A 79-year-old woman presented to our hospital with a complaint of feeling a cold sensation in her right foot. After performing a contrast-enhanced computed tomography angiography, severe stenosis in the right persistent sciatic artery (PSA) was identified. However, stenting was considered inadvisable due to compression issues when sitting. Following anticoagulant therapy, the patient’s symptoms improved. However, after seventeen months, she experienced recurrent severe pain in her right foot. Catheter angiography revealed occlusions in both the anterior and posterior tibial arteries. To address the issue, we conducted endovascular therapy, followed by a femoro-popliteal artery bypass and ligation of the PSA. Unfortunately, despite these efforts, a below-knee amputation was eventually performed. Limited experience with the PSA and delayed intervention may have led to the need for amputation. Therefore, it is crucial to emphasize the importance of prompt therapeutic intervention following the onset of initial symptoms.

PURPOSE: Comatose elderly patients with acute neurological illness have a great risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT). In this study, the incidence of DVT and the effectiveness of early initiation of treatment were evaluated in those patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Total 323 patients were admitted to our ward due to neurological diseases in one year, and 43 patients, whose Glasgow Coma Scale was < or =11 and who was older than > or =60 years, were included in this study. D-dimer was measured on admission and day 7, and lower-extremity ultrasonography was performed on day 7. When DVT was positive, heparin treatment was initiated, and further evaluation of pulmonary embolism (PE) was conducted. Vena cava filter protection was inserted in PE-positive patients. Incidence of DVT and PE, alteration of D-dimer value, and effect of heparin treatment were analyzed. RESULTS: DVT was positive in 19 (44.2%) patients, and PE was in 4 (9.3%). D-dimer was significantly higher in DVT-positive group on day 7 (p<0.01). No DVT were identified in patients with ischemic disease, while 66.7% of intracerebral hemorrhage and 53.3% of brain contusion patients were DVT positive. Surgery was a definite risk factor for DVT, with an odds ratio of 5.25. DVT and PE disappeared by treatment in all cases, and no patients were succumbed to the thrombosis. CONCLUSION: Patients with hemorrhagic diseases or who undergo operation possess high risk of DVT, and initiation of heparin treatment in 7 days after admission is an effective prophylaxis for DVT in comatose elderly patients without causing bleeding.
Acute Disease ; Aged ; Anticoagulants/adverse effects/therapeutic use ; Antifibrinolytic Agents/therapeutic use ; *Coma ; Female ; Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products/therapeutic use ; Hemorrhage/*epidemiology ; Heparin/adverse effects/therapeutic use ; Humans ; Incidence ; Japan/epidemiology ; Lower Extremity ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nervous System Diseases/epidemiology ; Neurosurgical Procedures/*adverse effects ; Pulmonary Embolism/*complications/epidemiology/prevention & control ; Risk Factors ; Venous Thrombosis/epidemiology/*etiology/prevention & control

The median time of brain metastasis from the diagnosis of breast cancer is approximately 3 years. In this case report, a 69-year-old woman demonstrated cerebellar ataxia. Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed enhanced lesions in bilateral cerebellar hemispheres. She had undergone surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy for uterine and breast cancer 24 years prior and 16 years prior, respectively. Although she had not received any anticancer treatment for 10 years, no recurrences were identified using whole body scans. A partial tumor resection was performed and the histological diagnosis was an adenocarcinoma from breast cancer. As no extracranial lesions were found, gamma-knife irradiation was performed, without additional systemic chemotherapy. One month posttreatment, the tumors dramatically reduced in size and the patient completely recovered from cerebellar ataxia. Systemic chemotherapy is not always required for brain metastasis from breast cancer with a long interval period, as long as no evidence of extracranial recurrence is detected.
Adenocarcinoma ; Aged ; Brain* ; Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Cerebellar Ataxia ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Prognosis ; Recurrence* ; Whole Body Imaging

We report a case of cervicofacial actinomycosis mimicking malignant sarcoma in a 78-year-old man with diabetes. High lesion uptake and decreased cerebral uptake on [18F]FDG PET/CT provide a potentially important diagnostic clue suggesting infectious disease in a poorly controlled diabetic patient.

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.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of fan therapy for the relief of dyspnea in patients with chronic progressive disease. Methods: A systematic electronic database search of all available articles published before October 23, 2019 was conducted using Ichushi-Web of the Japan Medical Abstract Society databases, CENTRAL, EMBASE, and MEDLINE. In addition, a hand-search for updates was performed using PubMed on June 30, 2020 and December 7, 2021. The inclusion criteria were: 1) any RCTs comparing the effect of fan therapy with any other intervention, and 2) patients aged ≥18 years. Exclusion criteria were: 1) duplicate references, and 2) conference presentations. Results: We identified 110 studies, of which 10 met our criteria for inclusion. Finally, five studies were used in the meta-analysis. Fan therapy significantly improved dyspnea in patients with chronic progressive disease compared to control groups with a standardized mean difference of −1.43 (95% confidence interval: −2.70 to −0.17, I2=94%, p<0.0001). Conclusion: Fan therapy was found to be effective in reducing dyspnea in chronic progressive disease.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of high-flow nasal cannula oxygen (HFNC) for dyspnea in patients with advanced disease. Methods: A literature search was conducted using MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Ichu-shi Web. Inclusion criteria were: 1) randomized controlled trials evaluating the effect of HFNC on dyspnea; 2) aged 18 years or older with advanced disease with hypoxemia; 3) control group was conventional oxygen therapy or noninvasive positive pressure ventilation. Exclusion criteria were: 1) patients in intensive care unit, 2) weaning from ventilator. Results: Six studies (4 from database searches, and 2 from hand searches) were included. In the 2 studies evaluating short-term intervention, one showed HFNC was more efficacious, and the other conventional oxygen was more efficacious. In the 2 studies evaluating long-term interventions: one showed HFNC was more efficacious, and the other showed no significant difference. In the 2 studies evaluating the intervention during exercise, one showed HFNC was more efficacious, and the other showed no significant difference. Conclusion: HFNC may be effective for dyspnea in patients with advanced disease associated with hypoxemia.