BACKGROUND: We assessed the frequency and severity of hypoglycemia in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients treated with sulfonylurea monotherapy or sulfonylurea+metformin. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective, observational, cross-sectional study in 2011 and 2012 including patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus aged ≥30 years who were treated with ≥6 months of sulfonylurea monotherapy or sulfonylurea+metformin at 20 university-affiliated hospitals in Korea. At enrollment, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was assessed; participants completed self-reported questionnaires describing hypoglycemia incidents over the past 6 months. A review of medical records up to 12 months before enrollment provided data on demographics, disease history, comorbidities, laboratory results, and drug usage. RESULTS: Of 726 enrolled patients, 719 were included (55.6% male); 31.7% and 68.3% were on sulfonylurea monotherapy and sulfonylurea+metformin, respectively. Mean±standard deviation age was 65.9±10.0 years; mean HbA1c level was 7.0%±1.0%; 77.8% of patients had hypertension (89.4% used antihypertensive medication); 60.5% had lipid disorders (72.5% used lipid-lowering medication); and 52.0% had one or more micro- or macrovascular diseases. Among patients with A1c measurement (n=717), 56.4% achieved therapeutic goals (HbA1c <7.0%); 42.4% (305/719) experienced hypoglycemia within 6 months of enrollment; and 38.8%, 12.9%, 12.7%, and 3.9% of patients experienced mild, moderate, severe, and very severe hypoglycemia symptoms, respectively. Several reported hypoglycemia frequency as 1–2 times over the last 6 months. The mean number of very severe hypoglycemia episodes was 3.5±5.5. CONCLUSION: Among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients treated with sulfonylurea-based regimens, glycemic levels were relatively well controlled but hypoglycemia remained a prevalent side effect.
Comorbidity ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Demography ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Hemoglobin A, Glycosylated ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Hypoglycemia ; Korea ; Medical Records ; Metformin ; Retrospective Studies

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of induction chemotherapy with docetaxel, capecitabine, and cisplatin (DXP) plus bevacizumab (BEV) on initially unresectable locally advanced gastric cancer (LAGC) or paraaortic lymph node (PAN) metastatic gastric cancer (GC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with LAGC or unresectable PAN metastatic GC received six induction chemotherapy cycles (60 mg/m2 docetaxel intravenously on day 1, 937.5 mg/m2 capecitabine orally twice daily on days 1-14, 60 mg/m2 cisplatin intravenously on day 1, and 7.5 mg/kg BEV intravenously on day 1 every 3 weeks), followed by conversion surgery. The primary endpoint was R0 resection rate. RESULTS: Thirty-one patients with invasion to adjacent organs but without PAN metastasis (n=14, LAGC group) or with PAN metastasis regardless of invasion (n=17, PAN group) were enrolled between July 2010 and December 2014. Twenty-seven patients (87.1%) completed six chemotherapy cycles. The most common grade ≥ 3 toxicities were neutropenia (71%), neutropenia with fever/infection (22.6%/3.2%), and stomatitis (16.1%). The clinical response and R0 resection rates were 64.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 46.6 to 82.0) and 64.5% (LAGC group, 71.4%; PAN group, 58.8%), respectively. The pathological complete regression rate was 12.9%. After a median follow-up of 44.5 months (range, 39.4 to 49.7 months), the median progression-free survival and overall survival were 13.1 months (95% CI, 8.9 to 17.3) and 38.6 months (95% CI, 22.0 to 55.1), respectively. CONCLUSION: Induction chemotherapy with DXP+BEV displayed antitumor activities with encouraging R0 resection rate and manageable toxicity profiles on patients with LAGC or PAN metastatic GC.
Bevacizumab* ; Capecitabine* ; Cisplatin* ; Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Therapy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gastrectomy ; Humans ; Induction Chemotherapy* ; Lymph Nodes* ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Neutropenia ; Stomach Neoplasms* ; Stomatitis

PURPOSE: Although the mutation status of KRAS is highly concordant in primary and metastatic lesions, it has not been generalized to other major pathway genes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, 41 genes were evaluated and the mutational profiles were compared in 46 colorectal cancer patients with paired surgical specimens of primary and metastatic lesions: synchronous (n=27) and metachronous (n=19) lesions. A high-throughput mass spectrometry-based genotyping platform validated by orthogonal chemistry, OncoMap v.4.4, was used to evaluate the formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded surgical specimens. The patients’ demographics, tumor characteristics, and microsatellite instability status were analyzed by a retrospective chart review. RESULTS: In this study,with OncoMap, mutationswere identified in 80.4% of patientswith the following frequency: KRAS (39.1%), TP53 (28.3%), APC (28.3%), PIK3CA (6.5%), BRAF (6.5%), and NRAS (4.3%). Although 19.6% (9/46) of the patients showed no gene mutations, 43.5% (20/46) and 37.0% (17/46) had mutations in one and two or more genes, respectively. The synchronous and metachronous lesions showed similar mutational profiles. Paired samples between primary and metastatic tumors differed in 7.4% (2/27) and 10.5% (2/19) for synchronous and metachronous according to OncoMap. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate the major pathway genes, including KRAS, TP53, APC, PIK3CA, BRAF, and NRAS, are often concordant between the primary and metastatic lesions regardless of the temporal relationship of metastasis.
Chemistry ; Colorectal Neoplasms* ; Demography ; Genomics ; Humans ; Microsatellite Instability ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVE: Chest pain is one of the most common complaints in the emergency department (ED). Cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is a frequently used tool for the early triage of patients with low- to intermediate-risk acute chest pain. We present a study protocol for a multicenter prospective randomized controlled clinical trial testing the hypothesis that a low-dose CCTA protocol using prospective electrocardiogram (ECG)-triggering and limited-scan range can provide sufficient diagnostic safety for early triage of patients with acute chest pain. METHODS: The trial will include 681 younger adult (aged 20 to 55) patients visiting EDs of three academic hospitals for acute chest pain or equivalent symptoms who require further evaluation to rule out acute coronary syndrome. Participants will be randomly allocated to either low-dose or conventional CCTA protocol at a 2:1 ratio. The low-dose group will undergo CCTA with prospective ECG-triggering and restricted scan range from sub-carina to heart base. The conventional protocol group will undergo CCTA with retrospective ECG-gating covering the entire chest. Patient disposition is determined based on computed tomography findings and clinical progression and all patients are followed for a month. The primary objective is to prove that the chance of experiencing any hard event within 30 days after a negative low-dose CCTA is less than 1%. The secondary objectives are comparisons of the amount of radiation exposure, ED length of stay and overall cost. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Our low-dose protocol is readily applicable to current multi-detector computed tomography devices. If this study proves its safety and efficacy, dose-reduction without purchasing of expensive newer devices would be possible.
Acute Coronary Syndrome ; Adult ; Angiography* ; Chest Pain ; Coronary Angiography ; Electrocardiography ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Heart ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Prospective Studies ; Radiation Exposure ; Retrospective Studies ; Thorax ; Triage

No abstract available.
Nephritis, Interstitial ; Rifampin

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a highly prevalent disorder that affects millions of men and considered to be an early symptom of atherosclerosis and a precursor of various systemic vascular disorders. The aim of the present study was to prepare ginsenoside Re enriched fraction (GS-F3K1, ginsenoside Re 10%, w/w) from ginseng berries flesh and to investigate the enhanced activities of GS-F3K1 on alcohol-induced ED. GS-F3K1 was prepared by the continuous liquid and solid separating centrifugation and circulatory ultrafiltration from ginseng berries flesh. GS-F3K1 was administered for 5 weeks in ethanol-induced ED rat by oral administration of 20% ethanol. To investigate the effects of GS-F3K1 on ED model, the levels of nitrite expression, cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) and erectile response of the penile corpus cavernosum of rat were measured. The erectile response of the corpus cavernosum was restored after GS-F3K1 administration, to a level similar to the normal group. The level of nitrite and cGMP expression in the corpus cavernosum of GS-F3K1-administered male rats was increased significantly compared to positive control group. GS-F3K1 from ginseng berries should effectively restore ethanol-induced ED in male rats and could be developed as a new functional food for the elderly men.
Administration, Oral ; Aged ; Animals ; Atherosclerosis ; Centrifugation ; Erectile Dysfunction* ; Ethanol ; Fruit* ; Functional Food ; Guanosine Monophosphate ; Humans ; Male ; Panax* ; Rats ; Ultrafiltration

PURPOSE: The hepatic resection is the gold-standard treatment for patients with colorectal-cancer liver metastases (CLM). This study aimed to identify prognostic factors in patients with synchronous CLM who underwent a surgical curative (R0) resection with respect to the number of metastatic nodules. METHODS: Of 1,261 CLM patients treated between January 1991 and December 2010, 339 who underwent a R0 resection for synchronous CLM were included in this retrospective analysis. Patients were grouped according to the number of CLM nodules: 1-2 CLM nodules, n = 272 (group 1) and 3-8 CLM nodules, n = 67 (group 2). RESULTS: The 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) rate in group 1was better than that in group 2 (P = 0.020). The multivariate analysis identified lymph-node metastasis (N2), lymphovascular invasion (LVI), and three or more CLM nodules as independent poor prognostic factors for PFS in all patients and lymph-node metastasis (N2) and LVI as independent poor prognostic factors for patients in group 1. No independent prognostic factors were identified for patients in group 2. CLM treatment method and neoadjuvant chemotherapy were not associated with survival. CONCLUSION: Three or more metastatic nodules, lymph-node metastasis (N2), and LVI were independent poor prognostic factors for PFS in patients with synchronous CLM who underwent a R0 resection. The latter 2 factors were also independent prognostic factors for PFS in patients with less than 3 CLM nodules; however, in patients with three or more CLM nodules, the prognosis for PFS may be related only to liver metastasis.
Colorectal Neoplasms* ; Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Liver* ; Methods ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine whether the presence of anti-ribonucleoprotein (anti-RNP) antibodies at diagnosis is associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) flares in newly diagnosed patients during the first year of follow-up. METHODS: The medical records of 71 newly diagnosed SLE patients without other concomitant autoimmune disease, serious infection, or malignancy were reviewed retrospectively. SLE flares were defined according to the SLE Disease Activity Index 2000. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to the presence or absence of anti-RNP, and variables were compared between the groups. RESULTS: During the first year of follow-up, SLE patients with anti-RNP at diagnosis more frequently presented with mucosal ulcers (p=0.003), rash (p=0.001), and arthritis (p=0.007), compared to those without anti-RNP. The SLE flare incidence was remarkably higher in patients with anti-RNP than in those without anti-RNP (62.5% vs. 23.1%, p=0.001). SLE patients with anti-RNP at diagnosis had a significantly higher risk of ever experiencing a SLE flare during the first year of follow-up, compared to those without anti-RNP (odds ratio=8.250). CONCLUSION: In conclusion, SLE patients with anti-RNP at diagnosis were more than 8-fold more likely to experience an SLE flare during the first year of follow-up.
Antibodies ; Arthritis ; Autoimmune Diseases ; Diagnosis* ; Exanthema ; Follow-Up Studies* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic* ; Medical Records ; Retrospective Studies ; Ulcer

Rectus sheath hematoma, caused by rupture of epigastric vessel or muscle tear, is most frequently encountered in association with anticoagulation therapy, trauma, operation, and hematologic disorder. It rarely occurs spontaneously. Rectus sheath hematoma related to subcutaneous injection of insulin is very rare. We report a case of percutaneous catheterbased coil embolization for treatment of rectus sheath hematoma caused by subcutaneous injection of insulin on abdomen during anticoagulation and antiplatelet therapy in an 83-year-old thin woman with diabetes.
Abdomen ; Aged, 80 and over ; Embolization, Therapeutic ; Epigastric Arteries* ; Female ; Hematoma* ; Humans ; Injections, Subcutaneous ; Insulin* ; Rectus Abdominis ; Rupture

Hypertensive nephrosclerosis is usually associated with chronic hypertension, which increases the risk of progressive renal disease. Among the causes of malignant hypertension, thrombotic microangiopathy is complicated and is associated with renal dysfunction at the time of diagnosis. In this case, a young man with hypertension presented with renal failure and thrombocytopenia in the emergency department. This case emphasizes the importance of early recognition of renal failure and thrombocytopenia among patients with uncontrolled hypertension.
Blood Pressure* ; Diagnosis ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Hypertension, Malignant ; Nephrosclerosis ; Renal Insufficiency ; Thrombocytopenia ; Thrombotic Microangiopathies*