Maoto, a traditional herbal medicine, for post-exposure prophylaxis for Japanese healthcare workers exposed to COVID-19: A single center study.

Background: Little research has been done on post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for COVID-19. This study was done to determine if maoto, a traditional herbal medicine commonly used for diseases with symptoms similar to those of COVID-19, can be repurposed for post-exposure prophylaxis to prevent the spread of nosocomial infection with SARS-CoV-2.

Methods: A cohort analysis was done of the data of 55 health care workers (HCWs) whether to get infected with SARS-CoV-2 in a Japanese hospital experiencing a COVID-19 cluster in April of 2021.

Evaluation of Nasal Airflow and Resistance: Computational Modeling for Experimental Measurements.

Objective: When evaluating nasal obstruction, conventional measurements of nasal patency do not necessarily correspond to a patient's subjective symptoms. The aim of this research is to seek an objective evaluation method by establishing computational modeling for nasal patency measurements.

Methods: We created a computer-generated geometrical model of the nasal cavity from computed-tomography scans of an adult male, presented a computational modeling method for evaluating the nasal patency in the deep-breathing state, and simulated numerically the airflow within the nasal cavity in the natural- and deep-breathing states.

Synchronous HPV-Related Cancer of Bilateral Tonsils Detected Using Transoral Endoscopic Examination with Narrow-Band Imaging.

Background: The incidence of human papillomavirus- (HPV-) related oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) has been rapidly increasing worldwide. HPV is reported in approximately 50% cases of OPSCC in Japan. However, there are few reports of synchronous bilateral HPV-positive tonsillar carcinoma, and, in almost all those cases, carcinoma was detected using positron emission tomography/computed tomography and/or bilateral tonsillectomy.

Development and validation of a risk assessment tool for gastric cancer in a general Japanese population.

Background: There have been very few reports of risk score models for the development of gastric cancer. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a risk assessment tool for discerning future gastric cancer risk in Japanese.

Methods: A total of 2444 subjects aged 40 years or over were followed up for 14 years from 1988 (derivation cohort), and 3204 subjects of the same age group were followed up for 5 years from 2002 (validation cohort).

Avoidance of postoperative irradiation for cervical lymph node metastases of human papillomavirus-related tonsillar cancer.

Background: everal reports have suggested that selected patients with human papillomavirus-related oropharyngeal cancer can be managed with surgery alone. We retrospectively reviewed tonsillar cancer cases to analyze treatment de-intensification after transoral resection.

Methods: Eighteen patients with tonsillar cancer who had undergone transoral resection were included.

Cetuximab with radiotherapy as an alternative treatment for advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the temporal bone.

The prognosis of advanced temporal bone cancer is poor, because complete surgical resection is difficult to achieve. Chemoradiotherapy is one of the available curative treatment options; however, its systemic effects on the patient restrict the use of this treatment. A 69-year-old female (who needed peritoneal dialysis) presented at our clinic with T4 left external auditory canal cancer and was treated with cetuximab plus radiotherapy (RT).

[A case of Turner syndrome (46XXp-/45X) complicated with Crohn's disease after hormone therapy].

A 19-year-old woman, who had been receiving hormone replacement therapy for 13 months before the diagnosis of mosaic Turner syndrome (46XXp-/45X), developed Crohn's colitis and erythema nodosum of the lower legs. Colonoscopy revealed an anal fistula and the presence of deep longitudinal ulcers with cobblestoning in the colorectum. Therapy with prednisolone and adalimumab was effective for the intestinal and skin lesions.

Cholesterol granuloma presenting with facial nerve paralysis following translabyrinthine surgery: A case report.

Background: Cholesterol granuloma (CG) is a foreign body giant cell inflammatory reaction to blood degradation products, and clinically presents as a cyst with a thick fibrous lining filled with brownish-yellow fluid. We report an unusual case of CG with facial nerve paralysis 9 years after translabyrinthine (TL) surgery for vestibular schwannoma (VS) removal.

Case: A 70-year-old woman, who underwent TL surgery previously, presented with left facial palsy (FP).

Successful detection of a minute tonsillar cancer lesion on transoral examination with narrow band imaging: A report of 2 cases.

Background: The improvement of optical enhancement devices, such as narrow band imaging (NBI), has enabled us to visualize lesions that cannot be seen upon macroscopic examination. NBI is useful for detecting subtle lesions, including the primary sites of occult primary cancer.

Methods And Results: We describe 2 cases of tiny tonsillar cancer with positive p16 staining.

[A case of hepatic cryptococcosis complicated by adult T-cell leukemia].

A woman in her 80s was admitted to our hospital on account of jaundice, abnormal liver function tests, and leukocytosis. She was diagnosed with adult T-cell leukemia on the basis of the presence of anti-human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) and the results of flow cytometric analysis of peripheral blood. She also showed lung consolidation and cavitation, and a sputum smear and culture revealed cryptococcal infection.

Reconstruction of Multiple Facial Nerve Branches Using Skeletal Muscle-Derived Multipotent Stem Cell Sheet-Pellet Transplantation.

Head and neck cancer is often diagnosed at advanced stages, and surgical resection with wide margins is generally indicated, despite this treatment being associated with poor postoperative quality of life (QOL). We have previously reported on the therapeutic effects of skeletal muscle-derived multipotent stem cells (Sk-MSCs), which exert reconstitution capacity for muscle-nerve-blood vessel units. Recently, we further developed a 3D patch-transplantation system using Sk-MSC sheet-pellets.

The predictive role of infiltrative growth pattern in early pharyngeal cancers.

Conclusion: The infiltrative growth pattern may predict tumor depth and lymph node metastasis. INF-a seems to fall into a low-risk category, and no additional treatment may be required immediately.

Objectives: Tumor depth is a predictor of lymph node metastasis in early pharyngeal cancers.

Autologous fat augmentation of the vocal fold with basic fibroblast growth factor: Computed tomographic assessment of fat tissue survival after augmentation.

Conclusion: The volume of fat tissue loss after vocal fold augmentation can be decreased when augmentation is performed with addition of basic fibroblast growth factor (b-FGF).

Objectives: The effectiveness of augmentation is easily decreased due to absorption. Canine experiments have confirmed that the decreased effectiveness caused by absorption after augmentation can be reduced by administering low-concentration b-FGF.

Safety and efficacy of adenotonsillectomy for obstructive sleep apnea in infants, toddlers and preschool children.

Objective: To investigate and compare the safety and efficacy of adenotonsillectomy (AT) on obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in infants and toddlers (IT) with preschool children (PS), and charts of 147 children between the ages of 11 months and 6 years were reviewed.

Methods: Harmonic Scalpel (HS) was introduced into AT to reduce the operative duration and intraoperative hemorrhage. Preoperative and postoperative apnea-hypopnea indices (AHI) values obtained by the type 3 portable monitoring device, and the change achieved by AT were statistically compared between IT group (N=50) and PS group (N=97).

The potential risk of vessel infiltration and cervical lymph node metastasis in hypopharyngeal superficial squamous cell carcinoma: a retrospective observational study.

Conclusion: The depth of hypopharyngeal superficial cancer may predict vessel infiltration and potential risk of cervical lymph node metastasis.

Objectives: To elucidate the histopathological predictors of vessel infiltration and the risk of regional lymph node metastasis in hypopharyngeal superficial cancer.

Methods: This study included 31 lesions from 30 patients who had undergone transoral en bloc resection in the hospital.

Autologous fat augmentation of the vocal folds.

Autologous fat augmentation of the vocal folds has become widely adopted as a means of vocal rehabilitation in patients with deficient glottal closure. In general, the injection method using autologous tissues has no problems regarding safety issues such as infection of unknown cause, but the period of continuous effect is not constant because absorption may occur after injection. In 99 cases during the 8-years from August 2003 to April 2011.

A new technique to expose the hypopharyngeal space: The modified Killian's method.

Objective: Recent remarkable progress in endoscopic technology has enabled the detection of superficial cancers that were undetectable in the past. However, even though advanced endoscopic technology can detect early lesions, it is useless unless it can provide wide exposure of an area. By modifying the Killian position, it is possible to observe a wider range of the hypopharyngeal space than is possible with conventional head positions.

Optimal postoperative treatment for composite laryngeal small cell carcinoma.

Small cell carcinoma (SmCC) most commonly occurs in the lung and rarely arises from the head and neck region. Further, composite SmCC is extremely rare. Therefore, no postoperative treatment strategy has been established.

Evaluating the significance of level IIb neck dissection for hypopharyngeal cancer.

Background: This study evaluated cervical lymph node metastases at level IIb in cases of hypopharyngeal cancer and analyzed the possibility of preservation of level IIb during neck dissection.

Methods: In total, 34 patients (51 neck sides) with hypopharyngeal cancer that underwent neck dissection from April 2008 to April 2011 were retrospectively analyzed. We evaluated the distribution of metastatic lymph nodes at various levels (particularly level IIb) in cases treated with therapeutic neck dissection and elective neck dissection.

Home monitoring using portable polygraphy for perioperative assessment of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

Objective: To overcome very few facilities available for polysomnography, a portable device of polygraphy was introduced into home monitoring for the assessment of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in children.

Methods: Forty-eight children (aged 2-11) presenting with snoring and sleep apnea were subjected to home monitoring. Sleeptester™ (Fukuda Lifetech, Japan) was used for this purpose, which was equipped with 5 channels for oronasal airflow, thoracoabdominal effort, snoring, body position, and oximetry (SpO2).

Transoral en bloc resection of superficial laryngeal and pharyngeal cancers.

Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of minimally invasive transoral en bloc resection of superficial pharyngeal and laryngeal cancers.

Methods: Forty-one superficial lesions (from 35 patients) were resected transorally under a surgical microscope using a monopolar cautery. Quality of life (QOL) was assessed using a questionnaire European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Head and Neck Cancer Module (EORTC QLQ-H&N35) 1 year after the surgery.

Prevention of wound complications in salvage pharyngolaryngectomy by the use of well-vascularized flaps.

Conclusions: We successfully reduced the incidence of pharyngocutaneous fistulas (PCFs) in high-risk patients undergoing surgery by using pectoralis major myocutaneous flaps (PMMCFs) and deltopectoral flaps (DPFs) to cover suture lines.

Objectives: We used coverage of suture lines with PMMCFs and DPFs in patients with high risk of PCFs undergoing total laryngectomy (TL) or total pharyngolaryngectomy (TPL) to determine whether coverage of suture lines during salvage surgery can reduce the incidence of PCFs.

Methods: This retrospective study was based on a review of 52 patients who underwent salvage TL or TPL between 2001 and 2011; we have been using PMMCFs or DPFs during salvage surgery since 2008.

White blood cell count and risk of gastric cancer incidence in a general Japanese population: the Hisayama study.

The authors examined the association between white blood cell (WBC) count and the development of gastric cancer in a 19-year follow-up study of 2,558 Japanese subjects aged ≥40 years (1988-2007). The subjects were stratified into 4 groups according to baseline WBC quartile (≤4.4, 4.

Multivariate analysis of wound complications after surgery for laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancers.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify the factors leading to postoperative complications following surgical management of laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancers.

Procedures: Between 2001 and 2008, the medical records of 107 laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer patients requiring laryngectomy or pharyngolaryngectomy at our hospital were reviewed. The incidence of wound complications and correlation of complications with clinicopathological factors were investigated by univariate and multivariate analysis.