Objective：There are few reports on decision-making support at palliative care clinics in designated regional cancer care hospitals. This study clarified the types of decisionmaking support patients with cancer and their families were provided by specialized outpatient palliative care services. Method：We retrospectively examined the medical records of 110 patients who had been referred to the palliative care clinic for home care between April 2012 and March 2014. Results：The median duration of receiving services from the palliative care clinic was 23 days（range：1～492 days）. The mean number of visits to the clinic was 4.7 visits（range：1～29 visits）. A total of 89 patients（80％）needed decision-making support. Of those 89 patients, 33（30％）required support in making a decision about anticancer treatment. Twenty-six（78％）of those 33 patients had just received the diagnosis or were receiving anticancer treatment. Conclusion：The study suggested that decision-making support in early stages is an important role for a palliative care clinic in a designated regional cancer care hospital.

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.

Objective: We evaluated patients’ degree of understanding of the effects and adverse drug reactions of SGLT2 inhibitors.Methods: We targeted 26 patients who were administered SGLT2 inhibitors during hospitalizations between April 2017 and March 2018. The survey was conducted by interviewing the patients using a questionnaire.Results: In total, 14 patients (53. 8%) were able to explain the term “efficacy.” Although 6 patients (23. 1%) understood “dehydration,” there was little understanding of “urinary tract infection” (7.7%) and “rash/erythema” (2 and 0 patients, respectively). In addition, we confirmed the details of the descriptions of adverse reactions caused by SGLT2 inhibitors with pharmacists, and found that 13 patients (50.0%) clearly received an explanation of “dehydration,” only 3 patients received an explanation of “urinary tract infection” (11.5%), and none of them comprehended “rash/erythema.” Overall, the patients’ awareness of the adverse drug reactions of SGLT2 inhibitors was low.Conclusion: Unlike common drugs for diabetes, SGLT2 inhibitors have been attracting attention as protective agents of the heart and kidneys. Therefore, it is expected that prescriptions for SGLT2 will increase in the future. Pharmacists need to explain the effects and adverse drug reactions of SGLT2 inhibitors to the patients as well as make the patients understand the pharmacological mechanisms of action of SGLT2 inhibitors.