Introduction: Patients with acquired haemophilia A (AHA) have autoantibodies against factor VIII (FVIII), and may develop spontaneous bleeding that requires treatment with FVIII inhibitor bypassing agents such as recombinant activated FVII (rFVIIa, NovoSeven â ). However, data regarding the use of rFVIIa are limited. Aim: To investigate the use, efficacy and safety of rFVIIa for the treatment of AHA by analysis of 10-year multicentre Japanese postmarketing surveillance data. Methods: Treatment regimens, haemostatic efficacy and adverse events were recorded for rFVIIa therapy of AHA patients with bleeding episodes. Treatment was evaluated as markedly effective, effective, moderate or ineffective. Results: Data were collected for 371 bleeding episodes in 132 patients. Bleeding improved after rFVIIa therapy in 92% of episodes (markedly effective in 41%, effective in 10%, moderate in 41%). The response rate was significantly better in patients who received an initial dose of ≥90 lg kg À1 than in those who received an initial dose of <90 lg kg À1. The response rate was also significantly better when rFVIIa was administered earlier after the onset of bleeding. Twelve serious adverse events were recorded in six patients, including five serious thromboembolic events in three patients who were all elderly with significant comorbidities. Conclusion: This is the largest, single-country study of rFVIIa therapy in AHA patients reported to date. The Japanese surveillance data show comparable efficacy and safety to prior multinational studies. Doses of 90-120 lg kg À1 and prompt initiation of treatment may be important to achieve good bleeding control.

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The patient was a 31-year-old female with no previous health problems; however, during a health checkup in 2013, a nodule (2.5 cm in diameter) was identified in the S10 area of the left lung. No clinical symptoms were apparent. Positron emission tomography/computed tomography revealed an accumulation in the same region. The patient was suspected of having lung cancer, and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery was performed. A histopathological examination of the resected specimen revealed epithelioid granulomas accompanied by caseous necrosis in the lesion. The culture was positive for , which led to the final diagnosis of tuberculoma. Initially, the patient underwent anti- treatment [isoniazid (INH) + rifampicin (RFP) + ethambutol (EB) + pyrazinamide (PZA)]. However, two weeks later, the development of epatic dysfunction necessitated suspension of the medication. Treatment was resumed following improvement of the hepatic function. However, this relapsed two weeks later, resulting in discontinuation of the treatment. The patient was negative for each of the four drugs in the drug-induced lymphocyte stimulation test (DLST), and drug-induced hepatotoxicity (DIH) attributable to the anti-tuberculous drugs that were administered. Therefore, desensitization therapy was initiated. EB + PZA were changed to levofloxacin (LVFX) at an initial dose of 250 mg/day (dose level increased to the maintenance dose). Subsequently, desensitization therapy with RFP and INH was applied in accordance with the Japanese Society for Tuberculosis protocol. After each drug dose level reached the maintenance dose level, the therapy was completed following administration of the drugs for the recommended duration of 6 months. There were no signs of relapse 6 months following completion of the therapy. Therefore, the patient responded well to the substitute therapy with LVFX and desensitization therapy, and the present case report provided information regarding the treatment of tuberculoma.

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Hemophilia A is the most common inherited bleeding disorder. To better understand the genotypic and phenotypic features of Japanese patients with mild to moderate hemophilia A, we studied 29 unrelated patients with more than 1 % FVIII activity (FVIII:C). Differences were observed in nine of 21 patients in measured FVIII:C levels between the one-stage clotting and chromogenic assays. We identified a mutation in F8 in 28 of the 29 patients. Mutations in two amino acids, Y492 and R550, were detected at a much higher frequency in our patients than in the international hemophilia A mutation database. We demonstrated that all five patients with the Y492C mutation have an identical F8 haplotype that is unique to them, suggesting that the mutation may have originated from a common ancestor. Because non-severe, moderate to mild, hemophilia patients have a longer lifespan, mutations that cause non-severe phenotypes tend to persist in the population. We believe that the Y492C mutation is a distinctive feature of Japanese patients with mild hemophilia A. The identification of a high frequency of R550 mutation that underlies the discrepancies in FVIII:C measurements in the present study suggests that Japanese patients with mild hemophilia may require careful characterization.