In Kyoto, we held the first “Palliative care workshop for physicians engaged in clinical practice for cancer treatment” in Japan on June 7-8, 2008 under the directive of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. There were 163 participants in the workshop, including 56 physicians and 107 voluntarily participating healthcare professionals (77 nurses, 23 pharmacists and 7 other medical professionals). We analyzed the results of tests consisting of 25 questions classified into 7 categories based on their contents. Tests were administered before and after the workshop (pre-test and post-test), and the educational effects of our conference were evaluated by examining changes in test scores. Participants other than physicians, nurses and pharmacists were excluded from analysis of the test scores because comprehensive medical knowledge was required to solve the questions. The mean rates of correct answers on pre- and post-test were 87.9% for physicians (total 78.9%) and 94.6% for physicians (total 89.1%), respectively. The scores were markedly increased after the workshop, showing practical significance of our attempt. However, the percentage of correct answers regarding psychological symptoms was lowest for physicians as well as for other healthcare professionals on both pre- and post-test. These findings strongly suggest that the workshops produced a sufficient educational effect, but improvement in individual training systems is considered necessary, especially in fields related to psychological manifestations. Palliat Care Res 2010; 5(2): 152-161

Abstract
Objective : Laninamivir Octanoate (LO) is a novel anti-influenza drug administered by inhalation only once administration, and with a very simple dosage adjustment regimen. Conversely, inhalation might be expected to fail in some groups of patients, particularly the very young and very elderly because of poor inhalation technique. Therefore, we undertook a study to investigate the success and failure rates of the dry powder inhalation formulation of LO.
Methods : We observed 159 patients who were prescribed LO. Pharmacists observed the administration technique after explaining how to inhale the drug. Success was defined as patients who could inhale the drug without a problem. Failure was defined as those patients who were judged to have inhaled less than 75％ of the drug. We also examined the success rate between pharmacies and the success and failure rates according to age.
Results : A 4-years-old patient was the youngest to fail LO therapy whereas a 5-years-old patient was the youngest to succeeded with the therapy. The success rate did not differ significantly between pharmacies. The success rate was 88.9％ in patients under the age of 9 years, but which was significantly lower compared with 97.9％ in the group of patients over 10 years of age.
Conclusion : This survey revealed that many cases of inhalation failure of LO anti-influenza therapy occur below the age of 9 year.

A 53-year-old woman underwent mitral valve replacement for congestive heart failure due to mitral stenosis and regurgitation. She had been receiving hemodialysis because of diabetic nephropathy since 1993, and had had congestive heart failure since 1999. Echocardiography demonstrated mitral stenosis (MVA; 1.10cm²) and regurgitation with a severely calcified mitral annulus. Annular calcification extended to the posterior wall of the left ventricle and the base of bilateral papillary muscles. After removing all calcium from the mitral annulus to the base of the papillary muscle, the left ventricular posterior wall and mitral annulus were reconstructed by glutaraldehyde-preserved autologous pericardium. Then, a Carbo-Medics mechanical valve was placed at the mitral annulus using everting mattress sutures. Although her hemodynamics were stable, bacteremia and multi-organ failure developed 3 months after surgery and she died. Autopsy showed that the reconstructed left ventricular posterior wall and mitral annulus using glutaraldehyde preserved autologous pericardium were in excellent condition without any thrombus. No dehiscence was found at the suture line of the mechanical valve. Mitral annulus reconstruction with glutaraldehyde preserved autologous pericardium is thought to be effective for patients with calcified mitral annulus who require mitral valve surgery.

1) All students but 1 correctly typed the ABO blood groups, but only 33.2% of students and 63.9% of physicians properly performed cross-matching.
2) Most failures in cross-matching were due to the inability to detect allogeneic antibodies, but 5.2% of students and 2.9% of physicians failed to detect ABO mismatching.
3) Although laboratory practice is suggested to help students to solidify knowledge and comprehend principles, achieving an official goal of residency - gaining competence in performing and interpreting cross-matching independently - appeared difficult.

OBJECTIVE: Galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) activates the vestibular afferents, and these changes in vestibular input exert a strong influence on the subject's posture or standing balance. In patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), vestibular dysfunction might contribute to postural instability and gait disorders. METHODS: Current intensity was increased to 0.7 mA, and the current was applied to the patients for 20 minutes. To perform a sham stimulation, the current intensity was increased as described and then decreased to 0 mA over the course of 10 seconds. The patient's status was recorded continuously for 20 minutes with the patient in the supine position. RESULTS: Three out of 5 patients diagnosed with PD with postural instability and/or abnormal axial posture showed a reduction in postural instability after GVS. The score for item 12 of the revised Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale part 3 was decreased in these patients. CONCLUSIONS: The mechanism of postural instability is complex and not completely understood. In 2 out of the 5 patients, postural instability was not changed in response to GVS. Nonetheless, the GVS-induced change in postural instability for 3 patients in our study suggests that GVS might be a therapeutic option for postural instability.
Gait ; Humans ; Parkinson Disease* ; Posture ; Supine Position

We present a 47-year-old right-handed woman with a 15-year history of writer's cramp who was provided with six sessions of cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) combined with observation of writing actions performed by a healthy subject and electromyographic (EMG) biofeedback training to decrease EMG activities in her right forehand muscles while writing for 30 min for 4 weeks. She showed improvement in dystonic posture and writing speed after the intervention. The writing movement and writing speed scores on a writer's cramp rating scale decreased, along with writing time. Our findings demonstrated that cathodal tDCS combined with action observation and EMG biofeedback training might improve dystonic writing movements in a patient with writer's cramp.
Biofeedback, Psychology ; Dystonic Disorders ; Female ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Muscles ; Posture ; Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation ; Writing

Background: Dual SC screw (DSCS) is a unique concept internal fixation device consisting of a sliding screw and barrel assembly that enables compression force to be applied to the femoral neck fracture side. There are two types of barrels: a thread barrel and a plate barrel that has a one-holed side plate to prevent varus deformity. We report clinical results of the application of a DSCS with combined use of a thread barrel screw as an anti-rotational screw and a plate barrel screw as a compression hip screw. Methods: We used DSCS for femoral neck fractures in 196 hip joints of 190 patients between November 2005 and June 2017. Among them, 70 hips in 66 patients (13 men and 53 women; mean age, 73.2 years) were followed up for at least 24 months. There were 53 nondisplaced fractures (Garden’s classification stage 1 or 2) and 17 displaced fractures (stage 3 or 4). We evaluated the postoperative walking ability of the patients who were followed up for at least 24 months and examined details of all complications. Results: The mean follow-up period was 37.4 months (range, 24–144 months). Forty-two (64%) out of the 66 patients who were followed up for at least 2 years were able to walk independently with or without a cane. The incidence of complications was 11.5% in nondisplaced fractures and 17.5% in displaced fractures, and arthroplasty was required in 5.8% and 5.0%, respectively. The most frequent complication was secondary displacement including cutout and shortening of the femoral neck, but no implants showed varus displacement. Conclusions The application of DSCS for the treatment of femoral neck fractures had satisfactory results. The complication rate was low, and there was no postoperative varus displacement of DSCS in either displaced or nondisplaced fractures. We suggest DSCS is a reliable option for both displaced and nondisplaced femoral neck fractures.

To reduce the stress on the medial tibial cortex and to decrease the risk of fracture, a varus cut of the tibia appears to be a reasonable alternative to the orthogonal cut by conventional methods. We present a new instrument and procedure, which enables a varus tibial cut for Oxford unicompartmental knee arthroplasty. We used a custom-made, slidable fixator instead of the standard fixator to set the extramedullary rod on the leg. We also made a numeric formula and a chart to arrange the varus cutting angle using the length of the mediolateral shift of the distal end and the longitudinal extension length of the extramedullary tibial rod. A varus cut up to 4.5° can be controlled. This technique is a simple and useful means of obtaining a varus tibial cut for Oxford unicompartmental knee arthroplasty.

Health support activities for residents were held three times during a period from June, 2016 to November, 2017. The residents registered in order to participate through 11 community pharmacies. Participant’s blood pressure values were measured at the venue of health support activities by pharmacists. The blood pressure values in 66 of the 106 participants were analyzed, excluding 40 participants receiving medical treatment. The rate of participants with hypertension, systolic blood pressure (SBP)≧140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure (DBP)≧90 mmHg, was 32% (21／66). Of those with hypertension, 43% (9／21) had hypertension of a high risk level, SBP≧160 mmHg or DBP≧100 mmHg. Pharmacists provided lifestyle counseling and encouraged them to make changes in order to achieve tighter blood pressure control. The data of their blood pressure values were provided to community pharmacies for continuing support of their blood pressure control. With the pharmacist’s support, the median value of blood pressure of participants who had hypertension decreased in the second event. In addition, 50% (3／6) of participants who attended the second event with hypertension of high risk level, visited the hospital for a consultation with a doctor after getting pharmacist’s advice. These results indicate that greater access to community pharmacists improved blood pressure control of residents with hypertension. However, there were many residents who consider it difficult to use pharmacies without a prescription. Hence, friendly relationship to residents on their utilizing pharmacies is needed for providing them lifestyle counseling such as preventing hypertension by pharmacists.

As a screening tool for detecting latent pre-locomotive syndrome (latent pre-LS) in women over the age of 40, measuring handgrip strength with a cut-off value of 26 kg was proposed in a previous report. However, this screening method missed 22% of latent pre-LS. It would be beneficial to screen almost persons with latent pre-LS in community pharmacies. In this study, it was investigated whether screening using the combination of measuring handgrip strength and the questionnaire, “Loco-check,” which was proposed by the Japanese Orthopaedic Association, improved the detection of latent pre-LS in the same group mentioned above. Combining only one of the “Loco-check” questions, “I cannot put on a pair of socks while standing on one leg,” with the measurement of handgrip strength with the cut-off value of 26 kg, the detection of latent pre-LS was increased to 90.2%. The odds ratio was 9.72 in logistic regression analysis. Using the combination of the measurement of handgrip strength and the response to one question is both rapid and convenient. Therefore, in this study, this screening combination is proposed to be a useful tool in community pharmacies for detecting early latent pre-LS.