Internal medicine
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Objective Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is often associated with concomitant systemic manifestations and comorbidities, such as cardiovascular disease. There are limited data regarding airflow limitation (AL) and atherosclerosis in Japanese patients, and the potential association between AL and arterial stiffness has not yet been investigated in Japanese patients. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the association between AL severity and arterial stiffness using the brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV). ⋯ Using logistic regression models adjusted for the age, body mass index, smoking status, hypersensitive C-reactive protein levels, hypertension, hyperglycemia, and dyslipidemia, an increased baPWV (>1,400 cm/s) was significantly associated with moderate-to-severe AL compared with a normal pulmonary function (odds ratio=2.76; 95% confidence intervals, 1.37-5.55; p=0.004). Conclusion Our results indicated an association between AL and increased arterial stiffness. Arterial stiffness may therefore worsen with an increase in the severity of AL.
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The aim of our study was to investigate clinical and nutritional factors associated with renal involvement in patients with type 2 diabetes. ⋯ Our data suggest that a high salt intake, in addition to arteriosclerosis, is associated with renal involvement in our cohort with type 2 diabetes.
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The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between the incidence of diabetes and the accumulation of markers of impaired glucose metabolism; i.e., pre-diabetes. ⋯ The present results demonstrate the impact of accumulating markers of impaired glucose metabolism on the risk of developing diabetes. Anti-diabetes intervention strategies should aim to comprehensively assess an individual's risk of developing diabetes at the pre-diabetes stage.
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The incidence of iliopsoas abscesses has been increasing due to advances in diagnostic imaging techniques and the increased number of elderly individuals and immunodeficient patients with co-morbidities. Our aim was to investigate the management and treatment of iliopsoas abscesses, particularly the effectiveness of computed tomography (CT)-guided drainage in the era of interventional radiology. ⋯ Based on the high success rate of CT-guided drainage in this study, this technique is expected to continue to play a major role in cases requiring drainage, even in patients with bilateral or multilocular abscesses. However, this modality cannot be used in cases of gastrointestinal perforation.
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We evaluated the diagnostic performance of computed tomography (CT) as an initial radiologic test for assessing the optimal timing of colonoscopy in patients with acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding (LGIB) and investigated the effectiveness of contrast-enhanced (CE) CT for detecting colonic diverticular bleeding. ⋯ Urgent CT is useful for determining the optimal timing of colonoscopy in cases of acute LGIB. CE-CT may be used to depict the presence and location of active hemorrhage and provides useful information for subsequent colonoscopy, especially in patients with diverticular bleeding.