The activated clotting time (ACT) is used to assess adequacy of anticoagulation during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). However, ACT values during CPB do not correlate with heparin concentration and are affected by variations of such factors as hypothermia and hemodilution. ACT is also used to estimate protamine doses, because excess protamine may result in hypotension and an increase in bleeding after CPB. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of heparin and protamine administration that were administered based on whole blood heparin concentration using Hepcon/HMS (HC group) on the incidence of bleeding and blood transfusion after CPB. We treated 32 of adult cases and 36 pediatric cases. For the control group (NC group), an initial fixed dose of 300U/kg heparin was administered and if the ACT was less than 400s an additional fixed dose of 100U/kg heparin was administered. Heparin was neutralized with an initial fixed dose of protamine. For the HC group, the initial dose of heparin and the additional dose of heparin were based on an automated heparin dose response assay. The initial dose of protamine was based on the residual heparin concentration. The patients in the HC group received greater doses of heparin and lower doses of protamine than the patients in the NC group. In the pediatric HC group, the amount of TAT, FTC and D-dimer post CPB were smaller than those in the NC group. Operative time and closure time were similar the two groups. Operative bleeding, mediastinal chest tube drainage in the postoperative period were similar in the two groups. The volume of total blood transfusion was also comparable in the two groups. In conclusion, the monitoring of heparin concentration during CPB in children was effective for the maintenance of coagulation factors.

A 13-year-old girl was admitted to our hospital with a history of syncope after exercise. Neither left ventricular (LV) function nor hypertrophy was detected by transthoracic echocardiography. However, 24-h Holter electrocardiogram demonstrated ST segment depression with increasing heartbeat. Exercise ²⁰¹Tl myocardial scintigram also demonstrated ischemia of the anterior LV wall. Multi-slice coronary computed tomography (CT) demonstrated hypoplasia of the left main coronary artery. The syncope on exertion was ascribed to myocardial ischemia due to hypoplasia of the left main coronary artery. We performed off-pump coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) (left internal thoracic artery-left descending artery). The postoperative course was uneventful and postoperative stress ²⁰¹Tl myocardial scintigram demonstrated the absence of myocardial ischemia. Coronary CT demonstrated good graft patency. To date, there has not been any recurrence of syncope on exertion. We herein report a successful off-pump CABG for a patient with syncope due to hypoplasia of the left main coronary artery. Syncope on exertion due to hypoplasia of the left main coronary artery is very rare. However, certain forms of congenital coronary anomalies are associated with adverse cardiac events, including sudden cardiac death. The diagnosis, therefore, can be important and CABG is indicated, especially when there is repetitive syncope due to myocardial ischemia.

　　Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutation examination is now performed in most medical institutions in order to select the molecular targeted medicine for lung cancer. It became clear that the positive rate of the biopsy material was lower than that of the surgical sample in this hospital. The cause was attributed to false negatives due to low tumor cell content in biopsy specimens. We investigated the presence of the mutation using surgical samples and preoperative biopsy specimens from the same patients in 13 cases. Furthermore, we investigated the tumor cell content of the biopsy specimens by cell counting. Results showed that 3 of 6 biopsy specimens that were associated with positive surgical samples were judged to be negative. The tumor cell content was less than 5% in all negative cases. Regarding EGFR gene mutation examination, we should carefully determine tumor cell content when using biopsy specimens.

We report a 5-year-old girl with a diagnosis of an anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery with an intramural aortic route. The left coronary artery entered the aortic wall running parallel to the aorta. With the aid of cardiopulmonary bypass, she underwent establishment of two coronary artery systems by intraaortic reconstruction (unroofing and anastomosis). Her postoperative course was uneventful. Postoperative cineangiogram demonstrated patency and prograde flow in the new coronary systems.

Purpose: Gastric neoplasia is a common manifestation of familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). This study aimed to elucidate the clinical characteristics, endoscopic features including fundic gland polyposis (FGPsis), and treatment outcomes of gastric neoplasms (GNs) in patients with FAP. Materials and Methods: A total of 35 patients diagnosed with FAP, including nine patients from four pedigrees who underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), were investigated regarding patient characteristics, GN morphology, and treatment outcomes. Results: Twenty-one patients (60.0%) had 38 GNs; 33 (86.8%) and 5 (13.2%) were histologically diagnosed with adenocarcinoma and adenoma, respectively. There were no specific patient characteristics related to GNs.Nodule-type GNs were more prevalent in patients with FGP than without (52.2% vs. 0.0%, P=0.002) in the upper body of the stomach. Conversely, depressed-type GNs were fewer in patients with FGPsis than in those without (13.0% vs. 73.3%, P<0.001). Slightly elevated-type GNs were observed in both groups (34.8% vs. 20.0%, P=0.538). Even within pedigrees, the background gastric mucosa and types of GNs varied. In total, 24 GNs were treated with endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) and eight with endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR). EMR was selected for GNs with FGPsis because of the technical difficulty of ESD, resulting in a lower en bloc resection rate (62.5% vs. 100%, P=0.014). Conclusions Our study indicates the necessity of routine EGD surveillance in patients diagnosed with FAP. Notably, the morphology and location of GNs differed between patients with and without FGPsis. Endoscopic treatment and outcomes require more attention in cases of FGPsis.

Objective: The differences in clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients with hematological disorders (HD) who developed either coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) or seasonal influenza (SI) are not fully understood. To examine these differences, we retrospectively analyzed the baseline characteristics and clinical outcomes of hospitalized patients with HD admitted from 2016 to 2021.Patients and Methods: Patients with HD who developed COVID-19 (in the past 1 year) (n=21) or SI (in the past 5 years) (n=23) in the Department of Hematology/Oncology, Asahikawa Kosei General Hospital were evaluated.Results: The median ages of the patients with HD with either COVID-19 or SI were 80 and 68 years, respectively (P=0.03). The groups showed no significant differences in sex ratio, body mass index, or Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status. In the COVID-19 and SI groups, the most common primary diseases were diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (43%) and multiple myeloma (39%), respectively. The median numbers of days of oxygen administration (8 vs. 0 days), quarantine (25 vs. 6 days), and hospitalization (72 vs. 21 days) were significantly higher in HD patients with COVID-19 than those in HD patients with SI (all P<0.001). The overall 90-day survival of patients with HD and COVID-19 was significantly shorter than that of patients with HD and SI (P=0.019). Moreover, patients with HD and COVID-19 had a higher risk of in-hospital mortality (43% vs. 9%; odds ratio, 7.50; 95% confidence interval, 1.26–82.4; P=0.01) compared to patients with HD and SI.Conclusion: Patients with HD and COVID-19 required longer periods of in-hospital medical and showed poorer survival than those with SI. During the COVID-19 pandemic, hematologists should closely monitor the condition of patients with COVID-19 to closely monitor their condition to prevent deaths.

Background: No consensus exists regarding which anthropometric measurements are related to bone mineral density (BMD), and this relationship may vary according to sex and age. A large Japanese cohort was analyzed to provide an understanding of the relationship between BMD and anthropometry while adjusting for known confounding factors. Methods: Our cohort included 10,827 participants who underwent multiple medical checkups including distal forearm BMD scans. Participants were stratified into four groups according to age (≥50 years or <50 years) and sex. The BMD values were adjusted for confounding factors, after which single and partial correlation analyses were performed. The prevalence of osteopenia was plotted for each weight index (weight or body mass index [BMI]) class. Results: Cross-sectional studies revealed that weight was more favorably correlated than BMI in the older group (R=0.278 and 0.212 in men and R=0.304 and 0.220 in women, respectively), whereas weight and BMI were weakly correlated in the younger age groups. The prevalence of osteopenia exhibited a negative linear relationship with weight among older women ≥50 years of age, and an accelerated increase was observed with decreasing weight in older men weighing <50 kg and younger women weighing <60 kg. When weight was replaced with BMI, the prevalence was low in most subgroups classified by weight. Conclusions Weight, rather than BMI, was the most important indicator of osteopenia but it might not be predictive of future bone loss.

Objective: The use of generic drugs is promoted to reduce medical costs and copayments. However, tumor agents are expensive and generic drugs are not widelyused. Thus, it is necessaryto evaluate the safetyof generic drugs in more detail. We compared the incidence of adverse events between the original drug (Gemzar®: GEM) and generic drug (Gemcitabine [Sandoz]: GE-GEM) using propensityscore (PS) matching.Methods: We investigated adverse events in patients who received one course of GEM or GE-GEM. The patient background (age,sex, BSA, cancer type, stage, metastasis, surgical history, and radiotherapy) and administration status (administration route and RDI) were used to calculate the PS.Results: Among all patients (GEM: 51, GE-GEM: 54), a significantlygreater number in the GE-GEM group had cancer metastasis. On comparison of adverse events, there were significantlymore cases of vascular pain (p＜0.05) in the GEM group, and manycases of nausea (p＝0.08) and rash (p＝0.08). Fortypatients in each group were extracted byPS matching. There were no significant differences in the patient background between the groups, and on comparison of adverse events, the two groups did not significantly differ.Conclusion: Our studysuggested that there is no difference in side effects between Gemzar® and gemcitabine [Sandoz]. To compare the incidence of adverse events, it is useful to use PS matching in clinical practice.