Characteristics of patients with brain metastases from lung cancer in a palliative care center.

Purpose And Methods: Patients with brain metastases present severe symptoms owing to the tumor growth or treatment side effects, and supportive measures are often critical for the patients and their families. However, there is currently a lack of palliative care and end-of-life (EoL) provision for patients affected by advanced brain tumors. We performed a retrospective analysis of the characteristics of patients with brain metastases from lung cancer between August 1998 and December 2008 in our palliative care center.

[Iliopsoas abscess accompanied by epidural abscess--a case report].

A 55-year-old man was admitted to a hospital with pain of the low back as well as the left leg, and fever. He was suspected of suffering from the lumbar disc herniation because of the presence of Lasegue's sign on the first physical examination. Abdominal computed tomography, however, revealed the swelling of the left iliopsoas muscle.

[A case of gastrectomy under continuous subdural anesthesia].

Unintentional subdural block, while attempting epidural block, is known as a complication. The authors used a catheter which had happened to be introduced into the subdural space, for clinical anesthesia and postoperative pain relief. For a 75-year-old male patient, gastrectomy was scheduled under epidural anesthesia.