Low-grade mucinous cystadenocarcinoma in the spleen.

A 69-year-old man with an enlarged spleen, found by computed tomography scan to be multicystic, underwent a splenectomy. Pathological examination revealed a Low-grade mucinous cystadenocarcinoma that was histologically analogous to a mucinous tumor of the ovary. The serum level of tumor markers carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)and CA19-9 were elevated preoperatively and returned to normal after the operation. In the absence of a primary tumor elsewhere, we considered this tumor to be primary in the spleen, and it was presumed that the tumor arose either from invaginated capsular mesothelium of the spleen or from heterotopic pancreatic or enteric tissue within the spleen.

The importance of pulmonary venous flow measurement for evaluating left ventricular end-diastolic pressure in patients with coronary artery disease in the early stage of diastolic dysfunction.

Transmitral flow pattern assessed by pulsed Doppler echocardiography is widely used to evaluate left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP). A restrictive mitral flow pattern is well recognized as a finding of severely elevated LVEDP. On the other hand, an abnormal relaxation pattern can be interpreted many ways. For example, some patients who display an abnormal relaxation pattern have a mild impairment of left ventricular (LV) relaxation as a result of aging, and others have severely impaired LV diastolic function. To evaluate LVEDP in patients with abnormal relaxation mitral filling patterns, we studied 55 patients who had coronary artery disease with abnormal relaxation pattern who underwent elective cardiac catheterization. We recorded the transmitral and pulmonary venous flow velocity curves and measured the duration of the mitral A wave (MAd) and pulmonary venous reversal wave during atrial contraction (PAd). Positive correlations were found between PAd and LVEDP (r = 0.65, P <.01) and between PAd-MAd and LVEDP (r = 0.7, P <.0001); however, MAd was not significantly correlated with LVEDP. In conclusion, PAd must be measured for an accurate evaluation of LV end-diastolic pressure in patients with an abnormal relaxation pattern in the transmitral flow velocity curve.

Lipid-rich clear-cell hepatocellular carcinoma arising in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis in a patient with diabetes mellitus.

A case of lipid-rich clear-cell hepatocellular carcinoma arising in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis is described in a patient with diabetes mellitus. The patient was a 67 year-old Japanese female with a history of tuberculosis, appendicitis, ischaemic heart disease, and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The patient denied alcohol consumption. A liver mass was diagnosed as hepatocellular carcinoma of clear-cell type with early cirrhosis of the peri-tumoral liver tissue. Tumour cells had clear cytoplasm containing lipid droplets, and Mallory bodies. Surrounding non-tumoral liver tissue also showed lipid, and fibrosis in peri-portal areas with moderate bridging fibrosis. The features were consistent with clear-cell hepatocellular carcinoma arising in the fibrosis of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. By electron microscopy, tumour cells had lipid droplets, glycogen, swollen mitochondria, rough endoplasmic reticulum, Mallory bodies, small bile canaliculi, desmosomes and gap junctions. Surrounding non-tumoral hepatocytes had a largely normal ultrastructure with prominent glycogen and lipid droplets. Clear-cell hepatocellular carcinoma within non-alcoholic steatohepatitis associated with diabetes mellitus is an extremely rare condition, and this report provides a detailed histopathological description with both immunohistochemical and ultrastructural data.

[Efficacy and safety of sulbactam/cefoperazone for hepato-biliary infections].

We studied efficacy and safety of sulbactam/cefoperazone (SBT/CPT) in the treatment of biliary tract infections in hospitalized patients at 26 hospitals from February 1993 to March 1995. Secondary to dropout, 273 out of 338 patients entered in the study were evaluated, 127 patients with cholecystitis, 132 patients with cholangitis, and 14 patients with liver abscesses. Of these, 93 patients (34.1% had malignancy as an underlying disease. SBT/CPZ had an efficacy of 79.9% (218 patients; excellent: 52, good: 166), with the efficacy in patients with cholecystitis, cholangitis and liver abscess at 89.0% (113 patients), 77.3% (102 patients and 21.4% (3 patients), respectively. A significant difference (p < 0.05) was observed in the efficacy rates of patients with (59 patients [63.4%]) and without malignancy (159 patients [88.3%]). A total of 84 strains were isolated from bile specimens of 53 patients, and the major isolates were Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterococcus spp. Two or more bacterial strains were isolated simultaneously in 20 patients. Mild or moderate side effect (allergic reaction including rash etc.) were noted in 4 patients (1.18%), and laboratory abnormalities (increased GOT, etc.) were in 16 patients (4.71%) out of the total 338 patients. This study clearly demonstrated that SBT/CPZ retains its excellent clinical efficacy and safety profile, throughout its use over the past decade.

[Clinicopathological studies on carcinoma of the pancreas with special reference to pathological factors affecting the prognosis and lymph node involvement].

A total of 63 cases of pancreatic carcinoma (52 cases of the head and 11 of the body and tail) which were resected for the past 12 and a half years were analyzed according to the General Rules for Surgical and Pathological Studies on Cancer of Pancreas issued by the Japanese Pancreatic Society. Carcinoma of the head of the pancreas The prognosis was remarkably influenced by the size of tumor (T), infiltrative growth (INF), lymphatic infiltration (ly), venous infiltration (v), perineural infiltration (ne), capsular infiltration (s) and histological lymph node involvement (n). Postoperative results were increasingly poor as these factors proceeded. Rate of lymph node metastasis was 75.0% and was influenced by anterior capsular invasion (S), ly, s and duodenal infiltration (du). The posterior and anterior portions of the head of the pancreas and the origin of SMA, in the order named, were the most common sites of lymph node metastasis. In pancreatic cancer, perineural infiltration was a characteristic finding in the surrounding tissue of the lymph nodes which occurred even in 25% of n0 cases. Carcinoma of the body and tail of the pancreas Rate of lymph node metastasis was 40%. The pattern of lymph node involvement was different from that of the carcinoma of the head of the pancreas, probably because that the lymph nodes were not so much metastasized as directly invaded by tumor.

[Accuracy and usefulness of ultraportable hand-carried echocardiography system].

OBJECTIVES: The diagnostic accuracy and usefulness of an ultraportable hand-carried echocardiography system were investigated for assessing ventricular systolic function and severity of mitral valvular regurgitation. METHODS: The study population consisted of 77 consecutive patients (47 men, 30 women, mean age 63 +/- 15 years). Left ventricular end-diastolic dimension, left ventricular end-systolic dimension and left ventricular ejection fraction were measured using the hand-carried echo system and the data were compared with measurements by the conventional echocardiography system using simple linear regression analysis. Left ventricular wall motion was compared between the systems using a 16-segment model recommended by the American Society of Echocardiography. Severity of mitral regurgitation was assessed by the distance of the regurgitant signal in the left atrium. RESULTS: Left ventricular end-diastolic dimension, left ventricular end-systolic dimension and left ventricular ejection fraction showed good correlations between hand-carried and conventional echo systems (r = 0.94, 0.91 and 0.81, respectively; each p < 0.0001). The accuracy for assessing left ventricular wall motion was 94% (449 of 480 segments). The echo systems also showed the same degree of diagnostic accuracy for severity of mitral regurgitation. CONCLUSIONS: The hand-carried echo system provides accurate assessment of left ventricular function and mitral regurgitation simular to conventional echo machines.