Background Superficial siderosis (SS) results from chronic bleeding in the subarachnoid space. SS can be classified as infratentorial SS (i-SS) and supratentorial SS (s-SS). The cochlear modiolus (CM) normally shows low signal intensity (SI) on Tl-weighted images (T1WI). We noticed persistently high SI of the CM on unenhanced thin-sliced T1WI in patients with i-SS. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between SS and high SI of the CM on unenhanced T1WI.

Methods This retrospective study analyzed three cases with i-SS, eight cases with s-SS, and 23 normal controls (NC) evaluated on unenhanced thin-sliced T1WI with a three-dimensional spoiled gradient-recalled echo sequence. CM-T1SI scores of 0, 1, and 2 indicated low, iso, and high SI, respectively. In cases with scores of 2 evaluated several times, all scores were reviewed for each case. The CM-T1SI ratio was defined as the contrast ratio between the CM and the cerebellum. Differences between the three groups were statistically analyzed based on the CM-T1SI score and ratio. Receiver operative curve (ROC) analysis was used to determine the cut-off values for differentiating the i-SS group from the NC group based on the CM-T1SI ratio.

Results Two patients with i-SS had a score of 2 on all evaluations. The CM-T1SI score and ratio differed significantly between the i-SS and NC groups. The accuracy of the CM-T1SI ratio for discriminating i-SS from NC was 98.9% at a cutoff value of 0.628.

Conclusion High SI of the CM on unenhanced TIWI can be an additional characteristic finding of i-SS.

Background When treating violence-exposed children, clinicians often modify psychotherapy protocols or use only a subset of treatment components (e.g., a clinical technique, strategy). However, there is little evidence of the effectiveness of individual treatment components. Our study aimed to determine: i) the best fitting factor structure of individual treatment components; ii) the association of child characteristics (i.e., demographics, treatment dosage, environmental risk factors) with mental health outcomes (i.e., post-treatment internalizing and externalizing symptoms); and iii) the association of individual treatment factors (i.e., sets of treatment components) with mental health outcomes.

Methods A sample of 459 violence-exposed children aged 1.5–5 years was examined. Principal component analyses were conducted to factor-analyze 22 child treatment components and 18 caregiver treatment components, respectively. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to determine the relationship between child and caregiver treatment factors and outcomes.

Results Children who received grief work showed significant improvement in externalizing symptoms. Children of caregivers who received parent training, attachment skills building, psychoeducation about domestic violence, safety planning, and anger management training showed significantly less externalizing symptom improvement. Gender, race/ethnicity, and treatment dosage were also associated with outcomes.

Conclusion This is the first study to examine treatment components in a sample of young children exposed to violence with a standardized quantitative measure. Our findings suggest that acknowledging children’s loss and sorrow expressed through externalizing behavior and helping them process bereavement may help alleviate their symptoms. Clinical recommendations are discussed.

Background Robotic-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) is a well-known standard procedure for muscle-invasive bladder cancer. However, it remains controversial whether extracorporeal urinary diversion (ECUD) or intracorporeal urinary diversion (ICUD) is superior in this technique. We have developed a HYBRID method that combines ECUD and ICUD to retain the advantages of each. The purpose of this study was to compare perioperative outcomes between HYBRID and ECUD in RARC and to evaluate the usefulness of the HYBRID method.

Methods We retrospectively analyzed the perioperative outcomes of 36 consecutive bladder cancer patients who underwent RARC with ileal conduit at our institution between March 2013 and December 2021. Propensity-score matching was used to align patient backgrounds between the HYBRID and ECUD groups.

Results After matching, 12 cases were selected for each group. There was no significant difference in patient demographics between the groups except for the rate of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Mean console time was significantly longer in the HYBRID group due to intracorporeal manipulation; however, a relatively favorable trend of mean blood loss was observed in this group. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of positive surgical margin, mean number of lymph node removed, or positive lymph node. The incidences of complications associated and non-associated with the urinary tract and grade ≥III complications at postoperative day (POD) 0–30 and 31–90 were similar between the groups. In the HYBRID group, no complications non-associated with the urinary tract or grade ≥III complications were observed at POD 31–90.

Conclusion The HYBRID method takes advantage of the benefits of both ICUD and ECUD and is a highly applicable technique that can be used in a variety of patient backgrounds.

Background In free flap transfer, size discrepancy between the vascular pedicle and recipient vessel can create a problem for microsurgeons and sometimes induces postoperative thrombus formation. When there is a major difference between the diameters of the vascular pedicle and the recipient vessel, the larger vessel is often tapered to perform the anastomosis properly. However, the decision on the tapering angle used depends mostly on the operator’s experience. In this study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was used to investigate the optimum tapering angle.

Methods Using ANSYS ICEM 16.0 (ANSYS Japan, Tokyo, Japan), simulated vessels of diameters 1.5 mm and 3.0 mm were designed and then used to produce four anastomosis models with the 3.0-mm vessel tapered at angles of 15º, 30º, 60º, and 90º (no tapering). Venous perfusion with a mean value of 13.0 mL/min was simulated, and this was passed through the four anastomosis models in both the forward direction (F), from the smaller to the larger vessel, and the retrograde direction (R), from the larger to the smaller vessel. The velocity, wall shear stress (WSS), and oscillatory shear index (OSI) were measured in these eight patterns and then analyzed using OpenFOAM version 5.

Results The decrease in velocity was limiting. The WSS was greater in the R direction than the F direction at every tapering angle. The OSI also tended to be almost the same in the F direction, and lower at smaller tapering angles in the R direction. And, it was greater in the F direction than in the R direction at every tapering angle. The OSI values for 15º and 30º were almost identical in the R direction.

Conclusion The risk of thrombus formation is thought to be lower when tapering is used for anastomosis if the direction of flow is from the larger to the smaller vessel, rather than vice versa. These results also suggest that the optimum tapering angle is approximately 30º in both directions.

Background Diabetes self-management education through peer support has beneficial effects, especially in regions with limited medical resources. To ensure peer educators continue to provide peer-led education programs, it is important that they remain motivated to instruct patients. Here, to explore measures to enhance peer-educators’ motivation toward such programs, we examined the cognitive and emotional changes in Filipino type 2 diabetics after 7-month activities as peer educators.

Methods We individually performed semi-structured interviews with 13 peer educators with 20 years of age or above in August 2017 (immediately before starting their peer-education activities) and in March 2018 (7 months after the start). The first interview was performed after the peer educators had received 2-day training of diabetes self-management. In both interviews, we asked the peer educators about their feelings toward peer-led educational activities (e.g., satisfaction, difficulty, reward, confidence, and challenges). Their replies about their own cognition and emotions were interpreted and integrated, and then analyzed qualitatively.

Results Four and seven categories were extracted from the first and second interviews, respectively. The category “Cognition of patients’ active learning attitudes and of positive changes in patients’ physical conditions and behavior” observed in the second interview led to “Cognition of growth as a peer educator” and “Satisfaction with supporting patients as a peer educator.” These two feelings gave the peer educators’ “Increased motivation to continue the activities as a peer educator.” This motivation was also associated with “Active collaboration among peer educators,” which was affected by “Difficulties and concerns in working as a peer educator.”

Conclusion To sustain diabetic peer-led education programs, we suggest that interventions be implemented that increase peer educators’ motivation toward their activities and stimulate their awareness of the importance of collaborating with one another. Such collaboration should help to overcome the difficulties they may face in providing peer-led education.

We report a case of robot-assisted total hysterectomy in a patient with extremely rare pelvic anatomy. Robot-assisted total laparoscopic hysterectomy was performed for lobular endocervical glandular hyperplasia on the left side of the uterus. The sigmoid colon was present between the two uterine corpora of a uterine didelphys and was attached to the bladder via the mesentery and fat. During surgery, the surgeon left the console and confirmed the magnetic resonance images. The surgery was then completed safely after the surgeon understood the anatomy. The postoperative condition was good, and the patient was discharged on postoperative day 5. Robot-assisted surgery has various advantages, including a good field of view, accuracy of instrument movement, and ease of viewing information in the medical record by pausing the operation. Robot assisted surgery improves not only safety and operational precision but also intraoperative convenience. Further studies are needed regarding the specific anatomy seen in this case.

Intractable pneumothorax with poor lung function that has received multiple conservative treatments may occur. Case 1 was a 70-year-old woman with aspergilloma who was admitted for pneumothorax. Case 2 was a 68-year-old man with acute exacerbation of interstitial pneumonia who developed pneumothorax. In both cases, multiple conservative therapies were administered, but the leak continued; thus, operations using veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) were planned. By video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS), we obtained the optimal surgical field by lung collapse. We removed many blood clots that were used for pleurodesis, ligated the bulla in case 1, and covered the leak point with strengthening agents in case 2. For cases of intractable pneumothorax, lung collapse by ECMO is advantageous because we can check details and leak points even in blood clots or in poor condition of the lung, and we can maneuver the lung in poor condition with a clear surgical field.