Internal Medicine
Online ISSN : 1349-7235
Print ISSN : 0918-2918
ISSN-L : 0918-2918
51 巻, 18 号
選択された号の論文の35件中1~35を表示しています
ORIGINAL ARTICLES
  • Kazuo Tarao, Kaoru Miyakawa, Yohei Miyagi, Shinichi Ohkawa, Soichiro M ...
    2012 年 51 巻 18 号 p. 2495-2501
    発行日: 2012年
    公開日: 2012/09/15
    ジャーナル オープンアクセス
    Objective Whether severe inflammation in the background liver cirrhosis might correlate with the development of poorly differentiated human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was studied in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated liver cirrhosis.
    Methods Out of 214 HCC patients who underwent curative hepatic resection, 148 patients were HCV-associated liver cirrhosis (LC) patients. Out of these 148, 31 patients with small solitary HCC nodule (diameter ≤3 cm) were included in this study. Inflammation in the background LC was evaluated by modified histology activity index (HAI). To evaluate the inflammation, piece meal necrosis, intra lobular cellular degeneration and focal necrosis, portal cellular inflammation (each 0-4) were estimated. In each case, the average HAI was calculated. The grade of malignancy of HCC was determined by World Health Organization (WHO) classification.
    Results The average HAI score in the cirrhotic portion in 17 patients with poorly differentiated HCC (5.21±1.15, mean ± standard deviation (SD)) was significantly larger than that in 14 patients without poorly differentiated HCC (4.05±0.83, p<0.005). The occurrence rate of HCC containing poorly differentiated HCC component in the patients whose HAI was more than 5.0 was 80.0% (12 out of 15), and was significantly higher compared with those in patients whose HAI was less than 5.0 (5 out of 16, 31.3%, p<0.025). In univariate and multivariate analyses for contribution to poorly differentiated HCC development, HAI was the only significant contributor (p=0.011, p=0.012 respectively).
    Conclusion It is suggested that severe inflammation in the background cirrhosis accelerates the promotion in the HCC development from HCV-associated LC.
  • Hong Cao, Xin Wang, He Huang, Shao Zhen Ying, Yong Wei Gu, Teng Wang, ...
    2012 年 51 巻 18 号 p. 2503-2508
    発行日: 2012年
    公開日: 2012/09/15
    ジャーナル オープンアクセス
    Backgroud Previous randomized studies have reported conflicting results on the efficacy of omega-3 fatty acids in preventing atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrences after cardioversion.
    Objective A systematic review and meta-analysis of the role of omega-3 fatty acids in the prevention of atrial fibrillation recurrences after cardioversion was conducted.
    Methods PubMed, Cochrane Library, Elsevier, Science Online database were searched up to the end of January 2012 to identify all of the studies in human subjects that reported the effects of omega-3 fatty acids on the prevention of atrial fibrillation recurrences after cardioversion.
    Results Overall, omega-3 fatty acids had no significant effect on the prevention of AF recurrences after cardioversion (OR: 0.63,95% CI 0.35-1.13; p=0.12). The heterogeneity among the studies was significant (p=0.01, I2=66%). Subgroup analysis showed that by administering omega-3 fatty acids at least 4 weeks prior to cardioversion and continuing thereafter, the recurrence rate of AF is significantly low (OR: 0.39, 95% CI 0.25-0.61; p<0.0001).
    Conclusion In the subgroup administered omega-3 fatty acids at least 4 weeks prior to cardioversion and continued thereafter, the recurrence rate of AF was significantly low. More double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter studies with high quality and longer follow-up periods are needed to affirm our conclusion.
  • Tatsuo Hosoya, Satoru Kuriyama, Takeo Yoshizawa, Akimitsu Kobayashi, Y ...
    2012 年 51 巻 18 号 p. 2509-2514
    発行日: 2012年
    公開日: 2012/09/15
    ジャーナル オープンアクセス
    Objective The Jikei Optimal Antihypertensive Treatment (JOINT) study originally evaluated the effect of a fixed-dose formulation of losartan (LOS) (50 mg) plus 12.5 hydrochrolthiazide (HCTZ) for achieving better blood pressure (BP) control in patients with uncontrolled hypertension. This study is a sub-analysis of the JOINT study, focusing on the effect of LOS/HCTZ on the uric acid (UA) metabolism.
    Methods Among 228 participants in the JOINT study, a total of 164 patients whose blood and urinary UA specimens were available were included in the present analyses.
    Results Six months after switching from the prior antihypertensive agent(s) to a single tablet formulation of LOS/HCTZ, the overall serum UA concentration (sUA) increased from 6.0 ± 1.6 mg/dL to 6.2 ± 1.6 mg/dL (p=0.029). The urinary UA/creatinine (Cr) ratio increased from 0.45 +/- 0.21 to 0.50 +/- 0.25 (p=0.014), and the fractional excretion of UA (FEUA) also increased, from 7.1 +/- 3.6 to 7.0 +/- 4.3, p=0.04). Multivariate regression analyses of the basal parameters showed the change in sUA (ΔUA) to correlate with the basal sUA (β=-0.483, p<0.001), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (β=-0.202, p=0.007) and systolic BP (β=0.147, p=0.038). In addition, the ΔUA also correlated with the changes in the estimated glomerular filtration rate (ΔeGFR) (β=-0.332, p<0.001). When the patients were classified into two groups depending on their basal sUA, those with a basal sUA ≥7 mg/dL exhibited a decrease in their sUA, whereas the rest of those with a sUA <7 mg/dL experienced an increase. Furthermore, patients who had previously been treated with LOS alone had a greater increase in the sUA than those treated with an angiotensin II blocker (ARB) other than LOS alone.
    Conclusion Antihypertensive therapy with a single tablet formulation of LOS/HCTZ is considered to be a useful option for controlling both BP and sUA, especially in uncontrolled hypertensive patients with hyperuricemia.
  • Yu-Chao Dong, Guo-Wu Zhou, Chong Bai, Hai-Dong Huang, Qin-Ying Sun, Yi ...
    2012 年 51 巻 18 号 p. 2515-2519
    発行日: 2012年
    公開日: 2012/09/15
    ジャーナル オープンアクセス
    Objective Tracheobronchial foreign bodies (FBs) are frequently present in adults. This study reports our experience with the managements of FB and FB-related complications using flexible bronchoscopy.
    Methods We retrospectively reviewed the adult patients with FBs treated between 2001 and 2011 in China. The demographic and endoscopic data were collected and analyzed.
    Results A total of 200 adult patients (136 men and 64 women) with an average age of 51 years were analyzed. The most common FBs included bones (51.0%), nut shells (15.0%), food boluses (7.0%), plastic toys or pen caps (6.5%). After FB aspiration occurred, only 11.0% were diagnosed within three days, while more than half of the patients (58.0%) delayed the diagnosis by more than one month. The incidence of FB-related complications was 79.5%, including granulation formation (76.5%), obstructive pneumonia (22.0%), hemorrhage (14.5%), atelectasis (10.0%) and endobronchial stenotic scarring (8.0%). In 96.5% of the patients, the FBs were successfully removed under flexible bronchoscopy. A total of 53 out of the 153 patients with granulation (34.6%) were managed by argon plasma coagulation (APC) or cryotherapy; two out of the sixteen patients with endobronchial stenotic scars were treated by balloon dilation under flexible bronchoscopy.
    Conclusion A high incidence of FB-related complications occurs, likely as a result of the long delay between aspiration and diagnosis, a proportion of which require endoscopic intervention. The removal of FBs under flexible bronchoscopy has a high success rate and therefore should be recommended for adults.
  • Qi Guo, Hai-yan Li, Yi-ping Zhou, Ming Li, Xiao-ke Chen, Hui Liu, Hong ...
    2012 年 51 巻 18 号 p. 2521-2527
    発行日: 2012年
    公開日: 2012/09/15
    ジャーナル オープンアクセス
    Objective The CURB-65 score is a simple well validated tool for the assessment of severity in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). The weight of each criterion in very low-mortality-rate settings is unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine the weight in such setting.
    Methods This study retrospectively reviewed 1,230 adult patients admitted for CAP from 2005 to 2009.
    Results The 30-day mortality rose sharply from 0%, 1.0%, 8.2% and 16.7%, respectively, for patients with CURB-65 scores of 0, 1, 2 and 3 to 100.0% for patients with the scores of 4 (x2 = 219.494, p<0.001). Confusion had the strongest association with mortality (odds ratio, 22.148). The presence of low blood pressure was not associated with mortality. Confusion, urea >7 mmol・L-1 and age ≥65 yrs showed independent relationships with mortality (Odds ratio, 11.537, 5.988 and 10.462; respectively). Urea >7 mmol・L--1 was most strongly associated with the sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) scores [rank correlation coefficient (rs), 0.352]. Confusion had the closest relationship with hospital length of stay (rs, 0.114). Age ≥65 yrs had the strongest association with costs (rs, 0.223).
    Conclusion The individual CURB-65 criteria were of unequal weight for predicting the 30-day mortality, SOFA scores, hospital length of stay and costs in a very low-mortality-rate setting, and a low blood pressure was not associated with mortality.
  • Jing Zhang, Bobin Chen, Xiaoping Xu, Zhiguang Lin, Bo Huang, Jing Song ...
    2012 年 51 巻 18 号 p. 2529-2536
    発行日: 2012年
    公開日: 2012/09/15
    ジャーナル オープンアクセス
    Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics, diagnostic approaches, short-term efficacy of treatment and prognosis of lymphoma patients presenting with a fever of unknown origin (FUO).
    Methods We reviewed the records of 132 patients finally diagnosed with lymphoma in Huashan Hospital, half of whom initially presented with a FUO. The other 66 lymphoma patients without a history of FUO were diagnosed within a month when several patients in the FUO group were also diagnosed.
    Results The patients presenting with a FUO were predominantly young men (71.21%, p=0.35) characterized by a temperature ≥39°C (55/66, 83.33%). Compared with the non-FUO group, patients in the FUO group more often had pancytopenia and hypohepatia, 61.54% with hypoalbuminemia (p<0.0001), 15.50% with significantly elevated lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) (p<0.0001), 92.45% with elevated serum β2 microglobulin (p=0.017), 93.48% with elevated urine β2 microglobulin (p=0.002) and 30.77% with elevated alkaline phosphatase (p=0.001). Ninety-four percent of the FUO patients had aggressive lymphomas (p=0.012), with a poor performance status (96.97%, p=0.003), stage III/IV disease (96.97%, p<0.0001), night sweats (21.21%, p=0.026), unexplained weight loss (46.97%, p=0.002) and more than one extranodal site involved (65.15%, p=0.002). The patients in the FUO group also showed poor prognoses, and most of them were in the high-intermediate or high risk classification of the disease (96.61%, p<0.0001), with a low complete remission (CR) rate (61.11% vs. 93.75%, p=0.043). Twenty-one (15.91%) of all the patients were diagnosed based on the finding of lesion sites by Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (PET/CT) scanning, which had not been detected by conventional scans.
    Conclusion Lymphoma presenting as FUO has a rapid progression and poor prognosis, and is difficult to diagnose. PET/CT scans can provide complementary information for an etiological diagnosis of a FUO and biopsy examinations are significant to establish an early diagnosis for patients presenting with a FUO.
  • Tadashi Ishida, Hiromasa Tachibana, Akihiro Ito, Hiroshige Yoshioka, M ...
    2012 年 51 巻 18 号 p. 2537-2544
    発行日: 2012年
    公開日: 2012/09/15
    ジャーナル オープンアクセス
    Objective The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiology, clinical features, antimicrobial treatment, and outcomes of patients with nursing and healthcare-associated pneumonia (NHCAP); a new category of pneumonia proposed by the Japanese Respiratory Society.
    Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of a prospectively collected database of patients with NHCAP and community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) hospitalized at a single center between January 2008 and December 2010, and compared their clinical characteristics. The criteria for NHCAP were as follows: (1) residence in a nursing home or an extended-care ward, (2) a discharge from a hospital in the preceding 90 days, (3) an elderly or handicapped patient who needs long-term care, (4) a patient who regularly requires vascular access in an outpatient setting.
    Results A total of 442 NHCAP patients and 451 CAP patients were evaluated. The NHCAP patients were older and had a higher frequency of underlying diseases. Aspiration was thought to be associated with the NHCAP in 63% of patients. Streptococcus pneumoniae was the leading pathogen in both groups, whereas the frequency of multidrug-resistant pathogens was higher in the NHCAP patients. The most frequently used antimicrobials in NHCAP patients were penicillins with beta-lactamase inhibitors. The in-hospital mortality and recurrence rates were significantly higher in NHCAP patients than in CAP patients (13.1% vs. 5.1%, p<0.001 and 18.8% vs. 5.5%, p<0.001).
    Conclusion The clinical picture of NHCAP is consistent with that of HCAP described in the past. It is thought to be of benefit to modify the healthcare-associated pneumonia (HCAP) criteria considering the healthcare and social health insurance system in Japan.
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