Four patients with d-TGA after atrial switch operation were treated with transvenous DDD pacemaker implantation for their postoperative dysrhythmia; complete atrioventricular block (CAVB) in two, sinus bradycardia with grade I atrioventricular block in one after the Mustard procedure and CAVB with sick sinus syndrome after the Senning procedure in one. From an anatomical point of view, the left atrial appendage was the only suitable anchoring site for the atrial lead. The patency of this cavity should be assessed by echocardiography and/or angiography before implantation. As for the ventricular lead, active fixation is recommended because of the relatively smooth endocardial surface of morphological left ventricle. Otherwise, transvenous DDD pacemaker implantation for patients after atrial switch operation was safely performed without any technical difficulties and with few complications.

We administered daikenchuto to the patients having recurrent aspiration pneumonia with tube feeding, who had good responses. Case 1 : A 94-year-old-man with congestive heart failure suffering from recurrent aspiration pneumonia even after percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) placement : following daikenchuto administration, he did not suffer from pneumonia, and his general condition became stable. Case 2 : An 80-year-old-man suffering from severe pneumonia after PEG placement, and experiencing recurrent pneumonias after treatment with antibiotics:following daikenchuto administration, we did not find gastric contents in his oral cavity as before, and his general condition became stable. Case 3 : An 85-year-old-man with congestive heart failure and cerebral infarction also suffering from aspiration pneumonia : a nasogastric tube was placed, but he suffered from recurring pneumonias with tube feeding. After administering daikenchuto, he did not suffer from pneumonia and was discharged from the hospital. Case 4 : An 81-year-old-man with recurrent pneumonia and congestive heart failure : after treatment with antibiotics, we placed a PEG tube because of his severe anorexia caused by oral feeding difficulties. In order to prevent aspiration pneumonia, we administered daikenchuto prophylactically. He subsequently developed very little fever until his discharge to a nursing home.

Introduction : As one of the strategies for the introduction of collaborative drug therapy management (CDTM) into a community healthcare system in Japan, we constructed a ‘positive list’ which was agreed by a family physician in advance, and subsequently validated the effects on healthcare insurance fees, the number of prescription question and the changes of utilization rate for generic drugs.
Methods : The items that replaced prescription questions with regard to ex post facto approval were defined as ‘Resolved Questions’ in our constructed positive list. By adopting the ‘Resolved Questions’, we then examined the effect on healthcare insurance fees, prescription questions and the changes of utilization rates for generic drugs.
Results : Among all prescription questions accepted from January through May 2012 inclusive, 178 (22.7%) were ‘Resolved Questions’, without there being change in the therapeutic strategies by the prescribing physicians. During this period, 17,455 healthcare insurance fees were reduced. In addition, the utilization rate for generic drugs were increased up to 46.6%.
Conclusion : The reduction of healthcare insurance fees, prescription questions and the increased utilization rates of generic drugs were facilitated by prudent pharmacist judgements based on ‘Resolved Questions’.

We investigated the number of drugs and pharmaceutical cost among 159 patients prescribed Western medicine and hospitalized from August 2006 to August 2015 in the Department of Oriental (Kampo) Medicine at Chiba University Hospital. The number of drugs used in Western medicine among improved patients significantly decreased from 5.6 ± 3.6 at hospitalization to 5.3 ± 3.5 at discharge, but the number of Kampo medicine drugs was not changed. The total number of drugs including both Western medicine and Kampo medicine significantly decreased from 7.0 ± 3.8 to 6.7 ± 3.6. The number of drugs used in Western medicine among nochanged patients decreased from 5.1 ± 3.4 at hospitalization to 5.0 ± 3.7 at discharge, but the number of Kampo medicine drugs significantly increased from 1.0 ± 0.0 at hospitalization to 1.3 ± 0.5. The total number of drugs including both Western medicine and Kampo medicine increased from 6.1 ± 3.4 to 6.3 ± 3.9. We thus conclude that a combination of Kampo medicine with Western medicine can be useful for reducing the number of drugs related to polypharmacy. To achieve these results, it is essential to use the concept of sho (a way of pattern recognition of a patient's symptoms in Kampo medicine).

In this revision, we have attempted to align the Model Core Curriculum for Medical Education competency, "problem-solving ability based on specialized knowledge," with the "Standards of National Examination for Medical Practitioners." The major diseases and syndromes in "Essential Fundamentals" correspond to the basic diseases in Table 1 of the Core Curriculum, symptoms, physical and laboratory examinations, and treatment in "General Medicine" correspond to the items in Table 2 of the Core Curriculum, and the diseases in "Medical Theory" correspond to the diseases in PS-02 of the Core Curriculum. The validity of the diseases in the Core Curriculum was verified using the evaluation results of the examination level classification of the "Research for Revision of National Examination Criteria." Approximately 690 diseases were conclusively selected. This revision mentions the number of diseases in the Core Curriculum for the first time. Hopefully, this will lead to a deeper examination of diseases that should be studied in medical schools in the future.