Real-World Safety, Tolerability and Effectiveness of Nintedanib in Patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: Final Report of Post-marketing Surveillance in Japan.

Introduction: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic, progressive, fibrotic interstitial pneumonia, which is characterised by progressive worsening of dyspnoea and lung function. Nintedanib treatment is recommended to slow IPF disease progression. The aim of this post-marketing surveillance (PMS) study was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of nintedanib over 24 months in patients with IPF in a real-world setting in Japan.

Hyperenhancement of LA Wall by Three-Dimensional High-Resolution Late Gadolinium-Enhanced MRI and Recurrence of AF After Catheter Ablation.

: This study investigated the relationship between LA (LA) enhancement on three-dimensional (3D) late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) MRI and recurrence after catheter ablation in patients with AF (AF). : A total of one hundred patients with AF (mean age: 68 ± 9 years, 50% with paroxysmal AF) were included in this study. Each patient underwent a high-resolution 3D LGE MRI prior to catheter ablation, allowing for detailed imaging of the LA wall.

Estimated prevalence and incidence of hypersensitivity pneumonitis in Japan.

Background: The latest guidelines on hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) categorise the disease as either fibrotic or non-fibrotic because of the greater clinical utility of this stratification. However, the prevalence and incidence of fibrotic and non-fibrotic HP are unknown. This study assessed the exact prevalence and incidence of fibrotic and non-fibrotic HP in Japan in 2021.

Evaluation of the COVID-19 diagnostic performance of Rapiim SARS-CoV-2-H, the highly sensitive SARS-CoV-2 antigen qualitative test kit.

We evaluated the diagnostic performance of Rapiim SARS-CoV-2-H (Rapiim-H)-a point-of-care qualitative antigen test-using nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS) and saliva samples and compared its results with those from antigen quantification and nucleic acid amplification tests. NPS and saliva were collected from patients with confirmed and suspected coronavirus disease (COVID-19). In total, 142 NPS and saliva samples were collected.

A case of pulmonary co-infection with and Mucorales in a patient with sarcoidosis.

A 54-year-old woman with fever and cough presented with left upper lobe consolidation and para-aortic and hilar lymphadenopathies and was diagnosed with sarcoidosis, and her condition improved spontaneously. Over the next 15 years, the patient experienced seven similar episodes and was treated with glucocorticoids for the first time in the eighth episode, but subsequently died of respiratory failure. The autopsy revealed diffuse alveolar damage and co-infection with and Mucorales in the lungs and mediastinum.

Interstitial lung disease associated with anti-aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase syndrome: quantitative evaluation of CT after initial treatment and long-term follow-up.

Background: Visual evaluation of interstitial lung disease (ILD)-related changes can generate intra- and inter-observer errors. However, recent deep learning (DL) algorithm advances have facilitated accurate lung segmentation, lesion characterization, and quantification.

Purpose: To evaluate the treatment response and long-term course in ILD associated with anti-aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase syndrome (anti-ARS ILD) using a DL algorithm.

Patient-Initiated Nationwide Survey on Testing for Actionable Oncogenic Drivers in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer in Japan.

Background: Previous reports indicated still low implementation rates of multigene testing for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in Japan.

Methods: This is a retrospective study launched at the initiative of lung cancer patients. Patients with stage IV NSCLC from January 2019 to December 2022 were investigated for testing of 8 actionable oncogenic drivers with targeted therapies available as of 2022.

Monitoring the Efficacy of Tafamidis in ATTR Cardiac Amyloidosis by MRI-ECV: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: The usefulness of monitoring treatment effect of tafamidis using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) extracellular volume fraction (ECV) has been reported.

Objective: we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the usefulness of this method.

Methods: Data from 246 ATTR-CMs from six studies were extracted and included in the analysis.

Benefit of prehospital electrocardiogram on door-to-device time in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction with cardiogenic shock: Data from the Kanagawa Acute Cardiovascular Registry.

Background: The benefit of prehospital 12‑lead electrocardiogram (PH-ECG) performed by emergency medical service personnel at the site of first medical contact (FMC) in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) with cardiogenic shock (CS-STEMI) remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effect of PH-ECG on door-to-device time in patients with CS-STEMI.

Methods: This study enrolled CS-STEMI (Killip class IV) patients who were transferred directly to hospitals by ambulance (n = 517) from the Kanagawa Acute Cardiovascular Registry database.

Evaluation of Progressive Architectural Distortion in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Using Deformable Registration of Sequential CT Images.

Background: Monitoring the progression of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) using CT primarily focuses on assessing the extent of fibrotic lesions, without considering the distortion of lung architecture.

Objectives: To evaluate three-dimensional average displacement (3D-AD) quantification of lung structures using deformable registration of serial CT images as a parameter of local lung architectural distortion and predictor of IPF prognosis.

Materials And Methods: Patients with IPF evaluated between January 2016 and March 2017 who had undergone CT at least twice were retrospectively included ( = 114).

Prevalence of cardiac amyloidosis in atrial fibrillation: a CMR study prior to catheter ablation.

The frequency of cardiac amyloidosis potentially present in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) remains unclear. The purpose of this study is to determine the frequency and clinical characteristics of cardiac amyloidosis latent in AF by performing cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients scheduled for AF ablation. We retrospectively analyzed 193 consecutive patients who underwent CA and cardiac MRI for atrial fibrillation.

Nonfibrotic (cellular) hypersensitivity pneumonitis with and without slight lung distortion.

Background: According to international diagnostic guidelines for hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP), cases with both nonfibrotic and fibrotic lesions are classified by the predominant feature. Therefore, some cases with nonfibrotic HP, have inflammatory lesions alone, while others have a mixture of fibrosis and inflammation. We investigated the impact of slight fibrotic lesions in nonfibrotic HP.