Association between Helicobacter pylori Infection and Iron Deficiency Anemia in School-aged Iranian Children

Objective: To find the relationship between Helicobacter pylori infection and iron deficiencyanemia in school-aged children. Methods: 71children with dyspepsia, epigastric and vagueabdominal pain attending a tertiary medical center in Iran underwent upper gastrointestinalendoscopy and were investigated for H. Pylori infection. Hemoglobin, mean corpuscularvolume (MCV), serum ferritin, total iron binding capacity (TIBC) and serum iron levels werecompared between children with or without H. pylori infection. Results: H. pylori infection wasdetected in 42 (59.1%) patients. Proportion of children with iron deficiency anemia was notstatistically different between two groups (26.2% vs. 14.3%; P=0.48). While hemoglobin wassignificantly lower in children with H. pylori infection (P=0.01), there were no significantdifferences in serum level of ferritin, iron, mean corpuscular volume and total iron bindingcapacity. Conclusion: Presence of H. pylori does not seem to play an important role in thepathophysiology and development of iron deficiency anemia in school-aged Iranianpopulation

EVALUATION OF LEUKOCYTE ESTERASE REAGENT STRIPS TEST IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF SPONTANEOUS BACTERIAL PERITONITIS IN CHILDREN WITH CIRRHOSIS / Avaliação de tiras reagentes de teste de esterase de leucócitos no diagnóstico de peritonite bacteriana espontânea em crianças com cirrose

BackgroundSpontaneous bacterial peritonitis is defined as an ascetic fluid infection without an evident intra-abdominal surgically treatable source. Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis is one of the severe complications in patients with cirrhosis and ascites. Without early antibiotic treatment, this complication is associated with high mortality rate; therefore, early diagnosis and treatment of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis is necessary for survival. Leukocyte esterase reagent can rapidly diagnose the spontaneous bacterial peritonitis.ObjectiveThis study aimed to find out the diagnostic accuracy of leukocyte esterase dipstick test for the diagnosis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis.MethodsA single centered hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted during July 2013 to August 2014 on children with cirrhotic liver disease and ascites who were admitted in the Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology in Nemazee Hospital affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (Iran). All patients underwent abdominal paracentesis, and the ascitic fluid was processed for cell count, leukocyte esterase reagent strip test (Combiscreen SL10) and culture. Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis was defined as having a polymorphonuclear count (PMN ≥250/m3) in ascitic fluid. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of leukocyte esterase test were calculated according to the formula.ResultsTotally, 150 ascitic fluid sample of cirrhotic male patients (53.2%) and their mean age (4.33±1.88 years) were analyzed. Biliary atresia (n=44, 29.4%) and idiopathic neonatal hepatitis (n=29, 19.3%) were the most frequent etiology of cirrhosis. Also, abdominal pain (68.6%) and distension (64%) were the most common presenting complaint. Of all cases, 41patients (27.35%) were diagnosed to have spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (PMN ≥250/mm3). Sensitivity and specificity of leukocyte esterase reagent test according to PMNs ≥250mm3 were 87.80% and 91.74%, also on ascitic fluid culture results were 88.23% and 77.44%. Positive predictive value and negative predictive value of this test in PMNs ≥250mm3 were 80% and 95.23% and in cases with positive culture 33.33% and 98.09% were obtained, respectively. Efficiency of leukocyte esterase reagent test in diagnosing spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, according to PMNs ≥250mm3 and culture results were 90.66% and 78.66%.ConclusionThe leukocyte esterase strip test may be used as rapid test for diagnosis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis due to its high diagnostic validity.

ContextoA peritonite bacteriana espontânea é definida como uma infecção do fluido ascítico sem evidente origem intra-abdominal cirurgicamente tratável. A peritonite bacteriana espontânea é uma das complicações graves em pacientes com cirrose e ascite. Sem tratamento antibiótico precoce, esta complicação é associada com alta taxa de mortalidade. Portanto, o diagnóstico precoce e tratamento de peritonite bacteriana espontânea são necessários para a sobrevivência. O reagente de esterase de leucócitos pode rapidamente diagnosticar a peritonite bacteriana espontânea.ObjetivoEste estudo teve como objetivo descobrir a acurácia diagnóstica do teste com tiras de esterase de leucócitos para o diagnóstico de peritonite bacteriana espontânea.MétodosUm estudo transversal hospitalar unicêntrico foi realizado entre julho de 2013 e agosto de 2014 em crianças com cirrose hepática e ascite que foram admitidas no Departamento de Gastroenterologia Pediátrica no Hospital de Nemazee afiliado à Universidade de Ciencias Médicas de Shiraz (Irã). Todos os pacientes foram submetidos a paracentese abdominal, e o líquido ascítico foi processado para contagem de células, teste de tira de reagente de esterase de leucócitos (Combiscreen SL10) e cultura. Peritonite bacteriana espontânea foi definida como tendo uma contagem de polimorfonucleares (PMN ≥250/m3) no líquido ascítico. Sensibilidade, especificidade, valor preditivo positivo negativo do teste de esterase de leucócitos foram calculados de acordo com a fórmula.ResultadosForam analisados um total de 150 amostras de líquido ascítico de pacientes cirróticos; (53,2%) eram do sexo masculino e sua média de idade (4,33±1,88 anos). A atresia biliar (n=44, 29,4%) e hepatite neonatal idiopática (n=29, 19,3%) foram as etiologias mais frequentes de cirrose. Além disso, dor abdominal (68,6%) e distensão (64%) foram as queixas mais comuns de apresentação. De todos os casos, 41 (27,35%) foram diagnosticados com peritonite bacteriana espontânea (PMN ≥250/mm3). A sensibilidade e especificidade do teste de reagente de esterase de leucócitos segundo PMN ≥250mm3 foi de 87,80% e 91,74% e, para os resultados de cultura de líquido ascítico, de 88,23% e 77,44%. Valor preditivo positivo e valor preditivo negativo do teste em PMN ≥250mm3 foi de 80% e 95,23% e em casos com cultura positiva 33,33% e 98,09%, respectivamente. A eficiência do teste de reagente esterase de leucócitos no diagnóstico de peritonite bacteriana espontânea, de acordo com resultados de ≥250mm3 e cultura PMN, foi de 90,66% e 78,66%.ConclusãoO teste de tiras de esterase de leucócitos pode ser usado como um teste rápido para diagnóstico de peritonite bacteriana espontânea, devido a sua alta validade diagnóstica.

Multifocal pulmonary mucinous cystic neoplasm with ovarian type stroma, a new finding in an extremely rare case report.

Primary pulmonary mucinous cystic neoplasm is a rare tumor and there are only a few case reports in the English literature. Herein we report a very unusual multifocal pulmonary mucinous neoplasm. Microscopic sections revealed ovarian type stroma which was diffusely positive for estrogen receptor, same as its pancreaticobiliary counterpart. To the best of our knowledge such a presentation of pulmonary mucinous neoplasm has not been previously reported in the English literature.

Cutaneous metastasis of testicular choriocarcinoma, diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration cytology: A rare case report and review of the literature.

Skin metastasis of testicular choriocarcinoma is very rare. Until now about nine cases have been reported in the English literature; however, only one of them has been diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology. Herein, we report our experience with FNA cytology diagnosis of a metastatic testicular choriocarcinoma to the skin of chin. The combination of highly atypical mononuclear cells (cytotrophoblasts) and multinucleated malignant cells (syncytiotrophoblasts) are characteristic of metastatic tumor in a known case of choriocarcinoma of testis.

Nested stromal epithelial tumor of liver presenting with cushing syndrome: A rare case report.

Nested stromal and epithelial tumor of the liver is an extremely rare pediatric hepatic tumor. To the best of our knowledge, about 25 cases have been reported in the English literature so far, few of which accompanied with Cushing syndrome. Herein we report our experience with an 8-year-old boy presented with Cushing's syndrome because of ectopic ACTH production by this tumor.

Lipofibromatosis accompanied by several congenital anomalies, report of a rare case.

Lipofibromatosis is a rare tumor of infancy, which has been reported about 10 years ago, and since then very few reports have been published. This tumor has been reported in association with congenital anomalies such as macrosyndactyly, but there is no report of multiple congenital anomalies with lipofibromatosis in the English literature as far as our knowledge goes. Herein, we report a case of this tumor associated with syndactyly, bilateral complete cleft lip and palate, trigonocephaly, and atrial septal defect.

Primary glomus tumor of the liver: A rare case report and review of the literature.

Glomus tumor is a rare neoplasm of the distal extremities. It occurs very rarely in the deep visceral organs such as stomach, lung, pancreas, ovary, and liver. Herein, we report a very rare case of glomus tumor of the liver in a 50-year-old woman presenting with abdominal mass which was diagnosed after surgery. The tumor was large and cystic; however, the morphology was similar to the ordinary soft-tissue glomus tumor. Tumor cells were reactive with CD34 and SMA. The patient's follow up failed to show any evidence of malignant behavior or tumor recurrence. This report is the third primary glomus tumor of the liver in the English literature.

Pathology of pediatric liver tumors, a single center experience from south of Iran.

Background: Pediatric hepatic malignancies are rare, accounting for 1-4% of all solid childhood tumors. The histopathology of childhood hepatic tumors guides the treatment and prognosis, and is the cornerstone for precise diagnosis. Until now, there has been no documented study on pediatric liver tumor cases from this center; in this report, we show our experience about the common types of childhood hepatic tumors during five years (2002-2007) and compare them with other studies. Materials and Methods: During five years (2002-2007), all the hepatic tumors of childhood (under 18 year-old) from the pathology file of Namazi Hospital of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences are recorded. This includes both resected specimens and biopsies. All the slides were reviewed and the pathologic diagnosis was confirmed. Results: We detected 53 liver tumor cases in children (below 18 years of age). Among these tumors, 36 (67.9%) were malignant. Male to female ratio was 1.5 to 1. Hepatoblastoma was the most common liver tumor in this age group accounting for 22 patients (41.5%). The second most common primary tumor was hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), with five patients. Another malignant tumor was embryonal sarcoma. Benign tumors included adenoma, mesenchymal hamartoma, vascular tumors, focal nodular hyperplasia, and inflammatory pseudo tumor. There were also seven metastatic tumors during these five years. Conclusions: The spectrum of hepatic tumors in children is different from that found in the older age group (adults) and also different in different populations.

Accuracy of intra-operative frozen section consultation in south of Iran during four years.

Background: Accuracy of intraoperative frozen section diagnosis is an important part of quality control in surgical pathology. In this study we try to evaluate the frozen section diagnosis in our center, a referral center in southern Iran. Materials and Methods: During the four-year-period of study, all the frozen sections in the affiliated hospitals of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences were evaluated. Discrepant cases were studied to find out reasons for their inaccuracies. Results: In the four years, 759 frozen sections have been done, 25 of which showed discordant results. The most common site of frozen section and discrepancy was in central nervous system tumors. The reason for inaccuracy in frozen section diagnosis in 52% of cases was proved to be interpretative, 44% sampling error and the remainder due to lack of clinical information of the pathologist. Conclusion: Accuracy of our intraoperative consultation is comparable with other centers in Western countries. Most of the discrepancies can be prevented by providing more clinical information for the pathologist and more accurate sampling.

Mucinous tubular and spindle cell carcinoma of kidney: A rare case report and review of the literature.

Low grade mucinous tubular and spindle cell carcinoma of kidney was newly established as a distinct renal cell carcinoma in the World Health Organization (WHO) classification of 2004. Until now, less than 60 cases have been reported and the largest series represented approximately 15 patients with this type of tumor. Herein, we report a case of mucinous tubular and spindle cell carcinoma in a 63-year-old male presented with right flank pain which was diagnosed after nephrectomy. Pathologists should consider this diagnosis and its spectrum of histopathologic features in mind to ensure an accurate diagnosis.

Clinical, endoscopic and pathologic spectrum of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug-induced colitis.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used for treatment of arthritis and many other painful conditions. These drugs may cause damage not only to the upper gastrointestinal tract but also to the small and large intestine. This prospective study aimed to determine the presence of colonic lesions among 24 patients who were receiving NSAIDs for more than 3 months, and presented with diarrhea, intractable abdominal pain, and lower GI bleeding. Colonoscopy was done and multiple biopsies from different sites in the colon were obtained. Colonoscopy was normal in 11 (45.8%), showed inflammation or superficial ulcers in 7 (29.1%) and solitary or multiple deep ulcers in 6 (25%). Histology showed erosions in 12 (50%) and lymphocytic colitis in 9 (37.5%); histology was normal in 4 (16.6%). NSAID-induced colonic damage may have clinically significant sequel.

Inflammatory pseudotumor of the liver: two case reports and a review of the literature.

Rare cases of inflammatory pseudotumor (IPT) in two adolescents are reported. Both of them presented with significant weight loss and were operated upon with the impression of liver abscess and malignant liver tumor. These two cases are reported to emphasize IPT of the liver as a differential diagnosis of hepatic masses in children because recognition of this condition before operation can avoid unnecessary surgery.

Role of rectal biopsy in predicting response to intrasphincteric botulinum toxin injection for obstructive symptoms after a pullthrough operation.

OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to correlate the pathological results and clinical response in patients who underwent botulinum toxin (BT) injection for obstructive symptoms (OS) after a pullthrough operation for Hirschsprung's disease (HD). METHODS: Between August 2002 and February 2006, 16 of 107 HD patients (15%) were referred with persistent OS after pull-through (PT) operation in this center. They underwent rectal biopsy and BT injection in the internal sphincter. Their responses to BT injection were evaluated by the constipation score before, and at 1, 3 and 8 months after the injection, and anorectal manometry (ARM) before and at 2 weeks, and 1 and 8 months after the injection. The association between response to BT and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) staining of rectal biopsy was also assessed. RESULTS: Fourteen of 16 patients (87%) had improvement in bowel function after 2 weeks, and two patients did not respond at all. Six of the 14 patients with early response had recurrence of symptoms after 2-3 months. Eight patients with normal ganglia and negative AChE had good response with no recurrence on follow-up. However, 4 of 6 recurrences were neurogenic dysfunctions and 2 were intestinal neuronal dysplasia (2-4+AChE). Two patients with no response had an aganglionic segment (4+AChE). Four of 6 patients with recurrence showed improvement with BT re-injection and only 2 did not improve. CONCLUSION: A higher degree of AChE staining is associated with lack of response to BT injection. This is also a test for predicting the severity of neurogenic dysfunction in the intestinal wall.

Useful markers for differential diagnosis of oncocytoma, chromophobe renal cell carcinoma and conventional renal cell carcinoma.

Renal oncocytoma, conventional RCC (granular cell type) and chromophobe RCC have different prognosis. Sometimes differentiation between them is difficult in HandE slides. In a 5-year study of 128 renal tumors, we selected 76 cases [30 conventional RCC (CRCC), 16 papillary RCC, 21 chromophobe RCC (ChRCC), 8 oncocytoma, 1 collecting duct carcinoma (cdc)] and staining with Hale's colloidal iron, CK7, CK8, CK18, CK19, CK20, Vimentin, EMA, CD10 and RCC marker were done. No significant difference was seen between renal tumor subtypes with CK8, CK18, CK19, CK20 and EMA. The most useful markers were Vimentin, CK7, CD10, RCC marker and Hale's colloidal iron. Hale's colloidal iron staining with diffuse reticular fine cytoplasmic pattern was present in ChRCCs, but was absent in other subtypes and oncocytomas. Vimentin, CK7, CD10, RCC marker and Hale's colloidal iron can be used for the differential diagnosis of problematic epithelial tumors of kidney (CRCC, ChRCC and oncocytoma) - i.e. ChRCC: Vimentin, CD10 and RCC marker - negative, CK7 - positive and positive diffuse fine reticular cytoplasmic pattern of Hale's colloidal iron; oncocytoma: Vimentin, CK7, RCC marker and CD10 - negative and Hale's colloidal iron - negative; CRCC: CK7 - negative, Vimentin, CD10 and RCC marker - positive and Hale's colloidal iron - negative.

Functioning adrenocortical oncocytoma: a case report and review of literature.

Adrenocortical oncocytoma is very rare. Less than five functioning types of them are reported and most of the reported cases are incidentally found. We herein report a case of functioning adrenocortical oncocytoma of the left adrenal cortex in a young woman.

Histologic differentiation of hepatocellular carcinoma from adenocarcinoma by a simple panel: evaluation of the pitfalls.

The histological differentiation of Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) from cholangiocarcinoma (CC) and metastatic adenocarcinoma (MA) of the liver is difficult in some cases and immunohistochemistry (IHC) is necessary for the diagnosis. HepPar-1 is a recently available antibody which seems to be very specific and sensitive for the diagnosis of HCC. MOC31 is an antibody directed against a cell surface glycoprotein and has been shown to be helpful in distinguishing between HCC and CC or MA as a negative marker in HCC. In this study we tried to apply these two markers for the diagnosis of HCC cases as a simple, useful and reliable panel. We selected 101 liver tumors which had proven diagnosis by several antibodies and cilinicopathologic correlation. The tumors with confirmed histologic diagnosis including 35 HCC, 58 MA, 7 CC and 1 combined HCC-CC.. HepPar-1 was positive in 30 of 35 cases of HCC; none of the other tumors were reactive for HepPar1 except for a case of metastatic gall bladder adenocarcinoma which showed areas of hepatoid differentiation in the H&E slides. MOC31 was positive in 5 of the HCC cases and stained 60 of 65 cases of MA. There were 4 cases of HCC with clear cell morphology, in most of which, IHC pattern was not diagnostic and further investigation was needed. As a conclusion the combination of positive Hepar1 and negative MOC31 is highly suggestive for HCC except for the clear cell variant. These two reliable markers are recommended for the initial step of differential diagnosis between HCC and MA and for the confirmation of the histologic diagnosis.