. A fifty-five year-old man admitted complaining of epigastric pain for 2 months. A large ulceroinfiltrative lesion was seen in the low body, which was confirmed poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma by histological examination. Abdomino- pelvic CT scan showed wall thickening at the greater curvature side of gastric body and urinary bladder. Urine cytology was negative. By transurethral resection of bladder, he was diagnosed as metastatic adenocarcinoma of the bladder. We report a case of stomach cancer with metastasis to urinry bladder.
Adenocarcinoma ; Incidence ; Lymph Nodes ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Peritoneum ; Stomach Neoplasms* ; Stomach* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms ; Urinary Bladder*

OBJECTIVES: Calcium salts are usually present in the center of all types of gallstones, including pure cholesterol stones. It has been postulated that precipitation of calcium salts might act as a nidus for gallstone formation. Our goal was to determine whether a calcium-binding protein was present in bile and whether this protein has any calcium-binding properties. METHODS: Calcium-binding moiety was obtained by addition of CaC12 into the gallbladder bile. Calcium-binding protein was identified by SDS-PAGE (sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis). The capacity to bind calcium was confirmed by autoradiography with 45Ca++. RESULTS: We identified a protein(M.W. Autoradiography ; Bile* ; Calcium ; Cholesterol ; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel ; Gallbladder* ; Gallstones ; Humans ; Salts

Vascular rings resulting from abnormalities of the aortic arch can cause symptoms of esophageal or tracheal compression early in life. Right aortic arch with aberrant left subclavian artery is the most common type of aortic arch abnormalities, followed by double aortic arch, and then left arch with aberrant right subclavian artery. These anomalous vessels usually do not produce symptoms, but occasionally symptomatic patients require surgical intervention. Development of symptoms later in life is due to atherosclerotic enlargement of the arch (Kommerell's diverticulum). We experienced three adults who had anomalous vessels with dysphagia. Diagnosis was made by esophagography and chest CT. Of these three patients, one patient had Kommerell's diverticulum and underwent surgical repair to prevent rupture of an enlarged diverticulum as well as to relieve dysphagia. We consider that diagnosis of dysphagia caused by anomalous vessel is made by noninvasive chest CT and that the patients who have enlarged diverticulum should undergo surgical repair even with mild symptoms to prevent vascular rupture.
Adult* ; Aorta, Thoracic ; Deglutition Disorders* ; Diagnosis ; Diverticulum ; Humans ; Rupture ; Subclavian Artery ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed