We report the case of a 20-year-old woman with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and severe brain dysfunction caused by post-resuscitation encephalopathy. Transferred to our hospital's convalescent rehabilitation ward, she aimed to regain independence in daily living and return to college. Upon admission, she was diagnosed with moderate attention impairment and intellectual disability. She underwent a 4-month intensive inpatient rehabilitation program, including occupational therapy (OT). Despite modest improvements in day-to-day activities and brain function by discharge, these were insufficient for her to resume university childcare classes. Further improvement in behavioral control, physical activity management, and exercise tolerance was necessary post-discharge.OT is pivotal in supporting patient self-management of day-to-day activities, is included within the cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program covered by health insurance. Thus, we introduced her to the CR program for aerobic exercise training and OT. Counseling for physical activity based on the aerobic threshold was performed at each visit, using a chart to record daily activities and heart rate to prevent overactivity, which could lead to fatal arrhythmia.Eventually, she resumed her classes and engaged in childcare training. For patients with brain and heart conditions, a combination of rehabilitation in the convalescent ward and outpatient CR seems to be beneficial for secondary prevention and long-term self-management.

We report the case of a 20-year-old woman with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and severe brain dysfunction caused by post-resuscitation encephalopathy. Transferred to our hospital's convalescent rehabilitation ward, she aimed to regain independence in daily living and return to college. Upon admission, she was diagnosed with moderate attention impairment and intellectual disability. She underwent a 4-month intensive inpatient rehabilitation program, including occupational therapy (OT). Despite modest improvements in day-to-day activities and brain function by discharge, these were insufficient for her to resume university childcare classes. Further improvement in behavioral control, physical activity management, and exercise tolerance was necessary post-discharge.OT is pivotal in supporting patient self-management of day-to-day activities, is included within the cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program covered by health insurance. Thus, we introduced her to the CR program for aerobic exercise training and OT. Counseling for physical activity based on the aerobic threshold was performed at each visit, using a chart to record daily activities and heart rate to prevent overactivity, which could lead to fatal arrhythmia.Eventually, she resumed her classes and engaged in childcare training. For patients with brain and heart conditions, a combination of rehabilitation in the convalescent ward and outpatient CR seems to be beneficial for secondary prevention and long-term self-management.

Objectives: Diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis are instrumental in obtaining good outcomes of hip surgery.Measuring bone mineral density (BMD) using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is the gold standard for diagnosing osteoporosis. However, due to limited access to DXA, there is a need for a screening tool to identify patients at a higher risk of osteoporosis. We analyzed the potential utility of the Osteoporosis Self-assessment Tool for Asians (OSTA) as a screening tool for osteoporosis. Methods: A total of 1378 female patients who underwent hip surgery at 8 institutions were analyzed. For each patient, the BMD of the proximal femoral region was measured by DXA (DXA-BMD), and the correlation with OSTA score (as a continuous variable) was assessed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to assess the ability of OSTA score to predict osteoporosis. Lastly, the OSTA score was truncated to yield an integer (OSTA index) to clarify the percentage of patients with osteoporosis for each index. Results: DXA-BMD showed a strong correlation with OSTA (r = 0.683; P < 0.001). On ROC curve analysis, the optimal OSTA score cut-off value of − 5.4 was associated with 73.8% sensitivity and 80.9% specificity for diagnosis of osteoporosis (area under the curve: 0.842). A decrease in the OSTA index by 1 unit was associated with a 7.3% increase in the probability of osteoporosis. Conclusions OSTA is a potentially useful tool for screening osteoporosis in patients undergoing hip surgery. Our findings may help identify high-risk patients who require further investigation using DXA.

This study investigated the characteristics of emergency patients, including walk-in patients and those brought in by ambulance, who visited Akita Kousei Medical Center in the 6 months from April 2019, and the clinical features of elderly patients with heart failure. Elderly patients above 70 years of age accounted for 38.7% of emergency cases and up to 61.7% of ambulance cases. The most common diseases and disorders were orthopedic, digestive, otorhinolaryngeal, respiratory, neurological, dermatological, and cardiovascular disease, in that order. In total, 56 patients with heart failure were admitted during this period (age 83.5±8.3 years, male: female ratio, 1:1.67). Hospitalization from homes accounted for 66.1% of admissions, with the remainder from nursing homes. After treatment, 35.7% of patients moved to nursing homes and 19.6% died despite in-hospital care. Because heart failure is one of the most common conditions in elderly patients, it is pertinent to recognize the importance of quality of outpatient care to prevent hospitalization and also to preserve quality of life by focusing on alleviating overall pain and discomfort.

Context: Delirium in cancer is often difficult to control and refractory when haloperidol is invalid which is considered standard therapy. We need second and subsequent-line therapy to reduce hyperactivity and not to over-sedation for refractory delirium. Objectives: To investigate the efficacy and safety of continuous subcutaneous infusion chlorpromazine on delirium refractory to first-line antipsychiatric medications in advanced cancer palliative care setting. Method: The study population consisted of patients who received continuous subcutaneous infusion chlorpromazine for delirium at two certified PCU. Primary endpoint was the proportion of patients who showed improvements in delirium severity by Delirium Rating Scale Revised 98 score of less than 13 or decrease from baseline and maintained the ability to communicate coherently by Communication Capacity Scale Item-4 score of 2 or less. Secondary outcome were the Nursing Delirium Screening Scale subscale score, and injection site reactions evaluated according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events. These outcome measures were assessed at baseline, 48 hours and 7 days after the start of the study. Result: Among eighty-four patients, sixty were positive responders (71.4%, 95% CI [61–80]). The mean CCS Item-4 scores significantly decreased from the baseline value of 1.48 (range 0–3) to 1.03 (range 0–3) at post-treatment (p<0.001). Grade 2 or higher injection site reactions were observed in 1 patient (1.2%, 95% CI [0–7]). Conclusion: Our study suggested that continuous subcutaneous infusion chlorpromazine could improve refractory delirium symptoms and patients’ communication capabilities. Although most of the skin disorders observed in association with chlorpromazine were mild, their incidence rates were relatively high, suggesting the need for careful monitoring.

A 68-year-old man with a diagnosis of transformation to undifferentiated carcinoma of the left thyroid who was being treated with Lenvatinib presented with swelling and pain around the left clavicle, and tramadol was started. Two days later, he developed diarrhea, sweating, disorientation, and myoclonus, leading to a diagnosis of serotonin syndrome. He also exhibited dyskinesia including involuntary movements of the arms and legs and squirming movements of the trunk. Tramadol was thus discontinued. His myoclonus and dyskinesia resolved within half a day and had disappeared the day after tramadol discontinuation. These symptoms were attributed to tramadol because there was a reasonable temporal relationship between drug administration and the adverse event. Tramadol inhibits serotonin reuptake, and thus has the potential to cause serotonin syndrome. However, there have been relatively few reports describing the occurrence of this syndrome, and there have been none showing concomitant dyskinesia. Clinicians should be aware that tramadol can cause serotonin syndrome accompanied by dyskinesia.

Several problems have been reported following coarctectomy, especially in cases involving long-segment coarctation (COA). Although residual COA, proximal arch kinking, and airway compression may occur after coarctectomy, avoiding the use of artificial materials provides a better chance for the subsequent growth of the aorta. We successfully performed a modified end-to-end anastomosis with subclavian flap aortoplasty for a two-month-old boy with COA. A two-month-old boy was admitted to our hospital for nocturnal tachypnea and a feeding disorder. The initial echocardiography showed a preductal long COA beyond the left subclavian artery. A perimembranous VSD, a patent foramen ovale, and a patent ductus arteriosus were also noted. The left ventricular function was mildly depressed with an ejection fraction of 59%. Enhanced CT revealed a long-segment COA with a length of 15 mm. The blood pressure gradient between the upper and lower limbs was 40 mmHg. The operation was performed at the age of 2 months. The 4th intercostal space was opened through a posterolateral left thoracotomy incision. The distal end of the isthmus was so ligated as to maintain blood perfusion to the lower body through the PDA. The arch was clamped between the left carotid and the left subclavian artery (LSCA). The LSCA and the isthmus were divided as distally as possible, and the two distal ends were longitudinally incised and sutured to each other in a side-to-side fashion using a 7-0 polypropylene continuous suture. After complete resection of the ductal tissue, a newly created distal arch was anastomosed to the descending aorta. The left ventricular ejection fraction was increased to 74% at discharge. Catheterizations 3 years after the surgery did not reveal any stenosis or deformity in the aorta at normal PA pressure. The patient has been doing well and is free of complications 7 years after the surgery. At present, end-to-end anastomosis and aortic arch advancement with or without cardiopulmonary bypass are widely used procedures for coarctectomy ; however, a modified end-to-end anastomosis is still a viable option for cases involving long-segment coarctation.

Continuous subcutaneous injections of medication are effective in controlling symptoms of the terminal stage of cancer. Chlorpromazine and levomepromazine occasionally cause skin irritation. We examined all patients who underwent continuous subcutaneous administration of psychotropic drugs (chlorpromazine, levomepromazine, midazolam) at the palliative care unit of our hospital from April 2010 to March 2013, the frequency of adverse skin reactions of Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) v4.0 grade 3 or above. Of the 603 hospitalized patients, 389 (64.5%) underwent continuous subcutaneous administration of one of the three drugs. The frequency of grade 3 or above (ulceration or necrosis) adverse skin reactions was 4 out of 345 chlorpromazine cases (1.2%; 95% CI: 0.0-2.3%), 2 out of 90 levomepromazine cases (2.2%; 95% CI: −0.8-5.2%), and 0 out of 210 midazolam cases (0.0%; 95% CI: 0.0-0.0%). The frequency of serious adverse skin reactions caused by continuous subcutaneous administration of psychotropic drugs was low, suggesting that this treatment is relatively safe for the skin.

Introduction: The use of methadone in Japan is limited to cases being switched from the preceding use of strong opioids; the stop-and-go strategy is recommended in which the previously used opioid analgesic is discontinued and methadone is initiated at its full estimated dosage. Case: Refractory cancer pain due to an iliolumbar syndrome was temporarily exacerbated by the stop-and-go switching to methadone from morphine along with ketamine. Pain relief was achieved upon readministration and concomitant use of morphine with methadone after approximately two weeks. Discussion: Through examining this case, we believe that a stepwise switching strategy, rather than the stop-and-go strategy, could be more useful. Considering that overdosage may cause side effects, it is safer to initiate methadone with a small dose. However, more studies need to be conducted to decide whether the establishment of the initial dosage and dosage adjustment should be made more flexible to avoid pain intensification. Further investigation is required on whether the concomitant use of adjuvant analgesics such as ketamine, which similar to methadone is an NMDA receptor antagonist, should be continued when switching to methadone.

A 29-year-old woman, who had been diagnosed with Ebstein's anomaly associated with paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia due to Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome, was referred to our hospital for treatment of congestive heart failure and tachycardia. She had undergone a catheter ablation for WPW syndrome at the age of 28 years. Subsequently, surgical treatment for Ebstein's anomaly was indicated because of persistent symptoms of heart failure due to tricuspid regurgitation (TR). The echocardiogram and pathologic findings corresponded to Ebstein's anomaly of the Carpentier type B classification, with severe displacement of the septal and posterior leaflets resulting in moderate TR. A mobile anterior leaflet of sufficient size without a cleft enabled us to successfully perform Hetzer's procedure. In this procedure, the large mobile anterior leaflet was approximated to the opposing true tricuspid annulus with a mattress suture of 3-0 polypropylene passed from the anterior leaflet annulus to the true tricuspid annulus at the site of atrialized right ventricle near the coronary sinus. The postoperative course was uneventful, and the cardiothoracic ratio reduced from 56% to 48% with mild TR. In this adult case of Carpentier's type B adult Ebstein's anomaly, Hetzer's procedure allowed reconstruction of the tricuspid valve mechanism of “leaflet-to-septum” coaptation at the level of the true annulus by approximating the anterior leaflet. This was, effective in reducing the patient's moderate TR. We conclude that this procedure is a simple and reproducible method for repairing the tricuspid valve in Ebstein's anomaly, especially for cases with a large mobile anterior leaflet.