No abstract available.
Humans ; Japan

Objective: To clarify how and when Japanese family physicians assess families in their daily practice.Methods: Participants were Japanese family physicians with over one year of experience of full-time work in their clinics, and who were able to join the focus group discussions (FGD) and member checking. The study employed a qualitative research design with semi-structured FGD. Two analysts examined video recordings of the FGD, and the results were verified through member checking and the checking by external members.Results: Physicians assessed families naturally while examining patients for common cold, during vaccination, and during registration in the Japanese care insurance system.Additionally, the physicians assessed the families when they observed or suspected something strange regarding the patient and/or the family.Families were assessed based on how they spent their time during special Japanese events that the family members attended together (e.g., Bon festival or Japanese style New Year holidays), the patient's illness behavior in non-reserved outpatient clinics, and their communication patterns. Furthermore, the family photograph technique for family therapy was also used for assessment.Conclusion: Participants utilized skills of family therapy such as communication patterns and family photographs. They also employed unique skills such as assessment of the families' sharing time during traditional events, assessment of the patient's illness behavior, and general assessments regarding the Japanese care insurance system.

We performed endovascular stent grafting of a perforated descending aorta, caused by empyema after surgery for lung cancer, in a 75-year-old man. After diagnosing hemorrhage from a perforation of the proximal descending aorta, caused by left empyema, the perforation was repaired with a saphenous vein patch and a pectoralis major muscle flap. However, re-hemorrhage from the same lesion occurred 2 months postoperatively. Temporary hemostasis was achieved with gauze packing and he was transferred to our hospital for endovascular stent grafting. The infection did not resolve after fenestration, so the descending aorta was cropped out to the fenestration lesion. Therefore, endovascular stent grafting was performed on the same day. Postoperatively the bleeding stopped completely without any signs of graft infection, and he was transferred to another hospital on postoperative day 9. No re-hemorrhage or graft infection of the aortic perforative lesion occurred in the early postoperative period. However, the patient died of massive bleeding from the aorta wall of the proximal stump of the stent graft, caused by recurrence of the infection 2 months after the 2nd operation. In this situation, endovascular scent grafting provides the only chance of saving the patient's life. If endovascular stent grafting is performed as a lifesaving procedure, meticulous operative technique is imperative.

Objective: To clarify the involvement of Japanese family physicians with patients and their families in their daily practice.Methods: Participants were Japanese family physicians with over one year of experience of full-time work in their clinics, and who were able to join the focus group discussions (FGD) and member checks. The study employed a qualitative research design with semi-structured FGD. Two analysts examined video recordings of the FGD, and the results were verified through member checks and external checks.Results: Eight physicians participated at first, but five of them dropped out because of job commitments or death. The involvement by Japanese family physicians consisted of three stages. The first stage was "the approach of repeated hypothesis testing and normalizing" as safety interventions. The second stage was "reevaluation of the family" utilizing family genograms, family conferences, and others. After exhausting all other efforts, they engaged in "accepting the one who comes to them" in collaboration with the patient and families. The outcomes included awareness of patients, their smiles due to feeling accepted, and their expressed emotions. They did not explicitly boast that they were able to engage with family members. In addition, they also needed case studies of instances of "failure." Conclusion: Japanese family physicians engaged in three-stage involvement with families.

During the period between January 1975 and April 1991, 37 patients with acute arterial occulusion of the extremities were admitted to our department and were classified into 2 groups according to their causative factors, including thrombosis and embolism. Among 16 thrombosis patients with involvement of 17 limbs, 4 patients died and 6 limbs were amputated at the time of discharge. On the contrary, among 21 embolism patients with involvement of 25 limbs, 2 patients died and only one limb was amputated. Sixteen of 17 limbs with thrombosis were operated on. Arterial reconstruction was carried out initially on 5 limbs, resulting in successful limb salvage; 3 of 6 limbs which had undergone thrombectomy initially were occluded again soon after the procedure. In the end, 1 limb had to be amputated. On the other hand, 22 of 25 limbs were operated on. Three arterial reconstructions, 18 embolectomies and 1 amputation were carried out initially. All arterial reconstructions and embolectomies were successful. From these results, it was concluded that arterial reconstruction must be done initially for thrombosis patients. For the embolism patients, embolectomy is preferable.

Changes of hemodynamics and chemical mediators before and after aortic clamping were investigated in 12 patients who underwent infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysmectomy. Patients were divided into two groups; one with an aortic clamping time greater than 1 hour (the long group) and the other with aortic clamping time less than 1 hour (the short group). Cardiac output, mean pulmonary arterial pressure (MPAP), extravascular thermal volume (ETV), polymorphonuclear elastase (PMN-E), α₁ trypsin inhibitor (α₁-TI) superoxide dismutase (SOD), urine N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), were measured before and immediately after aortic clamping, immediately after, 1 and 4 hours after aortic declamping. In addition, serum GOT, GPT, creatinine and BUN were measured before and 1, 3 and 7 day after operation. These levels were expressed as ratios of the level before aortic clamping and operation. The MPAP ratio immediately after aortic clamping was 0.83±0.06 in the long group and 0.99±0.08 in the short group. There was statistical significant difference in the MPAP between both groups (p<0.01). In contrast, there was no significant difference in the cardiac output or ETV between the two groups. The PMN-E ratio immediately after aortic declamping was 2.24±0.81 in the long group and 1.19±0.45 in the short group. These ratios increased at 1 and 4 hours after aortic declamping. The PMN-E ratio following aortic clamping in the long group was greater than those in the short group (p<0.05). The SOD at 1 hour after aortic declamping was 0.78±0.13 in the long group and 1.01±0.11 in the short group (p<0.05). The NAG ratio immediately and at 1 hour after aortic declamping was significantly higher in the long group when compared with the short group (p<0.01, 0.1). Serum GOT, GPT, creatinine and BUN ratios showed no change through out this study. There was an increase in protease and a decrease of free radical scavengers in the long group. These findings are commonly known to be linked with organ damage. Through the findings of this study, we suggest that clamping time should be minimized; thus reducing the possible chance of postoperative organ damage.

The degree of intermittent claudication is difficult to evaluate objectively; therefore, the therapeutic efficiency of a drug is difficult to test in patients suffering from intermittent claudication. The purpose of this paper is to know whether treadmill test is useful to evaluate objectively the degree of intermittent claudication. 20 patients suffering from a peripheral arterial occlusive disease with intermittent claudication (Stage II) were investigated. PGE₁ incorporated in lipid microspheres (Lipo PGE₁) was infused (10μg/day) with one shot on 7 consecutive days into the forearm vein of patients. Painfree walking distance and maximum walking distance were measured on treadmill (3.0km/h, 5% incline). Brachial systolic pressure and ankle pressures were measured before and after exercise, and ankle/arm pressure ratio and ankle pressure difference between the pre-exercise and post-exercise values were calculated. All measurements were performed before and 7 days after beginning of treatment. Painfree walking distance was prolonged from 72.5±41.4m before treatment to 92.0±53.7m after treatment, with significant difference (p<0.01). However, no significant changes of ankle/arm pressure ratio, ankle pressure difference and maximum walking distance were observed. It is concluded that measurement of painfree walking distance on treadmill was useful to evaluate objectively the degree of intermittent claudication.