We report the experiences of pump-driven continuous venovenous hemofiltration therapy in three children with acute renal failure. The all three patients required mechanical ventilation and needed the support of vasopressors. Renal replacement therapy was needed to meet the metabolic and fluid balance, but intermittent hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis were not feasible because of hemodynamic instability and concurrent infection. We instituted pump-driven continuous venovenous hemofiltration(CVVH), and immediate improvement of pulmonary edema and successful removal of retained fluid were observed. Urea clearance also was satisfactory. During the filter running time, significant thromboembolic event or rapid drop of systemic blood pressure were absent. We concluded that the CVVH is an effective and safe method of renal support for critically ill pediatric patient.
Acute Kidney Injury ; Blood Pressure ; Child ; Critical Illness ; Hemodynamics ; Hemofiltration* ; Humans ; Peritoneal Dialysis ; Pulmonary Edema ; Renal Dialysis ; Renal Replacement Therapy ; Respiration, Artificial ; Running ; Urea ; Water-Electrolyte Balance

We report a case of Alport syndrome associated with esophageal leiomyomatosis, presenting as recurrent pneumonia. A 5-year old girl who had a history of cataract visited the out patient clinic with a complaint of recurrent wheezing and respiratory difficulty which had started five months previously. Chest magnetic resonance image(MRI) and esophagography, checked on the suspicion of achalasia, revealed esophageal leiomyomatosis and renal biopsy revealed Alport syndrome. In the pediatric population, this tumor is a rare cause of dysphagia and is often misdiagnosed as an esophageal motility disorder. Although a number of Alport syndrome associated with leiomyomatosis were reported in the literature, this is a second case report presented with recurrent pneumonia in Korea.
Biopsy ; Cataract ; Child, Preschool ; Deglutition Disorders ; Esophageal Achalasia ; Esophageal Motility Disorders ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Leiomyomatosis* ; Nephritis, Hereditary* ; Pneumonia ; Respiratory Sounds ; Thorax

On April, 2009, pandemic influenza (H1N1 2009) emerged in the United States at first. Clinical outcomes of this infection are reported as ranging from self-limited illness to respiratory failure or death. There were more than 250 deaths due to pandemic influenza until March 2010. Influenza-related deaths occurred in the elderly and in patients with underlying medical conditions. Most of the critically ill patients showed severe hypoxia and acute respiratory distress syndrome and required ventilator care. We experienced a 70-year-old man presenting with pandemic influenza (H1N1 2009) with heart failure. He was treated with antival agents, ventalator and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. But his heart function was aggravared and resulted in his death.
Aged ; Anoxia ; Critical Illness ; Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation ; Heart ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Influenza, Human ; Pandemics ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Adult ; Respiratory Insufficiency ; United States ; Ventilators, Mechanical

BACKGROUND AND AIM: While detection and removal of polyps on the basis of the adenoma-carcinoma sequence has been a principal procedure for endoscopists, a new type of early colorectal cancer has been recognized and has become a hot issue. This new ailment is a depressed-type early colorectal cancer, which has the characteristics of rapid growth and early invasion of the submucosa. Though once considered to be mere conjecture, many researchers claim that this cancer is a de novo carcinoma despite of its rare occurrence. Recently, 4 depressed-type neoplastic lesions were presented, which signifies the importance of recognizing that this type of cancer exists and is characterized by rapid growth and early invasion of the submucosa. METHODS: The 4 recently experienced depressed neoplastic lesions were reviewed and analyzed with respect to their endoscopic and clinicopathologic characteristics. The sizes of the lesions were measured in the fully inflated state of the bowel by using an endoscopic ruler. RESULTS: The sites of predilection were the descending and sigmoid colon. All of the lesions were under 10 mm, with 75% being below 5 mm. The largest lesion was an 8-mm, well-differentiated mucosal carcinoma. The overall malignancy rate was 25%. Light redness was observed in all patients. Distortion with air transformation of the mucosal fold was also recognized in all the patients. The main treatment was endoscopic mucosal resection, which amounted to 50%. CONCLUSIONS: Depressed colorectal neoplasms are real. They can be determined by their characteristic endoscopic features, such as light redness and distortion with air transformation of the mucosal fold. Because of their characteristics of rapid growth and early invasion of the submucosa, it is important to detect and manage them in an early stage, when their sizes are below 10 mm.
Colon, Sigmoid ; Colorectal Neoplasms* ; Humans ; Polyps

PURPOSE: Depressed colorectal cancer is a newly recognized colorectal cancer. It has the characteristics of rapid growth and early invasion of the submucosa. Accordingly, recognition of that lesion is important. However, it is still rarely detected in Korea. This study was designed to evaluate the characteristics of depressed colorectal neoplastic lesions. METHODS: We experienced 22 cases of depressed neoplastic lesions from January 1997 to December 1998. All of them were detected by performing colonoscopy. Among them, 6 were early colorectal cancers. The twenty-two cases accounted for 1.3% of all neoplastic lesions but advanced colorectal cancers encountered during the same period, and the six accounted for 6.6% of all early colorectal cancers during that period. We reviewed and analyzed those 22 lesions with respect to their clinicopathologic characteristics, especially size and histology. RESULTS: The most common age group was the 6th decade. The male-to-female ratio was 2.7 to 1. The predilection of sites were the descending colon, the transverse colon, and the sigmoid colon in that order. The most common size was 3~4 mm, 9 lesions (40.9%) and the next was 5~6 mm, 7 lesions (31.8%). Twenty lesions (90.9%) were 8 mm or smaller in size. The overall malignancy rate was 27.3% (6/22), comprising 9.1% (2/22) for mucosal cancers, and 18.2% (4/22) for submucosal ones. The two lesions which were larger than 10 mm were submucosal cancers. Endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) was the most common type of treatment, accounting for 59.1%. Two submucosal cancers and one mucosal cancer were operated on without any endoscopic treatment. That one mucosal cancer had initially been suspected of being a submucosal one upon endoscopic examination. There were neither complications nor recurrences during the average 10-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: The target for detecting and treating depressed colorectal cancer should be lesions below 10 mm in size, and the treatment of choice should be EMR.
Colon, Descending ; Colon, Sigmoid ; Colon, Transverse ; Colonoscopy ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; Diagnosis* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Korea ; Recurrence

BACKGROUND: Generally ulcerative colitis has a character that has a continuous pathological lesion from the rectum toward the cecum. Ulcerative appendicitis with a skipped appendiceal orifice lesion, which is unusual in ulcerative colitis, has been infrequently reported, and its clinical characteristics have not been identified. PURPOSE: This study was carried out to evaluate the incidence rate and the clinical characteristics of ulcerative appendicitis. METHODS: One hundred consecutive patients with ulcerative colitis who had been treated from Jan. 1997 to Aug. 1998 at Song-Do Colorectal Hospital were used for the study. Data evaluated included age, sex, involved site, clinical type, clinical severity of the disease, and endoscopic severity of the disease. RESULTS: Nineteen (19%) of the 100 patients had skipped lesions around the appendiceal orifice; the other 81 did not. There were no significant differences between these two groups with respect to the age and the sex distributions, the involved site, the clinical type, and the clinical severity. There was a correlation between the endoscopic grades, based on the Riley classification, of the lesions at the rectum and at the appendiceal orifice. Seven patients (36.8%) of the 19 patients with appendiceal orifice lesions showed an extended lesion from the appendiceal orifice to the cecum. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that appendiceal lesions in ulcerative colitis are not infrequent. Even though no significant differences in the clinical characteristics of ulcerative colitis with ulcerative appendicitis, compared with those of ulcerative colitis without ulcerative appendicitis, were found, we suggest that more profound study of ulcerative appendicitis probably contribute to understand the pathophysiology of ulcerative colitis.
Appendicitis ; Cecum ; Classification ; Colitis, Ulcerative* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Rectum ; Sex Distribution ; Ulcer*

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: There are two main routes in the growth and development of colo-rectal carcinomas, that is to say, the adenoma-carcinoma sequence and the route described by the de novo theory. The adenoma-carcinoma sequence has been considered a principal route for colorectal carcinomas for a long time, but recently the de novo cancer theory has become a controversial issue, and many authors have claimed that their cases were de novo carcinomas. Since Muto described small "flat elevations" and emphasized their significance as precursors of colorectal carcinomas, especially of flat colorectal carci-nomas, many flat elevations have been reported. He cautioned that the reported de novo carcinomas could also be carcinomas that developed from small flat adenomas. In addition, no data are available in Korea on the subject of flat elevations. Accordingly, we attempted to analyze flat elevations in the colon and to obtain correlations between their endoscopic and histologic features and their clinical implications. METHODS: The authors performed colonoscopic removal of 146 flat elevations from January 1997 to December 1997 at Song-Do Colorectal Hospital in Seoul, Korea. We reviewed and analyzed all those lesions. During colonoscopy, the sizes of the lesions were measured by an endoscopic ruler. RESULTS: The most common age group was the sixth decade. Only one case involved a patient under 30 years old. The male-to-female ratio was 3.2 : 1. The numbers of flat adenomas and flat adenocarcinomas were 68 and 1, respectively. These 69 cases amounted to 47.3% of the flat elevations. The malignancy rate for flat adenomas was 1.4% (1/69). There were no malignancies in flat elevations with diameters below 10 mm. Hyperplasticpolyps and chronic nonspecific inflammation showed 34.9% and 15.8%, respectively. Most of the flat elevations were smaller than 10 mm (98.6%). Recognizable endoscopic features of the flat elevations were redness (47.3%) and depression (15.8%), but 50 cases (34.2%) of the flat elevations had no specific features. Flat elevations smaller than 5 mm had discolorations in 15 cases (14%). The sigmoid colon was the most common site of the flat elevations. The percentage of flat elevations found in the sigmoid colon and the rectum was 70.5%. Hot biopsy was the main treatment for lesions smaller than 5 mm (75.7%), and snare polypectomy was the main treament for lesions from 5 mm to 9 mm. CONCLUSIONS: Flat elevations were detected without difficulty through careful examination. Nearly half of the flat elevations were flat adenomas. Accordingly, flat elevations may have some clinical significance on the basis of the adenoma-carcinoma sequence, but flat elevations greater than 10 mm should be managed cautiously because of possible malignancy.
Adenocarcinoma ; Adenoma ; Adult ; Biopsy ; Colon* ; Colon, Sigmoid ; Colonoscopy ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; Depression ; Growth and Development ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Korea ; Rectum ; Seoul ; SNARE Proteins

PURPOSE: The clinical guidelines and rationale published by the American Gastroenterological Association in 1997 recommended that it is not necessary to screen patients in the average risk group who are below the age of 50. The purpose of this study was to evaluate both the effectiveness of flexible sigmoidoscopy (FS) as a diagnostic and screening tool and the utility of screening at an age earlier than 50 years. METHODS: From Jan. to Dec. 1997, FS was used in 8964 cases. These cases were divided into three groups: Group A, 1336 outpatients; Group B, 5308 cases involving a hemorrhoidal operation; and Group C, 2320 cases of mass screening. RESULTS: The mean age was lower in Group B (42.4 11.5) than in Group A (47.0 14.5) and Group C (46.1 10.7). The incidences of cancer, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and nonspecific proctocolitis in Group A were significantly higher than they were in Groups B and C, and the FS findings in Groups B and C were similiar. The locations of the polyps, cancer, IBD, and nonspecific proctocolitis were below the left colon in 91.9% cases involving an abnormal finding. Also, the locations of polyps and IBD determined by using FS and by using colonoscopy (CS) were not very different. About two-thirds of the carcinomas found by using FS in all three groups were located in the upper rectum and the sigmoid. In Group B, the FS findings did not depend on whether or not an enema had been administered. Also, the total incidence of cancer in patients less than forty years of age was nearly the same as the incidence of cancer in Group B and the incidence of cancer in Group C. CONCLUSIONS:The risk of cancer for patients in the average risk group who are under 50 years of age should not be underestimated. FS is effective not only for the diagnosis of colorectal disease but also as an initial screening technique for patients below forty years of age.
Colon ; Colon, Sigmoid ; Colonoscopy ; Diagnosis ; Enema ; Hemorrhoids ; Humans ; Incidence ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Mass Screening* ; Outpatients* ; Polyps ; Proctocolitis ; Rectum ; Sigmoidoscopy*