Gluteal and Presacral Abscess Due to Crohn's Disease with Multiple Fistulas.

The abscess is a common complication of Crohn's disease (CD), with the perianal form more frequent than gluteal or presacral which is relatively rare. There are few case reports of gluteal abscess combined with presacral abscess caused by CD and the treatment has not been established. A 21-year-old male was admitted with right buttock and lower back pain with a duration of 3 months. He had a history of CD in the small intestine diagnosed 10 months previously. He had poor compliance and had not returned for follow-up care during the previous 6 months. Abdominopelvic CT indicated newly developed multiple abscess pockets in right gluteal region, including piriformis muscle and presacral space. Additionally, fistula tracts between small bowel loops and presacral space were observed. Patient's CD was moderate activity (273.12 on the Crohn's Disease Activity Index [CDAI]). Treatment was started with piperacillin/ tazobactam antibiotic but patient developed a fever and abscess extent was aggravated. Therefore, surgical incision and drainage was performed and 4 Penrose drains were inserted. Patient's pain and fever were resolved following surgery. Infliximab was then administered for the remaining fistulas. After the induction regimen, multiple fistula tracts improved and patient went into remission (CDAI was -0.12).

Association of changes of pulse wave velocity and augmentation index after isometric handgrip exercise with coronary lesion extent and revascularization.

BACKGROUND: Arterial stiffness is associated with myocardial ischemia and incident coronary artery disease (CAD), and indexes of arterial stiffness are usually increased in patients with CAD. However, these indexes are often increased in elderly without CAD. Arterial stiffness in patients with CAD may become more evident after isometric handgrip exercise which increases systolic pressure and ventricular afterload. We investigated the association of the change of stiffness indexes after isometric handgrip exercise with the lesion extent of CAD and the necessity for coronary revascularization. METHODS: Patients who were scheduled a routine coronary angiography via a femoral artery were enrolled. Arterial waveforms were traced at aortic root and external iliac artery using coronary catheters at baseline and 3 min after handgrip exercise. Augmentation index (AIx) was measured on the recorded aortic pressure waveform, and pulse wave velocity (PWV) was calculated using the ECG-gated time difference of the upstroke of arterial waveforms and distance between aortic root and external iliac artery. RESULTS: Total 37 patients were evaluated. Both PWV and AIx increased after handgrip exercise. ΔPWV was significantly correlated with ΔAIx (r = 0.344, P = 0.037). Patients were divided into higher and lower ΔPWV or ΔAIx groups based on the median values of 0.4 m/sec and 3.3%, respectively. Patients with higher PWV had more 2- or 3-vessel CAD (69% vs. 27%, P = 0.034), and underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) more frequently (84% vs. 50%, P = 0.038), but higher ΔAIx was not associated with either the lesion extent or PCI. Area under curve (AUC) of ΔPWV in association with PCI by C-statistics was 0.70 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.51-0.88; P = 0.056). In multiple logistic regression analysis, ΔPWV was significantly associated with PCI (odds ratio 7.78; 95% CI 1.26-48.02; P = 0.027). CONCLUSIONS: Higher ΔPWV after isometric handgrip exercise was associated with the lesion extent of CAD and the necessity for coronary revascularization, but higher ΔAIx was not.

Apolipoprotein B Is Related to Metabolic Syndrome Independently of Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes.

BACKGROUND: Increased low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) level and the presence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) are important risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Recent studies demonstrated apolipoprotein B (apoB), a protein mainly located in LDL-C, was an independent predictor of the development of CVD especially in patients with T2DM. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between apoB and MetS in T2DM patients. METHODS: We analyzed 912 patients with T2DM. Fasting blood samples were taken for glycated hemoglobin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, total cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol, LDL-C, and apoB. MetS was defined by the modified National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. We performed a hierarchical regression analysis with apoB as the dependent variable. Age, sex, the number of components of MetS and LDL-C were entered at model 1, the use of lipid-lowering medications at model 2, and the individual components of MetS were added at model 3. RESULTS: Seventy percent of total subjects had MetS. ApoB level was higher in subjects with than those without MetS (104.5±53.3 mg/dL vs. 87.7±33.7 mg/dL, P<0.01) even after adjusting for LDL-C. ApoB and LDL-C were positively correlated to the number of MetS components. The hierarchical regression analysis showed that the increasing number of MetS components was associated with higher level of apoB at step 1 and step 2 (ß=0.120, P<0.001 and ß=0.110, P<0.001, respectively). At step 3, TG (ß=0.116, P<0.001) and systolic blood pressure (ß=0.099, P<0.05) were found to significantly contribute to apoB. CONCLUSION: In patients with T2DM, apoB is significantly related to MetS independently of LDL-C level. Of the components of MetS, TG, and systolic blood pressure appeared to be determinants of apoB.

A Case of Posterior Mediastinal Plasmacytoma Confounded by Community-Acquired Pneumonia.

Plasmacytomas are extramedullary accumulations of plasma cells originating from soft tissue. Mediastinal plasmacytoma is a rare presentation. A 67-year-old man recovered after antibiotic treatment for community-acquired pneumonia. However, on convalescent chest radiography after 3 months, mass like lesion at the right lower lung field was newly detected. Follow-up chest computed tomography (CT) revealed an increase in the extent of the right posterior mediastinal mass that we had considered to be pneumonic consolidations on previous CT scans. Through percutaneous needle biopsy, we diagnosed IgG kappa type extramedullary plasmacytoma of the posterior mediastinum.