Hairy polyp can be lethal even when small in size

A case of sudden cardiopulmonary arrest in a 3‐month‐old girl is presented. The patient had barely recovered from hypoxic encephalopathy when she presented with repeated respiratory distress. Computed tomography and endoscopic analysis revealed a shiny polyp in the lateral wall of the nasopharynx, and this polyp was suspected to be the main cause of respiratory distress. After referral to our hospital, surgical removal was performed, and the histopathological diagnosis was hairy polyp. Hairy polyp is a rare congenital benign tumor that sometimes induces respiratory distress. This polyp can potentially induce a life‐threatening event. In a systematic review of 40 reported cases, polyps of ≤3.0 cm in diameter have a higher risk of respiratory distress than do those >3.0 cm in diameter (P = 0.01). Small hairy polyps may be lethal because of delayed diagnosis. To locate small hairy polyps, physicians should not hesitate to perform further examination because there is the possibility of oversight with only physical examination.     

Acute leukemia with the phenotype of a natural killer/T cell bipotential precursor

 An acute leukemia with an unusual immunophenotype developed in a 17-year-old girl. At the initial presentation, extramedullary involvement was not evident, but with advancing disease, massive splenomegaly and an osteolytic rib tumor developed. The disease was aggressive and refractory to intensive chemotherapeutic regimens for myeloid and lymphoid malignancies, and the patient died 3 months after the initial presentation. The leukemic cells were of irregular shape and variable size; they had deeply indented or bi-lobed nuclei and relatively fine, azurophilic granules in their cytoplasm. They were positive for acid phosphatase and β-glucuronidase in granular staining, but they were negative for myeloperoxidase. The leukemic cells had a unique immunophenotype: it was positive for T-cell antigens (CD1a, CD2, cytoplasmic CD3, CD4), myeloid antigens (CD13 and CD33), NK-cell antigen (CD56), CD19 and CD30. DNA analysis revealed no gene rearrangement in the T-cell receptor β, γ and δ, or immunoglobulin heavy chain genes. The leukemic cells of our patient are thought to have arisen from the transformation of a putative precursor cell common to both the T- and NK-cell lineage in the bone marrow. The current literature on precursor NK-cell malignancy is reviewed, and its clinicopathological feature is discussed. Received: 29 April 1998 / Accepted: 28 August 1998     

Autofluorescence imaging and the quantitative intensity of fluorescence for evaluating the dysplastic grade of colonic neoplasms

Background and aims

Autofluorescence imaging (AFI) is a novel technology which can capture fluorescence emitted from intestinal tissues. While AFI is useful for detecting colorectal neoplasms, it is unclear whether AFI can facilitate the diagnosis by differentiating the extent of dysplasia of colorectal neoplasms. This study investigated the efficacy of AFI in discriminating high-grade from low-grade adenoma.

Materials and methods

Sixty-seven patients who underwent colonoscopy with AFI were enrolled in this study. The AFI images obtained from 158 lesions in these patients were visually classified into four categories, namely, green (G), green with magenta spots (GM), magenta with green spots (MG), and magenta (M), according to their color intensities, immediately after the examination. The AFI images of the lesions were quantified using an image-analytical software program (F index). Either the F index or the visual assessment was prospectively compared with the dysplastic grade.

Results

The F index of the high-grade adenomas was significantly lower than that of the low-grade adenomas, hyperplasia, and normal mucosa (p?Conclusions AFI, particularly the F index, is considered to be a useful procedure for estimating the dysplastic grade of colonic adenomas.     

Eplerenone improved hypokalemia in a patient with Gitelman's syndrome

A 47-year-old woman presented with hypokalemia (2.4 mmol/L). She also had hypomagnesemia, hypocalciuria, and hyperreninemic hyperaldosteronism. Sequence analysis revealed a compound heterozygous mutation, R655C and R955Q, in the SLC12A3 gene. These findings were compatible with Gitelman's syndrome (GS). Eplerenone, a selective aldosterone blocker, in combination with oral potassium chloride improved serum potassium level (3.6 mmol/L) with no apparent adverse effect. Although eplerenone has an advantage over spironolactone for its selective affinity for the aldosterone receptor, the efficacy and safety of eplerenone for GS is little understood. Our observation suggests that eplerenone is a useful treatment option for GS.