Background
  Dementia is defined as a decline in cognition or behavior in one or more of the following areas: memory, social-interpersonal behaviors etc. It is regarded differently depending on the society of each country. To compare the effect that it has on Japanese society, we started research in Nepal.
Methods
  We asked Medical doctors and nurses in remote areas and the capital city in Nepal about their awareness of dementia. We also examined the elderly in communities and hospitals, using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Hasegawa Dementia Scale Revised (HDS-R), and asked family members about the elderly’s daily life and checked Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR).
Results
  Three out of six medical staff members in remote areas did not know the word “dementia.” However, most medical staff had seen cases of suspected dementia. The averages and deviations of MMSE and HDS-R in 6 elderly in community were 16±4.2 and 17±5.0, respectively. The average of CDR was 0.9.
Conclusions
  There was a lack of awareness about dementia in remote areas. Nepali society was found to be tolerant of aging and dementia.

Out of 104 patients with perimembranous or infundibular-isolated ventricular septal defect (VSD), causative factors of Prol and AR, and the operative indication were studied in 17 with prolapse of the aortic cusp (Prol) and 10 with aortic valve regurgitation (AR). The left to right shunt ratio and the size of VSD were smaller in patients with Prol or AR than in those with the normal aortic cusp, suggesting that hemodynamics might take part in the cause of Prol or AR. Twenty-two patients underwent VSD closure only, four valvuloplasty and one aortic valve replacement. Residual AR was occurred in three out of ten patients. After surgery, AR was disappeared in six out of seven patients with the first grade preoperative AR, but AR remained in all two patients with the second grade preoperative AR. Careful preoperative observation and early operation before the appearance of AR are the important factors for avoiding residual regurgitation after aortic valvuloplasty.

A 50-year-old man was diagnosed as having aortic valve insufficiency, complete occlusion of the right coronary artery and 75% stenosis of the left main trunk due to syphilitic aortitis. Aortic valve replacement and coronary artery bypass grafting to three vessels were successfully performed. The selection of surgical procedures for the coronary lesion with syphilitic aortitis should be made carefully, since the progression of aortic root inflammation in the acute phase and the development of atherosclerotic changes are not preventable in the future. It is most important to select effective and safe surgical interventions, especially for patients with such a low cardiac function as our patient.

Surgical interventions for aorto-iliac obstructive diseases were studied through the operative results. Eighteen patients underwent aorto-femeral bypass (AOF) and 23 who were over 70 years of age or who had serious preoperative complications had axillofemoral bypass (AXF). No perioperative death occurred in AOF patients, while the mortality rate of AXF patients was 8%. Postoperative ankle pressure indexes were significantly higher in AOF patients than in AXF patients. Follow-up graft patency rate was 100% in AOF patients at 54 months (mean), and 85% in AXF patients at 44 months respectively. AOF should be the first choice for patients with aorto-iliac obstructive disease, and AXF is suitable only for high-risk patients.

In a consecutive series of abdominal aortic aneurysm repairs, a non-washing autotransfusion unit system was used in 47 patients, and was not used in 25. In the 47 patients treated with the autotransfusion unit, the average amount of autotransfused blood was 1, 109±131ml in elective cases. The amount of banked blood transfusion was significantly smaller in autotransfused patients (mean; 712ml), compared to non-autotransfused patients (mean; 1, 405ml). Postoperative levels of serum bilirubin were higher in patients with greater autotransfused blood volumes than those with smaller volumes. The combination of preoperative autologous blood donation (2-3 units) and intraoperative autotransfusion is necessary to perform abdominal aortic aneurysm repair without homologous blood transfusion.

A 51-year-old woman, who had undergone mitral valve replacement with the Starr-Edwards ball valve 21 years ago, was hospitalized with cardiac failure. Preoperative cineangiograms showed delay of the ball movement during the early diastolic phase. Re-replacement of the mitral prosthetic valve with a CarboMedics prosthetic valve and tricuspid annuloplasty was successfully performed. The postoperative period after the initial implantation of the Starr-Edwards ball valve is the longest among patients reported in Japan. The cause of prosthetic valve insufficiency may have been granulomatous hyperplasia on the valve seat.

The purpose of this study is to clarify the current state of nursing for the sexuality of patients with cancer at the end-of-life. In December 2018, we asked 313 nurses from 18 palliative care units in Kanagawa Prefecture about their awareness, feelings, and behavioral intentions and hands-on experience for the environment in which patients with cancer nurture love with their partners at the end-of-life. The collection rate of the questionnaire was 52.7% (165 cases). Eighty-two nurses (49.7%) had experience supporting the environment in which patients with cancer nurture love with their partners at the end-of-life. The contents of the support were “Recommend physical contact”, “Listening”, “Recommend hug”, and “Take sufficient time when entering the room, such as waiting for a reply after knocking or calling out”. Meanwhile, at ward conferences, only 11 (6.7%) had talked about the environment in which patients with cancer nurture love with their partners at the end-of-life. It has been suggested that, at present, support for the environment in which patients with cancer nurture love with their partners at the end-of-life is left to individuals and not systematically.