Joint Sparing: The Key to Unlocking Early Treatment Success in Eosinophilic Fasciitis.

Delayed diagnosis is recognized as a poor prognostic factor in eosinophilic fasciitis (EF). Elevated serum eosinophil counts, a minor criterion in the diagnostic standards, occur early in the disease course. However, signs such as the groove sign and orange-peel sign typically do not appear in the initial stages, posing challenges for early detection under the current diagnostic criteria. We report a case where the combination of "joint sparing" physical findings and elevated eosinophil counts facilitated early diagnosis and treatment. A 79-year-old woman presented with an acute onset of swelling in the upper and lower limbs. Physical examination revealed non-pitting edema with "joint sparing", and blood tests showed increased eosinophil counts. Contrast-enhanced MRI of the lower limbs showed post-contrast enhancement along the fascia, leading to a diagnosis of EF. The presence of non-pitting edema with "joint sparing" may be a valuable diagnostic indicator for EF. Furthermore, combining this with serum eosinophil counts can enable early diagnosis and treatment, potentially improving patient outcomes.

Hyperosmia and Hypergeusia As Potential Clues in Diagnosing Adrenal Insufficiency: A Case Report.

Adrenal insufficiency often presents with nonspecific symptoms, physical findings, and laboratory results, leading to diagnostic challenges. However, reports have indicated that specific symptoms such as hypergeusia (hypersensitivity to taste) and hyperosmia (hypersensitivity to smell) can also occur. We report the case of a 60-year-old male with loss of appetite, fatigue, and polyarthralgia, where a detailed medical history revealed the cause of anorexia to be hypergeusia and hyperosmia. These specific symptoms led to the diagnosis of adrenal insufficiency. Treatment with oral steroids for secondary adrenal insufficiency resulted in the improvement of his diverse symptoms. This case illustrates that in patients presenting with chronic nonspecific symptoms, inquiring about heightened taste and smell sensitivity can prompt suspicion of adrenal insufficiency. Moreover, this case serves as a reminder that careful medical history taking in patients with nonspecific symptoms can uncover specific findings that may be diagnostic clues.

Improvement of Intestinal Pseudo-Obstruction by Total Parenteral Nutrition in a Young Woman With Mitochondrial Myopathy, Encephalopathy, Lactic Acidosis, and Stroke-Like Episodes: A Case Report.

Patients with mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS), a mitochondrial disease, develop various types of organ failure, including intestinal pseudo-obstruction (IPO). We treated a patient with IPO that improved with total parenteral nutrition.  A 20-year-old woman with a two-year history of diabetes mellitus was taking sitagliptin but her hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels began increasing. After receiving metformin, she suffered a stroke-like attack and was diagnosed with MELAS. After persistent anorexia, she presented with symptoms of IPO, such as vomiting and gastrointestinal dilatation. After about 10 days of total parenteral nutrition, intestinal peristalsis improved and bowel movements resumed. She was able to resume her normal diet, and glycemic control with insulin glargine has allowed her to return to her daily life without gastrointestinal symptoms for over six months. Total parenteral nutrition may be effective for MELAS with IPO, and good glycemic control can prevent the need for incretin-related drugs, thus reducing the likelihood of recurrent IPO.

A qualitative study of factors promoting EBM learning among medical students in Japan.

Objectives: To identify the elements needed to facilitate undergraduate EBM learning among Japanese medical students. Methods: We conducted a qualitative study based on individual semi-structured interviews. Participants were physicians working at universities, teaching hospitals, or clinics who teach EBM to medical students. Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants via email through the researchers' acquaintances. Six physicians agreed to participate in the study and were interviewed individually from October 2019 to January 2020. The interviewees were asked about their own EBM learning and teaching experiences, what they kept in mind when teaching EBM to medical students, and what they felt was needed to improve current undergraduate EBM education. Interviews were recorded. Transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Thematic analysis extracted five themes: finding foreground questions, observing role models, active learning, understanding patient backgrounds, and understanding the reason for learning EBM. To promote EBM education for medical students, it is first necessary for students to actively participate in clinical practice and identify foreground questions by observing their supervisors practicing EBM. In addition to acquiring skills in information retrieval and critical appraisal, understanding a patient's background leads to understanding the significance of learning EBM, which improves students' motivation to learn EBM. Conclusions: This study identified five themes that promote undergraduate EBM education. Curriculum development incorporating these elements would improve EBM education in Japan and other countries.

Inappropriate use of the emergency department for nonurgent conditions: Patient characteristics and associated factors at a Japanese hospital.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate the primary factors associated with inappropriate out-of-hours emergency department (ED) use by patients with nonurgent conditions. METHODS: We compared patients with nonurgent conditions who made inappropriate, out-of-hours ED visits to patients who visited an acute care hospital during daytime consultation hours between May 30 and October 16, 2014, in terms of patient characteristics and reasons for consultation. Our goal was to identify factors associated with inappropriate ED use, defined as an out-of-hours, nonurgent, and unnecessary visits. RESULTS: We analyzed data from 84 patients who made inappropriate use of out-of-hours emergency care and 147 patients who sought care during regular consultation hours. In the inappropriate use group, "desire to be cured quickly" was the most common reason. Acute upper respiratory infection, acute gastroenteritis, and primary headache comprised 51.1% of diagnoses in the inappropriate use group. One factor associated with inappropriate use was two or more previous out-of-hours ED visits (odds ratio (OR) 3.19; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.22-8.31) (reference: 0 visits). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with two or more previous out-of-hours ED visits were more than three times as likely to inappropriately use the ED compared to patients who had not visited the ED at all in the past 3 years.

Clinical evaluation of the need for carbapenems to treat community-acquired and healthcare-associated pneumonia.

Carbapenems have an overall broad antibacterial spectrum and should be protected against from the acquisition of drug resistance. The clinical advantages of carbapenem in cases of pneumonia have not been certified and the need for antipseudomonal antimicrobial agents to treat healthcare-associated pneumonia (HCAP) remains controversial. We introduced an antimicrobial stewardship program for carbapenem and tazobactam/piperacillin use and investigated the effects of this program on the clinical outcomes of 591 pneumonia cases that did not require intensive care unit management, mechanical ventilation or treatment with vasopressor agents [221 patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and 370 patients with HCAP]. Compared with the pre-intervention period, age, comorbidities and the severity and etiology of pneumonia did not differ during the intervention period. Carbapenems were rarely used during the intervention period in cases of pneumonia (CAP: 12% vs. 1%, HCAP: 13% vs. 1%), while antipseudomonal beta-lactam use was reduced from 33% to 8% among cases with HCAP. This reduction in the rate of carbapenem administration did not have an impact on the prognosis in the cases of CAP, and the in-hospital mortality was lower among the patients with HCAP during the intervention period (15% vs. 5%, p = 0.013). The causes of death in the cases of HCAP were not directly related to pneumonia during the intervention period. The current study shows that carbapenem use can be avoided in cases of CAP or HCAP that are not in a critical condition. The frequent use of antipseudomonal beta-lactams does not improve the clinical outcomes of HCAP.

Pararenal Lymphatic Cyst Infection Caused by Helicobacter cinaedi.

A 43-year-old man was referred to our hospital for an acute-onset fever and left flank pain. He had been previously diagnosed with lymphangioma, and abdominal computed tomography showed pararenal cysts with fat stranding around the left kidney, of which infection was subsequently confirmed on magnetic resonance imaging. Gram-negative spiral bacilli were isolated from two sets of blood cultures, and Helicobacter cinaedi was identified using 16S rRNA sequencing. The patient was successfully treated with ceftriaxone therapy without recurrence. A multilocus sequence typing analysis indicated the current H. cinaedi strain differed from previous strains isolated in Japan.

Spontaneous meningitis due to Streptococcus salivarius subsp. salivarius: cross-reaction in an assay with a rapid diagnostic kit that detected Streptococcus pneumoniae antigens.

Streptococcus salivarius subsp. salivarius occasionally causes meningitis associated with iatrogenic or traumatic events. We herein describe a case of meningitis caused by this organism in a patient without any apparent risk factors. In an assay of the patient's cerebrospinal fluid, cross-reaction occurred with Streptococcus pneumoniae antigen-coated latex particles in the Pastorex Meningitis Kit. In the in vitro assays, three of the five clinically isolated S. salivarius strains showed cross-reactions with the kit, indicating that these strains expressed pneumococcal antigen-like antigens. This case shows that meningitis caused by S. salivarius can occur spontaneously and it may sometimes be misdiagnosed as S. pneumoniae infection.

Rapid effects of Kikyo-to on sore throat pain associated with acute upper respiratory tract infection.

BACKGROUND: Kikyo-to is used empirically for relieving sore throat pain associated with acute upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) in Japan. However, few studies have demonstrated its clinical effect. This study was conducted to investigate the efficacy of Kikyo-to on sore throat pain associated with acute URTI. METHODS: Patients with sore throat pain who were diagnosed with URTI in General Medicine Department Office, Tsukuba Medical Center Hospital from January to March 2012 were enrolled. Patients received 2.5 g of Kikyo-to diluted in a cup of hot water. The primary outcome was the change in sore throat score on the visual analog scale (VAS) 10 min after Kikyo-to administration. Secondary outcomes were change in sore throat score on VAS after 30 min and impact of sore throat pain on daily life (none, mild, moderate, and severe) after 10 and 30 min. RESULTS: Forty patients were eligible. Mean VAS score was 48.2±18.2 before treatment and reduced significantly to 35.4±18.1 after 10 min and 30.7±19.3 after 30 min (p<0.001 in both periods). The proportion of patients with moderate or more impact of sore throat pain on daily life was 67.5% and was reduced significantly to 37.5% after 10 min and 30% after 30 min (p<0.001 in both periods). The patients reported no side effects. CONCLUSIONS: Kikyo-to relieves sore throat pain associated with acute URTI.

Adult pneumococcal meningitis presenting with normocellular cerebrospinal fluid: two case reports.

INTRODUCTION: Normocellular bacterial meningitis is rarely observed in adult patients. We here report two cases of adult patients with pneumococcal meningitis with a normal cerebrospinal fluid leukocyte count and review eight other cases in the literature. CASE PRESENTATION: Case 1 was a 34-year-old Japanese woman with a history of splenectomy who presented with pyrexia, nausea, headache, and loss of hearing in her right ear. She was in a hypotensive state with no neck stiffness and had a normal mental status at the initial presentation. She became progressively disoriented during out-patient management. A cerebrospinal fluid examination showed a normal leukocyte count despite the presence of Streptococcus pneumoniae, which was detectable with Gram staining. She survived after prompt treatment, but her hearing loss remained. Case 2 was a 62-year-old Japanese man with a history of laryngeal cancer who was transferred to our emergency department after an acute onset of delirium and rapid progression to septic shock. As in Case 1, cerebrospinal fluid examination showed a normal leukocyte count despite the presence of S. pneumoniae, which was detectable with Gram staining. Within 1 hour of arrival, he developed hypotension and subsequent cardiopulmonary arrest, and resuscitation was unsuccessful. CONCLUSIONS: These cases imply that a normal leukocyte count in the cerebrospinal fluid does not exclude the possibility of bacterial meningitis. Gram staining of cerebrospinal fluid and immediate administration of antibiotics should be performed in all patients with suspected bacterial meningitis.

Spondylodiscitis complicated by an epidural abscess and meningitis caused by Bacteroides fragilis.

Bacteroides fragilis is a rare causative agent of spondylodiscitis. The pathophysiology of B. fragilis in spondylodiscitis remains largely unclear because of its rare occurrence. We herein report a case of spondylodiscitis complicated by an epidural abscess and meningitis; B. fragilis was detected in the blood of the patient. Moreover, the patient had a splenic abscess that was confirmed on magnetic resonance imaging. The patient completely recovered with antimicrobial therapy alone.

Randomised controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of wrap therapy for wound healing acceleration in patients with NPUAP stage II and III pressure ulcer.

Objectives To evaluate if 'wrap therapy' using food wraps, which is widely used in Japanese clinical sites, is not inferior when compared to guideline adhesion treatments. Design Multicentre, prospective, randomised, open, blinded endpoint clinical trial. Setting 15 hospitals in Japan. Patients 66 older patients with new National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel stage II or III pressure ulcers. Interventions Of these 66 patients, 31 were divided into the conventional treatment guidelines group and 35 into the wrap therapy group. Main outcome measures The primary end point was the period until the pressure ulcers were cured. The secondary end point was a comparison of the speed of change in the Pressure Ulcer Scale for Healing score. Results 64 of the 66 patients were analysed. The estimated mean period until healing was 57.5 days (95% CI 45.2 to 69.8) in the control group as opposed to 59.8 days (95% CI 49.7 to 69.9) in the wrap therapy group. By the extent of pressure ulcer infiltration, the mean period until healing was 16.0 days (95% CI 8.1 to 23.9) in the control group as opposed to 18.8 days (95% CI 10.3 to 27.2) in the wrap therapy group with National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel stage II ulcers, and 71.8 days (95% CI 61.4 to 82.3) as opposed to 63.2 days (95% CI 53.0 to 73.4), respectively, with stage III ulcers. There is no statistical significance in difference in Pressure Ulcer Scale for Healing scores. Conclusions It might be possible to consider wrap therapy as an alternative choice in primary care settings as a simple and inexpensive dressing care. Clinical Trial registration UMIN Clinical Trials Registry UMIN000002658. Summary protocol is available on https://upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-bin/ctr/ctr.cgi?function=brows&action=brows&type=detail&recptno=R000003235&admin=0&language=J.

Nontraumatic postmortem computed tomographic demonstration of cerebral gas embolism following cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate cerebral gas embolism (GE) on nontraumatic postmortem CT (PMCT), regarding its frequency, location (arterial or venous), and causes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our subjects were 404 nontraumatically deceased patients who had been in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest on arrival at our emergency room. PMCT was performed within 2 h of the confirmation of death. RESULTS: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was performed on 387 of the 404 subjects; and of these, cerebral GE was detected in 29 (7.5%) subjects (3 arterial, 25 venous, 1 undeterminable). Cerebral GE was not noted in the other 17 of the 404 subjects who did not undergo CPR. However, there was no significant difference in the incidence of cerebral GE between the subjects who underwent CPR and those who did not. The mechanism of cerebral arterial GE was presumed due to pulmonary barotrauma and/or paradoxical embolism, while the thoracic pump theory was suggested to explain the cerebral venous GE. CONCLUSION: Cerebral arterial/venous GE is found in CPR cases on nontraumatic PMCT.

Postmortem computed tomography findings as evidence of traffic accident-related fatal injury.

PURPOSE: Most traumatic deaths in Japan are due to nonpenetrating injuries, especially those that result from traffic accidents; however, the autopsy rate of traffic accident-related deaths is only about 5%. We investigated the diagnostic ability of postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) in cases of fatal trauma after traffic accidents. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our subjects were 78 subjects (59 males, 19 females; mean age 50 years, range 15-87 years) who were brought to our institution in cardiopulmonary arrest on arrival after traffic accidents and died despite resuscitation attempts. PMCT findings of damage to the head, neck, thorax, abdomen, and pelvis were classified into three grades according to the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) severity: A: 1 (minor), 2 (moderate); B: 3 (serious), 4 (severe), 5 (critical); C: 6 (maximum). RESULTS: The percentage ratio of A/B/C in 78 head injuries was 32/60/8, in 41 neck injuries 83/5/12, in 76 thorax injuries 5/38/57, in 76 abdominal injuries 70/24/7, and in 76 pelvic injuries 79/21/0, respectively. CONCLUSION: PMCT can detect or presume fatal trauma when diagnosing the cause of death after traffic accidents.

Postmortem computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging in a case of terminal-stage small cell lung cancer: an experience of autopsy imaging in tumor-related death.

We report a case of terminal-stage small-cell lung cancer with multiple metastases in which postmortem computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (collectively called "autopsy imaging") were performed and correlated with conventional autopsy findings. In this case, autopsy imaging provided contemporaneous data that supported conventional autopsy findings. Autopsy imaging revealed the process of primary tumor growth, changes in metastatic lesions, and occurrences of new metastases in the terminal stage and made it easier to understand the clinical course of the patient. The usefulness of autopsy imaging after traumatic death, sudden death from natural causes, or congenital anomaly has been reported. Here, we attempted a preliminary study of its use in the detection of death due to tumor. Our results indicated that autopsy imaging provides useful information in cancer-related death and may be an alternative when conventional autopsy cannot be performed.

Postmortem computed tomographic (PMCT) and postmortem magnetic resonance imaging (PMMRI) demonstration of fatal massive retroperitoneal hemorrhage caused by abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) rupture.

We report a case of fatal massive retroperitoneal hemorrhage caused by the rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in which postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) and postmortem magnetic resonance imaging (PMMRI) provided clear delineation. In this case, the autopsy imaging system using PMCT and PMMRI was useful as a screening method to determine the cause of death as AAA rupture and became a guide for the subsequent autopsy.

Effects of atorvastatin on glucose metabolism and insulin resistance in KK/Ay mice.

Insulin resistance plays an important role not only in the development and progression of diabetes mellitus but also in the establishment of metabolic syndrome. Improvement of insulin resistance is thus of great importance both in improving glucose metabolism and preventing atherosclerosis. Although HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors appear to favorably affect glucose metabolism, as indicated by the results of a subanalysis in the West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study (WOSCOPS), their effects on glucose metabolism and insulin resistance have not been thoroughly investigated in animal models. In this study, the effects of atorvastatin on the glucose metabolism and insulin resistance of KK/Ay mice, an animal model of type II diabetes, were investigated. Atorvastatin significantly decreased the non-HDL-cholesterol level in the oral glucose tolerance test, inhibited increase in the 30-min glucose level, decreased plasma insulin levels before and 30 and 60 minutes after glucose loading, and decreased the insulin resistance index, compared with corresponding values in controls, indicating that atorvastatin appeared to improve glucose metabolism by improving insulin resistance. Northern blot analysis revealed decreases in levels of mRNA of sterol regulatory element binding protein-1 (SREBP-1) and glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase), and it may play a role in the improvement of glucose metabolism and insulin resistance.

Postmortem magnetic resonance imaging (PMMRI) demonstration of reversible injury phase myocardium in a case of sudden death from acute coronary plaque change.

We report a case of sudden death from acute coronary plaque change in which postmortem magnetic resonance imaging (PMMRI) detected reversible injury phase myocardium. Postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) of the chest showed diffuse ground-glass attenuation (GGA) in both lungs, suggesting pulmonary edema due to cardiac pump failure. T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) of PMMRI delineated the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) territory as showing high signal intensity relative to the remaining myocardium. Therefore, we presumed the cause of death was myocardial infarction (MI) of the LAD territory. Autopsy showed acute plaque change in the LAD, however, there were no indications of MI. In this case, autopsy imaging using PMCT and PMMRI was useful as a guide for autopsy.

Postmortem computed tomographic (PMCT) demonstration of fatal hemoptysis by pulmonary tuberculosis--radiological-pathological correlation in a case of rupture of Rasmussen's aneurysm.

We report a case of fatal hemoptysis resulting from the rupture of a Rasmussen's aneurysm. Postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) clearly showed the air-fluid level within a tuberculous cavity and fluid-filled trachea. In this case, PMCT was useful as a screening tool to detect the cause of death as asphyxia from hemoptysis. It became a guideline for the following autopsy, as well as evidence to explain the importance of autopsy to the family.

Effect of thiazolidinediones and metformin on LDL oxidation and aortic endothelium relaxation in diabetic GK rats.

In this study, using GK diabetic rats, we compared the effects of three insulin sensitizers on lipid oxidation and the aortic relaxation response. Eight-week-old rats were treated for 4 wk with either troglitazone or pioglitazone, both of which are thiazolidinediones, or with metformin. Despite the fact that only troglitazone has a similarity in structure to alpha-tocopherol, a potent antioxidant, the level of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance was lower, and the lag time of the conjugated dienes was longer, in the blood samples from the rats in both troglitazone- and pioglitazone-treated groups. In contrast, another insulin sensitizer, metformin, failed to inhibit the oxidation of blood samples. The aortic vasorelaxation response was increased in both troglitazone- and metformin-treated groups compared with the untreated group. These findings suggest that thiazolidinediones have a beneficial effect on lipid oxidation irrespective of the drug's structural similarity to alpha-tocopherol. It is also suggested that the thiazolidinediones and metformin improve vascular function in diabetes. These effects may play a role in the prevention of atherosclerosis in diabetic patients.