Factors of spa therapy in relation to clinical effects were studied on 36 patients, who were admitted to Misasa Branch Hospital in 1987 with respiratory diseases.
1. The patients who received the spa therapy comprised 30 cases of bronchial asthma, 3 cases of diffuse panbronchiolitis, 3 cases of allergic granulomatous angitis, and 1 case of bronchiectasia.
2. Most bronchial asthma patients were over 40 years old, and 16 cases (53.3%) of 30 patients had long-term glucocorticoids. The serum cortisol level was generally low and was especially low in the cases with glucocorticoids therapy (4.9±5.6mcg/dl in female patients and 3.5±3.2mcg/dl in male patients). The incidence of each clinical type of asthma was as follows: 12 cases (66.7%) of bronchospasm type (Ia), 6 cases (33.3%) of bronchospasm plus hypersecresion type (Ib), and no case (0%) of bronchiolar obstruction type (II) out of 18 female patients. For male patients, there were 5 cases (41.7%) of Ia, 5 cases (41.7%) of Ib, and 2 cases (16.7%) of II. Spa therapy was obviously effective in 25 out of 30 cases (83.3%).
3. Spa therapy was also effective for respiratory diseases other than asthma, especially for diffuse panbronchiolitis.

Allergological characteristics were studied on 36 patients with respiratory diseases (30 cases of bronchial asthma, 3 cases of diffuse panbronchiolitis, 3 cases of allergic granulomatous angitis, and 1 case of bronchiectasia) who received spa therapy at Misasa Branch Hospital.
1. The results obtained in patients with bronchial asthma were as follows:
Serum IgE levels were generally low, and many cases with less than 301IU/ml were observed (185±184/ml in female patients and 469±532IU/ml in male patients). The rate of positive skin reactions to various allergens was low in these asthma cases. A rather low rate of positive skin reaction to house dust, in particular, was characteristic. In regard to the rate of releasing chemical mediators such as bistamine and leukotrienes from leukocytes stimulated by Ca ionophore A 23187, a wide variety of cases were observed (histamine, 3.4-51.1%; LT B₄ 9.8-119.8ng/10⁶ cell; LT C₄, 3.5-43.8ng/10⁶ cells). By analyzing cell components in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids (BALF), notable increase in the number of eosinophils were observed especially in male patients, although no other significant differences were shown between the two groups.
2. In those patients with respiratory diseases other than asthma, a remarkable increase in the number of neutrophils in BALF was seen in diffuse panbronchiolitis cases and a remarkable increase in the number of eosinophils in BALF was seen in the cases of allergic granulomatous angities. Serum IgE levels were low in both of these cases.

In order to establish signs in healthy subjects of pulses, tongue, and abdominal palpation determined by diagnostic techniques used in Kampo Medicine, we performed such diagnostic techniques in 71 subjects who had undergone a full physical examination and shown no abnormal signs from the viewpoint of western medicine. Pulses in men were often of medium depth, of medium speed, slightly large and substantive. There seemed to be at least two types of pulse in women, one was similar to the pulse signs found in men while the other was pulses of medium depth, of medium speed, small, and slightly deficient.
The tongue was pale pink, slightly damp, and slightly enlarged. The coating of the tongues was white or slightly white. Abdominal palpation often detected fullness, tenderness or discomfort of the hypochondrium (males and females), right paraumbilical tenderness (females), palpitation above the umbilicus (females), and softness below the umbilicus (males). A statistically significant difference between male and female subjects was noted in softness below the umbilicus which was more common in males, and in paraumbilical tenderness and palpitation above the umbilicus, which was more common in females. There was a significant correlation among signs of abdominal palpation.

Objective: This study quantitatively analyzes the factors causing dispensing errors in community pharmacies and explores the characteristics of these factors and their order of importance.
Design and Methods: We collected data records on the contents and causes of dispensing errors as reported between April and July 2009 by a total of 320 pharmacists at 56 stores of two pharmacy chains (15 stores in Hokkaido and 41 stores in the Kansai area).  We focused on the following three types of dispensing error: 1) “measurement error”, 2) “wrong drug dispensing error” and 3) “wrong dosage form specification error”.  We conducted multiple regression analyses and discriminant analyses with occurrence frequency of each type of error as dependent variables and count frequency of each causal factor as independent variables.
Results: The result of the multiple regression analyses indicated that the primary causes of the three types of errors in order of strength of the regression coefficients were as follows.  For “measurement error”: 1) pharmacist’s wrong assumption and 2) calculation error; for “wrong dosage form specification error”: 1) insufficient confirmation of prescription and 2) pharmacist’s wrong assumption; for “wrong drug dispensing error”: 1) pharmacist’s wrong assumption and 2) insufficient confirmation of prescription.  The results of the discriminant analysis indicated that only for the discriminant coefficient between “wrong dosage form specification error” and “wrong drug dispensing error” no significant difference in the mean was found (p=0.539).
Conclusions: Results show that partly different factors cause “measurement error” as compared with the two other types of dispensing errors.  In addition, while basically the same factors were found to cause “wrong drug dispensing error” and “wrong dosage form specification error,” there was a difference in the order of importance of these factors.  This study uncovered differences in terms of causal factors affecting each dispensing error type.

Introduction: We started the gender-specific clinic for women to provide sufficient treatment for female patients. The purpose of this study was to clarify the characteristics of patients using the gender-specific clinic for women, and to assess the association among depression, physical and mental subjective symptoms.Methods: This observational study included female patients aged 16-84 years who visited our clinic between June 2012 and December 2015 (N=97). In addition to general attributes, we collected data on physical and mental symptoms, and depression status using the Cornell Medical Index (CMI) and Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), respectively, at the first visit. We conducted analyses to assess patient characteristics and the association between subjective symptoms and depression, and between physical and mental symptoms by estimating odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).Results: The average age of subjects was 50.4 years. The average CMI score was 42.7 points and 55.9% of the subjects were suggested to be neurotic. The average SDS score was 45.0 points and 64.0% of them were suggested to be depressed. The association with depression by SDS was observed in subjective symptoms of CMI such as fatigue (OR [95%CI]: 7.66 [2.26-25.99], p-value: 0.001) and anxiety (OR [95%CI]: 11.73 [1.80-∞], p-value: 0.006). Physical symptoms in the cardiovascular system were positively association with some mental symptoms such as tension.Conclusion: As female patients often have mental symptoms, it is essential for doctors engaging in gender-specific medicine for women to approach patients while considering psychological and mental aspects.

Annual changes in age, age at onset, incidence of cases with steroiddependent intractable asthma, clinical asthma types and clinical efficacy rate were examined in 256 patients with chronic respiratory diseases, especially in 203 cases with bronchial asthma, admitted to Misasa Branch Hospital from 1982 to 1989.
1. A number of patients with respiratory diseases as well as asthmatics admitted each year, having spa therapy, increased from early year (1982) to later year (1989).
2. A number in cases with 40 year or over of age (also with 60 year or over of age) and cases with 40 year or over of age at onset showed a tendency to increase in later three years (1987-1989). A decreased frequency of cases with steroid-dependent asthma and of cases with type II (bronchiolar obstruction type) was observed in the later three years.
3. The clinical efficacy of spa therapy for bronchial asthma was Niger in the later three years than in early three years (1982-1984).