Efficacy and safety of applying oxidized regenerated cellulose sheets to the parietal pleura of open chest wounds in thoracic surgery: a prospective randomized controlled trial protocol.

Background: According to a large-scale clinical trial in Japan, segmentectomy for small peripheral non-small cell lung cancer has an advantage over lobectomy in terms of overall survival, while it could also increase the incidence of local recurrence. In ipsilateral reoperations, intrathoracic adhesions from a previous surgery increase the risk of lung injury and bleeding, which may result in intraoperative and postoperative complications. The ability of oxidized regenerated cellulose (ORC) sheets to prevent postoperative adhesions has been demonstrated in the abdomen, and the same effect is expected in the thoracic region.

Loco-regional relapse pattern and timing after segmentectomy in patients with c-IA non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: Segmentectomy has been recognized as the standard procedure for small peripheral lung cancer; however, it has been shown that loco-regional relapse is more common with segmentectomy than with lobectomy. This study aims to investigate the long-term outcomes and loco-regional relapse patterns in patients with clinical stage IA (c-IA) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after segmentectomy and compare them with those after lobectomy.

Methods: We retrospectively compared the long-term outcomes of 115 patients who underwent segmentectomy for c-IA NSCLC with those of 292 patients who underwent lobectomy between January 2008 and December 2015.

Feasibility of computed tomography-derived surgical margin assessment in an ex vivo sublobar lung resection model.

Objectives: Computed tomography (CT) imaging of a sublobar resection specimen may inform intraoperative surgical margin assessment. However, consistency with final pathological margins has not been previously evaluated. In this study, we investigated the concordance between surgical margin measurements by CT versus pathology measurements using an ex vivo sublobar lung resection model.

Cardiac Function and Functional Capacity in Patients With Long COVID: A Comparison to Propensity-Matched Community Controls.

Background: Cardiac impairment has been associated with acute COVID-19 since the earliest reports of the pandemic. However, its role in postacute sequelae of COVID-19 ("long COVID") is undefined, and many existing observations about cardiovascular involvement in postacute sequelae of COVID-19 are uncontrolled.

Objective: To compare the prevalence of cardiac dysfunction in patients with long COVID and noninfected controls from the same community and explore their association with functional capacity.

Salt sensitivity risk derived from nocturnal dipping and 24-h heart rate predicts long-term blood pressure reduction following renal denervation.

Background: Renal denervation (RDN) has been consistently shown in recent sham-controlled clinical trials to reduce blood pressure (BP). Salt sensitivity is a critical factor in hypertension pathogenesis, but cumbersome to assess by gold-standard methodology. Twenty-four-hour average heart rate (HR) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) dipping, taken by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), stratifies patients into high, moderate, and low salt sensitivity index (SSI) risk categories.

Assessment of effectiveness and safety of thrombolytic therapy to pulmonary emboli by endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle injection.

Objective: Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle injection (EBUS-TBNI) may effectively treat acute pulmonary embolisms (PEs). Here, we assessed the effectiveness of clot dissolution and safety of tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) injection using EBUS-TBNI in a 1-week survival study of a porcine PE model.

Methods: Six pigs with bilateral PEs were used: 3 for t-PA injection using EBUS-TBNI (TBNI group) and 3 for systemic administration of t-PA (systemic group).

Associations between symptoms and functional capacity in patients after COVID-19 infection and community controls.

Background: Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC or 'long COVID') reflect ongoing symptoms, but these are non-specific and common in the wider community. Few reports of PASC have been compared with a control group.

Aims: To compare symptoms and objective impairment of functional capacity in patients with previous COVID-19 infection with uninfected community controls.

Can modified frailty index predict postoperative complication after lung cancer surgery?

Purpose: The impact of the modified frailty index (mFI) on postoperative complications after lung cancer surgery was investigated.

Methods: Patients who underwent lung cancer surgery in 2017 were included. 30-day postoperative mortality and morbidity were evaluated according to their Clavien-Dindo classification.

Successful excision of a giant cervical mediastinal goiter by cervical collar incision and a thoracoscopic approach: a case report.

Background: Giant cervicomediastinal goiter extending to the bifurcation of the trachea mostly requires median sternotomy in addition to a cervical collar incision for resection. Sternotomy provides a good operative field, although it is one of the most invasive thoracic approaches. We herein report a case of giant cervicomediastinal goiter resected by a less-invasive and highly effective method with a thoracoscopic and cervical approach.

Association of frequent hypermethylation with high grade histological subtype in lung adenocarcinoma.

Lung adenocarcinoma is classified morphologically into five histological subtypes according to the WHO classification. While each histological subtype correlates with a distinct prognosis, the molecular basis has not been fully elucidated. Here we conducted DNA methylation analysis of 30 lung adenocarcinoma cases annotated with the predominant histological subtypes and three normal lung cases using the Infinium BeadChip.

Catheter-Based Renal Denervation: 9-Year Follow-Up Data on Safety and Blood Pressure Reduction in Patients With Resistant Hypertension.

Background: Recent sham-controlled randomized clinical trials have confirmed the safety and efficacy of catheter-based renal denervation (RDN). Long-term safety and efficacy data beyond 3 years are scarce. Here, we report on outcomes after RDN in a cohort of patients with resistant hypertension with an average of ≈9-year follow-up (FU).

Postoperative pain and quality of life after lung cancer surgery: a prospective observational study.

Background: We aimed to identify the factors associated with postoperative pain, quality of life, and development of chronic pain after lung cancer surgery, including pain sensation threshold, fentanyl sensitivity, and surgical procedures.

Methods: We conducted a single-center prospective observational study involving lung cancer patients. Brief pain inventory, including nine items concerning pain and quality of life, was investigated at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months postoperatively.

Prebiotic intervention with HAMSAB in untreated essential hypertensive patients assessed in a phase II randomized trial.

Fibers remain undigested until they reach the colon, where some are fermented by gut microbiota, producing metabolites called short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), such as acetate and butyrate. SCFAs lower blood pressure in experimental models, but their translational potential is unknown. Here we present the results of a phase II, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind cross-over trial (Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12619000916145) using prebiotic acetylated and butyrylated high-amylose maize starch (HAMSAB) supplementation.

Preclinical feasibility of bronchoscopic fluorescence-guided lung sentinel lymph node mapping.

Objective: Lung sentinel lymph node mapping, where peritumorally injected material is tracked through the lymphatics, aims to find the first potential sites of nodal metastasis. We sought to evaluate the preclinical feasibility of bronchoscopic fluorescence-guided sentinel lymph node mapping.

Methods: Healthy Yorkshire pigs were used; sentinel lymph node mapping was performed with indocyanine green.

Association Between the Gut Microbiome and Their Metabolites With Human Blood Pressure Variability.

Background: Blood pressure (BP) variability is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular events. Recent evidence supports a role for the gut microbiota in BP regulation. However, whether the gut microbiome is associated with BP variability is yet to be determined.

Vasoplegia Following Orthotopic Heart Transplantation: Prevalence, Predictors and Clinical Outcomes.

Background: Patients undergoing heart transplant are at high risk for postoperative vasoplegia. Despite its frequency and association with poor clinical outcomes, there remains no consensus definition for vasoplegia, and the predisposing risk factors for vasoplegia remain unclear. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence, predictors, and clinical outcomes associated with vasoplegia in a contemporary cohort of patients undergoing heart transplantation.

Renal Deafferentation Prevents Progression of Hypertension and Changes to Sympathetic Reflexes in a Rabbit Model of Chronic Kidney Disease.

[Figure: see text].

The Gut Microbiota and Their Metabolites in Human Arterial Stiffness.

Aim: Gut microbiota-derived metabolites, such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) have vasodilator properties in animal and human ex vivo arteries. However, the role of the gut microbiota and SCFAs in arterial stiffness in humans is still unclear. Here we aimed to determine associations between the gut microbiome, SCFA and their G-protein coupled sensing receptors (GPCRs) in relation to human arterial stiffness.

Tribute to Dr. Takuo Aoyagi, inventor of pulse oximetry.

Introduction: Dr. Takuo Aoyagi invented pulse oximetry in 1974. Pulse oximeters are widely used worldwide, most recently making headlines during the COVID-19 pandemic.