Objective: In hospitals, the most recent medical information paper delivered by the hospital pharmacy is essential for obtaining information about the newest therapies and/or avoiding adverse effects of medicines.  To improve the medical information paper (hereafter, Medical News), we investigated the dissemination of Medical News delivered monthly by the Pharmaceutical Department in Oami Hospital.
Methods: Questionnaires about Medical News were distributed to each occupational category working in Ohami Hospital, and collected during June and July 2010.
Results: Responses were obtained from 127, including 19 doctors (full-time and part-time).  Ninety (70.9%) knew about Medical News, and 75 (59.1%) had read it.  It was revealed that there were differences in the familiarity with to Medical News among job classifications, and articles described on the same Medical News.
Conclusion: It insufficient to satisfied to provide drug information as a one-way provision by Medical News; however, as there are differences in the information required for each job, it is difficult to deliver a large number of copies in the small-scale hospital.  Overlooking the most up-to-date information about medicine and medical devices can lead to serious problem.  We have to review the information and provide important and accurate drug information to the staff in our hospital.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of intraoperative autologous blood salvage during elective abdominal aortic aneurysm repair with Cell Saver 4 (Heamonetics Inc.). Fifty patients prospectively received intraoperative autologous transfusion (Group CS; n=50, 1991-94) and 25 received no intraoperative autologous transfusion (Group NCS; n=25, 1983-91). Only 7 patients in Group NCS received no homologous blood (28%), while 43 in Group CS received autologous blood transfusion (86%). There was no difference between the groups with respect to postoperative platelets counts or serum concentrations of total protein, albumin, BUN and LDH. We conclude that the use of the Cell Saver 4 reduces perioperative homologous blood during elective aortic aneurysm repair.

Acupuncture to Gaohuang carries a risk of causing pneumothorax because it reaches the lungs at deep portion. This study was designed to consider a safe depth for acupuncture to Gaohuang.
1) We inserted a needle to Gaohuang on both sides of a cadaver to examine the location of the needle tip and measure the distance from the body surface of the left Gaohuang to the pleura. The tip was located at the fifth intercostal region on both sides, and the distance was 44 mm with a rib thickness of 10 mm. 2) Using 104 students, we inserted a needle to the left Gaohuang until the tip reached the rib, and measured the distance between the bodysurface and rib. The minimal distance was 14 mm. 3) We inserted a needle to Gaohuang on both sides of two males and took CT-radiographs to examine the location of the needle tip and measure the distance from the body surface of Gaohuang to the pleura. In a man of standard body size, the needle reached the rib on the left and the intercostal region on the right. The thickness of the left rib was 10.9 mm, and the distance from body surface to pleura was 33.6 mm on the left and 28.4 mm on the right. In a man of thin body size, the needle reached the rib on both sides, with the rib thickness was 9.8 mm on the left and 8.8 mm on the right. The distance from body surface to pleura was 29.4 mm on the left and 31.8 mm on the right. The above results showed that needle insertion within 19 mm (the minimal value of the measured distance between the body surface and rib + the half thickness of the rib) is safe.

Six members of the Research Committee for the Meridian Point (former Committee for the Meridian Point) reported on three themes regarding meridian and acupuncture point at Workshop II of the 54th Science Rally of The Japan Society of Acupuncture and Moxibustion held in Fukuoka.
1st theme : Anatomical examination of the meridian and meridian point.
1) Anatomic structure showing path and meridian running. (Kenji Matsuoka) : Similarity of meridian pathway and course of nerve and blood vessels in cadaver.
2) Gross anatomical study of meridian and acupuncture point in upper limbs (Kansho Yamada) : Doctoral study of Katsuyosi Toyoda, former Nagoya City University School of Medicine researcher and Yamada's study (Relation between running of meridian & acupuncture point and subdermal nerve & blood vessels) were reported.
2nd theme : Study of acupuncture safety depth in Japan and China.
1) Research and progress situation of acupuncture safety depth in China. (WANG Cai Yuan) : Data of Yan Zhenguo, professor of anatomy at Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, an authority on the study of acupuncture safety depth and progress situation of recent study of acupuncture safety depth in China.
2) Retrospective study of acupuncture safety depth (Tomofumi Ozaki) : Study of acupuncture safety depth published by Ozaki to date and comparative study alongside Prof. Yan Zhenguo data.
3rd theme : Examination of clinical effect of a few meridian points.
1) Acupuncture clinical effect using a few meridian points (Syunji Sakaguchi) : Paper research and analysis of acupuncture clinical effects using 1-4 meridian points of Japana Centra Revuo Medicina.
2) Inflence on skin energizing current by various acupuncture stimulation of LI4 (Gokoku) (Kazuhiro Morikawa) : Influence on the amount of skin energizing current by acupuncture stimulation, direct current electricity stimulation and stimulation of electroacupuncture to LI4.

As an environmental risk factor, psychological stress may trigger the onset or accelerate the progression of Parkinson's disease (PD). Here, we evaluated the effects of acute restraint stress on striatal dopaminergic terminals and the brain metabolism of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), which has been widely used for creating a mouse model of PD. Exposure to 2 h of restraint stress immediately after injection of a low dose of MPTP caused a severe loss of striatal dopaminergic terminals as indicated by decreases in the dopamine transporter protein and dopamine levels compared with MPTP administration alone. Both striatal 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP) and MPTP concentrations were significantly increased by the application of restraint stress. Striatal monoamine oxidase-B, which catalyzes the oxidation of MPTP to MPP, was not changed by the restraint stress. Our results indicate that the enhanced striatal dopaminergic terminal loss in the stressed mice is associated with an increase in the transport of neurotoxin into the brain.
1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine ; metabolism ; 1-Methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ; metabolism ; Animals ; Corpus Striatum ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Disease Models, Animal ; Dopaminergic Neurons ; drug effects ; MPTP Poisoning ; chemically induced ; metabolism ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Neurotoxins ; metabolism ; Restraint, Physical ; Stress, Psychological ; metabolism

A 55-year-old woman with fever and consciousness disorder diagnosed as infective endocarditis was transported to our hospital. She had atopic dermatitis. A mobile vegetation at the mitral valve was revealed by the transesophageal echocardiography, and a computed tomography (CT) scan showed cerebral infarction, left renal infarction and suspected embolization of the vegetation. Streptococcus aureus was detected in the blood culture test. We conducted emergent surgery, mitral valve plasty was performed. On the second day after the operation, the hemoglobin began to decrease, and the hemodynamics became unstable. The contrast CT examination revealed arterial bleeding from the left kidney, which had an infarction before the operation. We performed emergent catheter liquid embolization for the superior polar branch of the left renal artery, and the hemodynamics improved thereafter. There has been no report of renal hemorrhage after cardiac surgery for infective endocarditis. This case reminded us that cardiac surgery for infective endocarditis may cause various complications of organs.

BACKGROUND: We investigated factors associated with prolonged viral clearance of SARS-CoV-2 among non-severe adult patients in Osaka, Japan. A total of 706 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients were enrolled in this longitudinal observational study between 29 January 2020 and 31 May 2020, across 62 hospitals and three non-hospital recuperation facilities. METHODS: Logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate the factors associated with prolonged (29 days: upper 25% in duration) viral clearance of SARS-CoV-2. Linear regression analysis was conducted to assess these factors 14 days after symptom onset. RESULTS: The median duration of viral clearance was 22 days from symptom onset. After adjustment for sex, age, symptoms, comorbidity, and location of recuperation, comorbidities were associated with prolonged duration: (OR, 1.77 [95% CI, 1.11-2.82]) for one, (OR, 2.47 [95% CI, 1.32-4.61]) for two or more comorbidities. Viral clearance 14 days after symptom onset was 3 days longer for one comorbidity and 4 days longer for two or more comorbidities compared to clearance when there was no comorbidity. CONCLUSION The presence of comorbidity was a robust factor associated with a longer duration of viral clearance, extending by 3 to 4 days compared to patients with no comorbidity.
Adult ; COVID-19 ; Humans ; Japan/epidemiology* ; RNA, Viral ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Virus Shedding