Acpuncture for infants consists mainly of skin stimulation, thus treatment is very different from that used for adults employing standard acupuncture techniques. Such traditional acupuncture treatment for infants is still popular in the Kansai area, and has been in use since the Edo Era (1600-1868).
In this report, the authors aualyze the social background, main complaints and accompanying symptoms of infants receiving acupuncture treatment.
Of the infants receiving treatment at the acupuncture clinic affiliated with this school, the majority (88.5%) lived within a 15km radius.
The conditions that the infants suffered from were night waking, screaming and other nervous symptoms. Relatives of the patients recommended acupuncture treatment, and in most cases it was the grandparents.
It was suggested that acupuncture treatment was regarded as a common and familiar treatment for maintaining health in infants in the Kansai area of Japan. Thus, it was thought that the popularity of acupuncture for infants in this region could be somewhat attributed to local custom.

The relationship between coldness of the hands and feet (“Hiesho”) and Blood Stagnation (“Oketsu”), a disorder description unique to Oriental Medicine, was examined using the Oketsu score of five Hiesho cases based on the Terasawa Oketsu Diagnostic Criteria. The effects of acupuncture treatment were studied by evaluating Oketsu symptoms and accompanying complaints, the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and subjective evaluation of coldness of the hands and feet.
The results were as follows:
1) 100% of the five females with Hiesho were also positive for the Oketsu factor.
2) The Oketsu score showed a significant decrease (P<0.05) upon treatment with acupuncture.
3) An improvement in subjective Hiesho symptoms (VAS) was seen in three of the five cases upon acupuncture treatment.
4) It was suggested that the subjective improvement in Hiesho symptoms, i. e., coldness of the hands and feet, was related to the disappearance of the resistance and pain upon pressure in the ileocecal region that is characteristic of Oketsu, and the improvement in menstrual disorders.

A study was made of the suitability of acupuncture for neuropathies. The present case of polyneuropathy showed decreased vibratory sense as well as other disturbed sensory functions which were not improved by medication. The Kampo diagnosis of this case was determined to be deficient qi and blood, and deficient qi with stagnated blood. The treatment indicated by this diagnosis was harmonizing the qi and blood, and unblocking the meridians. Such disorders with other complaints were improved by acupuncture and medication.
The case study presented here indicated how acupuncture could be used for certain neuropathies.

Objectives

  The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of healthcare providers regarding the utilization of oxytocin for induction or augmentation of labor.

Methods

  A qualitative study composed of direct observation and individual interview was conducted at a national tertiary maternity hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in January and February 2013. The progress of labor in women who received oxytocin for induction or augmentation of labor was directly observed to confirm the healthcare providers’ management of oxytocin infusion. The attending doctors and midwives were individually interviewed after the women delivered.

Results

  During the study period, 10 women were observed, and 12 healthcare providers (three doctors and nine midwives) were interviewed individually. Indications for labor induction or augmentation seemed to be appropriate for nine women. However, we found discrepancies between the national protocol and healthcare providers’ knowledge and actual practices. For example, 11 healthcare providers had never read the national protocol for the management of labor induction and augmentation, which implied limited access to the correct knowledge. A misconception was noted in that the sudden increase of oxytocin was not dangerous during the second stage of labor, despite the establishment of a good contraction pattern. Furthermore, a lack of unified initial dose and extremely high maximum dose above that recommended by the national protocol were observed. About half of observed women were not monitored for more than 2 hours from the beginning of oxytocin infusion.

Conclusion

  　In the present study, lack of knowledge, misconceptions regarding the management of oxytocin infusion, and a large gap between the national protocol and the actual clinical practices were confirmed. To maximize patient safety and therapeutic benefit, dissemination of the national protocol through in-service training is required.