Internal medicine
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To evaluate the clinical features, etiology, and prognosis of patients who required long-term mechanical ventilation (LMV) of over three months for respiratory failure following underlying disease, and observation of their clinical course until death. ⋯ This study has demonstrated that appropriate treatment for respiratory tract infections such as VAP and the prevention of nasocomial infection due to MRSA is of paramount importance for patients requiring long-term mechanical ventilation of over three months.
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A 30-year-old man was admitted to our hospital for left lobar pneumonia with septic shock. Acute left-sided heart failure became evident as sepsis developed. ⋯ Along with amelioration of sepsis and decrease of the serum concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-6, LV hypokinesis improved. It is suggested that the patient's heart failure may have been due to functional depression of myocardial contractility resulting from a direct effect of the cytokines towards the cardiomyocytes, the so-called "septic myocardial depression".
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Comparative Study
Open-label compassionate use one year-treatment with pirfenidone to patients with chronic pulmonary fibrosis.
We attempted to evaluate the feasibility (therapeutic efficacy, tolerance, and clinical courses after treatment) of pirfenidone, an anti-fibrotic drug for patients with chronic pulmonary fibroses such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). ⋯ The feasibility of Pirfenidone as a therapeutic drug was confirmed for patients with advanced pulmonary fibrosis.
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Editorial Comment
Headache and spontaneous vertebral artery dissection.
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Review Case Reports
Acute eosinophilic pneumonia following cigarette smoking: a case report including cigarette-smoking challenge test.
A 21-year-old woman presented with acute progressive dyspnea. Chest computed tomography (CT) revealed diffuse bilateral infiltrates. ⋯ Therefore, a cigarette-smoking challenge test was done with the patient's informed consent. After the challenge, eosinophilic pneumonia was documented by BALF and TBLB findings, which were similar to those detected on admission, without significant radiographic findings.