Influence of Worsening Renal Function and Baseline Chronic Kidney Disease on Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Chronic Coronary Syndromes: Insights From the REAL-CAD Study.

Background: The effect of worsening renal function and baseline chronic kidney disease (CKD) on outcomes in patients with chronic coronary syndrome in the setting of optimal medical therapy remains unknown.

Methods And Results: The REAL-CAD (Randomized Evaluation of Aggressive or Moderate Lipid Lowering Therapy With Pitavastatin in Coronary Artery Disease) study is a prospective, multicenter, randomized trial of high-dose (pitavastatin 4 mg/day) or low-dose (pitavastatin 1 mg/day) statin therapy in 12 118 patients with chronic coronary syndrome. The primary end point was a composite of cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, stroke, or unstable angina requiring hospitalization (major adverse cardiac and cerebral events [MACCE]).

Validating the DIVERT scales, CARS, and EARLI for predicting emergency department visits in home health care in Japan: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: The Detection of Indicators and Vulnerabilities for Emergency Room Trips (DIVERT) scale, the Community Assessment Risk Screen (CARS), and the Emergency Admission Risk Likelihood Index (EARLI) are scales that assess the risk of emergency department (ED) visits among home health care patients. This study validated these scales and explored factors that could improve their predictive accuracy among Japanese home health care patients.

Methods: This was a single-center retrospective cohort study.

Metabolomic and microbiome analysis of cervicovaginal mucus in in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer: Toward predicting pregnancy success.

Purpose: In the context of in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET), factors other than egg quality may be key determinants of treatment success, in particular, maternal factors related to uterine endometrial receptivity and unidentified factors. We therefore aimed to analyze the metabolome and microbiome in IVF-ET patients who did and did not achieve pregnancy.

Methods: Cervicovaginal mucus was collected from patients undergoing IVF-ET.

Prioritization and sequential exclusion of articles in systematic reviews.

It is difficult to match the causes of exclusion among two independent review authors after screening the title and abstract or full texts in systematic reviews. We have proposed the prioritization and sequential exclusion approach to reduce the subjectivity in reporting reasons for exclusion. This approach might reduce the burden of mismatched numbers while describing the cause of exclusion.

Personal protective equipment use by health-care workers in intensive care units during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan: comparative analysis with the PPE-SAFE survey.

Aim: We investigated personal protective equipment (PPE) use and supply shortage, training, and adverse events among health-care workers (HCWs) in the intensive care unit (ICU) during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Japan and compared the results with an international survey that used the same methodology.

Methods: This Web-based survey was carried out from 14 April to 6 May, 2020, in Japan and included HCWs directly involved in ICU management of COVID-19 patients. A survey invitation was emailed using the Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine's mailing list.

Post-intensive care syndrome: its pathophysiology, prevention, and future directions.

Expanding elderly populations are a major social challenge in advanced countries worldwide and have led to a rapid increase in the number of elderly patients in intensive care units (ICUs). Innovative advances in medical technology have enabled lifesaving of patients in ICUs, but there remain various problems to improve their long-term prognoses. Post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) refers to physical, cognition, and mental impairments that occur during ICU stay, after ICU discharge or hospital discharge, as well as the long-term prognosis of ICU patients.