Japanese Journal of Gastroenterology最新文献

A woman in her 70s was hospitalized and was diagnosed with liver abscess and managed with antibiotics in a previous hospital. However, she experienced altered consciousness and neck stiffness during treatment. She was then referred to our hospital. On investigation, we found that she had meningitis and right endophthalmitis concurrent with a liver abscess. Klebsiella pneumoniae was detected from both cultures of the liver abscess and effusion from the cornea. A string test showed a positive result. Therefore, she was diagnosed with invasive liver abscess syndrome. Although she recovered from the liver abscess and meningitis through empiric antibiotic treatment, her right eye required ophthalmectomy. In cases where a liver abscess presents with extrahepatic complications, such as meningitis and endophthalmitis, the possibility of invasive liver abscess syndrome should be considered, which is caused by a hypervirulent K. pneumoniae.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 vaccine has contributed to infection control and the prevention of complications due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Conversely, the COVID-19 vaccine has been associated with adverse effects due to liver injury caused by autoimmunity or drugs. To date, Japanese journals have only published five reports of autoimmune liver damage associated with the COVID-19 vaccination. Although the pathogenic mechanism has not yet been fully elucidated, corticosteroids or azathioprine have shown effectiveness in certain patients. However, there have been cases of liver injury resulting in deaths. Here, we encountered three patients who developed autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) within 10 days following vaccination. All three patients were treated with prednisolone (PSL) and achieved remission. However, the serum alanine aminotransferase levels in all cases were observed to either increase or cease to improve during the therapeutic course before PSL administration. It is therefore imperative to closely monitor liver injury after the COVID-19 vaccination. In cases where AIH is suspected and a recurrence of liver dysfunction occurs, PSL may be administered. Future considerations should not only encompass the underlying mechanism by which autoimmunity contributes to the development of liver injury following COVID-19 vaccination but also the optimal treatment period for PSL and the long-term prognosis of AIH after COVID-19 vaccination.

A woman in her 70s was admitted to our institution with complaints of right hypochondrium pain. Abdominal computed tomography revealed a 13-mm retroperitoneal tumor between the liver and right kidney. The tumor rapidly increased to 82mm within 2 months, a necrotic change was inside the tumor, and the inflammation spread to the surrounding diaphragm and the peritoneum. The patient underwent surgical resection including the affected diaphragm and the peritoneum. Histopathological examination revealed a myofibroblastic spindle-cell proliferation with prominent infiltration of inflammatory cells, such as the plasma cells, lymphocytes, neutrophils, and eosinophils, diagnosed as an inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) based on positive smooth muscle actin staining. IMT arising from the retroperitoneum is a rare case in Japan;we report this case with literature review.

After endoscopic treatment for esophageal cancer, a 65-year-old male underwent surveillance esophagogastroduodenoscopy. A 12-mm discolored flat lesion was noted on the greater curvature of the middle gastric body. Magnifying endoscopy with blue laser imaging demonstrated an irregular papillary surface. Biopsy revealed atypical cells with mucus and irregularly distributed nuclei. The lesion was diagnosed as a gastric-type neoplasm with low atypia. Thereafter, endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) was conducted and specimen was sent for biopsy. The ESD specimen suggested a signet-ring cell carcinoma with MUC5AC-positive phenotype and adenocarcinoma of the fundic gland type, with MUC6 positivity and pepsinogen I positivity in the shallow and deeper layers, respectively. Moreover, the cervical region of fundic glands demonstrated a transformation zone of the signet-ring cell carcinoma into an adenocarcinoma of the fundic gland type. Herein, we report this rare case along with a literature review.

A 73-year-old woman was admitted with the chief complaint of abdominal pain. Computed tomography suggested malignant tumor of the gallbladder infiltrating the liver, duodenum, and transverse colon. Extended cholecystectomy with en bloc resection of the involved liver, transverse colon, and duodenum was performed to achieve curative resection. Pathologic evaluation led to the diagnosis of stage IVA squamous cell carcinoma (T4aN0M0), according to the biliary tract cancer classification established by the Japanese Society of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery. Hepatic hilar lymph node recurrence was identified 3 months later and heavy ion radiotherapy was performed. The patient was hospitalized after 8 months with acute cholangitis, which improved with conservative treatment;however, heart failure worsened during treatment and she died 9 months after surgery.