Validity and reliability of the Japanese version of the ACE tool for assessing evidence-based medicine competencies in medical practitioners and students: An evaluation in an online setting.

Introduction Evidence-based medicine (EBM) competency is crucial for healthcare professionals; however, validated tools to assess EBM skills in Japanese are scarce. This study aimed to develop and validate a Japanese version of the Assessing Competency in EBM (ACE) tool. Methods We translated the ACE tool into Japanese, following international standards, and distributed it online to 99 healthcare professionals and students.

Prevalence of fracture progression in fragility fractures of the pelvis: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Fragility fractures of the pelvis (FFP) are a growing problem in aging populations. Fracture progression (FP) occasionally occurs during FFP treatment; however, its prevalence remains unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the prevalence of FP among patients with FFP.

How to Overcome the Barriers Behind Writing Case Reports for Beginners and Young General Physicians.

Background: Case reports are fundamental to clinical medicine that trace back to ancient Egypt preceding Hippocrates in the history of medicine. Case reports contribute to academic development and new clinical research. However, among cases presented at an annual academic conference for Japanese generalists, only a few cases were later published in peer-reviewed journals, highlighting potential barriers regarding the writing of case reports, such as mentorship absence.

Drug fever: a narrative review.

Drug fever is an adverse drug reaction accompanied by a febrile response and is a common problem among clinicians, hence an updated knowledge of drug fever is important. A consensus regarding the definition of drug fever is lacking. Thus, descriptions of drug fever in previous literature are often inconsistent.

Misleading presentations in functional food trials led by contract research organizations were frequently observed in Japan: meta-epidemiological study.

Objectives: The functional food market has experienced significant growth, leading to an uptick in clinical trials conducted by contract research organizations (CROs). Research focusing on CRO-managed trials and the communication of trial outcomes to the consumer market remains underexplored. This metaepidemiological study aims to evaluate the quality of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) facilitated by prominent CROs in Japan and to examine the quality of the representations used to convey their results to consumers.

Peer Support for Patients With Heart Failure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Peer support, which is given by people with similar life experiences and experiential knowledge, has been shown to be effective for patients with diabetes and mental illness. However, the impact of such peer support on patients coping with heart failure remains indeterminate. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to scrutinize the potential benefits of peer support for patients with heart failure.

Additional staining for lymphovascular invasion is associated with increased estimation of lymph node metastasis in patients with T1 colorectal cancer: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: Lymphovascular invasion (LVI) is a critical risk factor for lymph node metastasis (LNM), which requires additional surgery after endoscopic resection of T1 colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the impact of additional staining on estimating LNM is unclear. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the impact of additional staining on determining LNM in T1 CRC.

Prevalence of Drug Fever among Cases of Nosocomial Fever: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Objective Drug fever is defined as a fever that temporally coincides with the start of a culprit drug and disappears after discontinuation of the drug. It is a common cause of nosocomial fever, which refers to a fever that develops beyond the first 48 h after hospital admission. However, the exact prevalence of drug fever among cases of nosocomial fever is unclear, as is the variation in prevalence depending on the clinical setting and most common causative drugs.

Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes of Hospital-Acquired Lower Gastrointestinal Bleeding: A Single Centre Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background Lower gastrointestinal bleeding (LGIB) is common in inpatient and outpatient settings; however, there are limited studies on the clinical characteristics and patient outcomes of those with hospital-acquired LGIB. Methods We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients with hospital-acquired LGIB who underwent colonoscopy during hospitalization between January 2017 and December 2021. We described the clinical characteristics, etiology, and clinical outcomes of patients stratified as those undergoing colonoscopy within 24 hours from haematochezia onset (early colonoscopy group) or after 24 hours from onset (late colonoscopy group).

Diagnostic accuracy of rapid antigen tests in cerebrospinal fluid for pneumococcal meningitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Streptococcus pneumoniae is a leading cause of bacterial meningitis worldwide. Conventional microbiological assays take several days and require the use of various drugs for empirical treatment. Rapid antigen tests in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) may be useful to triage pneumococcal meningitis immediately.

Autoimmune glial fibrillar acidic protein astrocytopathy mimicking tuberculous meningitis.

Autoimmune glial fibrillar acidic protein (GFAP) astrocytopathy typically presents as acute or subacute meningoencephalitis with or without myelitis. We describe a case of autoimmune GFAP astrocytopathy that mimicked tuberculous meningitis. A man in his 70s was referred to our hospital with lethargy persistent for 2 months, appetite loss for 1 month and fever with headache for 10 days.

Unclear Insomnia Concept in Randomized Controlled Trials and Systematic Reviews: A Meta-Epidemiological Study.

There are two possible ways to conceptualize the term "insomnia": insomnia disorder and insomnia symptoms, which are often poorly reported. The purpose of this study was to examine the proportion of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and systematic reviews (SRs) that mention insomnia in their abstracts and cannot distinguish between insomnia disorder and insomnia symptoms from the abstract. We included RCT and SR articles that included the word "insomnia" in the methods or results sections of their structured abstracts, published after 2010.

Association of Progressive Cerebellar Atrophy With Long-term Outcome in Patients With Anti-N-Methyl-d-Aspartate Receptor Encephalitis.

Importance: Anti-N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis is an immune-mediated disorder that occurs with IgG antibodies against the GluN1 subunit of NMDAR. Some patients develop reversible diffuse cerebral atrophy (DCA), but the long-term clinical significance of progressive brain and cerebellar atrophy is unknown.

Objective: To report the long-term clinical implications of DCA and cerebellar atrophy in anti-NMDAR encephalitis.