宮谷 博幸

AIM: To elucidate the characteristics of hemorrhagic gastric/duodenal ulcers in a post-earthquake period within one medical district. METHODS: Hemorrhagic gastric/duodenal ulcers in the Iwate Prefectural Kamaishi Hospital during the 6-mo period after the Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster were reviewed retrospectively. The subjects were 27 patients who visited our hospital with a chief complaint of hematemesis or hemorrhagic stool and were diagnosed as having hemorrhagic gastric/duodenal ulcers by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy during a 6-mo period starting on March 11, 2011. This period was divided into two phases: the acute stress phase, comprising the first month after the earthquake disaster, and the chronic stress phase, from the second through the sixth month. The following items were analyzed according to these phases: age, sex, sites and number of ulcers, peptic ulcer history, status of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, intake of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and degree of impact of the earthquake disaster. RESULTS: In the acute stress phase from 10 d to 1 mo after the disaster, the number of patients increased rapidly, with a nearly equal male-to-female ratio, and the rate of multiple ulcers was significantly higher than in the previous year (88.9% vs 25%, P < 0.005). In the chronic stress phase starting 1 mo after the earthquake disaster, the number of patients decreased to a level similar to that of the previous year. There were more male patients during this period, and many patients tended to have a solitary ulcer. All patients with duodenal ulcers found in the acute stress phase were negative for serum H. pylori antibodies, and this was significantly different from the previous year's positive rate of 75% (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Severe stress caused by an earthquake disaster may have affected the characteristics of hemorrhagic gastric/duodenal ulcers. (C) 2013 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.

We examined the pathologies, treatment characteristics, and clinical course of elderly ulcerative colitis (UC) patients. Among 222 UC patients (127 men, 95 women; average age, 34 +/- A 16 years), we selected 109 with UC diagnosed between 20 and 39 years of age (young adult group) and 23 diagnosed at a parts per thousand yen60 years of age (elderly group). Moreover, 12 patients diagnosed between 60 and 64 years of age (late-onset group) and 6 patients aged a parts per thousand yen60 years diagnosed under 50 years old (long-standing group) were also extracted for sub-analysis. The clinical characteristics and course were compared among the groups. The average age at onset was 29 +/- A 6 years in the young adult group and 66 +/- A 5 years in the elderly group. The frequency of immunomodulator or steroid use did not differ between the two groups. The comorbidity rate was 14.7 % in the young adult group and 69.6 % in the elderly group (P < .0001). Seven patients (58.3 %) in the late-onset UC group and none of the patients in the long-standing UC group were on steroid treatment. None of the patients in the long-standing UC group required hospitalization/surgery for UC exacerbation, while 3 (25.0 %) and 2 patients (16.7 %) in the late-onset group required hospitalization and surgery, respectively. The comorbidity rate was significantly higher in the elderly group. Treatments did not differ significantly between the young adult and elderly groups. Therefore, it appears that the inflammation tends to subside with age in elderly patients with long-standing UC.

A 78-year-old man with hepatocellular carcinoma treated by chemoembolization and percutaneous ethanol injection was admitted to our hospital because of acute abdomen. The CT scan showed biliary fistula caused by hepatocellular carcinoma protruding from S3. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography showed disruption of an intrahepatic duct and the main pancreatic duct, and contrast agent leaked into the peritoneal cavity from each duct Omental panniculitis with biliary fistula and pancreatic fistula was diagnosed. The symptoms improved by endoscopic nasobiliary drainage and endoscopic pancreatic stenting. On the 13th day after admission, we added endoscopic nasopancreatic drainage because his abdominal pain had been exacerbated by pancreatic juice leakage. Omental panniculitis by hepatocellular carcinoma complicated by biliary fistula and pancreatic fistula is extremely rare. Endoscopic transpapillary pancreaticobiliary drainage was effective for omental panniculitis in this case.

A 75-year old man had been diagnosed at 42 years of age as having polycythemia vera and had been monitored at another hospital. Progression of anemia had been recognized at about age 70, and the patient was thus referred to our center in 2008 where secondary myelofibrosis was diagnosed based on bone marrow biopsy findings. Hematemesis due to rupture of esophageal varices occurred in January and February of 2011. The bleeding was stopped by endoscopic variceal ligation. Furthermore, in March of the same year, hematemesis recurred and the patient was transported to our center. He was in irreversible hemorrhagic shock and died. The autopsy showed severe bone marrow fibrosis with mainly argyrophilic fibers, an observation consistent with myelofibrosis. The liver weighed 1856 g the spleen 1572 g, indicating marked hepatosplenomegaly. The liver and spleen both showed extramedullary hemopoiesis. Myelofibrosis is often complicated by portal hypertension and is occasionally associated with gastrointestinal hemorrhage due to esophageal varices. A patient diagnosed as having myelofibrosis needs to be screened for esophageal/gastric varices. Myelofibrosis has a poor prognosis. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully decide the therapeutic strategy in consideration of the patient's concomitant conditions, treatment invasiveness and quality of life. (C) 2012 Baishideng. All rights reserved.

An intrahepatic arterioportal fistula is a rare cause of portal hypertension and variceal bleeding. We report on a patient with an intrahepatic arterioportal fistula following liver biopsy who was successfully treated by hepatectomy after unsuccessful arterial embolization. We also review the literature on symptomatic intrahepatic arterioportal fistulas after liver biopsy. A 48-year-old male with bleeding gastric varices and hepatitis B virus-associated liver cirrhosis was transferred to our hospital this patient previously underwent percutaneous liver biopsies 3 and 6 years ago. Abdominal examination revealed a bruit over the liver, tenderness in the right upper quadrant, and splenomegaly. Ultrasonographic examination, computed tomography, and angiography confirmed an arterioportal fistula between the right hepatic artery and the right portal vein with portal hypertension. After admission, the patient suffered a large hematemesis and developed shock. He was treated with emergency transarterial embolization using microcoils. Since some collateral vessels bypassed the obstructive coils and still fed the fistulous area, embolization was performed again. Despite the second embolization, the collateral vessels could not be completely controlled. Radical treatment involving resection of his right hepatic lobe was performed. For nearly 6 years postoperatively, this patient has had no further episodes of variceal bleeding. © Springer 2012.