Evaluation by various methods of the physiological mechanism of a high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) in healthy volunteers.

Introduction: Several reports have described the usefulness of a high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC). However, the physiological mechanisms of this system are unclear. In the current study, various methods were used to investigate the physiological mechanisms of an HFNC in healthy volunteers.

Sclerosing thymoma-like thymic amyloidoma with nephrotic syndrome: a case report.

Background: Primary localized amyloidosis presenting as an isolated mediastinal mass is extremely rare, especially in the thymus. Sclerosing thymoma is also an extremely rare anterior mediastinal tumor, pathologically characterized by extensive sclerotic lesions with hyalinization and calcification. Only 14 cases of sclerosing thymoma and five cases of thymic amyloidosis have been reported to date.

Lipopolysaccharide inhibits hepatic gluconeogenesis in rats: The role of immune cells.

Aims/introduction: Bacterial septicemia has diverse clinical symptoms including severe hypoglycemia. However, sepsis-induced hypoglycemia has not yet been examined in detail. The aim of the present study was to investigate the mechanisms underlying hypoglycemia in sepsis.

Prognostic Impact of Peak Aortic Jet Velocity in Conservatively Managed Patients With Severe Aortic Stenosis: An Observation From the CURRENT AS Registry.

Background: There are limited data regarding the risk stratification based on peak aortic jet velocity (Vmax) in patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS).

Methods And Results: Among 3815 consecutive patients with severe AS enrolled in the CURRENT AS (Contemporary Outcomes After Surgery and Medical Treatment in Patients With Severe Aortic Stenosis) registry, the study population consisted of 1075 conservatively managed patients with Vmax ≥4.0 m/s and left ventricular ejection fraction ≥50%.

Renal-limited vasculitis with elevated levels of multiple antibodies.

Renal-limited vasculitis (RLV) is a type of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis that presents with crescentic glomerulonephritis with no other organ involvement. Although several studies reported patients with crescentic glomerulonephritis who were dual positive for proteinase 3 (PR3)-ANCA and myeloperoxidase (MPO)-ANCA or ANCA and anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) antibody, patients positive for all three antibodies, i.e.

High- Versus Low-Gradient Severe Aortic Stenosis: Demographics, Clinical Outcomes, and Effects of the Initial Aortic Valve Replacement Strategy on Long-Term Prognosis.

Background: There is considerable debate on the management of patients with low-gradient severe aortic stenosis (LG-AS), defined as aortic valve area <1 cm with peak aortic jet velocity ≤4.0 m/s, and mean aortic pressure gradient ≤40 mm Hg.

Methods And Results: In the CURRENT AS registry (Contemporary Outcomes After Surgery and Medical Treatment in Patients With Severe Aortic Stenosis), there were 2097 patients (initial aortic valve replacement [AVR] strategy: n=977, and conservative strategy: n=1120) with high-gradient severe aortic stenosis (HG-AS) and 1712 patients (initial AVR strategy: n=219, and conservative strategy: n=1493) with LG-AS.

Sex Differences in Severe Aortic Stenosis - Clinical Presentation and Mortality.

Background: There is a paucity of data on the sex differences in the prevalence, clinical presentation, and prognosis of aortic stenosis (AS).

Methods and results: A total of 3,815 consecutive patients with severe AS were enrolled in the multicenter CURRENT AS registry between January 2003 and December 2011. The registry included 1,443 men (38%) and 2,372 women (62%).

The ReACT Trial: Randomized Evaluation of Routine Follow-up Coronary Angiography After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Trial.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate long-term clinical impact of routine follow-up coronary angiography (FUCAG) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in daily clinical practice in Japan.

Background: The long-term clinical impact of routine FUCAG after PCI in real-world clinical practice has not been evaluated adequately.

Methods: In this prospective, multicenter, open-label, randomized trial, patients who underwent successful PCI were randomly assigned to routine angiographic follow-up (AF) group, in which patients were to receive FUCAG at 8 to 12 months after PCI, or clinical follow-up alone (CF) group.

Clinical Characteristics and Social Frailty of Super-Elderly Patients With Heart Failure - The Kitakawachi Clinical Background and Outcome of Heart Failure Registry.

Background: Social background is important in preventing admission/readmission of heart failure (HF) patients. However, few clinical studies have been conducted to assess the social background of these patients, especially elderly patients.Methods and Results:The Kitakawachi Clinical Background and Outcome of Heart Failure (KICKOFF) Registry is a prospective multicenter community-based cohort of HF patients, established in April 2015.

Factors Affecting Time to Sputum Culture Conversion in Adults with Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Historical Cohort Study without Censored Cases.

Background: In patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), shortening the time to sputum culture conversion is desirable to reduce the likelihood of mycobacterial transmission. A persistent positive sputum culture after 2 months of treatment is reported to be associated with the presence of cavitation and the extent of disease on chest X-ray, high colony count, diabetes mellitus, and smoking. However, little is known about factors affecting the time to sputum culture conversion.

Initial Surgical Versus Conservative Strategies in Patients With Asymptomatic Severe Aortic Stenosis.

Background: Current guidelines generally recommend watchful waiting until symptoms emerge for aortic valve replacement (AVR) in asymptomatic patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS).

Objectives: The study sought to compare the long-term outcomes of initial AVR versus conservative strategies following the diagnosis of asymptomatic severe AS.

Methods: We used data from a large multicenter registry enrolling 3,815 consecutive patients with severe AS (peak aortic jet velocity >4.

Antiplatelet therapy discontinuation and the risk of serious cardiovascular events after coronary stenting: observations from the CREDO-Kyoto Registry Cohort-2.

Relation of antiplatelet therapy (APT) discontinuation with the risk of serious cardiovascular events has not been fully addressed yet. This study is aimed to evaluate the risk of ischemic event after APT discontinuation based on long-term APT status of large cohort. In the CREDO-Kyoto Registry Cohort-2 enrolling 15939 consecutive patients undergoing first coronary revascularization, 10470 patients underwent percutaneous coronary intervention either with bare-metal stents (BMS) only (N=5392) or sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) only (N=5078).

[Prolonged remission achieved by using bevacizumab plus paclitaxel therapy combined with sequential radiotherapy for a rapidly growing chest wall recurrence of triple negative breast cancer - a case report].

A 73-year-old woman, who was diagnosed with right triple negative breast cancer (cT1cN1M0, stage I ) and underwent right modified radical mastectomy with axillary lymph node dissection, showed recurrent disease in the right parasternal lymph node 4 years after the operation. Computed tomography (CT) revealed rapid growth of the tumor along with pain, accompanied by the destruction of the sternal bone. Five cycles of bevacizumab plus paclitaxel (BEV+wPTX) treatment (10 mg/kg of bevacizumab on days 1 and 15 plus 90 mg/m² of paclitaxel on days 1, 8, and 15 every 4 weeks)achieved remarkable tumor regression.

Relation of contrast-induced nephropathy to long-term mortality after percutaneous coronary intervention.

There is little information on the effect of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) on long-term mortality after percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with or without chronic kidney disease (CKD). Of 4,371 patients who had paired serum creatinine (SCr) measurements before and after percutaneous coronary intervention and were discharged alive in the Coronary REvascularization Demonstrating Outcome Study in Kyoto registry, the incidence of CIN (an increase in SCr of ≥0.5 mg/dl from the baseline) was 5% in our study cohort.

Comparison of thin-section CT and pathological findings in small solid-density type pulmonary adenocarcinoma: prognostic factors from CT findings.

Objective: We divided pulmonary adenocarcinoma of ≤ 20 mm into air-containing and solid-density types based on a percentage reduction of the maximum tumor diameter in the mediastinal window image compared to the area in the lung window image on thin-section (TS) CT of ≥ 50% (air-containing type) and <50% (solid-density type). No relapse occurred in patients with air-containing type. The prognosis of solid-density type may be poor even when the tumor size is 20mm or smaller.