Anemia is a common and significant complication of chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, its prevalence and current management status has not been studied thoroughly in Korea. We examined the prevalence of anemia, its association with clinical and laboratory factors, and utilization of iron agents and erythropoiesis stimulating agents using the baseline data from the large-scale CKD cohort in Korea. We defined anemia when hemoglobin level was lower than 13.0 g/dL in males and 12.0 g/dL in females, or received by erythropoiesis stimulating agents. Overall prevalence of anemia was 45.0% among 2,198 non-dialysis CKD patients from stage 1 to 5. Diabetic nephropathy (DN) as a cause, CKD stages, body mass index (BMI), smoking, leukocyte count, serum albumin, iron markers, calcium, and phosphorus concentration were identified as independent risk factors for anemia. Considering the current coverage of Korean National Health Insurance System, only 7.9% among applicable patients were managed by intravenous iron agents, and 42.7% were managed by erythropoiesis stimulating agents.
Anemia* ; Body Mass Index ; Calcium ; Cohort Studies* ; Diabetic Nephropathies ; Female ; Hematinics ; Humans ; Iron ; Korea ; Leukocyte Count ; Male ; National Health Programs ; Phosphorus ; Prevalence* ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic* ; Risk Factors ; Serum Albumin ; Smoke ; Smoking

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Improvements in dialysis therapies and patient care are leading to more patients receiving dialysis for longer periods of time. Survival rates with peritoneal dialysis (PD) are superior to those with hemodialysis (HD) during the initial 2-3 years; however, data comparing the outcomes of these two methods are lacking. Thus, we performed a retrospective study of patients treated with dialysis for longer than 3 years to investigate patient condition according to mode of dialysis. METHODS: A total of 80 patients currently being treated by dialysis for at least 36 months at the Eulji Medical Center were included in this study. Patients' laboratory data and admissions histories over the prior 3 years were reviewed. Dialysis adequacy, body composition, and cytokine levels were quantified. RESULTS: A total of 39 PD and 41 HD patients, with no difference in mean age or gender, were compared. Regarding dialysis adequacy, 97.5% of HD patients met the criterion of 1.2 Kt/V or higher, whereas only 58% of PD patients satisfied the required weekly Kt/V of 1.7. Inflammatory cytokines were significantly elevated in PD patients; however, PD patients with adequate dialysis expressed the same inflammatory cytokines as HD patients. CONCLUSIONS: The delivery of adequate dialysis to PD patients over extended periods of time is difficult. Thus, more rigorous management of PD patients is required to avoid insufficient dialysis and inflammation.
Body Composition ; Cytokines ; Dialysis ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Patient Care ; Peritoneal Dialysis* ; Renal Dialysis* ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate

Foreign bodies in the upper esophagus should be removed as soon as possible to avoid serious complications. These foreign bodies can penetrate the bowel wall and cause severe complications. The peristalsis of the esophagus is not strong enough to prevent it from retaining swallowed objects. Hence, perforation from a foreign body is more likely to occur in the esophagus than in the rest of the gastrointestinal tract. A razor blade is a rare foreign body of the esophagus. Its sharpness and large size make it difficult to remove. A razor blade was very firmly impacted in the esophageal wall in our case, and the razor blade had not moved from the upper esophagus. A standard overtube has limitations to remove a razor blade inside the overtube's lumen. We report here on a case of using a wedge resected overtube made it possible to successfully extract a razor blade and no serious complications occurred after extraction of the razor blade.
Esophagus ; Foreign Bodies ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Peristalsis

Ischemic colitis is generally considered a disease of the elderly. The causes of ischemic colitis include low-flow states due to cardiac dysfunction or hypovolemia and certain medications including estrogen. Here we report a case of ischemic colitis in a 26-year-old woman. She had no specific medical history except taking oral-contraceptives for a long time. The mechanism of estrogen-induced ischemic colitis is not clearly understood. But we recommend that oral-contraceptives should be considered as a cause of ischemic colitis in young women.
Adult ; Aged ; Colitis, Ischemic ; Contraceptives, Oral ; Estrogens ; Female ; Humans ; Hypovolemia

Break of a stent delivery catheter and subsequent stent loss (SL) has been a rare event in the drug-eluting stent (DES) era. We here report a case of successful retrieval of a stent after a break if the delivery catheter and SL from a balloon catheter at a culprit lesion. We finally resolved this situation using a simple balloon technique for both the broken stent catheter inside of the guide catheter and the unexpanded stent in the culprit lesion. Thus balloons are an important weapon in our armamentarium in the cardiac catheterization laboratory for urgent retrieval of a lost stent. Their apt use definitely allowed our patient to avoid undergoing emergency cardiovascular thoracic surgery.
Angioplasty ; Cardiac Catheterization ; Cardiac Catheters ; Catheters ; Dimaprit ; Drug-Eluting Stents ; Emergencies ; Humans ; Stents ; Thoracic Surgery

Pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis is a rare condition characterized by gas-filled cysts within the bowel wall. It may be idiopathic or secondary to a variety of disorders. Associated conditions include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, collagen vascular disease, organ transplantation, and necrotizing enterocolitis. Approximately 15% of cases are idiopathic. We present a case of pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis complicated by pneumoperitoneum in chronic respiratory failure due to a post-tuberculosis destroyed lung. Successful palliation involved paracentesis of the peritoneal air and oxygen therapy.
Collagen ; Enterocolitis, Necrotizing ; Lung ; Organ Transplantation ; Oxygen ; Paracentesis ; Pneumatosis Cystoides Intestinalis ; Pneumoperitoneum ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; Respiratory Insufficiency ; Transplants ; Vascular Diseases

BACKGROUND: It is difficult to improve muscle strength with only aerobic exercise training in type 2 diabetes patients. Resistance training is effective for improving muscle mass, muscle strength and insulin sensitivity. One repetition maxima (1RM), or the maximum amount of weight a subject can lift in a single repetition, may be a useful unit for evaluating the results of resistance training in type 2 diabetic patients. This study was aimed to assess baseline values for 1RM in a sample of Korean type 2 diabetes mellitus patients that are scaled for intensity and load of exercise, and to assess the relationship of 1RM to age. METHODS: A total of 266 (male: 95, female: 171) Korean patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were included in the study sample. Maximal muscle strength was assessed by measuring 1RM for each subject (KEISER, Fresno, CA, USA). Two different exercises were used to measure 1RM: the chest press for the upper extremities, and the leg press for the lower extremities. RESULTS: Both upper and lower values of 1RM decreased with age in men and women; upper 1RM: r = -0.454, P<0.001 in men, r = -0.480, P< 0.001 in women, lower 1RM: r = -0.569, P<0.001 in men, and r = -0.452, P<0.001 in women. Values of 1RM significantly decreased in men only after the age of 70. In women, values of 1RM continuously decreased after the age of 60. CONCLUSION: The maximal muscle strength of individuals with type 2 diabetes decreases with age. We believe that resistance training is especially beneficial for type 2 diabetes mellitus patients after the sixth decade of life.
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Exercise ; Female ; Humans ; Insulin Resistance ; Leg ; Male ; Muscle Strength ; Muscles ; Resistance Training ; Thorax ; Upper Extremity

Streptococcus constellatus (S. constellatus) is a commensal microorganism belonging to the "Streptococcus milleri" group, but may cause infections in different locations in immunocompromised patients. The infection of S. constellatus has high mortality and morbidity due to its tendency to cause abscesses in infected patients, which require immediate surgical drainage for effective treatment. We report on a 72-year-old woman with end stage renal disease, who suffered from dyspnea and general weakness that had developed over 7 days. Chest CT showed loculated pleural effusion. S. constellatus was cultured from exudative pleural effusions and confirmed by an analysis of 16S rRNA sequence. The patient was treated with drainage of pleural effusion and piperacillin/tazobactam for 5 weeks.
Abscess ; Aged ; Drainage ; Dyspnea ; Empyema ; Female ; Humans ; Immunocompromised Host ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Pleural Effusion ; Streptococcus ; Streptococcus constellatus ; Streptococcus milleri Group ; Thorax

A pseudochylothorax, a chyliform pleural effusion, is a rare disease of pleural effusion that contains cholesterol crystals or high lipid content that is not the result of a disrupted thoracic duct. Most of the cases were found in patients with long-standing pleural effusion due to chronic inflammatory disease, such as old tuberculous pleurisy or chronic rheumatoid pleurisy. We experienced a case of pseudochylothorax in a 74-year-old man, who was being treated for pulmonary tuberculosis and pleurisy 10 years ago. The diagnosis was confirmed on pathological study of the pleural effusion, which contained cholesterol crystals having a diagnostic rhomboid appearance.
Aged ; Cholesterol ; Humans ; Pleural Effusion ; Pleurisy ; Rare Diseases ; Thoracic Duct ; Tuberculosis, Pleural ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary

Lipomas are common soft tissue tumors that are located in the body tissues containing adipose tissues. However, lipomas arising from the walls of a vein are very rare. Intravascular lipomas have been described most commonly in association with the inferior vena cava. Intravascualar lipomas involving the subclavian vein are rare. We are reporting a case of an asymptomatic lipoma of the right subclavian vein, growing into the right brachiocephalic vein.
Brachiocephalic Veins ; Lipoma ; Subclavian Vein ; Veins ; Vena Cava, Inferior