Objective Although gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is known to cause sleep disturbances, the relationships between other abdominal symptoms and sleep disorders have not been clarified. In the present study, we examined the relationships between daytime sleepiness and various abdominal symptoms in a non-clinical population.
Methods We enrolled 2,936 subjects who visited Matsue Red Cross Hospital for an annual health check examination during a 10-month consecutive period after excluding those with organic gastrointestinal diseases. The Izumo scale abdominal symptom and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) questionnaires were employed to evaluate the presence of abdominal symptoms and daytime sleepiness.
Results Among the 2,936 subjects, 233 (7.9%), 254 (8.6%) and 528 (18%) had GERD-like, functional dyspepsia (FD)-like and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)-like symptoms, respectively. The ESS scores in the subjects with GERD-, FD- and IBS-like symptoms were significantly higher than those observed in the asymptomatic subjects. The subjects with multiple abdominal symptoms tended to have higher ESS scores than those with single symptoms. A multiple logistic regression analysis revealed a younger age and the presence of FD- and IBS-like symptoms to be significant influencing factors for sleep disturbances.
Conclusion The presence of FD and IBS symptoms in addition to GERD symptoms exhibits a strong relationship with sleep disturbances from the viewpoint of daytime sleepiness.

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Objective To investigate the causes of neurological manifestations in girls immunized with the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.
Methods During the past nine months, 44 girls visited us complaining of several symptoms after HPV vaccination. Four patients with other proven disorders were excluded, and the remaining forty subjects were enrolled in this study.
Results The age at initial vaccination ranged from 11 to 17 years, and the average incubation period after the first dose of the vaccine was 5.47±5.00 months. Frequent manifestations included headaches, general fatigue, coldness of the legs, limb pain and weakness. The skin temperature examined in 28 girls with limb symptoms exhibited a slight decrease in the fingers (30.4±2.6°C) and a moderate decrease in the toes (27.1±3.7°C). Digital plethysmograms revealed a reduced height of the waves, especially in the toes. The limb symptoms of four girls were compatible with the Japanese clinical diagnostic criteria for complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), while those in the other 14 girls were consistent with foreign diagnostic criteria for CRPS. The Schellong test identified eight patients with orthostatic hypotension and four patients with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. The girls with orthostatic intolerance and CRPS commonly experienced transient violent tremors and persistent asthenia. Electron-microscopic examinations of the intradermal nerves showed an abnormal pathology in the unmyelinated fibers in two of the three girls examined.
Conclusion The symptoms observed in this study can be explained by abnormal peripheral sympathetic responses. The most common previous diagnosis in the studied girls was psychosomatic disease. The social problems of the study participants remained unresolved in that the severely disabled girls stopped going to school.

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Objective It is commonly known that ultrasonography (US) transducers function as both a reservoir and means of transfer for hospital infections. The current study aimed to compare the antimicrobial effectiveness of using >80°C water versus antiseptic wipes to disinfect US transducers.
Methods Subsequent to abdominal inspections in three groups of 20 patients, a swab culture was taken from the transducer in each case. Neither a mechanical nor chemical disinfection was applied to the transducer in the first group. As for the second group, the transducer was placed in >80°C hot water for five minutes. In the third group, the transducer was wiped clean using antiseptic wipes.
Results Of the 60 swab samples collected, 40 did not produce any growth. The number of samples exhibiting growth in the first group involved 18 cases of coagulase-negative staphylococcus (CNS), as well as 15 cases of Listeria spp., one case of Corynebacterium spp. and one case of Bacillus spp., while only one case of CNS was observed in the second and third groups, respectively. The culture growth and colony forming units rate were significantly higher in the samples obtained from the first group than in those obtained from the other groups (p<0.01). As for the second and third groups, no significant differences were found in terms of the amount of colonization and growth (p=1.00).
Conclusion Being a practical and a simple method for particular use in developing and underdeveloped countries, where it is hard to access relatively costly transducer disinfection materials, such as antiseptic wipes, hot water disinfection may play an active role in fighting hospital infections.

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Objective Patients with urosepsis associated with urinary tract calculi occasionally require drainage, primarily via ureteric stenting. Such patients require longer hospitalization. However, the indications for early ureteric stenting for this condition have not been clearly defined. To compare the length of stay (LOS) in the hospital between patients treated with earlier ureteric stenting versus those with delayed ureteric stenting.
Methods Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: An acute care teaching hospital in Japan. Measurement: Length of hospital stay in days.
Patients Patients with urosepsis associated with urinary tract calculi.
Results Among a total of 30 patients (mean age, 72; 13 men), the mean number of days from emergency room admission to ureteric stenting was 3.5 days (range, 1-14 days), and the overall mean LOS was 36 days (range, 8-102 days). The early stenting group (mean LOS, 21 days) had a significantly shorter LOS than the delayed stenting group (mean LOS, 50 days), with an adjusted beta coefficient of -26 days [95% confidence interval (CI), -46, -6].
Conclusion In patients with urosepsis associated with urinary tract calculi, performing early stenting within two days of admission may reduce the LOS in the hospital.

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We encountered a case of epithelioid inflammatory myofibroblastic sarcoma (EIMS) originating from an abdominal organ that rapidly regrew twice. The patient underwent two surgeries. Large tumors grew within three months after the second surgery. The patient subsequently received chemotherapy with an anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitor. Although EIMS has a poor prognosis, the patient continues to be alive with disease 14 months after surgical treatment and the administration of the ALK inhibitor.

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Pancreatitis may induce a spectrum of venous and arterial vascular complications. However, hepatic infarction complicated with acute pancreatitis seldom occurs because of the unique vascular configuration of the liver. We herein describe an extremely rare and unique case in which simultaneous portal vein and hepatic vein thrombosis were present. We precisely assessed both hepatic hemodynamics and hepatocellular function using sequential multidetector computed tomography and gadoxetate disodium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging, which may provide useful information on the pathophysiological state and diagnosis of hepatic infarction.

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Recent randomized studies have failed to note any benefits to adding renal artery stenting to optimal medical therapy in patients with atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis (ARAS). We herein present the case of a 75-year-old woman with acute worsening of chronic renal failure in whom renal stenting was essential to saving the patient's life and avoiding dialysis. Although the long-term usefulness of renal artery stenting for ARAS remains controversial, this procedure should be kept in mind as a viable option for treating acute critical cases such as this.

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We herein describe two patients with a prolonged disturbance of consciousness due to severe hypophosphatemia. Case one presented with pneumococcal infection and acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. Case two presented with diabetic foot infections and diabetic ketoacidosis. Both patients responded to initial therapy for their primary diseases, but consciousness became worse in both cases. Their test results for impaired consciousness revealed severe hypophosphatemia; therefore, phosphate replacement therapy was administered, thus resulting in complete alertness. These cases demonstrate that we should consider the possibility of hypophosphatemia in critically ill patients with an altered consciousness.

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A 17-year-old man presented with a decreased renal function (creatinine clearance 66.0 ml/min/1.73 m²) and proteinuria (1.25 g/24 hrs). He was born weighing 1,065 g 26 weeks of pregnancy. He was mildly overweight (BMI 26.9 kg/m²) due to an increased weight gain (10 kg) over the past year. Renal biopsy showed perihilar sclerosing lesions in three of eleven glomeruli, low glomerular density, enlarged glomeruli, and limited fusions of foot processes, thus indicating secondary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). We speculated that the patient's overweight status may have caused a worsening of glomerular hyperfiltration due to the fewer number of nephrons leading to the development of secondary FSGS.

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Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare complication, but a significant prognostic factor in patients with Sjögren's syndrome (SjS). Despite its efficacy, the long-term use of intravenous epoprostenol is sometimes complicated by adverse effects, such as catheter-related infection. This case involves a 38-year-old woman with PAH associated with SjS (PAH-SjS) who was transitioned from treatment with long-term intravenous epoprostenol therapy to combination oral therapy containing bosentan and tadalafil. She has remained in stable condition for more than two years following epoprostenol discontinuation. The details of this report suggest that long-term epoprostenol therapy can be safely tapered off and replaced with combination oral therapy in carefully selected patients with PAH-SjS.

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Recently, 5-azacitidine has been reported to improve the survival of patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and was approved for the treatment of MDS in Japan. We herein report a case of high-risk MDS in which the patient exhibited a hematological improvement three months after the first cycle of 5-azacitidine therapy. The second cycle of 5-azacitidine was not administered due to a severe pulmonary infection. Bone marrow aspiration revealed a decrease in the level of blast cells from 7.0% to 0.7%, and the subclassification of MDS improved from refractory anemia with excess blasts (RAEB)-1 to refractory cytopenia with unilineage dysplasia. This case demonstrates a possible late effect of 5-azacitidine treatment.

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We herein describe a case of a 38-year-old man with familial hemiplegic migraine with a T666M mutation in the electrical potential-dependent calcium ion channel (CACNA1A) gene. His migraine was accompanied by hemiparesis and impaired consciousness. Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed abnormalities in the right cortical hemisphere. Single-photon emission computed tomography demonstrated a decrease in iomazenil uptake and an increase in ^99mTc-ethyl cysteinate dimer uptake at the ipsilateral site. Positron emission tomography showed a decrease in ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in the same area, which later showed atrophic changes. The patient's brain atrophy ceased after treatment with sodium valproate. This case suggests that the progression of brain atrophy can be prevented with adequate prophylaxis.

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A 78-year-old man with essential hypertension abruptly developed complete ocular tilt reaction (OTR) which consisted of concomitant skew deviation with left hypertropia, extorsion of the right eye and intorsion of the left, and rightward head tilt. Cranial computed tomography demonstrated a localized cerebellar hemorrhage involving the left nodulus. The patient became asymptomatic within two weeks. This is a first reported case of complete OTR due to a cerebellar hemorrhage. Concomitant skew deviation is a common symptom of cerebellar lesions. Moreover, unilateral damage to the utricular pathway due to involvement of the left nodulus might cause rightward conjugate ocular torsion and rightward head tilt.

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A 75-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) presented with long-term painful erythema on the right upper arm and left elbow. The patient was diagnosed with intralymphatic histiocytosis (ILH) based on the biopsy findings. Because the patient was unresponsive to single-agent treatment with methotrexate, infliximab and etanercept, we switched to tocilizumab (TCZ) treatment, which induced remission of the ILH. Our case suggests that TCZ may be a treatment option for ILH in patients with RA.

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