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Article History

Received: 25 October 2024

Accepted: 28 January 2025

First Online: 3 February 2025

Declarations

:

: This study was conducted with the approval of the JCHO Hoshigaoka Medical Center Clinical Research Review Committee (approval number: 2226) and in accordance with the Ethical Guidelines for Medical and Health Research Involving Human Subjects.Before implementing the study, we provided the research subjects with a document that had been approved by the Clinical Research Review Committee and obtained written consent to participate in this study. Patients with the target disease may have included those who had difficulty communicating. Therefore, making a decision would be difficult for these patients; hence, consent was obtained from the substitute decision maker. The substitute decision-maker was defined as a spouse, parent, sibling, child, grandchild, grandparent, or relative living together; someone considered to be equivalent to a close relative; a representative of the participants (including voluntary guardians with a power of attorney); or a person in a mental relationship of partnership or trust.

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.