Combined detection of lymphocyte clonality and MALT1 translocations in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid for diagnosing pulmonary lymphomas.

Diagnosis of pulmonary lymphoma using small tissue samples is difficult and often requires surgical procedures; thus, a less invasive sampling method is desirable. We previously showed that pulmonary mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma can be diagnosed by detecting MALT lymphoma translocation gene 1 (MALT1) translocations in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) cells. Analysis of B-cell clonality based on immunoglobulin heavy chain (IGH) gene rearrangements was also reportedly useful for diagnosing pulmonary lymphoma.

The role of comprehensive analysis with circulating tumor DNA in advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients considered for osimertinib treatment.

Background: EGFR mutations are good predictive markers of efficacy of EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKI), but whether comprehensive genomic analysis beyond EGFR itself with circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) adds further predictive or prognostic value has not been clarified.

Methods: Patients with NSCLC who progressed after treatment with EGFR-TKI, and with EGFR T790 M detected by an approved companion diagnostic test (cobas ), were treated with osimertinib. Plasma samples were collected before and after treatment.

Characteristics of tobacco-related lung diseases in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan: A prospective, multi-institutional, observational study.

Background: Tobacco smoking causes a variety of smoking-related diseases, death, and economic damage. Despite targeted anti-smoking campaigns, tobacco-related deaths are expected to increase in Japan. We investigated the current state of non-cancerous lung diseases such as idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIPs), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema (CPFE), which are known to be highly related to tobacco smoking.

Utility of the Quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment in Japanese patients with nursing- and healthcare-associated pneumonia.

Aim: To clarify the utility of sepsis evaluation using the Quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) tool in addition to the Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI); age, dehydration, respiration, orientation and blood pressure (A-DROP) index; and immunodeficiency, respiration, orientation, age and dehydration (I-ROAD) scoring systems, and risk factor evaluation of potentially drug-resistant (PDR) pathogens are suggested in the 2017 guidelines for pneumonia of the Japanese Respiratory Society in nursing- and healthcare-associated pneumonia patients.

Methods: We included 289 hospitalized nursing- and healthcare-associated pneumonia patients between April 2016 and March 2017, and investigated the ability of PSI, A-DROP, I-ROAD and qSOFA to predict pneumonia-related mortality. We also evaluated the associations among the risk factors for PDR pathogens, the detection ratio of PDR pathogens and pneumonia-related mortality.

Pulmonary Mycobacterium abscessus Infection with Reactive AA Amyloidosis: A Case Report and Brief Review of the Literature.

We herein report a case involving a 64-year-old Japanese woman with a pulmonary Mycobacterium abscessus infection complicated by reactive AA amyloidosis, which, to our knowledge, has not been reported to date. The patient underwent gastrointestinal endoscopy for diarrhea during the treatment of pulmonary M. abscessus infection and was diagnosed with AA amyloidosis according to the histopathological findings from the endoscopic specimen.

[Efficacy and Safety of Carboplatin/Nanoparticle Albumin-Bound Paclitaxel Combination Chemotherapy in Patients with Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer or Recurrent Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Following Surgery].

Objective: A retrospective analysis on carboplatin(CBDCA)/nanoparticle albumin-boundpaclitaxel(nab-PTX)combination chemotherapy was conducted in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer(NSCLC)to evaluate both the efficacy and toxicity based on age, treatment line, histology, and underlying diseases.

Subjects: A total of 27 patients with advanced or recurrent NSCLC following surgery who receivedCBDCA /nab-PTX as first- andsecond -line combination chemotherapy, respectively, were investigatedfrom March 2013 to December 2015.

Results: The overall response rate, median progressionfree survival, andmed ian overall survival of all patients were 37.

Using oral health assessment to predict aspiration pneumonia in older adults.

Objective: To investigate the significance of comprehensive assessment of oral health using the revised oral assessment guide (ROAG) in older adults with pneumonia.

Background: Oral health plays a major role in the eating-swallowing process. The role of comprehensive assessment of oral health in older adults with aspiration pneumonia has not been evaluated in detail.

Pleurisy Caused by Mycobacterium abscessus in a Young Patient with Dermatomyositis: A Case Report and Brief Review of the Literature.

M. abscessus is a rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) and is the most common cause of pulmonary RGM infection. M.

[Smoking Status and a Pulmonary Function Test in Patients with Rotator Cuff Tears].

Although chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affects one in several smokers, only a few patients are correctly diagnosed compared to the estimated number of patients. Several recent reports indicate that the development of rotator cuff tears is related to smoking. In this study, we investigated smoking status in patients with rotator cuff tears and evaluated the possibility of undiagnosed COPD by a pulmonary function test.

IgG4-related Lung Disease Associated with Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia: A Case Report and a Literature Review.

We herein report a case of IgG4-related lung disease (IgG4-RLD) associated with autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA). A 73-year-old Japanese female visited our hospital for an examination following an abnormal chest X-ray in 1999. She was diagnosed with bronchiolitis and AIHA, and treatment with prednisolone was started.

Adrenal Insufficiency Associated with Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Case Report and Literature Review.

A 78-year-old Japanese man with fatigue, appetite loss, skin hyperpigmentation, hypotension and hypoglycemia, visited our hospital to evaluate an abnormal chest X-ray and adrenal gland swelling in echography in February 2015. Chest computed tomography showed a mass lesion in the right lower lobe and bilateral adrenal swellings, and small cell lung cancer (SCLC) with bilateral adrenal metastasis was diagnosed after bronchoscopy. According to low levels of serum cortisol, elevated adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and rapid ACTH test, the diagnosis of adrenal insufficiency associated with SCLC was made.

Obtaining Information from Family Caregivers Is Important to Detect Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms and Caregiver Burden in Subjects with Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Background: The objectives of this study are to clarify the differences between the difficulties in daily life experienced by patients with both mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and chronic disease and those experienced by healthy elderly individuals.

Methods: We assessed (a) cognitive function; (b) gait ability; (c) behavioral and psychological symptoms (observed at home); (d) activities of daily living (observed at home); (e) family caregiver burden, and (f) intention to continue family caregiving of 255 cognitively normal and 103 MCI subjects attending adult day care services covered by long-term care insurance, and compared the two groups.

Results: Subjects with MCI display more behavioral and psychological symptoms than cognitively normal subjects, posing a heavy caregiver burden (p < 0.

[Three Cases of Bacteremia due to Helicobacter cinaedi Infection and the Usefulness of Gene Analysis of Isolated Bacteria].

Helicobacter cinaedi is typically isolated from immunocompromised patients. Some reports of infection caused by H.cinaedi have been found in recent years.

Primary Pulmonary Angiosarcoma Presenting with Hemoptysis and Ground-Glass Opacity: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Angiosarcoma originates from the vascular endothelium and accounts for only 1-2% of all sarcomatous malignancies. The skin is one of the most common primary sites. However, primary pulmonary angiosarcoma is rare, and only 31 cases of primary pulmonary angiosarcoma have been reported.

The clinical features of respiratory infections caused by the Streptococcus anginosus group.

Background: The Streptococcus anginosus group (SAG) play important roles in respiratory infections. It is ordinarily difficult to distinguish them from contaminations as the causative pathogens of respiratory infections because they are often cultured in respiratory specimens. Therefore, it is important to understand the clinical characteristics and laboratory findings of respiratory infections caused by the SAG members.

In-hospital airborne tuberculous infection from a lesion of calcified pleural thickening during thoracic surgery in a patient with lung cancer.

A 75-year-old Japanese man underwent thoracic surgery to treat a large lung cancer lesion in the left upper lobe with calcified pleural thickening. Postoperatively, viable Mycobacterium tuberculosis was detected in the margin of the resected thickened calcified pleural lesion. Therefore, an infection control investigation of medical staff who had come in contact with the patient was conducted.

A Case of Rapid Exacerbation of Pulmonary Mycobacterium Avium Complex Infection Mimicking Pulmonary Aspergillosis.

We herein report a case of pulmonary Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infection with pulmonary multiple nodules and the "halo sign" on chest computed tomography (CT) in which the patient showed rapid exacerbation seven years after undergoing bone marrow transplantation (BMT). A 68-year-old Japanese female visited our hospital due to a productive cough and dyspnea. She had undergone allogeneic BMT for acute myelocytic leukemia and received both prednisolone (2 mg/day) and cyclosporine (30 mg/day).

Evaluation of a rapid immunochromatographic ODK0501 assay for detecting Streptococcus pneumoniae antigens in the sputum of pneumonia patients with positive S. pneumoniae urinary antigens.

Background: A novel, rapid and noninvasive test (ODK0501, RAPIRUN(®)Streptococcus pneumoniae) uses polyclonal antibodies to detect C polysaccharide of S. pneumoniae derived from sputum samples using an immunochromatographic assay. We evaluated its usefulness in Japanese patients with pneumonia who exhibited positive urinary antigen tests for S.

An autopsy case of Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome: a case report and review of the literature on treatment.

Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome (HPS) is a rare genetic disorder, the most common complication of which influencing the prognosis is pulmonary fibrosis. In the present report, we describe an autopsy case of a Japanese woman with HPS. The patient was diagnosed at 50 years of age based on the presence of oculocutaneous albinism, hemorrhagic diathesis, ceroid-lipofuscin accumulation and pulmonary fibrosis.

[Efficacy and safety of azithromycin infusion in patients with mild or moderate community-acquired pneumonia].

Azithromycin (AZM) is one of 15-membered rings macrolide antibiotics with wide spectrum of antimicrobial efficacy for Gram-positive and -negative bacteria and also atypical bacteria. So far, there had been no reports of the prospective studies evaluating efficacy and safety of AZM infusion in patients with mild or moderate community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). This study was conducted to evaluate prospectively the efficacy and safety of AZM in patients with mild or moderate CAP.

[Efficacy and safety of levofloxacin in patients with nursing and healthcare-associated pneumonia].

Levofloxacin (LVFX) is one of respiratory quinolones with wide spectrum of antimicrobial efficacy for Gram-positive and -negative bacteria and also atypical bacteria, and 500 mg of intravenous LVFX infusion has recently been able to use once daily based on pharmacokinetics-pharmacodynamics in Japan. So far, there had been no reports of the prospective studies evaluating efficacy and safety of LVFX in patients with nursing and healthcare-associated pneumonia (NHCAP). This study was conducted to evaluate prospectively the efficacy and safety of LVFX in patients with NHCAP categories B and C (other antibacterial agents were allowed to use with LVFX) according to Japanese guideline for NHCAP by the Japanese Respiratory Society (JRS).

[Efficacy and safety of moxifloxacin in patients with nursing and healthcare-associated pneumonia].

Moxifloxacin (MFLX) is a respiratory quinolone, and is effective against not only Gram-positive and negative bacteria but also anaerobes. There has been no prospective studies evaluating the efficacy and safety of MFLX in patients with nursing and healthcare-associated pneumonia (NHCAP). Therefore, we assessed the efficacy and safety of MFLX in patients with NHCAP.

Assessment of pathologically diagnosed patients with Castleman's disease associated with diffuse parenchymal lung involvement using the diagnostic criteria for IgG4-related disease.

Background: IgG4-related disease (IgG4RD) is a recently recognized disease entity. Differentiating IgG4RD from plasma cell type Castleman's disease (PCD) is important but also difficult using only pathological findings. In addition, little is known about the association between these two diseases with diffuse parenchymal lung involvement.

Current smoking rate in patients with psychiatric disorders in Japan: questionnaire survey.

The association between smoking and psychiatric disorders (PD) has been known for many years. Support for smoking cessation among patients with PD is provided in advanced nations, but there is a little support for smoking cessation among patients with PD in Japan, where few studies have investigated the smoking rate. The aim of the present study is to determine the smoking rate and smoking habits of Japanese patients with PD.

[Behavioral and psychological symptoms in elderly people with cognitive impairment. Differences between assessment at home and at an adult day-care facility].

Objectives: In order for activities preventing cognitive decline in the elderly and burdens of the caregiver to be effective and efficient, it is important to assess cognitive impairment and the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) in community-dwelling elderly people with cognitive impairment. The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in BPSD between assessment at home and assessment at an adult day-care facility, and to assess the relationship, between BPSD and caregiver burden in disabled elderly people with and without mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia.

Methods: We studied 594 participants with activity limitations out of a target population of 917 community-dwelling elderly persons utilizing adult day-care service.