Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia mortality risk associated with preceding long-term steroid use for the underlying disease: A multicenter, retrospective cohort study.

Objective: Long-term steroid use increases the risk of developing Pneumocystis pneumonia (PcP), but there are limited reports on the relation of long-term steroid and PcP mortality.

Methods: Retrospective multicenter study to identify risk factors for PcP mortality, including average steroid dose before the first visit for PcP in non-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-PcP patients. We generated receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for 90-day all-cause mortality and the mean daily steroid dose per unit body weight in the preceding 10 to 90 days in 10-day increments.

Clinical characteristics of allergic bronchopulmonary mycosis caused by Schizophyllum commune.

Background: Allergic bronchopulmonary mycosis (ABPM) is an allergic disease caused by type I and type III hypersensitivity to environmental fungi. Schizophyllum commune, a basidiomycete fungus, is one of the most common fungi that causes non-Aspergillus ABPM.

Objective: Herein, we attempted to clarify the clinical characteristics of ABPM caused by S.

Delayed diagnostic interval and survival outcomes in pediatric leukemia: A single-center, retrospective study.

Objective: This study primarily focused on the diagnostic interval (DI), defined as the duration from the onset of leukemic symptoms to diagnosis. We investigated whether a prolonged DI is associated with the outcomes of pediatric leukemia.

Methods: We retrospectively collected data of children with newly diagnosed pediatric leukemia at Okayama University Hospital from January 2007 to December 2022.

Prognostic impact of radiological tumor burden in patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma treated with pembrolizumab.

Purpose: Radiological tumor burden has been reported to be prognostic in many malignancies in the immunotherapy era, yet whether it is prognostic in patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) treated with pembrolizumab remains uninvestigated. We sought to assess the predictive and prognostic value of radiological tumor burden in patients with mUC.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of 308 patients with mUC treated with pembrolizumab.

Ideal insertion point and projection of the infra-acetabular screw in acetabular fracture surgery.

Background: In acetabular fracture surgery, an infra-acetabular screw (IAS) is inserted from the anterior to the posterior column through the infra-acetabular corridor to stabilize both columns. Although the IAS is useful for increasing fixation strength, proper placement requires proficiency and often results in extraosseous screw penetration. The complex anatomy of the infra-acetabular corridor and difficult intraoperative detection of the ideal insertion point and angle make proper placement of the IAS challenging.

Clinical Management of Brugada Syndrome: Commentary From the Experts.

Although there is consensus on the management of patients with Brugada Syndrome with high risk for sudden cardiac arrest, asymptomatic or intermediate-risk patients present clinical management challenges. This document explores the management opinions of experts throughout the world for patients with Brugada Syndrome who do not fit guideline recommendations. Four real-world clinical scenarios were presented with commentary from small expert groups for each case.

The results of genetic analysis and clinical outcomes after stent deployment in adult patients with isolated peripheral pulmonary artery stenosis.

https://bit.ly/40t8Gmz

Effective Epilepsy Surgery for Post-Traumatic West Syndrome Following Abusive Head Trauma.

West syndrome, an infantile developmental and epileptic encephalopathy with a deleterious impact on long-term development, requires early treatment to minimize developmental abnormality; in such cases, epilepsy surgery should be considered a powerful therapeutic option. We describe a 10-month-old female admitted with West syndrome associated with a hemispheric lesion following abusive head trauma. Her seizures were suppressed by hemispherotomy at 12 months of age, leading to developmental improvement.

A randomized controlled trial of teprenone in terms of preventing worsening of COVID-19 infection.

Background: Some COVID-19 patients develop life-threatening disease accompanied by severe pneumonitis. Teprenone induces expression of heat-shock proteins (HSPs) that protect against interstitial pneumonia in preclinical models. We explored whether teprenone prevented worsening of COVID-19 infections.

Combination of rescue balloon pulmonary angioplasty and riociguat therapy for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension with nonsustained polymorphic ventricular tachycardia: A case report.

We encountered a case of frequent nonsustained polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (NSPVT) due to hemodynamically unstable chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). A 78-year-old woman was taking anticoagulants for CTEPH. She had refused specific treatment for CTEPH, including pulmonary vasodilators, because she was then asymptomatic.

A prospective, multicenter, observational study of ixazomib plus lenalidomide-dexamethasone in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma in Japan.

Real-world studies permit inclusion of a more diverse patient population and provide more information on the effectiveness of treatments used in routine clinical practice. This prospective, multicenter, observational study investigated the effectiveness and safety of ixazomib plus lenalidomide and dexamethasone (IRd) in 295 patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) in routine clinical practice in Japan. Patients had a median age of 74 years, 80.

Safety, pharmacokinetics, and efficacy of belantamab mafodotin monotherapy in Japanese patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma: DREAMM-11.

Belantamab mafodotin, a B-cell maturation antigen-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), was investigated in Japanese patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma in Part 1 of the phase I DREAMM-11 study. Patients who had received ≥ 2 prior lines of therapy including a proteasome inhibitor and immunomodulatory agent were eligible. Eight patients received belantamab mafodotin monotherapy at 2.

A Boy Safely Treated with Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors for Philadelphia Chromosome-Positive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia with Osteolysis.

A three-year-old boy with Philadelphia chromosome-positive B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ALL) presented with an osteolytic lesion in his right upper arm. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) such as imatinib and dasatinib are an essential component throughout the course of treatment for Ph+ALL. However, TKIs are reported to affect the bone metabolism.

Single-Session Versus Staged Multivessel Optimal IVUS-Guided PCI in Patients With CCS or NSTE-ACS.

Background: There are no studies comparing single-session vs staged multivessel intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with chronic coronary syndrome (CCS) or non-ST-segment-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS).

Objectives: The authors aimed to compare single-session vs staged multivessel IVUS-guided PCI in patients with CCS or NSTE-ACS.

Methods: The OPTIVUS-Complex PCI study multivessel cohort was a prospective multicenter single-arm trial enrolling 1,021 patients with CCS or NSTE-ACS undergoing multivessel PCI including left anterior descending coronary artery using IVUS aiming to meet the prespecified OPTIVUS criteria for optimal stent expansion.

Successful Treatment with Mepolizumab for Coronary Spastic Angina Associated with Eosinophilic Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis.

A 46-year-old man with a history of bronchial asthma and chronic sinusitis presented to our hospital with chest pain. We suspected angina evoked by epicardial coronary spasm and performed an ergonovine provocation test to diagnose coronary spastic angina (CSA). The patient also met the diagnostic criteria for eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) and was treated with 60 mg prednisolone (PSL) for EGPA-associated CSA.

Rescue balloon pulmonary angioplasty for refractory heart failure in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension complicated with takotsubo cardiomyopathy.

Unlabelled: Balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) seems promising for treating critically ill patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) because of its less invasive and stepwise nature. However, there are only a few reports on rescue BPA. Herein, we present a case of CTEPH and takotsubo cardiomyopathy in an 82-year-old female.

Initial Triple Combination Therapy Including Intravenous Prostaglandin I for the Treatment of Patients with Severe Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

Upfront combination therapy including intravenous prostaglandin I (PGI-IV) is recognized as the most appropriate treatment for patients with severe pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). This retrospective study aimed to determine reasons why this therapy is not used for some patients with severe PAH and describe the hemodynamic and clinical prognoses of patients receiving initial combination treatment with (PGI-IV+) or without (PGI-IV-) PGI-IV.Data for patients with severe PAH (World Health Organization Functional Class III/IV and mean pulmonary arterial pressure [mPAP] ≥ 40 mmHg) were extracted from the Japan Pulmonary Hypertension Registry.

A retrospective analysis of clinical features and treatment outcome in 21 patients with immunoglobulin M-related light-chain amyloidosis in Japan: a study from the Amyloidosis Research Committee.

We retrospectively gathered data of 21 patients (13 male and 8 female; median age 65 years) diagnosed with immunoglobulin M (IgM)-related light-chain (AL) amyloidosis in Japan to investigate characteristics of IgM-AL amyloidosis and its optimal treatment strategy. Median IgM and difference free light chain (FLC) at diagnosis were 1257 mg/dl and 34.3 mg/l, respectively.

Efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitor monotherapy in elderly patients with non-small-cell lung cancer.

Background: Limited information on anticancer therapy for super-elderly patients with non-small-cell lung cancer is available. Immune checkpoint inhibitors offer long-term survival to elderly patients aged ≥65 years with non-small-cell lung cancer. However, the efficacy and safety of immune checkpoint inhibitors in more elderly patients are not well understood.

Balloon pulmonary angioplasty for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension: a clinical consensus statement of the ESC working group on pulmonary circulation and right ventricular function.

The current treatment algorithm for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) as depicted in the 2022 European Society of Cardiology (ESC)/European Respiratory Society (ERS) guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension (PH) includes a multimodal approach of combinations of pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA), balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) and medical therapies to target major vessel pulmonary vascular lesions, and microvasculopathy. Today, BPA of >1700 patients has been reported in the literature from centers in Asia, the US, and also Europe; many more patients have been treated outside literature reports. As BPA becomes part of routine care of patients with CTEPH, benchmarks for safe and effective care delivery become increasingly important.