J Formos Med Assoc
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Pilocarpine hydrochloride for the treatment of xerostomia in patients with Sjögren's syndrome in Taiwan--a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is characterized by diminished exocrine secretions with the resultant symptoms of dry mouth and dry eye. As genetic predisposition and ethnicity may alter the effectiveness of drug treatment, evaluation of the efficacy and safety of the secretagogue pilocarpine hydrochloride in the treatment of xerostomia in patients with SS in different populations is needed. ⋯ The results of this study suggest that therapy with 5 mg pilocarpine four times daily is effective, safe and well tolerated for the relief of oral symptoms in patients with SS in Taiwan.
-
Comparative Study
Poor renal outcome of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody negative Pauci-immune glomerulonephritis in Taiwanese.
Pauci-immune glomerulonephritis (GN) is an important cause of crescentic GN, acute renal failure and mortality. However, data are limited on the clinical presentation and outcome in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) negative patients, especially in Asians. ⋯ This study illustrates the necessity for pathologic diagnosis of pauci-immune GN despite ANCA negativity. The poor prognosis associated with ANCA negativity in this study may be partly due to delayed diagnosis since these patients frequently lacked systemic involvement.
-
Case Reports
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy--transient left ventricular apical ballooning mimicking acute myocardial infarction.
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is characterized by transient left ventricular dysfunction with clinical symptoms of chest pain, electrocardiographic changes of ST-segment elevation or T wave inversion, which mimics acute myocardial infarction in patients without angiographically significant coronary artery stenosis. We report a 75-year-old woman with a history of chest tightness who presented with typical pictures of takotsubo cardiomyopathy. Acute myocardial infarction was initially diagnosed based on the electrocardiographic changes and elevated troponin. ⋯ This patient received diltiazem to prevent possible coronary artery spasm. The prognosis of this syndrome seems to be favorable except for occasional mortality due to left ventricular rupture or ventricular arrhythmia. Recurrence of this syndrome is rare.
-
Trauma-acquired multiple arteriovenous fistulae with late-onset congestive heart failure has not been documented. We describe a 29-year-old man who presented with progressive congestive heart failure 25 years after a penetrating trauma to the left side of the neck. The neck duplex showed a large shunt between the carotid artery and internal jugular vein. ⋯ Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) showed a carotid pseudoaneurysm originating from three different loci of the carotid artery with a large aneurysm-venous communication between the pseudoaneurysm and the internal jugular vein. Reconstruction of contrast MRA showed three different arteriovenous fistulae, leading to the decision to perform aneurysmectomy, carotid artery repair and jugular vein patch angioplasty. The favorable outcome of this case illustrates that surgery is a reasonable alternative when an endovascular approach is not feasible in patients with trauma-acquired arteriovenous fistulae.