Novel use of a stent graft for uncontrollable intraprocedural stent thrombosis in a patient with acute myocardial infarction.

We report the case of a patient who developed uncontrollable intraprocedural stent thrombosis (IPST) during an emergent percutaneous coronary intervention for acute myocardial infarction that was mitigated only by covering the culprit lesion with a stent graft. Although several factors can induce stent thrombosis, IPST was likely a result of intrastent plaque protrusion in this patient. This is the first case report on the use of stent graft implantation as an effective bailout procedure for uncontrolled IPST.

Prospective evaluation of minimal residual disease monitoring to predict prognosis of adult patients with Ph-negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Objective: We investigated whether minimal residual disease (MRD) status in adult patients with Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is useful for decision on clinical indications for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).

Methods: We prospectively monitored MRD after induction and consolidation therapy in adult patients with Ph-negative ALL.

Results: Among 103 adult ALL patients enrolled, 59 were Ph-negative, and MRD status was assessed in 51 patients.

Real-world efficacy of elbasvir and grazoprevir for hepatitis C virus (genotype 1): A nationwide, multicenter study by the Japanese Red Cross Hospital Liver Study Group.

Aim: The present study aimed to determine the real-world efficacy and safety of the non-structural protein (NS)5A inhibitor elbasvir (EBR) combined with the NS3/4A protease inhibitor grazoprevir (GZR) in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 (GT1) infection.

Methods: This study retrospectively evaluated the rate of sustained virologic response at 12 weeks post-treatment (SVR12) and the safety of EBR/GZR treatment in 159 men and 194 women with a median age of 72 years, and it assessed factors associated with the SVR12 rate. The attending physicians were responsible for selecting candidate patients for EBR/GZR in this retrospective study.

Insulin-like growth factor-II mRNA-binding protein 3 immunocytochemical expression in direct endometrial brushings: Possible diagnostic help in endometrial cytology.

Introduction: This study evaluated the immunocytochemical (ICC) expression of IMP3 in direct endometrial brushings processed as liquid-based cytology (LBC) samples of endometrioid adenocarcinoma (EAC), serous carcinoma (ESC) and surface papillary syncytial change (SPSC) with endometrial glandular and stromal breakdown (EGBD) to exploit its possible differential diagnostic aid.

Methods: In total, 333 samples of LBC samples were obtained from selected outpatients in parallel with Pipelle endometrial sampling. They consisted of 97 EAC (83 grade 1: EAC-1, 14 EAC-3), 35 ESC and 201 benign endometrial samples (51 proliferative, 42 secretory, 38 atrophic, 70 SPSC with EGBD).

Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia with Syncope Caused by Recurrence of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

We herein report a case of glossopharyngeal neuralgia with repeated syncope caused by the recurrence of esophageal carcinoma. The typical symptoms of glossopharyngeal neuralgia are paroxysmal, stabbing, electric shock-like pain in the pharynx and/or base of the tongue on swallowing and talking. In addition, syncope can also be caused by glossopharyngeal neuralgia.

Chest tightness is relieved with the use of asthma drugs except bronchodilators.

Many patients with a chief complaint of chest tightness are examined in medical facilities, and a lack of diagnosis is not uncommon. We have reported that these patients often include those with chest tightness relieved with bronchodilator use (CTRB) and those with chest tightness relieved with the use of asthma drugs except bronchodilators (CTRAEB). The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the clinical characteristics of the patients with CTRAEB and compare them with data from patients with CTRB.

Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia with SMAD4 Mutations Is Associated with Fatty Degeneration of the Left Ventricle, Coronary Artery Aneurysm, and Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm.

A 52-year-old man with recurrent epistaxis and palpebral conjunctival telangiectasia visited our hospital for a follow-up checkup for gastrointestinal polyposis. At 48 years of age, he underwent Y-graft replacement for an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Arteriovenous malformation was detected in his lungs, and a genetic test revealed an SMAD4 mutation.

Localized Right Subclavian Artery Dissection Detected by Accident on an Ultrasound Examination: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Right subclavian artery dissection was detected in a 78-year-old female victim of the Kumamoto earthquake during a carotid artery ultrasound examination. She was subsequently taken to hospital and diagnosed with localized subclavian artery dissection (LSAD) by contrast-enhanced computed tomography. There have been no previous reports of LSAD detected at a medical checkup.

Autoantibody to transcriptional intermediary factor-1β as a myositis-specific antibody: clinical correlation with clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis or dermatomyositis with mild myopathy.

Background: Myositis-specific autoantibodies (MSAs) are associated with unique clinical subsets in polymyositis/dermatomyositis (PM/DM). Autoantibodies against transcriptional intermediary factor (TIF)-1γ and TIF-1α are known to be MSAs. Previously, we reported that TIF-1β is also targeted in patients with DM with or without concomitant anti-TIF-1α/γ antibodies.

Extraskeletal osteosarcoma arising in the subcutaneous tissue of the lower leg: A case report and literature review.

Extraskeletal osteosarcoma (ESOS) is a rare soft tissue sarcoma accounting for 1-2% of all soft tissue sarcomas. ESOS originating in the superficial (cutaneous-subcutaneous) tissue is extremely rare, and only 17 cases with subcutaneous ESOS have been reported in detail to date. The aim of the present study was to report an additional case of subcutaneous ESOS of the lower leg and review previous reports of subcutaneous ESOS, focusing on the clinical characteristics, including the MIB-1 labeling index, treatment methods and outcomes.

Survival Benefit of Tolvaptan for Refractory Ascites in Patients with Advanced Cirrhosis.

Aims: The study aimed to evaluate the effects of tolvaptan treatment on survival of patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis with refractory ascites.

Methods: This multicenter, retrospective, observational study included patients with cirrhosis who were treated with tolvaptan for hepatic ascites refractory to conventional diuretics. Patients who could and could not decrease accompanying diuretics within 1 month after tolvaptan administration were defined as the "Decreased" and "Not-decreased" groups, respectively.

Does interferon-free direct-acting antiviral therapy for hepatitis C after curative treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma lead to unexpected recurrences of HCC? A multicenter study by the Japanese Red Cross Hospital Liver Study Group.

Background And Aim: This study aimed to elucidate whether interferon (IFN)-free direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy for hepatitis C after curative treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) promotes HCC recurrence in a real-world large-scale cohort.

Methods: This multicenter study was conducted by the Japanese Red Cross Hospital Liver Study Group. This retrospective study analyzed 516 patients who underwent antiviral treatment for hepatitis C with either IFN (n = 148) or IFN-free DAA (n = 368) after curative HCC treatment; 78 IFN-treated patients and 347 IFN-free DAA-treated patients achieved sustained virological response (SVR).

Efficacy of daclatasvir plus asunaprevir in patients with hepatitis C virus infection undergoing and not undergoing hemodialysis.

Aim: To evaluate the virologic responses and clinical course of daclatasvir plus asunaprevir treatment in non-hemodialysis (non-HD) and hemodialysis (HD) patients infected with genotype 1 hepatitis C virus (HCV).

Methods: A total of 1113 non-HD patients and 67 HD patients were assessed. To evaluate pretreatment factors contributing to sustained virological response at 12 weeks (SVR12), univariate and multivariate analyses were carried out.

The Yokohama system for reporting directly sampled endometrial cytology: The quest to develop a standardized terminology.

Background: The main purpose of directly sampled endometrial cytology is to detect invasive endometrial malignancies. With this principle in mind, The Yokohama System (TYS) Working Group, composed of cytopathologists, surgical pathologists, and gynecologic oncologists met at the 2016 International Congress of Cytology, Yokohama, with the aim to publish a standardized reporting system inclusive of specific diagnostic categories and cytomorphologic criteria for uniform and reliable diagnosis of endometrial malignancies on directly sampled endometrial samples.

Methods: The diagnostic cytopathologic criteria previously published in the literature by the Japanese and Greek working group on endometrial cytology (Yanoh et al.

[Surgical Treatment of Systemic and Left Circumflex Coronary-pulmonary Artery Fistulas with Aneurysm;Report of a Case].

Congenital coronary-pulmonary artery fistulas complicated by continuity to a systemic artery and aneurysm are extremely rare. A 78-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with a complaint of chest discomfort. Coronary angiography showed a coronary aneurysm and coronary-pulmonary artery fistula arising from the left circumflex artery and entering into the right lower pulmonary artery.

Prognostic value of sequencing-based minimal residual disease detection in patients with multiple myeloma who underwent autologous stem-cell transplantation.

Background: Most patients with multiple myeloma (MM) are considered to be incurable, and relapse owing to minimal residual disease (MRD) is the main cause of death among these patients. Therefore, new technologies to assess deeper response are required.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 125 patients with MM who underwent high-dose melphalan plus autologous stem-cell transplantation (ASCT) to detect MRD in autograft/bone marrow (BM) cells using a next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based method and allele-specific oligonucleotide-polymerase chain reaction (ASO-PCR).

[Quadricuspid Aortic Valve with Atrial Septal Defect;Report of a Case].

The patient was a 69-year-old man who had 1st experienced exertional dyspnea approximately 1 month earlier. He visited our hospital for treatment because his symptoms had gradually worsened and he had developed orthopnea. Echocardiography revealed an atrial septal defect(ASD) and a quadricuspid aortic valve with moderate regurgitation.

Impact of combined lipid lowering and blood pressure control on coronary plaque: myocardial ischemia treated by percutaneous coronary intervention and plaque regression by lipid lowering and blood pressure controlling assessed by intravascular ultrasonography (MILLION) study.

The aim of the study was to elucidate the aggressive reduction of both low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and blood pressure (BP) reduced coronary atherosclerotic plaque volume compared with a standard treatment of LDL-C and BP in Japanese patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). This study is a prospective, randomized, and open-labelled with a blind-endpoint evaluation study. A total of 97 patients (81 men, mean age 62.

Autoantibody to scaffold attachment factor B (SAFB): A novel connective tissue disease-related autoantibody associated with interstitial lung disease.

Objective: To identify and characterize a novel connective tissue disease (CTD)-related autoantibody (autoAb) directed against scaffold attachment factor B (SAFB).

Methods: AutoAb specificity was analyzed using RNA and protein-immunoprecipitation assays. Autoimmune targets were affinity purified using patients' sera and subjected to liquid chromatography mass spectrometry.

[Cardiac Angiosarcoma with Acute Myocardial Infarction due to Tumor Embolism;Report of a Case].

We report the case of a 28-year-old man with a rare angiosarcoma complicated by acute myocardial infarction secondary to tumor embolism. He was transported to our emergency unit because of sudden onset of chest pain. The echocardiography showed a 42×60 mm mass in the left ventricle, and the coronary angiography showed embolic occlusion of the proximal left anterior descending and circumflex arteries.

Prehospital triage for endovascular clot removal in acute stroke patients.

Aim: To establish prehospital triage in accordance with the new guidelines for endovascular therapy, we retrospectively analyzed the monitoring data of the city-wide transportation system using the Maria Prehospital Stroke Scale (MPSS), a novel prehospital stroke scale for emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to predict the likelihood of thrombolytic therapy after transportation.

Methods: Kawasaki City, Japan, has six comprehensive stroke centers (CSCs) and six primary stroke centers (PSCs). In CSCs, endovascular therapy can be carried out 24 h a day, 7 days a week, but not in PSCs.

Inter-observer reproducibility of endometrial cytology by the Osaki Study Group method: utilising the Becton Dickinson SurePath liquid-based cytology.

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the reproducibility of the cytological diagnosis of endometrial lesions by the Osaki Study Group (OSG) method of new cytological diagnostic criteria using BD SurePath (SP)-liquid-based cytology (LBC).

Methods: This cytological classification using the OSG method consists of six categories: (i) normal endometrium (NE), (ii) endometrial glandular and stromal breakdown (EGBD), (iii) atypical endometrial cells, cannot exclude atypical endometrial hyperplasia or more (ATEC-A), (iv) adenocarcinoma including atypical endometrial hyperplasia or malignant tumour (Malignancy), (v) endometrial hyperplasia without atypia (EH) and (vi) atypical endometrial cells of undetermined significance (ATEC-US). For this study, a total 244 endometrial samplings were classified by two academic cytopathologists as follows: 147 NE cases , 36 EGBD cases , 47 Malignant cases, eight ATEC-A cases, two EH cases and four ATEC-US cases.

A tangible head model showing semicircular canals for demonstrating the physical treatment for BPPV.

Conclusions: It was shown that practicing with a tangible head model with semicircular canals is a useful educational tool for learning the physical treatment for BPPV.

Objectives: To assess the efficacy of using a tangible head model with semicircular canals to teach the physical treatment for BPPV.

Methods: This study compared the number of canalith particles in the posterior semicircular canal that 20 participants could move from the ampulla to the utricle, before and after practicing with the tangible model.

Short- and long-term benefits of drug-eluting stents compared to bare metal stents even in treatment for large coronary arteries.

Although drug-eluting stents (DES) for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) have dramatically reduced the incidence of in-stent restenosis, their deployment for large-size coronary lesions is still controversial because of problems such as late in-stent thrombosis and late catch-up in DES. We aimed to evaluate the long-term outcome beyond 2 years of bare metal stents (BMS) as compared with DES in large vessels. Consecutive 228 patients who underwent PCI with large-size stents (>3.