A 2.5 year old male infant who had a ventricular septal defect and mild pulmonary stenosis was admitted for evaluation of fever and anemic complexion in February 1995. After admission, echo cardiography revealed massive vegetations from the outflow of the right ventricle to the right pulmonary artery through the pulmonary valve, and serial blood cultures were found to be positive for streptococcus mitis. Antibiotics did not relieve the high fever or decrease the volume of vegetation in the patient. At surgery, performed 2 weeks after the admission, the pulmonary valve was entirely destroyed and it was resected without prosthetic replacement after the excision of the vegetation and a Teflon patch was used for VSD closure. The post-operative course produced no noticeable complications. In the follow-up echocardiographic study, no vegetation was observed.

Acute type A aortic dissection presents a surgical emergency because conservative therapy is not effective in the majority of instances. Enhanced CT-scan of the chest is commonly available and is considered to be an optimal diagnostic method for this disease. The operative strategy is to resect the primary tear to close the entry site of the aortic dissection and replace it with a tubular Dacron graft. Therefore, the existence of the entry site is important in determining the operative procedure. Based on the numerical value of the enhanced CT-scan inspection, the present study seeks to preoperatively identify the location of the presumed entry site in aortic dissection. From May 1996 to June 1999, 21 consecutive patients (Marfan's syndrome excluded) with acute type A aortic dissection underwent surgical treatment. Nineteen patients were preoperatively examined by enhanced CT-scan: 11 men and 8 women, with a mean age of 61 years. CT-scan slices used for early diagnosis were of the ascending aorta, aortic arch, descending aorta, and thoracoabdominal aorta. The largest diameters of the whole and true lumen were measured from cross-sectional aortic images with a personal computer, and the areas of the whole and true lumen were obtained by the manual tracing method. The true ratio was calculated for the largest diameter and area of the whole lumen. The nineteen patients were divided into two groups according to the location of the entry site based on the operating views. Seven patients with the entry site in the ascending aorta were classified as group A, and twelve patients with the entry site further in the aortic arch and descending aorta were classified as group B. Comparisons were performed by non-parametric analysis. Moreover, a discriminant analysis was applied to evaluate the classification between the two groups. The ratio of the largest diameter of the true lumen in group A at the level of the ascending and descending aorta was significantly greater than that in group B (75.0±11.3 vs. 59.7±14.0%, 82.7±8.6 vs. 70.1±11.4%). Linear discriminant analysis resulted in the correct classification rate of 68.2%, and 77.3%, respectively. The ratio of the area of the true lumen in group A at the level of the aortic arch was also significantly greater than in group B (65.4±17.3 vs. 45.7±15.8%) and linear discriminant analysis resulted in the correct classification rate of 55.1%, When the entry site was located in the aortic arch, the diameter of the true lumen was seen to be smaller in the ascending and descending aorta, and the dissecting lumen appeared enlarged. When the entry site is located in the ascending aorta, the ratio of the area of the true lumen in the aortic arch was significantly higher (55.1%). Detailed examination of enhanced CT-scans is useful to determine the location of the entry site and the treatment strategy for this disease.

Surgery for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA, n=240) was reviewed in subgroups of ruptured AAA (RAAA, n=31), non-ruptured AAA with arteriosclerosis obliterans (AAA w/ASO, n=48), and non-ruptured AAA without ASO (AAA w/o ASO, n=161). The average follow-up period was 4.2 years (maximum 15.8 years) and the follow-up rate was 97%. Overall operative mortality rates were 41.9% in RAAA and 2.9% in non-ruptured AAA. Those were 6.3% in AAA w/ASO and 1.9% in AAA w/o ASO. The main causes of death in the long-term follow-up period were heart disease in 32%, malignant neoplasm in 22%, cerebrovascular accidents in 10% and renal failure in 10%, and miscellaneous. Only renal failure was related to operative risk factors. Relative survival rates excluding hospital death following surgery were 79% at 5 years and 0% at 10 years in RAAA; 74% at 5 years and 52% at 10 years in AAA w/o ASO; 95% at 5 years and 78% at 10 years in AAA w/ASO; 90% at 5 years and 70% at 10 years in non-ruptured AAA. These survival rates were lower than those found in the normal population, especially in AAA w/ASO. AAA w/ASO had more surgical risk factors of ischemic heart diseases and diabetes mellitus. Main causes of deaths were heart diseases, and renal failure during the long-term follow-up period was more predominant in AAA. It is important to follow all patients after surgery for AAA with special attention to heart disease and renal failure.

We reported a case of left atrial myxoma with renal infarction as an initial clinical symptom. A 65-year-old man had severe right lumbago. A chest CT demonstrated right renal artery embolism. On emergency operation a right renal embolus was removed. Preoperative echocardiography and transesophageal echo showed a tumor in his left atrium which was close to the mitral valve. The tumor was resected one week after the first operation. Embolectomy of the right renal artery could not restore renal function. To the best of our knowledge, this type of cardiac myxoma with renal infarction as an initial clinical symptom is rare.

An 8-year-old girl had been found to have a congenital ventricular septal defect (VSD), based on the presence of a cardiac murmur from birth. She had a history of infective endocarditis and lung abscess when she was 2 years old. Mild aortic regurgitation was revealed by an echocardiogram in August 2004. Right-heart catherization revealed a step up in the oxygen saturation of the right ventricle, aortography showed a deformity of the noncoronary cusp and mild aortic regurgitation, and Doppler color-flow echocardiography detected progression of aortic regurgitation. The patient underwent surgical repair of the VSD with a cardiopulmonary bypass. Following direct suturing combined with pledgets for perimembranous VSD, infusion of cardioplegia revealed the aneurysmal sac extruding from the wall of the right atrium. The final diagnosis was an aneurysm of the sinus of Valsalva from the noncoronary aortic sinus into the right atrium (type IV of Konno). The aneurysm was sutured by polyethylene strings with pledgets. The postoperative course was uneventful, and echocardiography performed before discharge showed no deformity of the sinus of Valsalva and trivial aortic regurgitation which was less than before surgery. She was discharged on the 7th postoperative day.

Correction of fetal malpresentation such as knee-chest positioning and external cephalic version, has long been performed in cases of breech presentation. The reliability and safety of such treatment, however, remains unclear. We performed moxibustion on three acupoints, namely, Saninko, Shiin, and Yusen to correct the condition.
We studied a total of 28 women, 22 of whom were observed until delivery, and six who had not reached full term by the end of the study. Cephalic presentation was achieved in 25 (89.3%), All but one of the fetuses that were corrected to cephalic presentation had full term vaginal delivery. The remaining one underwent premature delivery due to premature rupture of the membrane at 35 weeks 6 days. None of the babies showed any abnormalities. Correction could not be achieved in three women by the time of delivery. One of these three had dicornate uterus and underwent caesarian section due to premature rupture of the membrane. The other two had full term vaginal delivery of live babies. These results indicate that the correction of breech presentation by moxibustion is a safe method which cause no adverse effects on the mother or baby.

Up until the present, the primary treatment for threatened premature labor has been bed rest, with drug therapy as a supplement. However, with drug therapy the problems of side effects and dosage limitations have made it difficult to achieve therapeutic effectiveness. In this paper, the authors report the favorable results obtained in such cases when moxibustion and a microwave emitter were used for stimulation therapy based on Oriental medical theory. Moxibustion was carried out on Shim, Yusen and Saninko (acupuncture points) in cases of threatened premature labor beyond the 24th week. Despite the short duration of treatment, uterine tension was relieved, fetal movement increased, and resistance in the umbilical artery and uterine artery reduced. Similar results were achieved with multiple microwave stimulation treatments; the effects lasted for long periods and were not accompanied by side effects. Thus, the results showed that through the use of moxibustion therapy in conjunction with drug therapy, the dosage could be reduced, and the frequency of side-effect appearance lowered. These results suggest that moxibustion therapy has potential as an effective and safe new treatment for threatened premature labor.

Background: The impact of COVID-19 infection on workers' work function persists even after the acute phase of the infection. We studied this phenomenon in Japanese workers. Methods: We conducted a one-year prospective cohort study online, starting with a baseline survey in December 2020. We tracked workers without baseline work functioning impairment and incorporated data from 14,421 eligible individuals into the analysis. We estimated the incidence rate ratio for new onset of work functioning impairment due to COVID-19 infection during follow-up, using mixed-effects Poisson regression analysis with robust variance. Results: Participants reporting infection between January and December 2021 showed a significantly higher incidence of new work functioning impairment (adjusted incidence rate ratio: 2.18, 95% confidence interval: 1.75–2.71, p < 0.001). The formality of the recuperation environment correlated with a higher risk of work functioning deterioration in infected individuals (p for trend <0.001). Conclusion COVID-19-infected workers may continue to experience work difficulties due to persistent, post-acute infection symptoms. Companies and society must urgently provide rehabilitation and social support for people with persistent symptoms, recognizing that COVID-19 is not just a transient acute infection.

Background  The number of foreign tourists visiting Japan has increased to about 30 million people per year. 1.5% of them were injured or became sick during their travelin Japan and had to undergo medical treatment. Among the foreign tourists, 27% were not covered by travel health insurance.Case  A 40-year-old man from Southeast Asia who was visiting his relative in Japan experienced sudden hemiparesis and was diagnosed with cerebral infarction. During the initial treatment, it was found that the patient did not have health insurance and the relatives could not afford to pay the treatment costs. No other source of financial support was available to him During our consultations with the patient and his relatives about the medical treatment including medical expenses, he continued to be treated as an outpatient and it was aimed at an early return to his home country.Discussion  Foreigners, who are not covered under travel health insurance, could fall ill or sustain an injury during their stay in Japan. Appropriate medical care should be provided regardless of their ability to pay. However, a situation that could lead them to incur huge medical expenses from availing medical care should be avoided. For medical consultations of non-insured foreigners, it is better to consult the available systems and pay attention about feasible medical expenses. There is a need for a long-term vision of medical care to make a smooth transition from medical treatment in Japan to treatment in their home country.Conclusion  Although medical institutions can offer only a limited response, it is necessary to accumulate case examples from across the nation and prepare specific countermeasures and counselors.

BACKGROUND: It is important to achieve herd immunity by vaccinating as many people as possible to end the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigated the relationship between willingness to receive vaccination and sources of health information among those who did not want to be vaccinated against COVID-19. METHODS: This prospective cohort study collected data using a self-administered questionnaire survey. The baseline survey was conducted during December 22-25, 2020, and the follow-up survey during February 18-19, 2021. Participants were aged 20-65 years and worked at the time of the baseline survey (N = 33,087). After excluding 6,051 invalid responses, we included responses from 27,036 participants at baseline. In total, 19,941 people responded to the follow-up survey (74% follow-up rate). We excluded 7,415 participants who answered "yes" to the question "If a COVID-19 vaccine becomes available, would you like to get it?" in the baseline survey. We finally analyzed 12,526 participants. RESULTS: The odds ratio for change in willingness to be vaccinated from "no" to "yes" differed by source of health information. Compared with workers that used TV as a source of information, significantly fewer people who reported getting information from the Internet and friends/colleagues were willing to get the vaccine. CONCLUSIONS: It is important to approach workers who do not watch TV when implementing workplace vaccination programs. It is likely that willingness to be vaccinated can be increased through an active company policy whereby the top management recommend vaccination, coupled with an individual approach by occupational health professionals. TRIAL REGISTRATION Not applicable.
Adult ; Aged ; COVID-19/prevention & control* ; COVID-19 Vaccines ; Cohort Studies ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Humans ; Influenza Vaccines ; Japan ; Middle Aged ; Pandemics ; Prospective Studies ; Young Adult