1.Clinical significance of C-reactive protein in patients with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome
Youichi YANAGAWA ; Chihiro MAEKAWA ; Noriko TANAKA ; Namiko SUDA ; Kenji KAWAI ; Michika HAMADA ; Soichiro OTA
Journal of Rural Medicine 2025;20(2):66-70
Objective: To examine the clinical significance of elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in cases of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS), with a particular focus on their role in predicting outcomes beyond that of previous reports.Patients and Methods: CRP values and SFTS case data retrieved from a PubMed search were extracted for analysis. For comparison, the subjects were divided into two groups based on their CRP levels: normal (CRP ≤0.3 mg/mL) and elevated (CRP >0.3 mg/dL).Results: Forty-four cases were identified: 25 with normal CRP levels and 19 with elevated CRP levels. In an univariate analysis, no significant differences were observed between the two groups with respect to age, sex, date of blood examination, white blood cell count, outcome, or lactate dehydrogenase, alanine transaminase, creatine, or ferritin levels. However, the normal group contained a higher proportion of women, and the incidence of other infectious diseases was relatively low.Conclusion: In cases of SFTS, a CRP level >0.3 mg/dL in the first collection indicates the potential for a mixed infection other than an SFTS-associated infection and male prevalence. Further prospective studies are necessary to confirm whether the findings of the present study are generalizable among patients with SFTS.
2.Outcomes of patients with unstable circulation transported by a physician-staffed helicopter using the keyword method in Japan
Youichi YANAGAWA ; Hiroki NAGASAWA ; Chihiro MAEKAWA ; Noriko TANAKA ; Soichiro OTA ; Hiromichi OHSAKA ; Kazuhiko OMORI
Journal of Rural Medicine 2025;20(4):276-281
Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of the keyword method in improving outcomes for patients with unstable circulation.Methods: Patients with unstable circulation were selected from the Japan Doctor Helicopter (DH) Registry System (JDRS) database. Unstable circulation was defined as systolic blood pressure of less than 90 mmHg when emergency medical technicians (EMTs) contacted the patients. The following details of the dispatch activity were collected from the JDRS database: whether the request for the DH dispatch was made before (Keyword) or after (Control) the EMTs contacted the patient, time from first call to DH contact, age, sex, initial vitals, DH intervention, disease classification, and outcome.Results: There were 650 subjects in the Keyword group and 1,085 patients in the Control group. All the participants were evacuated from the scene. The duration from the first call to contact, respiratory rate, and the ratio of tracheal intubation to transfusion were significantly smaller in the Keyword group than in the Control group. The average systolic blood pressure and survival ratio in the Keyword group were significantly higher than those in the Control group. After matching the analysis to align with the patients’ backgrounds, the observed tendencies persisted.Conclusion: This is the first report to describe the keyword method as a prognostic factor in patients with unstable circulation who were evacuated by the DH using the JDRS. Future prospective studies are required to determine the accuracy of these results.


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