Anatomical recognition of dissection layers, nerves, vas deferens, and microvessels using artificial intelligence during transabdominal preperitoneal inguinal hernia repair.

Purpose: In laparoscopic inguinal hernia surgery, proper recognition of loose connective tissue, nerves, vas deferens, and microvessels is important to prevent postoperative complications, such as recurrence, pain, sexual dysfunction, and bleeding. EUREKA (Anaut Inc., Tokyo, Japan) is a system that uses artificial intelligence (AI) for anatomical recognition.

BMI trajectory of 8,155,894 Japanese adults from exhaustive health checkup data: the contributions of age-related changes in height and weight.

This study aimed to clarify the trajectory of BMI alongside age-related changes in height and weight among Japanese adults. Data from annual health checkups between 2015 and 2020 by the Japan Health Insurance Association were retrospectively analyzed. A total of 4,777,891 men and 3,378,003 women (age 35-69 years) were stratified into 14 subgroups based on sex and 5-year age categories.

A case series study on the safety of cefditoren pivoxil use during the first trimester of pregnancy in Japan.

We evaluated the teratogenic risk associated with exposure to cefditoren pivoxil during the first trimester of pregnancy using the integrated databases of the Toranomon Hospital and the National Center for Child Health and Development. Among 13 599 registered individuals, the analysis included 285 subjects who had taken cefditoren pivoxil during the first trimester of pregnancy. The rates of stillbirth, miscarriage, and elective terminations were 0.

Resuscitation Attempt and Outcomes in Patients With Asystole Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest.

Importance: Little is known about the epidemiology of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in patients with asystole in countries where prehospital resuscitation is not withheld or terminated.

Objective: To investigate the secular trends in the patient outcomes and advanced life support (ALS) procedures and evaluate the association of ALS procedures with favorable outcomes among patients with OHCA and asystole.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study analyzed data from a nationwide prospective OHCA registry in Japan.

Postpartum hair loss is associated with anxiety.

Aim: This study examined the relationship between postpartum hair loss and psychological symptoms.

Methods: This questionnaire-based, cross-sectional study included postpartum women who had delivered at two facilities and completed the questionnaire 10-18 months after delivery. Study protocols were sent by mail in two parts.

Identification of novel sub-phenotypes of severe ARDS requiring ECMO using latent class analysis.

Background: Sub-phenotyping of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) could be useful for evaluating the severity of ARDS or predicting its responsiveness to given therapeutic strategies, but no studies have yet investigated the heterogeneity of patients with severe ARDS requiring veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-V ECMO).

Methods: We conducted this retrospective multicenter observational study in adult patients with severe ARDS treated by V-V ECMO. We performed latent class analysis (LCA) for identifying sub-phenotypes of severe ARDS based on the radiological and clinical findings at the start of ECMO support.

Physical Function Trajectory among High-Functioning Long-Term Care Facility Residents: Utilizing Japanese National Data.

Physical function trajectory (PFT) is associated with mortality and hospitalization risks. We aimed to identify and compare the PFTs of newly admitted high-functioning older adults during their first six months at long-term care (LTC) facilities. In this multicenter retrospective cohort study, we included newly admitted high-functioning older adults (Barthel index > 60) from 47 Japanese LTC facilities.

Associations between dietary potassium intake and urinary potassium excretion: a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: While numerous studies have reported associations between low dietary potassium intake and adverse clinical outcomes, methods to estimate potassium intake, mainly self-reported dietary measures and urinary potassium excretion, entail certain limitations. Self-reported measures are subject to underreporting and overreporting. Urinary potassium excretion is affected by multiple factors including renal function.

Robotic Warshaw technique with special attention to prevent postoperative splenic infarction preserving splenic blood flow.

Prevention of postoperative splenic infarction in the robotic Warshaw technique requires rigorous evaluation of blood flow to the spleen. Shibuya and colleagues recommend checking: (1) conventional splenic color change, (2) intrasplenic artery waveform by ultrasound Doppler examination, (3) blood flow using indocyanine green, and (4) pulsatile regurgitation from the splenic artery.

Associations Between Dietary Potassium Intake From Different Food Sources and Hyperkalemia in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease.

Objective: Previous studies reported mixed results on associations between dietary potassium intake and hyperkalemia in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). This study investigated the association between potassium intake from different food sources and hyperkalemia in patients with non-dialysis-dependent CKD.

Methods: A total of 285 patients were recruited at a university hospital and 2 city hospitals in Tokyo.

Assessment of clinical relevance of antigen improves diagnostic accuracy of hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

Background: Exposure assessment is integral to the diagnosis of hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP). Although the clinical relevance of exposed antigens is essential for the assessment, many of the previous guidelines or reports have only evaluated simple exposure histories or immunological tests. To overcome this problem, the Exposure Assessment Form (EAF) was developed as an assessment tool for classifying the exposure grade from G0 to G4.

Effect of overweight/obesity and metabolic syndrome on frailty in middle-aged and older Japanese adults.

Background: The potential for developing frailty exists in middle-aged and older adults. While obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS) increase the risk of frailty in older adults, this relationship remains unclear in middle-aged adults, who are prone to developing lifestyle-related diseases.

Objective: To examine the effect of overweight/obesity and MetS on frailty development in middle-aged and older Japanese adults using real-world data.

Factors associated with the time required for CRP normalization in pyogenic spondylitis: A retrospective observational study.

Background: Treatment for pyogenic spondylitis tends to be prolonged; however, few studies have examined the factors associated with the time required for infection control. Therefore, we analyzed a consecutive cohort of patients to identify factors associated with the time required to control infection in pyogenic spondylitis. This study aimed to clarify the factors linked to the duration necessary for achieving infection control in cases of pyogenic spondylitis, using C-reactive protein (CRP) normalization as an indicator.

Effect of warm and humid days on the positivity rate of anti-Trichosporon asahii antibody test for the diagnosis of summer-type hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

Background: Summer-type hypersensitivity pneumonitis (SHP) has been reported to occur during warm and humid summer seasons in Japan; however, the effect of weather conditions on SHP remains unknown. Anti-Trichosporon asahii antibody (TaAb) test is highly specific and useful for the diagnosing SHP. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the impact of weather conditions on SHP by examining the relationship between the positivity rate of TaAb and warm and humid days.

Impairment of Social-Related Quality of Life in COVID-19 Pneumonia Survivors: A Prospective Longitudinal Study.

The post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC) pose a threat to patients' health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Here, the impact of COVID-19 on HRQOL and the clinical factors associated with impaired HRQOL were examined. Discharged COVID-19 patients were assessed at 3 and 6 months after disease onset.

CD40 is expressed in the subsets of endothelial cells undergoing partial endothelial-mesenchymal transition in tumor microenvironment.

Tumor progression and metastasis are regulated by endothelial cells undergoing endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EndoMT), a cellular differentiation process in which endothelial cells lose their properties and differentiate into mesenchymal cells. The cells undergoing EndoMT differentiate through a spectrum of intermediate phases, suggesting that some cells remain in a partial EndoMT state and exhibit an endothelial/mesenchymal phenotype. However, detailed analysis of partial EndoMT has been hampered by the lack of specific markers.

Aberrant morphometric networks in Alzheimer's disease have hemispheric asymmetry and age dependence.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with abnormal accumulations of hyperphosphorylated tau and amyloid-β proteins, resulting in unique patterns of atrophy in the brain. We aimed to elucidate some characteristics of the AD's morphometric networks constructed by associating different morphometric features among brain areas and evaluating their relationship to Mini-Mental State Examination total score and age. Three-dimensional T1-weighted (3DT1) image data scanned by the same 1.

Physical function decline predictors in nursing home residents using new national quality indicators.

Aim: To determine the predictors of physical function (PF) decline among nursing home residents using items from the Long-term care Information system For Evidence (LIFE), a system launched in 2021 to ensure the quality of long-term care.

Methods: The LIFE data of 1648 residents from 45 nursing homes in Japan were retrospectively collected in July 2021 (T0) and January 2022 (T1), including demographics, PF assessed by the Barthel index (BI), nutrition and oral health, and cognitive function. The Dementia Behavior Disturbance scale was used to assess the frequency of certain behaviors, such as "waking at midnight.