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Presents a letter to the editor about the management of acute gastric variceal bleeding published in the December 2003 issue of the journal "Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics."

In hemodialysis (HD) patients the glycated hemoglobin (Hb(A1c)) level may underestimate glycemic control. The aim of this study is to estimate accurate glycemic control in type 2 diabetic patients on HD. Type 2 diabetes patients (N = 87) who had been receiving maintenance HD for at least one year were enrolled. Hb(A1c) and the percentage of glycated albumin relative to total the serum albumin (%GA) were measured in blood samples and the factors that affected the %GA/Hb(A1c) ratio were examined. There were significant and positive correlations between the plasma glucose and either the Hb(A1c) levels (r = 0.539, P < 0.01) or the %GA level (r = 0.520, P < 0.01). No relationship between the serum albumin levels and %GA levels was observed. A weekly dose of erythropoietin (EPO) was positively correlated with the ratio of %GA/Hb(A1c) and hematocrit (Ht) correlated negatively. There was no significant correlation between the %GA/Hb(A1c) level and the EPO dose in patients with Ht > or = 30%, although a significant correlation was found between those parameters in the Ht < 30% group. The mean of the %GA/Hb(A1c) ratios in patients with Ht > or = 30%, with Ht < 30% and treated with EPO < 100 IU/kg/week, and with Ht < 30% and treated with EPO > or = 100 IU/kg/week were 3.41, 3.56 and 4.13, respectively. In HD patients, accurate glycemic control may be estimated as: Hb(A1c) x 1.14 if Ht > or = 30%; Hb(A1c) x 1.19 if Ht < 30% and treated with low dosages of EPO; and Hb(A1c) x 1.38 if Ht < 30% and treated with high dosages of EPO.

A 77-year-old man hospitalized for epigastric pain showed jaundice of the skin and conjunctivae. Laboratory tests revealed elevated hepatobiliary enzymes and inflammatory markers, and imaging studies demonstrated a 12 cm hepatic cyst compressing the common bile duct. The diagnosis was a giant hepatic cyst causing obstructive jaundice. Cyst drainage and sclerotherapy with 5% monoethanolamine oleate was performed twice, resulting in almost complete disappearance of the cyst. Obstructive jaundice due to a hepatic cyst, as seen in this case, is relatively rare and this report includes a review of other similar cases in Japan.