The dorsal muscle group area at the T12 vertebral level as a risk factor for tolerability of nintedanib in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis or other progressive fibrosing interstitial lung diseases.

Unlabelled: Nintedanib, a multi-intracellular tyrosine kinase inhibitor, reduces progression of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and has been approved to use in other progressive fibrosing interstitial lung diseases (ILD) recently. However, the factors that affect the discontinuation of treatment due to adverse events is uncertain. The dorsal muscle group area at the T12 vertebral level (T12DMA) assessed on computed tomography (CT) images has been reported to be associated with mortality in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other diseases.

Four-year mortality and physical activity in Japanese patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Physical activity (PA) is associated with the risk of mortality in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); however, evidence is limited to the Japanese population. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of PA on long-term mortality in Japanese patients with COPD.

Methods: We conducted a prospective observational study in a cohort of Japanese patients with COPD and assessed mortality during a 4-year follow-up period.

Physical activity and outcomes in Japanese patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: From the Ishinomaki COPD Network registry.

Background: Low physical activity levels are associated with an increased risk of exacerbations and all-cause mortality in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); however, evidence is limited in a population with a low frequency of exacerbations, such as the Japanese population. This study investigated the effects of physical activity on outcomes in Japanese patients with COPD.

Methods: We conducted a prospective observational study in a cohort of Japanese patients with COPD between April 2018 and July 2020.

A case of metastatic endobronchial tumor from uterine leiomyosarcoma.

A 54-year-old woman presented with persistent productive cough, found to have an endobronchial tumor which obstructed the left upper lobe bronchus. Histopathological examination of a transbronchial biopsy of the endobronchial tumor suggested leiomyosarcoma. A positron emission tomography (PET)-CT revealed uterus tumor with moderate uptake of F-fluorodeoxyglucose, suggesting uterine malignancies.

Exhaled nitric oxide: A biomarker for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The fractional concentration of exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) is recognized as a biomarker of type 2 inflammation in asthma, which is related to airway eosinophilia. We conducted a prospective observational study in a cohort of Japanese patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to evaluate the relationship between FeNO and clinical features and patient outcomes over a 3-year period. Participants were categorized into two groups based on FeNO levels (high and low), and the clinical features and outcomes were compared between the groups.

Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes of Patients with Asthma-COPD Overlap in Japanese Patients with COPD.

Purpose: Asthma-COPD overlap (ACO) has been reported as an association with a lower quality of life, frequent exacerbations, and higher mortality than those with COPD alone. However, clinical characteristics and outcomes of ACO remain controversial.

Patients And Methods: We conducted a prospective observational study analyzing data of patients with stable COPD enrolled from the Ishinomaki COPD Network Registry.

Clinical characteristics of Japanese patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with comorbid interstitial lung abnormalities: A cross-sectional study.

Smoking-related interstitial lung abnormalities are different from specific forms of fibrosing lung disease which might be associated with poor prognoses. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with comorbid interstitial lung abnormalities and that with pulmonary fibrosis are considered different diseases; however, they could share a common spectrum. We aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics of Japanese patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and comorbid interstitial lung abnormalities.

Herbal medicine-induced multiple pulmonary pseudotumors.

Japanese herbal medicines (HMs) cause adverse drug reactions (ADRs); however, solid nodule formation is uncommon. In this report, we aimed to show that ADRs with HM can mimic lung cancer. A 63-year-old man complained of back pain.

Clinical characteristics and outcomes in Japanese patients with COPD according to the 2017 GOLD classification: the Ishinomaki COPD Network Registry.

Purpose: The GOLD report provides a framework for classifying COPD in a way that reflects its clinical impact and allows treatment recommendations. The GOLD 2017 proposes a new classification whereby patients are grouped as A-D according to their symptoms and history of exacerbations. However, the clinical characteristics and outcomes in these patients are not well documented.

Early Detection of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Primary Care.

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of an early detection program for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in a primary care setting in Japan. Methods Participants of ≥40 years of age who regularly visited a general practitioner's clinic due to chronic disease were asked to complete a COPD screening questionnaire (COPD Population Screener; COPD-PS) and undergo simplified spirometry using a handheld spirometric device. Patients who showed possible COPD were referred to a respiratory specialist and underwent a detailed examination that included spirometry and chest radiography.

Two Cases of Tsunami Dust Pneumonia: Organizing Pneumonia Caused by the Inhalation of Dried Tsunami Sludge after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

We report two cases of organizing pneumonia (OP) secondary to the inhalation of the dried tsunami sludge which formed during the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and the consequent tsunami. After the disaster, both of these patients had been engaged in the restoration work. About half a month later, they developed shortness of breath and pulmonary infiltrates.

Inflammatory biomarkers in asthma-COPD overlap syndrome.

Background: The clinical phenotypes and underlying mechanisms of asthma-COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS) remain elusive. This study aimed to investigate a comparison of COPD patients with and without ACOS, focusing on inflammatory biomarkers, in an outpatient COPD cohort.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study analyzing prospectively collected data from the Ishinomaki COPD Network registry.

Burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the elderly population.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common disease and an important health care problem in older adults. The impact of age and specific geriatric issues on COPD in elderly patients has not been well established.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of elderly COPD patients was conducted in Japan by using a regional COPD registry database.

Impact of a large-scale natural disaster on patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: the aftermath of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

Background: A large-scale natural disaster may exacerbate chronic respiratory diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The aftermath of a natural disaster can include poor access to medication, medical equipment, and medical supplies. Little is known about the impact on patients with COPD.

The impact of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake on hospitalisation for respiratory disease in a rapidly aging society: a retrospective descriptive and cross-sectional study at the disaster base hospital in Ishinomaki.

Objective: To investigate the impact in an aging society of the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake on hospitalisation for respiratory disease at the disaster base hospital.

Design: Descriptive and cross-sectional study.

Setting: Emergency care in Japanese Red Cross Ishinomaki Hospital, a regional disaster base hospital in Miyagi, Japan.

Sudden death from ischaemic heart disease in a female patient with Sjögren syndrome: a case report.

Primary Sjögren syndrome (SjS) has a comparatively good prognosis except when it is complicated by non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. We performed an autopsy on a young female patient with primary SjS who had died suddenly during a meal, and we discuss the relationship between primary SjS and the cause of death. Eosinophilic change of the cardiomyocytes and severe arteriolosclerosis were observed within the myocardium.

Pulmonary fat embolization as a diagnostic finding for heat exposure.

The aim of this study was to examine whether the detection of pulmonary fat embolization is valid as a significant indicator of heat exposure in forensic autopsies. In 54 cases where there was no evidence of fracture, burn or pancreatitis, 25 cases (46.3%) showed pulmonary fat embolization, the degree of which was pathohistologically classified as slight in all cases.

Gene expression on liver toxicity induced by administration of haloperidol in rats with severe fatty liver.

Sudden deaths are often encountered in schizophrenic patients prescribed with antipsychotic drugs, and fatty liver may be more prevalent among patients with schizophrenia. The aim of this study is to investigate the adverse effects of antipsychotic drugs on fatty liver. We administered haloperidol intraperitoneally to fatty liver rats and examined the mRNA expression in the liver.

Experimental pulmonary fat embolism induced by injection of triolein in rats.

The relationship between the volume of fat flowing in the bloodstream and the degree of pulmonary fat embolism has remained unclear. In this study, in order to examine whether the volume of fat particles in the bloodstream could be estimated from the degree of pulmonary fat embolism, 0.05, 0.

Absence of the right internal carotid artery found during autopsy of a severe burn case.

Since absence and hypoplasia of the internal carotid arteries are known to be rare anomalies but often presents no symptoms, most such cases are accidentally revealed by a carotid angiogram performed for patients with cerebrovascular disease. We herein report the autopsy findings for a 65-year-old man who burned to death in an apartment fire. Medicolegal autopsy revealed absence of the right internal carotid artery.

The sudden and unexpected death of a female-to-male transsexual patient.

A 32-year-old woman, who was intramuscularly injected with testosterone enanthate (125 mg) once or twice a month over a two-year period for female-to-male transsexualism, died suddenly. A forensic autopsy was performed to investigate the cause of death. Concentric cardiac hypertrophy was macroscopically observed.