[Thoracoscopic Plication for Congenital Diaphragmatic Eventration in an Adult].

Thoracoscopic plication for congenital diaphragmatic eventration in an adult. Diaphragmatic eventration is known to be abnormal elevation of diaphragm and congenital causes are due to abnormal diaphragm muscle development. Here we report surgical treatment of congenital diaphragmatic eventration. A 45-year-old woman who complained of cough was admitted to our hospital. She had history of cough and was diagnosed as diaphragmatic eventration in childhood. Chest X-ray showed elevated left hemidiaphragm with a bowel gas underneath. Under the diagnosis of congenital eventration of left hemidiaphragm, plication of the left diaphragm by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) was performed. One month after surgery, severe cough disappeared completely.

[Studies on the distribution of doripenem in pancreatic tissues, especially on the importance of the ratio in pancreatic tissue concentration of doripenem/serum concentration of doripenem].

Doripenem (DRPM) which is injectable carbapenem antimicrobial agent is a compound with high antimicrobial activity against severe acute pancreatitis in carbapenem agents. It does not have a report of the distribution in human pancreatic tissue until now. This time, we performed examination about the distribution in pancreatic tissue of DRPM. Blood and pancreatic tissues were collected from six patients who were administered DRPM intravenously at a dose of 0.5 g after 1 hour from the start of injection. The concentration of DRPM in the serum and pancreatic tissues were measured. The concentrations of DRPM in the pancreatic tissues and serum were 0.58-5.39 microg/g and 0.02-0.24 microg/mL, respectively. DRPM distributed in pancreatic tissues sufficiently, and we could expect that DRPM was useful agent of pancreas infection in acute pancreatitis.

Prolonged thrombocytopenia after living donor liver transplantation is a strong prognostic predictor irrespective of splenectomy: the significance of ADAMTS13 and graft function [corrected].

The precise mechanism of prolonged thrombocytopenia following living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) remains unclear. To determine risk factors associated with prolonged thrombocytopenia following LDLT, with a focus on the activity of ADAMTS13 (a disintegrin-like and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin type-1 motifs member 13) and the influence of splenectomy. Adult LDLT patients were divided into two groups on the basis of platelet counts (100 × 10(3)/µL) on POD 14: high and low platelet (HP and LP) groups. Survival analysis was performed in the 100 patients, and ADAMTS13 activity and von Willebrand factor (VWF) levels in the plasma were measured in 65 adult recipients. The 6-month survival rate was significantly lower in the LP group (n = 36) than in the HP group (n = 62) (61.1 vs. 93.5 %). ADAMTS13 activity had been significantly lower in the LP group (n = 23) than in the HP group (n = 42). The VWF/ADAMTS13 ratio was significantly higher in the LP group than in the HP group. The independent risk factors for thrombocytopenia on POD14 were preoperative AT levels and ADAMTS13 activity on POD14. TPO levels on POD14 were significantly higher in the LP group than in the HP group, while those on POD28 in the LP group were significantly decreased, despite the low platelet levels. Irrespective of splenectomy, platelet counts and ADAMTS13 activity in the LP group remained low until POD28, while VWF/ADAMTS13 ratio significantly increased until POD28. These results suggest that prolonged thrombocytopenia after LDLT was associated with not only a decrease in ADAMTS13 due to sinusoidal endothelial cell injury, but also low TPO production due to hepatocyte dysfunction, irrespective of splenectomy [corrected].

Immune response following liver transplantation compared to kidney transplantation: usefulness of monitoring peripheral blood CD4+ adenosine triphosphate activity and cytochrome P450 3A5 genotype assay.

Seventy living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) and 39 kidney transplantation (KT) patients were randomly screened by using the peripheral blood CD4+ adenosine triphosphate activity (ATP) assay (IMK assay). The patients were divided into 2 groups in each organ transplantation with low IMK ATP level (<225 ng/mL) or high (>225) (LT-L: n = 23, KT-L: n = 19, LT-H: n = 47, and KT-H: n = 20, resp.). The incidence of bacterial and/or viral infection was significantly higher in LT-L group than in LT-H group (74.0 versus 8.5%: P < 0.001). Occurrence of total viral infection in KT-L was also significantly higher than that in KT-H (36.8 versus 10%: P = 0.046). The sensitivity and specificity of the IMK assay for identifying risk of infection was 0.810 and 0.878 in LDLT patients and 0.727 and 0.607 in KT patients. The percentage of LDLT patients with cytochrome P450 3A5 (CYP3A5) *1/*1 or *1/*3 genotype (expressors) was significantly higher in LT-L group than in LT-H group (53.8 versus 20.7%: P = 0.032). In both LDLT and KT patients, the IMK assay can be useful for monitoring immunological aspects of bacterial and/or viral infection. CYP3A5 expressors in LT-L group are related to postoperative infections.

[Adjuvant chemotherapy for unresectable locally advanced pancreatic cancer in light of its characteristics].

The use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer has been advocated for its potential ability to optimize patient selection for surgical resection and to downstage locally advanced tumors, especially for patients with Stage IV b (Japan criteria). We report our experience with a six-drug chemotherapeutic regimen that resulted in sufficient downstaging of the tumor in some patients to justify surgical resection. From Jan. 2001 through December 2003, 6 patients received 5-FU as a continuous infusion (200 mg/m2/day), calcium leucovorin weekly by intravenous bolus injection (30 mg/m2), mitomycin-C every 6 weeks (10 mg/m2 intravenously), and dipyridamole daily orally (75 mg), according to the UCLA regimen and gemcitabine weekly (600 mg/m2) and heparin as a continuous infusion (0-3,000 U/day) for locally advanced unresected pancreatic cancer. All of these patients were evaluable for response and survival. There were 5 partial responses (83% response rate) and 1 no response. Four of 5 responding patients had sufficient tumor regression to meet clinical criteria for resectability, three of whom underwent a curative resection. All patients who underwent downstage operation were still alive for the follow-up period (4-23 months).