In this revision, we have attempted to align the Model Core Curriculum for Medical Education competency, "problem-solving ability based on specialized knowledge," with the "Standards of National Examination for Medical Practitioners." The major diseases and syndromes in "Essential Fundamentals" correspond to the basic diseases in Table 1 of the Core Curriculum, symptoms, physical and laboratory examinations, and treatment in "General Medicine" correspond to the items in Table 2 of the Core Curriculum, and the diseases in "Medical Theory" correspond to the diseases in PS-02 of the Core Curriculum. The validity of the diseases in the Core Curriculum was verified using the evaluation results of the examination level classification of the "Research for Revision of National Examination Criteria." Approximately 690 diseases were conclusively selected. This revision mentions the number of diseases in the Core Curriculum for the first time. Hopefully, this will lead to a deeper examination of diseases that should be studied in medical schools in the future.

Objective: In this study, we investigated the occurrence of skin damage following the initiation of low-dose lamotrigine.Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the incidence of skin disorders within 8 weeks of the start of lamotrigine administration, prescribing for 3 years from July 2014 to June 2016.In addition, we also confirmed the onset time of skin disorders in the low- and normal-dose groups.Results: The incidence of skin damage was 7.7 and 24.6 % in the low- and normal-dose lamotrigine start groups, respectively. The onset of skin disorders was relatively early in the normal-dose lamotrigine start group.On the other hand, no tendency was found in the low-dose lamotrigine start group because the number of cases was small.Conclusion: The initiation of low-dose lamotrigine and extension of introduction period might reduce the onset of early skin damage.

Objective: Two types of symbols have been established as industry standards in terms of two-dimensional (2D) symbols with prescription information: one for objects to be printed on prescriptions and the other for electronic versions of medication diaries. However, no studies have investigated the system for using 2D symbols in pharmacies and hospitals/clinics as well as the quality of the information actually stored in these 2D symbols. Therefore, we conducted a survey to clarify the current status and problems pertaining to prescription information sharing via 2D symbols.Methods: We distributed questionnaires to community pharmacies through the Fukui Pharmaceutical Association and asked them to cooperate with us during the survey. The list of items in the survey　included the installation status of devices necessary for reading 2D symbols at each pharmacy, receipt computer in use, and status of the support issued by hospitals/clinics for reading 2D symbols. At the same time, we received 2D symbols created by community pharmacies and conducted reading tests to examine issues related to the collection of prescription information via 2D symbols at medical institutions.Results: The response rate for the survey was 21.8%. Among the 57 stores that responded to the survey, 26 (45.6%) answered that they could read prescription symbols, and 22 of them had actually used the system till date. In addition, 38 community pharmacies were able to provide the 2D symbols for medication diaries. Of the 30 provided symbols for medication diaries, 16 (53.3%) could be read as Japanese data by the barcode reader used.Conclusions: It has become clear that the 2D symbols with stored prescription information are not being completely utilized at present, as both community pharmacies and hospitals/clinics face several issues such as hardware maintenance, software updates, and time and effort required for the usage.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the injury patterns and risk factors of injuries among high school handball players in Japan. A total of 1299 (709 male and 590 female) subjects who played in the 2018 Japanese National High School Handball Championship participated in this study. The questionnaire on injury experience was distributed two weeks before the championship and was collected at the representation meeting the day before the championship. The main results were as follows: 1) The subjects (n=625, 48.1%) reported experiences of injuries in the previous year. Female had significantly more suffer injuries than male. 2) The main body parts of injuries were the ankle, knee, and finger in traumatic injuries and the lower leg, lumber spine/lower back, and knee in overuse injuries. The main types of injuries were sprain, ligamentous rupture, and fracture in traumatic injuries and stress fracture, other bone injuries, and lesion of meniscus or cartilage in overuse injuries. The main cause of injuries was “contact with another athlete”. 3) Age, female players, and back players were associated with increased the occurrences of injuries. Goalkeepers were associated with decreased the occurrences of injuries. These results indicated that a high prevalence of injuries in high school handball players, and it is important to take preventive measures based on age, gender, and player position.

Objective: The internet isflooded with drug information; however, some of it isinappropriate and thisinadequate information could expose the public to health hazards. Therefore, we conducted research on the idea of transmitting drug information to the public via the internet and the current state of the information currently provided by each academic society relevant to the field of Medical Informatics.Methods: A questionnaire was mailed to the website managers for the website of 129 specialist medical societies, all members of the Japanese Association of Medical Sciences. We conducted our research between October to November 2018. We investigated each website administrator’s opinion about offering drug information for consumers via the internet and what information each academic society is currently providing.Results: The effective response rate was 43.4% (56/129 groups). Most respondents thought that drug information overflowed in the current Internet society. Moreover, more than half of the respondents thought that the quality of drug information transmitted to the public wasinadequate. Currently, 30 of the academic groupssurveyed are providing information to the public. When providing information, they did not refer to the “Drug Guide for Patients” much. More than 80% of respondents said they would cooperate with linking to the information provided to the public. However, each academic society felt there would be many problems with doing so such as the need for a system to check the contents of the information provided and a system to perform maintenance.Conclusion: The results showed that the website administrators recognized that there is a need to improve the quality of and system for providing drug information to the public. We believe that an integrated information system can be constructed by aggregating the drug information held by each academic society. However, this cannot be realized without first solving many problems.

This study aimed to clarify the effects of carbohydrate mouth rinse on exercise performance. We examined the effect of mouth rinse on fatigability. Thirty healthy male college students completed three trials with non mouth rinse (CON), mouth rinse intervention of 6% glucose (GMR), and artificial sweetener (PLA). Handgrip exercise was performed as a fatigue task. The subjects performed a 10-seconds maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) followed by a 40% MVC rhythmic grasping movement for 14 per minutes, followed by a 4-seconds rest. This set of exercises was performed for a total of ten sets. Mouth rinse was performed from the 5th set to the 10th set. The subjects were divided into three groups: L, M, and S, according to the degree of decrease in MVC due to fatigue in CON. The effect was evaluated using the rate of change in MVC after the mouth rinse. The evaluation was performed for each trail and group. In the L group, mouth rinse significantly improved the rate of change of MVC compared with the other trials (GMR vs. CON: P = 0.002; PLA vs. CON: P = 0.042). A significant trend was observed in the M (GMR vs. CON: P = 0.062), but not in the S. In conclusion, the effects of mouth rinse differed depending on fatigability in isometric hand grip performance, with mouth rinse inhibiting the decrease of motor fatigue. In addition, it was suggested that the sweetness of carbohydrates may have an effect on mouth rinse.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of cartilage degeneration at the patellofemoral joint on clinical outcomes after open wedge high tibial osteotomy and to investigate the predisposing factors for progressive patellofemoral cartilage degeneration. Methods: Seventy-two knees were evaluated on second-look arthroscopy in patients who opted for plate and screw removal at an average of 20.1 months after osteotomy. Cartilage degeneration at the patellofemoral joint was evaluated using the International Cartilage Repair Society grading system, with cases divided into progression and nonprogression groups. Radiographic parameters of the patellofemoral anatomy, knee range of motion, and clinical outcomes were evaluated from the preoperative baseline to the final follow up, on average 50 months after osteotomy. A contracture > 5° was considered a flexion contracture. Results: Cartilage degeneration progressed in 31 knees, and preoperative knee flexion contracture was significantly associated with progressive degeneration (P < 0.01). The Lysholm and Kujala scores were significantly lower in the progression group (87.9 and 85.3, respectively) than in the nonprogression group (91.6 and 93.6, respectively) (P < 0.05). The odds ratio of the flexion contracture resulting in progression of patellofemoral cartilage degeneration was 4.63 (95% confidence interval, 1.77–12.1). No association was detected between progressive degeneration and age, sex, body mass index, Kellgren-Lawrence grade, or radiographic parameters. Conclusions Flexion contracture may be associated with progression of cartilage degeneration at the patellofemoral joint and may negatively affect the clinical outcomes after open wedge, high tibial osteotomy.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of cartilage degeneration at the patellofemoral joint on clinical outcomes after open wedge high tibial osteotomy and to investigate the predisposing factors for progressive patellofemoral cartilage degeneration. Methods: Seventy-two knees were evaluated on second-look arthroscopy in patients who opted for plate and screw removal at an average of 20.1 months after osteotomy. Cartilage degeneration at the patellofemoral joint was evaluated using the International Cartilage Repair Society grading system, with cases divided into progression and nonprogression groups. Radiographic parameters of the patellofemoral anatomy, knee range of motion, and clinical outcomes were evaluated from the preoperative baseline to the final follow up, on average 50 months after osteotomy. A contracture > 5° was considered a flexion contracture. Results: Cartilage degeneration progressed in 31 knees, and preoperative knee flexion contracture was significantly associated with progressive degeneration (P < 0.01). The Lysholm and Kujala scores were significantly lower in the progression group (87.9 and 85.3, respectively) than in the nonprogression group (91.6 and 93.6, respectively) (P < 0.05). The odds ratio of the flexion contracture resulting in progression of patellofemoral cartilage degeneration was 4.63 (95% confidence interval, 1.77–12.1). No association was detected between progressive degeneration and age, sex, body mass index, Kellgren-Lawrence grade, or radiographic parameters. Conclusions Flexion contracture may be associated with progression of cartilage degeneration at the patellofemoral joint and may negatively affect the clinical outcomes after open wedge, high tibial osteotomy.

The purpose of this study was to clarify feasibility of a booklet for families of children dying with incurable cancer. Of 267 pediatric oncology specialists, 76 (28%) participated in this cross-sectional survey. Ninety-three percent of participants answered that they were “likely to use” the booklet, and 86% percent answered that they believed the booklet was “helpful” for families. Some participants described various advantages of its use as follows: “able to communicate something that is difficult to put into words,” “easy to understand for families,” “families can read whenever they choose to,” and “able to grasp the direction of dying.” In contrast, other participants described points of attention of use as follows: “optimal timing to bring out,” “acceptance of families,” “direction as interdisciplinary team,” “confidential relationship between families and interdisciplinary team,” “disinclination among health care providers,” and “information volume of the booklet.” Thus, our results validated feasibility of the booklet. In conclusion, pediatric oncology specialists should provide their support of utilizing the booklet for families and assessing each family condition and advantage/attention of using the booklet.