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Background: Several surveys in Japan have indicated that most terminally ill Japanese patients would prefer to die at home or in a homelike setting. However, there is a great disparity between this stated preference and the reality, since most Japanese die in hospital. We report here national changes in home deaths in Japan over the last 5 decades. Using prefecture data, we also examined the factors in the medical service associated with home death in Japan. Methods: Published data on place of death was obtained from the vital statistics compiled by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan. We analyzed trends of home deaths from 1951 to 2002, and describe the changes in the proportion of home deaths by region, sex, age, and cause of death. Joinpoint regression analysis was used for trend analysis. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify secular trends in home deaths, and the impact of age, sex, year of deaths and cause of deaths on home death. We also examined the association between home death and medical service factors by multiple regression analysis, using home death rate by prefectures in 2002 as a dependent variable. Results: A significant decrease in the percentage of patients dying at home was observed in the results of joinpoint regression analysis. Older patients and males were more likely to die at home. Patients who died from cancer were less likely to die at home. The results of multiple regression analysis indicated that home death was related to the number of beds in hospital, ratio of daily occupied beds in general hospital, the number of families in which the elderly were living alone, and dwelling rooms. Conclusion: The pattern of the place of death has not only been determined by social and demographic characteristics of the decedent, but also associated with the medical service in the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Background] Hypertensive disease in pregnancy (HDP) is associated with a risk of subsequent hypertension. However the influence of normotensive blood pressure (BP) during pregnancy on future BP is not clear.[Purpose] To investigate the association between BP measurements at their lowest levels in pregnancy, 20 weeks’ gestation (20 wks BP), and the risk of hypertension both ①during pregnancy and ②5 years after delivery.[Methods] A total of 1542 women who delivered singletons at the National Center for Child Health and Development and Showa University Hospital were recruited between 2003 and 2007. They were invited to undergo a physical examination 5 years after delivery. Following exclusions (see below), 772 women completed the analysis. The influence of 20 wks BP on HDP and 5-year hypertension was assessed by multiple logistic regression analysis. The odds ratio for HDP was adjusted by age at delivery, pre-pregnancy BMI, familial history of hypertension (FH), previous history of HDP and parity (Model 1) and that for subsequent hypertension was adjusted by existence of HDP in index pregnancy, age, BMI, FH and renal disease (Model 2).[Criteria] HDP was defined as sBP ≥ 140 mm Hg or dBP ≥ 90 mm Hg from 20 weeks’ gestation which remits by 12 weeks postpartum w/o proteinuria.Hypertension at physical examination was defined as average sBP ≥ 140 mm Hg or average dBP ≥ 90 mm Hg or treatment with antihypertensive agents.[Exclusion criteria] Chronic hypertension / Women who were pregnant and nursing when the physical examination was done[Results] There were 26 HDP cases and 25 cases of 5-year hypertension (HDP: 6, normotensive control: 19).① The odds ratio (95%CI) for HDP (adjusted by Model 1) is sBP:1.11 (for every 1 mmHg rise) (1.05~1.17), dBP:1.15(1.06~1.24) and BP category defined by the American Heart Association : 5.82 (for every 1 category increase)(2.15~15.76). A positive correlation between 20 wks BP and HDP risk was observed.② The odds ratio for subsequent hypertension (adjusted by Model 2) is sBP: 1.06 (1.01-1.11), dBP:1.15(1.06-1.24) and BP category: 4.50(1.64-12.33).20 wks BP is associated with subsequent hypertension, independent of HDP.[Conclusions] 20 wks BP may predict both HDP and subsequent hypertension 5 years post delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Duodenal atresia concomitant with type-A esophageal atresia (DA + TA-EA) is rare. A pronounced enlargement of a closed loop of the upper gastrointestinal tract serves as an early clue for its prenatal detection. We describe an atypical case of DA + TA-EA in which the dilatation of the upper gastrointestinal tract remained mild. Ultrasonographic examination at 28 weeks of gestation showed mild polyhydramnios. Subsequent detailed sonographic and magnetic resonance imaging studies revealed a mildly enlarged stomach and duodenum that resembled a "double bubble," mild ascites, and polydactyly of the right thumb. Fetal abdominal circumference measurements were within normal range. A female neonate born at 36 weeks gestation did not show abdominal distension. DA + TA-EA was diagnosed based on clinical characteristics and X-ray studies of the neonate; the diagnosis was confirmed by surgery. Duodenoduodenostomy and gastrostomy in the first week of life and esophagoesophagostomy at six months of age were performed with satisfactory results, and the infant developed well. Prominent and/or increasing C-shaped fluid collection in the upper abdomen is a highly useful diagnostic sign for DA + TA-EA, but it is not applicable for all fetuses with this disease. Physicians should bear this caveat in mind to avoid diagnostic delays and initiate prompt postnatal therapy.

A case of hyponatremia following the first course of systemic adjuvant chemotherapy with cisplatin (CDDP) and 5-FU in a previously treated patient with esophageal cancer is reported. A 61-year-old man was admitted to our hospital for adjuvant chemotherapy after transthoracic esophagectomy and 3-field lymphadenectomy for esophageal cancer. Six days following chemotherapy, his serum sodium concentration was found to be 118 mEq/L, without edema or dehydration. This hyponatremic state was diagnosed as the syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone (SIADH) induced by CDDP, based on the hypo-osmolality of his serum and urine, and an inappropriate level of plasma vasopressin.

Background/aims: In the treatment of cardiac cancer, the selection of surgical procedures is controversial., Methodology: In this study 297 resectable adenocarcinomas arising around the GE junction, that had their center within 5cm oral and aboral of the anatomical GE junction, were analyzed. They were subdivided into those with the tumor center located more than 1cm above the GE junction (Type 1, N = 7), those with the tumor center located within 1cm oral and 2cm aboral of the GE junction (Type 2) and those with the tumor center 2cm below the junction (Type 3). Type 2 and 3 are subdivided into four groups as Type 2A (N = 47), 2B (N = 18), 3A (N = 37) and 3B (N = 188). Type 2A and 3A have esophageal invasion and Type 2B and 3B have no esophageal invasion. Thoraco-abdominal approach and transhiatal resection were done in 65 and 35 patients. Left and right thoracotomies were performed in 60 and 5 patients, respectively., Results: Esophageal invasion distance of 83 among 84 Type 2A and 3A tumors limited within 5cm from the GE junction. The maximum esophageal length by transhiatal approach was 6cm. Postoperative mortality rates after transhiatal approach and thoracotomy were 0% and 5.8%, respectively. One patient of Type 2A with No110 involvement survived longer than 5 years. No patients with Type 2A and 3A had recurrence in the upper mediastinal nodes after transhiatal approach and left thoracotomy. Mediastinal node involvement was found in 3 of 7 Type 1 tumors. Cox regression analyses revealed that the esophageal invasion distance (< 3cm vs. > 3cm), lymph node status (N0 vs. N2) and extent of lymph node dissection (D1 vs. D2) are the independent prognostic factors., Conclusion: Dissection of the lower thoracic paraesophageal nodes is recommended if the esophageal invasion longer than 1cm. Almost all Type 2A and 3A tumors can be treated by transhiatal approach without positive esophageal margin under a routine use of intraoperative frozen section. Right thoracotomy and the dissection of the upper mediastinal nodes are recommended for Type 1 tumor. Cardiac resection with D2 dissection is indicated for Type 1 and T1 tumors of Type 2. Total gastrectomy +D2 dissection is recommended for T2-3 tumors of Type 2 and T1-4 tumors of Type 3. Treatment should be selected according to the proposed classification.

We encountered a family in which all of the three members (the parents, a 45-year-old woman and 51-year-old man, and their 15-year-old daughter) had Trichosporon cutaneum antibodies (corrected of antigen), and two (the parents) suffered from summer-type hypersensitivity pneumonitis in the late summer. The husband complained of dry cough, fever and dyspnea on exertion from July after severe interstitial pneumonitis and was treated with steroid pulse in September 2004. His wife visited our hospital and complained of a common cold-like symptom which progressed in August 2005. The couple were given diagnoses of summer-type hypersensitivity pneumonitis because they were positive for serum anti-Trichosporon mucoides antigen and asahii antigen. Their asymptomatic daughter was positive for these antigens. Both wife and daughter had HLA-DQ 8 (3) and 9 (3) that are suggested to be important HLA antigens related to the occurrence of summer-type hypersensitivity pneumonitis.