Publications by authors named "Pei-Chieh Chao"

Streptococcal bacteremia is an uncommon presentation for colorectal malignancy, yet most physicians would probably be aware of the association between Streptococcus bovis infection and such malignancy; however, many physicians may be unaware that other streptococcal species are also associated with colon and rectal cancers. We describe a 62-year-old male with adenocarcinoma of the sigmoid colon with the presentation of infective endocarditis due to infection by Streptococcus viridans, and we also report on the condition's successful treatment.

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The occurrence of leiomyoma of the colon is uncommon. Most of these lesions are clinically silent and are found incidentally during laparotomy or endoscopic procedures for unrelated conditions. Symptomatic leiomyomas of the colon are encountered less frequently, with only sporadic reports in the literatures.

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Rectal perforation is a serious complication of manipulation of the anus and rectum, with catheters and thermometers. Such procedures should be performed with caution. We report a case of a 19-year-old male with retention of an intrapelvic foreign body, a mercury thermometer, which after perforating the rectum migrated into the pelvis and remained there without any symptoms for the next 7 years.

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Retinoic acid receptor responder 1 (RARRES1) is a retinoid regulated gene. Its expression is frequently down-regulated through DNA hypermethylation in several types of malignant tissues. This study investigated the clinical significance of RARRES1 protein and its association with RARRES3 protein expression in 161 (26 adenoma, 13 distal normal mucosa and 122 primary colorectal adenocarcinoma) paraffin-embedded colorectal tissues by immunohistochemistry.

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Aim: Postoperative gastrointestinal-tract motility is normally delayed. Early feeding after colorectal surgery has been reported recently, but late feeding is common. Gastrografin not only enhances bowel peristalsis, but also decreases bowel-wall edema.

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Cytokine release during surgery can produce a long-lasting hyperalgesia. Thus, preoperatively-administered cytokine inhibitors might reduce the production of cytokines, decreasing central nervous system sensitization and improving the quality of postoperative pain relief. We investigated the hypothesis that preincisional IV pentoxifylline (PTX) treatment could attenuate the release of proinflammatory (tumor necrosis factor, interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6, and IL-8) and antiinflammatory (IL-1 receptor antagonist) cytokines in patients who underwent elective colorectal cancer surgery.

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Background: In our previous study, we had demonstrated that intramuscular (i.m.) dextromethorphan (DM) could provide a preemptive analgesic effect and improve postoperative pain management.

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