Risk factors for aspiration pneumonia after percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy.

Background: Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) is generally used for long-term enteral nutrition. Patients who require PEG placement are often very sick, and postoperative complications, especially aspiration pneumonia, can be fatal.

Objective: In this study we investigated the risk factors for aspiration pneumonia after PEG using a simple two-step swallowing provocation test (S-SPT), as reported in 1999 by Teramoto et al.

Henoch-Schönlein purpura after postoperative Staphylococcus aureus infection with hepatic IgA nephropathy.

A 66-year-old man with a two-year history of hepatitis C viral liver cirrhosis, was diagnosed as having ascending colon cancer. Right hemicolectomy was performed, and a drain was fed down to the anastomosis. On post-operative day (POD) 9, and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) was isolated from both drains.

Recovery from idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) following right hemicolectomy for mucocele of appendix.

A 61-year-old woman with a 2-year medication-free history of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura was referred to our hospital complaining of right lower abdominal pain. The platelet count was about 3-4x10(4)/mm3. This patient was diagnosed with mucocele of the appendix on computed tomography and colonoscopy.

Hepatic venous stenosis-related reduction of cyclosporin clearance in a pediatric patient after liver transplantation.

A 20-month-old girl with Alagille syndrome developed stenosis of hepatic venous anastomosis after living related-donor liver transplantation. Cyclosporin (a microemulsion formulation) was given orally at a dose of 50 mg twice daily, and the trough blood concentration was relatively stable. Before balloon angioplasty of the hepatic vein, trough cyclosporin blood concentrations became elevated and consequently, the dosage was reduced to 15 mg twice daily.