An unusual variant of Type I common bile duct duplication associated with ampullary carcinoma

Common bile duct duplications represent exceptionally rare congenital anomalies of the biliary tract. In this case report we document an unusual variant of common bile duct duplication in a 79-year-old man who underwent a pancreaticoduodenectomy for ampullary cancer. The duplication consisted of two unseparated, completely-layered, common bile ducts which originated above the cystic duct junction and terminated prior to the point of insertion into the pancreas, where the two lumens converged into a single duct. Duplication of the bile duct is rare and often goes undetected. In the present case, the anomaly was found incidentally in a patient who had a pancreaticoduodenectomy for an ampullary carcinoma. However, duplication may be associated with choledocholithiasis, cholangitis, pancreatitis, and pancreaticobiliary malignancies and it is important to be aware of the condition

Chest Radiograph Scoring Alone or Combined with Other Risk Scores for Predicting Outcomes in COVID-19

Background Radiographic severity may help predict patient deterioration and outcomes from COVID-19 pneumonia. Purpose To assess the reliability and reproducibility of three chest radiograph reporting systems (radiographic assessment of lung edema [RALE], Brixia, and percentage opacification) in patients with proven SARS-CoV-2 infection and examine the ability of these scores to predict adverse outcomes both alone and in conjunction with two clinical scoring systems, National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS2) and International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium: Coronavirus Clinical Characterization Consortium (ISARIC-4C) mortality. Materials and Methods This retrospective cohort study used routinely collected clinical data of patients with polymerase chain reaction-positive SARS-CoV-2 infection admitted to a single center from February 2020 through July 2020. Initial chest radiographs were scored for RALE, Brixia, and percentage opacification by one of three radiologists. Intra- and interreader agreement were assessed with intraclass correlation coefficients. The rate of admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) or death up to 60 days after scored chest radiograph was estimated. NEWS2 and ISARIC-4C mortality at hospital admission were calculated. Daily risk for admission to ICU or death was modeled with Cox proportional hazards models that incorporated the chest radiograph scores adjusted for NEWS2 or ISARIC-4C mortality. Results Admission chest radiographs of 50 patients (mean age, 74 years ± 16 [standard deviation]; 28 men) were scored by all three radiologists, with good interreader reliability for all scores, as follows: intraclass correlation coefficients were 0.87 for RALE (95% CI: 0.80, 0.92), 0.86 for Brixia (95% CI: 0.76, 0.92), and 0.72 for percentage opacification (95% CI: 0.48, 0.85). Of 751 patients with a chest radiograph, those with greater than 75% opacification had a median time to ICU admission or death of just 1-2 days. Among 628 patients for whom data were available (median age, 76 years [interquartile range, 61-84 years]; 344 men), opacification of 51%-75% increased risk for ICU admission or death by twofold (hazard ratio, 2.2; 95% CI: 1.6, 2.8), and opacification greater than 75% increased ICU risk by fourfold (hazard ratio, 4.0; 95% CI: 3.4, 4.7) compared with opacification of 0%-25%, when adjusted for NEWS2 score. Conclusion Brixia, radiographic assessment of lung edema, and percentage opacification scores all reliably helped predict adverse outcomes in SARS-CoV-2 infection. © RSNA, 2021 Online supplemental material is available for this article. See also the editorial by Little in this issue

Identification of Neck Lymph Node Metastasis-Specific microRNA—Implication for Use in Monitoring or Prediction of Neck Lymph Node Metastasis

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Development of a Warning System to Detect Urinary Incontinence from Outside of a Diaper using a Reusable Sensor

The number of elderly individuals in need of care is increasing with the growing elderly population in Japan, resulting in the increased production of disposable diapers. Several warning detectors for urinary incontinence have been developed to provide high-quality care, several of which have been marketed. Most of these detectors use disposable sensors. These sensors must be attached to a new diaper at the time of diaper changing. To reduce both the effort and the cost required to replace the sensor, we developed a warning system to detect urinary incontinence using a reusable sensor on the outside of a diaper. The newly developed system is essentially divided into a sensor unit and an alarm unit. The sensor unit consists of a pair of electrodes; a timer; a signal generator; bridge, rectifier, and smoother circuits; and a transmitter. The alarm unit consists of a receiver and LEDs. The alarm unit delivers a warning about incontinence to care staff via LED lighting. When 500 mL of tap water was absorbed into a diaper, on the outside of which the system was attached by its electrodes, the capacitance and conductance increased 2.5 times and 50 times, respectively, compared with those of a dry diaper. When 50 mL of saline was poured into a diaper that was attached to the crotch region of a torso mannequin to model incontinence, the incontinence warning functioned as intended. The impedance of the pad-type diaper, which was measured by an impedance analyzer, decreased from 270 kΩ to 86 kΩ. The electrodes remained dry after the saline was poured into the diaper. The novel warning system was evaluated in a special nursing home for the aged. Twelve elderly people participated in this trial. The system operated correctly in 49 of 65 trials

Additive effects of green tea and coffee on all-cause mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: the Fukuoka Diabetes Registry

Introduction The impact of consuming green tea or coffee on mortality in patients with diabetes is controversial. We prospectively investigated the impact of each beverage and their combination on mortality among Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes.Research design and methods In all, 4923 patients (2790 men, 2133 women) with type 2 diabetes (mean age, 66 years) were followed prospectively (median, 5.3 years; follow-up rate, 99.5%). We evaluated the amount of green tea and coffee consumed using self-administered questionnaires.Results During the follow-up period, 309 participants died. The consumption of green tea, coffee, and a combination of the beverages was associated with reduced all-cause mortality. Multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (95% CIs) for green tea were as follows: none 1.0 (referent); 0.85 (0.60–1.22) for ≤1 cup/day; 0.73 (0.51–1.03) for 2–3 cups/day; 0.60 (0.42–0.85) for ≥4 cups/day; and P for trend, 0.002. For coffee, they were: none 1.0 (referent); 0.88 (0.66–1.18) for <1 cup/day; 0.81 (0.58–1.13) for 1 cup/day; 0.59 (0.42–0.82) for ≥2 cups/day; P for trend, 0.002. With the combination they were 1.0 (referent) for no consumption of green tea and coffee; 0.49 (0.24–0.99) for 2–3 cups/day of green tea with ≥2 cups/day of coffee; 0.42 (0.20–0.88) for ≥4 cups/day of green tea with 1 cup/day of coffee; and 0.37 (0.18–0.77) for ≥4 cups/day of green tea with ≥2 cups/day of coffee.Conclusions Higher consumption of green tea and coffee was associated with reduced all-cause mortality: their combined effect appeared to be additive in patients with type 2 diabetes

5-Fluorouracil/L-Leucovorin Plus Oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) Regimen as Salvage Chemotherapy for Patients with Unresectable Pancreatic Cancer Receiving Gemcitabine and Nab-Paclitaxel and 5-Fluorouracil/L-Leucovorin Plus Nanoliposomal Irinotecan: Preliminary Results from Clinical Practice

Salvage chemotherapy for patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer (UR-PC) who have been treated with gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel (GnP), and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)/l-leucovorin (LV) plus nanoliposomal irinotecan (nal-IRI), has not been fully established. We retrospectively reviewed data from 17 patients with UR-PC who initiated 5-FU/l-LV plus oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) as salvage chemotherapy at our hospital between June 2020 and August 2021, after treatment with GnP and 5-FU/LV plus nal-IRI. The primary endpoint was tumor response. The secondary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and adverse events (AEs). The response and disease control rates were 5.9% (1/17) and 17.6% (3/17), respectively. The median PFS was 1.8 months (range: 0.4–5.2 months). Eight patients (47.1%) experienced grade 3 nonhematologic AEs, while none experienced grade 3 hematologic AEs. Two patients with controlled disease had homologous recombination deficiency (HRD)-associated gene mutations in cancer panel testing. The FOLFOX regimen benefit for UR-PC patients treated with GnP and 5-FU/LV plus nal-IRI may be limited to patients with HRD-associated gene mutations

Relationship between Oral Hypofunction, and Protein Intake: A Cross-Sectional Study in Local Community-Dwelling Adults

Few studies have investigated the relationship between nutritional status and comprehensive assessment of oral hypofunction, especially protein intake-related sarcopenia. Thus, we explored these relationships in a large-scale cross-sectional cohort study using the seven-item evaluation for oral hypofunction and Diet History Questionnaire for nutritional assessment. We used the data from 1004 individuals who participated in the 2019 health survey of the residents of Tarumizu City, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan for analysis. We found that individuals with oral hypofunction were significantly older with a lower skeletal muscle index. Although there were few foods that had a significant difference between the groups with and without oral hypofunction, the consumption of beans and meats was significantly lower in women and men in the oral hypofunction group, respectively. According to the lower limit of the tentative dietary goal defined in Japan, comprehensive evaluation of oral hypofunction was significantly and independently associated with protein intake in both men and women (odds ratio, 1.70; 95% confidence interval, 1.21–2.35). In conclusion, we found that oral hypofunction was associated with targeted protein intake for sarcopenia and frailty prevention in middle-aged and older community-dwelling adults. Comprehensive evaluation of oral function with intervention in cases of hypofunction could inform clinicians to better prevent sarcopenia