This study used data from a large-scale multicenter medical information database in Japan to estimate the incidence rate of herpes zoster (HZ) and to examine the relationship between hypertension, ...dyslipidemia, and diabetes mellitus (DM), and the risk of HZ among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The research dataset consisted of 221,196 records of potential target patients with RA extracted between April 1, 2008 and August 31, 2017 from the Medical Data Vision database. To assess the association between hypertension, dyslipidemia, and DM and the risk of HZ, a case–control study was set up. Records of 101,498 study subjects met the inclusion criteria. During the observation period, 2566 patients developed HZ and the overall incidence rate was 5.2 (95% confidence interval: 5.0–5.4 per 1000 patient-years). Hypertension, dyslipidemia, and DM were significantly associated with an increased risk of HZ after adjustment for sex, age, hospital size, and use of anti-rheumatic drugs. When mutual adjustment was made for hypertension, dyslipidemia, and DM, the positive associations between hypertension and dyslipidemia and the risk of HZ remained significant; however, the positive association with DM completely disappeared. RA patients with hypertension or dyslipidemia may be at higher risk of HZ.
BACKGROUNDThis retrospective observational study validated case-finding algorithms for malignant tumors and serious infections in a Japanese administrative healthcare database.METHODSRandom samples ...of possible cases of each disease (January 2015–January 2018) from two hospitals participating in the Medical Data Vision Co., Ltd. (MDV) database were identified using combinations of ICD-10 diagnostic codes and other procedural/billing codes. For each disease, two physicians identified true cases among the random samples of possible cases by medical record review; a third physician made the final decision in cases where the two physicians disagreed. The accuracy of case-finding algorithms was assessed using positive predictive value (PPV) and sensitivity.RESULTSThere were 2,940 possible cases of malignant tumor; 180 were randomly selected and 108 were identified as true cases after medical record review. One case-finding algorithm gave a high PPV (64.1%) without substantial loss in sensitivity (90.7%) and included ICD-10 codes for malignancy and photographing/imaging. There were 3,559 possible cases of serious infection; 200 were randomly selected and 167 were identified as true cases after medical record review. Two case-finding algorithms gave a high PPV (85.6%) with no loss in sensitivity (100%). Both case-finding algorithms included the relevant diagnostic code and immunological infection test/other related test and, of these, one also included pathological diagnosis within 1 month of hospitalization.CONCLUSIONSThe case-finding algorithms in this study showed good PPV and sensitivity for identification of cases of malignant tumors and serious infections from an administrative healthcare database in Japan.
Purpose
To report the demographics and clinical characteristics of patients with a primary retinal detachment (RD).
Design
Prospective cohort study by a registry design.
Participants
Patients with RD ...treated at vitreoretinal sub-specialty institutions in Japan from February 2016 to March 2017.
Methods
Descriptive statistics for the primary RD, and multivariable ordered logistic regression and multiple linear regression analyses were performed.
Results
3178 eyes of 3178 cases were analyzed. The interval from onset to surgery was significantly shorter in patients in the 40-year age group than in other age groups except for the 50-year age group (
P
<0.05, Steel-Dwass test). The proportion of complex cases was significantly higher in the 10-year, 70-year, and 80+ year age groups than in the 40 and 50-year age groups (
P
<0.05, Steel-Dwass test). The size of RD was significantly associated with the male sex (odds ratio, 1.29; 95% confidence interval CI, 1.07 to 1.56;
P
=0.0085) and the interval from onset to surgery (odds ratio, 1.03 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.04;
P
=0.0014). Low IOPs in eyes with RD were significantly associated with an older age (-0.24 mmHg/10 years, 95% CI, -0.32 to -0.16,
P
<0.0001) and larger RD area (-0.91 mmHg/quadrant, 95% CI, -1.06 to -0.76,
P
<0.0001).
Conclusion
Profile and clinical characteristics of patients with a primary RD were not exactly the same as previous reports. A preoperative low IOP was associated with several ocular factors while the area of RD was associated not only with ocular but with social factors as well.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of surgeon-related factors on the surgical outcome of pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) and scleral buckling (SB) surgery on eyes with a ...rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD). This was a nationwide, multicenter, observational study of the data in the Japan-RD Registry. Registered cases that had undergone surgery for a RRD by 128 accredited surgeons in 26 institutions were studied. The surgeon-related factors that significantly affected surgical success and visual outcomes of simple RRD treated by PPV or SB at 6 months postoperatively were analyzed and compared. Among 3446 registered cases, 2533 cases met the inclusion criteria with 1896 in the PPV group and 637 cases in the SB group. The median total number of lifetime cases was 150 and the rate of surgeries/year was 22. Multivariate regression analyses showed that the number and rate of surgeries/year were not significantly associated with the surgical outcome in the PPV group. However, surgeons with a higher average annual number of surgeries had significantly better surgical outcomes in the SB group (P = 0.038). Analyses of a nationwide registry showed that SB but not PPV surgeries require sufficient experience and case numbers to acquire and maintain skills to treat RRDs successfully.
Asian Settler Colonialism Fujikane, Candace & Jonathan Y. Okamura, eds
2008, 20080831, 20080101
eBook
Asian Settler Colonialism is a groundbreaking collection that examines the roles of Asians as settlers in Hawai‘i. Contributors from various fields and disciplines investigate aspects of Asian ...settler colonialism to illustrate its diverse operations and impact on Native Hawaiians. Essays range from analyses of Japanese, Korean, and Filipino settlement to accounts of Asian settler practices in the legislature, the prison industrial complex, and the U.S. military to critiques of Asian settlers’ claims to Hawai‘i in literature and the visual arts.
Although the cytotoxic effects of cysteine (Cys) on renal cells have been established, the effects of homocysteine (Hcy), which causes endothelial cell dysfunction, have not been well tested. We ...compared the direct toxicity of Hcy on renal tubular cells to that of Cys and examined the mechanism of cell toxicity.
LLC-PK1 cells were incubated with test media containing 500 microM Cys or Hcy in the presence or absence of 100 microM copper. Lactate dehydrogenase release and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance were measured for estimating cytolysis and lipid peroxidation, respectively. The generation of hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radical, and the cell redox state were analyzed using the scopoletin method, salicylate-trap method, and glutathione (GSH) content, respectively. Superoxide dismutase, catalase, and vitamin E also were used for clarifying the mechanism of toxicity.
In the presence of copper (+ Cu), cytolysis at 16 h was more prominent in cells exposed to Cys than Hcy. In accordance with cytotoxicity, lipid peroxidation at 4 h of incubation, as well as hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radical formation in a shorter incubation, were remarkably greater in Cys + Cu than Hcy + Cu. The addition of Hcy, but not Cys, decreased GSH content significantly.
In the presence of copper, Cys was extraordinarily more cytotoxic to renal cells than Hcy. Cytotoxicity from Hcy may be dependent upon depletion of cellular GSH, while Cys cytotoxicity is primarily dependent upon the generation of reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxidation.
Offers the full text of an op-ed piece ("Local Japanese Should Understand Inouye's Real Agenda") by the authors, as members of the Local Japanese Women for Justice, published 6 Feb 2000 by The ...Honolulu Advertiser, in which criticisms were levied against state Senator Daniel Inouye & the Japanese American Citizens League(JACL)-Honolulu chapter for obstructing the movement for HI sovereignty. Support was also expressed for Native Hawaiian nationalist Mililani Trask & his advocacy efforts for this movement. It is argued that Native Hawaiians have a right to self-determination under international law, since their lands were invaded & annexed by the US. Questions are raised concerning the interference of Inouye & the JACL in the sovereignty movement, particularly on account of their non-Hawaiian status. As Asian Americans, it is argued that the US government must be held accountable for its actions against native peoples, & contended that the sovereignty struggle is not about race, but nationhood. K. Hyatt Stewart
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