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Biomedical subjects

C C Lin

Publications and source records attributed to C C Lin.

820 records · Page 46Linked to original sources
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Chronic calcifying pancreatitis in Taiwan: a multicentric study and comparison with western countries.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: This study investigates the clinical features of chronic calcifying pancreatitis (CCP) in Taiwan and also the comparative differences in the disorder as it affects orientals and occidentals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Medical records at seven tertiary hospitals relating to patients diagnosed with CCP between 1976 and 1996 are reviewed and analyzed. Ninety patients were enrolled. Defining the calcification of the pancreas is achieved by plain film, ultrasonography, computed tomography, or histology. RESULTS: CCP afflicts men more frequently than it does women, by a ratio of 3.5:1 (70 men and 20 women). The mean age is 45 years (male: 46 female: 41.4). For fifty-two patients (57.8%), alcohol is the major cause of the condition, while in others, the causes are non-alcoholic (idiopathic: 31; biliary: 4; hereditary: 3). Alcoholism is mainly associated with males and younger sufferers. The major complications are diabetes mellitus (53.3%), cysts or pseudocysts (21.1%), and biliary stricture or stones (20%). Pancreatic adenocarcinoma and splenic vein thrombosis were found in six and five patients, respectively. Three patients died from cancers of other than pancreatic origin (lung: 1;liver: 1;bile duct: 1). Thirty-three patients were treated surgically of which thirteen (39.4%), including one with pancreatic auto transplantation, improved. Fifty-seven patients received medical treatment but only eleven (19.3%) improved. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical features of CCP in Taiwan are notably similar to those manifesting in western countries and in Japan. With the changes in life style and increased alcoholic consumption in Taiwan, the prevalence of CCP may increase and its demographic features may alter in the future.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Serum HDL level at acute stage of Kawasaki disease.

Kawasaki disease is a disease of acute vascular inflammation of unknown etiology and HDL is a known risk factor of vascular damage. So far, there is no specific serum marker for KD. The previous study has shown a remarkable change of serum HDL in the patients with KD. To find whether changes in serum HDL level is a specific serum marker for early diagnosis of KD, we measured the concentration of HDL, LDL, TC, TG and CRP immediately after admission and one week later in three groups of patients (56 patients with KD, 38 patients with clinical viral infection, and 42 patients with bacterial infection). There was a significant decrease of HDL and increase of TG immediately after admission in three groups of patients. HDL and TG did not return to normal one week later. HDL level is more adversely affected in severe diseases than in mild diseases. Our results indicated that low HDL level is noted in various acute infection and is not a specific serum marker in the early stage of Kawasaki disease. It is interesting that low HDL is a universal phenomenon in this series. Further research is needed to explain the mechanism of lipid alterations and its consequences.

Acute Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Pancreas divisum coexistent with gallbladder carcinoma--report of a Chinese patient.

The coexistence of pancreas divisum and gallbladder carcinoma is uncommon and, to the best of our knowledge, has never been reported in English literatures. We have encountered a 62-year-old patient with symptom of intermittent right upper quadrant abdominal pain. Abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomography showed a gallbladder tumor. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography revealed existence of complete pancreas divisum but no anomalous union of pancreaticobiliary duct. He underwent cholecystectomy and histologic analysis revealed tubulovillous adenoma with focal malignant change in the gallbladder.

Carcinoma↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Thyroid dysfunction and nodular goiter in hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of nodular goiter and thyroid dysfunction in uremic patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Single dialysis unit and outpatient clinic. PATIENTS: The study included 221 patients [143 HD and 78 continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients] along with 135 consecutively selected outpatients as controls. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Ultrasonography was used to detect patients' thyroid function and nodular goiter. RESULTS: Nodular goiter was detected in 54.8% of the uremic patients and in 21.5% of the controls. Uremic patients had higher prevalence of thyroid dysfunction, which included reduced serum concentration of total T3, total T4, and free T4, and increased serum level of TSH. Hypothyroidism was also observed more frequently in uremic patients than in the control group (5.4% vs 0.7%, p < 0.05). Nodular goiter was more frequently found in females than in males (63.5% vs 48%, p < 0.05). Moreover, the prevalence of nodular goiter increased with age (p < 0.02) in uremic patients. Hemodialysis patients had a higher frequency of reduced total T3 level (46.9% vs 29.5%, p < 0.02). However, CAPD patients had lower T4 levels (6.23+/-1.82 microg/dL vs 7.15+/-1.99 microg/dL, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Because of the high incidence of hypothyroidism and nodular goiter in uremic patients, screening of thyroid function and goiter detection with ultrasound should be considered in evaluation of end-stage renal disease patients.

Case-Control Studies↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A retrospective study of oral and maxillofacial biopsy lesions in a pediatric population from southern Taiwan.

This is a retrospective study of biopsied oral lesions (N = 534) in a pediatric population (0-15 years old) in southern Taiwan. In this study, we included 6% of the 9672 biopsies performed from 1985 through 1996. The lesions were divided into three groups according to patients' ages, 0-5 years old; 6-10 years old; and 11-15 years old The majority of the samples were from the oldest age group (273/518). With the exclusion of normal tissues (N = 26), 518 samples were classified into four categories: inflammatory lesions, cystic lesions, tumor or tumor-like lesions, and other lesions. The largest number of lesions occurred in the inflammatory lesion group (46%). The 12 most frequently occurring lesions contributed about 78% of all the biopsies in the three age groups (0-15 years old). Frequencies of the lesions of mucous extravasation phenomenon, dentigerous cyst, fibrous dysplasia, and odontonia in our three pediatric age groups showed a significant proportion in the biopsies of the same lesions in the group of patients of all ages. These information may be valuable for both epidemiology and teaching.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Plasma alkaline phosphatase activity in children and adolescents.

From February to June in 1996, there were 47,800 students for health examination in Taichung City, Taiwan. The population consisted of the first and fourth graders of primary schools and the first grader of junior high schools. We selected 3,452 healthy students for further study by two stage sampling. In this report, 52.5% of the students were boys, and 47.5% of the students were girls. The mean age of students was 9.9 +/- 2.4 years. Girls at age 7 and age 10 had higher activity of alkaline phosphatase than boys at the same age. The peak of alkaline phosphatase activity in girls occurred at age 10. Alkaline phosphatase activity was significantly related to weight-length index by multiple regression analysis (p < 0.05). Although clinical application as an obesity factor still needs further investigation, in the future it may be well to routinely check this enzyme when assessing childhood obesity.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Harlequin ichthyosis: report of one case.

Harlequin ichthyosis, or harlequin fetus, is a relatively rare, severe form of congenital ichthyosis. Although the clinical features have been well described, very little is known about the pathogenesis, clinical course, appropriate treatment and prognosis of harlequin ichthyosis because most of these babies with harlequin ichthyosis die within a few weeks of life. We herein report a case of harlequin ichthyosis, which we believe is the first such case in Taiwan.

Female↗
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Anomalous pancreaticobiliary ductal union--an etiologic association of gallbladder cancer and adenomyomatosis.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Anomalous pancreaticobiliary ductal union (APBDU) has been proposed as a risk factor of gallbladder cancer. To clarify the frequency and the subtype distribution of APBDU in patients with gallbladder cancer and adenomyomatosis, a retrospective study was performed. METHODOLOGY: The radiograms of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreaticography of 680 patients with well-documented biliary and pancreatic ducts from April 1992 to November 1996 were reviewed. The length of the common channel and insertion of the pancreatic duct and the bile duct were identified and recorded. RESULTS: Gallbladder cancer and adenomyomatosis were identified in 8 and 12 patients, respectively. Patients with gallbladder cancer were significantly older (mean age: 66.5 years, p<0.01) than those with gallbladder adenomyomatosis (mean age: 42.7 years). APBDU was noted in 59 (8.7%) of 680 cases with complete pancreaticobiliary radiograms. Among them, 5 of 8 patients with gallbladder cancer coexisted with APBDU. Four (80%) belonged to the P-B type. Six of 12 patients with gallbladder adenomyomatosis had APBDU. Five (83.3%) belonged to P-B type. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with gallbladder cancer and adenomyomatosis were frequently associated with APBDU. The close relationship and similar distribution of the P-B type of APBDU in both diseases suggest an etiologic association in various gallbladder diseases.

Adenomyoma↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Gastric leiomyosarcoma mimicking a cystic tumor at the pancreatic tail--one case report.

A 73 year-old female patient suffered from anemia and a palpable abdominal mass. Abdominal ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a lesion with papillary excrescences at the pancreatic tail. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography showed a normal pancreatic duct, but a small submucosal tumor was found in the stomach incidentally. Laparotomy disclosed an exophytic tumor arising from the submucosal layer of the stomach. Pathology revealed a gastric leiomyosarcoma with remarkable liquefaction and cystic change. Gastric leiomyosarcoma can be so necrotic as to be mistaken for a cystic tumor. It is critically important to differentiate the peripancreatic cystic lesion because the treatment strategy is totally different.

Aged↗