The primary aim of this study was to estimate the number of cancer patients who wanted home death based on the bereaved family survey.A postal survey performed on 1,137 bereaved family members in 4 regions to clarify the degree what they believed that the patient actually died where s/he had wanted on the Good Death Inventory, and to explore the preferred place of death. We calculated estimated number of patients who had wanted home death as a total of (1) the actual number of home death × the percentages of the family members who agreed that the patient actually died where s/he had wanted, and × the actual number of hospital death × the percentages of the family members who disagreed that the patient actually died where s/he had wanted and home was the preferred place of death. Estimated number of cancer patients who wanted home death was 32.8%［95%C.I., 31.7, 33.9］ in the surveyed regions, and 31.2%［95%C.I., 31.1, 31.4］ for national data.

OBJECTIVE: Directional leads are used for deep brain stimulation (DBS). Two of the four contacts of the leads are divided into three parts, enabling controlled stimulation in a circumferential direction. The direction of adverse effects evoked by DBS in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) and stimulation strategies using directional leads were evaluated. METHODS: Directional leads were implanted into the bilateral STN of six parkinsonian patients (1 man, 5 women; mean age 66.2 years). The contact centers were located within the upper border of the STN, and the locations were identified electrically using microrecordings. Adverse effects were evaluated with electrical stimulation (30 μs, 130 Hz, limit 11 mA) using the directional part of each lead after surgery, and the final stimulation direction was investigated. Unified Parkinson's disease rating scale (UPDRS) scores were evaluated before and after DBS. RESULTS: Fifty-six motor and four sensory symptoms were evoked by stimulation; no adverse effect was evoked in 14 contacts. Motor and sensory symptoms were evoked by stimulation in the anterolateral direction and medial to posterolateral direction, respectively. Stimulation in the posteromedial direction produced adverse effects less frequently. The most frequently used contacts were located above the STN (63%), followed by the upper part of the STN (32%). The mean UPDRS part III and dyskinesia scores decreased after DBS from 30.2 ± 11.7 to 7.2 ± 2.9 and 3.3 ± 2.4 to 0.5 ± 0.8, respectively. CONCLUSION: The incidence of adverse effects was low for the posteromedial stimulation of the STN. Placing the directional part of the lead above the STN may facilitate the control of dyskinesia.
Deep Brain Stimulation ; Dyskinesias ; Electric Stimulation ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Parkinson Disease ; Pilot Projects ; Subthalamic Nucleus

Objective: Pharmacists need to know at what positioning a drug is recommended in clinical practice guidelines when they make prescription proposals.  However, the format of guidelines and the definition of recommendation grades differ between academic societies, making it difficult to comprehensively extract only the information one needs.  Therefore, we developed a guideline utilization system to support prescription proposals by pharmacists.
Methods: We built a database comprised of clinical practice guidelines on pharmacological therapy for breast cancer and breast cancer-related conditions.  FileMaker®was used in the development of the system.
Result: This system allows the comprehensive extraction of clinical questions and recommendations from multiple guidelines by means of standardized keywords.
Conclusion: This system supports prescription proposals by pharmacists when generating pharmacological therapy protocols or when in discussions with healthcare professionals as information on the positioning of therapeutic agents in different guidelines and recommended drugs is readily available.

Purpose: Gastric neoplasia is a common manifestation of familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). This study aimed to elucidate the clinical characteristics, endoscopic features including fundic gland polyposis (FGPsis), and treatment outcomes of gastric neoplasms (GNs) in patients with FAP. Materials and Methods: A total of 35 patients diagnosed with FAP, including nine patients from four pedigrees who underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), were investigated regarding patient characteristics, GN morphology, and treatment outcomes. Results: Twenty-one patients (60.0%) had 38 GNs; 33 (86.8%) and 5 (13.2%) were histologically diagnosed with adenocarcinoma and adenoma, respectively. There were no specific patient characteristics related to GNs.Nodule-type GNs were more prevalent in patients with FGP than without (52.2% vs. 0.0%, P=0.002) in the upper body of the stomach. Conversely, depressed-type GNs were fewer in patients with FGPsis than in those without (13.0% vs. 73.3%, P<0.001). Slightly elevated-type GNs were observed in both groups (34.8% vs. 20.0%, P=0.538). Even within pedigrees, the background gastric mucosa and types of GNs varied. In total, 24 GNs were treated with endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) and eight with endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR). EMR was selected for GNs with FGPsis because of the technical difficulty of ESD, resulting in a lower en bloc resection rate (62.5% vs. 100%, P=0.014). Conclusions Our study indicates the necessity of routine EGD surveillance in patients diagnosed with FAP. Notably, the morphology and location of GNs differed between patients with and without FGPsis. Endoscopic treatment and outcomes require more attention in cases of FGPsis.

Background/Aims: Patients with achalasia-related esophageal motility disorders (AEMDs) frequently present with dilated and sigmoid esophagus, anddevelop esophageal diverticulum (ED), although the prevalence and patients characteristics require further elucidation. Methods: We conducted a multicenter cohort study of 3707 patients with AEMDs from 14 facilities in Japan. Esophagography on 3682 patients were analyzed. Results: Straight (n = 2798), sigmoid (n = 684), and advanced sigmoid esophagus (n = 200) were diagnosed. Multivariate analysis revealed that long disease duration, advanced age, obesity, and type I achalasia correlate positively, whereas severe symptoms and integrated relaxation pressure correlate negatively with development of sigmoid esophagus. In contrast, Grade II dilation (3.5-6.0 cm) was the most common (52.9%), while grade III dilation (≥ 6 cm) was rare (5.0%). We found early onset, male, obesity, and type I achalasia correlated positively, while advanced age correlated negatively with esophageal dilation. Dilated and sigmoid esophagus were found mostly in types I and II achalasia, but typically not found in spastic disorders. The prevalence of ED was low (n = 63, 1.7%), and non-dilated esophagus and advanced age correlated with ED development. Patients with right-sided ED (n = 35) had a long disease duration (P = 0.005) with low integrated relaxation pressure values (P = 0.008) compared with patients with left-sided ED (n = 22). Patients with multiple EDs (n = 6) had lower symptom severity than patients with a single ED (P = 0.022). Conclusions The etiologies of dilated esophagus, sigmoid esophagus, and ED are considered multifactorial and different. Early diagnosis and optimal treatment of AEMDs are necessary to prevent these conditions.

Abdominal paracentesis is a standard intervention for symptom relief in patients with ascites; however, there is no established agreement regarding the optimal speed of ascites drainage. This paper presents three cases of rapid manual drainage of ascites (RMDA) conducted during home visits: a 72 year-old male with intractable cirrhosis, a 73 year-old male with malignant ascites secondary to cancer of the pancreatic tail, and a 54 year-old male suffering from malignant ascites due to pancreatic tail cancer with hepatic metastases. Drainage volumes ranged from 1.4 to 3 liters, with procedures taking between 12 to 14 minutes. Post-procedure systolic blood pressures were maintained above 90 mmHg at immediate, 2 (±1) hours, and 24 (±12) hours following the procedure in all cases. No severe adverse events were reported. RMDA may offer a reduced procedural time in the home visit context, lessening patient discomfort and healthcare provider costs. Further studies are needed to evaluate the safety of RMDA in home care settings.