Importance of the length of the myocardial sleeve in the superior vena cava in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Background: Pulmonary vein (PV) antrum isolation (PVAI) has proven to be a useful strategy for radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) of atrial fibrillation (AF) worldwide. However, non-PV foci, especially from the superior vena cava (SVC), play an important role in initiating and maintaining AF.

Methods: In all, 427 consecutive patients with non-valvular AF who were admitted to our hospitals to undergo RFCA of AF using an EnSite system were evaluated.

[A Case of Lipoma Arising from the Mesentery Proper That Had Difficulty in Differential Diagnosis with Well-Differentiated Liposarcoma].

A 54-year-old male patient with a chief complaint of right lower abdominal pain and nausea visited the reporting hospital. Abdominal computed tomography was performed, which showed findings of a membrane-covered internally heterogeneous solid mass associated with a 11×10 cm well-circumscribed calcification, as well as ileus in the right lower abdomen. Based on the imaging findings, it was diagnosed with liposarcoma, and surgery was performed for both diagnosis and treatment.

Convenience Comparison Study of Reconstitution Devices for the Blood Coagulation Factor VIII Products Rurioctocog Alfa Pegol and Antihemophilic Factor (Recombinant).

Introduction: The Baxject II Hi-Flow device has previously been used to reconstitute the factor VIII products antihemophilic factor (recombinant) (ADVATE) and rurioctocog alfa pegol (ADYNOVATE).

Methods: In this crossover study in healthy men, the convenience of an advanced device, Baxject III with and without a nonslip sleeve, was compared with that of Baxject II Hi-Flow. The primary endpoint was the operational time for reconstitution; secondary endpoints included participants' assessment of the usability of the devices for reconstitution and their preference for using each of the devices.

Influence of Serum Cholinesterase Levels on Patients Suspected of Having Stable Coronary Artery Disease.

Objective The serum cholinesterase (ChE) level has been used for the evaluation of the nutritional status in daily practice. It has been reported that the serum ChE level is significantly more elevated in patients with three-vessel coronary disease than in normal subjects. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the influence of serum ChE levels in patients suspected of having stable coronary artery disease (CAD).

Radiofrequency catheter ablation of premature ventricular contractions from the mitral annulus in patients without structural heart disease.

Introduction: We previously reported the clinical benefits of radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) of premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) from the right ventricular outflow tract or near the His-bundle, which can often deteriorate the clinical status. PVCs from the mitral valve (MA-PVCs) also often deteriorate the patients' clinical status. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of ablating MA-PVCs with RFCA from a trans-interatrial septal approach on the clinical status in symptomatic patients with frequent MA-PVCs without structural heart disease.

Evaluation of Coronary Artery Disease in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation by Cardiac Computed Tomography for Catheter Ablation: CADAF-CT Trial 2.

Objective We recently reported that routine cardiac computed tomography (CT) scans for radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) of atrial fibrillation (AF) could steadily detect coronary artery lesions (CALs) and could accurately detect myocardial ischemia in 9% of patients with AF who underwent RFCA of AF. The aim of this study was to identify the independent risk factor (s) of myocardial ischemia in those patients. Methods Patient characteristics, blood test, CALs, Ordinal coronary calcium scoring (OCCS), and myocardial Ischemia (MI) were evaluated in 757 consecutive patients who underwent RFCA of AF.

Novel perspectives on the influence of the lunar cycle on the timing of full-term human births.

It is claimed by some that the number of births occurring at the time of the full moon is greater than other phases of the lunar cycle; however, many publications fail to substantiate the claim leading to the conclusion it is myth. We tested using a novel approach the null hypotheses: (i) human birth is not lunar cycle-dependent and (ii) the number of births occurring at or around the time of the full moon is not different from the number occurring at the time of the other phases of the lunar cycle. We reviewed the birth records from 1 January 1996 to 16 March 2007 of the obstetric department of our hospital, which was then located in a relatively undeveloped area of Fukutsu city in Fukuoka Prefecture of southern Japan.

[Long-Term Disease-Free Survival after Chemoradiotherapy for Postoperative Local Recurrence of Rectal Cancer-A Case Report].

We report a case of a 63-year-old man with a perirectal abscess due to rectal cancer referred to us from another clinic. We performed 3 courses of preoperative chemotherapy using mFOLFOX6 and then performed a Miles operation plus D3 dissection followed by reconstruction of an artificial anus using the ileum. The pathological diagnosis was tub2, pAI(prostate), pN0 (0/12), ND(v+), and fStage Ⅲa.

[A Case of Recurrent Gallbladder Carcinoma Treated with Resection and Hepatic Arterial Infusion].

A 69-year-old woman underwent extended cholecystectomy for gallbladder cancer[T2N0M0, fStage Ⅱ(UICC 7th edition)]. She was then administered adjuvant S-1 and was treated for drug-induced neutropenia. One year later, recurrent lesions were detected in liver S4 and S5.

Evaluation of coronary artery disease in patients with atrial fibrillation by cardiac computed tomography for catheter ablation: CADAF-CT trial.

Almost all institutions routinely perform cardiac computed tomography (CT) before radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) of atrial fibrillation (AF) to evaluate the cardiac anatomy. The ideal timing of the CT image acquisition is different between for RFCA of AF and for evaluation of coronary artery lesions (CALs). Thus, the aim of this study was to assess whether 64- or 320-line routine cardiac CT scans before RFCA of AF could evaluate both coronary artery lesions and pulmonary veins (LA-PVs) anatomy at the timing of the image acquisition of the LA-PVs in patients with AF who underwent RFCA of AF.

The third national Japanese antimicrobial susceptibility pattern surveillance program: Bacterial isolates from complicated urinary tract infection patients.

The antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of bacterial pathogens isolated from patients with complicated urinary tract infections were analyzed using national surveillance data. The data consisted of 881 bacterial strains from eight clinically relevant species. The data were collected for the third national surveillance project from January 2015 to March 2016 by the Japanese Society of Chemotherapy, the Japanese Association for Infectious Disease, and the Japanese Society of Clinical Microbiology.

A case report of atrial fibrillation in a patient with heparin resistance associated with an antithrombin III deficiency successfully treated by radiofrequency catheter ablation using a direct thrombin inhibitor.

Background: Pulmonary vein antrum isolation has proven to be a useful strategy for radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) of atrial fibrillation (AF) worldwide. Anticoagulation therapies are necessary to avoid thromboembolic events before, during, and after RFCA of AF. During the RFCA procedure for AF, it is recommended that the activated coagulation time be maintained between 300 s and 400 s using heparin as an anticoagulation therapy.

Radiofrequency catheter ablation of premature ventricular contractions from near the His-bundle.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effects of radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) and clinical and electrophysiological characteristics in symptomatic patients with premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) from near the His-bundle (His-PVCs).

Methods: The patient characteristics, prevalence of complications with any life style related disease (ALSRD) including hypertension, dyslipidemia, or diabetes mellitus, and/or cardiovascular disease (CVD) including coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, renal dysfunction, or cardiomyopathy, clinical status, frequency of PVCs evaluated by 24hour Holter monitoring, echocardiography including the left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) parameters, and electrophysiological findings were evaluated in 14 consecutive symptomatic patients with His-PVCs.

Results: The prevalence of males, being elderly and/or slightly obese, current and/or history of smoking, ALSRD or CVD related complications, and LVDD probably resulting from ALSRD and/or CVD complications were higher in patients with His-PVCs.

[A Pediatric Case of Acquired Hemophilia A: The Usefulness of the Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (APTT) Cross-Mixing Test for Early Diagnosis].

Acquired hemophilia A (AHA), a bleeding disorder caused by autoantibodies against FVIII, has the potential for life-threatening bleeding. The annual onset rate is said to be one in 4 million people, but diagnosis examples increase in adults because a disorder concept penetrated. AHA is quite rare in children, with an incidence rate of 0.

Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation in Patients Successfully Treated by Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation with Severely Compression, Lateral Displacement, and Clockwise Rotation of Their Hearts due to Severe Pectus Excavatum.

Two cases with severe pectus excavatum and symptomatic atrial fibrillation (AF) underwent radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA). Their chest X-ray and computed tomography (CT) findings revealed lateral displacement and clockwise rotation of their hearts, and severe right atrial and mild right ventricular compression against the sternum, but no left atrium compression against the spinal column. The procedure was therefore carefully performed under guidance with CT, intra-cardiac echography, atriography, and a three-dimensions mapping system.

Correction to: Efficacy and safety of full-length pegylated recombinant factor VIII with extended half-life in previously treated patients with hemophilia A: comparison of data between the general and Japanese study populations.

The authors would like to correct the error in Table 2 in the original publication of the article. The "Blood type" is not described in any part of "Results" and "Discussion" and had no impact on the conclusion hence the bottom of the table is removed.

Clinical benefits of deep sedation with a supraglottic airway while monitoring the bispectral index during catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation.

Background: Pulmonary vein antrum isolation (PVAI) under sedation has proven to be a useful strategy for catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF).

Methods: To evaluate the clinical benefits of respiratory management using supraglottic airways (SGAs) under deep sedation while monitoring the bispectral (BIS) index during the PVAI and the durations from admission to the catheterization room to starting the radiofrequency energy delivery (Time ), and from starting the radiofrequency energy delivery to completion of the PVAI (Time ), X-ray time, frequency of dislocations of the three-dimensional maps (D3DM), procedure-related complications, and proportion of an AF-free rate 15 months after the PVAI (PAFFR) in patients who received deep sedation without SGAs (Group A: =48) and those with SGAs (Group B: =51) were evaluated.

Results: There were no significant differences in patient characteristics, Time (77±3 versus 78±2 min; =0.

A case of premature ventricular complexes/ventricular tachycardia from the left ventricular outflow tract successfully ablated from the distal great cardiac vein.

We experienced a 41-year-old male with premature ventricular complexes/ventricular tachycardia from the left coronary cusp and distal great cardiac vein of the left ventricular outflow tract successfully treated by radiofrequency catheter ablation utilizing a 3D mapping system (EnSiteNavX/Velocity™ Cardiac Mapping System, St. Jude Medical, St. Paul, MN, USA) without any complications.

Efficacy and safety of full-length pegylated recombinant factor VIII with extended half-life in previously treated patients with hemophilia A: comparison of data between the general and Japanese study populations.

Rurioctocog alfa pegol (BAX 855) is a novel third-generation recombinant factor VIII whose active ingredient is chemically modified with polyethylene glycol. A global multicenter phase 2/3 study of the product in 137 patients (including 11 patients from Japan) with severe hemophilia A aged 12-65 years, reported an extended half-life and a good tolerability profile, as well as a significantly lower annualized bleeding rate in the prophylactic treatment arm than in the on-demand treatment arm. Using descriptive statistics, a post hoc analysis was performed to compare the pharmacokinetics, safety, and efficacy profiles of the product in the Japanese subpopulation and the overall population.

Prognostic value of the sliding length of cephalocervical screws to predict the risk of non-union after osteosynthesis: a retrospective analysis of 86 patients with intracapsular femoral neck fractures.

Background: Here, we assessed the prognostic value of the early sliding length (ESL) for predicting the risk of non-union after internal fixation of femoral neck fractures (FNFs) by Dual SC Screws (DSCS).

Methods: A retrospective analysis of 86 patients with intra-capsular FNFs was performed. They underwent osteosynthesis by DSCS at our institution between 2008 and 2013 with a minimum follow-up duration of 6 months.

A case of fulminant myocarditis treated with very long-term support by cardiopulmonary support system.

Fulminant myocarditis (FM) sometimes causes severe left ventricular dysfunction and lethal arrhythmias leading to cardiogenic shock and critical conditions. Thus, mechanical circulation support with intra-aortic balloon pumping and/or a cardiopulmonary support system (CPS) is sometimes needed to save lives. The special recommended therapies for FM for that classified as class I (evidence level C) in the guidelines of the Japanese Circulation Society are intra-aortic balloon pumping, CPS, percutaneous cardiac pacing, and a left ventricular assist device (LVAD), and they are well established in evidence-based medicine.