The purpose of this study is to measure the hemodynamics on the effect of Valsalva maneuver aiming at pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) using 2-dimensional (2D) phase contrast imaging of magnetic ...resonance image (MRI), Philips Ingenia 3.0-tesla (T). The maximal inspiration reduced the blood flow rate in various degrees at all measurement positions, superior vena cava (SVC), inferior vena cava (IVC), pulmonary artery (PA), ascending aorta (AA), and descending aorta (DA). This result suggests that the contrast effect in the PA might become weak during general PA phase to give a substantial influence of Valsalva maneuver in the condition after maximum inspiration. A contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) examination aiming at detection for PTE should be scanned without an advance maximum inspiration.
The purpose of the current study was to research the pathogenesis of bony destruction of cholesteatoma.
We conducted a case report.
The study was performed at Fukushima Medical University.
The first ...case involved a 21 trisomy, whereas the second case was cancer of the hypopharynx. Both cases showed cholesteatoma.
The following histopathologic findings in the temporal bones of cholesteatoma were obtained. Bony destruction in cholesteatoma was detected in the lesion of the rupture of the cholesteatoma sac. Epithelial debris of cholesteatoma was scattered throughout the rupture of the cholesteatoma sac. Rupture of the matrix was the result of a small abscess.
Rupture of the cholesteatoma sac was believed to have been a pathway of either endogenous substances from the matrix and/or epithelial debris of cholesteatoma.
Rapid identification of causative bacteria in treatment of acute otitis media (AOM) is of paramount importance for appropriate antibiotic use.
This prospective observational study was conducted in 15 ...hospitals and clinics in Japan between 2018 and 2020. A new rapid antigen test kit (AOS-116), which simultaneously detects antigens for Streptococcus pneumoniae (Sp) and Haemophilus influenzae (Hi), was applied for middle ear fluids (MEFs) and nasopharyngeal secretions (NPSs) in patients with moderate to severe AOM. We investigated relationship between the results of rapid test, severity at initial visit, and clinical course.
Regarding performance accuracy based on culture results, AOS-116 showed 1) high (>80%) sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive value (NPV) in MEFs for both antigens, 2) high sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value (PPV) in NPSs for Hi antigen, and 3) high specificity, and PPV in NPSs for Sp antigen. Regarding predictive value of nasopharyngeal culture and antigen detection for causative middle ear pathogens, similar results were observed between AOS-116 and culture, which was characterized with high sensitivity and NPV for both pathogens. MEFs/NPSs positive for Hi antigen were significantly associated with eardrum findings, and severity. MEFs/NPSs positive for pneumococcal antigen were significantly associated with severity of otalgia, fever, and otorrhea. Among patients with prior antimicrobial treatment, improvement tended to be slower in cases positive for Hi than in cases negative.
The rapid antigen detection test is useful as a decision-making tool for prescribing antimicrobial agents and may play an important role in promoting appropriate antimicrobial use.
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Background: Nivolumab improved overall survival (OS) in the treatment of platinum-refractory recurrent and metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M HNSCC) in a phase III ...clinical trial. However, Kaplan-Meier OS and progression-free survival (PFS) curves for the nivolumab and cytotoxic agent arms crossed at 3-6 months, suggesting that patients with initial resistance to immunotherapy may have better outcomes with cytotoxic treatment. Here, we explored suitable conditions and candidates of predictive factors for nivolumab for R/M HNSCC. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of 28 consecutive patients with HNSCC from 2014-2018. Tumor size was evaluated by computed tomography according to RECIST ver.1.1. Tumor growth rate (Gr) was defined as 3Log (Dt/D0)/t, where D
0
and D
t
are the sum of the longest diameters of the target lesions (SumTLs) at baseline and pre-baseline, and t is time, with 1 t defined as the 4-week interval between tumor evaluations. Results: After exclusion of 2 patients with unevaluable responses, 26 patients were included in the study. Median follow-up time for survivors was 9.5 months. Median SumTLs at baseline was 43.2 mm (range, 10.1-135.3). Median Gr was 0.22 (range, 0.05-0.76). Median OS and PFS was 7.9 months (95% CI, 5.8 to 34.5) and 3.7 months (95% CI, 2.1 to 12.9), respectively. Patients with progression within 3 months showed significantly worse survival (HR 6.33, 95% CI 2.08-21.67, p=0.001). Moreover, higher Gr and bigger SumTLs appeared to be associated with poorer outcomes. We therefore explored the association between prognosis and the ratio of SumTLs to Gr (SumTLs/Gr). The cut off value of SumTLs/Gr was calculated by ROC analysis. Pre-treatment SumTLs/Gr > 212 was associated with significantly worse OS (HR 8.87, 95% CI 2.33-58.29, p<0.001) and PFS (HR 2.86, 95% CI 1.10-8.33, p=0.03). Conclusions: Although retrospective with a small sample size, these results suggest that pre-treatment SumTLs/Gr > 212 was significantly associated with inferior OS and PFS in R/M HNSCC patients treated with nivolumab. R/M HNSCC patients with pre-treatment SumTLs/Gr > 212 might be unsuitable for treatment with nivolumab.