Validation of the Japanese histologic classification 2013 of immunoglobulin A nephropathy for prediction of long-term prognosis in a Japanese single-center cohort.

Background: A new Japanese histologic classification (JHC) of immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) for prediction of long-term prognosis was proposed in 2013. The goal of this study was to validate the JHC system in a Japanese single-center cohort.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in 198 Japanese adult patients with IgAN.

Exercise counseling of primary care physicians in metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases is associated with their specialty and exercise habits.

Background: We investigated the practice of exercise counseling of primary care physicians in metabolic syndromes and cardiovascular diseases and its association with their age class, specialty, work place, and their own exercise habits.

Subjects And Methods: The subjects were 3,310 medical doctors who had graduated from Jichi Medical University in Japan. The study instrument was a self-administered questionnaire to investigate their age class, specialty, workplace, exercise habits, and exercise counseling for their patients.

Clinical Implication of the Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone Blockers in Chronic Kidney Disease Undergoing Hemodialysis.

The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) blockers have been widely used in chronic kidney disease patients undergoing hemodialysis; however, whether RAAS blockers have beneficial effects for cardiovascular disease in those patients has not been fully defined. This review focuses on the effects of RAAS blockers in chronic kidney disease undergoing hemodialysis for cardiovascular disease.

Fabry disease: experience of screening dialysis patients for Fabry disease.

The prevalence rate for Fabry disease is conventionally considered to be 1 case in 40,000; however, due to increased screening accuracy, reports now suggest that prevalence is 1 case in 1,500 among male children, and it is likely that the clinical importance of the condition will increase in the future. In dialysis patients to date, prevalence rates are between 0.16 and 1.

[Electroablation for the treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax using SOFT COAG electrosurgical output system].

We evaluated the validity of the SOFT COAG electrosurgical output system for the treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax. From April 2008 to May 2010, we compared 64 patients who had undergone bullae resection using endoscopic linear staplers, to 20 patients subjected to electroablation of the bullae using the SOFT COAG output system. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups in terms of operation time, bleeding, and mean duration of postoperative chest tube drainage.

Lipid-lowering effects of ezetimibe for hypercholesterolemic patients with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus.

To date, there are very few clinical reports that have compared the effects of ezetimibe on lipid parameters between hypercholesterolemic patients with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In this study, we recruited patients for hypercholesterolemic groups with T2DM (n = 42; men/women = 24/18; HbA1c = 6.7 ± 5.

Unsuspected tracheal web inhibits endotracheal intubation: report of a case.

A 66-year-old woman was scheduled for resection of a recurrent brain astrocytoma. During anesthesia induction, endotracheal intubation became impossible. Urgent bronchoscopy under laryngeal mask ventilation visualized a subglottic web 1 cm below the vocal cords.

Factors associated with incident ischemic stroke in hospitalized heart failure patients: a pilot study.

Stroke is sometimes seen in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). The factors that best predict incident stroke in hospitalized CHF patients are not well known. We performed this pilot study to explore the clinical markers of incident stroke in CHF patients.

Kikuchi's disease involving the supraclavicular lymph nodes and associated with transient eruption.

A 26-year-old woman presented with high fever, marked supraclavicular lymphadenopathy, and morbilliform eruptions and was diagnosed with Kikuchi's disease (KD) based on pathologic findings from biopsied lymph nodes. All her manifestations of KD improved, however, without any specific treatment. The picture of transient morbilliform eruptions typified in KD here is seldom shown in the literature.

[Angina attack caused by 5-fluorouracil infusion--report of a case and review of the literature].

Cardiac toxicity of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) has been rarely reported. We encountered a case of angina attack caused by 5-FU. A 58-year-old Japanese woman underwent sigmoidectomy for a sigmoid colon carcinoma with multiple liver metastases.

Pleural gas gangrene secondary to esophageal injury by an ingested fish bone.

We report a 73-year-old woman with right pleural gas gangrene, treated successfully by thoracoscopic debridement. The clinical course and chest computed radiography and thoracoscopy findings suggested that her condition resulted from a relatively rare esophageal injury after she accidentally ingested a fish bone. Video-assisted thoracoscopic intervention has proved useful in cases involving pleural gas gangrene.

A case of Cushing's syndrome due to ACTH-independent bilateral macronodular hyperplasia associated with excessive secretion of mineralocorticoids.

A 74-year-old man developed Cushing's syndrome and hypokalemia due to ACTH-independent bilateral macronodular adrenocortical hyperplasia (AIMAH) with excessive secretion of mineralocorticoid hormones. Plasma concentrations of weak mineralocorticoids were high. The increase in plasma cortisol did not have a diurnal rhythm, and was not suppressed by a high dose of dexamethasone.