Endocarditis due to anaerobes is not a rare ocurrence. However, Clostridial endocarditis, most cases are caused by Clostridium perfringens, is an uncommon disease. Clostridium are gram positive spore forming obligate anaerobes that are found widely in soil, water, and foods. They naturally inhabit the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and female genital tract. We observed a case of Clostridium perfringens endocarditis in a 67 years old woman. Who experienced fever, chronic diarrhea and vegetation in the aortic valve.
Aged ; Aortic Valve ; Clostridium perfringens* ; Clostridium* ; Diarrhea ; Endocarditis* ; Female ; Fever ; Humans ; Soil ; Spores

Guillain-Barre syndrom(GBS) is not a single entity, but may arise from a variety of pathogenic mechanisms. In GBS, abnormally increased autoantibody levels to GM, constitute a group with motor neuropathy predominantly and substantial axonal damage, particularly those following Campylobacter enteritis. We report a patient, 43 years old male, who presented with 3 days history of rapidly progressive weakness of all extremities. Electreophysiologic studies were suggestive of axonal form of motor dominant polyneuropathy, Using ELISA, autoantibody of MAG(myelin associated glycoprtein) and SGPG(sulfoglucuronyl paraglobiside) showed normal ranges, but IgG GM. Autoantibodies abnormally elevated. Additionally antibody titer of Campylobacter jejuni increased. We reported the axonal form of Guillain, Barr syndrome associated with IgG GM,, Ab and antiCampylobacter jejuni antibody.
Adult ; Autoantibodies ; Axons* ; Campylobacter jejuni* ; Campylobacter* ; Enteritis ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Extremities ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G* ; Male ; Polyneuropathies ; Reference Values

Castleman's disease is a rare disorder and thought to occur as a result of chronic antigenic stimulation due to an unknown infectious or inflammatory etiology. It has a heterogenous course: the symptoms persist in some cases for many years and have a progressive fatal course in others. Renal dysfunction in the form of nephrotic syndrome is quite a rare occurrence. Secondary amyloidosis due to Castleman's disease has also been reported in a few case reports. A 46-year-old female who had asymptomatic abdominal lymphadenopathy was diagnosed with Castleman's disease-plasma cell type in our hospital in 2006. Three years after diagnosis, she developed chronic diarrhea, weight loss, anemia and nephrotic range proteinuria. The etiology of symptom was found to be secondary amyloidosis based on renal and gastrointestinal biopsies. She was discharged with steroid therapy. Unfortunately, she had a progressive fatal course. One month after the treatment, she developed thrombocytopenia and died due to cerebral hemorrhage.
Amyloidosis ; Anemia ; Biopsy ; Diarrhea ; Female ; Giant Lymph Node Hyperplasia ; Humans ; Kidney ; Lymphatic Diseases ; Middle Aged ; Nephrotic Syndrome ; Plasma Cells ; Proteinuria ; Thrombocytopenia ; Weight Loss

BACKGROUND: The majority of patients undergoing stem cell transplantation (SCT) require a blood transfusion until the complete engraftment. Because blood transfusion rules for patients with ABO-incompatible SCT are complicated, we developed an ABO-incompatible transfusion management system (ABO-ITMS) for accurate blood transfusion and improved manageability. METHODS: A committee composed of medical doctors, technicians, and a programmer developed ABO-ITMS during the eight months from July 2013 to February 2014. The program has been linked with other databases, including clinical and laboratory databases and resulted in a new subsystem of the health information system. Server computer's operating system was Window Server 2008, and the database manager program was Oracle 11g. Programming language was ASP.Net (VBScript, C #), and the server and client computer were used to connect to the web server using a web browser. RESULTS: ABO-ITMS was designed to follow three main steps by hematologic oncology clinic, laboratory physician, and blood bank. In the first step, a hematologic-oncology clinic doctor inputs SCT recipients' data and appropriate ABO group for each phase of post-transplantation. Laboratory physician enters the isoagglutinin titer and ABO group at the second step. Finally, blood bank workers enter the results of type, screening, and antibody identification. The patient's SCT information and the previous immunohematologic test results are shown on the screen. CONCLUSION: ABO-ITMS can replace the existing complicated system and workflow. ABO-ITMS will contribute to reducing medical error and improving quality of SCT recipient care.
Blood Banks ; Blood Transfusion* ; Health Information Systems ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Medical Errors ; Programming Languages ; Stem Cell Transplantation* ; Web Browser

Twenty eight patients with negative but technically satisfactory four-vessel angiography-admitted to our department from 1985 to 1995 were followed for long term evaluation. The aim of this retrospective study of patients with SAH of unknown etiology was to evaluate the clinical features, long-term prognosis in mortality rate and risk of rebleeding, and the daily functional capacity. Twenty eight out of 1035(2.7%) spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage patients were found to have subarachnoid hemorrhage(SAH) of unknown etiology. Twenty eight patients were confirmed as SAH, by computed tomography or lumbar puncture. CT scan was undertaken in all cases(in 28 cases within 5 days of hemorrhage). SAH of unknown etiology classified as Hunt and Hess grade I was 60.7% of cases, but there were no patients with Grade V. Arterial hypertension was present on admission in 35.7% of cases. We only performed the angiogram once in 16 of 28 patients, but there were no rebleedings caused by aneurysm. The period of follow-up ranged from 2 to 11 years, with the mean of 4.3 years. Only one of 28 patients(3.6%) experienced late rebleeding, and again had normal cerebral panangiography. Two patients(7.1%) showed a moderate disability in activities of daily living, one patient(3.6%) was mild disabled, and two(7.1%) had died of pneumonia. Based on the ADL grade, Grade I was 28.6% at the time of discharge however, during follow-up, increased up to 81.5%.
Activities of Daily Living ; Aneurysm ; Follow-Up Studies* ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Mortality ; Pneumonia ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Puncture ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Patients with cardiogenic embolic stroke may experience an early, recurrent cerebral embolism. Fortunately, limited evidence suggests that anticoagulatory agents or thrombolytic agents may prevent recurrent cardiogenic emboli and halt progression of so-called "progressing stroke" However, because of the possibility of the intracerebral hemorrhage, use of such agents has generally been considered cautiously with timing, dosage and patient selection. Serious complications of anticoagulation for presumed embolic stroke are hemorrhage in the area of infarction. We experienced two patients with nonseptic cerebral embolism of cardiac origin. They were managed with anticoagulant or thrombolytic therapy, but resulted in clinical deterioration or death from spontaneous subdural hemorrhage. In each patient, an initial CT scan excluded the presence of hemorrhage but a second CT scan after clinical deterioration, documented subdural hemorrhage.
Cerebral Hemorrhage ; Cerebral Infarction* ; Fibrinolytic Agents ; Hematoma, Subdural ; Hematoma, Subdural, Acute* ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Infarction ; Intracranial Embolism ; Patient Selection ; Stroke ; Thrombolytic Therapy* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to analyze the outcomes of immediate primary repair (IPR) compared with delayed repair (DR) after initial suprapubic cystostomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed the records of 60 patients with bulbous urethral disruption after blunt trauma from February 2001 to March 2011. Seventeen patients who presented in an acute injury state underwent IPR; 43 patients underwent DR after the initial suprapubic cystostomy. None of the patients had undergone previous urethral manipulation. We compared the outcomes, including stricture, impotence, and incontinence, between the two management approaches. We also measured the time to spontaneous voiding, the duration of suprapubic diversion, and the number of days spent in the hospital. RESULTS: The median follow-up was 20.5 months (range, 13 to 59 months; mean, 23.3 months). Among 17 patients in the IPR group, strictures developed in 2 patients (11.7%), and among 53 patients in the DR group, strictures developed in 8 patients (18.6%, p=0.709). The incidences of impotence and incontinence were similar in both groups (17.6% and 0% in the IPR group vs. 27.9% and 4.6% in the DR group, p=0.520 and 1.000, respectively). The time to spontaneous voiding and the duration of suprapubic diversion were significantly shorter in the IPR group (average 27.3 and 33.4 days, respectively) than in the DR group (average 191.6 and 198.1 days, respectively; p<0.001 and <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: IPR may provide comparable outcomes to DR and allow for shorter times to spontaneous voiding and reduce the duration of suprapubic diversion.
Constriction, Pathologic ; Cystostomy ; Erectile Dysfunction ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Urethra ; Urethral Stricture ; Urologic Surgical Procedures

BACKGROUND: Recent data regarding the clinical epidemiologic characteristics of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in Korean adults are insufficient. This study was conducted in order to compare epidemics in different ages and to identify the clinical characteristics in adults. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We investigated patients who visited Korea University Guro Hospital from January to December 2011 due to community acquired pneumonia and underwent mycoplasma antibody tests. M. pneumoniae pneumonia was diagnosed if mycoplasma antibody titer was > or =1:320 at any time, seroconversion or 4-fold rise was seen at convalescent phase. Patients under the age of 19 were classified as child and adolescent, otherwise adult. We investigated the number of monthly cases in all patients and reviewed the medical records of adult patients. RESULTS: A total of 249 young patients aged < or =18 years and 29 adults were diagnosed with M. pneumoniae pneumonia. Among young patients, 75.5% were concentrated in the 0-6 years age group and 58.6% of adults belonged to the 26-40 years age group. The number of young patients began to increase in July and continued to increase in December, while the number of adult patients began to increase in August and occurred continuously until December. The correlation coefficient of the epidemic trend between the two groups was 0.682 (P=0.015). Median age of adult patients was 33.3 years. Fever was observed in all patients and 25 patients (86.2%) complained of purulent sputum. The average white blood cell count was 7,066/mm3. The average values for aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, creatinine, and sodium were within the normal range. In chest X-ray study, ipsilateral lower patchy consolidation was found in 24 patients (82.8%). Twenty one adult patients (72.4%) were hospitalized. The mean duration of hospitalization was 7.3 days. Twenty three patients (79.3%) were initially treated with combinations of third generation cephalosporin and macrolide. Among them, five patients (17.2%) showed poor responses. Six cases (20.7%) were initially treated with quinolone, and treatment was maintained until the end without changing antibiotics. Development of cryptogenic organizing pneumonia occurred in one case and there was no occurrence of death. CONCLUSIONS: When M. pneumoniae pneumonia is epidemic among children and adolescents, it should also be suspected in adult patients with community-acquired pneumonia. Some patients showed poor responses to macrolide. Overall, it appears that additional studies are needed for evaluation of the effectiveness of macrolide in treatment of M. pneumoniae pneumonia in adults.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Alanine Transaminase ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; Child ; Creatinine ; Cryptogenic Organizing Pneumonia ; Fever ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Korea ; Leukocyte Count ; Macrolides ; Medical Records ; Mycoplasma ; Mycoplasma pneumoniae ; Pneumonia ; Pneumonia, Mycoplasma ; Reference Values ; Sodium ; Sputum ; Thorax

BACKGROUND: Etiologies and clinical profiles of acute respiratory viral infections need to be clarified to improve preventive and therapeutic strategies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective observational study at a single, university-affiliated center was performed to evaluate the respiratory viral infection etiologies in children compared to that in adults and to document the clinical features of common viral infections for adults from July 2009 to April 2012. RESULTS: The common viruses detected from children (2,800 total patients) were human rhinovirus (hRV) (31.8%), adenovirus (AdV) (19.2%), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) A (17.4%), RSV B (11.7%), and human metapneumovirus (hMPV) (9.8%). In comparison, influenza virus A (IFA) had the highest isolation rate (28.5%), followed by hRV (15.5%), influenza virus B (IFB) (15.0%), and hMPV (14.0%), in adults (763 total patients). Multiple viruses were detected in single specimens from 22.4% of children and 2.0% of adults. IFA/IFB, RSV A/B, and hMPV exhibited strong seasonal detection and similar circulating patterns in children and adults. Adult patients showed different clinical manifestations according to causative viruses; nasal congestion and rhinorrhea were more common in hRV and human coronavirus (hCoV) infection. Patients with RSV B, hRV, or AdV tended to be younger, and those infected with RSV A and hMPV were likely to be older. Those with RSV A infection tended to stay longer in hospital, enter the intensive care unit more frequently, and have a fatal outcome more often. The bacterial co-detection rate was 26.5%, and those cases were more likely to have lower respiratory tract involvement (P = 0.001), longer hospital stay (P = 0.001), and higher mortality (P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The etiologic virus of an acute respiratory infection can be cautiously inferred based on a patient's age and clinical features and concurrent epidemic data. Large-scale prospective surveillance studies are required to provide more accurate information about respiratory viral infection etiology, which could favorably influence clinical outcomes.
Adenoviridae ; Adult* ; Child ; Coronavirus ; Estrogens, Conjugated (USP) ; Fatal Outcome ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Length of Stay ; Metapneumovirus ; Mortality ; Observational Study ; Orthomyxoviridae ; Respiratory Syncytial Viruses ; Respiratory System ; Retrospective Studies ; Rhinovirus ; Seasons

BACKGROUND: Uncomplicated myocardial infarction is often the harbinger of future cardiac events such as unstable angina, recurrent myocardial infarction or death. The prognostic utility of exercise test(pre-discharge low level exercise test) in patients recovering from acute myocardial infarction(AMI) has been documented by many studies. However there are few data of the safety and value of a symptom-limited exercise test early after AMI. We performed this study to assess the safety of test and the prevalence of abnormal response to symptom-limited exercise test and to determine the ability to predict future cardiac events. METHODS: The study group comprised 91 patients(male ; 73, Anterior infarction ; 43, Q-wave infarction ; 68, Thrombolysis ; 58, Age ; 57+/- years) with uncomplicated AMI. Symptom-limited exercise tests were performed before discharge(8.7+/-0.5 days after infarction) using modified Bruce protocol. Exercise test was considered positive if there was new > or =1mm horizontal or downsloping ST segment depression at 0.08sec after J point compared with baseline. The patients were followed for the development of new cardiac events. RESULTS: 1) The mean duration of exercise test was 14.2 min(range 4.3 - 21.5)and the mean workload(Metabolic Equivalents : METs) was 6.0 METs(range 2.1 - 17.0). There were no complications during exercise test and post-recovery phase. 2) There were positive test in 31 patients(34%), ST segment elevation in 10(11%), and inadequate blood pressure(BP) response in 10 patients(11%). 3) During the follow-up period(1-50 months, mean 12.5 months), 9 patients experienced post-myocardial infarction angina and revascularization therapy, respectively, and 1 patient had cardiac death and recurrent myocardial infarction, respectively. 4) The patients with cardiac events had a significantly higher degree in stenosis of infarct-related artery(90+/-3 vs 78+/-3, p<0.05) and lower systolic BP on peak exercise(136+/-7 vs 156+/-4, p<0.05). 5) The positive exercise test was associated with cardiac events in the follow-up period but ST-segment elevation, inadequate BP response, the use of thrombolytic agents, and non-Q wave infarction did not predict future cardiac events. CONCLUSIONS: The symptom-limited exercise tests early after acute myocardial infarction appear to be safe and will identify more patients with inducible myocardial ischemia relatively. The posive test can predict cardiac events and the prognosis of patients of this group can be improved with aggressive management and careful follow-up.
Angina, Unstable ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Death ; Depression ; Exercise Test* ; Fibrinolytic Agents ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Infarction ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Prevalence ; Prognosis