Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer worldwide, and surgical treatment remains the first-line treatment to provide a cure. In addition to the aging population, obesity, low physical activity, and smoking habits increase CRC risk. Despite advances in surgical techniques, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, colorectal cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. For early-stage CRC, endoscopic treatment, including endoscopic mucosal resection and endoscopic submucosal dissection, has been performed. However, lymph node dissection is an integral part of surgical treatment for advanced-stage cancer because of the high incidence of lymph node metastasis. Conventional open surgery has evolved into laparoscopic and robotic surgery. Although prospective studies have confirmed the safety and feasibility of laparoscopic surgery for CRC, relevant treatment models of transverse colon cancer and rectal cancer still need to be further explored and validated. Furthermore, multidisciplinary treatment is needed to cure CRC completely. This review aimed to provide an update on recent advances in the surgical treatment of CRC.

Some patients with functional dyspepsia (FD) have abnormalities in pancreatic enzymes and chronic pancreatitis. Since 2009, when the idea of early chronic pancreatitis (ECP) first emerged, the utility of endoscopic ultrasonography gained attention, as it can help identify early chronic pancreatitis in patients with dyspepsia. Although the symptoms associated with pancreatic enzyme abnormalities and pancreatic dysfunction overlap with those of dyspepsia, no available data explain the direct relationships and linkages between pancreatic dysfunction and dyspeptic symptoms. Disturbance of exocrine pancreatic enzyme function and reduction in pancreatic endocrine levels, such as insulin, may be associated with dyspeptic symptoms through impaired gastric emptying and duodenal inflammation. Some recent studies have examined the role of duodenal pathophysiology in gastric motility, bicarbonate secretion, and digestion. Because reduced bicarbonate secretion, which is caused by pancreatic dysfunction, leads to a failure to neutralize gastric acid in the proximal duodenum, impaired bicarbonate secretion in turn fails to protect the duodenal mucosa against gastric acid influx, thereby inducing duodenal inflammation. In addition, elevated trypsin levels might be associated in part with duodenal inflammatory responses through PAR2-related immunomodulatory cells. This review describes how duodenal inflammation might affect the pathogenesis of FD and examines whether pancreatic dysfunction is associated with FD through intestinal inflammation.

Placental abruption is separation of the placenta from its normal implantation site of the uterine body before delivery of the fetus. The Japan Obstetric Compensation System for Cerebral Palsy (JOCSC) includes it as a major cause of cerebral palsy. Placental abruption is classified as revealed or concealed hemorrhage on the basis of the presence or absence of external bleeding; concealed hemorrhage is associated with a worse prognosis for mothers and infants. If survival of the fetus is confirmed in cases of placental abruption, it should usually be delivered promptly. There is no evidence-based method to prevent placental abruption. Therefore, awareness of early symptoms of placental abruption in pregnant Japanese women is important.

Background: Intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is useful for identifying residual tumors during surgery. It can improve the resection rate; however, complications related to prolonged operating time may be increased. We assessed the advantages and disadvantages of using low-field intraoperative MRI and compared them with non-use of iMRI during glioma surgery. Methods: The study included 22 consecutive patients who underwent total tumor resection at Shinshu University Hospital between September 2017 and October 2020. Patients were divided into two groups (before and after introducing 0.4-T low-field open intraoperative MRI at the hospital). Patient demographics, gross total resection (GTR) rate, postoperative neurological deficits, need for reoperation, and operating time were compared between the groups. Results: No significant differences were observed in patient demographics. While GTR of the tumor was achieved in 8/11 cases (73%) with intraoperative MRI, 2/11 cases (18%) of the control group achieved GTR (p=0.033). Seven patients had transient neurological deficits: 3 in the intraoperative MRI group and 4 in the control group, without significant differences between groups. There was no unintended reoperation in the intraoperative MRI group, except for one case in the control group. Mean operating time (465.8 vs. 483.6 minutes for the intraoperative MRI and control groups, respectively) did not differ. Conclusions: Low-field intraoperative MRI improves the GTR rate and reduces unintentional reoperation incidence compared to the conventional technique. Our findings showed no operating time prolongation in the MRI group despite intraoperative imaging, which considered that intraoperative MRI helped reduce decision-making time and procedural hesitation during surgery.

Background: Endoscopic thyroidectomy offers excellent cosmetic outcomes but requires some time for surgeons to become proficient. We examined the learning curve for the first 100 patients treated by a single surgeon using a subclavian approach for video-assisted neck surgery (VANS). Methods: We retrospectively studied the records of 100 patients (99 women, 1 man; mean age, 36.2 years) with either benign or malignant thyroid disease treated between 2016 and 2020. Results: Preoperative diagnosis was papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) in 36 cases and other (non-PTC) in 64 cases. All patients underwent lobectomy, with additional unilateral central node dissection for patients with PTC. Mean operative time was 125 min for non-PTC cases and 129 min for PTC cases (p = 0.43); blood loss was 33.8 mL and 7.6 mL, respectively (p = 0.01). Recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis (RNP) was observed in 12 patients (12%) and hemorrhage in 2 patients (2%). In a comparison of the first 30 cases and subsequent 70 cases, no significant differences in operative time or blood loss were evident, although tumor size was significantly greater among later non-PTC cases (32.4 mm vs. 39.5 mm, p = 0.039). RNP was significantly lower in later cases (26.7% vs. 5.7%, p = 0.003). Multivariate analysis revealed that tumor size was a significant risk factor for increased blood loss, and increased experience significantly correlated with a decrease in RNP. Conclusions: In VANS, satisfactory surgical proficiency was reached after treating 30 patients.

Background: Tolvaptan is the first effective drug treatment for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) patients, but few long-term observations of the effects of tolvaptan have been reported. Methods: In this single center, retrospective cohort study, we investigated nine patients who participated in a phase 3 trial of tolvaptan for ADPKD patients at our hospital between 2008 and 2014. Six of the patients discontinued tolvaptan at the end of the clinical trial and were defined as the discontinuation group, and three continued to take it; these were defined as the continuation group. The observation period was 3 years before and after the end of the tolvaptan trial, and we compared the following data in each group: serum creatinine, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), total kidney volume, serum sodium concentration, and urine specific gravity. Results: eGFR was significantly improved after the end of the trial in the continuation group (P = 0.0446), but there was no significant change in the regression line before and after the end of the trial in the discontinuation group. The increases in mean total kidney volume rates over the 3 years before and after the trial were 0.01%/year vs. 0.067%/year in the discontinuation group (P = 0.0247). On the other hand, serum sodium concentration and urine specific gravity showed no change during the observation period. Conclusion: This study suggested that long-term administration of tolvaptan may improve renal function and inhibit total kidney volume growth.

Background: A growing number of older patients are undergoing surgeries. However, reliable preoperative predictors of surgical mortality among older patients have not been identified. This study compared predictive factors for 30-day survival in patients older than 90 years after non-cardiac surgery. Methods: This retrospective study at Nippon Medical School Hospital investigated the records of patients aged >90 years who underwent non-cardiac surgeries between 2010 and 2020. The data collected included age, gender, American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status (ASA-PS), preoperative Charlson score, preoperative fall risk assessment, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG-PS), modified 5-item frailty index (mFI-5), need for intraoperative transfusion, postoperative complications, and 30-day survival after surgery. Results: A total of 327 cases of elective surgery and 149 cases of emergency surgery were examined. Nonsurvivors (n=20, 4.2%) had significantly worse preoperative ASA-PS (for emergency cases) (nonsurvivors vs. survivors, 2.8 [2-3] vs. 2.3 [1-4], p=0.045), ECOG-PS (3.0 [2-4] vs. 1.0 [0-4], p<0.001), and mFI-5 values (3.0 [1-4] vs. 1.0 [0-3], p<0.001), more emergency cases (75.0% vs. 36.2%, p=0.004), and a greater need for intraoperative transfusion (55.0% vs. 13.4%, p<0.001). Among frailty assessment methods, ECOG-PS was the most strongly associated with 30-day mortality (area under the curve, ECOG-PS: 0.98, p<0.001; mFI-5: 0.86, p<0.001; Charlson score: 0.53, p=0.71; fall risk assessment: 0.55, p=0.44). Kaplan-Maier curves and multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that an ECOG-PS of >3 was significantly associated with 30-day mortality (ECOG-PS: Kaplan-Maier curve, p<0.001, Log-rank test; odds ratio 1.71, 95% confidence interval: 1.35-2.16, p<0.001). Conclusions: An ECOG-PS of >3 was significantly correlated with 30-day mortality after non-cardiac surgery in patients older than 90 years.

Background: Primary thyroid lymphoma (PTL) is a rare disease frequently arising against a background of autoimmune thyroiditis. It has recently been reported that the inactivation of the NF-κB negative regulator A20 by deletion and/or mutation could be involved in the pathogenesis of subsets of B-cell lymphomas. This study investigated the clinicopathologic characteristics and A20 mutation in patients with PTL. Methods: We analyzed the characteristics of 45 PTL patients (14 men and 31 women), with a median age of 71 (range, 35-90) years. A20 mutations were analyzed in DNA extracted from 20 samples consisting of 19 tumor tissue samples and 1 sample from Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Results: Thirty-five patients (82%) had a history of Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and 29 (64%) had diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and presented with larger tumors including bulky mass, elevated soluble interleukin-2 receptor levels, and a longer history of Hashimoto's thyroiditis than that of patients with mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma (n=16). A20 mutations were identified in 3 of 19 PTL patients (16%), in 2 of the 10 (20%) with DLBCL and in 1 of the 9 (11%) with MALT lymphoma. Interestingly, all patients with A20 mutations had Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Furthermore, they had a common missense variant in exon 3 (rs2230926 380T>G; F127C), which reduces the ability of A20 to inhibit NF-κB signaling. Conclusion: Our study suggests that the histological features of PTL affect clinical outcomes and that A20 mutations are related to PTL pathogenesis in some patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

Background: The epidemiology and treatment of isolated pelvic fracture in Japan are not well understood. This study evaluated epidemiological trends in isolated pelvic trauma and in-hospital survival rates during a recent 15-year period. Methods: This retrospective cohort study analyzed data from the Japan Trauma Data Bank for 2004-2018. Patients of any age with isolated pelvic fracture were grouped according to time period, as follows: 2004-2008 (Phase 1), 2009-2013 (Phase 2), and 2014-2018 (Phase 3). The main outcome was 30-day in-hospital survival rate. The data were analyzed using the chi-square, Kruskal-Wallis, and Mantel-Haenszel trend tests. We analyzed change in the main outcome over time in multiple logistic regression analysis fitted with a generalized estimating equation, accounting for within-cluster association. Results: In total, 5,348 isolated pelvic fractures were identified during the study period. There was no significant between-phase difference in proportions of patients who underwent resuscitative balloon occlusion of the aorta or external fixation. The proportion of patients who underwent transcatheter arterial embolization significantly increased with time (p=0.003), as did the survival rate (Phase 1, 77%; Phase 2, 86%; and Phase 3, 91%; p<0.001). The 30-day in-hospital mortality rate was significantly lower in Phase 3 than in Phase 1 and Phase 2, even after adjustment for hospital clustering and other confounders (p<0.01). Conclusions: The 30-day in-hospital survival rate after isolated pelvic fracture improved over a 15-year period in Japan.

Background: Obesity changes gut microbial ecology and is related to endothelial dysfunction. Although the correlation between gut microbial ecology and endothelial dysfunction has been studied in obese persons, the underlying mechanisms by which exercise enhances endothelial function in this group remain unclear. This study investigated whether exercise improves endothelial function and alters gut microbiome composition in rats fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Methods: Obesity was induced by an HFD for 11 weeks. Whole-body composition and endothelium-dependent relaxation of mesenteric arteries were measured. Blood biochemical tests were performed, and gut microbiomes were characterized by 16S rRNA gene sequencing on an Illumina HiSeq platform. Results: Exercise training for 8 weeks improved body composition in HFD-fed rats. Furthermore, compared with the untrained/HFD group, aerobic exercise significantly increased acetylcholine-induced, endothelium-dependent relaxation in mesenteric arteries (P < 0.05) and circulating vascular endothelial growth factor levels (P < 0.01) and decreased circulating C-reactive protein levels (P < 0.05). In addition, exercise and HFD resulted in alterations in the composition of the gut microbiome; exercise reduced the relative abundance of Clostridiales and Romboutsia. Moreover, 12 species of bacteria, including Romboutsia, were significantly associated with parameters of endothelial function in the overall sample. Conclusions: These results suggest that aerobic exercise enhances endothelial function in HFD-fed rats by altering the composition of the gut microbiota. These findings provide new insights on the application of physical exercise for improving endothelial function in obese persons.

Background: The prolonged pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in mental burden among healthcare workers (HCWs). This study aimed to conduct a repeated study to assess changes in psychological concerns among Japanese HCWs. Methods: This study is the second survey involving HCWs at the Japanese Red Cross Medical Center conducted between November 20, 2020 and December 4, 2020. The degree of symptoms of anxiety, depression, and resilience was assessed using the Japanese versions of the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, respectively. Results: The survey included 594 HCWs, comprising 95 physicians, 261 nurses, 150 other co-medical staff, and 88 office workers. Among them, 46 (7.7%) and 152 (25.6%) developed moderate-to-severe symptoms of anxiety and depression, respectively. Compared with those in the initial survey conducted 6 months earlier, the resilience score did not change, whereas the anxiety and depression scores improved significantly (P < 0.001, P = 0.033, respectively). However, the frequency of HCWs developing moderate-to-severe symptoms of anxiety or depression did not significantly improve. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that having higher anxiety symptoms was a risk factor for depression symptoms, while older HCWs and those with higher resilience were less likely to develop depression symptoms. Conclusions: Many HCWs still suffer from psychological concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: With the increasing rate of high-risk pregnancies, there is an increased need for early evaluation of at-risk fetuses. Fetal ultrasound imaging has become a pivotal part of this evaluation. Methods: To evaluate the role played by a fetal ultrasound clinic in promoting comprehensive perinatal care of patients with high-risk pregnancies, we retrospectively analyzed the indications and findings of fetal scans and the outcomes of the examined fetuses collected over the past 7 years (2014-2020) by our institute, which is reorganized as a perinatal medical center. Results: During the study period, we conducted 345 fetal scans in high-risk pregnancy cases. Of these, 158 cases (46%) were referrals from other institutes. Eighty-nine neonates were admitted to our neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) after being evaluated, of which 10 neonates underwent surgery during their NICU stays. Thirty-nine pregnant women were referred to other tertiary care hospitals mainly due to fetal diagnoses with complex cardiac anomalies. Fourteen cases resulted in intrauterine fetal death or artificial abortion. Conclusions: Fetal ultrasound clinics have established their role in facilitating sophisticated regional perinatal care via multidisciplinary and inter-facility cooperation for high-risk pregnancy cases. In addition, providing psychological support and counseling for pregnant women whose fetuses are diagnosed with severe congenital anomalies should not be neglected.

External iliac artery (EIA) injuries caused by blunt trauma are rare. Here, we describe a blunt EIA injury after a motorbike accident suffered by a 16-year-old male. Despite conservative treatment, intermittent claudication persisted. He was successfully treated by elective endovascular stent-graft implantation on day 59 after the injury. Ankle-brachial index (ABI) improved, as did his symptoms. A contrast-enhanced computed tomography scan on postoperative day 90 showed no residual stenosis and favorable peripheral blood flow. This report suggests that elective endovascular stent-graft implantation might be a viable treatment option for blunt EIA injuries.

Mycobacterium abscessus infection of the upper extremities is uncommon. However, M abscessus can cause severe chronic tenosynovitis, and delayed diagnosis may result in poor outcomes. We describe an unusual clinical case of purulent flexor tendon synovitis followed by subcutaneous tendon rupture due to M abscessus infection in a patient with diabetes mellitus. A 76-year-old man presented to our hospital with painful, erythematous swelling over his left fourth finger. On physical examination, the left fourth finger was swollen and reddish, with persistent exudate from the surgical scar. The left elbow was also swollen and reddish with persistent discharge, which was consistent with olecranon bursitis. The patient was unable to flex his left fourth finger, and the passive range of motion of the finger was also restricted. The physical examination findings and patient history suggested purulent flexor tendinitis. His infection healed after radical debridement of necrotic tissue and administration of antibiotics effective against M abscessus. Third-stage flexor reconstruction restored the function of the fourth finger. The combination of surgical debridement and chemotherapy was the most effective treatment for mycobacterial tenosynovitis. This case shows that M abscessus can cause chronic severe purulent tenosynovitis and flexor tendon rupture after tendon surgery. Although early diagnosis and combination treatment with debridement and chemotherapy might improve outcomes by limiting the severity and duration of damage to the flexor synovial system, late-presenting patients require combined radical debridement of necrotic tissue and aggressive chemotherapy followed by staged flexor tendon reconstruction.

Objective: Meralgia paresthetica (MP) is an entrapment neuropathy of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve (LFCN). We report a rare case of MP after microvascular decompression (MVD) surgery in the park-bench position in a patient with hemifacial spasm. Case: The patient was a nondiabetic 46-year-old woman (height: 155 cm, weight: 42 kg) who consumed alcohol infrequently. After a first MVD for right hemifacial spasm, the symptom recurred and she underwent a second MVD procedure in the park-bench position, after which hemifacial spasm resolved. However, she reported right anterolateral thigh pain and dysesthesia without motor weakness. The pain was limited to the LFCN area, and a pelvic compression test elicited a positive Tinel-like sign. Our preliminary diagnosis was MP. Because conservative therapy was ineffective, she underwent LFCN block 9 months after the second MVD procedure. Her pain improved dramatically and we made a definitive diagnosis of MP. There has been no recurrence after 30 months of observation, although she reported persistent mild dysesthesia in the LFCN area. Conclusion: MP is a rare complication after MVD surgery in the park-bench position. LFCN block can resolve symptoms and hasten diagnosis.