Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is characterized as the sensation of burning in the tongue or any other area of the oral mucosa without a medical or dental cause. BMS's pathophysiology is poorly understood and may be caused by its association with various factors, particularly with antihypertensive or psychotropic medicines. Although BMS is a relatively common intraoral disorder in the dental field, emergency physicians rarely recognize it. We report a 53-year-old Japanese woman who presented to our ED with a three-week history of a strange taste and burning tongue. The patient had poor control of hypertension, captopril, an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, was added three weeks before presentation. We discontinued her ACE inhibitor and changed her medication to a beta-blocker. After two weeks, her symptoms improved. Emergency physicians must be aware that ACE inhibitors play some roles in the pathogenesis of BMS. The correct diagnosis of the condition depends on recognizing the disease and improving the quality of life.

Background: Intestinal grafts are susceptible to ischemia-reperfusion injury, resulting in the loss of mucosal barrier function and graft failure. Biliverdin is known to exert a variety of cytoprotective functions against oxidative tissue injury. Because the mucosal layer is the primary site of ischemiareperfusion injury, mucosa-targeting strategies by luminal delivery of reagents might be beneficial. We tested whether intraluminal administration of biliverdin as an adjuvant to standard preservation solutions protected against ischemia-reperfusion injury. Methods: Orthotopic syngeneic intestinal transplants were performed on Lewis rats after 6 hours of cold preservation. Saline containing biliverdin (10 mM) or without biliverdin was introduced into the lumen of the intestinal grafts immediately before cold preservation. Results: Damage to the intestinal mucosa caused by ischemia-reperfusion injury resulted in severe morphological changes, including blunting of the villi and erosion, and led to significant loss of gut barrier function 3 hours after reperfusion. These changes to the mucosa were notably ameliorated by intraluminal administration of biliverdin. Biliverdin also effectively inhibited upregulation of messenger RNAs for interleukin-6, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and C-C motif chemokine 2. Additionally, biliverdin treatment prevented the loss of expression of claudin-1, a transmembrane, tight-junction barrier protein. The 14-day survival of recipients of biliverdin-treated grafts was significantly improved as compared with the recipients of saline-treated control grafts (83.3% vs 38.9%, P 1/4 .030). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that luminally delivered biliverdin provides beneficial effects during the transplant of rat small intestinal grafts and could be an attractive therapeutic option in organ transplantation. (c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Lung contusion caused by blunt chest trauma evokes a severe inflammatory reaction in the pulmonary parenchyma that may be associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome. Although hydrogen gas has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects and is protective against multiple types of lung injury at safe concentrations, the effects of inhaled hydrogen gas on blunt lung injury have not been previously investigated. Therefore, using a mouse model, we tested the hypothesis that hydrogen inhalation after chest trauma would reduce pulmonary inflammation and acute lung injury associated with lung contusion. Inbred male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into 3 groups: sham with air inhalation, lung contusion with air inhalation, and lung contusion with 1.3% hydrogen inhalation. Experimental lung contusion was induced using a highly reproducible and standardized apparatus. Immediately after induction of lung contusion, mice were placed in a chamber exposed to 1.3% hydrogen gas in the air. Histopathological analysis and real-time polymerase chain reaction in lung tissue and blood gas analysis were performed 6 hours after contusion. Histopathological examination of the lung tissue after contusion revealed perivascular/intra-alveolar hemorrhage, perivascular/interstitial leukocyte infiltration, and interstitial/intra-alveolar edema. These histological changes and the extent of lung contusion, as determined by computed tomography, were significantly mitigated by hydrogen inhalation. Hydrogen inhalation also significantly reduced inflammatory cytokine and chemokine mRNA levels and improved oxygenation. Hydrogen inhalation therapy significantly mitigated inflammatory responses associated with lung contusion in mice. Hydrogen inhalation therapy may be a supplemental therapeutic strategy for treating lung contusion.

Prolonged vitamin C deficiency can result in numerous metabolic abnormalities like impaired tissue repair and defective collagen synthesis. This case report describes a middle-age Japanese man presenting painful purpura on his lower limbs, severe anemia, and altered consciousness. The patient had been eating a selective diet lacking in vegetables and fruits since childhood. A serum analysis demonstrated a low level of vitamin C. The patient was treated with vitamin supplementation and psychological intervention. Scurvy is an under-considered illness with a favorable prognosis if diagnosed early while it is still sporadically encountered in some patients with malabsorption or malnutrition even in modern times.

Acute carbon monoxide (CO) intoxication during pregnancy causes fetal death and teratogenic effects. Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) therapy has the potential to improve them. HBO2 therapy should be considered to treat CO intoxication during pregnancy.

The clinical impact of signs of life (SOLs) in traumatic cardiac arrest (TCA) remains to be elucidated. The aim of this study was to examine the association between SOLs and survival/neurological outcomes in TCA patients. Retrospective data from the Japan Trauma Data Bank (2019–2021) was reviewed. TCA patients were assigned to one of two study groups based on the presence or absence of SOLs and compared. SOLs were defined as having at least one of following criteria: pulseless electrical activity >40 beats per minute, gasping, positive light reflex, or extremity/eye movement at hospital arrival. The primary outcome was survival at hospital discharge. The secondary outcome was favorable neurological status (Glasgow Outcome Scale score of 4 or 5) at hospital discharge. A total of 1,981 patients (114 with SOLs and 1,867 without SOLs) were included. Characteristics of patients were as follows: age (median age 60.0 years old [interquartile range: 41–80] years vs. 55.4 [38–75] years), gender (male: 76/114 (66.7%) vs. 1,207/1,867 (65.0%), blunt trauma (90/111 [81.1%] vs. 1,559/1,844 [84.5%]), Injury Severity Score (29.2 [22–41] vs. 27.9 [20–34]). Patients with SOLs showed higher survival (10/114 (8.8%) vs. 25/1,867 (1.3%), OR 1.96 [CI 1.20–2.72]) and higher favorable neurological outcomes (4/110 (3.5%) vs. 6/1,865 (0.3%), OR 2.42 [CI 1.14–3.70]) compared with patients without SOLs. TCA patients with SOLs at hospital arrival showed higher survival and favorable neurological outcomes at hospital discharge compared with TCA patients without SOLs.