Recurrence rate of cholecystitis after initial gallbladder stenting versus secondary gallbladder stenting: A propensity score matching study.

Objective: Limitations are sometimes encountered in the application of laparoscopic cholecystectomy to the treatment of acute cholecystitis. Endoscopic gallbladder stenting (EGBS) has emerged as an additional option. However, the long-term stent patency remains an issue.

Arterial Occlusive Events in a Patient With Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Treated With Ponatinib.

Arterial occlusive events (AOE) are rare adverse event in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitor such as ponatinib. We treated a 47-year-old woman with chronic myeloid leukemia. She was failed to achieve optimal molecular response in prior two lines tyrosine kinase inhibitors treatment (dasatinib and bosutinib) for first 30 months.

Graft-versus-host disease after autologous stem cell transplantation in a recipient who underwent allogeneic stem cell transplantation 20 years earlier.

A literature review does not provide information about the safety of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in a recipient who has previously received allogeneic HSCT. We treated a 69-year-old woman with diffuse large B cell lymphoma. The patient received autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in the second complete remission of malignant lymphoma.

Diagnostic Performance of an Automated Blood Pressure Monitor With an Irregular Heartbeat Algorithm Designed to Detect Atrial Fibrillation.

Early detection of atrial fibrillation (AF) remains an unsolved challenge and because the greatest risk factor for AF is hypertension, blood pressure (BP) monitors with AF detectors have been developed. We evaluated the clinical performance of an irregular heartbeat (IHB) algorithm built into an A&D automated BP monitor for AF diagnosis. Each of the 239 enrolled patients underwent BP measurement 3 times using the A&D UM-212 with the IHB algorithm.

Rice cake ileus.

Japanese rice cake, mochi, is made from glutinous rice, a very sticky food. Mochi is a popular preserved food during the New Year holiday celebration. However, mochi can be hazardous because of lethal choking or ileus.

Phenotypic homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia successfully treated with proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitors.

Recent data reveal phenotypic HoFH patients may be responsive to PCSK9 inhibitors, challenging prior assumptions. Genetic testing advancements now more accurately forecast patient responses to these therapies, improving treatment strategies.

The impact of dietary fat type on lipid profiles in lean mass hyper-responder phenotype.

Key Clinical Message: Although the lean mass hyper-responder (LMHR) phenotype is well known, its diagnosis is impeded by the influence of fat type and intake on the lipid profile. Accordingly, a detailed assessment is warranted if LMHR is suspected.

Abstract: A 47-year-old man with suspected familial hypercholesterolemia presented with elevated triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels.

HbA1c of 5.8% or higher as the most useful indicator for recommendation of ultrasonography to detect nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Background And Aim: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is closely associated with metabolic syndrome. This study was performed to examine the association between NAFLD and each factor of metabolic syndrome and to identify the factors that are most strongly associated with NAFLD in participants undergoing health checkups.

Methods: We studied 6538 participants who underwent a health checkup from 2017 to 2018 in our institution.

Successful treatment with ivabradine in a β-blocker-refractory patient with acute decompensated heart failure with reduced ejection fraction.

Ivabradine is an established treatment for chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF); however, it is not used for acute heart failure treatment. Negative inotropic effects (NIE) often limit the up-titration of β-blockers. Contrarily, ivabradine has no NIE, and enables β-blockers usage for treating patients with acute decompensated HFrEF.

Potential clinical benefits of warfarin in end-stage cancers: A retrospective analysis.

Background And Aims: Coagulopathy and thromboembolism are common comorbidities in cancer, and anticoagulants, such as warfarin, are needed in specific situations. This study aimed to determine the clinical relevance of prothrombin time (PT) monitoring and the clinical usefulness of warfarin in patients with malignancy.

Methods: We retrospectively investigated patients with PT lower than 10% treated in our hospital between April 2006 and March 2013.

The use of Endo barrier for prevention of COVID-19 infection enables upper gastrointestinal endoscopy with high patient satisfaction in private clinic.

Objectives: In the midst of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection pandemic, practitioners who perform endoscopic examinations need to prevent infections through procedures, along with routine medical care. By using continuous suction, Endo barrier is thought to be effective in preventing the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) droplets and aerosols. The study aimed to evaluate patient discomfort and satisfaction with the use of the Endo barrier during esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD).

Spastic S-shaped sigmoid colon in hemorrhagic GIST.

We treated a 44-year-old man with abdominal pain and melena caused by the gastrointestinal stromal tumor. In this case, computed tomography revealed a spastic S-shaped sigmoid colon, indicating intestinal spastic paralysis secondary to intestinal bleeding. This finding prompted screening colonoscopy for gastrointestinal bleeding.

Freezing or death feigning? Beetles selected for long death feigning showed different tactics against different predators.

Prey evolve antipredator strategies against multiple enemies in nature. We examined how a prey species adopts different predation avoidance tactics against pursuit or sit-and-wait predators. As prey, we used three strains of beetles artificially selected for short (short strain) or long (long strain) duration of death feigning, and a stock culture (base population).

Untreated Hypertension and Subsequent Incidence of Colorectal Cancer: Analysis of a Nationwide Epidemiological Database.

Background Studies of the association of hypertension with incident colorectal cancer (CRC) may have been confounded by including individuals taking antihypertensive medication, at high risk for CRC (ie, colorectal polyps and inflammatory bowel disease), or with shared risk factors (eg, obesity and diabetes). We assessed whether adults with untreated hypertension are at higher risk for incident CRC compared with those with normal blood pressure (BP), and whether any association is evident among individuals without obesity or metabolic abnormalities. Methods and Results Analyses were conducted using a nationwide health claims database collected in the JMDC Claims Database between 2005 and 2018 (n=2 220 112; mean age, 44.

Apalutamide-associated skin rash in patients with prostate cancer: Histological evaluation by skin biopsy.

Introduction: Apalutamide-associated skin rash is a more common adverse event in the Japanese population than in the global population. However, its mechanism remains elusive, and limited histopathological information hampers further understanding.

Case Presentation: Case 1: a 71-year-old man with metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer developed a skin rash after 70 days of apalutamide treatment.

The Japanese Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock 2020 (J-SSCG 2020).

The Japanese Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock 2020 (J-SSCG 2020), a Japanese-specific set of clinical practice guidelines for sepsis and septic shock created as revised from J-SSCG 2016 jointly by the Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine and the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine, was first released in September 2020 and published in February 2021. An English-language version of these guidelines was created based on the contents of the original Japanese-language version. The purpose of this guideline is to assist medical staff in making appropriate decisions to improve the prognosis of patients undergoing treatment for sepsis and septic shock.

Psychogenic fever due to worry about COVID-19: A case report.

Psychogenic fever is stress-related hyperthermia that is recognized as a psychosomatic condition. We treated a 46-year-old Japanese man who was worrying about the coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and had a fever with a maximum temperature of 38.1℃.

Cluster Randomized Trial of Duration of Cooling in Targeted Temperature Management After Resuscitation for Cardiac Arrest.

The 2020 American Heart Association Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care recommend that comatose patients with return of spontaneous circulation after cardiac arrest have targeted temperature management (TTM). However, the duration of TTM remains to be elucidated. We conducted a cluster randomized trial in 10 hospitals to compare 12-24 vs.

An empirical test of the bet-hedging polyandry hypothesis: Female red flour beetles avoid extinction via multiple mating.

Bet-hedging via polyandry (spreading the extinction risk of the female's lineage over multiple males) may explain the evolution of female multiple mating, which is found in a wide range of animal and plant taxa. This hypothesis posits that females can increase their fitness via polyandrous mating when "unsuitable" males (i.e.

Effects of Dual Initial Combination Therapy With Macitentan Plus Riociguat or Macitentan Plus Selexipag on Hemodynamics in Patients With Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (SETOUCHI-PH Study) - Protocol of a Multicenter Randomized Control Trial.

The latest guideline from the European Society of Cardiology and European Respiratory Society recommends initial combination therapy with oral pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)-specific drugs in PAH patients with World Health Organization functional class (WHO-FC) II or III. However, whether this initial combination therapy improves hemodynamics and clinical failure events regardless of the combination of PAH-specific drugs remains unknown. This study was designed to evaluate whether the initial combination therapy with macitentan plus riociguat or macitentan plus selexipag showed equal efficacy in reducing pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) 8 months after administration.