Aged ; Bile Duct Diseases ; complications ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Bile Duct Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; complications ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Humans ; Jaundice, Obstructive ; etiology ; Klatskin Tumor ; diagnosis ; Liver Neoplasms ; complications ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Thrombosis ; complications ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Idiopathic cecal ulcer is a rare disease entity of unknown cause diagnosed by ruling out other known causes of cecal ulceration. The most common complication of an idiopathic cecal ulcer is bleeding; perforation, peritonitis, abscess, and stricture formation have been noted. The authors treated a 53-year-old woman who presented with fever and intermittent right upper quadrant abdominal pain. Multiple pyogenic liver abscess and a solitary cecal ulcer were diagnosed by radiologic, endoscopic, and pathologic examination, followed by laparoscopic cecectomy. After extensive study, we concluded that this patient's liver abscesses were a complication of the idiopathic cecal ulcer. Herein, we report a case of multiple pyogenic liver abscess caused by microperforation of idiopathic cecal ulcer.
Cecal Diseases/complications/*diagnosis/surgery ; Colonoscopy ; Female ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Liver/pathology ; Liver Abscess, Pyogenic/*diagnosis/etiology ; Middle Aged ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Ulcer/complications/*diagnosis/surgery

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Patients with liver cirrhosis (LC) are at risk for critical events leading to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission. Coagulopathy in cirrhotic patients is complex and can lead to bleeding as well as thrombosis. The aim of this study was to investigate bleeding complications in critically ill patients with LC admitted to a medical ICU (MICU). METHODS: All adult patients admitted to our MICU with a diagnosis of LC from January 2006 to December 2012 were retrospectively assessed. Patients with major bleeding at the time of MICU admission were excluded from the analysis. RESULTS: A total of 205 patients were included in the analysis. The median patient age was 62 years, and 69.3% of the patients were male. The most common reason for MICU admission was acute respiratory failure (45.4%), followed by sepsis (27.3%). Major bleeding occurred in 25 patients (12.2%). The gastrointestinal tract was the most common site of bleeding (64%), followed by the respiratory tract (20%). In a multivariate analysis, a low platelet count at MICU admission (odds ratio [OR], 0.98; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.97 to 0.99) and sepsis (OR, 8.35; 95% CI, 1.04 to 67.05) were independent risk factors for major bleeding. The ICU fatality rate was significantly greater among patients with major bleeding (84.0% vs. 58.9%, respectively; p = 0.015). CONCLUSIONS: Major bleeding occurred in 12.2% of critically ill cirrhotic patients admitted to the MICU. A low platelet count at MICU admission and sepsis were associated with an increased risk of major bleeding during the MICU stay. Further study is needed to better understand hemostasis in critically ill patients with LC.
Aged ; Blood Platelets ; Critical Illness ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage/blood/diagnosis/*etiology/mortality ; Hospital Mortality ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Liver Cirrhosis/blood/*complications/diagnosis/mortality ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Odds Ratio ; Platelet Count ; Prognosis ; Republic of Korea ; Respiratory Tract Diseases/blood/diagnosis/*etiology/mortality ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Sepsis/blood/complications ; Time Factors

OBJECTIVETo compare the clinical features of children with different clinical forms of congenital hepatic fibrosis (CHF), and provides a description of the characteristics of childhood CHF.

METHODSSixty children with CHF between January 2002 and June 2015 were enrolled, including 26 children with portal hypertensive CHF (PH CHF), 3 children with cholangitic CHF, 30 children with combined portal hypertensive and cholangitic CHF (mixed CHF), and 1 child with latent forms of CHF. The medical data of 26 children with PH CHF and 30 children with mixed CHF, including gender, age, clinical manifestations, physical signs, laboratory tests and imaging characteristics, were retrospectively studied.

RESULTSFever, jaundice and hepatomegaly were more frequently noted in children with mixed CHF than in those with PH CHF (P<0.05). Splenomegaly and liver cirrhosis occurred more often in children with CHF, but there was no significant difference in the incidences of splenomegaly and liver cirrhosis between the children with PH CHF and mixed CHF. The plasma prothrombin activity, white blood cell counts, platelet counts, mean platelet volume, serum levels of alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, γ-glutamyl transferase, leucine aminopeptidase, and total bile acids in children with mixed CHF were higher than in those with PH CHF (P<0.05). The decreased international normalized ratio and lower serum albumin levels were more frequently observed in children with mixed CHF than in those with PH CHF (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSPH and mixed CHF are common forms in childhood CHF. The children with the two forms of PH usually manifest portal hypertension such as cirrhosis and hepatosplenomegaly. The liver damage may be common in children with mixed CHF.

Adolescent ; Alkaline Phosphatase ; blood ; Child ; Female ; Genetic Diseases, Inborn ; complications ; diagnosis ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; complications ; diagnosis ; Male ; Splenomegaly ; etiology

Portal hypertension is a severe consequence of chronic liver diseases and is responsible for the main clinical complications of liver cirrhosis. Hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) measurement is the best available method to evaluate the presence and severity of portal hypertension. Clinically significant portal hypertension is defined as an increase in HVPG to >10 mmHg. In this condition, the complications of portal hypertension might begin to appear. HVPG measurement is increasingly used in the clinical fields, and the HVPG is a robust surrogate marker in many clinical applications such as diagnosis, risk stratification, identification of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who are candidates for liver resection, monitoring of the efficacy of medical treatment, and assessment of progression of portal hypertension. Patients who had a reduction in HVPG of > or =20% or to < or =12 mmHg in response to drug therapy are defined as responders. Responders have a markedly decreased risk of bleeding/rebleeding, ascites, and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, which results in improved survival. This review provides clinical use of HVPG measurement in the field of liver disease.
Chronic Disease ; Hemodynamics ; Hemorrhage/etiology ; Hepatic Veins/physiology ; Humans ; Hypertension, Portal/complications ; Liver Cirrhosis/diagnosis ; Liver Diseases/complications/*physiopathology ; Portal Pressure

Biomarkers ; analysis ; Delayed Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Liver Diseases ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Liver Function Tests ; Nephrotic Syndrome ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Penicillin G ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Skin Diseases ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Syphilis, Congenital ; complications ; diagnosis ; drug therapy

Bone Diseases, Metabolic ; diagnosis ; etiology ; therapy ; Chronic Disease ; Humans ; Liver Diseases ; complications ; diagnosis ; therapy

Cholestasis ; complications ; Consensus ; Humans ; Liver Diseases ; diagnosis ; etiology ; therapy ; Practice Guidelines as Topic

Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMZ) is a commonly used antibiotic that has been associated with drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) syndrome. DRESS syndrome is characterised by fever, rash, lymphadenopathy, eosinophilia and one or more major organ involvement. Although rare, TMP-SMZ is a recognised cause of fulminant hepatic failure. We report a 17-year-old Chinese male adolescent who presented with fever, myalgia, generalised maculopapular rash and lymphadenopathy after taking TMP-SMZ for acne vulgaris. He subsequently developed hepatic encephalopathy and was worked up for urgent liver transplantation. He responded well to extracorporeal liver dialysis (originally intended as a bridging therapy) and subsequently recovered without the need for liver transplantation. This case report highlights the importance of early recognition of TMP-SMZ-induced DRESS syndrome and the need for early discontinuation of the drug in the affected patient. Extracorporeal liver dialysis and transplantation should be considered in the management of TMP-SMZ-induced fulminant hepatic failure.
Acne Vulgaris ; complications ; drug therapy ; Adolescent ; Anti-Infective Agents ; adverse effects ; Biopsy ; Drug Eruptions ; etiology ; Drug Hypersensitivity Syndrome ; diagnosis ; etiology ; Fever ; etiology ; Humans ; Liver Failure, Acute ; etiology ; therapy ; Lymphatic Diseases ; etiology ; Male ; Myalgia ; etiology ; Renal Dialysis ; methods ; Skin ; pathology ; Treatment Outcome ; Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination ; adverse effects

PURPOSE: We hypothesized that parenteral nutrition associated cholestasis (PNAC) would be more severe in small for gestational age (SGA) compared with appropriate for gestational age (AGA) very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-one VLBW infants were diagnosed as PNAC with exposure to parenteral nutrition with elevation of direct bilirubin > or =2 mg/dL for > or =14 days. Twenty-one SGA infants and 40 AGA infants matched for gestation were compared. RESULTS: Compared with AGA infants, PNAC in SGA infants was diagnosed earlier (25+/-7 days vs. 35+/-14 days, p=0.002) and persisted longer (62+/-36 days vs. 46+/-27 days, p=0.048). Severe PNAC, defined as persistent elevation of direct bilirubin > or =4 mg/dL for more than 1 month with elevation of liver enzymes, was more frequent in SGA than in AGA infants (61% vs. 35%, p=0.018). The serum total bilirubin and direct bilirubin levels during the 13 weeks of life were significantly different in SGA compared with AGA infants. SGA infants had more frequent (76% vs. 50%, p=0.046), and persistent elevation of alanine aminotransferase. CONCLUSION: The clinical course of PNAC is more persistent and severe in SGA infants. Careful monitoring and treatment are required for SGA infants.
Bilirubin/blood ; Case-Control Studies ; Cholestasis/diagnosis/epidemiology/*etiology ; Comorbidity ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature, Diseases/epidemiology/etiology ; *Infant, Small for Gestational Age ; Infant, Very Low Birth Weight ; Liver/metabolism/physiopathology ; Male ; Parenteral Nutrition/*adverse effects