Yukichika Yamamoto

Yukichika Yamamoto

orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

4Years (2023-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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Verified
Journal Article
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YYYukichika Yamamoto
Yukichika Yamamoto
Yuki OtsukaYuki Otsuka
Yuki Otsuka
KTKazuki Tokumasu
Kazuki Tokumasu
NSNaruhiko Sunada
Naruhiko Sunada
YNYasuhiro Nakano
Yasuhiro Nakano
FOFumio Otsuka
Fumio Otsuka
Objective: The most common symptom of post-acute coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is fatigue, and it potentially leads to myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS); however, a specific prognosticator is lacking. We aimed to elucidate the clinical characteristics of patients who developed ME/CFS after COVID-19. Methods: In this retrospective observational study, patients who visited Okayama University Hospital for long COVID between February 2021 and March 2022 were investigated. Results: Of the 234 patients, 139 (59.4%) had fatigue symptoms. Fifty patients with fatigue symptoms (21.4%) met the criteria for ME/CFS (ME/CFS group), while the other 89 patients did not (non-ME/CFS group); 95 patients had no fatigue complaints (no-fatigue group). Although the patients’ backgrounds were not significantly different between the three groups, the ME/CFS group presented the highest scores on the self-rating symptom scales, including the Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS), EuroQol, and the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS). Furthermore, serum ferritin levels, which were correlated with FAS and SDS scores, were significantly higher in the ME/CFS group (193.0 μg/L, interquartile range (IQR): 58.8–353.8) than in the non-ME/CFS group (98.2 μg/L, 40.4–251.5) and no-fatigue group (86.7 μg/L, 37.5–209.0), and a high serum ferritin level was prominent in female patients. Endocrine workup further showed that the ME/CFS group had higher thyrotropin levels but lower growth hormone levels in serum and that insulin-like growth factor-I levels were inversely correlated with ferritin levels (R = −0.328, p < 0.05). Conclusions: Serum ferritin level is a possible predictor of the development of ME/CFS related to long COVID, especially in female patients.

10 July 2023 in Internal and Emergency Medicine
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
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YYYukichika Yamamoto
Yukichika Yamamoto
OOOguni Oguni
Oguni Oguni
HHHideharu Hagiya
Hideharu Hagiya
FOFumio Otsuka
Fumio Otsuka