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Background There are long-standing controversies about the transplant indications for alcoholic liver disease (ALD), because of the recognition that ALD is fundamentally self-inflicted. However, it is unclear whether psychosocial characteristics of ALD are different from that of non-alcoholic liver disease (NALD) in the selection of liver transplantation (LT) recipients. We aimed to clarify the psychosocial characteristics of ALD recipients (ALD-R)/ALD recipient candidates (ALD-RC) and NALD recipients (NALD-R)/ NALD recipient candidates (NALD-RC). Methods From 2011 to 2019, 75 patients were enrolled in this prospective observational study (ALD-RC, n = 19; NALD-RC, n = 56), LT were carried out as follow; ALD-R, n = 6; NALD-R, n = 52. We evaluated psychosocial characteristics in the preoperative period and 3, 12 months after LT (ALD-R, n = 3/3; NALD-R, n = 28/25). The following scales were used to evaluate psychosocial characteristics: Visual Analogue Scale, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Brief Evaluation of Medication Influences and Beliefs, Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ), Temperament and Character Inventory, Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Results When evaluating on the basis of abstinence rule, a comparison of ALD-RC and NALD-RC in the preoperative period identified similar patterns of psychosocial characteristics, except that the NALD-RC scored higher on the PBI item “overprotection from mother” (P Conclusion The psychosocial characteristics of ALD-RC and NALD-RC may be similar when evaluated on the basis of Japan’s abstinence rule. This result also imply that the psychosocial characteristics of ALD-RC may differ from the previously reported psychosocial characteristics of alcohol dependent patients. These findings have the potential to provide helpful information for the evaluation of ALD-RC.

Background: While the suicide rate in Japan has recently declined, it is still high from a global perspective. Recently, suicides related to unemployment caused by COVID-19 have increased. In addition, because of increases in karoshi and industrial accidents, mental health measures for workers have become an urgent issue. We previously conducted a study that tested whether screening for mood disorders, which were strongly associated with suicide-related behavior, helps prevent suicide in small and medium-size enterprise workers, where mental health support was insufficient. The current study builds on 2 the previous study’s findings that mental illness screening helps identify mood disorders and may provide a primary prevention method for suicide. Methods: A total of 1,411 consenting workers were surveyed using the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). A representative module of each disease item was extracted and analyzed. The Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D), Bipolar Spectrum Diagnostic Scale (BSDS), Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS-J), and the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDISS) were used as secondary assessments. We compared individuals with depression, bipolar disorder, dysthymia, and mood disorders with a control group. In addition, we conducted multivariate analyses to investigate items that identified individuals with depression, mood dysregulation, bipolar disorder, or all-inclusive mood disorders. Results The adjusted odds ratios in the anxiety disorders groups were 3.2 for panic disorder, 2.6 for social anxiety disorder, 2.1 for agoraphobia, and 1.8 for generalized anxiety disorder; 2.1 for obsessive compulsive disorders; and 2.8 for the bulimia nervosa group. These results show a significant correlation with mental illnesses that are referred to as neuroses in a conventional diagnosis. Conclusion: The study found that screening for anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders and eating disorders contributes to preventing mood disorders among workers. We hope that our findings will indirectly contribute to preventing workers’ suicides.

Here, we introduce our method of combined use of magnetic resonance angiography/multidetector-row computed tomography (MRA/MDCTA), Doppler sonography, and indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence angiography to identify the locations of the perforator vessels of the flaps. This method can be used to accurately confirm perforator vessel location on pre- or intraoperative images. If a detectable perforator is obtained using preoperative MRA/MDCTA and Doppler sonography, we use the term “freestyle perforator-based flap” for propeller or V-Y advancement flaps. In some cases, aggressive perforator dissection is necessary to free these flaps from adhesions and evenly distribute the torsion, and the intraoperative identification of perforator vessels detected by Doppler sonography and ICG fluorescence angiography makes it possible to select perforators of larger caliber and stronger pulsatility without fear of anatomic inconsistencies; furthermore, such identification facilitates the surgical mechanics and shortens the operation time.