Cytomegalovirus infection masquerading as gastric carcinoma in an immune-compromised host

A 63-year-old man post-renal transplantation on immunosuppressants presented with reflux symptoms for one month. Significant medical history included a history of upper gastrointestinal bleeding, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and ischemic heart disease. Barium meal showed a large plaque-like lesion along greater curvature suspicious of malignancy. Gastroscopy revealed a large polyploidal gastric mass which was biopsied. Histological result showed numerous cytomegalovirus (CMV) viral inclusions within hyperplastic gastric mucosa without dysplasia or neoplasm. The findings were consistent with CMV gastric polyp. Following treatment with antiviral therapy and reduction in immunosuppressants, the CMV gastric polyp became smaller. This highlights the importance of considering CMV as a differential of gastric mass in an immunosuppressed host as treatment options varied between surgery and antiviral therapy

Bilateral adrenal histoplasmosis: endoscopic ultrasound – guided fine needle aspiration as a method of diagnosis and assessment

We report a case of a healthy 78 -year- old indonesian man who presented with chronic weight loss, poor appetite and lethargy. CT abdomen showed bilateral adrenal masses. Endoscopic ultrasound(EUS) – guided FNA was performed on the left adrenal gland. The histopathology report was Histoplasma Capsulatum. He recovered well with antifungal treatment without any complication. In this case, we found that the role of EUS – guided FNA was not only limited to diagnosis but also helped in the prognosis of the disease since the method was able to assess the general anatomy of the adrenal gland better than other imaging modalities due to its close proximity and direct visualization

Ampullary carcinoma: effect of preoperative biliary drainage on surgical outcome

AIM: To evaluate the influence of preoperative biliary drainage on morbidity and mortality after surgical resection for ampullary carcinoma. METHODS: We analyzed retrospectively data for 82 patients who underwent potentially curative surgery for ampullary carcinoma between September 1993 and July 2007 at the Singapore General Hospital, a tertiary referral hospital. Diagnosis of ampullary carcinoma was confirmed histologically. Thirty-five patients underwent preoperative biliary drainage (PBD group), and 47 were not drained (non-PBD group). The mode of biliary drainage was endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (n = 33) or percutaneous biliary drainage (n = 2). The following parameters were analyzed: wound infection, intra-abdominal abscess, intra-abdominal or gastrointestinal bleeding, septicemia, biliary or pancreatic leakage, pancreatitis, gastroparesis, and re-operation rate. Mortality was assessed at 30 d (hospital mortality) and also long-term. The statistical endpoint of this study was patient survival after surgery. RESULTS: The groups were well matched for demographic criteria, clinical presentation and operative characteristics, except for lower hemoglobin in the non-PBD group (10.9 ± 1.6 vs 11.8 ± 1.6 in the PBD group). Of the parameters assessing postoperative morbidity, incidence of wound infection was significantly less in the PBD than the non-PBD group [1 (2.9%) vs 12 (25.5%)]. However, the rest of the parameters did not differ significantly between the groups, i.e. sepsis [10 (28.6%) vs 14 (29.8%)], intra-abdominal bleeding [1 (2.9%) vs 5 (10.6%)], intra-abdominal abscess [1 (2.9%) vs 8 (17%)], gastrointestinal bleeding [3 (8.6%) vs 5 (10.6%)], pancreatic leakage [2 (5.7%) vs 3 (6.4%)], biliary leakage [2 (5.7%) vs 3 (6.4%)], pancreatitis [2 (5.7%) vs 2 (4.3%)], gastroparesis [6 (17.1%) vs 10 (21.3%)], need for blood transfusion [10 (28.6%) vs 17 (36.2%)] and re-operation rate [1 (2.9%) vs 5 (10.6%)]. There was no early mortality in either group. Median survival was 44 mo (95% CI: 34.2-53.8) in the PBD group and 41 mo (95% CI: 27.7-54.3; P = 0.86) in the non-PBD group. CONCLUSION: Biliary drainage before surgery for ampullary cancer significantly reduced postoperative wound infection. Overall mortality was not influenced by preoperative drainage