Electronic Patient-Reported Outcome System Implementation in Outpatient Cardiovascular Care: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: The integration of patient-reported outcome (PRO) assessments in cardiovascular care has encountered considerable obstacles despite their established clinical relevance.

Objective: To assess the impact of a physician- and patient-friendly electronic PRO (ePRO) monitoring system on the quality of cardiovascular care in clinical practice.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This open-label, multicenter, pilot randomized clinical trial was phase 2 of a multiphase study that was conducted from October 2022 to October 2023 and focused on the implementation and evaluation of an ePRO monitoring system in outpatient clinics in Japan.

White Blood Cell Count and Lymphocyte-to-monocyte Ratio as a Screening Tool for Predicting Intravascular Lymphoma in the Differential Diagnosis of Fever of Unknown Origin.

Objective Intravascular large B-cell lymphoma (IVLBCL) is a critical cause of fever of unknown origin (FUO). While a pathological analysis is essential for diagnosing IVLBCL, the indications for an invasive procedure may be ascertained using easy, non-invasive tests. The lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) can reportedly predict the diagnosis of malignant lymphoma in patients with lymphadenopathy; however, its clinical utility in predicting an IVLBCL diagnosis in patients with FUO remains to be elucidated.

Effectiveness of inactivated influenza vaccine in children during the 2023/24 season: The first season after relaxation of intensive COVID-19 measures.

Background: The annual administration of the influenza vaccine is the most effective method for preventing influenza. We have evaluated the effectiveness of the inactivated influenza vaccine in children aged 6 months to 15 years across the seasons from 2013/2014 to 2022/2023. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of the inactivated influenza vaccine in the 2023/2024 season, the first year following the easing of strict COVID-19 measures, and possibly the last season when only the inactivated vaccine is available on the market.

Predictors and incidence of health status deterioration in patients with early atrial fibrillation.

Background: Various treatment approaches for atrial fibrillation (AF) have demonstrated improved health status, yet the significance of these therapeutic interventions in individual patients remains unclear.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate health status changes in patients with early AF, focusing on those who experience clinically significant deterioration after treatment initiation.

Methods: We analyzed data from a multicenter, prospective registry of newly diagnosed patients with AF.

Mesenchymal-epithelial Transition Exon 14-skipping Mutation-positive Invasive Mucinous Adenocarcinoma of the Lung: First Case Treated with Mesenchymal-epithelial Transition-tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors.

Mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) exon 14-skipping mutation (METex14) is rare in pulmonary invasive mucinous adenocarcinomas (IMAs), and the clinical impact of MET-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) remains unknown. We herein report a 75-year-old woman with IMA harboring METex14 who was treated with the MET-TKI tepotinib. The lung tumor regressed over six months; however, the patient ultimately died of exacerbated interstitial lung disease (ILD), possibly associated with tepotinib.

Effectiveness of inactivated influenza and COVID-19 vaccines in hospitalized children in 2022/23 season in Japan - The first season of co-circulation of influenza and COVID-19.

We have analyzed the inactivated vaccine effectiveness (VE)for preventing influenza hospitalization by test-negative design in the 2022/23 season. This is the first season of co-circulation of influenza and COVID-19, and a unique period because all inpatients received COVID-19 screening. Among 536 children hospitalized with fever, none were positive for both influenza and SARS-CoV-2.

Feasibility of Short-Term Aggressive Lipid-Lowering Therapy with the PCSK9 Antibody in Acute Coronary Syndrome.

Background: The guideline-recommended low-density lipoprotein cholesterol target level of <70 mg/dL may not be achieved with statin administration in some patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Therefore, the proprotein convertase subtilisin-kexin type 9 (PCSK9) antibody can be added to high-risk patients with ACS. Nevertheless, the optimal duration of PCSK9 antibody administration remains unclear.

Spindle cell carcinoma with cystic brain metastasis: Successful treatment with stereotactic radiotherapy and anti‑programmed cell death‑1 antibodies: A case report.

Cystic brain metastasis is a rare condition that mainly originates from lung or breast adenocarcinomas. By contrast, pulmonary spindle cell carcinoma, a rare type of non-small cell carcinoma, has not been reported with this condition. Cystic brain metastases are characterized by larger tumor sizes with increased peritumoral edema compared with solid metastases.

Dysautonomia associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to report the clinical characteristics of dysautonomia associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).

Methods: We reported two patients with autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy (AAG) occurring as immune-related adverse events (irAEs). We also performed a review of previous case reports presenting dysautonomia during ICI therapy.

Long-term Findings in Bullous Sarcoidosis: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Pulmonary sarcoidosis may occasionally present with large bullae, but the clinical implications of this finding remain unclear. We herein report the complete clinical course of a case of pulmonary bullous sarcoidosis. Chest computed tomography initially showed subpleural and peribronchovascular lung opacities, and bullae spontaneously developed in adjacent less-affected regions, probably via a retraction mechanism.

Anti-glomerular basement membrane diseases and thrombotic microangiopathy treated with rituximab.

A 68-year-old male patient presented with a 2-week history of malaise and anuria. Renal replacement therapy with haemodialysis was begun for acute kidney injury. His anti-glomerular basement membrane (anti-GBM) antibody titre was 3060 U/ml.

Most Important Things and Associated Factors With Prioritizing Daily Life in Patients With Advanced Lung Cancer.

Purpose: Patients' values and priorities in their lives should be appreciated from an early phase of incurable diseases such as advanced cancer. However, studies examining these characteristics have been lacking. This study attempted to determine what patients with advanced lung cancer valued most, once they had been diagnosed, and any associated factors.

Clinical features and treatment strategies of febrile urinary tract infection caused by extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in children: a multicenter retrospective observational study in Japan.

Objectives: The incidence of infections caused by extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing bacteria has increased. This study aimed to clarify the risk factors and treatment strategies for febrile urinary tract infection (fUTI) caused by ESBL-producing bacteria in Japanese children.

Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted in 21 hospitals among children aged <16 years diagnosed with an fUTI between 2008 and 2017.

Rate versus rhythm control in patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation: Effects of the treatment timing on health status outcomes.

Background: Recent randomized clinical trials have demonstrated that applying rhythm control during the early stage of atrial fibrillation (AF) may lead to improved clinical outcomes. However, the effects of this modality on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) have not been fully investigated. We aimed to assess the association between the AF stage, determined by the time between AF diagnosis and referral to the cardiology clinic, and HRQoL outcomes.

Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction Caused by Osimertinib in a Patient With Lung Cancer: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Osimertinib is widely used for the treatment of advanced lung cancers harboring  () mutations. Because of its inhibitory activity on the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 pathway, osimertinib-induced cardiotoxicity is concerning. Large-scale international clinical studies revealed a subclinical decline in the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) with osimertinib, which allowed a continuation of the drug.

Cost reduction associated with transradial access in percutaneous coronary intervention: A report from a Japanese nationwide registry.

Background: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is increasingly performed via transradial access (TRA). This study aimed to investigate the clinical and economic benefits of TRA compared with transfemoral access (TFA) under universal healthcare coverage system in Japan.

Methods: A total of 36,153 patients (acute coronary syndrome [ACS], 15,266; stable ischemic heart disease [SIHD], 20,052) across 714 institutions in the Japanese nationwide PCI registry (J-PCI) in 2015 were analyzed (mean age 69.

Salivary gland polymorphous adenocarcinoma: Clinicopathological features and gene alterations in 36 Japanese patients.

Background: Polymorphous adenocarcinoma is a common intraoral minor salivary gland carcinoma in Western countries but is extremely rare in Japan. The current study aimed to characterize the clinicopathological features and status of molecular alterations of polymorphous adenocarcinoma-associated genes, such as PRKD1/2/3, ARID1A, and DDX3X, in a large cohort of Japanese patients with polymorphous adenocarcinoma.

Methods: We examined the cases of 36 Japanese patients with salivary gland polymorphous adenocarcinoma and 26 cases involving histopathological mimics.