First and 2nd-year medical students participated as standardized patients in practice for the medical interview. This practice was effective both for students playing doctors for learning medical communication skill and for students playing as a patients for allowing them to understand the patient's situation.

Practice in medical interviewing was held for 5th-and 6th-year medical students during their clinical clerkships. The purpose of the program was to acquire interviewing skills, to communicate with patients by considering the patient's point of view, and to obtain proper medical information. Communication skills and patients' medical problems were discussed after the interview. Students had difficulty obtaining appropriate medical information considering the patients' point of view. They professed an interest in communication skills and relationships between patients and doctors, but their concern after interview practice apparently shifted to collecting medical information and to their lack of knowledge essential for diagnosis. Students were satisfied with this training program and believed it was useful. Practice in medical interviewing in the last years of medical school is effective for teaching communication skills and for obtaining appropriate medical information.

BACKGROUND: To improve postoperative outcomes associated with interstitial pneumonia (IP) in patients with lung cancer, the management of the postoperative a cute exacerbation of IP (PAEIP) was investigated. METHODS: Patients with primary lung cancer were considered to be at risk for PAEIP (possible PAEIP) based on a preoperative evaluation. The early phase of this study was from January 2001 to December 2008, and the late phase was from January 2009 to December 2014. In the early phase, chest computed tomography (CT) was performed for patients for whom PAEIP was suspected based on their symptoms, whereas in the late phase, chest CT was routinely performed within a few days postoperatively. The numbers of possible PAEIP cases, actual PAEIP cases, and deaths within 90 days due to PAEIP were compared between both phases. RESULTS: In the early and late phases, surgery was performed in 712 and 617 patients, 31 and 72 possible PAEIP cases were observed, nine and 12 actual PAEIP cases occurred, and the mean interval from the detection of PAEIP to starting treatment was 7.3±2.3 and 5.0±1.8 days, respectively. Five patients died in the early phase, and one patient died in the late phase. Significantly fewer PAEIP-related deaths were observed in the late phase (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Identifying patients at risk for PAEIP by routine postoperative CT examinations led to the early diagnosis and treatment of PAEIP, resulting in the reduction of PAEIP-related mortality.
Early Diagnosis ; Humans ; Lung Diseases, Interstitial* ; Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung* ; Mortality ; Thorax* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Herein, we report a case of a 49-year-old man with a history of bilateral hemiplegia caused by severe traumatic brain injury. During his stay in the convalescent rehabilitation hospital, he developed a flexion deformity of the 4th and 5th fingers of his right hand. Elbow palpation and ultrasonography showed that the ulnar nerve was dislocated from the elbow canal, and a nerve conduction study revealed that the conduction velocity was low in the right elbow. Thus, a diagnosis of cubital tunnel syndrome was made and an ulnar nerve transfer was performed to prevent progression. Prior to onset, an over-table had been used by the patient for daily activities such as sitting, training, and eating. Therefore, it was considered that the repeated use of the over-table plausibly exerted pressure on the dislocated ulnar nerve, leading to the onset of the cubital tunnel syndrome.As over-tables and wheelchair armrests are often used during rehabilitation, it is imperative to pay attention to elbow compression when using them in patients with ulnar nerve dislocation.

Herein, we report a case of a 49-year-old man with a history of bilateral hemiplegia caused by severe traumatic brain injury. During his stay in the convalescent rehabilitation hospital, he developed a flexion deformity of the 4th and 5th fingers of his right hand. Elbow palpation and ultrasonography showed that the ulnar nerve was dislocated from the elbow canal, and a nerve conduction study revealed that the conduction velocity was low in the right elbow. Thus, a diagnosis of cubital tunnel syndrome was made and an ulnar nerve transfer was performed to prevent progression. Prior to onset, an over-table had been used by the patient for daily activities such as sitting, training, and eating. Therefore, it was considered that the repeated use of the over-table plausibly exerted pressure on the dislocated ulnar nerve, leading to the onset of the cubital tunnel syndrome.As over-tables and wheelchair armrests are often used during rehabilitation, it is imperative to pay attention to elbow compression when using them in patients with ulnar nerve dislocation.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Although the risk of bleeding after endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) is low, the safety of EUS-FNA in patients prescribed antithrom-botic agents is unclear. Therefore, this study evaluated the incidence of bleeding after EUS-FNA in those patients. METHODS: Between September 2012 and September 2015, patients who were prescribed antithrombotic agents underwent EUS-FNA at 13 institutions in Japan were prospectively enrolled in the study. The antithrombotic agents were managed according to the guidelines of the Japanese Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Society. The rate of bleeding events, thromboembolic events and other complications within 2 weeks after EUS-FNA were analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 2,629 patients who underwent EUS-FNA during the study period, 85 (62 males; median age, 74 years) patients were included in this stduy. Two patients (2.4%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.6% to 8.3%) experienced bleeding events. One patient required surgical intervention for hemothorax 5 hours after EUS-FNA, and the other experienced melena 8 days after EUS-FNA and required red blood cell transfusions. No thromboembolic events occurred (0%; 95% CI, 0.0% to 4.4%). Three patients (3.5%; 95% CI, 1.2% to 10.0%) experienced peri-puncture abscess formation. CONCLUSIONS: The rate of bleeding after EUS-FNA in patients prescribed antithrombotic agents might be considerable.
Abscess ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fine Needle Aspiration* ; Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal ; Erythrocyte Transfusion ; Fibrinolytic Agents* ; Hemorrhage* ; Hemothorax ; Humans ; Incidence ; Japan ; Male ; Melena ; Prospective Studies*