Effect of Azithromycin on Exacerbations in Asthma Patients with Obesity: Protocol for a Multi-Center, Prospective, Single-Arm Intervention Study.

Introduction: Obesity is associated with severe asthma, but no specific treatment has been established. The gut microbiome is increasingly recognized as a crucial factor, but specific treatments focused on the gut microbiome have not been established. Recently, azithromycin has been found to have the capacity to attenuate exacerbations, a characteristic of severe asthma.

Factors Associated with Reduction of Sedentary Time Following Tiotropium/Olodaterol Therapy in Treatment-Naïve Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Background: Prolonged sedentary behavior is associated with worse prognosis in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Our previous study found that first-line dual therapy with tiotropium/olodaterol significantly reduces sedentary time compared to tiotropium monotherapy in Japanese patients with treatment-naïve COPD, although the characteristics of responders to dual-therapy versus monotherapy for COPD are still unclear.

Methods: Patients with treatment-naïve COPD were randomized to receive either tiotropium or tiotropium/olodaterol treatment for 12 weeks.

Incidence and risk factors of acute encephalopathy with biphasic seizures in febrile status epilepticus.

Objective: To clarify the incidence and risk factors of acute encephalopathy with biphasic seizures and late reduced diffusion (AESD) in pediatric patients with febrile status epilepticus (FSE).

Methods: We retrospectively surveyed patients with FSE (≥20 min and ≥40 min) who were younger than 6 years by mailing a questionnaire to 1123 hospitals in Japan. The survey period was 2 years.

Acute Generalized Exanthematous Pustulosis Caused by Erlotinib in a Patient with Lung Cancer.

Acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis (AGEP) is a rare drug-related adverse skin reaction caused mainly by antibiotics. Erlotinib is an epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) used to treat lung cancer. A 69-year-old woman with primary lung cancer (adenocarcinoma, cT3N1M1b, stage IVB) developed erythema and multiple skin pustules on her abdomen and both thighs after 7 weeks of erlotinib treatment.

First-Line Treatment with Tiotropium/Olodaterol Improves Physical Activity in Patients with Treatment-Naïve Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Background: Comparative effects on physical activity of mono and dual bronchodilators remain unclear in patients with treatment-naïve chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We sought to compare the changes in physical activity before and after tiotropium and tiotropium/olodaterol treatment in treatment-naïve COPD patients.

Methods: A prospective, multicenter, randomized, open-labeled, and parallel interventional study was conducted.

MRI-detected bone marrow changes within 3 weeks after initiation of high-dose corticosteroid therapy: a possible change preceding the subsequent appearance of low-intensity band in femoral head osteonecrosis.

Osteonecrosis of the femoral head is considered to occur early during the course of corticosteroid treatment. However, it remains unclear exactly how early it can develop after initiation of corticosteroid treatment. We report a case of osteonecrosis of the femoral head in which abnormal findings were observed on short-tau inversion recovery (STIR) sequence image performed 2 weeks and 4 days after initiation of high-dose corticosteroid therapy.

Clinical features of enterococcal bacteremia due to ampicillin-susceptible and ampicillin-resistant enterococci: An eight-year retrospective comparison study.

Enterococcus consists human bowel flora, but sometimes behave as an important nosocomial pathogen. In order to identify clinical characteristics that help discriminate between ampicillin-susceptible and ampicillin-resistant enterococcal bacteremia in advance for antimicrobial susceptibility testing, a retrospective eight-year study was carried out in patients with enterococcal bacteremia experienced in Saga University Hospital, Japan. A total of 143 patients were included in the analysis: 85 (59.

[Incidentally detected bronchial artery aneurysm with combined operation for mitral regurgitation;report of a case].

A 77-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital for heart failure with orthopnea. Echocardiography revealed massive mitral regurgitation. During preoperative cardiac catheterization, an aneurysm was indentified incidentally just below the tracheal carina.

Aorto-left renal vein fistula caused by a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Retroaortic left renal vein is a malformation in which the left renal vein courses dorsal to the abdominal aorta. In patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm, an aorto-left renal vein fistula can form if the left renal vein is sandwiched between the aneurysm wall and lumbar vertebrae. The patient was an 84-year-old man with lower back pain.