Effect of monoclonal gammopathy in the progression of acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease: a retrospective observational study.

Background: The involvement of monoclonal immunoglobulin (MIg) in renal damage in patients with haematological disorders and renal biopsy-proven monoclonal gammopathy of renal significance is well established. However, no epidemiological studies have been conducted on the effects of MIg on renal function in other patients. We aimed to evaluate the renal prognosis of MIg-positive patients and the effects of MIg on renal function.

Effect of age, sex, and chronic kidney disease on urinary creatinine excretion in Japanese patients.

Background: Urinary creatinine levels are used to estimate the excretion rates of certain analytes from the respective analyte-to-creatinine ratios. We clarified the influence of age and sex on estimated daily urinary creatinine excretion (eUCrE) based on the urinary creatinine level and daily urine volume.

Methods: All inpatients aged ≥ 18 years who attended the Kochi Medical School Hospital with serum and urinary creatinine measurement results were enrolled.

A questionnaire survey of infection control measures during the coronavirus infectious disease 2019 pandemic era.

Objective: To clarify the infection control measures required in the event of a new infectious disease outbreak, we conducted a questionnaire survey on the infection control measures implemented against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Methods: An invitation to participate in this survey was sent to the heads of 2689 facilities affiliated with the members of the Japanese Society for Infection Prevention and Control in February 2023, requesting responses to the online survey using Google Forms by March 2023.

Results: Six hundred and forty-five facilities, including 20 clinics and 625 hospitals, participated in the survey.

Association of Acute Care Surgeon Involvement With Post-Surgery Complications.

Introduction: Acute care surgeons are experts in trauma treatment, emergency surgery, and critical surgical care. Here, we analyzed the association of acute care surgeons on postoperative outcomes of emergency general surgery.

Methods: This retrospective study included 92 patients who underwent emergency general surgery at our institution between January 2020 and September 2021.

Advanced Lung Cancer Inflammation Index: A Novel Comprehensive Biomarker of Host Status for Patients with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer.

Numerous biomarkers that reflect host status have been identified for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). However, there has been a paucity of biomarker studies that comprehensively indicate body composition, nutritional assessment, and systemic inflammation status. The advanced lung cancer inflammation index (ALI), initially introduced as a screening tool for patients with non-small-cell lung cancer in 2013, emerges as a holistic marker encompassing all body composition, nutritional status, and systemic inflammation status.

Angiopoietin-Like Protein 2 Expression in Tumor Cells Supports Tumor-Associated Macrophage-Induced Tumor Progression in Esophageal Cancer.

Background: Tumor-associated macrophages (TAM), a major component of the tumor microenvironment, play key roles in tumor formation and progression; however, mechanisms underlying TAM-induced tumor progression are complex and not well known. We previously reported that tumor cell-derived angiopoietin-like protein 2 (ANGPTL2) functions as a tumor promoter in some cancer contexts.

Methods: We examined ANGPTL2 expression in paraffin-embedded tumor samples from resected specimens of 221 patients with esophageal cancer.

Pulmonary cryptococcosis mimicking lung cancer with multiple lung metastases.

The differential diagnosis of a lung mass with multiple pulmonary nodules includes metastases of lung cancer, mycobacterial infections, and pulmonary mycosis. Pulmonary cryptococcosis should be recognized, especially in immunocompromised patients.

Differences in characteristics and risk factors for acute kidney injury between elderly and very elderly patients: a retrospective review.

Background: Few epidemiologic studies on acute kidney injury (AKI) have focused on the older adult population. This study aimed to clarify the characteristics and risk factors for AKI in this population.

Methods: This retrospective observational study was performed with the clinical data of all outpatients and inpatients aged ≥ 65 years at the time of enrolment at Kochi Medical School Hospital between 1 January 1981 and 31 December 2021.

Influence of doctor-patient relationships and health-related factors on the medical satisfaction of patients with Sjögren's disease.

Objectives: Patients with chronic, incurable conditions rely on their providers to help relieve their symptoms. Dissatisfaction with their care can erode the doctor-patient relationship and reduce the effectiveness of treatment. We investigated the relationships between satisfaction and symptoms, the doctor-patient relationship, and health-related factors in patients with Sjögren's disease (SjD) in Japan.

Neuropsychiatric Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in a Patient with Pancytopenia and Chronic Schizophrenia Requiring Hospitalisation.

We herein report a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and neuropsychiatric SLE (NPSLE), who had been misdiagnosed with schizophrenia for a long time and presented with pancytopenia. Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed sporadic punctate hyperintense areas in the cerebral white matter. Single-photon emission computed tomography revealed a clear decrease in blood flow from the parietotemporal association area to the temporal lobe.

Active vitamin D analog and SARS-CoV-2 IgG after BNT162b2 vaccination in patients with hemodialysis.

Introduction: Vaccination is the effective strategy for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, few studies have investigated the association between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) immunoglobulin (Ig)G and vitamin D.

Methods: This study aimed to investigate the association between SARS-CoV-2 IgG and active vitamin D analogs in hemodialysis patients.

Tumor stroma-derived ANGPTL2 potentiates immune checkpoint inhibitor efficacy.

Use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) as cancer immunotherapy has advanced rapidly in the clinic. We recently reported that tumor stroma-derived angiopoietin-like protein 2 (ANGPTL2) has tumor suppressive activity by enhancing dendritic cell-mediated CD8 T cell anti-tumor immune responses. However, a direct impact of ANGPTL2 on ICI anti-tumor effect remains unclear.

Clinical significance of amphiregulin in patients with chronic kidney disease.

Background: Amphiregulin (AREG) is a ligand of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), which plays an important role in injury-induced kidney fibrosis. However, the clinical significance of serum soluble AREG in chronic kidney disease (CKD) is unclear. In this study, we elucidated the clinical significance of serum soluble AREG in CKD by analyzing the association of serum soluble AREG levels with renal function and other clinical parameters in patients with CKD.

Extracellular water to total body water ratio, a novel predictor of recurrence in patients with colorectal cancer.

Background: Total body water (TBW) fraction, which accounts for 60% of body weight, is an important indicator of body composition, and the extracellular water to TBW ratio (ECW/TBW) is reportedly useful in predicting clinical outcomes of patients with organ disorders. We aimed to clarify the clinical impact of preoperative ECW/TBW status on survival outcomes in cancer patients.

Methods: We used a database of 320 colorectal cancer (CRC) patients who underwent potentially curative resections.

Factors associated with IgG titers against SARS-CoV-2 spike protein after second vaccination in people living with HIV controlled with anti-retroviral therapy.

Objective: This study aimed to identify factors associated with the response to the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in people living with HIV (PLWH).

Methods: This study was conducted at the Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. IgG antibodies against spike and nucleocapsid proteins were detected using Abbott SARS-CoV-2 IgG II Quant assays.

Hypereosinophilic syndrome presenting as eosinophilic gastroenteritis exacerbated by clopidogrel bisulphate.

Clopidogrel is a widely prescribed prodrug with antithrombotic activity that functions by irreversibly inhibiting the P2Y12 receptors on platelets; nevertheless, drug-induced eosinophilia from this drug is rarely reported. An 81-year-old man was diagnosed with cerebral infarction 2 months earlier and was admitted to our hospital with rash, fever, wheezing, and stomach discomfort after being initiated with clopidogrel treatment. Based on his medical history, chest CT, and gastroscopy, we diagnosed him with clopidogrel-induced hypereosinophilic syndrome.