Multiday corticosteroids in cancer chemotherapy delay the diagnosis of and antimicrobial administration for febrile neutropenia: a double-center retrospective study.

Background: Medical staff should promptly administer antimicrobials to patients with febrile neutropenia (FN) to decrease the mortality related to cancer chemotherapy. Corticosteroids, which are used in cancer chemotherapy, have a fever-suppressive effect. This effect could lead to a blunt fever response and any local signs of infection, especially in patients receiving multiday corticosteroid administration.

Significant Association Between Coronary Artery Low-Attenuation Plaque Volume and Apnea-Hypopnea Index, But Not Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity, in Patients With Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is associated with augmented sympathetic nerve activity and cardiovascular diseases. However, the interaction between coronary artery plaque characteristics and sympathetic nerve activity remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationships between coronary artery plaque characteristics, sleep parameters and single- and multi-unit muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) in OSAS patients.

Lung cancer in connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung disease: clinical features and impact on outcomes.

Backgrounds: Lung cancer (LC) adversely impacts survival in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. However, little is known about LC in patients with connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung disease (CTD-ILD). The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of and risk factors for LC in CTD-ILD, and the clinical characteristics and survival of CTD-ILD patients with LC.

Efficiency of the Lung Flute for sputum induction in patients with presumed pulmonary tuberculosis.

Introduction: High quality sputum helps increase the sensitivity of the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficiency of the acoustic device (Lung Flute; LF) in sputum induction compared with the conventional method, hypertonic saline inhalation (HSI).

Methods: In this crossover study, patients with presumed pulmonary tuberculosis submitted 3 consecutive sputa: the first sputum without induction and the second and third ones using LF and HSI.

A Pediatric Case of Reversible Cerebral Vasoconstriction Syndrome With Similar Radiographic Findings to Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome.

Background: Reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome occurs predominantly in middle-aged women. Only nine pediatric patients with this syndrome have been reported.

Patient Description: We present a ten-year-old boy with reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome with radiographic findings similar to those of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES).

Comparison of diagnostic performance of four software packages for phase dyssynchrony analysis in gated myocardial perfusion SPECT.

Background: Phase analysis of gated myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) for assessment of left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony was investigated using the following dedicated software packages: Corridor4DM (4DM), cardioREPO (cREPO), Emory Cardiac Toolbox (ECTb), and quantitative gated SPECT (QGS). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the normal values of 95% histogram bandwidth, phase standard deviation (SD), and entropy and to compare the diagnostic performance of the four software packages. A total of 122 patients with normal myocardial perfusion and cardiac function (58.

Interobserver agreement in detection of "white globe appearance" and the ability of educational lectures to improve the diagnosis of gastric lesions.

Background: White globe appearance (WGA) refers to a small white lesion of globular shape underneath cancerous gastric epithelium that can be clearly visualized by magnifying endoscopy with narrowband imaging (M-NBI). WGA has been reported to be a novel endoscopic marker that is highly specific in differentiating early gastric cancer (GC) from low-grade adenoma, and has a significantly higher prevalence in early GCs than in noncancerous lesions. However, interobserver agreement in detecting WGA and whether training intervention can improve diagnostic accuracy are unknown.

Intestinal angina in a patient with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy: a case report.

Background: Intestinal angina is characterized by recurrent postprandial abdominal pain and anorexia. Commonly, these symptoms are caused by severe stenosis of at least two vessels among the celiac and mesenteric arteries. However, intestinal perfusion is affected not only by the degree of arterial stenosis but also by systemic perfusion.

Autoantibody to scaffold attachment factor B (SAFB): A novel connective tissue disease-related autoantibody associated with interstitial lung disease.

Objective: To identify and characterize a novel connective tissue disease (CTD)-related autoantibody (autoAb) directed against scaffold attachment factor B (SAFB).

Methods: AutoAb specificity was analyzed using RNA and protein-immunoprecipitation assays. Autoimmune targets were affinity purified using patients' sera and subjected to liquid chromatography mass spectrometry.

Impaired Air Conditioning within the Nasal Cavity in Flat-Faced Homo.

We are flat-faced hominins with an external nose that protrudes from the face. This feature was derived in the genus Homo, along with facial flattening and reorientation to form a high nasal cavity. The nasal passage conditions the inhaled air in terms of temperature and humidity to match the conditions required in the lung, and its anatomical variation is believed to be evolutionarily sensitive to the ambient atmospheric conditions of a given habitat.

Single-Unit Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity Reflects Sleep Apnea Severity, Especially in Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients.

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is associated with augmented sympathetic nerve activity, as assessed by multi-unit muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA). However, it is still unclear whether single-unit MSNA is a better reflection of sleep apnea severity according to the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI). One hundred and two OSAS patients underwent full polysomnography and single- and multi-unit MSNA measurements.

Pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis: Distinct pulmonary physiological features in nine patients.

Background: Pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis (PPFE) is a rare idiopathic interstitial pneumonia defined by pleural and subpleural parenchymal fibrosis predominantly in the upper lobes. Although the radiological and pathological characteristics of PPFE have become increasingly recognized, its pulmonary physiological features are not well understood.

Methods: We reviewed nine patients with radiologically and histologically proven PPFE, and evaluated pulmonary physiological data.

NAB2-STAT6 fusion gene analysis in two cases of meningeal solitary fibrous tumor/hemangiopericytoma with late distant metastases.

We present two cases of meningeal solitary fibrous tumor (SFT)/hemangiopericytoma (HPC) with immunohistochemistry of STAT6 and analysis of NAB2-STAT6 fusion genes. Case 1 was a 37-year-old male with a left middle fossa tumor; case 2 was a 68-year-old female with a cerebellar tumor. They showed late metastasis to the lung or bone 8 or 13 years, respectively, after the first surgery.

Assessment of still and moving images in the diagnosis of gastric lesions using magnifying narrow-band imaging in a prospective multicenter trial.

Objectives: Magnifying narrow-band imaging (M-NBI) is more accurate than white-light imaging for diagnosing small gastric cancers. However, it is uncertain whether moving M-NBI images have additional effects in the diagnosis of gastric cancers compared with still images.

Design: A prospective multicenter cohort study.

[Examination of the cause of changing solution color by mixing aminophylline and dopamine, the compatibility of which was indicated by the supplier].

A case in which aminophylline solution was administered to a patient with congestive heart failure is reported and the problems caused by administration were solved by subsequent experiments. Dopamine solution was added from the side route using a mechanical pump, and mixed with aminophylline solution in the main route. Furosemide was administered after clamping and flushing the main route according to the supplier's information that indicated the compatibility of dopamine and aminophylline.

Flow mechanisms in the human olfactory groove: numerical simulation of nasal physiological respiration during inspiration, expiration, and sniffing.

Objectives: To visualize the velocity and the streamline of physiological unsteady nasal flow and sniffing using the computational fluid dynamics method and to compare the inspiratory phase, expiratory phase, and sniffing flow patterns of the olfactory area.

Design: An anatomically correct 3-dimensional nasal and pharyngeal cavity was constructed from computed tomographic images of a healthy adult nose and pharynx. The unsteady state Navier-Stokes and continuity equations were solved numerically on inspiratory and expiratory nasal flow and sniffing.

[Case of tuberculous bronchial stenosis followed-up by spirogram and successfully treated with a Dumon stent].

A 47-year-old man visited his family doctor because of chronic productive cough. Though there were no abnormal chest X-ray film findings, he was diagnosed as tuberculosis on the basis of a sputum examination. Therefore, he was introduced to our hospital and as tracheobronchial tuberculosis was diagnosed by the bronchofiberscopic findings, showing ulceration with a white nodules from the lower part of trachea to the left main bronchus.

[Asymptomatic pulmonary actinomycosis diagnosed by transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB)].

A 65-year-old asymptomatic man was admitted to our hospital because a chest abnormal shadow had been pointed out on a medical examination. Our investigation resulted that the consolidation in the left lung had been initially documented in 2002, and had been expanding every year. Bronchofiberscopy showed flare, swelling and stenosis of the left B8, B9 and B10.

[Early stage pulmonary alveolar proteinosis detected by chest CT scan in a medical examination].

We report a case of pulmonary proteinosis detected at an early stage and followed up on chest CT. A 49-year-old man underwent detailed examinations because of abnormal shadows on chest CT taken on a routine medical examination. The chest CT revealed almost symmetrical ground glass opacities (GGOs) in both lungs with thickened alveolar septa.

[A case of malignant mesothelioma presenting with recurrent pneumothorax].

A 71-year-old man was found to have right hydropneumothorax by chest X-ray film on a regular checkup. Thoracic drainage and bullectomy by thoracoscopy did not improve the pneumothorax, so pleurodesis with OK-432 was done. Pneumothorax recurred twice, requiring thoracic drainage and pleurodesis.

Visualization of flow resistance in physiological nasal respiration: analysis of velocity and vorticities using numerical simulation.

Objectives: To visualize the velocity gradients and the vorticities of physiological unsteady nasal flow using the computational fluid dynamics method and to compare the inspiratory phase and expiratory phase flow patterns.

Design: An anatomically correct 3-dimensional nasal and pharyngeal cavity was constructed from computed tomographic images of a healthy adult nose and pharynx. The unsteady state Navier-Stokes and continuity equations were solved numerically on inspiratory and expiratory nasal flow.

Bilateral decompression of multilevel lumbar spinal stenosis through a unilateral approach.

Lumbar canal stenosis due to hypertrophy and calcification of the facet joints and/or ligamentum flavum is a common condition in the elderly. Although a large number of individuals are symptom-free, the degenerative process, usually encroaching on both central and lateral pathways, may lead to symptoms of itself or decompensate a preexisting narrow canal. Even at an advanced age, decompression surgery is effective for symptomatic stenosis.

Malignant gastrointestinal stromal tumor originating in the lesser omentum, complicated by rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis and gastric carcinoma.

A 69-year-old man was admitted with a large elastic mass in the upper abdomen. Computed tomography revealed a massive tumor in contact with the liver and gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed a gastric adenocarcinoma. He developed acute renal failure with massive proteinuria and died with a marked enlargement of the tumor.