Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the treatment of acute cholangitis caused by choledocholithiasis: A single-center retrospective study in Japan.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the treatment of acute cholangitis caused by choledocholithiasis. Methods: The Japanese government declared a state of emergency in April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 309 patients who underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) for acute cholangitis caused by choledocholithiasis between April 2017 and December 2022. Results: Patients were categorized into a pregroup (n = 134) and a postgroup (n = 175), depending on whether they were diagnosed before or after the state of emergency declaration. The total number of ERCP cases and the number of ERCP cases with endoscopic stone removals increased after the state of emergency declaration. Compared with the pregroup, the numbers of patients with performance status of 0-1 and surgically altered anatomy increased, whereas the numbers of patients taking oral antiplatelets or anticoagulants and those with cerebrovascular disease decreased in the postgroup. The number of single-stage endoscopic stone removals increased and hospital stays were significantly shorter in the postgroup. No differences in adverse event rates were detected between the two groups. Conclusions: Although our hospital provides tertiary care, the number of patients with cholangitis in good general condition and no underlying disease increased after the state of emergency declaration. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an increase in the number of single-stage endoscopic treatments and shortened hospital stays for patients with acute cholangitis caused by choledocholithiasis. No safety issues with ERCP were detected, even during the pandemic.

Exacerbated Tourette syndrome diagnosed in adulthood after recurrent bilateral retinal detachment.

PURPOSE: To report a case of Tourette syndrome, exacerbated in adulthood, that was diagnosed after bilateral lens luxation and recurrent retinal detachment due to self-injury. METHODS: Case report. RESULTS: A 35-year-old man presented with a sudden abnormality in vision and bilateral lens luxation. The patient successfully underwent bilateral lens extraction and intrascleral intraocular lens fixation; however, vitreous hemorrhage and retinal detachment occurred in the left eye. The retinal detachment was caused by a giant retinal tear and retinal dialysis. Vitrectomy was performed. However, retinal detachment recurred with proliferative vitreoretinopathy. Retinal detachment subsequently occurred in the right eye. Self-injury to the eye was observed before surgical treatment. The patient was consequently diagnosed with Tourette syndrome. CONCLUSION: Tourette syndrome, which may be accompanied by self-injurious behavior, is a disorder that typically develops in childhood but rarely exacerbates during adulthood. A diagnosis of Tourette syndrome should be considered in cases of unexplained retinal detachment with traumatic features.

Quantitative assessment of photic phenomena in the presbyopia-correcting intraocular lens.

This was a prospective study to evaluate the feasibility of the photic phenomena test (PPT) for quantifying glare, halo, and starburst. We compared two presbyopia-correcting intraocular lenses (IOLs), the Symfony IOL and the PanOptix IOL, as well as the monofocal Clareon IOL in 111 IOL-implanted eyes of 111 patients who underwent the PPT 1 month postoperatively. The reproducibility of photic phenomena with the PPT was assessed in 39 multifocal IOL-implanted eyes of 20 patients and among the examiners. Patients with ocular diseases, except for refractive errors, were excluded. The mean values of the groups were evaluated. Bland-Altman plots were used to analyze statistical data (Easy R version 1.37; R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria). The PPT reproducibility assessment revealed no fixed bias or regressive significance. Reproducibility was confirmed. The glare size did not differ significantly between the Symfony, PanOptix, and Clareon groups. The halo size was significantly larger in the Symfony group (p < 0.01) than in the PanOptix group. The halo intensity was significantly brighter in the PanOptix group (p < 0.01) than in the Symfony group. In contrast, no halos were perceived in the Clareon group. The starburst size or intensity did not differ significantly between the Symfony, PanOptix, and Clareon groups. We identified the photic phenomenon related to various IOLs.

Cut of Clothes Maximizes the Effect of Amodal Completion to Make You Look Thinner.

Amodal completion has various functional effects, including an apparent slimming effect achieved by clothes. Local and global completion factors have been examined in previous studies, which also apply to the apparent slimming effect. Exposed parts of the body constitute the local factor at the junction area, while the shape or cut of the clothes is concerned with the whole configuration. This study investigated which is more important, the local or whole factors, for amodal completion in relation to the apparent slimming effect using drawings as stimuli. In Experiment 1, we examined the effects of the length and cut of a skirt. The length of the skirt corresponds to the local factor of the body, that is, the legs, because the exposed parts of the legs depend on skirt length (assuming a person of consistent height). We found that skirts' cut influenced their effect more than their length did. Experiments 2 and 3 revealed that the vertical form of clothes affects slimming by hiding thicker parts of the body and highlighting thinner parts. A supplemental experiment using geometrical figures suggested that the apparent slimming effect of clothes might occur only in the human body configuration.

Sensitive Analysis of Sialic Acid and Related Compound by Hydrophilic Interaction Liquid Chromatography Using Fluorescence Detection after Derivatization with DBD-PZ.

N-Acetylneuraminic acid (NANA) has been reported to react with hydrogen peroxide in vitro to produce 4-(acetylamino)-2,4-dideoxy-D-glycero-D-galacto-octonic acid (ADOA). We labeled NANA and ADOA with 4-(N,N-dimethylaminosulfonyl)-7-piperazino-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (DBD-PZ) for simultaneous detection. The derivatized NANA and ADOA were separated using hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) with fluorescence detection. The calibration curves of DBD-PZ-derivatized NANA and ADOA showed good linearity in the range of 221 fmol to 1.5 nmol, and 44 fmol to 1.5 nmol, respectively. This analytical method has high specificity and is useful for the detection of NANA and ADOA in saliva and serum.