Objective: To evaluate outcomes of palliative surgery for malignant bowel obstruction (MBO) and identify factors associated with postoperative survival. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 27 patients who underwent palliative surgery for MBO between April 2014 and March 2023. Clinical data including symptom relief, oral intake, discharge status, and overall survival (OS) were analyzed. Results: Median age was 70 years; 23 patients were Stage IV. Primary tumors included colon-rectum (15), stomach (6), pancreas (2), and others (4). Peritoneal dissemination was present in 18 cases. Median preoperative Palliative Prognostic Index (PPI) was 3.0. Postoperative symptom relief was achieved in 96.3%, oral intake in 81.5%, and discharge in 51.9%. Median OS was 118 days. Peritoneal dissemination and oral intake status were significantly associated with OS; sex, age, and PPI were not. Conclusion: Palliative surgery may improve outcomes such as symptom relief, oral intake, discharge to preferred care settings, and survival. These findings support its role in advance care planning and enhancing quality of life in patients with terminal cancer.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of rapid maxillary expansion (RME) on nasal patency and nasomaxillary dimensions in children and adolescents with mouthbreathing through 8 years of clinical follow-up. Methods: RME was performed using a Hyrax orthodontic appliance in 28 mouth-breathers (6–13 years old).During follow-up, objective tests of nasal respiratory function were conducted, such as acoustic rhinometry, which provided the minimum cross-sectional areas of the nasal cavity, and active anterior computed rhinomanometry, which measured inspiratory nasal resistance. The tomographic widths of the coronal sections of the nose and maxilla were also measured. Fisher’s exact test and the Mann–Whitney U test were used to compare categorical and numerical variables, respectively, in mouth-breathers with and without allergic rhinitis.Temporal evolution was assessed using generalized estimating equation models.Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: There was a reduction in inspiratory resistance after RME with a stable improvement in nasal patency during the 8-year follow-up period (P = 0.0179). All nasal and maxillary tomographic widths showed statistically significant increases in the short-term (P < 0.0001), and most of them showed significant increases in the long-term when compared with the pre-expansion period. Tomographic measurements were not influenced by allergic rhinitis. Conclusions Our study showed that RME promoted and maintained the widening of the posterior maxillary structure in children and adolescents with mouth-breathing, with a decrease in inspiratory nasal resistance during the 8-year follow-up period. These findings highlight the importance of RME in mouth-breathers with maxillary atresia.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of rapid maxillary expansion (RME) on nasal patency and nasomaxillary dimensions in children and adolescents with mouthbreathing through 8 years of clinical follow-up. Methods: RME was performed using a Hyrax orthodontic appliance in 28 mouth-breathers (6–13 years old).During follow-up, objective tests of nasal respiratory function were conducted, such as acoustic rhinometry, which provided the minimum cross-sectional areas of the nasal cavity, and active anterior computed rhinomanometry, which measured inspiratory nasal resistance. The tomographic widths of the coronal sections of the nose and maxilla were also measured. Fisher’s exact test and the Mann–Whitney U test were used to compare categorical and numerical variables, respectively, in mouth-breathers with and without allergic rhinitis.Temporal evolution was assessed using generalized estimating equation models.Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: There was a reduction in inspiratory resistance after RME with a stable improvement in nasal patency during the 8-year follow-up period (P = 0.0179). All nasal and maxillary tomographic widths showed statistically significant increases in the short-term (P < 0.0001), and most of them showed significant increases in the long-term when compared with the pre-expansion period. Tomographic measurements were not influenced by allergic rhinitis. Conclusions Our study showed that RME promoted and maintained the widening of the posterior maxillary structure in children and adolescents with mouth-breathing, with a decrease in inspiratory nasal resistance during the 8-year follow-up period. These findings highlight the importance of RME in mouth-breathers with maxillary atresia.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of rapid maxillary expansion (RME) on nasal patency and nasomaxillary dimensions in children and adolescents with mouthbreathing through 8 years of clinical follow-up. Methods: RME was performed using a Hyrax orthodontic appliance in 28 mouth-breathers (6–13 years old).During follow-up, objective tests of nasal respiratory function were conducted, such as acoustic rhinometry, which provided the minimum cross-sectional areas of the nasal cavity, and active anterior computed rhinomanometry, which measured inspiratory nasal resistance. The tomographic widths of the coronal sections of the nose and maxilla were also measured. Fisher’s exact test and the Mann–Whitney U test were used to compare categorical and numerical variables, respectively, in mouth-breathers with and without allergic rhinitis.Temporal evolution was assessed using generalized estimating equation models.Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: There was a reduction in inspiratory resistance after RME with a stable improvement in nasal patency during the 8-year follow-up period (P = 0.0179). All nasal and maxillary tomographic widths showed statistically significant increases in the short-term (P < 0.0001), and most of them showed significant increases in the long-term when compared with the pre-expansion period. Tomographic measurements were not influenced by allergic rhinitis. Conclusions Our study showed that RME promoted and maintained the widening of the posterior maxillary structure in children and adolescents with mouth-breathing, with a decrease in inspiratory nasal resistance during the 8-year follow-up period. These findings highlight the importance of RME in mouth-breathers with maxillary atresia.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of rapid maxillary expansion (RME) on nasal patency and nasomaxillary dimensions in children and adolescents with mouthbreathing through 8 years of clinical follow-up. Methods: RME was performed using a Hyrax orthodontic appliance in 28 mouth-breathers (6–13 years old).During follow-up, objective tests of nasal respiratory function were conducted, such as acoustic rhinometry, which provided the minimum cross-sectional areas of the nasal cavity, and active anterior computed rhinomanometry, which measured inspiratory nasal resistance. The tomographic widths of the coronal sections of the nose and maxilla were also measured. Fisher’s exact test and the Mann–Whitney U test were used to compare categorical and numerical variables, respectively, in mouth-breathers with and without allergic rhinitis.Temporal evolution was assessed using generalized estimating equation models.Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: There was a reduction in inspiratory resistance after RME with a stable improvement in nasal patency during the 8-year follow-up period (P = 0.0179). All nasal and maxillary tomographic widths showed statistically significant increases in the short-term (P < 0.0001), and most of them showed significant increases in the long-term when compared with the pre-expansion period. Tomographic measurements were not influenced by allergic rhinitis. Conclusions Our study showed that RME promoted and maintained the widening of the posterior maxillary structure in children and adolescents with mouth-breathing, with a decrease in inspiratory nasal resistance during the 8-year follow-up period. These findings highlight the importance of RME in mouth-breathers with maxillary atresia.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of rapid maxillary expansion (RME) on nasal patency and nasomaxillary dimensions in children and adolescents with mouthbreathing through 8 years of clinical follow-up. Methods: RME was performed using a Hyrax orthodontic appliance in 28 mouth-breathers (6–13 years old).During follow-up, objective tests of nasal respiratory function were conducted, such as acoustic rhinometry, which provided the minimum cross-sectional areas of the nasal cavity, and active anterior computed rhinomanometry, which measured inspiratory nasal resistance. The tomographic widths of the coronal sections of the nose and maxilla were also measured. Fisher’s exact test and the Mann–Whitney U test were used to compare categorical and numerical variables, respectively, in mouth-breathers with and without allergic rhinitis.Temporal evolution was assessed using generalized estimating equation models.Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: There was a reduction in inspiratory resistance after RME with a stable improvement in nasal patency during the 8-year follow-up period (P = 0.0179). All nasal and maxillary tomographic widths showed statistically significant increases in the short-term (P < 0.0001), and most of them showed significant increases in the long-term when compared with the pre-expansion period. Tomographic measurements were not influenced by allergic rhinitis. Conclusions Our study showed that RME promoted and maintained the widening of the posterior maxillary structure in children and adolescents with mouth-breathing, with a decrease in inspiratory nasal resistance during the 8-year follow-up period. These findings highlight the importance of RME in mouth-breathers with maxillary atresia.

Keio University conducted practical training based on community diagnosis as part of an interprofessional education program involving three healthcare faculties: the School of Medicine, the Faculty of Nursing and Medical Care, and the Faculty of Pharmacy. This training took place in Wakkanai City (Hokkaido), Minakami Town (Gunma), and Mino City (Gifu). Students engaged in data collection, hypothesis setting, fieldwork-based hypothesis verification, and explored solutions to community issues. Through this process, they learned about the importance of experiencing residents' daily lives firsthand, the interconnectedness of various community factors, and collaborative approaches to problem-solving. The program offered students the opportunity to understand community dynamics and teamwork, while engaging in active trial-and-error learning that fostered independent learning and problem-solving skills.

Methods: The study included 100 patients with cervical myelopathy who underwent surgery at the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology in Obu, Japan from June 2010 to March 2013. Before the surgery, neck pain was evaluated using a Visual Analog Scale (a score ≥50 indicated neck pain and a score <50 indicated no neck pain). The preoperative cross-sectional areas of the trapezius muscles were measured with cervical magnetic resonance imaging sagittal T2-weighted images. Cranial stimulation under general anesthesia was used to derive the MEPs, enabling the measurement of latency and amplitude, using preoperative MEPs of the trapezius muscles. Results: The MEP of the trapezius muscle in patients with neck pain had significantly shorter latencies than those in patients who did not have neck pain. However, there was no significant difference in the amplitude between patients with and without neck pain. However, this tended to be greater in patients with neck pain as compared to that in those without neck pain. The cross-sectional area of the trapezius muscle in patients with neck pain was significantly smaller than that in those who did not have neck pain. Conclusions MEPs revealed electrophysiological abnormalities of the trapezius muscles in patients with neck pain, supporting a relationship of neck pain with the trapezius muscles.