10/14/2024


Aim In our hospital, the number of cases in which peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) are used has increased; these patients include elderly people who cannot take medications orally, patients with low levels of awareness, and patients with dysphagia. We report the situation at this time mainly with regard to the number of days on which PICCs were used. Methods Fifteen elderly patients (male, n=7; female, n=8; average age, 89.3±5.3 years) underwent PICC insertion at our hospital from August 2016 to October 2018. Among these patients, 6 had cerebrovascular disorders, 5 had aspiration pneumonia, 2 had Parkinson's syndrome, 1 had consciousness disorder resulting from asphyxia caused by foreign body aspiration, and 1 had interstitial pneumonia. Seven patients received home management. In each patient, we measured the length of time that the PICC was in place. Results The average duration for which a PICC was in place was 92.9±25.4 days (in cases of home care management, 159.5±48.3 days). The longest duration was 342 days, in a patient with aspiration pneumonia. The endpoints were death and discharge from hospital. Complications/accidents occurred as a result of catheter infection in 2 cases (both patients recovered after catheter removal) and as a result of self-extraction in 1 case. Conclusions These results suggest that PICC is useful and does not cause serious adverse effects, even in elderly patients who require central parenteral nutrition management.Families are involved in decision-making regarding end-of-life (EOL) care in Japan. However, how support from medical professionals toward families' decision-making affects families' satisfaction with EOL care has not been adequately studied. We aimed to examine the impact of support from medical professionals considering the care recipients' preferences on families' overall satisfaction with EOL care and the mediating effect of fulfilling care recipients' preferences.We administered self-report questionnaires through home-nursing providers to bereaved families (n=753), who lost loved ones between April 2015 and March 2016. Analyses were conducted with 237 of these bereaved families whose loved ones had been ≥65 years old, and had no missing values in key variables. We asked whether the families had received any support from medical professionals in determining the care recipients' EOL preferences, in discussing how to honor the care recipients' own interests, and in supporting the families' decision-making. We also collected data measuring the overall satisfaction with EOL care, families' perceptions that the care recipients' preferences were honored during EOL care, and demographic characteristics of care recipients and caregivers.Data from 58 male and 179 female family members were analyzed. The average age was 65.8 (standard deviation [SD]=11.9) years. Care recipients were 113 men and 124 women, and their average age was 83.0 (SD=9.1) years old at the time of death. A path analysis revealed that support for families from medical professionals was related to families' satisfaction with EOL care through the mediating factor of fulfilling care recipients' preferences.Support from medical professionals considering care recipients' preferences will help families' involvement in EOL decision-making.Aim In recent years in Japan, forest therapies have been implemented in various places. While the effects of such therapies have been reported in previous research papers, those of artificial gardens have not been clarified. At the 2018 Yamaguchi Yume Flower Expo, the Yamaguchi University Faculty of Medicine had the opportunity to provide a "Well-being Garden" in collaboration with the Japan Landscape Contractors Association Yamaguchi Prefecture Branch. We examined the physical and mental responses of older people who strolled in the Well-being Garden. Methods Participants were 158 people ≥ 65 years old. Pre-and post-stroll interviews were conducted, and the heart rate, blood pressure, and autonomic nervous activities were measured. Results After strolling in the garden, the heart rate significantly decreased from 76.1±12.9 to 73.9±11.8/min (p less then 0.01), and both the systolic and diastolic blood pressure significantly decreased from 142.5±24.4 to 139.4±24.1 mmHg and from 83.7±12.0 to 81.5±11.9 mmHg, respectively (p less then 0.01). The ralue of low frequency/high frequency (LF/HF) after strolling in the garden came closer to the standard one than before, both in the participants with much tension and with less tension. In the post-stroll interview, 74 reported feeling very good, and 84 felt good. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/r428.html Conclusions These results suggested that strolling in the Well-being Garden positively influenced the physical and mental condition of the participants.Purpose To clarify the prevalence and risk factors of sarcopenia in commuting rehabilitation service users. Target The 104 participants of the plant [Sorry, the English is unclear please clarify the meaning of the highlighted text] (56 men, 48 women; average age 78.6±7.7 years). Methods The diagnosis of sarcopenia was classified based on the AWGS diagnostic algorithm. The following 10 items were investigated for their causal relationship with sarcopenia as risk factors risk factor survey (1) cerebrovascular disease, (2) hypertension, (3) respiratory disease, (4) cardiovascular disease, (5) orthopedic disease, (6) fracture, (7) cancer, (8) intractable diseases, (9) diabetes mellitus, and (10) fall history in the past year. Results The prevalence of sarcopenia was 51.9%. Significant differences were observed in the items of "cancer" and "fall history in the past year" as risk factors for sarcopenia. Conclusion Elderly people needing support or care (especially those with cancer and a history of falling) have a very high risk of sarcopenia and are expected to require early intervention.Oxidative stress plays an essential role in obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome-induced cognitive dysfunction in children. This study investigated the effects of edaravone, a potent free radical scavenger, on intermittent hypoxia (IH)-induced oxidative damage and cognition impairment in a young rat model of IH. IH rats were treated with edaravone for 4 weeks. Behavioral testing was performed using the Morris water maze, and hippocampal tissues were harvested for further analyses. Edaravone attenuated IH-induced cognitive impairment, reduced morphological and structural abnormalities, and increased the number of mitochondria in the IH rats. Furthermore, edaravone significantly increased the inhibition of hydroxyl free radicals; reduced expressions of superoxide anion, malondialdehyde, and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine; and upregulated the expression of manganese superoxide dismutase, catalase, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), protein kinase A, phosphorylated-cAMP response element-binding (p-CREB), B-cell lymphoma 2, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the hippocampal tissue of IH rats.