In C1–C2 posterior fixation, the C1 lateral mass and C2 pedicle/translaminar screw insertion under spine navigation have been used frequently. To avoid the risk of neurovascular damage in atlantoaxial stabilization, we assessed the safety and effectiveness of a preoperative computed tomography (CT) image-based navigation system with intraoperative independent C1 and C2 vertebral registration. It is ideal when a reference frame can be linked directly to the C1 posterior arch for C1-direct-captured navigation, but there is a mechanical challenge. A new spine clamp-tracker system was implemented recently, which allows reliable C1- and C2- direct-captured navigation in nine patients with traumatic C2 fractures. In this way, there was no misalignment of C1–C2 screws. C1 lateral mass screws were used except for one case, and translaminar screws were primarily used as an anchor for C2. The C1 lateral mass screw locations, which are 19 mm laterally from the C1 posterior arch’s center, are taken to be constant. However, there is one unusual circumstance in which using a C1 laminar hook instead of a C1 lateral mass screw appears to be a beneficial substitute. The increase of surgical accuracy for posterior C1–C2 screw fixation without cost constraints is significantly facilitated by intraoperative C1- and C2-direct-captured navigation with preoperative computed CT images.

Objective: This study aimed to determine if the discrepancy between depression severity rated by clinicians and that reported by patients depends on key behavioral/psychological features in patients with mood disorders. Methods: Participants included 100 patients with mood disorders. First, we examined correlations and regressions between scores on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Second, we divided the participants into those who provided 1) greater ratings for the BDI compared with the HAMD (BDI relative-overrating, BO) group, 2) comparable ratings for the BDI and HAMD (BDI relatively concordant, BC) group, or 3) less ratings for the BDI (BDI relative-underrating, BU) group. Adverse childhood experiences, autistic-like traits, and coping styles were evaluated with a six-item short version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-6), the Social Responsiveness Scale for Adults (SRS-A), and the Ways of Coping Checklist (WCCL), respectively. Results: A significant correlation was found between HAMD and BDI scores. Total and emotional abuse subscale scores from the CTQ-6, and the self-blame subscale scores from the WCCL were significantly higher for the BO group compared with the BU group. The BO group also elicited significantly higher SRS-A total scores than did the other groups. Conclusion These findings suggest that patients with adverse emotional experiences, autistic-like traits, and self-blame coping styles perceive greater distress than that evaluated objectively by clinicians. The results indicate the need for inclusion of subjective assessments to effectively evaluate depressive symptoms in patients deemed to have these psycho-behavioral concerns.

No abstract available.
Cost-Benefit Analysis ; Rituximab ; Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia

BACKGROUND: Waldenström Macroglobulinemia (WM) is a rare subtype of indolent B-cell lymphoma, and prospective randomized studies on WM are scarce. The R-CHOP therapy [rituximab (R), cyclophosphamide, hydroxy-doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone] is a popular and recommended regimen for primary therapy, prescribed by several treatment guidelines for WM. However, treatment with R-CHOP is accompanied by severe myelosuppression and high rates of peripheral neuropathy. Therefore, we retrospectively evaluated the efficacy and toxicity of half-dose CHOP combined with R as a primary therapy for WM. METHODS: Patients with untreated symptomatic WM, treated at the Disaster Medical Center between April 2011 and September 2016, were retrospectively analyzed after administration of 6 cycles of half-dose R-CHOP for every 3 weeks. The response, median time to response, best response, progression-free survival, overall survival, and toxicities were evaluated. RESULTS: Of the 20 WM patients analyzed, 16 (80%) received half-dose R-CHOP without vincristine, and 13 (65%) responded to the treatment. With a median follow-up duration of 26.3 months, the 2-year progression-free survival and 2-year overall survival rates were 70 and 93.3%, respectively. The median time to response and best response were 6 and 9.9 weeks, respectively. Grade 3/4 leukocytopenia, neutropenia, febrile neutropenia, and Grade 1 peripheral neuropathy developed in 32, 37, 0, and 21% of patients, respectively. CONCLUSION: The half-dose R-CHOP is an effective and well-tolerated primary therapy for WM. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study reporting the use of a reduced-dose R-CHOP regimen for the primary treatment of WM.
Cyclophosphamide ; Disasters ; Disease-Free Survival ; Febrile Neutropenia ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Leukopenia ; Lymphoma, B-Cell ; Neutropenia ; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases ; Prospective Studies ; Retrospective Studies ; Rituximab* ; Survival Rate ; Vincristine ; Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia*

Ibi Welfare Hospital covers a local town that has an aging population, and the development of a community-based integrated care system is an important issue. We have established and are operating a regional integrated NST system to maintain oral nutrition intake essential for daily life and prevention of pneumonia in this area, and here we report on outcomes and future issues. In this study, we investigated the regional integrated NST system (NST outpatient · NST hospitalization · NST visit) and examined dissemination of its service. Data was collected from February 2016 to March 2017. The investigation involved the following: (1) extraction of survey results of latent NST subjects and retrospective investigation of medical records; (2) expansion of NST outpatient services (examinations by surgeons, endoscopic evaluation of swallowing function, blood tests, dental examination, and evaluation by a dietician speech-language-hearing therapist, and return of a joint report created by the individual professionals to the introducing professional); and (3) introduction of NST hospitalization (2-week hospital stay for local inclusion sickbed care, introduction of swallowing passport, initiation of rehabilitation, oral care roundtrip, NST roundtrip, personnel care meetings with home staff, and introduction of visiting speechlanguage-hearing therapist rehabilitation to support home care after discharge). To increase awareness of this system, we visited the local nursing care insurance agency and welfare hospitals and tried to obtain cooperation through transparency. Introducing and initiating this regional integrated NST system “Ibi Model” revealed that the system is greatly needed in our region. We think that it has the potential to become a key supporting tool for the home-based medical care system within the regional comprehensive care system. Further verification is needed to assess real outcome changes such as a decrease in the incidence of pneumonia and improvement in quality of life.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative pain relief can be achieved with various modalities. However, there are only few reports that have analyzed postoperative analgesic techniques in total hip arthroplasty patients. The aim of this retrospective study was to compare the postoperative outcomes of three different analgesic techniques after total hip arthroplasty. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the influence of three analgesic techniques on postoperative rehabilitation after total hip arthroplasty in 90 patients divided into three groups (n = 30 patients per group). Postoperative analgesia consisted of continuous epidural analgesia (Epi group), patient-controlled analgesia with morphine (PCA group), or a continuous femoral nerve block (CFNB group). We measured the following parameters relating to postoperative outcome: visual analog scale scores, the use of supplemental analgesia, side effects, length of the hospital stay, plasma D-dimer levels, and the Harris hip score. RESULTS: Each group had low pain scores with no significant differences between the groups. The PCA group had a lower frequency of supplemental analgesia use compared to the Epi and CFNB groups. Side effects (nausea/vomiting, inappetence) and day 7 D-dimer levels were significantly lower in the CFNB group (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of the length of the hospital stay or the Harris hip score. CONCLUSIONS: Although there were no clinically significant differences in outcomes between the three groups, the CFNB provided good pain relief which was equal to that of the other analgesics with fewer side effects and lower D-dimer levels in hospitalized patients following total hip arthroplasty.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; *Analgesia, Epidural/methods ; *Analgesia, Patient-Controlled ; Analgesics, Opioid/*administration & dosage ; *Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip ; Female ; *Femoral Nerve ; Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products/analysis ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Morphine/*administration & dosage ; *Nerve Block/methods ; Pain, Postoperative/*prevention & control ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome

PURPOSE: It has been reported that the Pulse Contour Cardiac Output (PiCCO) is very useful mainly in the field of intensive care and treatment to grasp the pathophysiological conditions of pulmonary edema because of its capability of obtaining data such as Pulmonary Vascular Permeability Index (PVPI) and Extra Vascular Lung Water (EVLW). Furthermore, a high degree of usability of various markers has been reported for better understanding of the pathological conditions in cases with septicemia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The correlation between the cardiorespiratory status based upon the PiCCO monitor (EVLW and PVPI) and inflammatory markers including C reactive protein, procalcitonin (PC), and Endotoxin Activity Assay (EAA) were evaluated in 11 severe cases that required treatment with a respirator in an intensive care unit. RESULTS: The EAA values were significantly higher in patients with abnormal EVLW at 0.46+/-0.20 compared to the normal EVLW group at 0.21+/-0.19 (p=0.0064). In a similar fashion, patients with abnormal PVPI values tended to have higher PC levels at 18.9+/-21.8 compared to normal PVPI cases at 2.4+/-2.2 (p=0.0676). On the other hand, PVPI was significantly higher in the abnormal EAA group at 3.55+/-0.48 in comparison with the normal EAA group at 1.99+/-0.68 (p=0.0029). The abnormal EAA group tended to have higher PVPI values than the normal EAA group. CONCLUSION: The EAA is a measurement method designed to estimate the activity of endotoxins in the whole blood. Our results suggest that the EAA value, which had the greatest correlation with lung disorders diagnosed by the PiCCO monitoring, reflects inflammatory reactions predominantly in the lungs.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cardiac Output/physiology ; Endotoxins/*blood ; Female ; Humans ; Lung Injury/*blood/*diagnosis/physiopathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pulmonary Edema/blood/*diagnosis/physiopathology

Introduction: The regional palliative care support center (PCSC) has set the following palliative care goals for correction of misunderstanding and prejudice of the general community against palliative care, home care and home death of cancer patients: practice palliative care early after diagnosis, educate the community to understand palliative care and build a regional palliative care cooperation system. Method: This study reviewed four years (2009-2012) of data from the PCSC. Outcome data of the patients were collected during outpatient care, inpatient care, and in-home care that were supported by the PCSC. The PCSC managed palliative care based on patient conditions and symptoms in the early stage after diagnosis. The PCSC worked to spread the idea and importance of palliative care to the general community and health care professionals of the region, and also worked to promote the regional palliative care cooperation. Result: These efforts led to an increase in the number of first center visit of patients, especially introduction patients, and an extension of the period of treatments of both tumor department and palliative care department. These outcomes resulted in an increase in the rate of in-home care transitions, the length of in-home care and the number of deaths at home. These results suggest that the place of appropriate medical and caregiving treatments and the place of death are converting into home gradually from hospital.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The gastrointestinal motility effects of endogenous incretin hormones enhanced by dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV) inhibitors have not yet been sufficiently investigated. The aim of this study was to determine whether single pre-prandial sitagliptin, the DPP-IV inhibitor, administration might have an effect on the rate of liquid gastric emptying using the 13C-acetic acid breath test. METHODS: Ten healthy male volunteers participated in this randomized, two-way crossover study. The subjects fasted for overnight and were randomly assigned to receive 50 mg sitagliptin 2 hours before ingestion of the liquid test meal (200 kcal per 200 mL, containing 100 mg 13C-acetate) or the test meal alone. Under both conditions, breath samples were collected for 150 minutes following the meal. Liquid gastric emptying was estimated by the values of the following parameters: the time required for 50% emptying of the labeled meal (T1/2), the analog to the scintigraphy lag time for 10% emptying of the labeled meal (Tlag), the gastric emptying coefficient and the regression-estimated constants (beta and kappa), calculated by using the 13CO2 breath excretion curve using the conventional formulae. The parameters between the 2 test conditions were compared statistically. RESULTS: No significant differences in the calculated parameters, including T1/2, Tlag, gastric emptying coefficient or beta and kappa, were observed between the 2 test conditions. CONCLUSIONS: The present study revealed that single-dose sitagliptin intake had no significant influence on the rate of liquid gastric emptying in asymptomatic volunteers.
Breath Tests ; Cross-Over Studies ; Eating ; Gastric Emptying ; Gastrointestinal Motility ; Humans ; Incretins ; Male ; Meals ; Pyrazines ; Triazoles ; Sitagliptin Phosphate