Kami Wakaki

写真a

Title

Assistant Professor
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Current Affiliation Organization 【 display / non-display 】

  • Duty   University of the Ryukyus   Graduate School of Medicine   Assistant Professor  

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Research Interests 【 display / non-display 】

  • 呼吸器、感染症

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Published Papers 【 display / non-display 】

  • Asymptomatic Cytomegalovirus Pneumonia Presenting as Pulmonary Nodules

    Otsuki, M; Kami, W; Doi, M; Yamamoto, K

    INTERNAL MEDICINE ( 一般社団法人 日本内科学会 )  65 ( 13 ) 1845 - 1846   2026.07

    Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

  • Bilateral Ground-Glass Opacities as an Initial Manifestation of iMCD-TAFRO Syndrome: Diagnostic Insights from a Case with Negative Lung Biopsy Findings

    Kami, W; Baba, M; Yamaniha, K; Gaja, S; Chinen, T; Yamamoto, K; Fujita, J

    INTERNAL MEDICINE ( 一般社団法人 日本内科学会 )  advpub ( 0 )   2026

    Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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    <p>Idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease with TAFRO syndrome (iMCD-TAFRO) rarely involves the lungs. We report the case of a 50-year-old man with persistent gastrointestinal symptoms who was found to have bilateral ground-glass opacities on chest CT. Despite prominent imaging abnormalities, a bronchoscopic lung biopsy revealed no inflammatory changes in the lungs. Bone marrow and lymph node biopsies confirmed the diagnosis of iMCD-TAFRO. Treatment with tocilizumab and corticosteroids resulted in clinical remission for 3 years. Pulmonary manifestations likely reflect secondary fluid retention rather than primary lung disease. This illustrates the importance of performing comprehensive tissue evaluations beyond a lung biopsy when systemic symptoms are accompanied by pulmonary findings. </p>

  • Bacterial pneumonia co-infection in adult inpatients with coronavirus disease 2019 during the Omicron variants epidemic in Okinawa, Japan: risk factors and clinical outcomes.

    Kami W, Ideguchi S, Miyagi K, Tasato D, Higa F, Nakamura H, Kinjo T, Nakamatsu M, Haranaga S, Tokushige A, Fujita J, Yamamoto K

    Respiratory investigation ( Respiratory Investigation )  63 ( 6 ) 1087 - 1092   2025.11 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

    Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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  • Varicella-zoster virus reactivation with severe pneumonia following convalescence from coronavirus disease: A case report and literature review

    Tome, R; Arima, S; Akamine, M; Hashioka, H; Arakaki, W; Kami, W; Nabeya, D; Ideguchi, S; Nakamura, H; Kinjo, T; Nakamatsu, M; Furugen, M; Miyagi, K; Haranaga, S; Yamamoto, K

    INTERNAL MEDICINE ( 一般社団法人 日本内科学会 )  64 ( 20 ) 3051 - 3056   2025.10

    Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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    <p>An association between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and concomitant varicella-zoster virus (VZV) reactivation has been proposed. We herein report a case of severe VZV pneumonia in a 73-year-old man who underwent corticosteroid tapering after recovering from COVID-19 and presented with fever, vesicular rashes, and hypoxemia. Chest computed tomography revealed ground-glass opacities (GGOs) and multiple granular shadows. Varicella-zoster virus was detected in the skin and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. The patient was diagnosed with disseminated VZV reactivation and thereafter successfully recovered with acyclovir treatment. Physicians should consider the possibility of VZV reactivation when GGOs or patchy nodular shadows appear during the course of patients with COVID-19. </p>

  • Evaluation of mlstverse system for accurate subspecies identification and drug resistance prediction in <i>Mycobacterium abscessus</i> species

    Arakaki, W; Kinjo, T; Kami, W; Hashioka, H; Nabeya, D; Nagano, H; Yoshida, S; Tsuyuguchi, K; Matsumoto, Y; Nakamura, S; Fujita, J; Yamamoto, K

    MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM ( Microbiology Spectrum )  13 ( 9 ) e0064325   2025.09 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

    Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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    ABSTRACT Accurate subspecies identification and drug susceptibility testing (DST) are essential for appropriate clinical management, particularly in patients infected with Mycobacterium abscessus species (MABS). We developed a novel software, mlstverse, which uses multi-locus sequence typing to identify non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) species, demonstrating rapid and accurate diagnostic performance. However, these studies included only a limited number of MABS samples. In this study, we focused on MABS and evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of the system for subspecies identification and drug resistance prediction for clarithromycin (CAM) and amikacin (AMK). A total of 56 clinical isolates, previously identified as MABS by conventional methods, were analyzed. The mlstverse identified two isolates as M. intracellulare and 54 isolates as MABS, with 28 identified as M. abscessus subsp. abscessus (MAB) and 26 as M. abscessus subsp. massiliense (MMA). All results obtained through mlstverse were fully consistent with the species/subspecies exhibiting the highest average nucleotide identity (ANI) values. In contrast to the identification by ANI values, the mlstverse system clearly distinguished between MABS subspecies, with the mean differences between the highest and second-highest MLST scores of 0.16 for MAB and 0.33 for MMA, respectively. The system predicted drug susceptibility to CAM and AMK with high concordance to phenotypic DST (CAM: 98.1%, AMK: 100%). These results suggest that mlstverse provides a reliable method for accurate subspecies identification and drug resistance prediction in MABS, supporting the potential of integrating portable next-generation sequencing technologies with real-time software analysis for improved diagnostic accuracy and treatment strategies in patients with NTM infections. IMPORTANCE Accurate subspecies identification and drug susceptibility testing (DST) are essential for appropriate clinical management of Mycobacterium abscessus species (MABS) infections. We previously developed mlstverse, a novel software utilizing multi-locus sequence typing to identify non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM species, demonstrating rapid and accurate diagnostic performance. However, these studies included only a limited number of MABS samples. In this study, we focused on MABS and evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of the system for subspecies identification and drug resistance prediction for clarithromycin (CAM) and amikacin (AMK). We showed that mlstverse can clearly distinguish MAB subspecies compared to ANI values and predicted drug susceptibility to CAM and AMK with high concordance to phenotypic DST. The mlstverse system provides a reliable method for accurate subspecies identification and drug resistance prediction in MABS, supporting the potential of integrating portable next-generation sequencing technologies with real-time software analysis for improved diagnostic accuracy and treatment strategies in patients with NTM infections.

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