No abstract available.
Echocardiography ; Echocardiography, Three-Dimensional*

We report a case of a 53-year-old woman, who was transported as an emergency case to our institution because of type A acute aortic dissection. Total arch replacement and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with open stent graft was performed. After the operation, during rehabilitation for discharge (33 and 38 days after the surgery), she developed acute arterial occlusion of the right lower limb, and we performed thrombectomy. Both thrombi extracted from the right common femoral artery were organized clots. No perioperative arrhythmia was observed, and no obvious left atrial appendage thrombus was observed on CT. We performed angiography to diagnose the cause of the spread of organized clots, and an entry was detected at the distal tip of the open stent graft, and antegrade blood flow in a false lumen was observed. We considered that the thrombus was caused by the antegrade blood flow in a false lumen, TEVAR (c-TAG) was performed to seal the entry 48 days after the surgery. Embolism did not occur afterward, and the patient was discharged for rehabilitation.

PURPOSE: In cardiac 2-[F-18]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) examination, interpretation of myocardial viability in the low uptake region (LUR) has been difficult without additional perfusion imaging. We evaluated distribution patterns of FDG at the border zone of the LUR in the cardiac FDG-PET and established a novel parameter for diagnosing myocardial viability and for discriminating the LUR of normal variants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cardiac FDG-PET was performed in patients with a myocardial ischemic event (n = 22) and in healthy volunteers (n = 22). Whether the myocardium was not a viable myocardium (not-VM) or an ischemic but viable myocardium (isch-VM) was defined by an echocardiogram under a low dose of dobutamine infusion as the gold standard. FDG images were displayed as gray scaled-bull's eye mappings. FDG-plot profiles for LUR (= true ischemic region in the patients or normal variant region in healthy subjects) were calculated. Maximal values of FDG change at the LUR border zone (a steepness index; S(max) scale/pixel) were compared among not-VM, isch-VM, and normal myocardium. RESULTS: S(max) was significantly higher for n-VM compared to those with isch-VM or normal myocardium (ANOVA). A cut-off value of 0.30 in Smax demonstrated 100% sensitivity and 83% specificity for diagnosing n-VM and isch-VM. S(max) less than 0.23 discriminated LUR in normal myocardium from the LUR in patients with both n-VM and isch-VM with a 94% sensitivity and a 93% specificity. CONCLUSION: S(max) of the LUR in cardiac FDG-PET is a simple and useful parameter to diagnose n-VM and isch-VM, as well as to discriminate thr LUR of normal variants.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Echocardiography ; Female ; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18/*metabolism ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Infarction/metabolism/pathology ; Myocardium/*metabolism/*pathology ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND: Both endoscopic ultrasound-guided celiac plexus neurolysis (EUS-CPN) and tumor ablation using ethanol are very common procedures, and the utility of these therapies has already been reported in prominent journals. However, their effectiveness appears temporary and insufficient, especially EUS-CPN. We therefore have to consider new reagents for improving the results. The present study examined the best concentration of ethanol and povidone iodine mixed with atelocollagen for more effective therapies. METHODS: The effects of the new reagents were confirmed in three live pigs. At first, we injected three kinds of reagents (including indigo carmine) in three separate areas of para-aortic tissue under EUS guidance in one pig. At more than 4 hours after injection, we checked ethanol injection sites after dissection. In next study, we performed EUS-guided injection of a total of six kinds of reagents (two kinds of ethanol, three kinds of povidone iodine, and control atelocollagen) into the livers of two living pigs. After 2 weeks, we examined tissue damage to the liver in the two pigs. RESULTS: The 75% ethanol (absolute ethanol 3.75 mL + 1% atelocollagen 1.25 mL + a very small amount of indigo carmine) was seen like blue gel, and still remained in the para-aortic tissue. Brownish areas of povidone iodine mixed with 3% atelocollagen exhibited clear, regular borders with greatly reduced infiltration into surrounding tissue compared to others. CONCLUSION: We concluded that 75% ethanol mixed with 1% atelocollagen appears optimal for EUS-CPN. Povidone iodine mixed with 3% atelocollagen may be suitable for small tumor ablation therapy.
Celiac Plexus* ; Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fine Needle Aspiration ; Endosonography ; Ethanol ; Indicators and Reagents ; Indigo Carmine ; Liver ; Povidone-Iodine ; Swine

Nijiiro Doctors offered a six-month LGBTQ healthcare training course for physicians in their third year of post-graduate studies or above, with the goal of implementing practice at their institutions. In addition to lectures, the course included dialogues with LGBTQ individuals, role-plays in which the LGBTQ individuals played the role of mock patients and reviews in small groups in each session.