• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• 제29권1호
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• pp.42-44
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• 2012

Plasma cell myelomas generally manifest as bone or soft-tissue tumors with variable mass effects, pain, and infiltrative behavior. Extramedullary involvement occurs most commonly in the spleen, liver, lymph nodes, and kidneys, but intracranial involvement in plasma cell myeloma is a rare extramedullary manifestation. These authors recently encountered a case of intracranial involvement of plasma cell myeloma. A 69-year-old man was hospitalized for headache and mental changes. Brain CT showed subdural hemorrhage caused by plasma cell myeloma. Plasma cell myeloma with intracranial involvement has poor prognosis, and the patient in this case died from acute complications, such as subdural hemorrhage. Based on this case report, it is suggested that more effective treatment regimens of plasma cell myeloma with intracranial involvement be developed. Moreover, a screening method and decision on the appropriate time for intracranial involvement are needed for plasma cell myeloma patients.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• 제29권1호
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• pp.35-37
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• 2012

Adrenal hemorrhages caused by blunt abdominal trauma have been frequently reported, and most of the lesions are unilateral. In contrast, bilateral hemorrhage of the adrenal glands after trauma rarely occurs in subjects with predisposing conditions such as coagulopathy, thromboembolism, and sepsis. Furthermore, bilateral hemorrhage of the adrenal glands is potentially fatal by inducing acute adrenal insufficiency. Here,a case of a 40-year-old man who developed traumatic bilateral adrenal hemorrhage after a car accident, without any predisposing condition, is reported. The spontaneous shrinkage of the bilateral lesions revealed in the follow-up abdominal computed tomography (CT) scansupported the aforementioned diagnosis. Fortunately, the patient had no clinical or biochemical evidence suggesting acute adrenal insufficiency. To these authors' knowledge, this is the first South Korean report of traumatic bilateral adrenal hemorrhage in a subject with no predisposing factors.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• 제29권1호
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• pp.14-18
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• 2012

Background: The purpose of this study was to differentiate chromophobe renal cell carcinoma and clear cell renal cell carcinoma on helical CT. Methods: The CT images of 9 patients histopathologically proven to have chromophobe renal cell carcinoma and 20 patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma were reviewed. The tumor sizes, margins, enhancement degrees and patterns, presence or absence of calcification, and tumor spread patterns (including perinephric changes, venous invasion, lymphadenopathy, and distant metastasis) were compared. Results: All the chromophobe renal cell carcinomas showed well-demarcated margins. Thechromophobe renal cell carcinomas showed milder enhancements than the clear cell renal cell carcinomas. The sensitivity and specificity for differentiating the chromophobe renal cell carcinoma from the clear cell renal cell carcinoma were 100 and 88%, respectively, when 101 Hounsfield units was used as the cut-off value in the corticomedullary phase, and 95 and 100% when a less-than-three-time enhancement change was used as a cut-off value in the corticomedullary phase (p<0.05). The chromophobe renal cell carcinomas (67%) tended to show a homogeneous enhancement whereas the clear cell renal cell carcinomas (85%) usually showed a heterogeneous enhancement (p<0.05). Statistical analysis revealed that the frequencies of the tumor spread pattern and calcification in the two subtypes didnot differ significantly (p>0.05). Conclusion: The CT findings of the chromophobe renal cell carcinomascompared to those of the clear cell renal cell carcinomas showed that there were mild enhancements in the corticomedullary phase, homogeneous enhancements, and well-demarcated margins.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• 제29권1호
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• pp.19-23
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• 2012

Adrenal insufficiency during the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis is a troublesome condition and can at times be lifethreatening if untreated. Rifampin is one of the most widely prescribed anti-tuberculosis agents. Furthermore, rifampin has been known to be capable of affecting the metabolism of various medications, including glucocorticoids. In this paper, a case of recurrent adrenal insufficiency induced by rifampin during the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis is reported. The patient was a 63-year-old man who was diagnosed with Addison's disease 17 years earlier and had been undergoing glucocorticoid replacement therapy. Five months before, the patient manifested pulmonary tuberculosis and was immediately given anti-tuberculosis medication that included rifampin. After one week of medication, general weakness and hyponatremia occurred. Despite the increased dose of the glucocorticoid medication, the adrenal insufficiency recurred many times. Since the substitution of levofloxacin for rifampin, the episodes of adrenal insufficiency have not recurred so far.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• 제29권1호
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• pp.28-30
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• 2012

A 48-year-old male visited the emergency room of the authors' hospital due to nausea, vomiting, and myalgia for four days. Acute hepatitis A was identified from the serologic marker of the hepatitis A virus. Mild elevation of the serum creatinine and creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) suggested rhabomyolysis, which was confirmed with the serum aldolase, myoglobin, and urine myoglobin. With supportive care, both the liver and renal functions were recovered gradually and fully. This case shows that rhabdomyolysis can be one of the mechanisms of renal complication in cases of acute symptomatic hepatitis A.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• 제29권1호
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• pp.48-53
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• 2012

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in South Korea. To decrease its mortality rate, its early detection is very important. Screening for HCC detection has been accepted as the management modality for patients with chronic liver disease. Reported herein is a case involving the marked rapid growth of HCC detected at an advanced stage in a screening test with a 3 months interval. A 49-year-old male patient with chronic hepatitis B was admitted to the hospital due to a liver mass detected on CT scan. The patient underwent a first CT scan 3 months earlier, and no tumor was detected. Follow-up CT scan was performed and showed a 9.1 cm HCC with portal vein thrombosis. Percutaneous liver biopsy was performed, and the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma was confirmed. In the pertinent guidelines, the recommended screening interval for HCC is 6-12 months, but the screening interval and additional diagnostic methods should be considered due to the variation in the HCC growth rate according to the patient's clinical characteristics.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• 제31권1호
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• pp.65-68
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• 2014

Pseudochylothorax is an uncommon pleural effusion disease characterized by the presence of cholesterol crystals or high lipid content not resulting from a disrupted thoracic duct. Most of the cases reported so far had been found in patients with long-standing pleural effusion due to a chronic inflammatory disease such as old tuberculous pleurisy or chronic rheumatoid pleurisy. Authors encountered a case of pseudochylothorax in a 45-year-old man who had been treated for tuberculous pleurisy 6 years before his visit to authors' hospital. After that, he had visited the emergency department many times for removal of pleural effusion. The patient's chest X-ray revealed dyspnea and large left-sided pleural effusion. Although a large amount of pleural fluid was removed with a drainage catheter, massive pleural effusion was likely to recur, and the underlying lung was able to fully re-expand. Accordingly, decortication was done, and the patient's symptom was improved without postoperative complications.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• 제31권1호
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• pp.38-42
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• 2014

Cardiovascular beriberi is caused by thiamine deficiency and usually presents as high cardiac output failure associated with predominantly right-sided heart failure and rapid recovery after treatment with thiamine. Because of its rarity in developed countries, the diagnosis can often be delayed and missed. We recently experienced a case of cardiovascular beriberi with pulmonary hypertension which successfully treated with thiamine infusion. A 50-year-old man with chronic heavy alcoholics was refered to our department for dyspnea with mental change. Echocardiography showed marked right ventricular (RV) dilatation and flattening of the interventricular septum with a D-shaped deformation of the left ventricle. Moderate tricuspid valve regurgitation was found and estimated RV systolic pressure was 52 mm Hg. Because of his confused mentality and history of chronic alcohol intake, neurological disorder due to thiamine deficiency was suspected and intravenous thiamine was administered and he continuously received a daily dose of 100 mg of thiamine. Follow up echocardiography showed marked reduction of RV dilatation and improvement of a D-shaped deformation of the left ventricle. He finally diagnosed as cardiovascular beriberi on the basis of dramatic response to intravenous thiamine. Thiamine deficiency can cause reversible pulmonary hypertension, and can still be encountered in the clinical setting. Thus high index of suspicion is critically needed for diagnosis.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• 제31권1호
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• pp.25-27
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• 2014

Patients treated with peritoneal dialysis have increased intra-abdominal pressure and a high prevalence of abdominal wall complications. Hernias can lead to significant morbidity in patients on peritoneal dialysis. Hernias are clinically important because of the risk of incarceration, strangulation and subsequent bowel obstruction, rupture, and peritonitis. In this paper, a case of incarcerated umbilical hernia with small bowel obstruction in a continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patient is reported. The small bowel obstruction improved after herniorrhaphy, and the peritoneal dialysis was resumed 2 weeks after the herniorrhaphy. The patient had been undergoing CAPD without technical failure until the 2 months follow-up after the herniorrhaphy. This case shows that early detection of incarcerated umbilical hernia and herniorrhaphy can prevent resection of a strangulated small bowel so that it can remain on CAPD without post-operative technical failure. Umbilical hernias should be carefully observed and intestinal obstruction should be considered when a CAPD patient with an umbilical hernia has abdominal pain.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• 제31권1호
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• pp.13-16
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• 2014

Congenital abnormalities of the coronary arteries are found in 0.6% to 1.3% of patients in coronary angiography. Dual left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) is a rare coronary anomaly and is incidentally detected during coronary angiography. We report a case of a 65-year-old female with a rare coronary anomaly who was diagnosed with dual LAD via coronary computed tomography and coronary angiography. The imaging studies revealed dual LAD originating from the left main stem and right coronary sinus. These angiographic findings were considered to be consistent with the type IV variety of dual LAD by Spindola-Franco classification. Recognition of dual LAD is important to prevent errors of interpretation of the coronary angiogram and for optimal surgery.