Detection Method for Aquatic Bacteria of the Fingers, as a Potential Origin of the Aqueous Solution Contamination.

　Aquatic bacteria were isolated from the hands of working staffs by an adapted culture protocol. When the sample solution obtained by the" glove juice method" was incubated for 3 days at room temperature, viable cell counts increased up to 10-fold, and the majority of the isolated colonies were shown to be Gram-negative aquatic bacteria, which carry the risk of contaminating water. Using R2A medium, coagulase-negative staphylococci were the dominant microbes immediately after recovery from the hands.

Impact of Diabetic Retinopathy on Vulnerability of Atherosclerotic Coronary Plaque and Incidence of Acute Coronary Syndrome.

Although an association has been reported between the microvascular complications of diabetic patients and their poor prognosis after cardiovascular events related to advanced atherosclerosis, it is not clear whether there is a relation between diabetic retinopathy (DR) and the severity of plaque vulnerability. Fifty-seven diabetic patients with coronary artery disease, classified as non-DR (n = 42) or DR (n = 15), underwent angioscopic observation of at least 1 entire coronary artery. The number of yellow plaques (NYP) through the observed coronary artery was counted and their color grades, defined as 1 (light yellow), 2 (yellow), or 3 (intense yellow), were evaluated.

Coronary atherosclerosis and risk of acute coronary syndromes in chronic kidney disease using angioscopy and the kidney disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) classification.

Objective: This 8-year follow-up cohort study evaluated and compared the degree of coronary atherosclerosis in chronic kidney disease (CKD) according to the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) classification using multivessel angioscopy and investigated the impact of the vulnerability of coronary arteries on the relationship between the classification and risk of acute coronary syndromes (ACS).

Methods: We studied 89 coronary artery disease patients who underwent angioscopic observation of multiple coronary arteries. The patients were divided into 3 groups: Risk 0, 1, and 2 were equivalent to low risk, moderately high risk, and high and severely high risk, respectively.

Extreme late-phase observation using coronary angioscopy until 7 years after sirolimus-eluting stent implantation.

Background: Little is known about the very late-phase morphological vessel characteristics within the sirolimus-eluting stent (SES).

Methods And Results: We assessed a total of 12 patients with 15 SES implantations who underwent repeat angiographic and angioscopic procedures after 5 and 7 years. The degree of neointimal stent coverage (NSC) was classified as follows: grade 0, uncovered struts; grade 1, visible struts through a thin neointima; or grade 2, invisible struts with complete neointimal coverage.

Rapid detection of microbes in the dialysis solution by the microcolony fluorescence staining method (Millflex quantum).

A chemiluminescence system, Milliflex Quantum (MFQ), to detect microcolonies, has been used in the pharmaceutical field. In this study, we investigated aquatic bacteria in hemodialysis solutions sampled from bioburden areas in 4 dialysis faculties. Using MFQ, microcolonies could be detected after a short incubation period.

Impact of prediabetic status on coronary atherosclerosis: a multivessel angioscopic study.

Objective: To determine if prediabetes is associated with atherosclerosis of coronary arteries, we evaluated the degree of coronary atherosclerosis in nondiabetic, prediabetic, and diabetic patients by using coronary angioscopy to identify plaque vulnerability based on yellow color intensity.

Research Design And Methods: Sixty-seven patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) underwent angioscopic observation of multiple main-trunk coronary arteries. According to the American Diabetes Association guidelines, patients were divided into nondiabetic (n = 16), prediabetic (n = 28), and diabetic (n = 23) groups.

Malondialdehyde-modified low-density lipoprotein is a useful marker to identify patients with vulnerable plaque.

Background: The association between elevated malondialdehyde-modified low-density lipoprotein (MDA-LDL) and plaque instability in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) is suspected but not established. The aim of the present study was therefore to investigate the association between serum MDA-LDL and plaque characteristics on angioscopy.

Methods And Results: A total of 37 consecutive patients with CAD and single-vessel disease who underwent pre-interventional angioscopy, were studied.

Intense yellow culprit plaque coloration is closely associated with troponin-T elevation and flow complications following elective coronary stenting.

Aim: The elevation of troponin-T (TnT) and occurrence of transient slow-flow phenomena have been recognized as procedure-related myocardial injuries. Little is known about the characteristics of high-risk plaque resulting in myocardial injury after coronary stenting.

Methods: The culprit plaques in 42 consecutive patients with stable angina undergoing elective coronary stenting were observed by angioscopy.

The possibility of delayed arterial healing 5 years after implantation of sirolimus-eluting stents: serial observations by coronary angioscopy.

Background: Although very late stent thrombosis occurs several years after implantation of sirolimus-eluting stent (SES), the morphologic changes of the stent beyond 2 years have not yet been systematically studied in living patients. The late vascular response to SES was therefore evaluated by serial angioscopic studies at 2 and 5 years after stent implantation.

Methods: A total of 17 patients with 17 SES underwent a repeated angioscopy procedure at 2 and 5 years.

Late vascular responses from 2 to 4 years after implantation of sirolimus-eluting stents: serial observations by intracoronary optical coherence tomography.

Background: Late vascular responses after implantation of drug-eluting stents may play a key role in steadily increasing occurrence of very late stent thrombosis have not yet been fully investigated in human beings.

Methods And Results: Serial optical coherence tomography observations at 2 and 4 years were collected for 17 patients treated with 21 sirolimus-eluting stents. Corresponding 376 cross sections within single-stent segments at intervals of 1 mm were selected for analyses, and neointimal thickness on each strut was measured.

Difference in neointimal proliferation between ruptured and non-ruptured segments after bare metal stent implantation.

The difference in neointimal stent coverage (NSC) between ruptured segments and adjacent nonruptured segments in infarct-related lesions (IRL) of acute myocardial infarction after bare metal stent (BMS) implantation was evaluated using coronary angioscopy. Serial angioscopic observations were performed for 19 IRLs immediately after the implantation of a BMS and at 1-month and 6-month follow-up. Stented segments were divided into the ruptured segment and the nonruptured segment based on the presence of a thrombus.

Impact of small thrombus formation in restenotic bare-metal stent lesions associated with acute coronary syndrome: identification by optical coherence tomography.

Background: Although in-stent restenosis (ISR) after bare-metal stent (BMS) implantation is considered to be clinically benign, ISR is often associated with adverse complications, such as acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The frequency, type, and location of thrombi in ISR lesions and their clinical presentation have not yet been precisely validated.

Methods: Thirty angiographic ISR lesions occurring within 3 to 8 months after stenting were evaluated by optical coherence tomography (OCT).

Extended follow-up by serial angioscopic observation for bare-metal stents in native coronary arteries: from healing response to atherosclerotic transformation of neointima.

Background: Although coronary angiograms after bare-metal stent (BMS) implantation show late luminal narrowing beyond 4 years, the detailed changes inside the BMS have not yet been fully elucidated.

Methods And Results: Serial angiographic and angioscopic examinations were performed immediately (baseline), 6 to 12 months (first follow-up), and >or=4 years (second follow-up) after stenting without target lesion revascularization in 26 segments of 26 patients who received BMS deployment for their native coronary arteries. Angioscopic observation showed atherosclerotic yellow plaque crushed out by stent struts in 22 patients (85%) and mural thrombus in 21 patients (81%) at baseline.

Relationship between neointimal coverage of sirolimus-eluting stents and lesion characteristics: a study with serial coronary angioscopy.

Background: Delayed neointimal coverage after the implantation of a drug-eluting stent (DES) is thought to be related to their potential for developing late-stent thrombosis. However, few studies have shown which factor affects the neointimal coverage after DES implantation. We hypothesized that the extent of neointimal coverage after DES implantation is affected by the underlying lesion characteristics because arterial wall components are reported to determine the transport and distribution of the drugs.

Relationship between thin cap fibroatheroma identified by virtual histology and angioscopic yellow plaque in quantitative analysis with colorimetry.

Background: Thin cap fibroatheroma (TCFA) is considered to be a vulnerable plaque. Virtual Histology-intravascular ultrasound (VH-IVUS) can precisely identify TCFA in vivo. Intense yellow plaque on angioscopy determined by quantitative colorimetry with L a b color space corresponds with histological TCFA; in particular, a plaque of color b value >23 indicates an atheroma with a fibrous cap thickness <100 mum.

Delayed endothelialization after polytetrafluoroethylene-covered stent implantation for coronary aneurysm.

A polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-covered stent is specially used to treat coronary perforation complicating percutaneous intervention in order to prevent the aneurysm from rupturing, but until now it has not been known if endothelialization occurs inside this type of stent. A patient with a giant aneurysm of the right coronary artery underwent successful implantation of a PTFE-covered stent. Angiography at 9-month follow-up showed focal restenosis at the proximal edge of the stent and coronary angioscopy revealed restenosis as a result of thrombus formation.

Lack of association between large angiographic late loss and low risk of in-stent thrombus: angioscopic comparison between paclitaxel- and sirolimus-eluting stents.

Background: It recently has been hypothesized that a larger late loss may have a protective role against stent thrombosis. The relationship between angiographic late loss and the presence of thrombus based on angioscopic findings within paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES) and sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) was investigated in this study.

Methods And Results: Prospective 6-month follow-up angiographic and angioscopic examinations were performed on 18 patients for PES and on 20 patients for SES.

In vivo comparison of optical coherence tomography and angioscopy for the evaluation of coronary plaque characteristics.

Atherosclerotic yellow plaques identified by coronary angioscopy are considered as vulnerable plaques. However, characteristics of yellow plaques are not well understood. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) provides accurate tissue characterization in vivo and has the capability to measure fibrous cap thickness covering a lipid plaque.

Multiple yellow plaques assessed by angioscopy with quantitative colorimetry in patients with myocardial infarction.

Background: Multiple angioscopic yellow plaques are associated with diffuse atherosclerotic plaque, and may be prevalent in patients with myocardial infarction (MI), so in the present study the yellow plaques in the coronary arteries of patients with MI was evaluated using quantitative colorimetry, and compared with those of patients with stable angina (SA).

Methods And Results: In the recorded angioscopic images of 3 coronary vessels in 29 patients (15 patients with MI, 14 with SA), yellow plaques were determined as visually yellow regions with b* value >0 (yellow color intensity) measured by the quantitative colorimetric method. A total of 90 yellow plaques were identified (b* =19.

Serial long-term evaluation of neointimal stent coverage and thrombus after sirolimus-eluting stent implantation by use of coronary angioscopy.

Objective: Progression of neointimal stent coverage (NSC) and changes in thrombus were evaluated serially by coronary angioscopy for up to 2 years after sirolimus-eluting stent (SES) implantation.

Design: Serial angioscopic observations were performed in 20 segments of 20 patients at baseline, and at 6 months and 2 years after SES implantation. NSC was classified as follows: 0, uncovered struts; 1, visible struts through thin neointima; or 2, no visible struts.

Serial long-term evaluation of neointimal stent coverage and thrombus after sirolimus-eluting stent implantation by use of coronary angioscopy.

Objective: Progression of neointimal stent coverage (NSC) and changes in thrombus were evaluated serially by coronary angioscopy for up to 2 years after sirolimus-eluting stent (SES) implantation.

Methods: Serial angioscopic observations were performed in 20 segments of 20 patients at baseline, at 6 months and at 2 years after SES implantation. NSC was classified as follows: 0, uncovered struts; 1, visible struts through thin neointima; or 2, no visible struts.

Quantitative colorimetry of atherosclerotic plaque using the L*a*b* color space during angioscopy for the detection of lipid cores underneath thin fibrous caps.

Objectives: Yellow plaques seen during angioscopy are thought to represent lipid cores underneath thin fibrous caps (LCTCs) and may be indicative of vulnerable sites. However, plaque color assessment during angioscopy has been criticized because of its qualitative nature. The purpose of the present study was to test the ability of a quantitative colorimetric system to measure yellow color intensity of atherosclerotic plaques during angioscopy and to characterize the color of LCTCs.