We describe the case of a 60-year-old woman with severe aortic stenosis and severe calcification of the thoracic aorta, who underwent an apico-aortic conduit bypass using an aortic valved graft. Because of stenosis of the annulus of the aortic valve and severe calcification of the thoracic aorta (porcelain aorta), we did not perform ordinary aortic valve replacement. Instead, apico-aortic conduit bypass surgery was performed using a St. Jude Medical Aortic Valved Graft (19-20 mm : St. Jude Medical, St. Paul, MN, USA) and cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) surgery was performed using descending aortic perfusion and left pulmonary artery drainage, while the subject was in the right decubitus position. The descending aorta was clamped and a 20-mm graft (Hemashield Platinum ; Boston Scientific/Medi-tech, Natick, MA, USA) was sutured to it. Under ventricular fibrillation, the left ventricular apex was circularly resected using a puncher with a diameter identical to that of the 20-mm graft, in order to create a new outflow for the conduit bypass. The graft was sutured to the outflow, and a torus-shaped equine pericardial sheet was used to reinforce the suture line. After recovery of the heartbeat, the aortic valved graft was first sutured to the graft at the outflow and then to the graft at the descending aorta. The CPB time was 285 min and ventricular fibrillation time was 36 min. Therefore, the benefits of using an aortic valved conduit for apico-aortic conduit bypass are reduced operation time, since there is no need to prepare a handmade valve conduit, and easy management of the grafts which are made of the same material.

An 88-year-old woman presented at a local hospital with a left femoral pulsatile mass. CT revealed saccular aneurysms with irregular intima in the descending thoracic aorta, the right common femoral artery and the left superficial femoral artery. They were 60 mm, 30 mm, and 25 mm in diameter, respectively. After referral to our hospital, multiple inflammatory aneurysms were strongly suspected by detailed examinations. Endovascular treatment including thoracic endovascular aortic repair and surgical replacement were performed by two-stage operations. After steroid therapy was started postoperatively, her c-reactive protein (CRP) value decreased. Nevertheless, the thoracic aortic aneurysm enlarged and she died due to hemorrhage. Multiple inflammatory aneurysms are extremely rare. We consider that appropriate steroid therapy and close follow-up are most important.

An 80-year-old man presented with a history of retrosternal gastric tube reconstruction for esophageal cancer. He experienced sudden chest pain, and temporarily lost consciousness, before being transferred to our hospital. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography revealed acute Stanford type A aortic dissection and a retrosternal gastric tube. We performed emergency operation using a median sternotomy approach. Before median sternotomy, we detected the gastric tube in the subxiphoid and suprasternal spaces. The anterior and right sides of the gastric tube were dissected bluntly from the posterior surface of the sternum and median sternotomy was performed. The gastric tube was mobilized to the left side and we were able to obtain the usual operative view for ascending aorta graft replacement. Intraoperatively, the gastric tube remained intact and uninjured. The patient was transferred to another hospital for rehabilitation on postoperative day 34.

Objective: At Kitasato Institute Hospital, Kitasato University (henceforth, the hospital), the first edition of an antimicrobial use guidebook (henceforth, the guidebook) was produced in 2000.  This time, the Pharmaceutical Department’s members on the hospital’s Infection Control Committee (ICC) took the lead and revised the guidebook so that it better conforms to clinical conditions and assessed the guidebook they created.
Methods: A Working Group (WG) consisting of two ICC Pharmaceutical Department members and two members of the Medical Products Information Office staff examined the items to be listed in the guidebook.  These items were approved by the ICC and then assigned to physicians and pharmacists to be written up.  A questionnaire survey was conducted on the physicians and pharmacists in the hospital as to their assessment of the content and the conditions of use of the guidebook created.
Results: In the revised edition, “Antimicrobials PK/PD,” “TDM,” “Empiric Therapy for Infections in Each Department,” etc. have been added, the physicians wrote “Empiric Therapy for Infections in Each Department” and everything else was written by the WG.  The return rate of the questionnaire was 65.7% (N=99), and the guidebook utilization rate was 75.4%.  Frequently viewed items were “List of Antimicrobials Used In-Hospital,” “How to Administer Medication during Decreased Renal Function,” “Empiric Therapy for Infections in Each Department,” etc. by the internal medicine physicians, “List of Antimicrobials Used In-Hospital” and “How to Administer Medication during Decreased Renal Function,” etc. by the surgeons, and “Classification of Antimicrobials,” “List of Antimicrobials Used In-Hospital,” “When Renal Function is Decreased,” “TDM,” and “Empiric Therapy for Infections in Each Department,” etc. by the residents.  Furthermore, there were no items deemed “not necessary for inclusion” for a clear reason.  As to be expected in this guidebook, 72.3% of all respondents mentioned it was “a source of information on basic antimicrobial use” and next, “a source of information for treating infections outside one’s area of specialty.”
Conclusion: The items listed in the guidebook are thought to be appropriate, and its usage conditions are also good.  As they are specialists on antimicrobials, the pharmacists playing a central role while cooperating with the physicians on the ICC led to the creation of a highly useful guidebook.

A 66-year-old man with an unknown medical history developed chest pain and a diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was given by his physician. Percutaneous coronary intervention was performed in the left anterior descending artery. Echocardiography revealed ventricular septal perforation (VSP) ; therefore, the patient was transferred to our hospital. After admission, his platelet count dropped rapidly during heparin administration, and left ventricular thrombosis and deep vein thrombosis were noted, raising a suspicion of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT). To establish cardiopulmonary bypass, argatroban alone was insufficient to prolong the Powered by Editorial Manager^® and ProduXion Manager^® from the Aries Systems Corporation activated clotting time (ACT) ; thus, nafamostat mesilate was also used for coronary artery bypass grafting and surgical repair of VSP. It took many hours to normalize the ACT, requiring re-exploration for excessive bleeding. On the 37th postoperative day, the patient was transferred to another hospital. We performed cardiac surgical procedures using argatroban in a patient who developed HIT during the course of VSP following AMI ; however, we had difficulty in controlling the ACT. Since, to the best of our knowledge, there are no previous studies reporting surgical case of VSP complicated by HIT, we present this case with a review of the relevant literature.

The case was a 27-year-old woman with a history of Turner syndrome. The patient underwent ascending-descending aorta bypass for aortic coarctation 6 years previously and underwent subsequent follow-up on an outpatient basis. She consulted our department because of fever, chest pain and headache as the main complaints. Age-indeterminate type A aortic dissection was found on computed tomography, and she was admitted to the hospital on the same day. Echocardiography also revealed an enlarged aortic root and bicuspid aortic valve. Aortic root replacement and total arch replacement were performed, and her postoperative course was favorable. It is reported that in cases of Turner syndrome with aortic coarctation, aortic aneurysm and aortic dissection are likely to occur due to the vulnerability of the aortic wall. We encountered a patient with Turner syndrome who underwent ascending-descending aorta bypass for adult aortic coarctation and subsequently developed type A aortic dissection, underwent aortic root and total arch replacement, and rehabilitated after surgery, as well as provide bibliographic considerations.

Background/Aims: This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a novel aerosol-exposure protection (AP) mask in preventing coronavirus disease in healthcare professionals during upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and to evaluate its clinical feasibility. Methods: In Study 1, three healthy volunteers volitionally coughed with and without the AP mask in a cleanroom. Microparticles were visualized and counted with a specific measurement system and compared with and without the AP mask. In Study 2, 30 patients underwent endoscopic resection with the AP mask covering the face, and the SpO2 was measured throughout the procedure. Results: In Study 1, the median number of microparticles in volunteers 1, 2, and 3 with and without the AP mask was 8.5 and 110.0, 7.0 and 51.5, and 8.0 and 95.0, respectively (p<0.01). Using the AP mask, microparticles were reduced by approximately 92%. The median distances of microparticle scattering without the AP mask were 60, 0, and 68 in volunteers 1, 2, and 3, respectively. In Study 2, the mean SpO2 was 96.3%, and desaturation occurred in three patients. Conclusion The AP mask could provide protection from aerosol exposure and can be safely used for endoscopy in clinical practice.

Endoscopic resection (ER) is widely performed for early gastric cancer (EGC) with a negligible risk of lymph node metastasis (LNM) in Eastern Asian countries. In particular, endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) leads to a high en bloc resection rate, enabling accurate pathological evaluation. As undifferentiated EGC (UD-EGC) is known to result in a higher incidence of LNM and infiltrative growth than differentiated EGC (D-EGC), the indications for ER are limited compared with those for D-EGC. Previously, clinical staging as intramucosal UD-EGC ≤2 cm, without ulceration, was presented as ‘weakly recommended’ or ‘expanded indications’ for ER in the guidelines of the United States, Europe, Korea, and Japan. Based on promising long-term outcomes from a prospective multicenter study by the Japan Clinical Oncology Group (JCOG) 1009/1010, the status of this indication has expanded and is now considered ‘absolute indications’ in the latest Japanese guidelines published in 2021. In this study, which comprised 275 patients with UD-EGC (cT1a, ≤2 cm, without ulceration) treated with ESD, the 5-year overall survival (OS) was 99.3% (95% confidence interval, 97.1%–99.8%), which was higher than the threshold 5-year OS (89.9%). Currently, the levels of evidence grades and recommendations for ER of UD-EGC differ among Japan, Korea, and Western countries. Therefore, a further discussion is warranted to generalize the indications for ER of UD-EGC in countries besides Japan.

Endoscopic resection (ER) is widely utilized as a minimally invasive treatment for upper gastrointestinal tumors; however, complications could occur during and after the procedure. Post-ER mucosal defect leads to delayed perforation and bleeding; therefore, endoscopic closure methods (endoscopic hand-suturing, the endoloop and endoclip closure method, and over-the-scope clip method) and tissue shielding methods (polyglycolic acid sheets and fibrin glue) are developed to prevent these complications. During duodenal ER, complete closure of the mucosal defect significantly reduces delayed bleeding and should be performed. An extensive mucosal defect that comprises three-quarters of the circumference in the esophagus, gastric antrum, or cardia is a significant risk factor for post-ER stricture. Steroid therapy is considered the first-line option for the prevention of esophageal stricture, but its efficacy for gastric stricture remains unclear. Methods for the prevention and management of ER-related complications in the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum differ according to the organ; therefore, endoscopists should be familiar with ways of preventing and managing organ-specific complications.