Objective: To quantitatively investigate the history of medical pharmacy research by pharmacists in Japan, original article titles from the Japanese Journal of Pharmaceutical Health Care and Sciences (Jpn J Pharm Health Care Sci) and the Journal of Japanese Society of Hospital Pharmacists (JJSHP) were analyzed by text-mining.
Method: The titles of all original articles (2,611 and 2,260 articles) published in Jpn J Pharm Health Care Sci and JJSHP between 1975 and 2009 were collected from article databases and analyzed using KH Coder, the free software for quantitative text analysis of the Japanese language.  KH Coder extracts basic text information data by counting the occurrence rate of certain words.  Article titles were assigned to nine research categories according to coding rules, and the categorization results were analyzed quantitatively.
Results: Between 1975 and 1989, “pharmaceutical investigation” was the major area of research in the Jpn J Pharm Health Care Sci.  Articles assigned to the category “drug therapy” gradually increased through the 1990s and, since 2000, “drug therapy” has dominated medical pharmacy research.  In the JJSHP between 1975 and 2004, no characteristic research area was found, and mainly research articles directly related to pharmacist practice were published.  However, from 2005 to 2009, articles assigned to the “drug therapy” category accounted for 34% of all published articles making “drug therapy” the major research area in the JJSHP.  Thus, in recent years, there is no obvious difference in research areas between the two journals.
Conclusion: Our analyses suggest that drug therapy research is now at the center of medical pharmacy research by pharmacists in Japan.

Objective: To examine the signal of gastrointestinal tract injury induced by aspirin and other drugs, we analyzed the US FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS).
Methods: After deleting duplicate submissions, we analyzed the reports involving gastrointestinal tract injury associated with aspirin, H2-receptor antagonists (H2RAs), proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), ACE inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs), and antiplatelet and antithrombotic drugs.  The reporting odds ratio (ROR), a recognized pharmacovigilance tool, was used for the quantitative detection of signals.
Results: Based on 29,017,485 co-occurrences, i.e., drug-adverse event pairs, found in 1,645,605 reports from 2004 to 2009, the ROR-associated gastrointestinal tract injury for aspirin alone, aspirin with H2RAs, aspirin with PPIs, aspirin with ACE inhibitors, aspirin with ARBs, and aspirin with antiplatelet and antithrombotic drugs were 2.88, 1.42, 1.46, 1.00, 1.05, and 2.98-8.26, respectively.  The following summarizes the types of listed reports: 86 reports described the daily aspirin doses, and 36/86 were between 75 and 100 mg; 343 reports described the periods between the start-date for aspirin and the date when gastrointestinal tract injury occurred, of which 128/343 were within one month while 215/343 were over one month; additionally, 78 reports described the total cumulative doses of aspirin, and 17/78 were between 1 and 5 g.
Conclusion: The data suggest that H2RAs, PPIs, ACE inhibitors, and ARBs may reduce gastrointestinal tract injury associated with aspirin in possibility.

The expansion of home medical care and the growth in sales of OTC, coupled with Japan’s aging society and the need to reduce medical costs has broadened the role of the pharmacist to include physical assessment. In response, the Kindai University Faculty of Pharmacy, implemented the Physical Assessment Practical Training Course (PAPTC) to improve the physical assessment skills of pharmacy students and practicing pharmacists. In order to investigate pharmacy students’ and practicing pharmacists’ perceptions of PAPTC, a questionnaire using a five-part, forced- choice Lykert type scale was conducted. The results of the questionnaire were analyzed using factor analysis and cluster analysis. The total number of respondents was 456. Three hundred thirteen of the respondents were students, and 143 of the respondents were practicing pharmacists. Factor analysis revealed four factors which we titled, “Physical Assessment Skills”, “Physical Assessment Course”, “Pharmacist Jobs” and, “Knowledge Required by Pharmacist”. Subsequently, cluster analysis identified two distinct groups. Group A which constituted primarily of pharmacy students, and Group B which consisted primarily of practicing pharmacists. Each group displayed notable differences in perceptions related to PAPTC. These differences may be influenced by perceptions toward “skills” and/or “knowledge”. These findings suggest that in order to better address the motivational needs of the participants, PAPTC should be divided into two courses. One, for knowledge-based instruction, and other for skill-based practice.

The expansion of home medical care and the growth in sales of OTC, coupled with Japan’s aging society and the need to reduce medical costs has broadened the role of the pharmacist to include physical assessment. In response, the Kindai University Faculty of Pharmacy, implemented the Physical Assessment Practical Training Course (PAPTC) to improve the physical assessment skills of pharmacy students and practicing pharmacists. In order to investigate pharmacy students’ and practicing pharmacists’ perceptions of PAPTC, a questionnaire using a five-part, forced- choice Lykert type scale was conducted. The results of the questionnaire were analyzed using factor analysis and cluster analysis. The total number of respondents was 456. Three hundred thirteen of the respondents were students, and 143 of the respondents were practicing pharmacists. Factor analysis revealed four factors which we titled, “Physical Assessment Skills”, “Physical Assessment Course”, “Pharmacist Jobs” and, “Knowledge Required by Pharmacist”. Subsequently, cluster analysis identified two distinct groups. Group A which constituted primarily of pharmacy students, and Group B which consisted primarily of practicing pharmacists. Each group displayed notable differences in perceptions related to PAPTC. These differences may be influenced by perceptions toward “skills” and/or “knowledge”. These findings suggest that in order to better address the motivational needs of the participants, PAPTC should be divided into two courses. One, for knowledge-based instruction, and other for skill-based practice.