Phylogenetic and Geographic Relationships of Severe Fever With Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus in China, South Korea, and Japan.

Background: Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is a tick-borne acute infectious disease caused by the SFTS virus (SFTSV). SFTS has been reported in China, South Korea, and Japan as a novel Bunyavirus. Although several molecular epidemiology and phylogenetic studies have been performed, the information obtained was limited, because the analyses included no or only a small number of SFTSV strains from Japan.

Case of pure ovarian squamous cell carcinoma resistant to combination chemotherapy with paclitaxel and carboplatin but responsive to monotherapy with weekly irinotecan.

Primary ovarian squamous cell carcinoma is uncommon, and the optimal treatment strategy for this disease has not yet been established. A 71-year-old woman diagnosed with FIGO stage IIb pure ovarian squamous cell carcinoma underwent cytoreductive surgery followed by combination chemotherapy with paclitaxel and carboplatin. After the second treatment course, a recurrent mass grew rapidly, and serum tumor maker levels increased.

Added value of lung perfused blood volume images using dual-energy CT for assessment of acute pulmonary embolism.

Purpose: To investigate the added value of lung perfused blood volume (LPBV) using dual-energy CT for the evaluation of intrapulmonary clot (IPC) in patients suspected of having acute pulmonary embolism (PE).

Materials And Methods: Institutional review board approval was obtained for this retrospective study. Eighty-three patients suspected of having PE who underwent CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) using a dual-energy technique were enrolled in this study.

Association of apixaban therapy and prothrombin time in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Background: This study evaluated whether measuring prothrombin time (PT) using particular reagents of interest predicted apixaban-associated anticoagulant activity in Japanese patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). METHODS AND RESULTS: Two reagents, Shinplastin Excel S and Coagpia PT-N, were used to evaluate PT under apixaban therapy. From June 2013 to February 2014, 103 NVAF patients were recruited, and PT was measured at 3 time points: (1) anytime in the outpatient clinic, (2) at peak, and (3) at trough.

The effect of the section thickness used for 2- and 3-dimensional quantification of dual-energy perfusion computed tomography.

Purpose: To retrospectively investigate the effect of the section thickness used for quantifying dual-energy perfusion computed tomography (DEpCT) during 2- and 3-dimensional evaluation.

Methods: Sixty-six patients (22 males and 44 females; mean age, 59.3 years) suspected of having an acute pulmonary embolism underwent DEpCT, and 15patients were diagnosed to have intrapulmonary clots (IPCs).

Comparisons on efficacy of elcatonin and limaprost alfadex in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis and concurrent osteoporosis: a preliminary study using a crossover design.

Study Design: Multicenter prospective study with a crossover design.

Purpose: The objective of this study is to compare the efficacy of limaprost alfadex (LP) and elcatonin (EL) for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) patients with concurrent osteoporosis.

Overview Of Literature: It has been increasingly important to improve quality of life by establishing appropriate conservative treatments for LSS patients with concurrent osteoporosis who will presumably continue to increase due to the percentage of the aging elevations, however there is no prospective study.

A thick placenta: a predictor of adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of an ultrasonographic measurement of placental thickness and the correlation of a thick placenta with adverse perinatal outcome.

Methods: Placental thickness was measured in single gravidas, 16 to 40 weeks of gestation, between 2005 and 2009. Placentas were considered to be thick if their measured thickness were above the 95th percentile for gestational age.

Sensitive and specific PCR systems for detection of both Chinese and Japanese severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus strains and prediction of patient survival based on viral load.

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging infectious disease with a high case fatality risk and is caused by the SFTS virus (SFTSV). A retrospective study conducted after the first identification of an SFTS patient in Japan revealed that SFTS is endemic to the region, and the virus exists indigenously in Japan. Since the nucleotide sequence of Japanese SFTSV strains contains considerable differences compared with that of Chinese strains, there is an urgent need to establish a sensitive and specific method capable of detecting the Chinese and Japanese strains of SFTSV.

A case of thyroid storm with cardiac arrest.

A 23-year-old man became unconscious while jogging. He immediately received basic life support from a bystander and was transported to our hospital. On arrival, his spontaneous circulation had returned from a state of ventricular fibrillation and pulseless electrical activity.

New quantitative method to diagnose coronary in-stent restenosis by 64-multislice computed tomography.

Background: The aim of this study is to evaluate the accuracy of a newly developed quantitative method using 64-multislice computed tomography angiography (CTA) to detect coronary in-stent restenosis (ISR).

Methods And Results: CTA was performed in 45 patients who underwent stent implantation (79 lesions) and the accuracy to diagnose ISR was evaluated by comparing with invasive coronary angiography (ICA). CTA was evaluated both visually and quantitatively using a new stent restenosis index (SRI) utilizing CT densities at proximal and distal artery lumen from the stented region and the correction value depending on the stent diameter.

Influence of salty food preference on daily salt intake in primary care.

Purpose: A salt preference questionnaire may be a convenient and cost-effective method for predicting salt intake; however, the influence of salt preference on daily salt intake is unclear. This study aimed at revealing the effectiveness of the salt preference question in determining the daily salt intake in primary care outpatients.

Patients And Methods: This cross-sectional study included 1,075 outpatients (men, n=436, 40.

Genetic variants in C5 and poor response to eculizumab.

Background: Eculizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that targets complement protein C5 and inhibits terminal complement-mediated hemolysis associated with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH). The molecular basis for the poor response to eculizumab in a small population of Japanese patients is unclear.

Methods: We assessed the sequences of the gene encoding C5 in patients with PNH who had either a good or poor response to eculizumab.

[Latent malignant lymphoma diagnosed at autopsy in a patient with cold agglutinin disease coexisting thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura].

An 89-year-old woman presented to our hospital with hemolytic anemia and a high titer of cold agglutinins. Red cell agglutination was observed on a blood smear. Agglutination visibly decreased after warming the blood; therefore, the patient was diagnosed with cold agglutinin disease (CAD).

Chimney technique for aortic dissection involving an aberrant right subclavian artery.

We report a case involving a ruptured acute type B aortic dissection originating from an aberrant right subclavian artery (ARSA). A thoracic stent-graft was deployed in the distal arch close to the origin of the ARSA; the entry site at the origin of the ARSA was embolized with metallic coils. Perfusion of the left subclavian artery was preserved without a surgical bypass by using a chimney graft.

Safety and Efficacy of Benzalkonium Chloride-optimized Tafluprost in Japanese Glaucoma Patients With Existing Superficial Punctate Keratitis.

Purpose: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of benzalkonium chloride (BAK)-optimized tafluprost (with a BAK concentration reduced from 0.01% to 0.001%) in glaucoma patients with existing superficial punctate keratitis (SPK).

Analgesia for pain during subcutaneous injection: effectiveness of manual pressure application before injection.

Background: It is necessary to establish an effective subcutaneous injection procedure for adult and elderly individuals because many drugs such as hormones and interferon are generally delivered by subcutaneous injection. We tested whether pain during subcutaneous injection can be decreased by prior application of localized manual pressure at the injection site.

Methods: In this semirandomized, open-label study evaluating the manual pressure method for transient analgesia, physicians applied pressure with their thumbs for 10 seconds to create a nonpainful skin depression at the injection site immediately before subcutaneous injection of the influenza vaccine to patients.

[Long-term survival after complete resection of primary cardiac undifferentiated sarcoma;report of a case].

A 34-year-old man experienced lower limb ischemia due to tumor emboli as an initial symptom. Histopathologic examination of the embolic material revealed undifferentiated sarcoma. By echocardiography the original tumor was arising from the posterior mitral leaflet, and therefore, excision of the mitral valve resulted in complete resection of the sarcoma.

Perioperative synbiotic therapy in elderly patients undergoing gastroenterological surgery: a prospective, randomized control trial.

Objective: Enteral administration of synbiotics has been reported to be beneficial during various types of surgery, but its clinical value in elderly surgical patients remains unclear. The aim of this study was to quantitatively evaluate the changes in gut microbiota and environment induced by perioperative synbiotic therapy, and to investigate whether it is possible to reduce infectious complications in elderly patients undergoing gastroenterological surgery.

Methods: Forty-eight patients over the age of 70 y were randomized into a group receiving 7 d of preoperative and 10 d of postoperative synbiotic therapy (S group) and a control group without synbiotic therapy (C group).

Guide wire shadow assessed by shading index is reduced in sparse spring coil wire in optical coherence tomography.

One of the major problems of a Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT) is the guide wire (GW) shadow which disturbs precise coronary assessment. If two or more GWs are used in a bifurcation PCI, the GW shadow becomes larger. In FD-OCT, GWs were usually observed as a crescent shape, but GWs with the sparse spring coil were observed as either round or crescent shape.

Endovascular repair of distal arch aneurysm with double-chimney technique.

We report 2 cases of distal arch aneurysm treated by thoracic endovascular aneurysm repair (TEVAR) with the "double-chimney technique." This technique permitted the implantation of a thoracic stent graft in the ascending aorta over the arch branches while preserving perfusion of innominate and left common carotid arteries without debranching bypasses. The procedure is a feasible and less invasive treatment for distal arch aneurysm with a short proximal neck (<2 cm to the origin of the innominate artery) in patients at high risk when undergoing sternotomy and in emergent cases.

[Sustained molecular remission with a tyrosine kinase inhibitor alone for seven months in a patient with Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia].

Herein, we report the case of a 28-year-old man with Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph(+)ALL). The patient received induction chemotherapy, including imatinib (IM) therapy, which required early cessation because of a severe infection. After the resolution of the infection, general flaccid paralysis was observed, which was diagnosed as critical illness myopathy (CIM).

Novel and quick coronary image analysis by instant stent-accentuated three-dimensional optical coherence tomography system in catheterization laboratory.

In order to confirm the relation between stent struts and the jailed side branch (SB), the actual wire re-crossing position and the optimal wire re-crossing position during a bifurcation stenting, we developed the instant stent-accentuated three-dimensional optical coherence tomography (iSA 3D-OCT) system based on a novel algorithm. Stent struts in two-dimensional optical coherence tomography (2D-OCT) are represented as high-intensity line segments or spots in low-intensity background. Stent struts disappear and a vessel image is created by the mean filter followed by the minimum filter.

Congenital high airway obstruction syndrome in the breech presentation managed by ex utero intrapartum treatment procedure after intraoperative external cephalic version.

Congenital high airway obstruction syndrome (CHAOS) caused by laryngeal atresia was diagnosed by prenatal ultrasound in a male fetus at 26 weeks of gestation. Findings included massive ascites, subcutaneous edema, enlarged hyperechogenic lungs with diaphragmatic inversion, dilated trachea, polyhydramnios, and breech presentation. Those findings of CHAOS spontaneously returned to normal by 33 weeks of gestation.