1.End of life care of persons with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in hospice
Shuichi Kato ; Eisuke Ozawa ; Munehiro Shimada ; Jun Kurokawa ; Takahito Nishida ; Yoshiko Kasahara ; Keiko Takahashi ; Tomoko Ashiya ; Yoshiko Sugasawa ; Mayuko Nomura
Palliative Care Research 2010;5(2):137-144
This article describes the end of life of seven people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) under the care of a hospice. The reasons for admission to hospice were for the management of distressing symptoms and the support of families who were unable to continue care at home because of the increased burden of care and/or illness of families. The sufferings experienced by the patients with ALS included disability due to muscle weakness(100%), pain(100%), discomfort (100%), dyspnea (71%), difficulties in communication (71%), drooling (43%), insomnia (43%), loneliness (43%), swallowing difficulties (28%), clenching the mucosa inside the cheek (28%), anxiety (28%), the perception of being a burden to the family (28%), and concerns as to why they had developed ALS (28%). Opioid medication was effective in the management of dyspnea, pain and discomfort. The results showed that special attention should be paid to frequent changing of the patient's position during nursing care, including the passive movement of joints and massage. The use of communication aids was essential to allow people with ALS to communicate effectively and, together with support of joy of the patients and family, the quality of life could be improved. End of life care within a hospice is a useful alternative option for persons with ALS, extending hospice care in Japan from people with advanced cancer to other disease groups. Palliat Care Res 2010; 5(2): 137-143
2.Achievements of a basic life support course taught by medical students
Kanta TANAKA ; Taichi SHUTO ; Bumpachi KAKII ; Kenji SANTO ; Ryoko SUNAKAWA ; Kenta OUE ; Michitaka NAKAMURA ; Satoshi NISHIURA ; Yoshimitsu KOMEMUSHI ; Erika YANAGIHARA ; Azusa KATSUNO ; Ikue NAGAYAMA ; Tomoko OZAWA ; Akihisa HANATANI ; Mina MORIMURA ; Kei TSUMURA ; Kazuhiro HIROHASHI
Medical Education 2010;41(2):111-114
1) Osaka City University Medical School provides basic life support courses in the Skills Simulation Center. Most instructors are members of the Life Support Club, a medical students' extracurricular activity.2) We investigated the numbers and opinions of participants(December 2006 through July 2008). The numbers of trainee and instructors were 1071 and 1223, respectively. The student instructors considered their activities worthwhile.3) The trainees highly appreciated the student instructors and showed that the effectiveness of training was excellent. Our results show that basic life support courses taught by medical students are beneficial for both trainees and student instructors.