We built PHN-Map, an open-data Web-based GIS with geo-linked 360° images to support 15 000 public health nurses (PHNs) during the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake and subsequent floods. The map improved pre-deployment triage, home-visit routing and training, logging >300 uses on launch day, proving GIS and 360° imagery useful for PHN disaster activities.

Objectives: Frailty among community-dwelling older adults increases the risk of adverse health outcomes. Sar copenic obesity (SO), characterized by low muscle mass combined with excess adiposity, may worsen frailty.Locomotive syndrome (LS) shares features with frailty and sarcopenia. This study examined whether LS modifies the association between body composition and frailty. Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data of 481 adults aged ≥ 40 years from the DETECt-L cohort in Japan.Frailty was defined according to the Japanese Cardiovascular Health Study criteria. Body composition was measured using bioelectrical impedance, based on skeletal muscle mass and body fat, to categorize participants into normal, sarcopenia, obesity, or SO phenotypes. Logistic regression-estimated odds ratios for comparing prefrailty/frailty with robustness were calculated. Model 1 was unadjusted; Model 2 (fully adjusted) adjusted for age, sex, pain, fall history, and Timed Up-and-Go and single-leg standing tests; and Model 3 additionally included body mass index (BMI) (sensitivity). Results: Overall, 41.6% of participants were classified as prefrail or frail. The distribution of body composition phenotypes was as follows: normal (42.8%), sarcopenic (31.2%), obese (15.8%), and SO (10.2%). In Model 2, both sarcopenia (odds ratio [OR], 2.24; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.38–3.63) and SO (OR, 2.51; 95% CI, 1.21–5.24) were associated with increased odds of prefrailty/frailty. These associations remained robust after adjusting for BMI. However, LS did not significantly affect these associations. Conclusions Sarcopenia and SO were independently associated with prefrailty/frailty regardless of LS status.Integrating muscle function and adiposity metrics may support early risk detection in community settings.

BACKGROUND: The long-term impact of symptom classification on quality of life (QOL) and economic outcomes among individuals with long coronavirus disease (COVID) remains poorly understood. This study aimed to clarify the situation of long COVID in Japan by analyzing patients using cluster classification. METHODS: This multicenter, retrospective cohort study enrolled 515 patients with COVID-19 and followed up for 36 months via standardized questionnaires. Patients were classified based on: 1) symptom trajectory over time and 2) symptom cluster profiles at 3 months. RESULTS: While the number of symptoms decreased, fatigue and dyspnea frequently persisted, whereas anosmia and dysgeusia declined. Cough and sputum decreased gradually. The proportion of patients with 5-9 symptoms increased. The mean (interquartile range) presenteeism scores were lower in the continuous (60 [50-80]) and relapse groups (65 [48-80]) than in the recovered group (70 [50-80]). The multiple symptoms cluster had the worst SF-36, presenteeism, and absenteeism scores (47.2 [44.7-49.8], 48.8 [27.5-72.5], and 10.9 [0.0-11.0], respectively). CONCLUSIONS Patients with continuous and multiple symptoms experienced persistently lower QOL and greater economic burden up to 36 months after COVID-19 diagnosis. The long-term effects of long COVID are not only physical but also mental and economical. Thus, further research is needed to clarify the economical and physiological impact of long COVID.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; COVID-19/complications* ; Japan/epidemiology* ; Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome/psychology* ; Quality of Life ; Retrospective Studies ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; East Asian People

Introduction: We evaluated a trainer for improving knot-tying skills using gummy candies (KTG; knot-tying trainer using gummy). To reveal its efficacy, the KTG was compared with a standard knot-tying board by evaluating construct and concurrent validities.　Method: The completion times for knot-tying with the both the trainers were recorded for 18 novices and 18 experts in our university hospital. The evaluation formula was published previously and comprised four items (accuracy, gap, slippage, and breakage) to calculate the total score.　Results: With the standard knot-tying board, the average score was 27.1±22.6 points in the novice group and 37.3±18.7 points in the expert group. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups. With the KTG, the average score was 12.3±20.6 points in the novice group and 36.7±18.3 points in the expert group, with a statistically significant difference (p<0.001).　Discussion: Using the KTG for knot-tying training, it may be possible to acquire knot-tying skills with proficiency-based training, which could improve knot-tying technique.

Vertebral artery stump syndrome (VASS) is a rare condition that can cause posterior circulation ischemic stroke due to occlusion of the ipsilateral vertebral artery (VA) orifice, resulting in blood flow stagnation and embolus formation. Although there is no established treatment for this condition, we observed 3 cases of VASS out of 326 acute ischemic stroke cases at a single institution from April 2021 to October 2022. Despite the best possible antithrombotic treatment, all 3 patients had recurrent ischemic strokes. One patient underwent drug-eluting stenting of the VA orifice to relieve occlusive flow. The other 2 patients received coil embolization, which resulted in the disappearance of their culprit collateral flow. None of the patients had recurrent ischemic strokes after endovascular intervention. Based on our observations, stenting and coil embolization are effective methods for preventing future recurrences of VASS.

Objectives: Clinical prediction rules are used to discriminate patients with locomotive syndrome and may enable early detection. This study aimed to validate the clinical predictive rules for locomotive syndrome in communitydwelling older adults. Methods: We assessed the clinical prediction rules for locomotive syndrome in a cross-sectional setting. The age, sex, and body mass index of participants were recorded. Five physical function tests–grip strength, single-leg standing time, timed up-and-go test, and preferred and maximum walking speeds–were measured as predic tive factors. Three previously developed clinical prediction models for determining the severity of locomotive syndrome were assessed using a decision tree analysis. To assess validity, the sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratio, and post-test probability of the clinical prediction rules were calculated using receiver operating charac teristic curve analysis for each model. Results: Overall, 280 older adults were included (240 women; mean age, 74.8 ± 5.2 years), and 232 (82.9%), 68 (24.3%), and 28 (10.0%) participants had locomotive syndrome stages ≥ 1, ≥ 2, and = 3, respectively. The areas under the receiver operating characteristics curves were 0.701, 0.709, and 0.603, in models 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The accuracies of models 1 and 2 were moderate. Conclusions These findings indicate that the models are reliable for community-dwelling older adults.

Background/Aims: The frequency and details of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) complications in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remain unclear. This study aimed to clarify characteristics of NAFLD in patients with IBD. Methods: We retrospectively identified and enrolled patients with IBD diagnosed with or without NAFLD by undergoing abdominal computed tomography (CT) at our institution between 2005 and 2020. The primary endpoint was the complication rate of NAFLD in patients with IBD. Secondary endpoints were the clinical characteristics of nonobese patients with IBD and comorbid NAFLD and their association with nutritional and inflammatory parameters. Results: Twenty-one (21.9%) of 96 eligible patients with IBD also had NAFLD. In nonobese patients (defined as patients with a body mass index <25 kg/m2), C-reactive protein (CRP; P<0.001) and alanine aminotransferase (P=0.018) levels were higher and the albumin level (P=0.005) and prognostic nutritional index (PNI; P=0.002) values were lower in patients with NAFLD than in those without NAFLD. The PNI value was positively correlated (P<0.001) and the CRP level was negatively correlated (P=0.001) with the hepatosplenic ratio. However, in the NAFLD combined group, PNI (P<0.05) and CRP values (P<0.001) were improved over time after CT imaging by continuing IBD treatment. Conclusions Worsening nutritional and inflammatory status in IBD patients is associated with complications of NAFLD. Diagnosis of NAFLD in IBD patients using CT imaging might be useful not only for early detection of NAFLD but also in assessing the need for therapeutic intervention for IBD.

Purpose: Dental floss clip (DFC) traction-assisted endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is widely performed owing to its simplicity. This study aimed to clarify the appropriate indications for the DFC traction method in early gastric cancer when ESD is performed by less-experienced endoscopists. Methods: and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 1,014 consecutive patients who had undergone gastric ESD performed by less-experienced endoscopists between January 2015 and December 2020. Gastric ESD was performed without DFC in all cases before December 2017 [DFC (−) group, 376 cases], and ESD was performed with DFC in all cases after January 2018 [DFC (+) group, 436 cases]. The procedure time and rates of en bloc resection, complete resection, and adverse events of the groups were compared. Results: The procedure time did not differ significantly between the 2 groups. However, when comparing lesions >20 mm, the procedure time in the DFC (+) group was significantly shorter than that in the DFC (−) group (95±46 vs. 75±31, P<0.01). The procedure time for lesions located in the greater curvature of the upper or middle stomach and lesions >20 mm located in the lesser curvature side of the stomach in the DFC (+) group was significantly shorter than that in the DFC (−) group. Conclusions The indications for DFC during gastric ESD by less-experienced endoscopists include lesions located in the greater curvature of the upper or middle stomach, and lesions >20 mm located in the lesser curvature of the stomach.

Methods: The medical records of patients with intervertebral TLIF from 2012 to 2018 were retrospectively examined. The patients were divided into those with fusion and those with pseudoarthrosis, and the following data were compared: age, sex, DISH, diabetes mellitus, smoking, drinking, albumin levels, body mass index ≥30 kg/m2, and L5/S fixation. Statistical analyses were performed using regression models. Results: In this study, 180 patients (78.6%) had fusion and 49 patients (21.4%) had pseudoarthrosis. The number of patients with DISH was significantly higher in the pseudoarthrosis group than in the fusion group (36.7% and 21.7%, respectively; univariate p=0.031, multivariate p =0.019). No significant differences in age, sex, diabetes mellitus, smoking, drinking, albumin levels, body mass index ≥30 kg/m2, and L5/S fixation were observed between the two groups. The risk factors for bone fusion were statistically analyzed in 57 patients with DISH. DISH with a caudal end below Th11 was an independent risk factor for pseudoarthrosis (univariate p=0.011, multivariate p=0.033). Conclusions DISH is an independent risk factor for pseudoarthrosis after one intervertebral TLIF, and DISH with a caudal end below Th11 is associated with a higher risk of pseudoarthrosis than DISH without a caudal end below Th11.