Spontaneous intercostal artery bleeding occurring simultaneously in numerous vessels during antithrombotic therapy with mechanical circulatory support: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Intercostal artery bleeding often occurs in a single vessel; in rare cases, it can occur in numerous vessels, making it more difficult to manage. CASE PRESENTATION: A 63-year-old Japanese man was admitted to the emergency department owing to sudden chest and back pain, dizziness, and nausea. Emergency coronary angiography revealed myocardial infarction secondary to right coronary artery occlusion. After intra-aortic balloon pumping, percutaneous coronary intervention was performed in the right coronary artery. At 12 hours following percutaneous coronary intervention, the patient developed new-onset left anterior chest pain and hypotension. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography revealed 15 sites of contrast extravasation within a massive left extrapleural hematoma. Emergency angiography revealed contrast leakage in the left 6th to 11th intercostal arteries; hence, transcatheter arterial embolization was performed. At 2 days after transcatheter arterial embolization, his blood pressure subsequently decreased, and contrast-enhanced computed tomography revealed the re-enlargement of extrapleural hematoma with multiple sites of contrast extravasation. Emergency surgery was performed owing to persistent bleeding. No active arterial hemorrhage was observed intraoperatively. Bleeding was observed in various areas of the chest wall, and an oxidized cellulose membrane was applied following ablation and hemostasis. The postoperative course was uneventful. CONCLUSION: We report a case of spontaneous intercostal artery bleeding occurring simultaneously in numerous vessels during antithrombotic therapy with mechanical circulatory support that was difficult to manage. As bleeding from numerous vessels may occur during antithrombotic therapy, even without trauma, appropriate treatments, such as transcatheter arterial embolization and surgery, should be selected in patients with such cases.

Strategies to address inequity of uncorrected refractive error in the Western Pacific: A modified Delphi process.

PURPOSE: Uncorrected refractive error is the leading cause of vision impairment globally; however, little attention has been given to equity and access to services. This study aimed to identify and prioritise: (1) strategies to address inequity of access to refractive error services and (2) population groups to target with these strategies in five sub-regions within the Western Pacific. METHODS: We invited eye care professionals to complete a two-round online prioritisation process. In round 1, panellists nominated population groups least able to access refractive error services, and strategies to improve access. Responses were summarised and presented in round 2, where panellists ranked the groups (by extent of difficulty and size) and strategies (in terms of reach, acceptability, sustainability, feasibility and equity). Groups and strategies were scored according to their rank within each sub-region. RESULTS: Seventy five people from 17 countries completed both rounds (55% women). Regional differences were evident. Indigenous peoples were a priority group for improving access in Australasia and Southeast Asia, while East Asia identified refugees and Oceania identified rural/remote people. Across the five sub-regions, reducing out-of-pocket costs was a commonly prioritised strategy for refraction and spectacles. Australasia prioritised improving cultural safety, East Asia prioritised strengthening school eye health programmes and Oceania and Southeast Asia prioritised outreach to rural areas. CONCLUSION: These results provide policy-makers, researchers and funders with a starting point for context-specific actions to improve access to refractive error services, particularly among underserved population groups who may be left behind in existing private sector-dominated models of care.

Prognostic value of combined psoas muscle mass and controlling nutritional status in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic ductal carcinoma (PDAC) is an extremely poor prognostic disease. Even though multidisciplinary treatment for PDAC has developed, supportive therapies, such as nutritional therapy or perioperative rehabilitation to sustain and complete aggressive treatment, have not yet been well-established in PDAC. The aim of this study was to elucidate the relationship between the combined index using psoas muscle mass index (PMI) values and controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score and prognosis. METHODS: We included 101 patients diagnosed with PDAC who underwent radical pancreatectomy with regional lymphadenectomy. The cut-off value was set at the first quartile (male, 6.3 cm2/m2; female 4.4 cm2/m2), and patients were classified into high PMI and low PMI groups. A CONUT score of 0 to 1 was classified as the normal nutritional status group, and 2 or more points as the malnutritional status group. Patients were further divided into three groups: high PMI and normal nutrition (good general condition group), low PMI and low nutrition (poor general condition group), and none of the above (moderate general condition group). We performed a prognostic analysis of overall survival (OS), stratified according to PMI values and CONUT scores. RESULTS: In the poor general condition group, the proportion of elderly people over 70 years of age was significantly higher than that in the other groups (p < 0.001). The poor general condition group had a significantly worse prognosis than the good and moderate general condition groups (p = 0.012 and p = 0.037). The 5-year survival rates were 10.9%, 22.3%, and 36.1% in the poor, moderate, and good general condition groups, respectively. In multivariate analysis, poor general condition, with both low PMI and malnutrition status, was an independent poor prognostic factor for postoperative OS (hazard ratio 2.161, p = 0.031). CONCLUSIONS: The combination of PMI and CONUT scores may be useful for predicting the prognosis of patients with PDAC after radical surgery.

Impact of cataract surgery on cognitive impairment in older people.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the impact of cataract surgery on mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia in older people. METHODS: This prospective observational study included patients aged 75 years and older who underwent cataract surgery between 2019 and 2021. Mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and MMSE for the visually impaired (MMSE-blind) were measured to evaluate cognitive function before and 3 months after cataract surgery. MMSE score at baseline was used to categorize patients into dementia (MMSE ≤ 23) and MCI groups (23 < MMSE ≤ 27). Logistic regression models were used to estimate associations between improvement in cognitive function and other factors. RESULTS: Of 132 patients screened for inclusion in the study, 88 met the inclusion criteria; 39 patients were assigned to the dementia group (mean age, 85.7 ± 4.2 years) and 49 to the MCI group (mean age, 84.2 ± 3.4 years). The MCI group showed significant improvement from before to after surgery in the MMSE score (25.65 ± 1.03 vs. 27.08 ± 1.99, respectively, p < 0.001) and MMSE-blind score (18.04 ± 1.14 vs. 19.41 ± 2.01, respectively, p < 0.001). Cognitive function improved significantly in the MCI group compared with the dementia group (odds ratio, 2.85; 95% confidence interval, 1.02-7.97; and p = 0.046). CONCLUSIONS: Cataract surgery significantly increases cognitive test scores in older patients with MCI. After cataract surgery, the likelihood of improvement in cognitive function may be highly dependent on a patient's preoperative cognitive state.

Metastatic lung tumor from hepatocellular carcinoma with tumor thrombus invasion in the pulmonary vein: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Metastatic lung tumor with a tumor thrombus in the peripheral pulmonary vein is very rare. We present a case of a metastatic lung tumor from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with tumor thrombus invasion in the pulmonary vein that was diagnosed preoperatively and underwent complete resection by segmentectomy. CASE PRESENTATION: A 77-year-old man underwent laparoscopic lateral segment hepatectomy for HCC eight years ago. Protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist-II remained elevated from two years ago. Contrast-enhanced chest computed-tomography (CT) showed a 27 mm nodule in the right apical segment (S1). He was pathologically diagnosed with a metastatic lung tumor from HCC via transbronchoscopic biopsy. We planned to perform right S1 segmentectomy. Before surgery, contrast-enhanced CT in the pulmonary vessels phase for three-dimensional reconstruction showed that the tumor extended into the adjusting peripheral pulmonary vein, and we diagnosed tumor thrombus invasion in V1a. The surgery was conducted under 3-port video-assisted thoracic surgery. First, V1 was ligated and cut. A1 and B1 were cut. The intersegmental plane was cut with mechanical staplers. Pathological examination revealed moderately-differentiated metastatic HCC with tumor thrombus invasions in many pulmonary veins, including V1a. No additional postoperative treatments were performed. CONCLUSIONS: As malignant tumors tend to develop a tumor thrombus in the primary tumor, it might be necessary to perform contrast-enhanced CT in the pulmonary vessel phase to check for a tumor thrombus before the operation for metastatic lung tumors.

Longitudinal Analysis of Eye Health Disparities Due to Trachoma Using Country-Level Data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.

PURPOSE: To assess the change in eye health disparities due to trachoma using longitudinal country-level data (1990-2019) from the global burden of disease study 2019. METHODS:STATEMENT: We obtained data on the burden of trachoma and population statistics from the Global Health Data Exchange website. We assessed the geographic distribution of trachoma at the global level and World Bank regional level from year to year using Gini coefficients and statistics of inequality that ranged from 0 (total equality) to 1 (total inequality). RESULT: We found that 60 countries and territories had a burden of trachoma, and these were from all regions except Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia. At the global level, the Gini coefficient had increased from 0.546 to 0.637 (p for trend: <0.001) in the last three decades, while the mean disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) per 100,000 people declined from 13.0 to 3.2 (p for trend: <0.001). The inequality statistics had significantly worsened in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa (p for trend: <0.001) despite the decrease in the mean DALYs per capita. CONCLUSION: Our study revealed that the burden of trachoma dramatically decreased; however, the eye health inequality due to trachoma increased globally and in two of the most endemic regions in the last three decades. Global eye health experts need to monitor the distribution of eye diseases and ensure appropriate, effective, uniform, and high-quality eye care for all.

Major Ocular Abnormalities Among Hemodialysis Patients in Indonesia.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to identify the major ocular abnormality findings (i.e., cataract and conjunctival and corneal calcification (CCC)) among hemodialysis (HD) patients and their risk factors. METHODS: A single institute-based cross-sectional study in Indonesia. Demographic data, medical histories, and complete ocular examinations were collected. For two major ocular abnormalities found, a generalized estimating equation was incorporated in a logistic regression model to assess the relationship with their risk factors. RESULTS: We analyzed 318 eyes (159 individuals), of which 54.7% male and 45.3% female. The mean age was 51.6±11.3 years. The mean HD period was 3.5±3.2 years. Hypertension and diabetes mellitus (DM) was found in 81.1% and 34.6%, respectively. The major ocular abnormalities found were cataract (206 eyes; 64.78% (95% CI 59.53-70.03)), followed by CCC (135 eyes; 42.45% (95 % CI 37.02-47.88)). In a multivariate model, higher education (odds ratio (OR) 0.17; 95% CI 0.04-0.74), hypertension (OR 0.15; 95% CI 0.03-0.79), DM (OR 10.49; 95% CI 1.57-70.06), Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) 120-129 mmHg (OR 0.05; 95% CI 0.003-0.69), SBP >140 mmHg (OR 0.05; 95% CI 0.004-0.67), Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP) 80-89 mmHg (OR 7.44; 95% CI 1.13-48.73), and DBP >90 mmHg (OR 48.47; 95% CI 3.4-692.03) showed significant association with cataract. Meanwhile, there was no significant association between CCC and any predictor. CONCLUSION: Cataract and CCC were found to be the major ocular abnormalities among HD patients in this study, with DM and higher DBP as the risk factors for cataract. This finding supports recommendations for integrated regular eye screening in HD patients.

The prevalence of uncorrected refractive error in Japan: the Locomotive Syndrome and Health Outcome in Aizu Cohort Study.

PURPOSE: Uncorrected refractive error (URE) is the leading cause of vision impairment and the second leading cause of blindness. It is a major public health challenge worldwide. However, the current status of URE in Japan is unclear. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. METHODS: In 2012, a population-based cross-sectional study was conducted among community dwellers aged 40 years and older who received health check-ups in Minamiaizu and Tadami, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. URE was considered when the presenting visual acuity in the better-seeing eye was < 0.5 and when visual acuity improved more than 1 line with refractive correction in the better-seeing eye. We estimated the age-specific prevalence of URE, and calculated the p-value for trend to examine the linear pattern of the association of the prevalence of URE and age. RESULTS: This analysis included 2952 participants. The mean age (standard deviation [SD]) of the study population was 69.10(9.67) years and 57.79% were women. The overall prevalence of URE was 10.90% (95% CI, 9.77-12.05%). Prevalence by age category was 5.00% (95% CI, 2.03-10.03%), 6.09% (95% CI, 3.59-9.58%), 7.02% (95% CI, 5.49-8.81%), 11.96% (95% CI, 10.15-13.97%), and 22.39% (95% CI, 18.41-26.78%) for 40-49 years, 50-59 years, 60-69 years, 70-79 years, and 80 years or older, respectively (p-for trend, < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of URE was 10.9% and exceeded 20%, especially in individuals older than 80 years. Given the correlation between increasing incidence of URE and increase in age, public health intervention to promote awareness of URE is important, especially for the older population.

[Hyperammonemic encephalopathy after treatment with modified FOLFOX6 regimen for recurrent gastric cancer:a case report].

A 64-year-old female received modified FOLFOX6 therapy with continuous administration of a high concentration of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) for recurrence of peritoneal dissemination after total gastrectomy. Twenty-nine hours after the administration, there was the sudden onset of altered consciousness and hepatic dysfunction accompanied by hyperammonemia. The consciousness and hepatic function improved the following day after treatment with branched-chain amino acid formulation, lactulose, fresh frozen plasma, and continuous hemodiafiltration. Thus, the diagnosis was 5-FU-induced hyperammonemia. Improvement of dehydration and renal dysfunction would be important for avoiding the risk of developing the side effects. Because recurrent gastric cancer is often a progressive condition, post-treatment might be promptly transferred to the other posterior regimen without 5-FU as required.

Laparoscopic ultrasound guided wedge resection of the stomach: a novel procedure for gastric submucosal tumor.

It is essential for the surgery of gastric submucosal tumors to resect the tumor with a negative margin and minimize the incision of the normal stomach wall. We developed a novel procedure for patients with gastric submucosal tumors using a laparoscopic ultrasound probe as a guide to determine the resection line. Since 2014, we have performed the laparoscopic ultrasound-guided wedge resection of the stomach in seven patients. The tumor was localized, and the property of the tumor was clearly identified using a laparoscopic ultrasound probe. As a result, the ideal incision line was determined without intraoperative endoscopy. The stomach wall was perforated along the marking on the planned incision line and the whole layer is subsequently incised along with the tumor. The surgical margins were negative, and there were no obvious injuries of the pseudocapsule, microscopically, in any case. It is possible that the laparoscopic ultrasound-guided wedge resection of the stomach contributes to a simplification of the surgery of gastric submucosal tumors resulting in reduced medical cost while maintaining curability and functional preservation.

Corneal Eccentricity in a Rural Japanese Population: The Locomotive Syndrome and Health Outcome in Aizu Cohort Study (LOHAS).

PURPOSE: To determine normal corneal eccentricity in a rural Japanese population and to examine factors associated with eccentricity value. METHODS: This used data from the Locomotive Syndrome and Health Outcome in Aizu Cohort Study (LOHAS) project between 2009 and 2012. Residents of Minamiaizu and Tadami in Fukushima, Japan, who were aged 40 years or over, were invited for a comprehensive eye examination. For 1371 patients with no history of internal eye surgery, corneal eccentricity was measured using a Pentacam. RESULTS: Of 1371 people recruited to the study, 1215 (1215 eyes) met the inclusion criteria. The overall mean eccentricity was 0.46 (SD = 0.18; range, -0.85 to 0.88). Corneal eccentricity was significantly associated with age, spherical equivalent, pupil diameter, anterior chamber angle, anterior chamber volume, and central corneal thickness, but not with gender or body mass index. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, the normal cornea in this Japanese population was prolate. Corneal eccentricity was likely to decrease with increasing age. Also, spherical equivalent and other anterior segment parameters had an influence on corneal eccentricity. Corneal eccentricity measurements might be helpful in the diagnosis of corneal diseases and in calculations for intraocular lens implantation and corneal refractive surgery.

The Impact of Travel Distance to Delayed Presentation and Follow-up Attendance of Retinal Detachment Cases in Surabaya, Indonesia.

Objectives: To assess the delayed presentation of Retinal Detachment (RD), its association from travel distance to the referral hospital (TDH), the period from symptom onset to consultation (SO-C), Proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) severity, and 6 months follow-up attendance (6mo-FA). Method: A retrospective review based on medical records. Age, sex, initial best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), TDH, SO-C, PVR type, and 6mo-FA were recorded. Multivariable ordered logistic regression was used to analyze the association between TDH and SO-C, and SO-C and PVR severity. Multivariable logistic regression was used to analyze 6mo-FA according to TDH. Multiple linear regression was used to assess the association between initial BCVA and TDH. Age and sex were included in all multivariable adjustments. Results: A total of 387 patients had RD with 59.2% predominantly males and the mean age±SD was 46.3±13.9 years. The initial BCVA of less than 3/60 was 81.1%. The averages of SO-C and TDH were 183.5±456 days and 160.9±364 km, respectively. The TDH of more than 120 km distance was significantly associated with longer SO-C (adjusted OR 1.78; CI 95% 1.09-2.92). PVR was noted in 17.6% of patients. The SO-C of 31-60 days was significantly associated with PVR severity (adjusted OR 4.28; CI 95% 1.47-12.51). The TDH of more than 120 km distance was significantly associated with 6mo-FA (adjusted OR 0.46; CI 95% 0.27-0.93). Conclusions: Long TDH was significantly associated with a longer period from symptom onset to consultation and 6mo-FA. Hence, accessible eye care is essential to refer RD cases in a timely fashion.

Impact of retinal vein occlusion on cardiovascular events in elderly Japanese patients.

ABSTRACT: To assess the relationship between retinal vein occlusion (RVO) and the incidence of cardiovascular (CV) events.This was a single-institution, retrospective cohort study. We enrolled 57 patients diagnosed with RVO between January 2012 and December 2019, and 125 non-RVO patients who had undergone cataract surgery by a single surgeon between January and April 2012. We compared the relative risk and incidence rate ratio of CV events between the 2 groups. In addition, survival analysis was performed to calculate the hazard ratio (HR) using the Cox proportional hazards model. RVO, age, sex, blood pressure, body mass index, presence of diabetes, blood sample data, and smoking were considered confounders.The mean observation period (± standard deviation) for the RVO and non-RVO groups was 2.68 ±â€Š2.04 and 2.81 ±â€Š2.70 years, respectively. Seven CV events were observed in the RVO group and 2 in the non-RVO group. Relative risk and incidence rate ratio were 7.68 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.65-35.8) and 8.07 (95% CI: 1.54-79.6), respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that the RVO group had a high HR for CV events (HR: 16.13 [95% CI: 2.29-113.74]) and older age (HR: 1.26 [95% CI: 1.06-1.49]).RVO can predict future CV events, especially in the elderly population. Fundus observations should be shared between ophthalmologists and internists to prevent future CV events.

Visual acuity after intravitreal ranibizumab with and without laser therapy in the treatment of macular edema due to branch retinal vein occlusion: a 12-month retrospective analysis.

AIM: To identify factors contributing to visual improvement after treatment of macular edema (ME) secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO), and to assess the interaction between laser therapy and intravitreal ranibizumab (IVR). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who had been treated for BRVO-related ME at our hospital. Records were traceable for at least 12mo, and evaluated factors included age, sex, medical history, smoking history, treatment methods, foveal hemorrhage, and change in visual acuity. Treatments included laser therapy, IVR, sub-Tenon's capsule injection of triamcinolone (STTA), a combination, or no intervention. Multivariate logistic regression analysis and interaction terms were used to assess the clinical efficacy of the treatments, and odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. RESULTS: Seventy-three patients (34 men, 39 women; 73 eyes) with a mean age of 69.4±12.1y were included. Patients who underwent IVR monotherapy, laser monotherapy, and STTA+laser had significantly higher best corrected visual acuity at 12mo compared to baseline (P<0.001, <0.001, and 0.019, respectively). Logistic regression analysis without interaction terms found that IVR was a significant visual acuity recovery factor (adjusted OR: 3.89, 95%CI: 1.25-12.1, P=0.019). Adjusted OR using an interaction model by logistic regression was 16.6 (95%CI: 2.54-108.47, P=0.003) with IVR treatment, and 8.25 (95%CI: 1.34-50.57, P=0.023) with laser treatment. No interaction was observed (adjusted OR: 0.07, 95%CI: 0.01-0.75, P=0.029). CONCLUSION: IVR contributes to improvements in visual acuity at 12mo in ME secondary to BRVO. No interaction is observed between laser therapy and IVR treatments.

Prevalence and factors associated with uncorrected presbyopia in a rural population of Japan: the Locomotive Syndrome and Health Outcome in Aizu Cohort Study.

PURPOSE: To investigate the prevalence and factors associated with uncorrected presbyopia among rural community dwellers in Japan. STUDY DESIGN: A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted in 2011 among community dwellers aged 40-74 years who received specific health checkups in Minamiaizu and Tadami, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. METHODS: Uncorrected presbyopia was considered as when the distance-corrected visual acuity in the better eye was ≥0.5 and the near-presenting visual acuity in the better eye was <0.4, regardless of distance refractive status. Multiple logistic regression analysis was employed to calculate the odds ratios (ORs) for uncorrected presbyopia and to adjust for possible confounders. RESULTS: A total of 2054 individuals participated in the specific health checkups. In the 1156 individuals (response rate: 56.28%) analyzed in the study, the mean (SD) age was 63.0 (8.7) years, the percentage of women was higher (57.87%), and the prevalence of uncorrected presbyopia was 26.38% (95% CI 23.86%-29.03%). Multivariate analysis revealed that the factors associated with uncorrected presbyopia were older age (adjusted OR: 1.054 [95% CI: 1.034-1.075]), female sex (adjusted OR: 1.388 [95% CI: 1.006-1.915]), and distance-presenting vision impairment (adjusted OR: 2.651 [95% CI: 1.697-4.143]). CONCLUSION: Approximately one-quarter of the participants in this study from a rural population of Japan did not have adequate near vision. It is recommended that a public health intervention should be enacted to correct presbyopia, especially in the older age group, women, and those with uncorrected refractive errors.

A web-based survey of contact lens-related adverse events among the Japanese female population.

To assess the safety of cosmetic contact lenses and to identify other factors of contact lens (CL)-related complications for Japanese females. A web-based, cross-sectional, observational survey of complications related to CL use was performed. The frequencies of complications were compared between transparent and cosmetic CLs. Besides lens pigmentation, age, replacement schedule, total experience, daily wear time, location of purchase, stacking of CLs, CL exchange with friends, compliance to hygiene procedure, replacement of CLs at intervals longer than recommended, and CL wear overnight were considered as risk factors. Logistic regression analyses were performed to calculate the odds ratios. A total of 3803 Japanese females were analyzed. The frequency of adverse events was 33.4% (95%CI 31.3-35.4%) and 35.7% (95%CI 33.5-38.0%) for transparent and cosmetic CLs, respectively. In a multivariate model, statistically significant factors associated with complications included the following: quarterly schedule lenses, replacement at intervals longer than recommended, compliance to hygiene procedure, overnight wearing, purchase at physical shops and on the internet, and longer daily wearing time. Most of the risk-increasing behaviors are preventable. The role of public health ophthalmology is to increase awareness and to improve CL use behaviors.

The effects of warned loss magnitude and timeout duration on human avoidance behavior.

This study experimentally investigated the determinants of avoidance behavior when participants are forewarned of aversive outcomes. The effects of 3 variables on avoidance behavior were examined: point-loss amount (5 levels, from 20 to 100 points), duration of timeout from positive reinforcement (5 levels, 20 to 100 s), and 3 predictive accuracy levels (100%, 50%, and 0%) of warning stimuli. Twelve participants completed 3 sessions, each comprising 25 discrete trials, that differed in predictive accuracy level. Throughout a session, a participant engaged in button press responses that were reinforced by points under a conjunctive fixed-ratio fixed-interval schedule. During each trial, a warning stimulus that indicated a loss amount and a timeout duration was presented. If the participant pressed the avoidance button, then the timeout started, otherwise the loss occurred. The trial ended with termination of timeout or an occurrence of the loss. Results showed that avoidance responses increased when the loss amount increased and decreased when the timeout duration increased. The frequency of avoidance responses was lowest when the predictive accuracy of warning stimuli was 0%. These findings demonstrated that this experimental procedure could be useful for investigating human avoidance behavior outside the laboratory.

A new technique to avoid unintentional adhesion while deploying ProGrip mesh and its utility in the laparoscopic repair of obturator hernia.

The ProGrip™ laparoscopic self-fixating mesh provides advantages such as low cost and reduced pain following tack-free fixation in laparoscopic hernia repair through a transabdominal preperitoneal approach. Obturator hernia repair needs adequate fixation around the hernial orifice without the use of tacking, and ProGrip™ mesh provides options for secure fixation. However, it is often difficult to adequately adjust the mesh placement to cover the obturator hernia orifice with a ProGrip™ mesh, due to adhesion of the grips to the surrounding tissues. We introduce our technique to avoid unintentional adhesion during ProGrip mesh repair and discuss its utility in the treatment of obturator hernias. We repaired seven obturator hernia lesions in five patients using this technique without any complications. The biggest advantage of our technique is that the position of the mesh can be adjusted after it is expanded, unless the sheet is completely removed, allowing the surgeons to fix the mesh without any unintended adhesion to surrounding tissue.

Intraocular pressure-lowering effects of ripasudil, a rho-kinase inhibitor, and selective laser trabeculoplasty as adjuvant therapy in patients with uncontrolled glaucoma.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the intraocular pressure (IOP)-lowering effects of ripasudil, a rho-kinase inhibitor, and selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) as adjuvant therapy in Japanese glaucoma patients and to identify the factors associated with treatment success. METHODS: We performed a retrospective medical chart review of patients with glaucoma who received ripasudil or SLT as an adjuvant therapy. We collected data on 65 eyes (65 patients) with primary open-angle glaucoma, normal-tension glaucoma, or exfoliation glaucoma with at least 12 months of follow-up. IOP and number of glaucoma medications at 0, 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months were compared between and within groups. A repeated-measures mixed model was used to perform statistical analysis. We also investigated factors associated with treatment success, which was defined as ≥ 20% reduction in IOP at all follow-up periods, using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Significant IOP reduction was observed at all time-points after treatment in the ripasudil group (n = 33) and in the SLT group (n = 32), with no statistically significant difference between the groups before or after treatment. Patients in the SLT group used more anti-glaucoma medications before treatment, but fewer during follow-up, than those in the ripasudil group. Regardless of treatment, higher baseline IOP was associated with treatment success [crude odds ratio: 1.21 (95% confidence interval: 1.06-1.38), adjusted odds ratio: 1.37 (95% confidence interval: 1.06-1.77)]. CONCLUSIONS: Adjuvant SLT or ripasudil in patients with inadequately controlled glaucoma both reduced IOP to a similar degree, but SLT contributed to reducing the number of medications used.

Colonic varices treated with embolization after pancreatoduodenectomy with portal vein resection: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatoduodenectomy with resection of the portal vein or superior mesenteric vein confluence has been safely performed in patients with pancreatic head cancer associated with infiltration of the portal vein or superior mesenteric vein. In recent years, left-sided portal hypertension, a late postoperative complication, has received focus owing to increased long-term survival with advances in chemotherapy. Left-sided hypertension may sometimes cause fatal gastrointestinal bleeding because of the rupture of gastrointestinal varices. Here, we present a case of colonic varices caused by left-sided portal hypertension after pancreatoduodenectomy with portal vein resection. CASE PRESENTATION: A 69-year-old man diagnosed with pancreatic head cancer was referred to our department for surgery after undergoing chemotherapy with nine courses of gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel. Computed tomography showed a mass 25 mm in diameter and in contact with the portal vein. He had undergone subtotal stomach-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy with portal vein resection. Four centimeters of the portal vein had been resected, and end-to-end anastomosis was performed without splenic vein reconstruction. We had to completely resect the right colic vein, accessary right colic vein, and middle colic vein due to tumor invasion. The pathological diagnosis was ypT3, ypN1a, ypM0, and ypStageIIB, and he was administered TS-1 as postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy. Seven months after therapeutic radical surgery, he presented with melena with progressive anemia. Computed tomography revealed transverse colonic varices. He was offered interventional radiology. Trans-splenic arterial splenic venography showed that transverse colonic varices had developed as collateral circulation of the splenic vein and inferior mesenteric vein system. An embolic substance was injected into the transverse colonic varices, which halted the progression of the anemia caused by melena. Fifteen months after therapeutic radical surgery, local recurrence of the tumor occurred; he died 28 months after the surgery. CONCLUSIONS: When subtotal stomach-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy with portal vein resection is performed without splenic vein reconstruction, colonic varices may result from left-sided portal hypertension. Interventional radiology is an effective treatment for gastrointestinal bleeding due to colonic varices, but it is important to be observant for colonic necrosis and new varices.