Encouraging outpatients in an acute hospital for the relief of cancer-related pain: a qualitative study.

PURPOSE: To identify the processes of cancer-related pain relief and exacerbation faced by outpatients in an acute care hospital and to examine the support needed for outpatient pain control. METHODS: We conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with patients from the outpatient department of Showa University Northern Yokohama Hospital in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Participants were recruited by purposive sampling. From the recorded data, verbatim transcripts were made and used as textual data for analysis by consistent comparative method. RESULTS: Between April 2018 and April 2022, interviews were conducted with 30 participants. Analysis of the verbatim transcripts generated 13 categories from 27 concepts. Category relationships were examined, and a conceptual framework was developed. Outpatients went from being in a state of hesitation towards consultation with medical professionals to receiving individual consistent follow-ups by medical professionals in the hospital and community pharmacies, which led to patient teleconsultations when their physical condition changed, leading to an improvement of pain. CONCLUSION: The process of relief and exacerbation of cancer-related pain experienced by outpatients in the acute care hospital reveals that the provision of consistent follow-up through remote or in-person interviews has an important role to play in pain management, as it helps to build relationships between patients and medical professionals. Alternatively, when outpatients exhibited endurance, their pain worsened, and they fell into a negative cycle of poor pain control.

Thyroid dysfunction with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab after lenvatinib in hepatocellular carcinoma: A case series.

Atezolizumab plus bevacizumab is the recommended first-line treatment for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma, based on guidelines from the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer prognosis and treatment strategy. However, atezolizumab plus bevacizumab may be used after administration of lenvatinib. Here, we present four patients who developed thyroid dysfunction after second-line treatment with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab, but not after lenvatinib alone. The patients were treated with lenvatinib and/or atezolizumab plus bevacizumab for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma at Showa University Northern Yokohama Hospital. Of patients treated with only lenvatinib or atezolizumab plus bevacizumab, 2/18 (11%) and 4/15 (27%) developed thyroid dysfunction, respectively. All four patients treated with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab after lenvatinib developed hypothyroidism after 2-14 doses of atezolizumab plus bevacizumab. Three patients developed Grade 2 symptoms and were treated with levothyroxine sodium. In patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, the incidence of thyroid dysfunction may be higher among patients treated with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab after lenvatinib than those treated with lenvatinib or atezolizumab plus bevacizumab alone.

Safety of immune checkpoint inhibitors in non-small-cell lung cancer patients with idiopathic interstitial pneumonia: a matched case-control study.

PURPOSE: The immune checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab is commonly used for non-small-cell lung cancer treatment. Immune checkpoint inhibitors cause immune-related adverse events, including interstitial pneumonia. However, there are no studies on the risk factors for interstitial pneumonia exacerbation after immune checkpoint inhibitor administration in patients with a history of different types of interstitial pneumonia. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the risk factors for interstitial pneumonia exacerbation in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer and a history of interstitial pneumonia. We also aimed to explore differences in the risk of interstitial pneumonia exacerbation due to various types of interstitial pneumonia-idiopathic interstitial pneumonia, immune-related pneumonitis, and radiation pneumonitis. METHODS: Eleven patients with a history of interstitial pneumonia exacerbation following the administration of immune checkpoint inhibitor were included in the study. We performed 1:2 matching based on age and sex. Twenty-two patients whose interstitial pneumonia did not worsen after immune checkpoint inhibitor administration belonged to the control group. We calculated odds ratios for each factor in the patients and control subjects. RESULTS: The odds ratio of idiopathic interstitial pneumonia in the case group was 0.15 (95% confidence interval: 0.03-0.89) (p = 0.03). There were no significant differences in other factors, such as smoking history, pulmonary emphysema, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. CONCLUSION: The administration of immune checkpoint inhibitors in non-small-cell lung cancer patients with a history of idiopathic interstitial pneumonia might be a viable treatment option and have clinical benefits.

Effectiveness of corticosteroids on immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced interstitial pneumonia among patients with a history of interstitial pneumonia: A case series.

There are few reports on the effectiveness of corticosteroids for immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced interstitial pneumonia in patients with a history of interstitial pneumonia. We report on 10 non-small cell lung cancer patients with a history of interstitial pneumonia who experienced immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced interstitial pneumonia. The immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced interstitial pneumonia lasted for a median duration of 41.5 days (range = 22-127 days). Eight of the ten patients responded to corticosteroid monotherapy; one patient responded to corticosteroids and the immunosuppressant, tacrolimus; and one patient did not improve after corticosteroid treatment. In non-small cell lung cancer patients with a history of interstitial pneumonia, immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced interstitial pneumonia was generally responds to corticosteroids.

Evaluation of rapid drug safety communication materials for patients in Japan.

Since 2011, pharmaceutical companies in Japan have been required to issue two types of documents regarding severe adverse drug reactions reported post-marketing, namely the Rapid Safety Communication Materials for Patients and the Related Materials. However, the adequacy of these documents has not yet been systematically assessed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the adequacy of these two types of materials. The Rapid Safety Communications for Patients were obtained from the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) website. The Related Materials were obtained from pharmaceutical companies or the PMDA website. Three assessors independently scored the Rapid Safety Communication for Patients and the Related Materials using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Clear Communication Index (CCI). In addition, the contents and descriptions of the materials were analyzed. In total, 13 materials for seven drugs were assessed. Almost all materials contained the "main message" and "call to action". However, the average CCI scores for the Rapid Safety Communication for Patients and Related Materials for Patients were 68.8 and 74.3 (out of 100), respectively. Further, none of the evaluated materials were scored above the CCI threshold score (i.e., ≥ 90%). Descriptions regarding "language", "state of science", and "risk" were not adequate. In particular, the terminology used in materials seemed difficult for patients to understand. In conclusion, the Japanese Rapid Communication Materials for Patients require improvement. Furthermore, a system for evaluating these materials prior to publication should be established.

Mindset modification of community pharmacists in a collaborative relationship between a major hospital and neighboring community pharmacies: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Patient information sharing between hospitals and community pharmacies is generally insufficient. Since August 2013, the pharmacy department of Kyoto University Hospital has initiated and mediated a collaborative relationship between physicians and neighboring community pharmacies (e.g., sharing outpatient blood test results, holding regular meetings among professionals, delivery of tracing reports from community pharmacists to physicians about outpatients). METHODS: This study describes how community pharmacists have developed as a result of this professional collaboration (known as the "Kyoto University Hospital model") and attempts to grasp its current situation through interviews with pharmacists. The authors conducted semi-structured individual interviews with community pharmacists between June and December 2014. The interview data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. RESULTS: Twenty-one pharmacists working for 11 neighboring community pharmacies were interviewed, at which point theoretical saturation was achieved. The mean interview time was about 50 min. Among the participants, there were 15 women and 6 men; 10 were pharmacist managers and 11 were staff pharmacists. Through the analysis of the interview data, 13 categories were generated from 32 concepts. The results indicated that, through the Kyoto University Hospital model, community pharmacists shifted from a "Mindset of being the hospital's subcontractor" to "Being motivated to participate in team care." Specifically, their professional attitude shifted in a positive direction to "Being motivated to participate in team care", which was a departure from their previous feelings of inadequacy, related to their "Mindset of being the hospital's subcontractor" and how "Barrier to medicine counseling". CONCLUSIONS: Under the Kyoto University Hospital Model, hospital pharmacists encouraged active collaboration between physicians, hospital pharmacies, and community pharmacists by cultivating face-to-face relationships. This in turn helped community pharmacists become more conscious of their expert status, and thereby participate actively in patients' treatment.

Trends in descriptions of palliative care in the cancer clinical practice guidelines before and after enactment of the Cancer Control Act (2007): content analysis.

BACKGROUND: Palliative care was a priority issue in the Cancer Control Act enacted in 2007 in Japan, and this has resulted in efforts being made toward educational goals in clinical settings. An investigation of how descriptions of palliative care for the treatment of cancer have changed in clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) could be expected to provide a better understanding of palliative care-related decision-making. This study aimed to identify trends in descriptions of palliative care in cancer CPGs in Japan before and after enactment of the Cancer Control Act. METHODS: Content analysis was used to count the lines in all relevant CPGs. We then compared the number of lines and the proportion of descriptions mentioning palliative care at two time points: the first survey (selection period: February to June 2007) and the second survey (selection period: February to December 2015). Descriptions from the CPGs were independently selected from the Toho University Medical Media Center and Medical Information Network Distribution Service databases, and subsequently reviewed, by two investigators. RESULTS: Descriptions were analyzed for 10 types of cancer. The proportion of descriptions in the first survey (4.4%; 933/21,344 lines) was similar to that in the second survey (4.5%; 1325/29,269 lines). CONCLUSIONS: After the enactment of the Cancer Control Act, an increase was observed in the number, but not in the proportion, of palliative care descriptions in Japanese cancer CPGs. In the future, CPGs can be expected to play a major role in helping cancer patients to incorporate palliative care more smoothly.