Intraluminal vs Subintimal Drug-Coated Balloon Angioplasty for the Treatment of Femoropopliteal Chronic Total Occlusions.

Background: Whether intraluminal drug-coated balloon (DCB) angioplasty is superior to subintimal DCB angioplasty regarding femoropopliteal (FP) chronic total occlusion (CTO) outcomes has not been systematically determined.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the 1-year clinical outcomes of intraluminal and subintimal DCB angioplasty for the treatment of patients with symptomatic FP CTO.

Methods: This subanalysis of POPCORN (Prospective Multi-Center Registry of Drug-Coated Balloon for Femoropopliteal Disease) evaluated 469 lesions in 469 symptomatic patients with lower extremity artery disease who presented with FP CTO and underwent DCB treatment.

Outcomes of COMBO therapy for severe mitral regurgitation compared with transcatheter edge-to-edge repair.

Background: There are different types of transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVr) currently in clinical use, including leaflet approximation, annular cinching, and restoration of the chordal apparatus of the mitral valve (MV). While the concomitant combination (COMBO) therapy of mitral transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (M-TEER) with another TMVr concept has been proven feasible, potentially offering patient-tailored treatment for severe mitral regurgitation (MR), a comparison with M-TEER alone has not been made.

Aims: To evaluate the procedural and clinical outcome of COMBO therapies compared with M-TEER alone.

Metagenomic gut microbiome analysis of Japanese patients with multiple chemical sensitivity/idiopathic environmental intolerance.

Background: Although the pathology of multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) is unknown, the central nervous system is reportedly involved. The gut microbiota is important in modifying central nervous system diseases. However, the relationship　between the gut microbiota and MCS remains unclear.

Development and validation of a scoring system for in-hospital mortality following band ligation in esophageal variceal bleeding.

Objectives: We aimed to develop and validate a simple scoring system to predict in-hospital mortality after endoscopic variceal ligation (EVL) for esophageal variceal bleeding.

Methods: Data from a 13-year study involving 46 Japanese institutions were split into development (initial 7 years) and validation (last 6 years) cohorts. The study subjects were patients hospitalized for esophageal variceal bleeding and treated with EVL.

Phlegmonous Colitis after Cold Snare Polypectomy in an Immunosuppressed Patient: A Case Report.

Introduction: Cold snare polypectomy (CSP) is a procedure with a low risk of complications. Here, we present our experience of a rare case of submucosal abscess following CSP in an immunosuppressed patient.

Case Presentation: Seventy-eight-year-old man underwent CSP, developing a fever, chills, and right lower abdominal pain 8 days later.

Impact of preprocedural left ventricular systolic function on the safety and durability of percutaneous coronary intervention.

Background: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is considered less safe in patients with reduced ejection fraction (EF), an impression based on older data. Whether the safety and durability of contemporary PCI are different in patients with reduced EF compared with normal EF patients is unknown.

Methods: Patients from the BIOFLOW II, IV and V clinical trials were grouped as normal EF (≥50%) and reduced EF (30%-50%).

Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia With Disseminated Multiple Foci and Pyomyositis in an Immunocompetent Patient: A Case Report.

Pyomyositis is an uncommon primary infection of skeletal muscle resulting in muscle inflammation followed by pus formation. Pyomyositis is typically caused by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), and most cases are associated with skin penetration and/or immunosuppressive conditions in tropical or even temperate climates.

NK and T-lymphocyte Kinetics Predict Outcome in Myeloma Patients Treated With Elotuzumab, Lenalidomide Plus Dexamethasone.

Background/aim: Elotuzumab, an anti-SLAMF7 monoclonal antibody, can enhance immune activity via elevated antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and reduced SLAMF7CD8CD57 regulatory T-cells (Tregs). This multicenter observational study investigated the kinetics of lymphocytes in myeloma patients treated with elotuzumab, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone (ERd) by two-color flow cytometry using peripheral blood samples.

Patients And Methods: Twenty-one patients were included in this study.

Association of short-course antimicrobial therapy and bacterial resistance in acute cholangitis: Retrospective cohort study.

Although the number of resistant bacteria tends to increase with prolonged antimicrobial therapy, no studies have examined the relationship between the duration of antimicrobial therapy and increase in the number of resistant bacteria in acute cholangitis. We hypothesized that the short-term administration of antimicrobial agents in acute cholangitis would suppress bacterial resistance. This was a single-center, retrospective, observational study of patients with acute cholangitis admitted between January 2018 and June 2020 who met the following criteria: successful biliary drainage, positive blood or bile cultures, bacteria identified from cultures sensitive to antimicrobials, and subsequent cholangitis recurrence by January 2022.

Midterm outcomes of transcatheter aortic valve replacement in patients with active cancer.

Objectives: The clinical outcomes of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in patients with aortic stenosis (AS) and concomitant active cancer remain insufficiently explored. This study aimed to assess the midterm outcomes of TAVR in patients diagnosed with AS and active cancer.

Methods: Data from the OCEAN-TAVI, a prospective Japanese registry of TAVR procedures, was analysed to compare prognoses and clinical outcomes in patients with and without active cancer at the time of TAVR.

Multicenter Registry of Common Femoral Artery Disease Treated With Endovascular Revascularization Using Interwoven Nitinol Stents: An Observational Retrospective Study.

Purpose: Surgical thromboendarterectomy has been the gold standard treatment for common femoral artery (CFA) disease. However, endovascular therapy (EVT) is conducted in certain patients with CFA lesions because of multiple comorbidities. The interwoven nitinol stent (IWS) has been developed to prevent stent fracture.

Inflammation‑based prognostic markers of metastatic pancreatic cancer using real‑world data in Japan: The Tokushukai REAl‑world Data (TREAD) project.

Inflammation-based prognostic markers based on a combination of blood-based parameters, including the modified Glasgow prognostic score (mGPS), have been associated with clinical outcomes in patients with various types of cancer. The present study aimed to evaluate and compare the accuracy of these previously reported markers in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer receiving first-line chemotherapy. A total of 846 patients were identified between April 2010 and March 2020 as part of a nationwide real-world study from 46 Tokushukai medical group hospitals in Japan.

Difficulty in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer based on the initial CT report: A retrospective study.

The role of computed tomography (CT) in the initial diagnosis of pancreatic cancer (PC) is well-known. CT reports made by radiologists are important as not all patients with PC are examined by specialists; however, some cases are not identified based on CT reports. Diagnosis via imaging of PC is sometimes difficult, and the diagnostic rate of PC and other pancreatic diseases can vary across radiologists.

Effectiveness of antibiotic prophylaxis for acute esophageal variceal bleeding in patients with band ligation: A large observational study.

Background: Esophageal variceal bleeding is a severe complication associated with liver cirrhosis and typically necessitates endoscopic hemostasis. The current standard treatment is endoscopic variceal ligation (EVL), and Western guidelines recommend antibiotic prophylaxis following hemostasis. However, given the improvements in prognosis for variceal bleeding due to advancements in the management of bleeding and treatments of liver cirrhosis and the global concerns regarding the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria, there is a need to reassess the use of routine antibiotic prophylaxis after hemostasis.

Evaluation of Delivered Doses in Proton Beam Therapy for Prostate Cancer Using Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography Imaging.

Aims: Proton beams deposit energy along their paths and stop abruptly without penetrating the opposite side, making it difficult to detect their actual paths. However, confirming the path may lead to evaluating the actual doses to organs at risk in proton therapy for prostate cancer. As proton beams produce positron emitters through nuclear fragmentation reactions, theoretically, proton beam paths can be measured by positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT).

Pretransplantation Inflammatory and Nutritional Status in Elderly Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: Prognostic Value of C-Reactive Protein-to-Albumin Ratio.

There are no clear criteria for selecting elderly patients with hematologic malignancies eligible for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). This study aimed to evaluate inflammatory and nutritional status biomarkers as prognostic indicators of allogeneic HSCT in elderly patients. We compared the prognostic effects of 4 representative pretransplantation biomarkers: C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio (CAR), Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS), prognostic nutritional index (PNI), and albumin-to-globulin ratio (AGR).

"KAIZEN" method realizing implementation of deep-learning models for COVID-19 CT diagnosis in real world hospitals.

Numerous COVID-19 diagnostic imaging Artificial Intelligence (AI) studies exist. However, none of their models were of potential clinical use, primarily owing to methodological defects and the lack of implementation considerations for inference. In this study, all development processes of the deep-learning models are performed based on strict criteria of the "KAIZEN checklist", which is proposed based on previous AI development guidelines to overcome the deficiencies mentioned above.