Fungal infection in heart transplant recipients with severe sepsis: single-center experience.

The objective of this study was to describe in heart transplant recipients severe sepsis due to fungal infection, which is associated with high mortality. This was a retrospective study including 366 patients who underwent heart transplantation from 1987 to 2009 in whom severe sepsis due to fungal infection developed, with multiple-organ failure. Sepsis was diagnosed on the basis of a positive culture for the infective agent, such as Cryptococcus, Aspergillus, Candida, or Nocardia, from an appropriate source such as blood, wound, or sputum.

End-stage renal disease after orthotopic heart transplantation: a single-institute experience.

Orthotopic heart transplantation is the treatment of choice for end-stage heart failure, and calcineurin inhibitor agents allow for better allograft survival. However, pretransplantation low cardiac output status and posttransplantation immunosuppressants contribute toward deterioration of renal function. From 1987 to 2008, 350 patients underwent orthotopic heart transplantation in our hospital.

Extracoporeal membrane oxygenation to rescue cardiopulmonary failure after heart transplantation: a single-center experience.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) can provide excellent mechanical circulatory support (MCS). Some case reports use ECMO to rescue heart transplantation (HTx) recipients with posttransplant cardiopulmonary failure. Herein reported a series of use of ECMO to rescue HTx recipients with refractory cardiopulmonary failure have during the posttransplant period.

The survival of heart transplant recipients using cyclosporine and everolimus is not inferior to that using cyclosporine and mycophenolate.

Introduction: Heart transplantation has become the best available therapy for patients with refractory end-stage heart failure. Cyclosporine (CsA) and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) are the 2 FDA-approved drugs to prevent posttransplant acute rejection episodes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the result of heart transplantation treated with CsA and everolimus (EVL), compared with that of patients treated with CsA and MMF.

Can cyclosporine blood level be reduced to half after heart transplantation?

Background: Cyclosporine (CsA) is widely used after heart transplantation. The purpose of this prospective randomized study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of reduction of CsA blood level to one-half of the traditional blood concentration under a regimen of everolimus (EVL), CsA, and steroid.

Materials And Methods: This prospective, 6 month, randomized, open-label study included adult (aged 18 to 65 years) recipients of a primary heart transplant with serum creatinine View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Extracoporeal membrane oxygenation hybrid with Thoratec ventricular-assist devices as double bridge to heart transplantation.

Ventricular-assist devices (VADs) have benefitted patients with end-stage heart failure as a bridge to heart transplantation (HTx). Herein, we describe our experience with HTx in the presence of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) together with the Thoratec VAD (Thoratec Corp, Pleasanton, California). From May 1996 to June 2009, mechanical circulatory support with the Thoratec VAD was provided in 20 patients.

Echocardiographic assessment of structural and functional cardiac remodeling in patients with predialysis chronic kidney disease.

Background: Cardiac remodeling has been demonstrated in patients on hemodialysis and in predialysis patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Using functional echocardiographic parameters to study the association of hemodynamic status and predialysis CKD has not yet been established.

Methods: From November 2007 to September 2008, ninety-six patients (50 men and 46 women) with different stages of CKD were enrolled consecutively to undergo echocardiography.

Molecular characterization of invasive subpopulations from an esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cell line.

Background: Once diagnosed, esophageal cancer has a very low overall 5-year survival rate. This study investigates the mechanisms behind the invasiveness and severity of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

Materials And Methods: Transwell invasion chamber was used to subdivide one Taiwanese ESCC cell line, CE81T/VGH, into sublines (CE81T-0, CE81T-1, CE81T-2, CE81T-3, and CE81T-4) in four rounds of assays; the most invasive were identified, and various factors related to their invasiveness measured.

Expression pattern and prognostic significance of claudins 1, 4, and 7 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Claudins are major tight junction proteins that regulate the integrity and function of tight junctions. Aberrant expression of claudins has been shown in various carcinomas with diverse prognostic implications. However, their expression pattern and prognostic value have not been investigated in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking and esophageal cancer risk in Taiwanese women.

Aim: To investigate the etiology of esophageal cancer among Taiwanese women.

Methods: This is a multi-center, hospital-based, case-control study. Case patients consisted of women who were newly diagnosed and pathology-proven to have esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) from three large medical centers (one from Northern and two from Southern Taiwan, respectively) between August 2000 and December 2008.

Ureteral endometriosis with obstructive uropathy.

Endometriosis is a common disease, but ureteral involvement is rare. The symptoms and signs of ureteral endometriosis mimic those of ureteral malignancy. This case report describes a woman who presented with chronic back pain for 5 years.

Use of an active-fixation coronary sinus lead to implant a biventricular pacemaker via the femoral vein.

Cardiac resynchronization therapy, which involves the placement of a pacing lead in the right atrium and in each ventricle, is effective in treating heart failure that is caused by left bundle branch block and cardiomyopathy. The left ventricular lead is usually placed into a lateral branch of the coronary sinus via the subclavian route. When the subclavian route is unavailable, insertion of a standard, passive-fixation coronary sinus lead via the femoral approach is feasible; however, the likelihood of subsequent dislodgment is high.

Queer consequence of cough: atrial myxoma embolization with acute occlusion of the abdominal aorta.

We introduce a rare case of sudden paraplegia preceded by vigorous coughing. This case demonstrates that detachment of a myxoma fragment can possibly be triggered by an abrupt increase in intrathoracic pressure. It is a potential complication that has never been reported in the literature.

The association between the harm avoidance subscale of the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire and serotonin transporter availability in the brainstem of male volunteers.

The relationship between harm avoidance scores of the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire and serotonin transporter availability, as approximated using single photon emission computed tomography with [(123)I] ADAM, was examined. Our results showed a significant negative correlation between the harm avoidance total score, as well as the asthenia subscore, and serotonin transporter availability, particularly in males.

Plasma decorin predicts the presence of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Using a microarray technique, we found decorin to be underexpressed, but osteopontin (OPN) to be overexpressed, in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). This study aims to examine whether plasma decorin and OPN plus personal substances use (tobacco, alcohol and areca) can serve as suitable clinical markers to predict the presence of ESCC. In total, 570 archived plasma specimens (275 patients and 295 controls) were collected from 2 medical centers in Taiwan between 2000 and 2008.

Influence of proton pump inhibitor use in gastrointestinal polyps.

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are the most potent anti-acid agents and are extensively used worldwide. PPI-induced hypergastrinemia is one of the very few side effects associated with these drugs. However, because hypergastrinemia is related to the occurrence of colonic adenomatous polyps, the purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between the occurrence of gastrointestinal polyps and hypergastrinemia induced by PPIs.

Ventricular function and all-cause mortality in chronic kidney disease patients with angiographic coronary artery disease.

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) lead to high morbidity and mortality rates. Traditional and nontraditional risk factors, hypertension, fluid overloading and anemia can lead to myocardial ischemia, chamber hypertrophy and dilatation, and low left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in CKD patients. The angiographic feature, ventriculographic LVEF and its relationship to all-cause mortality are unclear in patients with different stages of CKD who are not yet on dialysis.

Efficacy of entecavir in chronic hepatitis B patients with mildly elevated alanine aminotransferase and biopsy-proven histological damage.

Unlabelled: Current guidelines for management of chronic hepatitis B recommend treatment for patients presenting with elevated hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) >2 x upper limit of normal (ULN) or histological evidence of liver disease. Retrospective analyses have demonstrated that significant hepatic necroinflammation and fibrosis were present in a substantial proportion of patients with ALT 1 to 2 x ULN. To assess therapeutic efficacy in this clinical setting, we retrospectively examined treatment endpoints among the subset of nucleoside-naïve chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients treated in phase 3 clinical trials of entecavir who had both screening and baseline serum ALT 1.

Superior mesenteric artery syndrome in a diabetic patient with acute weight loss.

Superior mesenteric artery (SMA) syndrome is an uncommon disease resulting compression of the third portion of the duodenum from the superior mesenteric artery. This disease shares many common manifestations with diabetic gastroparesis, including postprandial fullness, nausea, vomiting, and bloating. Therefore, it is often overlooked in diabetic patients.

Activating KRAS mutations and overexpression of epidermal growth factor receptor as independent predictors in metastatic colorectal cancer patients treated with cetuximab.

Objective: Cetuximab, a monoclonal antibody targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), has been proven to be efficient in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC); however, the therapeutic response is variable and markers predictive of response are urgently required. This study was conducted to determinate the predictive values of KRAS mutation status and EGFR expression in mCRC patients treated with cetuximab plus chemotherapy.

Summary Background Data: Clinical benefit with EGFR-targeting antibodies seems to be restricted to a particular subgroup of mCRC patients.

Intraprostatic abscess as a complication of salvage cryotherapy.

We present a case of prostatic abscess as a previously unreported complication of salvage cryoablation after initial external beam radiotherapy for prostate cancer. An 81-years-old gentleman presented with recurrent urinary tract infection, unresolved after repeated antibiotic treatments, and severe abdominal, back, and perineal pain that developed 2 weeks after undergoing cryotherapy at an outside institution. The patient required open operative drainage of 6 cm prostatic abscess-like cavity noted on computed tomography pelvis and long-term outpatient intravenous antibiotics.

Factors associated with mortality from non-occlusive mesenteric ischemia in dialysis patients.

Background: Among dialysis patients, acute mesenteric ischemia is mostly caused by non-occlusive mesenteric ischemia (NOMI). There is a very high mortality rate associated with this complication, but prognostic factors associated with NOMI are not well-known.

Method: In this study, we retrospectively reviewed the records of dialysis patients to identify prognostic factors associated with mortality from NOMI.

Association between Helicobacter pylori seropositivity and digestive tract cancers.

Aim: To explore the role of Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) infection on the risk of digestive tract cancers.

Methods: In total, 199 oral squamous-cell carcinoma (SCC), 317 esophageal SCC, 196 gastric cardia and non-cardia adenocarcinoma and 240 colon adenocarcinoma patients were recruited for serum tests of H pylori infection. Two hospital- and one community-based control groups were used for the comparisons.

Short-term celecoxib intervention is a safe and effective chemopreventive for gastric carcinogenesis based on a Mongolian gerbil model.

Aim: To evaluate the optimal intervention point of a selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor, celecoxib, for inhibiting Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)-associated gastric carcinogenesis in Mongolian gerbils (MGs).

Methods: One hundred and twelve MGs were divided into six groups (A-F).