Veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by nitrogen dioxide inhalation: A case report.

Background: Nitrogen dioxide (NO) is known to cause lung injury, but there is no established treatment for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) caused by NO inhalation.

Case Presentation: A 35-year-old man was accidentally exposed to NO fumes and presented to the emergency department. On admission, his oxygen saturation was 87% on ambient air and he was diagnosed with ARDS caused by NO inhalation and immediately intubated; however, hypoxemia and hypercapnia were not ameliorated.

Necrotising fasciitis with extensive necrosis caused by Lactobacillus: a case report.

Background: Necrotising fasciitis (NF) is a life-threatening soft-tissue infection that rapidly destroys the epidermis, subcutaneous tissue, and fascia. Despite their low virulence, Lactobacillus spp. can cause NF, and because of its rare incidence, there is limited information about its molecular and clinicopathological characteristics.

Evaluating the impact of ELSO guideline adherence on favorable neurological outcomes among patients requiring extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Aim: Selecting the appropriate candidates for extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is challenging. Previously, the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) guidelines suggested the example of inclusion criteria. However, it is unclear whether patients who meet the inclusion criteria of the ELSO guidelines have more favorable outcomes.

[Initial Treatment of Cerebral Hemorrhage:Determining the Cause without Preconceived Notions].

In Japan, cerebral hemorrhage accounts for 19.5% of stroke patients, and its prognosis is poorer than that of cerebral infarction, with a mortality rate of 14.6%.

Factors associated with healthcare providers' satisfaction with end-of-life care in the intensive care unit: A systematic review.

Background: We aimed to synthesize published data on and identify factors associated with healthcare providers' satisfaction with end-of-life care for critically ill adults.

Methods: Electronic databases were searched from inception to January 23, 2023. We included trials involving adults admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) or high-dependency units to evaluate palliative care interventions.

Effect of a systematic lung-protective protocol for COVID-19 pneumonia requiring invasive ventilation: A single center retrospective study.

The benefits of introducing a systematic lung-protective protocol for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia requiring invasive ventilation in the intensive care unit (ICU) are unknown. Herein, we aimed to evaluate the clinical effects of introducing such a protocol in terms of mortality, duration of ventilation, and length of ICU stay. In this single-centre, retrospective, quality comparison study, we identified patients with COVID-19 pneumonia who received invasive ventilation in our ICU between February 2020 and October 2021.

Corynebacterium ulcerans pneumonia treated with venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: a case report.

We report the first case of airway obstruction due to toxin-producing Corynebacterium ulcerans, successfully managed with venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-V ECMO). A woman aged 73 years who was living with companion animals was intubated for pneumonia of unknown origin and treated with an empirical antimicrobial agent. Corynebacterium species were detected in the sputum and treated as commensal bacteria.

Comparison of the efficacy of continuous intravenous infusion versus intramuscular injection of epinephrine for initial anaphylaxis treatment.

Aim: Continuous intravenous (CIV) infusion of epinephrine for the treatment of anaphylaxis may be required if symptoms do not improve after intramuscular (IM) injection. As CIV infusion permits precise dose adjustment, we compared treatment course and adverse events following CIV infusion and IM injection of epinephrine for the management of anaphylaxis.

Methods: Medical records of patients, who were treated for anaphylaxis with epinephrine, were 18 years or older, and were admitted to our department from April 2005 to March 2016, were retrospectively reviewed.

Risk factors for bleeding complications during venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation as a bridge to recovery.

Background: Bleeding complications during venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-V ECMO) can be critical. However, there is limited information on the associated risk factors. This study investigated the risk factors for bleeding complications during V-V ECMO as a bridge to recovery.

Stacked Thiazole Orange Dyes in DNA Capable of Switching Emissive Behavior in Response to Structural Transitions.

Functional nucleic acids with the capability of generating fluorescence in response to hybridization events, microenvironment or structural changes are valuable as structural probes and chemical sensors. We now demonstrate the enzyme-assisted preparation of nucleic acids possessing multiple thiazole orange (TO) dyes and their fluorescent behavior, that show a spectral change from the typical monomer emission to the excimer-type red-shifted emission. We found that the fluorescent response and emission wavelength of the TO dyes were dependent on both the state of the DNA structure (single- or double-stranded DNA) and the arrangement of the TO dyes.

Accurate and quick predictor of necrotizing soft tissue infection: Usefulness of the LRINEC score and NSTI assessment score.

Objective: The Laboratory Risk Indicator for Necrotizing Fasciitis (LRINEC) score is a diagnostic tool for necrotizing soft tissue infection (NSTI), which is validated and is considered to have high diagnostic value. However, some experts criticize LRINEC score for consisting of laboratory test results only.

Methods: In this single-center retrospective study, we created a new scoring system (NSTI assessment score; NAS), which also incorporated vital signs as another diagnostic tool for NSTI using cases from our hospital and also evaluated diagnostic accuracy of LRINEC score.

Photocurrent enhancement by a local electric field on DNA-modified electrodes covered with gold nanoparticles.

We here describe a photocurrent generation system exploiting gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) that cover perylenediimide-DNA complexes on electrode surfaces. Enhanced photocurrents were generated by the irradiation of the AuNPs, attributed to the efficient excitation of the perylenediimides by a local electric field on the surface of the AuNPs.

Controlling Pyrene Association in DNA Duplexes by B- to Z-DNA Transitions.

B- to Z-DNA transitions play a crucial role in biological systems and have attracted the interest of researchers for their applications in DNA nanotechnology. DNA and DNA analogues have also been used as templates to construct helical chromophore associations with π interactions. In this work, the B- to Z-DNA transition-induced switching of pyrene in an association manner was evaluated using DNA duplexes with non-nucleosidic pyrene residues in the middle of d(CG) repeat sequences.

A Progressive Early Mobilization Program Is Significantly Associated With Clinical and Economic Improvement: A Single-Center Quality Comparison Study.

Objectives: To determine whether a progressive early mobilization protocol improves patient outcomes, including in-hospital mortality and total hospital costs.

Design: Retrospective preintervention and postintervention quality comparison study.

Settings: Single tertiary community hospital with a 12-bed closed-mixed ICU.

External validation of a risk classification at the emergency department of post-cardiac arrest syndrome patients undergoing targeted temperature management.

Introduction: There are no established risk classification for post-cardiac arrest syndrome (PCAS) patients at the Emergency Department (ED) undergoing targeted temperature management (TTM). The aim of this study was to externally validate a simplified version of our prognostic score, the "post-Cardiac Arrest Syndrome for Therapeutic hypothermia score" (revised CAST [rCAST]) and estimate the predictive accuracy of the risk classification based on it.

Methods: For the external validation, we used data from an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) registry of the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine (JAAM), which is a multicenter, prospective registry of OHCA patients across Japan.

Lessons Learned in Helicopter Operations During a Large Multiagency Disaster Prevention Drill in Japan.

Objective: In 2018, the Cabinet Office executed a disaster prevention drill based on the scenario that Nankai had a megathrust earthquake and a large tsunami hit Tokushima Prefecture. The purpose of this study was to summarize the key lessons learned in the review of the Department of Aviation Operation for Tokushima Prefecture in this drill.

Methods: This report was based on a review using data from the Japan emergency medical information sharing system that can be accessed via the Internet.

Prediction of arterial extravasation in pelvic fracture patients with stable hemodynamics using coagulation biomarkers.

Background: Determining the presence of an active arterial hemorrhage in the acute phase is important as a treatment strategy in patients with pelvic fracture. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether coagulation biomarkers could predict arterial extravasation, especially in pelvic fracture patients with stable hemodynamics.

Methods: We studied patients with a pelvic fracture who had a systolic blood pressure above 90 mmHg and lactate level less than 5.

Aeromedical Transport Operations Using Helicopters during the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake in Japan.

More than 6,000 people died in the Great Hanshin (Kobe) Earthquake in 1995, and it was later reported that there were around 500 preventable trauma deaths. In response, the Japanese government developed the helicopter emergency medical service in 2001, known in Japan as the "Doctor-Heli" (DH), which had 46 DHs and 2 private medical helicopters as of April 2016. DHs transport physicians and nurses to provide pre-hospital medical care at the scene of medical emergencies.

Accuracy of the first interpretation of early brain CT images for predicting the prognosis of post-cardiac arrest syndrome patients at the emergency department.

Background: Early brain CT is one of the most useful tools for estimating the prognosis in patients with post-cardiac arrest syndrome (PCAS) at the emergency department (ED). The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognosis-prediction accuracy of the emergency physicians' interpretation of the findings on early brain CT in PCAS patients treated by targeted temperature management (TTM).

Methods: This was a double-center, retrospective, observational study.

Differential effect of mild therapeutic hypothermia depending on the findings of hypoxic encephalopathy on early CT images in patients with post-cardiac arrest syndrome.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the differential effects of mild therapeutic hypothermia (MTH) in post-cardiac arrest syndrome (PCAS) patients depending on the presence/absence of hypoxic encephalopathy (HE) in the early brain CT images obtained before the initiation of MTH.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of the data of a total of 129 patients with PCAS who were treated by MTH (34 °C) or normothermia treatment (NT) (35 °C or 36 °C), and had undergone brain CT examination prior to the initiation of these treatments. We divided the subjects into 4 groups, namely, the HE(-)/MTH, HE(-)/NT, HE(+)/MTH, and HE(+)/NT groups, for evaluating the interaction effect between the two variables.