Objective: To examine how best to provide information on over-the-counter (OTC) drugs in the future, the Japan Self-Medication Industry (JSMI) conducted an online survey on public attitudes toward changes in the system for controlling the sales of OTC drugs specified by the revised Pharmaceutical Affairs Act effective since June 2009.
Methods: A secure web-based questionnaire system was developed and linked to the JSMI website.  The survey was conducted between July 17 and August 31, 2009.
Results: Of the 4,257 people who responded to the questionnaire, 56.8% indicated they understood the provisions of the revised Pharmaceutical Affairs Act.  More than half of the responders had positive opinions of the revision.  They welcomed the improvement in convenience resulting from the availability of drugs at convenience stores, but “Druggists,” who are responsible for sales of the drugs, were not sufficiently represented among responders.  It was inferred that the general public feels that they should be able to purchase OTC drugs for self-medication after receiving sufficient information about the drugs from qualified sources.

A 74-year-old woman visited our hospital complaining of pain in the left lower quadrant of the abdomen. Physical examination revealed tenderness to palpation without peritoneal signs. Blood test results showed elevated inflammatory response. Both ultrasonography and computed tomography revealed an intra-abdominal abscess containing a foreign body (fish bone) immediately below the left inferior abdominal wall. Lower gastrointestinal endoscopy conducted under fluoroscopic guidance revealed no intraluminal lesion in the colon adjacent to the abscess, and contrast examination also revealed no communication between the colon and the abscess. Fasting and administration of antibiotics did not improve the symptoms. We planned surgical procedure. Partial resection of the sigmoid colon was performed because of the presence of strong adhesions between the colonic wall and abscess. The postoperative course was uneventful, and the patient was discharged on hospital day 12. Histological examination of the resected specimen showed chronic abscess formation, but no communication between the intestinal tract and abscess. Onset was thought to be chronic in this case, because of uncertainty about the history of ingestion of fish bone and failure to verify any communication with the intestinal tract.