Temporary changes of visual outcomes and anterior chamber parameters after phacoemulsification and low-add-power segmented intraocular lens implantation for primary angle closure disease

International Ophthalmology - To evaluate the temporary changes in visual outcomes and anterior segment parameters after cataract surgery plus low-add bifocal intraocular lens (IOL) implantation...     

The effect of a prostaglandin E1 derivative on the symptoms and quality of life of patients with lumbar spinal stenosis

Background

Quality of life (QOL) is a concern for patients with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). In this study, QOL was examined using the 5-item EuroQol (EQ-5D).

Methods

QOL and activities of daily living (ADL) were surveyed for 91 patients who visited 18 medical institutions in our prefecture and were diagnosed with LSS-associated intermittent claudication. A second survey was performed after ≥6 weeks for 79 of the subjects to evaluate therapy with limaprost (an oral prostaglandin E1 derivative) or etodolac (an NSAID). Symptoms, maximum walking time, QOL, ADL items, and relationships among these variables were investigated for all 91 patients. Leg pain, leg numbness, and low back pain while walking were surveyed by use of VAS scores (0–100).

Results

Leg pain, leg numbness, and low back pain while walking (VAS ≥25) were present in 83.5, 62.6, and 54.9 % of the patients in the first survey, and approximately half of the patients had a maximum walking time <15 min. The mean EQ-5D utility value for QOL was 0.59 ± 0.12. This value was significantly associated with maximum walking time (p = 0.030) based on classification of patients into groups with walking times <7.5, 7.5–15, 15–30, and >30 min, showing that maximum walking time affected health-related QOL. Of the 79 patients who completed the second survey, 56 had taken limaprost and 23 (control group) had received etodolac. Limaprost improved possible walking time, reduced ADL interference, and significantly increased the EQ-5D utility score, whereas no significant changes occurred in the control group. Maximum walking time was prolonged by ≥10 min and the EQ-5D utility value was improved by ≥0.1 points in significantly more patients in the limaprost group than in the control group.

Conclusion

According to the findings of this survey, at an average of 8 weeks after administration limaprost improved symptoms, QOL, and ADL in LSS patients whereas treatment with an NSAID reduced pain but did not have any other effects.     

Facial reanimation by transposition of the masseter muscle combined with tensor fascia lata,using the zygomatic arch as a pulley

We have created a new way of reanimating the face, involving transposition of the masseter muscle combined with tensor fascia lata, and using the zygomatic arch as a trochlea to reconstruct the inferior facial paralysis. We used it on five patients who had facial palsy after excision of malignant parotid tumours. The wide skin defect that exposed the masseter muscle after total parotidectomy was reconstructed with a free flap. This method differs from those of other methods of transposing the masseter muscle in that force is applied at an upper lateral angle. Our method provided dynamic raising of the upper lip, the corner of the mouth, and the nasolabial fold in four patients. We consider it to be useful, particularly for prompt surgical reconstruction of facial palsy after total parotidectomy with a wide defect in the skin of the cheek.     

Sex differences in clinical outcomes in Japanese incident dialysis patients: a prospective observational multicenter study

Clinical and Experimental Nephrology - A Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (DOPPS) has shown a one-to-one male-to-female mortality ratio, notwithstanding the statistically longer life...     

Characteristics of Postoperative Recurrence in Lymph Node-Negative Superficial Esophageal Carcinoma

Background

This study aimed to evaluate the recurrence rates, timings, locations, and risk factors, and survival in patients with lymph node-negative superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinomas (ESCCs).

Methods

We investigated 167 patients with pathological T1 thoracic ESCC who underwent curative esophagectomy with lymphadenectomy between 1986 and 2013. They were classified into lymph node-negative and lymph node-positive groups, each of which included 15 relapsed patients. The recurrence rates, timings, locations, and risk factors, and survival were examined retrospectively.

Results

Significantly better recurrence (12.4 %) and the 5-year overall survival (85.7 %) rates were seen in patients with node-negative superficial ESCC compared with those with node-positive superficial ESCC. Relapsed patients with node-negative superficial ESCC showed a 5-month delay in the time to recurrence compared with relapsed patients with node-positive superficial ESCC, but the recurrence locations were similar. Upper thoracic tumors and the presence of lymph node metastases were independent risk factors for recurrence in superficial ESCC patients, but we did not determine any risk factors in patients who were node negative only. The 5-year overall survival rates did not differ between relapsed node-negative and node-positive patients. Furthermore, the mean times to death and the survival rates from recurrence to death were similar in the node-negative (20.3 months and 9.3 %, respectively) and in the node-positive patients (19.1 months and 13.6 %, respectively) who had relapsed.

Conclusions

Node-negative and node-positive superficial ESCC patients should be followed up similarly, because when recurrences occur, the prognoses and the times to death are similar in node-negative and node-positive superficial ESCC patients.

     

Distinctive evaluation of nonmucinous and mucinous subtypes of bronchioloalveolar carcinomas in EGFR and K-ras gene-mutation analyses for Japanese lung adenocarcinomas: confirmation of the correlations with histologic subtypes and gene mutations

Although adenocarcinomas of the lung are associated with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutations and sensitivity to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors, it remains unclear whether bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (BAC) components and/or subtypes affect these associations. We aimed to clarify correlations between EGFR gene mutations and BAC components and to establish the histologic features as reliable predictors for the mutations. We examined 141 non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs), including 118 adenocarcinomas, for mutations in exons 19 and 21 of the EGFR gene together with mutations in codon 12 of the K-ras gene using loop-hybrid mobility shift assays, a highly sensitive polymerase chain reaction-based method. Adenocarcinomas were subdivided into subtypes with a nonmucinous or mucinous BAC component and those without BAC components. In NSCLCs, EGFR mutations were detected in 75 cases (53.2%) and were significantly associated with adenocarcinoma, female sex, and never smoking. Among adenocarcinomas, nonmucinous and mucinous BAC components were significantly associated with EGFR and K-ras gene mutations, respectively. Because EGFR mutations were detected even in most pure nonmucinous BACs, ie, lung adenocarcinoma in situ, EGFR mutation is considered a critical event in the pathogenesis of nonmucinous BAC tumors.     

High prevalence of metallo-beta-lactamase and 16S rRNA methylase coproduction among imipenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates in Brazil

Rates of metallo-β-lactamase and 16S rRNA methylase production were investigated in 51 imipenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates collected from hospitals in São Paulo, Brazil. Of them, 57% and 75% produced SPM-1 and RmtD, respectively. Of note, 51% produced both enzymes, suggesting that their coproduction is already common in this geographic area.Treatment of infections due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa is becoming increasingly complicated by its tendency to acquire resistance to multiple classes of antimicrobials (12). The agents typically used to treat these infections include antipseudomonal penicillins, cephalosporins, carbapenems, fluoroquinolones, and aminoglycosides. The production of metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) contributes substantially to panresistant phenotypes in P. aeruginosa because they confer resistance to all classes of β-lactam antimicrobials except aztreonam (10). Various MBLs including IMP, VIM, SPM, and GIM types have been reported for P. aeruginosa (12). Of note, SPM-type MBLs have been found only in Brazil thus far (13).Methylation of 16S rRNA has emerged as a mechanism of high-level aminoglycoside resistance among gram-negative pathogens in recent years (3). Five such methylases, ArmA and RmtA through RmtD, have been reported to date. The most recently identified methylase is RmtD, which we reported previously for a panresistant P. aeruginosa strain isolated near São Paulo, Brazil (4). This enzyme confers high-level resistance to most aminoglycosides in clinical use. In this particular strain, the coproduction of RmtD and SPM-1 played a substantial role in the panresistant phenotype. The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of coproduction of these enzymes among P. aeruginosa clinical isolates in Brazil.Nonrepetitive imipenem-resistant P. aeruginosa isolates from a total of 49 patients hospitalized at seven hospitals in the São Paulo area in 2005 and 2006 were collected. One patient had two isolates with different pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns, and another patient had two isolates with identical PFGE patterns but markedly different susceptibility patterns. Thus, 51 imipenem-resistant P. aeruginosa isolates were included in the study. Sites of the specimens were as follows: 28 from urine, 8 from blood, 7 secretions from various sites, 3 from cerebrospinal fluid, 2 from catheter tip, 1 from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, 1 from ascitic fluid, and 1 from nasal swab.The MICs of imipenem, meropenem, aztreonam, amikacin, gentamicin, arbekacin, ciprofloxacin, and colistin were obtained using either the standard agar dilution method or Etest (AB Biodisk, Solna, Sweden) (2). The MICs of imipenem were 32 μg/ml or higher for all the isolates, verifying the high degree of resistance to this agent in this collection. For meropenem, MICs were 8 μg/ml or higher. When the phenotypic test using sodium mercaptoacetic acid was performed to detect MBL production (1), 29 of 51 isolates (57%) yielded a positive result.PFGE was performed with SpeI (New England Biolabs, Beverly, MA) as the restriction enzyme for the genomic DNA. Electrophoresis was performed with the CHEF III DR system (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA). The pulses were increased linearly from 5.3 to 34.9 s for 24 h at 14°C. Seventeen pulsotypes were observed among the 51 isolates by PFGE. Eight of the pulsotypes comprising 32 isolates from six hospitals were possibly related to each other (“pulsotype A,” consisting of subtypes A1 through A8), whereas the other nine pulsotypes were unrelated (pulsotypes B through J) according to criteria described previously by Tenover et al. (Table ​(Table11 and Fig. ​Fig.1)1) (14). Pulsotype A was thus the most prevalent genotype in hospitals in this area.Open in a separate windowFIG. 1.PFGE patterns of the study isolates. The pulsotypes were aligned using Bionumerics software version 4.0 (Applied Maths, Sint-Martens-Latem, Belgium).

TABLE 1.

Characteristics of study isolates