Alternately binding probe competitive PCR as a simple, cost-effective, and accurate quantification method for JAK2V617F allele burden in myeloproliferative neoplasms

We developed a simple, cost-effective, and accurate JAK2 allele burden quantification method named alternately binding probe competitive PCR (ABC-PCR). ABC-PCR can be performed to quantify target JAK2 allele burdens in a single reaction. The throughput and running cost of ABC-PCR are markedly improved compared with those of allele-specific quantitative PCR (AS-qPCR). The quantification of samples with known JAK2 allele burdens revealed that ABC-PCR had a small assay-to-assay variation. The JAK2 allele burdens in the patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms measured by ABC-PCR and AS-qPCR showed a good fitting. ABC-PCR would be a powerful tool for quantifying target JAK2 allele burdens.     

Management of postoperative arterial hemorrhage after pancreato-biliary surgery according to the site of bleeding: re-laparotomy or interventional radiology

Background/Purpose  Intra-abdominal arterial hemorrhage is still one of the most serious complications after pancreato-biliary surgery. We retrospectively analyzed our experiences with 15 patients in order to establish a therapeutic strategy for postoperative arterial hemorrhage following pancreato-biliary surgery. Methods  Between August 1981 and November 2007, 15 patients developed massive intra-abdominal arterial bleeding after pancreato-biliary surgery. The initial surgery of these 15 patients were pylorus-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy (PPPD) (7 patients), hemihepatectomy and caudate lobectomy with extrahepatic bile duct resection or PPPD (4 patients), Whipple’s pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) (3 patients), and total pancreatectomy (1 patient). Twelve patients were managed by transcatheter arterial embolization and three patients underwent re-laparotomy. Results  Patients were divided into two groups according to the site of bleeding: SMA group, superior mesenteric artery (4 patients); HA group, stump of gastroduodenal artery, right hepatic artery, common hepatic artery, or proper hepatic artery (11 patients). In the SMA group, re-laparotomy and coil embolization for pseudoaneurysm were performed in three and one patients, respectively, but none of the patients survived. In the HA group, all 11 patients were managed by transcatheter arterial embolization. None of four patients who had major hepatectomy with extrahepatic bile duct resection survived. Six of seven patients (85.7%) who had pancreatectomy survived, although hepatic infarction occurred in four. Conclusions  Management of postoperative arterial hemorrhage after pancreato-biliary surgery should be done according to the site of bleeding and the initial operative procedure. Careful consideration is required for indication of interventional radiology for bleeding from SMA after pancreatectomy and hepatic artery after major hepatectomy with bilioenteric anastomosis.     

Preservation of segment 4 inferior by distal middle hepatic vein reconstruction combined with extended right hepatectomy after portal vein embolization in a patient with a huge initially unresectable HCC

An extended hepatectomy combined with preoperative portal venous embolization can offer curative resection in patients with initially unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. However, hypertrophy of the future remnant liver is occasionally unsatisfactory after portal venous embolization in some patients to remove the initially unresectable tumor. In these patients, hepatic venous reconstruction to preserve hepatic parenchyma may contribute to the possibility of resection. The present case report shows a patient with an initially unresectable huge hepatocellular carcinoma in whom transarterial chemoembolization, portal vein embolization, and an extended right hepatectomy combined with distal middle hepatic venous reconstruction were performed to preserve Segment 4 inferior. The patient was a 66-year-old male. He presented with a huge hepatocellular carcinoma located at Segment 8, 7 and 4 superior, but the volume of the left lateral segment was only 267 mL. Transarterial chemoembolization was performed twice and right portal vein embolization was performed once, but the volume of the left lateral segment was only 318 mL compared to 487 mL which was a limit of future remnant liver volume. We therefore performed an extended right hepatectomy combined with distal middle hepatic venous reconstruction to preserve Segment 4 inferior. The left saphenous venous graft was used for this hepatic venous reconstruction. His postoperative course was almost uneventful. Postoperative abdominal computed tomography showed the satisfactorily preserved Segment 4 inferior. Distal hepatic venous reconstruction combined with an extended hepatectomy may further offer a chance of a curative resection for patients in whom enough hypertrophy of the future remnant liver is not obtained after portal venous embolization.     

Symptom dimensions and needs of care among patients with schizophrenia in hospital and the community

The purpose of the present paper was to examine the psychiatric symptom dimensions related to needs of care among patients with schizophrenia in hospital and in the community. Subjects were 217 patients with F2 ICD-10 diagnoses. Hospital patients included 102 inpatients (47.0%) in psychiatric long-term care units. Community patients included 115 outpatients (53.0%) living in their homes or residential facilities. Psychiatrists used the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) to assess patients' psychiatric symptoms. Formal care providers assessed needs of care using a scale developed by the Committee on Case Management Guidelines for People with Mental Disabilities in Japan. Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) self-performance and difficulty were also measured using a scale from the Minimum Data Set-Home Care (MDS-HC). Multiple regression analyses were applied, using the symptom dimensions as dependent variables and needs of care as independent variables. Patient group (hospital or community) was also used as an independent variable. Hospital patients demonstrated more severe psychiatric symptoms and greater needs of care than community patients. Multiple regression analyses showed that the total needs of care were greater among male patients (B = 0.142, P = 0.005), hospital patients (B = 0.310, P < 0.001), patients with poor IADL self-performance (B = 0.217, P = 0.047), and patients with severe negative symptoms (B = 0.240, P = 0.002; R(2) = 0.515). The present results suggested an association between negative symptoms and needs of care in schizophrenia. Hospital patients had greater needs of care, even though their psychiatric symptoms were controlled for. Further research should examine the relationships between psychiatric symptoms and needs of care in a cohort study following patients when hospitalized and when living in the community.     

Short-term wear of Japanese highly cross-linked polyethylene in cementless THA

INTRODUCTION: Production of polyethylene wear from acetabular liners is thought, in part, to mediate the periprosthetic osteolysis. This study examined the in vivo wear performance of Japanese highly cross-linked polyethylene (Aeonian) in cementless total hip arthroplasty. MATHERIALS AND METHODS: Ninety-five hips received a highly cross-linked polyethylene liner, while 20 hips were implanted with conventional polyethylene. Two-dimensional linear wear was measured on radiographs and volumetric wear was then calculated. Both linear and volumetric wear rates were examined for the 1-year postoperative period as well as for the time frame beginning after 1 year ending with the final follow-up. RESULTS: The amount of linear wear was significantly lower in the cross-linked group at 3 and 5 years postoperatively (P < 0.01 and < 0.001, respectively). Linear and volumetric wear rates after 1 year postoperatively for hips with the cross-linked polyethylene were significantly reduced by 57 and 59%, respectively, when compared to rates for those who received conventional polyethylene (P < 0.01). A multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that cross-linking was a significant factor influencing linear wear rate after 1 year postoperatively with an odds ratio, exp(ss) = 10.033 (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the highly cross-linked polyethylene reduces penetration of the femoral head and may be an optimal bearing surface for patients receiving total hip arthroplasty.     

Postoperative enteroenteric intussusception in patients with Crohn’s disease: Report of two cases

Postoperative enteroenteric intussusception is a rare complication in adult patients with Crohn’s disease. We treated two patients with Crohn’s disease accompanied by an ileal obstruction, each of whom underwent an elective resection. In both, the upper left quadrant of the abdoment became progressively distended following ileocecal resection and each required surgical treatment after diagnosis of postoperative enteroenteric intussusception by abdominal computed tomography scanning, as the intussusception could not be reduced by conservative treatment. There were no Crohn’s lesions found in the intussuscepted specimens, and the condition was thought to have been caused by a segment of thickened and fibrotic intestine that had developed because of long-standing bowel dilatation from obstructive Crohn’s lesions. In one of the patients, the intussusceptum was irreducibly incarcerated and required a resection, whereas it was able to be manually reduced in the other.     

Primitive reflexes distinguish vascular parkinsonism from Parkinson's disease

OBJECTIVES: Although vascular parkinsonism (VP) occurs frequently in the elderly, its clinical features have not been investigated in detail, particularly in comparison with Parkinson's disease (PD). The goal of this study is to clarify the diagnostic value of pathological reflexes in differentiating between VP and PD. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In 132 patients with PD and 55 with VP, pathological reflexes, including snout reflex (SR), palmomental reflex (PMR), corneomandibular reflex (CMR), jaw reflex (JR), Hoffmann reflex (HR), and extensor plantar response (EPR), were evaluated. RESULTS: The percentage of each pathological reflex elicited in two groups (VP:PD) was as follows: SR (78:30), PMR (53:26), CMR (9:6), JR (33:12), HR (29:11), and EPR (25:8). The prevalence of pathological reflexes, except for CMR, was significantly higher in the VP patients than in the PD patients. In particular, SR and PMR were more frequent than upper motor neuron signs in the VP patients. The sensitivity and specificity of either SR or PMR for VP were 84% and 82%. CONCLUSION: Snout and palmomental reflexes are useful tools in the differentiation between VP and PD.     

Diagnosis of adrenocortical tumor in a neonate by detection of elevated blood 17-hydroxyprogesterone measured as a routine neonatal screening for congenital adrenal hyperplasia: a case report

We report herein a case of prenatally detected neonatal adrenocortical tumor (ACT). The patient was an otherwise healthy newborn girl. No signs of Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome were identified, and her family medical history did not suggest predisposition to cancer. Computed tomography and ultrasonography after birth revealed a round solid tumor 40 mm in diameter in the right suprarenal area. The precise diagnosis of ACT was unexpectedly obtained based on results from the Japanese neonatal mass screening program. Blood 17-hydroxyprogesterone is routinely measured as a part of this program for early detection of congenital adrenal hyperplasia in Japan. Abnormally elevated level of 17-hydroxyprogesterone was reported in the patient and, thus, led to the diagnosis of ACT. Surgical resection was safely performed with perioperative steroid replacement. Adrenocortical tumors are extremely rare in childhood, particularly in the neonatal period. Some of these tumors secrete abnormally high levels of cortisol, suppressing function of the contralateral adrenal gland and, thus, leading to life-threatening postoperative adrenal insufficiency. Scheduled steroid replacement enables safe perioperative management in such cases. Adrenocortical tumor should always be considered among the differential diagnoses for neonatal suprarenal mass because precise diagnosis will enable the physician to develop appropriate treatment strategies.