Internal medicine
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Objective To investigate the clinical course of ulcerative colitis (UC) during pregnancy, focusing on their mutual influence. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 58 patients with UC who had 73 pregnancies and 3 patients with newly developed UC during pregnancy. We recorded the rate of relapse of UC; the relationship between medication use and UC relapse during pregnancy; treatment for relapse; and the incidence of pregnancy, childbirth, and newborn abnormalities. ⋯ In two of the three patients with new-onset UC, UC was severe and required intensive care; however, the pregnancies continued uneventfully. Conclusion Although the progress of pregnancies complicated by UC was mostly uneventful, discontinuing medication carries the risk of UC relapse. Thus, appropriate management of medical treatments for UC during pregnancy is important.
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Hepatic undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) is a rare malignant mesenchymal tumor with unclear cancer-related genetic mutations. In a 60-year-old Japanese woman with a rapidly growing, inoperable hepatic UPS, a genetic mutation analysis revealed KRAS and TP53 mutations. Despite initiating hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy, the tumor continued to grow, and the patient's poor performance status complicated the transition to a phase I KRAS mutation drug trial, leading to death eight months after the symptom onset. A timely genetic mutation analysis may facilitate effective treatment transitions in hepatic UPS despite the lack of established treatments.
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Thymic carcinoma (TC) is a rare malignancy with limited treatment options. Lenvatinib, a novel multitarget kinase inhibitor, has recently been used to treat advanced or metastatic thymic carcinoma that cannot be surgically removed. ⋯ We herein report an 85-year-old Japanese woman with localized unresectable thymic carcinoma who was treated with lenvatinib as induction chemotherapy before undergoing radiotherapy. Our findings suggest that lenvatinib may be a viable option for induction chemotherapy in similar clinical scenarios.
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Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is known to cause gastrointestinal hemorrhaging; however, few reports have so far specified the site of the hemorrhaging or lesion characteristics. A 79-year-old man was admitted to the hospital with fever, anorexia, and diarrhea which was suspected to be due to gastroenteritis. On day 2, the patient developed hematemesis. ⋯ Further physical examination revealed an eschar, and the blood test was positive for SFTS virus nucleic acid. This case suggests that SFTS-associated gastrointestinal hemorrhage may be caused by acute gastritis. SFTS should therefore be considered in cases with fever, gastrointestinal symptoms, and thrombocytopenia.