The Korean journal of internal medicine
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Korean J. Intern. Med. · Mar 2016
Comparative StudyThe role of neutrophil lymphocyte ratio to leverage the differential diagnosis of familial Mediterranean fever attack and acute appendicitis.
Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by attacks of fever and diffuse abdominal pain. The primary concern with this presentation is to distinguish it from acute appendicitis promptly. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the role of neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) to leverage the differential diagnosis of acute FMF attack with histologically proven appendicitis. ⋯ This study showed that NLR, the simple and readily available inflammatory marker may have a useful role in distinguishing acute FMF attack from acute appendicitis.
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Korean J. Intern. Med. · Sep 2016
Comparative StudyDifferences of cytomegalovirus diseases between kidney and hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients during preemptive therapy.
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) surveillance and preemptive therapy is a widely-used strategy for preventing CMV disease in transplant recipients. However, there are limited data on the incidence and patterns of CMV disease during the preemptive period. Thus, we investigated the incidence and pattern of tissue-invasive CMV disease in CMV seropositive kidney transplantation (KT) and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) recipients during preemptive therapy. ⋯ The incidence of CMV disease was about 4% in both KT and HCT recipients during preemptive therapy. However, CMV retinitis and CMV disease as a relapsed infection were more frequently found among HCT recipients.
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Korean J. Intern. Med. · May 2016
Comparative StudyClinical significance of changes in the corrected QT interval in stress-induced cardiomyopathy.
Although transient changes in the electrocardiogram (ECG) of patients with stress-induced cardiomyopathy (SCMP) are common, there are little data about ECG changes in patients with SCMP and the clinical implications of these variations. ⋯ The QTc can be prolonged in patients with SCMP. Short-term mortality was increased in patients where the QTc did not recover.
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Korean J. Intern. Med. · Mar 2016
Bleeding complications in critically ill patients with liver cirrhosis.
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). ⋯ 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.
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Korean J. Intern. Med. · Nov 2018
Comparative StudyNo benefit of hypomethylating agents compared to supportive care for higher risk myelodysplastic syndrome.
This study evaluated the role of hypomethylating agents (HMA) compared to best supportive care (BSC) for patients with high or very-high (H/VH) risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) according to the Revised International Prognostic Scoring System. ⋯ For the H/VH risk group, very poor cytogenetic risk, age ≥ 65 years, ECOG PS 2 to 4, and AML transformation were poor prognostic factors. HMA showed no benefit in terms of OS when compared to BSC. Allo-HCT was the only factor predicting a favorable long-term outcome. The use of HMA therapy did not seem to have an adverse effect on the transplantation outcomes. However, the conclusion of this study should be carefully interpreted and proven by large scale research in the future.