Ultrasonographic Evaluation of Intravenous Lobular Capillary Hemangioma in the Cephalic Vein.

A 60-year-old man presented with focal swelling on the dorsal surface of the left wrist. The sonographic exam revealed the presence of a smoothly rounded hypoechoic mass, with internal blood flow in the lumen of the vein. The histopathological findings led to the diagnosis of intravenous lobular capillary hemangioma (LCH).

Infrared Thermography and Ultrasonography of the Hands in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients.

Ultrasonography (US) and power Doppler US (PDUS) are used worldwide for diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Superb microvascular imaging (SMI) is a good tool for evaluating inflammatory activity. Thermal imaging is a noncontact, noninvasive procedure using skin temperature measurement.

The relationship between skin ultrasound images and muscle damage using skin blotting in wheelchair basketball athletes.

Study Design: Secondary analysis of a cross-sectional observation study.

Objectives: To determine the relationship between skin ultrasound images and muscle damage in wheelchair basketball athletes, using skin blotting examinations of the ischial regions.

Setting: Community, Japan.

Efficacy of an education program for nurses that concerns the use of point-of-care ultrasound to monitor for aspiration and pharyngeal post-swallow residue: A prospective, descriptive study.

Background: For nurses to provide swallowing care that is appropriate to individual patients' swallowing functions, techniques for using ultrasound to monitor for aspiration and pharyngeal post-swallow residue would be helpful.

Objectives: This study seeks to clarify the effectiveness of an education program concerning the use of ultrasound to assess swallowing function (the "Swallowing Point-of-Care Ultrasound Education Program"). This assessment is based on a comparison of the observation skills of general nurses' and certified nurses in dysphagia nursing in this regard; both groups underwent the education program, but dysphagia nurses have greater knowledge of swallowing functions as a result of their training.

Improvement of Constipation Symptoms in an Older Adult Patient by Defecation Care Based on Using a Handheld Ultrasound Device in Home Care Settings: A Case Report.

Background: Although previous studies have demonstrated the ability of ultrasound to detect stool in the colon and rectum, the clinical utility of evaluating constipation via ultrasonic imaging by nurses has not been determined. In this case report, we observed fecal retention, assessed the presence of constipation, and performed defecation care in an older adult patient in a home care setting in a city near the metropolitan area in Japan.

Case: An 85-year-old male with advanced stage prostate cancer and multiple metastases was diagnosed with fecal impaction via digital rectal examination and evaluation of stool consistency.

Safety and efficacy of a defecation care algorithm based on ultrasonographic bowel observation in Japanese home-care settings: a single-case, multiple-baseline study.

Aim: To verify the efficacy of defecation care based on handheld ultrasonographic observations for functional constipation by visiting nurses skilled in bowel ultrasonography.

Methods: Home-care patients with suspected functional constipation receiving nursing visits were recruited in this multiple-baseline, single-case experiment with intervention points shifted by 1 week. A total of 15 older adults were categorized into 3-, 4-, 5- or 6-week intervention phases.

Establishing a Methodology for Ultrasound Evaluation of Pharyngeal Residue in the Pyriform Sinus and Epiglottic Vallecula.

Background: Assessing the presence of pharyngeal residue in the pyriform sinus and epiglottic vallecula is important because insufficient pharyngeal clearance is a risk factor for aspiration pneumonia. Improvements in the performance of ultrasound to visualize the pyriform sinus and epiglottic vallecula are needed. The aim of this study was to establish a method to visualize the pyriform sinus and epiglottic vallecula with ultrasound to detect pharyngeal residue.

Development and evaluation of automated ultrasonographic detection of bladder diameter for estimation of bladder urine volume.

Bladder urine volume has been estimated using an ellipsoid method based on triaxial measurements of the bladder extrapolated from two-dimensional ultrasound images. This study aimed to automate this process and to determine the accuracy of the automated estimation method for normal and small amounts of urine. A training set of 81 pairs of transverse and longitudinal ultrasound images were collected from healthy volunteers on a tablet-type ultrasound device, and an automatic detection tool was developed using them.

Changes of tissue images visualised by ultrasonography in the process of pressure ulcer occurrence.

Objective: Ultrasonography is suitable for assessing pressure ulcers, and several features of ultrasonographic images that indicate abnormalities have been reported. However, no study has compared ultrasonographic images between normal and pressure-loaded skin and subcutaneous tissue from the same patients. This study aimed to assess lateral thoracic tissue using ultrasonography for both pre- and postoperative conditions and investigate changes in the tissue caused by loading.

Ultrasonographic assessment of an induration caused by extravasation of a nonvesicant anticancer drug: A case report.

Rationale: Induration may occur after an anticancer drug extravasation in patients who recurrently receive chemotherapy because of reduced choice of an appropriate vein for inserting a peripheral intravenous catheter, resulting in catheter placement difficulty. Although induration affects treatment, its size, shape, or hardness remains unclear in the conventional observation method using palpation and inspection. Here, we report our observation results in using ultrasonography to assess the induration that occurred after an anticancer drug extravasation as a new assessment method.

[The evaluation of stored feces in elderly patients by ultrasonography: Three case studies].

Providing defecation care can be challenging because bowel movements cannot be directly observed in home-care settings, and the objective evaluation of constipation symptoms is difficult, particularly for elderly patients with cognitive impairment. We evaluated the use of rectal ultrasonography (US) to assess the properties and volume of feces in three cases with different fecal properties. Case 1: In a 94-year-old man with normal feces (Bristol stool score: BS type 4), rectal US revealed a crescent-shaped high-echo area without acoustic shadow that was present until the next defecation.

Ultrasonographic evaluation of changes over time in one defecation cycle in adults with functional constipation: A report of two cases.

We described fecal retention during the defecation cycles of adults with functional constipation via ultrasonography (US) of the large intestine. US was performed continuously after the last defecation until the next defecation. We defined the fecal finding level on US as follows: weak fecal retention, a marginally high echo in the colonic lumen; or strong fecal retention, a strongly echoic colon lumen with showing a crescent-shaped acoustic shadow on transverse images and haustrations on longitudinal images.

Color Doppler Ultrasonography to Evaluate Hypoechoic Areas in Pressure Ulcers: A Report of Two Cases.

Ultrasound (US) is frequently used for evaluating inflammation of subcutaneous tissue caused by pressure ulcers (PUs), but color Doppler mode (CDM) helps to better identify inflammatory edema in subcutaneous fat and necrotic tissue in PUs. We report two cases where inflammatory edema in subcutaneous fat and necrotic tissue in PUs are identified using small US equipment with CDM. Case 1 - An 82-year-old male presented with cerebral infarction and a Category III PU in the sacral region.

Constipation in the elderly in a Japanese long-term medical facility: An ultrasonographic investigation.

This study aims to assess the fecal retention in elderly patients using colonic ultrasonography (US) in Japanese long-term care facility and determine the correlation between nutrition management methods and the fecal retention by US. This cross-sectional, single-center study was conducted in a long-term care facility in Japan. Patients with chronic constipation fulfilled the Rome III criteria for the diagnosis of functional constipation.

Exploring the causes of peripheral intravenous catheter failure based on shape of catheters removed from various insertion sites.

The risk of peripheral intravenous catheter failure varies according to the insertion site. This study examined catheter shape just after removal to evaluate the causes of catheter failure according to site. This study was a secondary analysis of previous study data.

Assessment of rectal feces storage condition by a point-of-care pocket-size ultrasound device for healthy adult subjects: A preliminary study.

The aim of this study was to assess rectal feces storage condition by a pocket-size ultrasonography (PUS) in healthy adults so as to define normal rectal defecation desire. Participants were first assessed rectum by PUS imaging immediately after defecation desire (pre-defecation). Nurses checked the amount and quality of the participants' feces using King's Stool Chart and Bristol stool scale.

A Randomized Controlled Trial to Investigate the Effectiveness of the Prevention of Aspiration Pneumonia Using Recommendations for Swallowing Care Guided by Ultrasound Examination.

Prevention for aspiration pneumonia requires assessment of aspiration and adequate swallowing care. This randomized controlled trial aimed to investigate the effectiveness of ultrasound examination and recommendations for swallowing care for the reduction of aspiration and pharyngeal post-swallow residue as compared with standard swallowing care. Twenty-three participants were randomized to the intervention group and 23 to the control group.

Is Thrombus With Subcutaneous Edema Detected by Ultrasonography Related to Short Peripheral Catheter Failure? A Prospective Observational Study.

Short peripheral catheter (SPC) failure is an important clinical problem. The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between SPC failure and etiologies such as thrombus, subcutaneous edema, and catheter dislodgment using ultrasonography and to explore the risk factors associated with the etiologies. Two hundred catheters that were in use for infusion, excluding chemotherapy, were observed.

Continuous thermographic observation may predict extravasation in chemotherapy-treated patients.

Purpose: Extravasation, or leakage of vesicant drugs into subcutaneous tissues, causes serious complications such as induration and necrosis in chemotherapy-treated patients. As macroscopic observation may overlook symptoms during infusion, we focused on skin temperature changes at puncture sites and studied thermographic patterns related to induration or necrosis caused by extravasation.

Methods: Outpatients undergoing chemotherapy using peripheral intravenous catheters were enrolled in this prospective observational study.

Ultrasonographic follow-up of functional chronic constipation in adults: A report of two cases.

Chronic constipation is a disorder frequently encountered in clinical practice. Here, we describe the use of ultrasonography as a new approach to the follow-up of adult patients with functional chronic constipation. Specifically, we report two cases of functional chronic constipation: fecal retention in the rectum and not fecal retention in the rectum.

Accuracy assessment methods of tissue marker clip placement after 11-gauge vacuum-assisted stereotactic breast biopsy: comparison of measurements using direct and conventional methods.

Background: The objective of the study was to compare direct measurement with a conventional method for evaluation of clip placement in stereotactic vacuum-assisted breast biopsy (ST-VAB) and to evaluate the accuracy of clip placement using the direct method.

Methods: Accuracy of clip placement was assessed by measuring the distance from a residual calcification of a targeted calcification clustered to a clip on a mammogram after ST-VAB. Distances in the craniocaudal (CC) and mediolateral oblique (MLO) views were measured in 28 subjects with mammograms recorded twice or more after ST-VAB.

Low-angled peripheral intravenous catheter tip placement decreases phlebitis.

Introduction: Peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVCs) are frequently removed due to phlebitis. We hypothesized that catheters made of polyurethane, which is more flexible than Teflon, would decrease phlebitis, and that flexibility could be estimated by measuring the catheter-tip angle. Ultrasonography in two groups of patients with different catheter types was then used to compare catheter-tip angles and phlebitis.

Detecting pharyngeal post-swallow residue by ultrasound examination: a case series.

Aims: Prevention of aspiration pneumonia is a great concern in the era of global aging. The assessment of pharyngeal post-swallow residue is important because remaining food and liquid in the pharyngeal area has a possibility of flowing into the lower airway which can cause aspiration pneumonia. Ultrasound examination has been recently used to assess swallowing disorders because of its noninvasiveness.