From 'Pen Sao' to 'Tue Pa': Understanding diverse pathways to adolescent pregnancy in Lao People's Democratic Republic through qualitative investigation with girls in Vientiane Capital, Vientiane Province, and Luang Namtha.

Adolescent birth rates in Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) remain the highest in Southeast Asia. There is growing recognition that adolescent pregnancy in Lao PDR is occurring within and outside marriage, but there is a lack of robust qualitative evidence to understand girls' pathways to adolescent pregnancy and contributing factors, especially outside of union (cohabitation or marriage). This study aimed to improve understanding of pathways to adolescent pregnancy in Lao PDR among girls who experienced pregnancy at age 18 or below.

Contemporary pathways to adolescent pregnancy in Indonesia: A qualitative investigation with adolescent girls in West Java and Central Sulawesi.

In the last decade, reduction in adolescent fertility rates in Indonesia has slowed despite national programmes and policies focused on addressing child marriage. Indonesia currently has the highest number of births to adolescent girls aged 15-19 years in Southeast Asia. There is a need to develop a more nuanced understanding of the drivers of adolescent pregnancy in Indonesia to inform programmes and policies tailored to young people's needs and priorities.

Predictive performance of dual modality of computed tomography angiography and intravascular ultrasound for no-reflow phenomenon after percutaneous coronary stenting in stable coronary artery disease.

Attenuated plaque on intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and low attenuation plaque on computed tomography angiography (CTA) are associated with no-reflow phenomenon during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, evaluation by a single modality has been unable to satisfactorily predict this phenomenon. We investigated whether the combination of IVUS and CTA findings can ameliorate the predictive potential for no-reflow phenomenon after stent implantation during PCI in stable coronary artery disease (CAD).

Subclavian steal syndrome: a case report and review of advances in diagnostic and treatment approaches.

Unlabelled: Using recently developed diagnostic and treatment methods, we successfully diagnosed and treated a case of subclavian steal syndrome. Syncope and left upper arm weakness suggested ischemia of the cerebral and left upper arm circulation. Volume-plethysmographic blood pressure measurements clarified the differences between the upper arms simultaneously.

Successful palliation for an aged patient with primary pericardial mesothelioma.

An 85-year-old Japanese man with a complaint of exertional dyspnea was admitted to our hospital. Sixty-three years prior to admission at our hospital, he handled asbestos for 2 years in a factory. His chest computed tomography showed a massive pericardial effusion leading to cardiac tamponade and right pleural plaque.

Anesthetic management of a patient with a history of Batista procedure for dilated cardiomyopathy undergoing gastric surgery.

We experienced anesthetic management for an operation to remove a hemorrhagic gastric submucosal tumor in a patient who had undergone left ventricular volume reduction (the Batista procedure) for dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) 2 years previously. Preoperative evaluations indicated the relapse of severe DCM. Intravenous and epidural anesthesia was employed with the aid of an intraaortic balloon pump (IABP).

Heterogeneity of myocardial perfusion in distal coronary embolism with different particle sizes.

Background: We hypothesized that altered myocardial perfusion distribution patterns could be seen with coronary distal emboli of different particle sizes using myocardial contrast echocardiography.

Methods: In 16 open-chest anesthetized dogs, microsphere suspensions of 9 or 500 microm in diameter were injected into the left anterior descending coronary artery until the mean left anterior descending coronary artery flow rate was reduced to less than 30% of baseline flow. During baseline conditions and after maximal embolization, real-time myocardial contrast echocardiography was performed by intravenous infusion of an echocontrast agent.

Assessment of regional myocardial strain by a novel automated tracking system from digital image files.

Myocardial strain imaging by Doppler tissue echocardiography is a useful method to quantify regional left ventricular function. However, this method has a problem of its Doppler angle dependency. We attempted to quantify myocardial strain by a newly developed automated tracking system from digital image files.

Quantitative assessment of right ventricular geometric remodeling in pulmonary hypertension secondary to left-sided heart disease using real-time three-dimensional echocardiography.

We assessed right ventricular (RV) geometric remodeling quantitatively in patients with chronic pulmonary hypertension (PH) secondary to left-sided heart disease using real-time 3-dimensional echocardiography by comparing segmental and total volumes to that in normal subjects. The comparison result revealed that RV geometric remodeling in the PH group mainly occurred at the basal, mid-basal, and mid-segments. Total RV end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes in the PH group were significantly larger than that in normal subjects.

Evaluation of abnormal motion of interventricular septum after coronary artery bypass grafting operation: assessment by ultrasonic strain rate imaging.

We investigated whether strain rate imaging by echocardiography can quantify abnormal motion of interventricular septum (IVS) after coronary artery bypass grafting operation (CABG). Strain rate imaging was performed in 12 patients with angina pectoris treated by CABG; 12 patients with angina pectoris treated medically, with catheter intervention, or both (non-CABG); and 10 patients with previous anterior myocardial infarction. Peak systolic Doppler tissue velocity of mid-IVS was significantly lower in the CABG group than in the non-CABG group (2.

[Mechanisms of impaired coronary flow reserve in patients with aortic stenosis: transthoracic Doppler echocardiographic study].

Objectives: Development of left ventricular hypertrophy in severe aortic stenosis is associated with coronary microcirculatory dysfunction, as demonstrated by impaired coronary flow reserve. Recently, coronary flow reserve can be assessed noninvasively by transthoracic Doppler echocardiography (TTDE). This study assessed the relationship between coronary flow reserve obtained by TTDE and the hemodynamic parameters and left ventricular mass index in patients with aortic stenosis.

[Relationship between coronary flow reserve and recovery of regional left ventricular function in patients with tako-tsubo-like transient left ventricular dysfunction].

Objectives: This study assessed the relationship between coronary flow reserve and functional recovery of left ventricular wall motion in patients with tako-tsubo-like transient left ventricular dysfunction.

Methods: Coronary flow reserve was measured using the Doppler guide wire technique in the left descending coronary artery in nine consecutive patients (three men, six women, mean age 71 +/- 11 years) with tako-tsubo-like transient left ventricular dysfunction. Regional wall motion was analyzed to estimate anterior wall motion score index (anterior WMSI) by transthoracic echocardiography on admission and 3 weeks after the onset of symptoms.

Current characteristics of infective endocarditis in Japan: an analysis of 848 cases in 2000 and 2001.

The Japanese Circulation Society appointed a committee to develop guidelines for the prevention, diagnosis and management of infective endocarditis in Japan. In making such guidelines, the committee required information on the current clinical characteristics of infective endocarditis and therefore performed a nationwide questionnaire survey of cases from 2000 and 2001. In total, data were received for 848 cases from 277 of the 817 hospitals surveyed.

Long-term prognosis of patients with type B aortic intramural hematoma.

Background: The long-term clinical course of patients with type B aortic intramural hematoma (IMH) and predictors for progression remains unknown. The difference of aortic pathology may have a different impact on clinical course compared with classic aortic dissection (AD). The purpose of this study was to investigate long-term clinical course and predictors of progression in patients with type B IMH.

Prognosis of retrograde dissection from the descending to the ascending aorta.

Background: Natural history of aortic dissection (AD) with intimal tear in the descending or abdominal aorta and retrograde extension into the ascending aorta (retrograde AD) remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to elucidate medium-term prognosis of patients with retrograde AD.

Methods And Results: Study population consisted of 109 patients with acute type A AD.

Measurement of acetylcholine-induced endothelium-derived nitric oxide in aorta using a newly developed catheter-type nitric oxide sensor.

Intra-aortic measurement of nitric oxide (NO) would provide valuable insights into NO bioavailability in systemic circulation and vascular endothelial function. In the present study, we thus developed a catheter-type NO sensor to measure intra-aortic NO concentration in vivo. An NO sensor was encased and fixed in a 4-Fr catheter.

Assessment of coronary flow reserve by coronary pressure measurement: comparison with flow- or velocity-derived coronary flow reserve.

Objectives: This study sought to assess the reliability of pressure-derived coronary flow reserve (CFR) compared with flow- or velocity-derived CFR.

Background: Coronary flow reserve has been reported to have important clinical implications for the evaluation and treatment of coronary artery disease.

Methods: Using a pressure guide wire, coronary pressure distal to the stenosis was measured at rest and during hyperemia in seven dogs with various degrees of stenosis and in 30 patients with angina (29 and 34 stenoses in total, respectively).

[Measurement of coronary flow reserve by pressure/temperature sensor guide wire-based thermodilution in experimental models].

Objectives: Recently, a combined 0.014 pressure/temperature sensor-mounted guide wire has been developed to simultaneously measure fractional flow reserve and coronary flow reserve (CFR) by thermodilution (CFR-thermo). The accuracy of CFR-thermo was compared with CFR obtained by flow rate (CFR-flow) in experimental models.

Noninvasive assessment of great cardiac vein flow by Doppler echocardiography: a validation study.

The objectives of this study were (1) to compare great cardiac vein (GCV) flow velocity detected by pulsed Doppler echocardiography (PDE) with Doppler guide wire (DGW) in the experimental setting and (2) to clarify whether transthoracic Doppler echocardiography (TTDE) can detect GCV flow in humans. Using opened-chest dogs, we detected GCV flow by PDE under the guidance of color flow Doppler mapping. GCV flow velocity was recorded by PDE and DGW, simultaneously.