Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) is one of the important pathogens which cause antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) -diarrhea following antibiotic therapy. There are some reports of nosocomial outbreak of AAD caused by C. difficile.We analyzed risk factors and epidemiology of C. difficile-associated diarrhea (CAD) in Kumiai Hospital. From March 2003 to February 2004, 53 in patients developed AAD, of whom 35 patients (66%) were diagnosed as having CAD. Advanced age, bed-rest, tube-feeding, and prolonged administration of antibiotics were regarded as risk factors.In initial two months, seven cases developed CAD in one ward and five in another ward. After hand-washing and use of gloves were enforced in treating CAD patients, the incidence of CAD decreased. Epidemiological analysis was performed using PCR ribotyping of C. difficile strains recovered from 20 among 35 CAD cases in the different wards. Nineteen of 20 strains were identical, typed as the ribotype. These results may suggest nosocomial diarrhea but we cannot conclude that is a hospital infection as yet.Although all C. difficile strains recovered in this study were toxin A-positive, the result of the test using a toxin A detecting kit was negative in three cases. It is necessary toculture C. difficile in addition to detecting toxin A to diagnose CAD.
cytarabine/daunorubicin ; Carbon ion ; Diarrhea ; Clostridium difficile ; Toxins

A questionnaire study was carried out from September through December 1998 to clarify the sex distribution of professorships at Japanese medical schools. Sixty-four (1.7%) professors in 32 medical schools were women. Thirty-five female professors had graduated from national and prefectural medical schools, and 29 had graduated from private medical schools. Twenty professors had careers in basic medical research, 8 in public health, and 36 in clinical medicine. Forty-seven (73.4%) of 64 female professors responded to the mailed questionnaires, and 18 had been promoted in the last 5 years. Although more than half of the female professors faced disadvantages because of their gender, many were fully supported by their supervisors or their families or both. The number of female professors reflects the status of female medical doctors.

Oxidative stress is considered to contribute to degenerative disease. The urinary excretion of the DNA repair product 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) is proposed as a noninvasive biomarker of current oxidative stress in vivo. We investigated the effect of an antioxidant mixture on urinary 8-OHdG excretions in 12 otherwise healthy smokers. During the intervention period for 2 weeks, subjects consumed four capsules of PICACE^® (Pycnogenol^® 15 mg/capsule, Vitamin E; 56.1 mg/capsule, Squalene; 138.9 mg/capsule) per day. On days 0 (pre-internal use), 3, 7, 14, and 44, morning urine samples were collected. The urinary 8-OHdG was measured using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The urinary 8-OHdG level on day 3 was significantly reduced compared to day 0. The level of 8-OHdG after a washout period for PICACE^® (days 44) returned to day 0 baseline. These preliminary data suggest that PICACE^® supplements can protect smokers from oxidative stress and possibly reduce disease risk caused by free radicals associated with smoking.

Objective: To clarify factors related to emotional instability in spouses of cancer patients receiving palliative chemotherapy. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with spouses of cancer patients receiving palliative chemotherapy, and the obtained data were qualitatively and inductively analyzed. Results: Through analysis, 9 related factors were identified: “realizing the severity of the situation when receiving an explanation of the pathological condition”, “an unclear prognosis”, “fear of losing any treatments”, “being pressed for treatment-related decision-making”, “increased daily burdens by the care”, “collapse the visions of the family future”, “communication with medical professionals”,“candid dialogues with the patient”, and “relationships with others”. Conclusion: It may be important for nurses to help families of cancer patients realistically manage their situation without excessive confusion, even when they experience emotional instability, and spend meaningful time with patients as an outcome of treatment, with an understanding of these related factors on such emotional instability.