Achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in Spinal Surgery: Patient-Centered Care and Social Contribution.

Background: In recent years, achieving a sustainable society has become an international challenge. The medical field is also being called upon to contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, awareness of the SDGs in Japan is low, and relevant efforts in the healthcare sector are particularly lagging behind.

The Future of Sustainable Neurosurgery: Is a Moonshot Plan for Artificial Intelligence and Robot-Assisted Surgery Possible in Japan?

Japanese neurosurgery faces challenges such as a declining number of neurosurgeons and their concentration in urban areas. Particularly in rural areas, access to neurosurgical care for patients with conditions, such as stroke, is limited, raising concerns about the collapse of regional healthcare. Robot-assisted surgical technologies have advanced in recent years, contributing to the improved precision and safety of deep brain surgery.

Green Hospital as a new Standard in Japan: How far can Neurosurgery go in Japan?

Background: Climate change is a significant challenge that the medical community must address. Hospitals are large facilities with high water and energy consumption, as well as high levels of waste generation, which makes it important to pursue green hospital initiatives. Neurosurgery requires substantial energy for surgeries and tests.

Factors Influencing Abortion Decision-Making of Adolescents and Young Women: A Narrative Scoping Review.

Introduction: Globally, about half of all induced abortions have been estimated to be unsafe, which results in 13% of maternal deaths yearly. Of these induced abortions, 41% of unsafe abortions have been reported in young women who are dependent on their parents for their livelihood. They are often left in a vulnerable position and may have difficulty in making a decision regarding abortion.

A Case of Paraneoplastic Neurological Syndrome Associated with Breast Cancer Detected while Searching for the Cause of Involuntary Movement.

Our case involved a 66-year-old woman who noticed progressive asymmetric involuntary movement, difficulty speaking, and difficulty swallowing. The patient fractured her femur due to a lower extremity involuntary movement while walking. During the course of her treatment for the fracture, her neurological symptoms worsened.

Updated Decision Aid Enabling Women to Choose between with or without Epidural Analgesia during Childbirth, and Confirmation of Validity.

Background: The use of a decision aid for choosing whether to have or not have anesthesia during childbirth has been shown to increase both knowledge about birth and the proportion of women who made their own decisions compared with women who did not use a decision aid. Herein, we updated the first version of our decision aid into a second version and evaluated this updated decision aid. We evaluated the face validity and content appropriateness of the updated decision aid developed to enhance the ability of women to choose between childbirth with or without epidural analgesia.

Association Between eHealth Literacy and Health Education Experiences and Confidence Regarding Online Health Information Among Nurses: A Cross-sectional Study.

This cross-sectional study examined nurses' eHealth literacy, health education experiences, and confidence in health education regarding online health information and explored their association. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed among 442 nurses in Japan from September 2020 to March 2021. The survey items were the Japanese version of the eHealth Literacy Scale, health education experiences and confidence in health education regarding online health information, and sociodemographic variables.

Lateral Mass Intrapedicular Screw Fixation for Subaxial Cervical Spines: A Short- to Medium-Term Retrospective Follow-Up Study of 20 Cases.

Background:  Lateral mass intrapedicular screw(LMIS) fixation was introduced in 2021 as an alternative method for the fixation of subaxial cervical spines for the treatment of various cervical spine disease. The objective of this study is to provide a short- to medium-term result of the 20 patients who underwent cervical spine fixation using LMIS.

Methods:  Twenty patients with varying cervical spine pathology who underwent cervical spine fixation using LMIS in a 21-month period were included in the study.

The Value of Programmed Ventricular Extrastimuli From the Right Ventricular Basal Septum During Supraventricular Tachycardia.

Background: The difference between the right ventricular (RV) apical stimulus-atrial electrogram (SA) interval during resetting of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) versus the ventriculoatrial (VA) interval during SVT (ΔSA-VA) is an established technique for discerning SVT mechanisms but is limited by a significant diagnostic overlap.

Objectives: This study hypothesized that the difference between the RV SA interval during resetting of SVTs versus the VA interval during SVTs (ΔSA-VA) would yield a more robust differentiation of atrioventricular nodal re-entrant tachycardia (AVNRT) from atrioventricular reciprocating tachycardia (AVRT) when using the RV basal septal stimulation (ΔSA-VA) as compared to the RV apical stimulation (ΔSA-VA). Moreover, it was predicted that the ΔSA-VA might distinguish septal from free wall accessory pathways (APs) effectively.

Three-dimensional phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging for the detention of a small communicating defect in a patient with a spinal extradural arachnoid cyst: illustrative case.

Background: Spinal extradural arachnoid cysts are thought to be pouches that communicate with the intraspinal subarachnoid space through a dural defect. The treatment for these cysts is resection of the cyst wall followed by obliteration of the communicating defect, which is often elusive.

Observations: The authors report the case of a 22-year-old man with an extradural arachnoid cyst with claudication and progressive motor weakness.

Subcutaneous incision of the fistula tract and internal sphincterotomy (SIFT-IS): a novel surgical procedure for transsphincteric anal fistula.

Aim: The aetiology of anal fistula has not been fully clarified. One of the causes of anal fistulas may be the markedly deep crypts that characterize the primary openings. We developed subcutaneous incision of the fistula tract and internal sphincterotomy (SIFT-IS) to eradicate these deep crypts.

Lateral mass intra-pedicular screw fixation for subaxial cervical spines - An alternative surgical technique.

Background: Lateral mass screw (LMS) and transpedicular screw (TPS) techniques are the two major options for performing posterior cervical fusion of the subaxial cervical spine. Although these two techniques can cover the vast majority of patients who require posterior fixation of the cervical spine, they are not without their limitations.

Objective: The objective of this study is to introduce a novel technique, lateral mass intrapedicular screw (LMIS) fixation, for posterior subaxial cervical spine (C3-C6) fixation.

Delayed mesh infection and mesh penetrating the transverse colon and small intestine after abdominal incisional hernia repair.

The occurrence of late-onset mesh infection and mesh invasion into the intestine after abdominal incisional hernia repair is extremely rare. Herein, we describe the first case of late-onset mesh infection and mesh penetrating the transverse colon and small intestine 5 years after incisional hernia repair using an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene mesh. The symptom was drainage from the reddish wound, and computed tomography scan revealed intestinal prolapse with local wall thickening.

[A Case of a Massive Retropharyngeal Hematoma Associated with Traumatic Cervical Cord Injury].

Retropharyngeal hematomas are uncommon, but they may rarely cause occlusion of the upper airway and threaten life. Retropharyngeal hematomas often occur due to head or neck injury;they rarely occur due to iatrogenic causes such as insertion of a gastric tube or anticoagulant therapy. It has been found that patients receiving anticoagulant therapy are more likely to experience potentially severe retropharyngeal hematomas.

Gastrointestinal Bleeding From Oral Anticoagulant Therapy Among Japanese Patients With Atrial Fibrillation Identified From the SAKURA Atrial Fibrillation Registry.

Background: In the Japanese clinical setting, the prevalence, potential cofounders of gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding from anticoagulant therapy, including direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) and warfarin, and prognosis after GI bleeding are unclear.

Methods and results: We examined about GI bleeding from anticoagulant therapy using data from the SAKURA AF Registry, a prospective multicenter registry in Japan. Among 3,237 enrollees, 48.

Prognostic Value of Serum N-Terminal Pro-Brain Natriuretic Peptide Level over Heart Failure for Stroke Events and Deaths in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF) often coexist. The aims of this study were to explore the factors associated with the serum levels of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), and the association between prognosis and a history of HF or the serum NT-proBNP level in Japanese patients with AF.The present sub-study was based on the SAKURA AF Registry, a Japanese multicenter observational registry that included 3267 AF patients (median follow-up period: 39 months).

Impact of the Fibrosis-4 Index on Risk Stratification of Cardiovascular Events and Mortality in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation: Findings from a Japanese Multicenter Registry.

Background: Liver diseases drive the development and progression of atrial fibrillation (AF). The Fibrosis-4 (FIB4) index is a non-invasive scoring method for detecting liver fibrosis, but the prognostic impact of using it for AF patients is still unknown. Herein, we evaluated using the FIB4 index as a risk assessment tool for cardiovascular events and mortality in patients with AF.

Association of patient satisfaction with direct oral anticoagulants and the clinical outcomes: Findings from the SAKURA AF registry.

Background: The burden or benefit of anticoagulation treatment affects patient satisfaction, which may in turn affect the adherence to the treatment and subsequent outcomes. Thus, we hypothesized that the patient satisfaction with direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) may influence the clinical outcome in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).

Methods And Results: We investigated the clinical outcomes among 719 DOAC users (age 71.

Perceived eHealth Literacy and Learning Experiences Among Japanese Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Cross-sectional Study.

This study aimed to describe undergraduate nursing students' perceived eHealth literacy and learning experiences of eHealth literacy in Japan and to clarify the relationship between these factors. We conducted a self-administered online questionnaire survey using a convenience sample of 353 Japanese undergraduate nursing students selected from three universities. Participants completed the eHealth Literacy Scale and questionnaires on learning experiences of eHealth literacy and some demographic factors.

Relationship between the Renal Function and Adverse Clinical Events in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation: A Japanese Multicenter Registry Substudy.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) often coexist, but the real-world data after approval of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are still lacking in Japan. We investigated the association of the baseline renal function and adverse clinical events and risk of adverse clinical events with DOACs compared to warfarin for each renal functional level in Japanese AF patients.

Methods: The present substudy was based on the SAKURA AF Registry, a Japanese multicenter observational registry (median follow-up period: 39 months).

Dural Laceration Resulting in the Formation of Syringomyelia Caused by a Loosened Hydroxyapatite Intraspinous Spacer after Spinous Process-splitting Laminoplasty.

A 63-year-old man was admitted in our hospital with the chief complaint of upper limb numbness 3 years after undergoing spinous process-splitting laminoplasty (C3-C7) in another hospital. The hydroxyapatite spacers used for the laminoplasty had dislocated, resulting sensory disorders of the upper extremities. Additionally, loosened hydroxyapatite intraspinous spacers and syringomyelia were confirmed.