Practice and Safety of Static Balloon Atrial Septostomy Based on a Nationwide Registry Data.

Background: Balloon atrial septostomy (BAS) is an essential catheterization procedure for congenital heart lesions. Recently, a balloon catheter for static BAS was approved for the first time in Japan as an alternative to the conventional pull-through BAS. Despite the expected increase in the use of static BAS, reports on its safety are scarce worldwide.

Exacerbation of heart failure due to total pacemaker extrusion.

Unlabelled: Total extrusion of a pacemaker is rare and may result from skin and/or pocket infection or skin erosion because of fragility caused by actions such as scratching an itch. Total extrusion of a pacemaker may cause fatal arrhythmias, exacerbation of heart failure, and infection. We report the case of a 37-year-old man with a pacemaker implanted for complete atrioventricular block who presented with exacerbation of advanced heart failure due to complete extrusion of the pacemaker from the left groin and pacing failure.

Successful treatment of symptomatic first-degree atrioventricular block after Occlutech Figulla Flex II atrial septal defect occluder placement.

Given the rarity of significant first-degree atrioventricular block (AVB) after Occlutech Figulla Flex II atrial septal defect occluder (OFF II, Occlutech International AB, Helsingborg, Sweden) placement, its management and predictors of recovery have not been established. We report a 9-year-old boy who developed significant first-degree AVB a day after OFF II deployment. Thereafter, oral prednisolone was initiated at 1.

Patch testing with the Japanese baseline series 2015: A 4-year experience.

Background: The Japanese baseline series (JBS), established in 1994, was updated in 2008 and 2015. The JBS 2015 is a modification of the thin-layer rapid-use epicutaneous (TRUE) test (SmartPractice Denmark, Hillerød, Denmark). No nationwide studies concerning the TRUE test have previously been reported.

Comparison of 5-year safety and efficacy of laser photocoagulation and intravitreal bevacizumab injection in retinopathy of prematurity.

Purpose: To compare laser photocoagulation and intravitreal injection of bevacizumab (IVB) treatment for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

Methods: The study included 52 eyes of 26 patients after ROP treatment who were observed up to 5 years of age. Twenty-eight eyes received laser photocoagulation as the initial treatment (laser group), and twenty-four eyes underwent IVB (IVB group).

Pediatric Medical Devices - Survey of Pediatric Cardiologists and Cardiovascular Surgeons in Japan.

In Japan, the choice of pediatric medical devices is limited because of 2 "device lag" problems: Japan lags behind the USA and Europe in device development, and development of pediatric devices lags behind that of adult devices. We aimed to identify the problems with and impediments to pediatric medical device development as recognized by pediatric physicians in Japan. A voluntary survey of pediatric medical devices for all council members of the Japanese Society of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery was conducted in 2019.

Stent Implantation for Congenital Heart Diseases in Japan - Comprehensive Analysis From the Japanese Society of Congenital Interventional Cardiology Registry.

Background: Stent implantation for vascular stenosis associated with congenital heart diseases is commonly performed as an off-label procedure in Japan because there is no officially approved stent for any congenital heart disease.

Methods and results: We analyzed data from the Japanese Society of Congenital Interventional Cardiology Registry collected from January 2016 to December 2018. Patients who underwent stent implantation were enrolled in the present analysis.

Bilateral coronary ostial atresia in a patient with pulmonary atresia and ventricular septal defect.

This is a case of a female infant with bilateral coronary ostial atresia associated with pulmonary atresia and ventricular septal defect. She developed coronary ischemia at 1-month of age, when she underwent an aortopulmonary shunt and an aorta-right ventricle shunt. The double-orifice tricuspid valve was separating the right ventricle from the left ventricle.

Multicenter 1-month follow-up study of the patch-test reaction to the gold sodium thiosulfate of the TRUE Test and its association with piercings and dental metal history.

Background: There is controversy over late and long-lasting reactions to gold sodium thiosulfate (GST).

Objectives: To study the GST patch-test reaction by observing the application site after 1 month, and to clarify the relevance of GST sensitization by piercings and dental metals.

Patients: A retrospective analysis was performed on 746 patients (143 male; 603 female) who were patch tested using GST of the TRUE Test.

The mid-term outcome of Fontan conversion compared with primary total cavopulmonary connection.

Background: The indication of Fontan conversion (FC) from atriopulmonary connection (APC) to total cavopulmonary connection (TCPC) is unclear. We sought to analyze the mid-term outcome of prophylactic and therapeutic Fontan conversion compared with that of primary TCPC.

Methods: Patients with a univentricular heart who underwent cardiac catheterization at >18 years of age between July 2005 and July 2019 were included and divided into three groups: symptomatic APC patients who underwent therapeutic FC (t-FC, n = 13), asymptomatic APC patients after prophylactic FC (p-FC, n = 15), and patients who had primary TCPC procedure (pTCPC, n = 24).

A retrospective review of 10-year trends in general anesthesia for cesarean delivery at a university hospital: the impact of a newly launched team on obstetric anesthesia practice.

Background: The indications for general anesthesia (GA) in obstetric settings, which are determined in consideration of maternal and fetal outcome, could be affected by local patterns of clinical practice grounded in unique situations and circumstances that vary among medical institutions. Although the use of GA for cesarean delivery has become less common with more frequent adoption of neuraxial anesthesia, GA was previously chosen for pregnancy with placenta previa at our institution in case of unexpected massive hemorrhage. However, the situation has been gradually changing since formation of a team dedicated to obstetric anesthesia practice.

A case report: stent implantation to treat coarctation of persistent 5th aortic arch associated with interrupted 4th aortic arch.

Background: Persistent 5th aortic arch is a rare cardiac anomaly that is usually surgically corrected during infancy or early childhood if it is associated with coarctation of the aorta. Here, we report an adult with coarctation of the 5th aortic arch who was successfully treated by stent implantation.

Case Summary: An asymptomatic 32-year-old woman presented with hypertension and a significant arm-leg difference in pressure.

HLA-DQ and RBFOX1 as susceptibility genes for an outbreak of hydrolyzed wheat allergy.

Background: Food allergy is a growing health problem worldwide because of its increasing prevalence, life-threatening potential, and shortage of effective preventive treatments. In an outbreak of wheat allergy in Japan, thousands of patients had allergic reactions to wheat after using soap containing hydrolyzed wheat protein (HWP).

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate genetic variation that can contribute to susceptibility to HWP allergy.

Atropine-induced monomorphic ventricular tachycardia in an adolescent: A rare case.

A 13-year-old girl had a history of episodic palpitations lasting for approximately 5 min since the first grade of junior high school. She was noticed to have tachycardia during auscultation at a school-based health screening program. Since non-sustained ventricular tachycardia of the left bundle branch block type was induced by a triple master exercise load at a local doctor's clinic, she was referred to our pediatric cardiology department for further management.

Incomplete isolation of the left innominate artery from the right aortic arch: a rare case of double-outlet right ventricle with pulmonary stenosis.

Isolation of the left innominate artery from the right aortic arch is a rare anomaly. Herein, we present an even rarer case of incomplete isolation of the proximal left innominate artery with the right aortic arch in a 3-month-old female infant with a double-outlet right ventricle and pulmonary stenosis. Surgical repair at 6 months of age was successful, leading to the restoration of adequate flow in the left arm.

Short-term intraocular pressure changes after intravitreal injection of bevacizumab for retinopathy of prematurity.

Purpose: To evaluate the short-term changes in intraocular pressure (IOP) after intravitreal injection of bevacizumab (IVB) in premature infants with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

Study Design: Prospective cohort study.

Methods: Twenty-two eyes of 11 premature infants with ROP were evaluated.

Case report: Atrioventricular block after transcatheter atrial septal closure using the Figulla® Flex II ASD occluder.

We report a 7-year-old male patient who developed severe atrioventricular block after transcatheter closure of the atrial septal defect with an Occlutech Figulla® Flex II ASD occluder (FSO). He had a small aortic rim and the defect measuring 22.3 mm by balloon sizing.

Positive reactions to gold sodium thiosulfate in patch test panels (TRUE Test) in Japan: A multicentre study.

Background: The proportion of positive test results with gold sodium thiosulfate included in a patch test panel (P-GST) had been found to be greater than that with gold sodium thiosulfate 0.5% pet. by allergEAZE (A-GST).

Automated 3-Dimensional Single-Beat Real-Time Volume Colour Flow Doppler Echocardiography in Children: A Validation Study of Right and Left Heart Flows.

Background: Novel quantification of stroke volume according to mitral inflow and aortic outflow using automated real-time 3-dimensional volume colour flow Doppler echocardiography (3D-RT-VCFDE) is more accurate than 2-dimensional echocardiography and has excellent correlation with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging-based flows in adults. This technology is applied for the first time to the right heart and in children.

Methods: 3D-RT-VCFDE was performed in 61 image sets of flow through the aortic (AV), mitral (MV), pulmonary (PV), and tricuspid (TV) valves of 34 children.

Intraoperative hemodynamics monitoring in a patient with pheochromocytoma multisystem crisis: a case report.

Background: Pheochromocytoma is a rare catecholamine-secreting tumor. To evaluate the intraoperative hemodynamics with precision is difficult.

Case Presentation: A 42-year-old man, who suddenly developed a life-threatening pheochromocytoma multisystem crisis that occurred during preoperative prophylactic medication, underwent urgent bilateral adrenalectomy.

A case of new PCDH12 gene variants presented as dyskinetic cerebral palsy with epilepsy.

Here we report a Japanese patient with new compound heterozygous truncating variants in the PCDH12 gene. As compared to the previously reported families who had congenital microcephaly, intrauterine growth retardation, intracranial calcification, and neonatal seizure associated with dysplasia of the midbrain-hypothalamus-optic tract, the present patient showed no midbrain-hypothalamus dysplasia or congenital/postnatal microcephaly, but dyskinetic cerebral palsy and severe intellectual disability as well as multifocal epilepsy. To understand phenotypic spectrum associated with PCDH12 variants, more reports are needed.