Publications by authors named "Noriko Iwamoto"
Purpose: To investigate the effect of studying abroad on catch-up vaccination coverage for measles, rubella, mumps, varicella, and tetanus during the pretravel consultation among young adult travelers.
Methods: This retrospective cohort study analyzed data from the Japan Pretravel Consultation Registry (J-PRECOR) on individuals aged 18-21 years with childhood vaccination records. Propensity score weighting was used to estimate the average treatment effect on the proportion of participants receiving catch-up vaccination.
Background: Dexamethasone is currently administered for Coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19); however, there are concerns about its effect on specific antibodies' production. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether specific antibodies were affected by COVID-19 severity and corticosteroid treatment.
Methods: Of 251 confirmed COVID-19 patients admitted to our hospital between January 26 and August 10, 2020, the early period of the pandemic, 75 patients with sera within 1 month of onset and 1 month or longer were included in the research.
Article Synopsis
- - This study investigates how effective remdesivir is in helping noncritical COVID-19 patients with severe kidney issues, focusing on whether it can lower the chances of death or the need for invasive treatments.
- - Researchers examined data from 1,449 patients with severe renal insufficiency and found that those who started remdesivir early (within 2 days) had significantly lower mortality or need for invasive mechanical ventilation compared to those who did not receive it.
- - The results suggest that administering remdesivir soon after symptoms appear can be beneficial for noncritical COVID-19 patients facing severe renal problems, as it reduces the risk of serious outcomes.
Article Synopsis
- Streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS) is a severe condition mainly caused by beta-hemolytic streptococci (BHS), with the study investigating other BHS species' roles in STSS development.
- The study analyzed medical records from 2002 to 2022, identifying 43 STSS cases and examining their clinical features compared to 285 non-STSS cases, while factoring in age and diabetes.
- Results showed a high mortality rate of about 35% in STSS cases, with certain BHS species being more strongly associated with STSS than others, highlighting the need for further understanding of these infections.
Article Synopsis
- Co-infection with other viruses can worsen the severity of COVID-19 in children, but research on this topic is still limited, particularly in the context of the Omicron variant.
- A study of 245 hospitalized pediatric COVID-19 patients found that 31.8% had co-infections, mainly with enterovirus/rhinovirus, and these patients exhibited more respiratory symptoms and a higher need for oxygen support.
- The analysis identified co-infection and existing comorbidities as significant risk factors for requiring oxygen therapy in these pediatric patients.
Article Synopsis
- The 2022 global outbreak of mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) and its 2023 sporadic cases underscored the need for effective nonpharmaceutical interventions like case isolation.
- A new modeling framework was created to analyze how long infected individuals remain infectious based on their viral load, revealing that viral shedding can vary significantly from 23 to 50 days.
- The study found that while existing symptom-based isolation guidelines are generally effective, switching to a testing-based rule could minimize unnecessary isolation after individuals are no longer infectious.
Article Synopsis
- - This study examined the safety and bleeding complications of unfractionated heparin (UFH) in COVID-19 patients, as previous research focused more on low-molecular-weight heparin. - Among 1,035 hospitalized patients, 516 received UFH, with a major bleeding incidence of 2.3% overall and 9.2% in those on therapeutic doses; older age and severity of COVID-19 were key risk factors for these complications. - Despite the occurrence of major bleeding, the 60-day mortality rates between patients who experienced bleeding and those who did not were not significantly different.
Article Synopsis
- - This study explores the effectiveness of antibody testing for assessing immunity and diagnosing conditions like multisystem inflammatory syndrome related to COVID-19, focusing on antibodies targeting the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.
- - Researchers measured the neutralizing activity of immunoglobulin-G (IgG) in COVID-19 convalescent patients, finding a strong correlation between serum neutralizing activity (IgG-EC) and specific antibodies (S-IgG).
- - The findings suggest that quantitative S-IgG tests can reliably estimate neutralizing antibody activity, provided the cut-off values for interpreting results are carefully established for accuracy.
Article Synopsis
- * After IVIg treatment, the patient's viral load decreased significantly, and there was no recurrence of symptoms.
- * The findings suggest that combining IVIg with antiviral therapies may be an effective approach for treating relapsed COVID-19 in immunocompromised patients, particularly those who have undergone CD20 depleting therapy.
Article Synopsis
- Immunocompromised COVID-19 patients experience longer viral shedding compared to those with normal immunity, but there's no universal guideline for safely ending their isolation as of August 2023.
- Comprehensive evaluations considering factors like mutant strains and patient immunity are crucial, and consulting infectious disease specialists is advised for better management.
- The study developed new isolation criteria based on patient classifications and clinical symptoms, highlighting the need for continuous updates using real-world data to improve these guidelines for non-specialists.
Article Synopsis
- EG.5.1 is a new subvariant of the Omicron XBB variant of SARS-CoV-2 that is becoming more common globally, but its pathogenicity and immune evasion are still not well understood.
- Research shows that EG.5.1 has similar growth ability and pathogenicity as XBB.1.5 in hamsters, but it spreads more effectively than the older BA.2 variant.
- Additionally, plasma from recovered patients shows less neutralizing activity against EG.5.1 compared to XBB.1.5, suggesting that these differences might be contributing to its rise in prevalence among humans.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigated the increase in herpangina cases in Japan following the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions in summer 2023 and its impact on children's healthcare.
- Analysis of data from 2017-2023 showed a significant rise in herpangina cases during the summer, with a shift in the age distribution of infected children compared to pre-pandemic times.
- The findings suggest that easing infection control measures correlates with not only rising herpangina cases but also an increase in other respiratory illnesses, highlighting the need for continued infection prevention strategies in pediatric care.
Article Synopsis
- Mycobacterium abscessus subsp. massiliense (MMA) is a type of rapidly growing bacteria that can cause various infections, but this case reports the first instance of it infecting an aortic endograft.
- An 85-year-old man developed an aortic endograft infection two months after surgery, and treatments initially failed, leading to an increase in abscess size despite antibiotic administration.
- Genetic tests confirmed MMA as the causative agent, and while new antibiotics were used, the patient ultimately did not recover and passed away, highlighting the challenge of treating infections caused by this bacterium.
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to analyze changes in participant characteristics over time to improve convalescent plasma donation methods for COVID-19 patients.
- Data from April 2020 to November 2021 showed a decrease in sample eligibility, initially below 20% after a year, with a shift toward enrolling more participants beyond 120 days post-infection.
- The research concluded that monitoring eligibility rates and factors like vaccination and infection rates is crucial for effective plasma donation recruitment as pandemics evolve.
Article Synopsis
- - This study examined the pretravel consultation (PTC) of older adults (60+) in Japan to understand their vaccination habits and health concerns when traveling abroad, using data from the Japan Pre-travel Consultation Registry (J-PRECOR).
- - Out of 1000 clients studied, 523 received a yellow fever vaccine, but only 38.6% of those not vaccinated received the tetanus vaccine, and just 25.7% were prescribed malaria prophylaxis for short trips to high-risk areas.
- - The results indicate a need for increased preventive measures for older travelers, showing that younger age and lower hepatitis A vaccination rates are linked to receiving yellow fever vaccination.
There is no clear consensus regarding the optimal isolation duration for immunocompromised patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Therefore, we conducted a questionnaire survey at eight Japanese cancer centers to investigate the practices of infectious disease specialists regarding the duration of isolation for COVID-19 inpatients with cancer. For asymptomatic to severely ill COVID-19 inpatients without severe immunodeficiency, four centers reported at least 10 days of isolation without testing, and two reported at least 20 days.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSecondary non-response to infliximab (IFX) occurs in some patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Although therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is a useful tool to optimize IFX therapy, it is unclear whether it can help to identify the risk of secondary non-response. This study aimed to explore the utility of serum levels of IFX or other biomarkers to predict IFX discontinuation owing to secondary non-response.
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- * Researchers cultured immune cells with aaRSs and found that these proteins triggered the production of inflammatory cytokines, linked to increased disease severity in RA patients based on elevated levels of aaRSs in their serum and joint fluid.
- * The study suggests that targeting aaRSs with specific inhibitory peptides could reduce inflammation and alleviate arthritis symptoms, positioning them as potential new treatments for RA.
Article Synopsis
- The effectiveness of remdesivir for treating COVID-19 in children is not well-established.
- A study compared children receiving remdesivir with those who did not, revealing that more in the remdesivir group had a reduction in fever by Day 4 (86.7% vs 73.3%).
- However, the difference in fever reduction between the two groups was not statistically significant (P = 0.333).
Article Synopsis
- Post-COVID conditions refer to lingering symptoms experienced by individuals after recovering from COVID-19, with the exact cause remaining unclear but potentially linked to immune responses.
- A study was conducted on COVID-19-recovered individuals to examine the impact of serum antibody levels against SARS-CoV-2 on the likelihood of developing these conditions, involving 526 participants and 227 with measured antibody levels.
- Results showed that those with higher antibody levels had a significantly greater incidence of depressed mood, indicating a potential distinct relationship between antibody levels and depressive symptoms compared to other post-COVID conditions, warranting additional research.
Although biomarkers to predict coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity have been studied since the early pandemic, no clear guidelines on using them in clinical practice are available. Here, we examined the ability of four biomarkers to predict disease severity using conserved sera from COVID-19 patients who received inpatient care between January 1, 2020 and September 21, 2021 at the National Center for Global Health and Medicine, collected at the appropriate time for prediction. We predicted illness severity in two situations: 1) prediction of future oxygen administration for patients without oxygen support within 8 days of onset (Study 1) and 2) prediction of future mechanical ventilation support (excluding non-invasive positive pressure ventilation) or death of patients within 4 days of the start of oxygen administration (Study 2).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Dentinogenic ghost cell tumor is a rare benign tumor that accounts for less than 3% of all cases and consists of the stellate reticulum, which is made up of enamel epithelioid and basaloid cells. Although DGCT is a benign tumor, the local infiltration of the odontogenic epithelium or recurrences have been reported, and its detailed pathology and treatments remain unclear.
Case Presentation: This report describes the case of a 60-year-old Japanese male diagnosed with a maxillary dentinogenic ghost cell tumor.
The prevalence of the Omicron subvariant BA.2.75 rapidly increased in India and Nepal during the summer of 2022, and spread globally.
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- Early detection of illness severity in COVID-19 patients is vital for proper care and managing healthcare resources, especially given the potential overlap in mild symptoms among different risk groups.
- The study aimed to assess urinary L-FABP levels within four days of COVID-19 diagnosis to predict disease progression from mild to severe within ten days of hospitalization.
- Conducted at hospitals in Japan and the U.S., the study involved 224 participants, with results showing a high diagnostic accuracy (93.5% AUC) for predicting severe outcomes based on L-FABP levels.
We analyzed 2462 episodes of suspected catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI). The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for detecting CRBSI by gram staining of catheter tips were 66.1%, 99.
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