Diagnostic Utility of Preserved Dried Umbilical Cord Polymerase Chain Reaction in Intrauterine Herpes Simplex Virus Infection: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Introduction: Intrauterine herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection is uncommon and challenging to diagnose, requiring detection of HSV in skin lesions within 48 h post-birth.

Case Presentation: A preterm female infant presented with the typical triad of blisters, microcephaly, and chorioretinitis, but the initial diagnostic approach was elusive due to negative results for TORCH pathogens from vesicles/serum. Referred at 7 months for developmental delay and epilepsy, her brain imaging showed calcification and cortical dysplasia.

Serial changes of the side-branch ostial area after single crossover stenting with kissing-balloon inflation.

Purpose: We aimed to investigate the serial change of the side-branch ostial area (SBOA) depended on the wire-position before Kissing-balloon inflation (KBI) in the single-stent strategy for bifurcation lesions separately in the left main coronary artery (LMCA) and in non-LMCA.

Methods: Patients who underwent a single-stent KBI for a bifurcation lesion and had OCT images at the timing of the rewiring, at the post-procedure, and at the 9-month follow-up were extracted from the 3D-OCT Bifurcation Registry, which is a multicenter-prospective registry of patients with a percutaneous coronary intervention for a bifurcation lesion under OCT guidance. The SBOA was measured by dedicated software, and the rewiring position at the side-branch ostium after crossover stenting was assessed by three-dimensional-optical coherence tomography (3D-OCT).

Vascular healing after kissing balloon inflation: Nine-month 3D optical coherence tomography analysis in corelab.

Background: The jailing strut configuration with link-free and distal guidewire recrossing (LFD) at the side branch orifice (SBO) reduces incomplete stent apposition (ISA) after kissing balloon technique (KBT) in crossover stenting of coronary bifurcation lesions (CBLs). However, data regarding vascular healing after KBT are lacking. We investigated vascular healing 9 months after crossover stenting followed by KBT with optical coherence tomography (OCT) guidance in a prospective multicenter registry.

Prognostic value of pre-treatment risk stratification and post-treatment neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio change for pembrolizumab in patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma.

Background: Pembrolizumab is effective in a limited number of patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma (UC). Therefore, we evaluated the prognostic value of clinical biomarkers following pembrolizumab treatment in patients with advanced UC.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 121 patients with platinum-refractory advanced UC who received pembrolizumab.

Utility of Preoperative Multidetector-Row Computed Tomographic Angiography after Sublingual Nitroglycerin with Three-Dimensional Reconstruction in Planning of the Anterolateral Thigh Flap.

The utility of nitroglycerin is well established in coronary angiography but less so in other surgical fields. In this study, the authors investigated the utility of preoperative computed tomographic angiography after sublingual nitroglycerin followed by three-dimensional visualization for selecting suitable perforators in planning the free anterolateral thigh flap. The authors performed preoperative computed tomographic angiography following sublingual nitroglycerin (after screening for contraindications) in patients for whom reconstructive surgery with the free anterolateral thigh flap was planned.

Prognostic value of risk stratification using blood parameters for nivolumab in Japanese patients with metastatic renal-cell carcinoma.

Background: Nivolumab is a standard treatment for previously treated advanced renal-cell carcinoma. However, nivolumab is effective in only a limited number of patients; therefore, we evaluated the prognostic value of several biomarkers, including inflammation-based prognostic scores and changes in these scores following nivolumab treatment in Japanese patients with metastatic renal-cell carcinoma.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 65 patients with previously treated metastatic renal-cell carcinoma and who received nivolumab.

A Comparison of Methods to Count Breathing Frequency.

Background: Counting breaths for a full minute for all patients to determine breathing frequency could result in excessive work load for many medical staff. The aim of this study was to verify the agreement of 2 quick screening methods with counting breaths for a full minute.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study to compare the breathing frequency estimates from a 15-s period multiplied by 4 (15-s quadruple) and a value which is 60 divided by the time measured for a single breath (ie, breathing time measurement) against counting breaths for a full minute.

Efficacy of the proximal optimization technique on crossover stenting in coronary bifurcation lesions in the 3D-OCT bifurcation registry.

Aim: We sought to investigate the efficacy of the proximal optimization technique (POT) on crossover stenting followed by side branch (SB) dilation under optical coherence tomography guidance in a multicenter registry study.

Methods And Results: A total of 135 bifurcation lesions in 134 patients were divided into POT (n = 52) and non-POT groups (n = 83). The POT was performed before SB dilatation (pre-POT; n = 26), finally (final-POT; n = 12), at both timing (re-POT; n = 13), and uncertain (n = 1).

Remarkable response of recurrent endometrial adenocarcinoma to daily oral administration of half-dose etoposide.

A 71-year-old woman with right chest and left lumbar pain was referred to our hospital. Computed tomography showed multiple recurrent tumors in the abdominal cavity and bilateral lungs. She had already received several chemotherapies for the recurrent tumor, and palliative care would be appropriate.

Transient Appearance of Plasmablasts in the Peripheral Blood of Japanese Patients With Severe Fever With Thrombocytopenia Syndrome.

Atypical lymphocytes in the peripheral blood in patients with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) have not been well examined. In this study, we analyzed counts and characteristics of atypical lymphocytes in 7 patients with SFTS. Atypical lymphocytes resembled plasma cells morphologically and appeared in the peripheral blood of all patients 4-8 days after onset of disease.

Relationship between coronary diastolic pressure indexes during the wave-free period and a novel pressure-derived index: Diastolic pressure ratio at the optimal point.

Objectives: We aimed to determine the diastolic pressure ratio at the optimal point (DROP) using a simple measurement algorithm and to compare DROP with distal coronary-to-aortic pressure ratios during the wave-free period (PR ) and at the mid-diastolic point (PR ).

Methods: Distal coronary and aortic pressures were measured from color pressure images of 440 beats in 48 patients with coronary stenoses. The DROP measurement point was 67% for one beat between the two rising points on the aortic pressure curve according to the distribution of the wave-free period and the mid-diastolic point.

Current Trends in Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Therapy in Children - Results From the JCDTR Database.

Background: Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are being used with increasing frequency in children. Our aim was to examine the current trend of pediatric ICD implantation in Japan.

Methods and results: Data was extracted from the Japanese Cardiac Device Treatment Registry (JCDTR), a nation-wide registry started in 2006.

Burden of Human Metapneumovirus and Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections in Asthmatic Children.

Background: Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are the leading causes of acute respiratory illness in children. Clinical burden of each infection on the respiratory distress in asthmatic patients remains unclear. The purpose of the study was to clarify the effect of these infections on the severity of asthmatic children in the seasonal outbreaks.

Identification of curable high-risk prostate cancer using radical prostatectomy alone: who are the good candidates for undergoing radical prostatectomy among patients with high-risk prostate cancer?

Background: Currently, there is no consensus regarding which patients with high-risk prostate cancer (PCa) would benefit the most by radical prostatectomy (RP). We aimed to identify patients with high-risk PCa who are treatable by RP alone.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed data on 315 patients with D'Amico high-risk PCa who were treated using RP without neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy at the institutions of the Yamaguchi Uro-Oncology Group between 2009 and 2013.

Nephrotic syndrome and acute kidney injury induced by malathion toxicity.

We treated a case of acute kidney injury and nephrotic syndrome after malathion inhalation. A 69-year-old Japanese man presented with oedema 15 days after inhalation of malathion, a widely used pesticide. Serum albumin was 2.

Influence of family history on the willingness of outpatients to undergo genetic testing for salt-sensitive hypertension: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: It is unclear whether family medical history influences the willingness to undergo genetic testing. This study aimed to determine how family history affected the willingness to undergo genetic testing for salt-sensitive hypertension in patients with and without hypertension.

Design: Cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire.