PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate imaging and histopathologic findings including the immunohistochemical characteristics of invasive micropapillary carcinoma (IMPC) of the breast. METHODS: Twenty-nine patients diagnosed with IMPC were included in the present study. Mammographic, sonographic, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings were analyzed retrospectively according to the American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System lexicon. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) findings were also evaluated. Microscopic slides of surgical specimens were reviewed in consensus by two pathologists with a specialty in breast pathology. RESULTS: Most IMPCs presented as a high density irregular mass with a non-circumscribed margin associated with microcalcifications on mammography, as an irregular hypoechoic mass with a spiculated margin on ultrasound, and as irregular spiculated masses with washout patterns on MRI. PET-CT showed a high maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) (mean, 11.2). Axillary nodal metastases were identified in 65.5% of the patients. Immunohistochemical studies showed high positivities for estrogen receptor and c-erbB-2 (93.1% and 51.7micro, respectively). CONCLUSION: Even though the imaging characteristics of IMPCs are not distinguishable from typical invasive ductal carcinomas, this tumor type frequently results in nodal metastases and high positivities for both estrogen receptor and c-erbB-2. The high SUVmax value that is apparent on PET-CT might be helpful in the diagnosis of IMPC.
Breast ; Carcinoma, Ductal ; Consensus ; Electrons ; Estrogens ; Humans ; Information Systems ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Mammography ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Retrospective Studies

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate imaging and histopathologic findings including the immunohistochemical characteristics of invasive micropapillary carcinoma (IMPC) of the breast. METHODS: Twenty-nine patients diagnosed with IMPC were included in the present study. Mammographic, sonographic, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings were analyzed retrospectively according to the American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System lexicon. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) findings were also evaluated. Microscopic slides of surgical specimens were reviewed in consensus by two pathologists with a specialty in breast pathology. RESULTS: Most IMPCs presented as a high density irregular mass with a non-circumscribed margin associated with microcalcifications on mammography, as an irregular hypoechoic mass with a spiculated margin on ultrasound, and as irregular spiculated masses with washout patterns on MRI. PET-CT showed a high maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) (mean, 11.2). Axillary nodal metastases were identified in 65.5% of the patients. Immunohistochemical studies showed high positivities for estrogen receptor and c-erbB-2 (93.1% and 51.7micro, respectively). CONCLUSION: Even though the imaging characteristics of IMPCs are not distinguishable from typical invasive ductal carcinomas, this tumor type frequently results in nodal metastases and high positivities for both estrogen receptor and c-erbB-2. The high SUVmax value that is apparent on PET-CT might be helpful in the diagnosis of IMPC.
Breast ; Carcinoma, Ductal ; Consensus ; Electrons ; Estrogens ; Humans ; Information Systems ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Mammography ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Retrospective Studies

PURPOSE: We evaluated the usefulness of intracranial stent implantation for treating patients with atherosclerotic stenosis and with recurrent, ischemic, neurological symptoms despite having undergone medical therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between March 2004 and April 2010, we attempted intracranial, stent-assisted angioplasty in 77 patients with 85 lesions (anterior circulation 73 cases, posterior circulation 12 cases) and who had ischemic neurological symptoms with more than 50% major cerebral artery stenosis. We analyzed the results regarding the technical success rate, complication rate, and restenosis rate during the mean 29.4 month follow-up period. RESULTS: Intracranial stent implantation was successfully performed in 74 cases (87.1%). In nine cases among the 11, failed cases, stent implantation failure was due to the tortuosity of the target vessel. One patient experienced middle cerebral artery rupture during the procedure, and we embolized the vessel using a microcoil. Five patients developed cerebral infarction in three weeks after the procedure, three of whom improved using conservative management, although the other, two patients expired. The mean number of residual stenoses decreased from 72.3% to 14.7%. Three patients demonstrated significant in-stent restenosis, i.e. more than 50%, during the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: As stent-assisted angioplasty in intracranial, atherosclerotic stenosis is effective and relatively safe, it can be considered as an alternative treatment for patients with recurrent, ischemic, neurologic symptoms despite having undergone medical therapy.
Angioplasty ; Cerebral Arteries ; Cerebral Infarction ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Follow-Up Studies ; Glycosaminoglycans ; Humans ; Intracranial Arteriosclerosis ; Middle Cerebral Artery ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Rupture ; Stents

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of unenhanced MR imaging compared to the diagnostic accuracy, advantage, and limitations of abdominal ultrasonography in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 40 patients suspected of having acute appendicitis and who were subjected to an unenhanced MR image, as well as an abdominal ultrasonography. A T1 FLASH in an axial image, a chemical shift-selective fat suppressed T2 HASTE in an axial image, as well as a T2 HASTE in an axial and coronal image were obtained as unenhanced MR images. The diagnosis was established based on a surgical or clinical follow-up of the unenhanced MR results, which were then statistically compared to the ultrasonographic results. RESULTS: The surgical or clinical follow-up results revealed that 25 patients were positively diagnosed with appendicitis. Of these, 7 patients had symptoms of acute appendicitis with no pathologic diagnoses, whereas the 8 remaining patients were diagnosed with another condition. The sensitivity and accuracy of the unenhanced MR imaging was 92% and 90%, compared to ultrasonography which was 68% and 72.5% accurate, respectively. The differences in sensitivity and accuracy between the two methods were found to be statistically significant (p < .05, chi-square test). Based on these results, unenhanced MR imaging was superior to sonography for the diagnosis of appendicitis. CONCLUSION: Unenhanced MR imaging may be a useful modality for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis, especially for suboptimal or nondiagnostic sonographies, as well as patients that are particularly sensitive to radiation exposure.
Acute Disease ; Appendicitis ; Appendix ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Imidazoles ; Nitro Compounds

Little is known about the treatment-seeking behaviors of acne patients, especially Asian acne patients. This study was performed to obtain detailed information about the treatment-seeking behaviors in Korean acne patients. Patients who visited the dermatology departments at 17 university hospitals completed a self-administered questionnaire. Most patients obtained information about acne from doctors or the Internet. The most important criteria for selecting a treatment method or choosing a particular clinic were effectiveness and accessibility. Patients used traditional medicine, visited beauty clinics, drank more water, and used over-the-counter topical agents more frequently than they sought doctors during the worsening period. The degree of satisfaction in treatment was found to depend on the total cost of treatment, number of places visited, site affected by acne, and emotional stress. Those who had experienced a side effect tended to have been treated for longer, to have paid more for treatment, and to have an associated skin disease. Treatments prescribed by dermatology clinics had the lowest aggravating rate, although improvement rates for family medicine clinics were also fairly high. This is the first study to investigate in detail the demographic features and characteristics of the treatmentseeking behaviors of acne patients in Asia.
Acne Vulgaris/epidemiology/*psychology/therapy ; Adult ; Demography ; Female ; Health Behavior ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; *Patient Satisfaction ; Questionnaires ; Sex Factors ; Stress, Psychological ; Young Adult

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical and MR imaging features of acute gouty arthritis and to define the characteristic findings that would be helpful for differentiating acute gouty arthritis from septic arthritis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The authors retrospectively studied seven patients who suffered from acute gouty arthritis. The MR imaging findings were analyzed by two musculoskeletal radiologists who focused on joint effusion, subchondral bone erosion, bone marrow edema, synovial thickening (regular and even, or irregular and nodular), and the soft tissue changes (edema or abscess). The clinical records of the patients were reviewed with regard to age and gender, the clinical presentation and the laboratory findings (serum uric acid, WBC, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein and synovial fluid culture). RESULTS: The patients consisted of six men and one woman whose mean age was 41 years (age range: 24-65 years). The joints involved were the knee (n=6), and ankle (n=1). Two patients had medical histories of gouty attacks that involved the first metatarsophalangeal joint. In six cases, the serum uric acid level during acute attacks was elevated. In all the patients, the affected joint became swollen, hot, erythematous and extremely tender, and this was accompanied by a high ESR and a high C-reactive protein level at the time of presentation. The results of Gram stain and culture of the synovial fluid were negative. In all patients, the MR images showed large amounts of joint effusion, thick irregular and nodular synovial thickening and soft tissue edema without subchondral bone erosions and soft tissue abscess. In one case, subchondral bone marrow edema of the medial femoral condyle was present. In five cases, there were multiple low signal foci in the joint on the spin-echo T2-weighted MR image. CONCLUSION: Even though the MR imaging findings of acute gouty arthritis are nonspecific, it should be considered as a possible diagnosis when a large amount of joint effusion, irregular and nodular synovial thickening and soft tissue edema without subchondral bone erosion, bone marrow edema or soft tissue abscess are seen in the knee or ankle joint, and especially if this is accompanied by the clinical and laboratory features of infection.
Abscess ; Ankle ; Ankle Joint ; Arthritis ; Arthritis, Gouty* ; Arthritis, Infectious ; Blood Sedimentation ; Bone Marrow ; C-Reactive Protein ; Diagnosis ; Edema ; Female ; Gout ; Humans ; Joints ; Knee ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Male ; Metatarsophalangeal Joint ; Retrospective Studies ; Synovial Fluid ; Uric Acid

Toxic gases and soot deposition as a consequence of smoke inhalation can cause direct injury to the upper and lower airways and even to the lung parenchyma. A delay in proper and prompt therapy can be detrimental to critically ill burn patients with an inhalation injury. Therefore, serial chest radiography is an important diagnostic tool for pulmonary complications during treatment. The radiographic findings of the chest include normal, consolidation, interstitial and alveolar infiltrates, peribronchial thickening, atelectasis, cardiogenic and non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema, and a pneumothorax as acute complications of smoke inhalation. In addition, bronchiectasis, bronchiolitis obliterans and pulmonary fibrosis can occur as late complications. We encountered a case of 44-year-old male who presented with acute lung injury after an inhalation injury. He required endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation due to respiratory failure. He was managed successfully with conservative treatment. Later, a cavitary lesion of the left upper lobe was observed on the chest radiography and computed tomography, which was complicated by massive hemoptysis during the follow-up. However, the cavitary lesion disappeared spontaneously without any clinical consequences.
Acute Lung Injury ; Adult ; Bronchiectasis ; Bronchiolitis Obliterans ; Burns ; Critical Illness ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gases ; Hemoptysis ; Humans ; Inhalation ; Intubation, Intratracheal ; Lung* ; Male ; Pneumothorax ; Pulmonary Atelectasis ; Pulmonary Edema ; Pulmonary Fibrosis ; Radiography ; Respiration, Artificial ; Respiratory Insufficiency ; Smoke Inhalation Injury* ; Smoke* ; Soot ; Thorax

Coccidioidomycosis is caused by a dimorphous fungus, Coccidioides, which consists of two species, C. immitis and C. posadasii. Although these organisms are genetically distinct and do not exchange DNA, they appear identical phenotypically and the disease or immune response to the organisms is also identical. Coccidioides grows as a mycelium in the soil and is mainly found in Southwestern United States, northwestern Mexico, and Argentina. An infection usually results from inhaling the spores of the fungus in an endemic area. Patients with a localized infection and no risk factors for complications often require only a periodic reassessment to demonstrate the resolution of the self-limited process. However, patients with extensive spread of infection or high risk of complications as a result of immunosuppression or other preexisting factors require a variety of treatment strategies such as antifungal therapy, surgical debridement, or both. Korea is not endemic area of a coccidioidomycosis. We report a case of disseminated coccidioidomycosis involving the lung and skin, which was detected incidentally after sunburn in a 69 year-old Korean male with diabetes mellitus and iatrogenic Cushings syndrome, with a review of the relevant literature.
Aged ; Argentina ; Coccidioides ; Coccidioidomycosis* ; Debridement ; Diabetes Mellitus* ; DNA ; Fungi ; Humans ; Immunosuppression ; Inhalation ; Korea ; Lung* ; Male ; Mexico ; Mycelium ; Risk Factors ; Skin* ; Soil ; Southwestern United States ; Spores ; Sunburn

Among various soft tissue tumors, extraskeletal chondroma is a rare benign cartilaginous tumor most frequently found in the hands, adjacent to periarticular tissue. We recently experienced a case of extraskeletal chondroma in a 47-year-old woman. The skin lesion showed a slowly-growing, solitary nodule on the dorsal aspect of her foot, causing pain and tenderness. An excisional biopsy was undertaken, revealing a well-encapsulated subcutaneous nodule which was mainly composed of mature hyaline cartilage.
Biopsy ; Chondroma* ; Female ; Foot* ; Hand ; Humans ; Hyaline Cartilage ; Middle Aged ; Skin

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical and imaging features of metastatic bone tumors with sunburst periosteal reaction and to define the characteristic findings which would be helpful for differentiating metastatic bone tumors from primary malignant bone tumors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The authors retrospectively reviewed the cases of nine patients with pathologically confirmed metastatic bone tumors with sunburst periosteal reaction, for which imaging studies (plain radiographs [n=9], radioisotope [RI] scans [n=4], magnetic resonance [MR] images [n=6], and computed tomographic [CT] scans [n=4]) were performed. The imaging studies of each lesion were analyzed by two musculoskeletal radiologists focusing on the metastatic site, patterns of bone response, signal intensity characteristics and pattern of contrast enhancement on MR. The clinical records of the patients were reviewed with regard to the age and sex of the subjects, the clinical presentation, and the origin of the primary tumors. RESULTS: The cases consisted of six men and three women, whose mean age was 62 years (age range, 50-88 years). The primary tumors were adenocarcinoma of the stomach [n=4], adenocarcinoma of the lung [n=2], adenocarcinoma of the prostate [n=1], hepatocellular carcinoma of the liver [n=1], and adenocarcinoma of unknown origin [n=1]. The sites of metastatic involvement exhibiting sunburst periosteal reaction were the scapula [n=2], proximal humerus [n=2], rib [n=1], iliac bone [n=1], tibia [n=1], spine [n=1], and proximal phalanx [n=1]. In all patients, the imaging findings showed osteolytic [n=3] or osteoblastic [n=6] lesions with sunburst periosteal reaction. In six cases, the lesions were iso-intense on the T1-weighted images and heterogeneously hyperintense on the T2-weighted images. The gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted images showed a nearly homogenous enhancement of the lesions without any central necrotic portion. CONCLUSION: Although metastatic bone tumor exhibiting sunburst periosteal reaction is rare, it should be included along with primary malignant bone tumors in the differential diagnosis of bone lesions with sunburst periosteal reaction, especially in older patients with or without a known primary malignancy.
Adenocarcinoma ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Humerus ; Liver ; Lung ; Male ; Osteoblasts ; Prostate ; Retrospective Studies ; Ribs ; Scapula ; Spine ; Stomach ; Tibia