Objective:We compared changes in BMI as well as nutritional and fluid intake in older adult patients who died and survived while in special nursing care facilities, and examined whether trajectories in the death group were effective in predicting prognosis. Methods:We retrospectively extracted data from BMI, nutritional and fluid intake for all older adults admitted to a special nursing care facility between April 2007 and the end of July 2022, searching for changes in the monthly mean values. Results:Data were obtained for 646 patients in the death group and 498 in the survival group. In the death group, BMI, nutrition and fluid intake decreased significantly from 12 months before death compared with the survival group. In the death group, nutrient intake per kilogram of body weight decreased significantly and irreversibly as of 6 months before death, and fluid intake decreased significantly and irreversibly starting 3 months before death compared with the previous month. Discussion:The trajectories of BMI, nutrition and fluid intake decreased simultaneously from 12 months before death, and the significant irreversible decrease in fluid intake followed by nutritional intake per kilogram body weight was effective in predicting the prognosis of elderly patients dying in special care facilities.

Methods: Study participants comprised five healthy volunteers (mean age, 27.2 years) and 27 patients with LSS (mean age, 58.4 years) who were individually assessed using 3.0 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging. Intraspinal ADC and FA values of 10 intervertebral discs from healthy volunteers and 52 intervertebral discs from LSS patients were measured. Also, intraspinal canal area, Schizas classification (A: normal, B: mild stenosis, C: severe stenosis) and correlations with symptoms were investigated. Clinical symptoms were checked for the presence of low back pain (LBP), intermittent claudication (IMC), and bladder and bowel dysfunction (BBD). Results: Compared to healthy individuals, LSS patients had significantly lower ADC (p<0.05) and significantly higher FA values (p<0.01). In Schizas classification, stenosis worsened from A to C. ADC values decreased significantly while FA values increased significantly in that order (p<0.05). A positive correlation was found between intraspinal canal area and ADC values (r=0.63, p<0.01) and a negative correlation between intraspinal canal area and FA values (p=−0.61, p<0.01). No correlations were noted between LBP and ADC or FA values. On the other hand, ADC values were significantly lower (p<0.05) and FA values were significantly higher (p<0.05) in patients with IMC or BBD. Conclusions Intraspinal DTI parameters such as ADC and FA values were associated with the Schizas classification, intraspinal canal area, and clinical symptoms, suggesting that ADC and FA may be useful for quantitative assessment of LSS.

Methods: Study participants comprised five healthy volunteers (mean age, 27.2 years) and 27 patients with LSS (mean age, 58.4 years) who were individually assessed using 3.0 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging. Intraspinal ADC and FA values of 10 intervertebral discs from healthy volunteers and 52 intervertebral discs from LSS patients were measured. Also, intraspinal canal area, Schizas classification (A: normal, B: mild stenosis, C: severe stenosis) and correlations with symptoms were investigated. Clinical symptoms were checked for the presence of low back pain (LBP), intermittent claudication (IMC), and bladder and bowel dysfunction (BBD). Results: Compared to healthy individuals, LSS patients had significantly lower ADC (p<0.05) and significantly higher FA values (p<0.01). In Schizas classification, stenosis worsened from A to C. ADC values decreased significantly while FA values increased significantly in that order (p<0.05). A positive correlation was found between intraspinal canal area and ADC values (r=0.63, p<0.01) and a negative correlation between intraspinal canal area and FA values (p=−0.61, p<0.01). No correlations were noted between LBP and ADC or FA values. On the other hand, ADC values were significantly lower (p<0.05) and FA values were significantly higher (p<0.05) in patients with IMC or BBD. Conclusions Intraspinal DTI parameters such as ADC and FA values were associated with the Schizas classification, intraspinal canal area, and clinical symptoms, suggesting that ADC and FA may be useful for quantitative assessment of LSS.

Methods: We performed 3T MRI in 10 healthy volunteers and 13 patients with LSS. The ADC values in the spinal canal were evaluated at 46 vertebrae (L4/5 and L5/S1 for each participant), and the reduced and conventional fields of view were compared. Results: The ADC values were 2.72±0.12 at L4/5 in healthy volunteers, 2.76±0.19 at L5/S1 in healthy volunteers, 1.77±0.58 at L4/5 in patients with LSS, and 2.35±0.29 at L5/S1 in patients with LSS. The ADC value at L4/5 in patients with LSS was significantly lower than that at L5/S1 in patients with LSS and that at L4/5 and L5/S1 in healthy volunteers (p <0.05). With an ADC cutoff value of 2.46 to identify LSS, this approach provided an area under the curve of 0.81, sensitivity of 0.92, and specificity of 0.76 (p <0.05). Conclusions Preoperative examination using ADC maps permits visualization and quantification of spinal canal lesions, thus proving the utility of ADC maps in the selection of decompression surgery for LSS.

Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is a treatment designed to correct gut dysbiosis by administration of feces from a healthy volunteer. It is still unclear whether FMT for children with ulcerative colitis (UC) is effective or hazardous. Here we describe a young patient to have received FMT for UC. A three-year-old girl was admitted to our hospital with severe active UC, and treated with aminosalicylates and various immunosuppressive drugs. As remission was not achieved, we decided to try FMT before colectomy. We administered donor fecal material a total of six times by retention enema (×2) and via a nasoduodenal tube (×4) within 10 days. The patient developed abdominal pain and pyrexia after each FMT session. Analyses revealed the transferred donor fecal microbiota had not been retained by the patient, who ultimately underwent colectomy. The severity of the UC and/or timing of FMT may have partly accounted for the poor outcome.
Abdominal Pain ; Child* ; Colectomy ; Colitis, Ulcerative* ; Dysbiosis ; Enema ; Fecal Microbiota Transplantation* ; Feces ; Female ; Fever ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Microbiota ; Tissue Donors ; Ulcer*

Cardiac tumors are rare, and multiple myxomas are even rarer. The latter phenomenon is mostly associated with the Carney complex, a dominantly inherited disease characterized by multiple primary cardiac myxomas, endocrinopathy, and spotty pigmentation of the skin. We report the rare case of a patient who did not have the Carney complex but had multiple primary cardiac tumors. A 78-year-old woman with a past history of breast cancer was referred to our hospital for further examination of multiple cardiac tumors. Echocardiography showed 4 tumors in the left atrium and left ventricle. We could not diagnose them preoperatively and decided to resect them surgically because they were mobile and could have caused embolism and obstruction. The postoperative pathological findings of all 4 tumors were myxomas, although the patient did not meet the diagnostic criteria of the Carney complex. Therefore, a rare case of multiple primary cardiac myxomas was diagnosed.
Aged ; Breast Neoplasms ; Carney Complex* ; Echocardiography ; Embolism ; Female ; Heart Atria ; Heart Neoplasms ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Myxoma* ; Pigmentation ; Skin

　　Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy for acute carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is performed after oxygen therapy and breathing therapy. The usefulness of HBO therapy in emergency treatment has been reported. In this study, we examined the effectiveness of HBO for CO poisoning that was performed at our hospital over the past 5 years. Subjects were 23 patients who had HBO therapy for CO poisoning in the period January 2008-November 2013. The male to female ratio of the cases was 14:9 and the mean age was 54.6±20.8 years. The cause was suicide in 39.1% of cases and accident in 60.9%. The mean number of treatments was 5.4±6.8. The atmosphere absolute was 2ATA:2.8ATA=12:11. The ratio of direct conveyance of the patient to our hospital to indirect conveyance of the patient from another hospital was 15:8. The effectiveness of HBO therapy at the time of discharge was 73.9%. However, delayed neuropsychiatric sequelae (DNS) was detected in 3 of the 23 cases of CO poisoning. No correlations were found between elapsed time after CO inhalation and various blood parameters. However, time to start of therapy is important for DNS, and our results suggest that early treatment at a hospital with a hyperbaric chamber is necessary.

Introduction: No formal curriculum has been formulated for teaching behavioral science to undergraduate medical students in Japan.
Method: We conducted a survey using the Delphi method to investigate the required competency in behavioral science for graduates in medicine. Then, we developed an outcome-oriented curriculum for teaching behavioral science.
Results: We propose an educational module of behavioral science consisting of 15 sessions of 90-minute lectures, small group discussions, and practice.
Discussion: We recommend including not only lectures but also practices according to problem-based learning as well as team-based learning in the curriculum to achieve the target outcome.