Primary hepatic neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) with concurrent occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) of the liver is very rare. Only 8 cases have been reported in the literature. Concurrent occurrence of HCC and NEC in the liver is classified as combined type or collision type by histological distributional patterns; only 2 cases have been reported. Herein, we report a case of collision type concurrent occurrence of HCC and NEC, in which primary hepatic NEC was in only a small portion of the nodule, which is different from the 2 previously reported cases. A 72-year-old male with chronic hepatitis C was admitted to our hospital for a hepatic mass detected by liver computed tomography (CT) at another clinic. Because the nodule was in hepatic segment 3 and had proper radiologic findings for diagnosis of HCC, including enhancement in the arterial phase and wash-out in the portal and delay phases, the patient was treated with laparoscopic left lateral sectionectomy. The pathology demonstrated that the nodule was 2.5 cm and was moderately differentiated HCC. However, a 3 mm-sized focal neuroendocrine carcinoma was also detected on the capsule of the nodule. The tumor was concluded to be a collision type with HCC and primary hepatic NEC. After the surgery, for follow-up, the patient underwent a liver CT every 3 mo. Five multiple nodules were found in the right hepatic lobe on the follow-up liver CT 6 mo post-operatively. As the features of the nodules in the liver CT and MRI were different from that of HCC, a liver biopsy was performed. Intrahepatic recurrent NEC was proven after the liver biopsy, which showed the same pathologic features with the specimen obtained 6 mo ago. Palliative chemotherapy with a combination of etoposide and cisplatin has been administered for 4 months, showing partial response.

Background: Few reports have documented the clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of adult patients with Elizabethkingia meningoseptica infection. Methods: Medical records of patients over 18 years of age and suspected of having an E. meningoseptica infection from March 1, 2006 to February 28, 2013 were reviewed retrospectively. Their clinical characteristics, antimicrobial susceptibility results, and treatment outcomes were analyzed. Results: E. meningoseptica was isolated from 30 patients. Median age was 68.5 years, and infections were more frequent in males (17, 56.7%). The most common isolation source was sputum (23, 76.7%), and pneumonia was the most common condition (21, 70%) after excluding two cases of colonization. This bacterium was most susceptible to minocycline (27, 90%) and fluoroquinolones, including levofloxacin (20, 66.7%) and ciprofloxacin (18, 60%). The mortality rate due directly to E. meningoseptica infection was 20% (6/30), and uncontrolled pneumonia was the only cause of death. After isolating E. meningoseptica, the numbers of patients with pneumonia (9/9, 100% vs. 12/21, 57.1%), history of hemodialysis (5/9, 55.6% vs. 3/21, 14.3%), tracheostomy (8/9, 88.9 vs. 10/21, 47.6%), and median Charlson comorbidity index score (6 [range, 3-9] vs. 4 [range, 0-9]) were significantly higher in non-survivors than those in survivors (p < 0.05, for each). However, only 12 (40%) patients received appropriate antibiotics. Conclusions: E. meningoseptica infection most commonly presented as pneumonia in adults with severe underlying diseases. Despite the high mortality rate, the rate of appropriate antibiotic use was notably low.

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