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Clip migration into the common bile duct (CBD) is a rare complication of laparoscopic biliary surgery. We report a case of Hem-o-lok clip migration-induced CBD stone in a 66-year-old man who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) and laparoscopic common bile duct exploration (LCBDE) 4 years ago. The patient visited the emergency room for upper abdominal pain. CT scan revealed increased CBD diameter and multiple CBD stones. We performed endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography for CBD stone extraction. Cholangiography revealed multiple suspected filling defects in the CBD; stones and unknown foreign body were removed using Basket. The foreign body found in the duodenum was a Hem-o-lok clip. When epigastric pain develops in a patient who has undergone LC and LCBDE, it is possible that biliary stone occurs due to clip migration.

Hereditary spherocytosis is a disease caused by deficiency of erythrocyte lipid membrane protein. Hereditary spherocytosis shows hemolysis of erythrocyte, and it leads to anemia, jaundice by elevation of indirect bilirubin. Almost of patients are diagnosed in their infancy, and can be cured by splenectomy about their age 6–7. Herein, we report a rare case of 33-year-old male was suffered from gallbladder stone and cholangitis those are thought to be the late complications of hereditary spherocytosis. We performed endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreaticography to remove common bile duct stones. After he got cholecystectomy and splenectomy, there was no recurrence of choledocholithiasis. This is the first case in Korea who didn’t undergo splenectomy until grown up, shows cholangitis as a late disease manifestation of hereditary spherocytosis.

Background/Aims: The National Liver Cancer Screening Program (NLCSP) has been implemented for the past 15 years in Korea. However, the actual clinical experience in Korea is inconsistent with the expectations of the hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance program. To evaluate the actual clinical situation of HCC diagnoses, we investigated disease severity in patients with HCC and the diagnostic environment. Methods: From January 2011 to December 2015, all patients who were diagnosed with HCC in a single secondary hospital in Daejeon city were retrospectively enrolled in this study. Severity of HCC was evaluated according to the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging system. Results: Over the course of 5 years, 298 participants were enrolled. The mean age of participants was 64.0 years. Positive hepatitis B surface antigen was confirmed in 134 patients (45.0%), 35 patients (11.7%) tested positive for anti-hepatitis C virus antibody, and 93 patients (32.2%) had more than 40 g/day of alcohol consumption. The proportions of patients according to BCLC stages were as follows: BCLC-0, 28 patients (9.4%); BCLC-A, 42 patients (14.1%); BCLC-B, 26 patients (8.7%); BCLC-C, 134 patients (45.0%); and BCLC-D, 68 patients (22.8%). The diagnostic environments were as follows: 19 patients were in the NLCSP group (6.4%), 114 in the group with presenting signs (38.3%), 110 in the regular outpatient care group (36.9%), and 55 patients in the incidental diagnosis group (18.5%). Conclusions: Most patients (67.8%) had advanced stage HCC at diagnosis, and curative treatment was not indicated due to the severity disease. Thus, the actual situation is far worse than the theoretical expectation of HCC surveillance, suggesting that many high-risk patients for HCC are missed in surveillance. (J Liver Cancer 2019;19:30-37)

In patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or liver cirrhosis (LC) accompanied by hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection, hepatic failure often leads to debility. Here, we report about a 63-year-old man with alcoholic LC who was referred to our hospital with jaundice and abdominal distension 10 days earlier. Abdominal computed tomography showed necrotic HCC accompanied by left lobe shrinkage without tumor progression. Laboratory and imaging findings revealed no acute infection focus. The patient reported no herbal medicine or alcohol consumption, and there was no evidence of acute viral hepatitis. One month later, HEV immunoglobulin M positivity was confirmed, and deterioration of liver function due to HEV infection was suspected. The patient often ate raw oysters and sashimi, as well as boar meat, which is a well-known risk food for HEV infection. His umbilical hernia deteriorated due to tense ascites and infection by skin abrasion. The patient progressed to hepatorenal syndrome and eventually died. Liver function preservation is important when treating HCC patients. Therefore, clinicians should pay more attention to the prevention of HEV and others causes of direct liver injury. (J Liver Cancer 2019;19:55-58)

Young Youn Cho,1,2 Su Jong Yu,1 Hye Won Lee,3 Do Young Kim,3 Wonseok Kang,4 Yong-Han Paik,4 Pil Soo Sung,5 Si Hyun Bae,6 Su Cheol Park,7 Young Seok Doh,8,9 Kang Mo Kim,9 Eun Sun Jang,10 In Hee Kim,11 Won Kim,12 Yoon Jun Kim1 1Department of Internal Medicine and Liver Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea; 2Department of Internal Medicine, Chung-Ang University Hospital, Seoul, Korea; 3Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea; 4Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea; 5Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea; 6Department of Internal Medicine, Eunpyeong St. Mary’s Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea; 7Department of Internal Medicine, Korea Cancer Center Hospital, Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Seoul, Korea; 8Department of Internal Medicine, Eulji University Hospital, Daejeon, Korea; 9Department of Gastroenterology, Asan Liver Center, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea; 10Departments of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea; 11Department of Internal Medicine, Chonbuk National University Hospital, Chonbuk National University Medical School, Cheongju-si, Korea; 12Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul Metropolitan Government Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, Seoul, KoreaCorrespondence: Yoon Jun KimDepartment of Internal Medicine and Liver Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 101 Daehak-no, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 03080 (110-744), KoreaTel +82-2-2072-3081Fax +82-2-743-6701Email yoonjun@snu.ac.krBackground/Aim: Sorafenib is the first systemic therapy for the treatment of advanced-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and progressive HCC after locoregional therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic factors of long-term survivors after sorafenib treatment.Methods: This multicenter, retrospective, cohort study included 1,566 unresectable HCC patients who received sorafenib treatment between 2007 and 2014 in nine tertiary centers in Korea. The patients were classified into a long-term survivor group (survival more than two years, n = 257) or a control group (n = 1309). The primary outcomes were the prognostic factors affecting long-term survival. Secondary endpoints included time-to-progression and other safety profiles.Results: The patients were predominantly men (83.8%) with chronic hepatitis B (77.3%) and Barcelona clinic of liver cancer-stage C (BCLC-C) (78.3%). The median overall survival was 9.0 months. After treatment, eight patients (0.4%) achieved complete response and 139 patients (8.8%) achieved partial response according to the mRECIST criteria. The prognostic factors predicting long-term survival were metformin use (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 3.464; P < 0.001), hand-foot skin reaction (aHR = 1.688; P = 0.003), and concomitant treatment with chemoembolization or radiotherapy (aHR = 2.766; P < 0.001). Poor prognostic factors of long-term survival were a Child-Pugh score of B (HR = 0.422; P < 0.001), the presence of extrahepatic metastasis (HR = 0.639; P = 0.005), main portal vein invasion (HR = 0.502; P = 0.001), and elevated alpha-fetoprotein (> 1,000 ng/mL; HR = 0.361; P < 0.001).Conclusion: This large, multicenter, retrospective study showed an objective response rate of 9.1% and a proportion of long-term survivors of 16.4% in Korean patients. The prognostic factors derived in our study can be used in clinical practice during sorafenib treatment.Keywords: sorafenib, hepatocellular carcinoma, prognosis, survival

Background Free perforation is the most severe and debilitating complication associated with Crohn’s disease (CD), and it usually requires emergency surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of free perforation among Korean patients with CD. Methods The CrOhn's disease cliNical NEtwork and CohorT (CONNECT) study was conducted nationwide in Korea, and patients who were diagnosed with CD between 1982 and 2008 were included in this retrospective study. We investigated the incidence of free perforation among these patients and their clinical characteristics. Results A total of 1346 patients were analyzed and 88 patients (6.5%) were identified with free perforation in CD. The mean age of the free perforation group was 31.8 ± 13.0 years, which was significantly higher than that of the non-perforated group (27.5 ± 12.1 years) (p = 0.004). Free perforation was the presenting sign of CD in 46 patients (52%). Of the 94 perforations that were present in 88 patients, 81 involved the ileum. Multivariate logistic regression analysis determined that free perforation was significantly associated with being aged ≥ 30 years at diagnosis (OR 2.082, p = 0.002) and bowel strictures (OR 1.982, p = 0.004). The mortality rate in the free perforation group was significantly higher (4.5%) than that in the non-perforated group (0.6%) (p