Internal medicine
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A 66-year-old Japanese woman developed pulseless electrical activity following an acute pulmonary embolism and was treated with thrombolytic therapy. She remained hemodynamically unstable and therefore underwent extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). ⋯ Therefore, the blood clots were removed with a Fogarty balloon catheter and endobronchial urokinase administration, resulting in improvement in her respiratory condition. Finally, ECMO was decannulated, and the patient was discharged from our hospital without difficulties in her activities of daily living.
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Case Reports
Sonographic Multifocal Cranial Nerve Enlargement in Multifocal Acquired Demyelinating Sensory and Motor Neuropathy.
Multifocal enlargements with the alteration of a normal fascicular pattern are considered to be sonographic peripheral nerve features in multifocal acquired demyelinating sensory and motor neuropathy (MADSAM), a subtype of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP). We herein present the case of an 18-year-old patient with MADSAM in whom intensive sonological assessments revealed multifocal nerve enlargement within clinically affected cranial nerves. Our case demonstrated that, if systematically investigated with ultrasound, morphological changes similar to those in the peripheral nerves may be detected in a large proportion of clinically affected cranial nerves in MADSAM, boosting the future applications of cranial nerve ultrasound in CIDP.
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Observational Study
Real-world Profile of a Selective Peroxisome Proliferator-activated Receptor α Modulator (SPPARMα) in Japanese Patients with Renal Impairment and Dyslipidemia.
Objective Although lowering the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels using statins can reduce cardiovascular risk, 70% of the cardiovascular risk remains despite treatment with statins. Several studies have shown that elevated triglyceride (TG)-rich lipoprotein is the primary therapeutic target for reducing the residual risk. However, conventional treatment with fibrates is frequently associated with adverse drug reactions, especially in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), and even with a reduction in TG. ⋯ The subgroup of patients with CKD showed similar results without increased HDL-C. No adverse events were observed in any patients. Conclusion Pemafibrate has a good safety profile and efficacy for treating patients with serum lipid abnormalities, including those with CKD.
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Case Reports
Coexisting Type 1 Autoimmune Pancreatitis and Mixed-type Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasm.
An 84-year-old man was referred to our hospital for a cystic lesion of the pancreatic head, swelling of the pancreatic tail and hilar biliary stricture, resulting in elevated liver enzyme levels. We suspected branch duct-type intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) and type I autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) associated with sclerosing cholangitis because of the high serum IgG4 levels. ⋯ The entire main pancreatic duct exhibited remarkable dilatation, which led to the diagnosis of mixed-type IPMN. The clinical characteristics of IPMN in the main pancreatic duct appear to have been initially masked by AIP.
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Objective Since patients with thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA)/abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) are often complicated with coronary artery disease, it is common for those patients to undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The ankle brachial index (ABI) is usually measured in patients with TAA/AAA to screen the presence of peripheral arterial disease. The present study investigated the association between the ABI and clinical outcomes following PCI in patients with TAA/AAA. ⋯ A multivariate Cox hazard analysis revealed that an abnormal ABI was significantly associated with 1-year MACE (vs. ABI ≥1.0: HR 3.02, 95% confidence interval 1.00-9.08, p=0.049). Conclusion Among patients with TAA/AAA who underwent PCI, abnormal ABI was significantly associated with 1-year MACE, suggesting the utility of the ABI measurement in this high-risk population.