Von Recklinghausen's disease is an autosomal dominant hereditary disease associated with characteristic cafeau-lait spots of skin and multiple neurofibromatosis. It is complicated by malignancies, which in most cases is neurofibrosarcoma. The development of lung cancer in von Recklinghausen's disease is rare. A 61-year-old male was admitted for cough and sputum for 20 days. He had multiple cafe-au-lait spots and subcutaneous neurofibromas in whole body area and Lisch nodules in both iris and he had been diagnosed von Recklinghausen s disease 35 years ago. Chest radiography showed emphysematous buliae in both upper lung field and mass in right upper lung field. Chest CT scan revealed subcarinal lymph node enlargement. Bronchoscopic biopsy was done in mass in superior segment of right lower lobe and the results showed squamous cell carcinoma. The presence of von Recklinghausen's disease and lung cancer are noteworthy.
Biopsy ; Cafe-au-Lait Spots ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Cough ; Genetic Diseases, Inborn ; Humans ; Iris ; Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung* ; Lymph Nodes ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neurofibroma ; Neurofibromatoses ; Neurofibromatosis 1* ; Neurofibrosarcoma ; Radiography ; Skin ; Sputum ; Thorax ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Measlazine(5-Aminosalicylic acid, 5-ASA), a component of Sulfasalazine (sulfapyridine bound to 5-ASA), is used to treat inflammatory bowel disease. Most adverse pulmonary effects caused by sulfasalazine have been attributed to sulfapyridine. However, lung toxicity associated with measlazine(5-ASA) is rare. Here we report a case of eosinophilic pneumonia in a 44-year-old woman with ulcerative colitis, who was treated with mesalazine. She developed symptoms of a dry cough, mild night fever, and evertional dyspnea. Bilateral peripheral pulmonary infiltrates, peripheral blood eosinophilia, and histologic features were consistent with eosinophilic pneumonia. The symptoms improved quite rapidly after the discontinuation of mesalazine and initiation of steroid therapy. Therefore, adverse pulmonary reactions to mesalazine must be considered in a differential diagnosis of pulmonary involvement in patients with inflammatory bowel disease who are receiving with measlazine therapy.
Adult ; Colitis, Ulcerative* ; Cough ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Dyspnea ; Eosinophilia ; Eosinophils* ; Female ; Fever ; Humans ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Lung ; Mesalamine ; Pulmonary Eosinophilia* ; Sulfapyridine ; Sulfasalazine ; Ulcer*

NSAIDs are now the most widely prescribed of all drugs for the therapy of a large variety of disorders including rheumatologic disorders, and so the population of patients who are at risk for adverse effects of these drugs is rapidly expanding. A number of renal and electrolyte problems have been associated with the use of NSAIDs, including alterations in glome-rular filtration rate, hyperkalemia, acute interstitial nephritis and papillary necrosis. While the use of NSAIDs has also been associated with minimal change nephrotic syndrome, this complication has almost invariably occured in association with an acute interstitial nephritis. Recently, we experienced a case of minimal change nephrotic syndrome without significant interstitial inflammation associated with the use of NSAIDs. This patient is a 64-year-old female who developed the generalized edema and about 10kg of weight gain since three days ago. She had taken the anti-inflammatory drugs for five years intermittently and started taking diclofenac sodium, 25mg orally three times a day, 10 days before admission for increasing pain in her knees. Laboratory findings disclosed the following values WBC 5,200/mm3 with only 0.6% eosinophils, total serum protein 4.0g/dL, albumin 1.2 g/dL, BUN 17mg/dL, creatinine 0.8mg/dL, sodium 140 mmol/L, potassium 4.0mmol/L, chloride 113mmol/L, total cholesterol 338mg/dL, triglyceride 203mg/dL; 24-hour protein excretion 3.6g, creatinine clearance 52.8 mL/min ; serologic tests were unremarkable. A renal biopsy revealed no abnormality except for focal mild interstitial infiltration of chronic inflammatory cells with a few atrophic tubules on light microscopy. Immunofluorescence studies showed diffuse trace mesangial deposits of IgM, and electromicroscopy revealed diffuse obliteration of the epithelial foot process and villous transformation of the epitherial cell cytoplasms without electrondense deposits. These findings were consistent with minimal-change disease. Diclofenac was discontinued on admission because of the likelihood the renal disease was drugrelated and she treated with low-dose(40-80mg/d) of furosemide. Fourteen days after stopping diclofenac, her massive edema and weight gain resolved and laboratory studies showed a 24-hour urine protein excretion of 80mg and serum albumin of 2.7g/dL. There has been no relapse for five months since then.
Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal ; Biopsy ; Cholesterol ; Creatinine ; Cytoplasm ; Diclofenac* ; Edema ; Eosinophils ; Female ; Filtration ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Foot ; Furosemide ; Humans ; Hyperkalemia ; Immunoglobulin M ; Inflammation ; Knee ; Microscopy ; Middle Aged ; Necrosis ; Nephritis, Interstitial ; Nephrosis, Lipoid ; Potassium ; Recurrence ; Serologic Tests ; Serum Albumin ; Sodium ; Triglycerides ; Weight Gain

Alendronate sodium (Fosamax(R)) is an aminophosphonate used in treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis by inhibition of osteoclastic activity. Esophageal ulcers related to alendronate use have been reported at the rate of 2~6%. However, there have been no reports of esophagitis or esophageal ulcer by alendronate in Korea. We present a case of esophageal ulcer caused by alendronate. The patient presented with retrosternal pain and severe odynophagia for a few days. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed multiple deep ulcers at the esophagus. Her symptoms resolved completely after stopping alendronate. A follow-up esophagogastroduodenoscopy 6 weeks later revealed complete healing of the ulcers.
Alendronate* ; Endoscopy, Digestive System ; Esophagitis ; Esophagus ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Korea ; Osteoclasts ; Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal ; Ulcer*

Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disease that results from an antibody-mediated reaction and occurs with thymoma in 15+ACU- of patients. It is very rarely associated with autoimmune hepatitis. Four cases of myasthenia gravis with autoimmune hepatitis have been reported in the world. We recently experienced a case of 30-year-old man with myasthenia gravis associated with thymoma and autoimmune hepatitis. This condition is the first case that has not been reported previously in Korea. We report this rare condition along with a brief review of the literature.
Adult ; Case Report ; HLA-DR Antigens/genetics ; Hepatitis, Autoimmune/etiology+ACo- ; Human ; Male ; Myasthenia Gravis/complications+ACo- ; Thymoma/etiology+ACo- ; Thymus Neoplasms/etiology+ACo-

Lung cancer begins insidiously, metastasizes early, and is frequently nonresectable at the time of diagnosis. Gastrointestinal metastases are considered the most unusual. A 60 year-old man was admitted for the evaluation of dizziness. For two weeks prior to admission, he had mild blood-tinged sputum and melena. He had right cervical lymphadenopathy, measured by 2 2 cm. Laboratory studies demonstrated hemoglobin of 3.7 g/dL. Posteroanterior and lateral chest radiographs revealed mass-like lesion of right upper lobe. An umblicated mass was found in the sigmoid colon by colonoscopic examination and biopsy was done. He developed abdominal pain, tenderness and rebound tenderness at admission 10 days. Abdominal CT showed that focal thickened wall and suspicious perforated lesion at the ileum. Operation was done. In recent time, we experienced a case in which perforation of gastrointestinal metastases developed with malignant tumors of the lung.
Abdominal Pain ; Biopsy ; Colon, Sigmoid* ; Diagnosis ; Dizziness ; Humans ; Ileum ; Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung* ; Lymphatic Diseases ; Melena ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Radiography, Thoracic ; Sputum ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Behcet's disease is a complex multisystem disease that features recurrent aphthous stomatitis, recurrent genital ulcerations, and eye lesions(uveitis or chorioretinitis). Among the systemic manifestat ions, pulmonary involvement is known to be rare and only a few cases have been documented. The most important features of pulmonary lesions in Behcet's disease are recurrent hemoptysis, which is often massive, and fatal pleuritic chest pain and recurrent high fever and fleeting nature of the pulmonary infiltrates. We report a case of Behcet's disease manifestated as high fever and pleural effusions which was complicated by pulmonary infarction ans a result of pulmonary arteritis.
Arteritis ; Chest Pain ; Fever ; Hemoptysis ; Ions ; Pleural Effusion* ; Pulmonary Infarction ; Stomatitis, Aphthous ; Ulcer

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) is a method widely used for long-term enteral nutrition in dysphagia. Mostly, it is preceded by nasogastric intubation (NI) for short-term enteral nutrition; endoscopic findings associated with NI are encountered during PEG. The purpose of this study was to discuss such findings and to delineate a relationship between these findings, especially esophageal lesions and the duration of NI. METHODS: This study involved 185 individuals who had undergone PEG at Kyung Hee Medical Center from January 1999 to May 2002. The medical records were examined retrospectively. RESULTS: The dysfunction of the CNS comprised 98.4% of the causes of dysphagia. The duration of NI was 15.2 weeks on average, with median value of 8.7 weeks, indicating that PEG was performed relatively soon. Endoscopic findings revealed esophagitis in 63 cases, esophageal ulcers in 27 and active bleedings in another 10. The incidence of esophageal lesions was shown to be higher in subjects with duration of NI under 12 weeks than in those with duration over 12 weeks (p=0.032). CONCLUSIONS: PEG was carried out in many cases during the early stages of dysphagia, and NI-associated esophageal lesions appeared to be more prevalent within 12 weeks of NI duration. These results may be of help in deciding the timing of PEG.
Adult ; Aged ; Deglutition Disorders/therapy ; *Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal ; Enteral Nutrition ; Esophageal Diseases/*diagnosis/etiology ; Esophagus/*pathology ; Female ; *Gastrostomy ; Humans ; *Intubation, Gastrointestinal/adverse effects ; Male ; Middle Aged

BACKGROUND/AIMS: There has been a shift of the etiologies of chronic liver disease in the 1990s. Therefore, we studied clinical characteristics of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the 90s. METHODS: Medical records of 806 patients diagnosed as having primary HCC were reviewed. Etiology, clinical and laboratory characteristics were evaluated according to the time of diagnosis (the early period, 1992~1995; the late period, 1996~2000). RESULTS: The mean age was 55.7 years and male to female ratio was 4.6:1. The proportion of the symptomatic patients at the time of diagnosis was decreased from 67.4% of the early period to 41.3% of the late period. On the other hand, that of the patients detected by a periodic check-up was increased up to 58.7% in the late period from 32.6% in the early period (p<0.01). The majority of the patients accompanied cirrhosis (73.3%) and the main cause of HCC was HBV (78.6%) with no changes in the etiologic distribution according to the periods. The proportion of the candidates for surgical resection was significantly increased to 12.4% in the late period compared with 7.1% in the early period. CONCLUSIONS: Although the proportion of HCC which can be treated curatively has increased in the later half of the 1990s, its absolute number is still small. More meticulous periodic examination may be required in high risk patients.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/*diagnosis/epidemiology/etiology ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Korea/epidemiology ; Liver Neoplasms/*diagnosis/epidemiology/etiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence

Foreign bodies in the stomach usually are accidentally swallowed and rarely produce symptoms. For diagnosis, suspicion and report of related history with abdominal symptoms are important. Simple radiographs and endoscopy easily identify foreign objects. Abdominal computed tomography may be useful in some cases, although it is not essential. We experienced a case of a gastric foreign body incidentally diagnosed by a follow-up abdominal computed tomography (CT) for hepatoma. A 53-year-old male with B viral liver cirrhosis and hepatoma, visited our hospital for a routine follow-up check of hepatoma. He had a symptom of epigastric discomfort for two weeks. An abdominal CT showed a foreign body penetrating the stomach wall, and it was successfully removed endoscopically.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* ; Diagnosis ; Endoscopy ; Follow-Up Studies* ; Foreign Bodies* ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Stomach ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed