Objective: With the recent aging trend in the Japanese population, dysphagia appears to be increasing. However, few epidemiologic surveys have been conducted to determine the prevalence of dysphagia in local inhabitants. Ohkuma et al. prepared a highly reliable questionnaire using a simple test and safe examination method. We investigated the presence/absence of symptoms of dysphagia in local inhabitants, evaluated their association with subjective symptoms, and examined whether the inhabitants were following a particular diet, which is the most important factor in management of dysphagia.
Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 743 inhabitants (age: over 20) of an isolated island was performed. Each subject was asked basic questions (awareness about the presence/absence of dysphagia and dietary habits), and the data was analyzed by chi-square test. Based on their responses, dysphagia incidence was determined and rated on a 3-category scale (severe, mild, and no dysphagia).
Results: Responses were recollected from 368 subjects (response rate, 49.5%). The percentage of subjects aware of dysphagia in the severe, mild, and no dysphagia groups was 13.8%, 3.2%, and 0%, respectively and the percentage of subjects who changed their dietary habits was 17.2%, 2.6%, and 0%. These percentages were significantly higher in the severe group than in the mild and no dysphagia groups, though the value was less than 20% in the 3 groups.
Conclusion: Most subjects in the present study were unaware of dysphagia, suggesting that patients with dysphagia tend to be unaware of the key symptoms of dysphagia.

Persistent sciatic artery (PSA) is a rare congenital vascular anomaly with an incidence ranging from 0.025 to 0.06% of the general population. We report a 65-year-old male patient with bilateral PSA suffering from intermittent right-calf claudication. Peripheral pulsations could be palpated well at the right common femoral artery but not at the right popliteal artery. His ankle brachial index (ABI) was 0.79 on the right and 0.99 on the left. Computed tomographic (CT) angiography demonstrated that the bilateral PSAs were branched from the internal iliac arteries and the right PSA was completely occluded, whereas aneurysmal change was not evident. Both superficial femoral arteries were incompletely developed. Blood flow to the peroneal artery, anterior and posterior tibial arteries were maintained in both lower legs via a network of collateral arteries. Arterial bypass from right common femoral artery to the above-knee popliteal artery using knitted Dacron graft was performed and postoperative ABI of the right lower limb improved to 1.06. Ten months after the intervention, the patient was then suffered from intermittent left-calf claudication caused by complete occlusion of left PSA, therefore, above-knee femoropopliteal arterial bypass using knitted Dacron graft was performed. PSA is often asymptomatic until a complication develops and the careful monitoring to prevent the risk of thromboembolic and aneurysmal events are recommended.

In Japan problems of the pediatric emergency-care system have recently increased the needs of consultation to deal with the growing anxiety of parents about how to raise their children and have decreased the number of pediatricians. We believe that one solution is to make pediatric primary care a required part of postgraduate clinical training and thereby increase the ability of nonpediatricians to provide pediatric primary care and to support the care of children. We hope that postgraduate clinical training programs will be reformed so that physicians of all departments can contribute to improving pediatric primary care.

A 54-year-old man, involved in a motor vehicle collision, was transferred to our hospital. He was hemodynamically stable. A CT scan of the chest demonstrated traumatic aortic dissection and a mediastinal hematoma with hemothorax of left side. Endovascular aortic repair using a homemade device was immediately performed, and a completion angiogram revealed complete exclusion of the aortic injury, with no extravasation. A postoperative CT scan revealed satisfactory placement of the endograft, with no extravasation. The patient was discharged on the 13th postoperative day. Endovascular aortic repair was useful and minimally invasive therapy in this case for the treatment of traumatic thoracic aortic rupture.

A 79-year-old man was transferred to our hospital because of massive hematemesis. Contrast-enhanced CT scan demonstrated extravasation of contrast medium into the jejunum. Therefore, we diagnosed primary aortoenteric fistula and performed an emergency operation. At surgical exploration, the jejunum was closely adherent to the normal-sized aorta. The fistula was present between the anterior wall of the aorta and the jejunum. Operative reconstruction was performed with in-situ grafting and a pedicled omentum flap was placed around the graft. The postoperative course was uneventful, and there has been no evidence of infection during the follow-up period of 1 year.

We here report two cases of successfully treated secondary aorto or iliac arterial-enteric fistula after graft replacement for abdominal aortic aneurysm. Case 1: A 80-year-old man who complained massive anal bleeding had undergone Y-shaped graft replacement for abdominal aortic aneurysm 22 years previously. Computed tomography demonstrated an aneurysm and hematoma formation at the anastomosis of the right graft limb and the right common iliac artery. Preoperative angiography showed no leak of contrast medium at the distal anastomosis of the right graft limb. A presumptive diagnosis of secondary iliac arterial enteric fistula was made, therefore, we performed an emergency operation. Extra-anatomic bypass preceded the removal of the right graft limb, partial resection and direct reconstruction of the ileum by the retroperitoneal approach. His postoperative course was uneventful and he was discharged on the 19th postoperative day. Case 2: A 77-year-old man who had received Y-shaped graft replacement of an abdominal aortic aneurysm 9 years previously was transferred to our hospital because of sudden onset epigastralgia and massive hematemesis. Gastroduodenoscopy revealed a fresh blood clot in the third portion of the duodenum where it was compressed by for surrounding pulsatile environment. An emergency computed tomography showed aneurysm formation without extravasation of contrast medium in the duodenum at the proximal anastomosis of the prosthetic graft. A secondary aortoenteric fistula was highly suspected and emergency operation was performed. Extra-anatomic bypass preceded the removal of the graft body, infrarenal aortic stump closure, duodenal closure and the greater omentum was used to fill defects. He underwent successful staged abdominal wall closure due to bowel edema making primary closure impossible. His postoperative course was uneventful and he was discharged on the 26th postoperative day.

The purpose of this report is to clarify urologic problems in rural districts. The number of patients who visited our clinic for these 10 years were 7, 313 as new outpatient and 1802 as inpatient. Three main diseases of rural area were acute inflammation of lower urinary tract, benign prostatic hypertrophy and lithiasis of upper urinary tract. Infection of lower urinary tract and aggravation of malignant tumors might be influenced by rural works and bad circumstances. Monthly distribution of patients was also under the influence of rural works.

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

To clarify the views and needs on Rx-to-OTC switches in patients afflicted with lifestyle-related diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and/or hyperlipidemia, our survey was conducted with 199 patients at a pharmacy in Tokyo, Japan.Of the 199 patients, 159 people were patients afflicted with lifestyle-related diseases.One hundred and ten patients afflicted with lifestyle-related diseases were seventy-year-old and older, and 149 of the patients have been to a hospital at least once in the past year.Thirty-six point five percent of the patients afflicted with lifestyle-related diseases replied that they wanted to use Rx-to-OTC switches when they had been ill and/or injured.The main reasons that they wanted to use Rx-to-OTC switches were “convenience” and “always the same drugs”.On the other hand, the main reason that they did not want to use Rx-to-OTC switches was “I want to have a detailed examination”.Twenty-three point nine percent of them replied that they wanted to switch their prescription drugs to Rx-to-OTC switches. We believe that the usage of Rx-to-OTC switches after the establishment of a support system to secure safety can be the answer to the issues of the rise in medical care expenditures and doctor shortage.

　　With a view to preventing surgical site infection (SSI), administration of antimicrobial agents during surgery should be performed every 3-4 hours after the first administration before surgery begins. In our hospital, the infection control team (ICT) tried to intervene with surgeons and all operating room staff to improve compliance with the administration of antimicrobial agents. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of this intervention by the ICT on correct administration of antimicrobial agents during surgery. In total, 435 surgeries which included ≥ 210 min under anesthesia or 180 min of the operation were analyzed. All antimicrobial agents were first administered within 60 min before the start of surgery. At some point, the ICT intervened, recommending that antimicrobials be administered every 3 h during surgery. The compliance rate (CR) of surgeries for the correct administration of antimicrobial agents was investigated. Differences in CR were evaluated (1) among departments (gastroenterology and general medicine [GM], orthopedic surgery [OR], otorhinolaryngology [OL], gynecology [GY], and urology [UR]), (2) whether intervention of ICT was carried out or not, and (3) in terms of specific procedures (endoscopy and laparoscopy). Total CR was 51.0% (GM: 67.0%, OR: 27.1%, OL: 40.5%, GY: 45.5%, and UR: 37.5%). CR was significantly higher in GM than in any other departments. CR with and without intervention was 69.9% and 42.7%, respectively, and this was statistically significant. CR in endoscopy was 25.8%, which was significantly lower than that in other surgeries (55.2%). CR in laparoscopy was 63.1%, which was significantly higher than that in other surgeries (47.3%). Intervention by the ICT resulted in significant improvement of CR for correct administration of antimicrobial agents. However, CR was low in some situations. This could be improved by more careful dialogue with surgeons and operating room staff.