Impact of Sodium-Glucose Co-Transporter-2 Inhibitors on Exercise-Induced Pulmonary Hypertension.

Patients with borderline pulmonary hypertension (PH) often experience shortness of breath or exacerbation of PH during exercise, known as exercise-induced PH. However, the pathogenesis of exercise-induced post-capillary PH (post-EIPH) and its treatment strategies remain unclear. Recent guidelines and consensus documents have highlighted the benefits of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors in heart failure and chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Change and predictors of body composition after gastrectomy for gastric cancer during first postoperative year.

Purpose: After gastrectomy for gastric cancer, patients often lose significant body weight because of decreased caloric intake and nutrient absorption. Body weight typically requires approximately 1 year to stabilize. This study aimed to examine the changes and predictors of body composition during the first postoperative year.

Impact of Frailty and Sarcopenia on Short- and Long-Term Outcomes in Elderly Patients Undergoing Radical Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer.

Background: The impact of frailty and sarcopenia in patients with gastric cancer is unclear. This study aimed to comprehensively examine the impact of frailty and sarcopenia on the short- and long-term outcomes in elderly patients undergoing radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer.

Methods: We retrospectively assessed 246 patients aged ≥ 65 years who underwent radical gastrectomy.

Inhaled nitric oxide testing in predicting prognosis in pulmonary hypertension due to left-sided heart diseases.

Aims: The pathophysiology of pulmonary hypertension (PH) due to left-sided heart disease (Group 2 PH) is distinct from that of other groups of PH, yet there are still no approved therapies that selectively target pulmonary circulation. The increase in pulmonary capillary pressure due to left-sided heart disease is a trigger event for physical and biological alterations of the pulmonary circulation, including the nitric oxide (NO)-soluble guanylate cyclase-cyclic guanosine monophosphate axis. This study investigated inhaled NO vasoreactivity tests for patients with Group 2 PH and hypothesized that these changes may have a prognostic impact.

Clinical and Sociodemographic Factors Associated With Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients With Adult Congenital Heart Disease - A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Multicenter Study.

Background: Little is known about clinical or sociodemographic factors that influence health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with adult congenital heart disease (ACHD).

Methods and results: We conducted a nationwide prospective cross-sectional multicenter study at 4 large ACHD centers in Japan. From November 2016 to June 2018, we enrolled 1,223 ACHD patients; 1,025 patients had an HRQoL score.

Estimation of the physiologic ability and surgical stress scoring system as a useful predictor of postoperative recurrence in patients with stage II colorectal cancer: a multicenter study.

Purpose: We determined the usefulness of the estimation of physiologic ability and surgical stress (E-PASS), initially reported as a predictive factor for postoperative morbidity and mortality, as a prognostic indicator in stage II colorectal cancer (CRC).

Methods: Overall, 739 patients who underwent proctocolectomy for CRC at Tottori University Hospital and affiliated hospitals and histologically diagnosed with stage II CRC were included in the current study.

Results: A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis of the five-year recurrence-free survival indicated that the comprehensive risk score (CRS) of E-PASS predicted postoperative recurrence.

Impact of gastrectomy on body composition within 1 month in patients with gastric cancer.

Purpose: The present study examined the changes in and risk factors for body composition (BC) during the first postoperative month when dynamic biological reactions occur.

Methods: We retrospectively assessed 202 patients who underwent gastrectomy. The BC was assessed using a bioelectrical impedance analysis and evaluated within 1 month preoperatively, 1 week postoperatively, and 1 month postoperatively.

[Surgery to Triple Valves for Active Infective Endocarditis Caused by Abiotrophia defectiva:Report of a Case].

We experienced a case of infective endocarditis caused by Abiotrophia defectiva in which aortic, mitral, and tricuspid valve surgery was performed. Even if blood cultures are negative, it is important to treat patients with endocarditis considering the possibility that some organisms are difficult to detect via conventional blood culture. Embolism is a complication that should not be overlooked in cases of infective endocarditis, particularly those caused by Abiotrophia defectiva, which tends to cause embolism.

Usefulness of cardiac magnetic resonance for early detection of cancer therapeutics-related cardiac dysfunction in breast cancer patients.

Background: Prognosis of breast cancer patients has been improved along with the progress in cancer therapies. However, cancer therapeutics-related cardiac dysfunction (CTRCD) has been an emerging issue. For early detection of CTRCD, we examined whether native T1 mapping and global longitudinal strain (GLS) using cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) and biomarkers analysis are useful.

Status of adult outpatients with congenital heart disease in Japan: The Japanese Network of Cardiovascular Departments for Adult Congenital Heart Disease Registry.

Background: The Japanese Network of Cardiovascular Departments for Adult Congenital Heart Disease (JNCVD-ACHD) was founded in 2011 for the lifelong care of adult patients with congenital heart disease (ACHD patients). This network maintains the first Japanese ACHD registry.

Methods And Results: From 2011 to 2019, the JNCVD-ACHD registered 54 institutions providing specialized care for ACHD patients in 32 of the 47 prefectures in Japan.

Post-colostomy internal hernia of the stomach treated with laparoscopic gastropexy: a case report.

Background: Internal hernias are formed by the protrusion of internal organs through an aperture formed congenitally or postoperatively. Internal hernias are most commonly associated with the small intestine. Only two cases of a post-sigmoid colostomy internal hernia of the stomach have been reported.

Systemic-pulmonary collateral supply associated with clinical severity of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension: a study using intra-aortic computed tomography angiography.

Objectives: To assess whether systemic-pulmonary collaterals are associated with clinical severity and extent of pulmonary perfusion defects in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH).

Methods: This prospective study was approved by a local ethics committee. Twenty-four patients diagnosed with inoperable CTEPH were enrolled between July 2014 and February 2017.

Risk factors for recurrence in elderly patients with stage II colorectal cancer: a multicenter retrospective study.

Background: Adjuvant chemotherapy for stage II colorectal cancer (CRC) is considered appropriate for patients with risk factors for recurrence, rather than for all patients uniformly. However, the risk factors for recurrence remain controversial, and there is limited information, especially for elderly patients. The Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI) is widely used as a simple nutritional screening tool in the elderly and is associated with cancer prognosis and recurrence.

What is necessary to shorten the operative time in initial introduction of robotic gastrectomy for gastric cancer?

Introduction: Robotic gastrectomy (RG) is a good alternative to laparoscopic gastrectomy, as it improves treatment outcomes and reduces the burden of technical difficulties; however, prolonged operative time may be a disadvantage. This study aimed to identify measures to shorten the operative time during the initial introduction of RG at an institution.

Methods: We assessed 33 patients with gastric cancer who underwent radical distal gastrectomy with Billroth-I reconstruction and divided them into three groups: laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (LDG), robotic distal gastrectomy in the early phase (RDG-E), and in the late phase (RDG-L).

The type of gastrectomy and modified frailty index as useful predictive indicators for 1-year readmission due to nutritional difficulty in patients who undergo gastrectomy for gastric cancer.

Background: Patients who undergo gastrectomy for gastric cancer (GC) are likely to have nutritional difficulty after surgery. Readmission due to nutritional difficulty is common in such patients. Thus, in this study, we aim to identify the predictive indicators for readmission due to nutritional difficulty in patients who underwent gastrectomy for GC.

Association between RNF213 c.14576G>A Variant (rs112735431) and Peripheral Pulmonary Artery Stenosis in Moyamoya Disease.

Background: Moyamoya disease (MMD) and peripheral pulmonary artery stenosis (PPAS) are relatively rare and demonstrate steno-occlusive vascular lesions in different organs. Genetic studies identified RNF213 polymorphism c.14576G>A (rs112735431) as a susceptibility variant for East Asian MMD.

Detection of intracellular histological abnormalities using cardiac magnetic resonance T1 mapping in patients with Danon disease: a case series.

Background: Danon disease is an X-linked dominant disorder with defects in the lysosome-associated membrane protein 2 (LAMP2) gene and is characterized histologically by intracellular autophagic vacuoles in skeletal and cardiac muscles. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) T1 mapping potentially allows to differentiate intracellular and extracellular cardiac abnormalities with a combination of native T1 value and extracellular volume (ECV) fraction.

Case Summary: We assessed CMR T1 mapping in two Danon disease patients (a 22-year-old man and his 48-year-old mother), who had a LAMP2 c.

The Combination of Preoperative Skeletal Muscle Quantity and Quality is an Important Indicator of Survival in Elderly Patients Undergoing Curative Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer.

Background: The diagnosis of sarcopenia emphasizes both, the quantity and quality of skeletal muscle. However, the impact of the combination of muscle quantity and quality on long-term survival remains unclear. This study aimed to assess the impact of the combination of skeletal muscle quantity and quality on long-term outcomes in patients with gastric cancer who underwent curative resection.

Atrial Septal Defect Closure via Left Subclavian Vein Approach in a Patient With Absent Inferior Vena Cava.

Without the femoral venous approach, transcatheter closure of an atrial septal defect is challenging. We performed percutaneous closure via the left subclavian vein in a patient with absence of the inferior vena cava with azygos continuation. Considering that inferior vena cava anomalies are not extremely rare among those with congenital heart disease, the left subclavian vein approach can be an alternative to the femoral approach.

Encapsulated fat necrosis mimicking abdominal liposarcoma: A case report and literature review.

We report a case of an encapsulated fat necrosis without significant medical history. To differentiate from liposarcoma, it should be recognized that a half of abdominal encapsulated fat necrosis cases have a history of inflammation and surgery.