Association between patients' state upon admission and decline in activities of daily living.

[Purpose] In this study, we aimed to determine the components of activities of daily living that decline easily during hospitalization. [Participants and Methods] We performed a prospective cohort study of 2,819 inpatients who were hospitalized and discharged. We prospectively evaluated the Barthel Index at admission and discharge, age, length of hospital stay, clinical department, and rehabilitation type. We divided the inpatients into two groups based on the Barthel Index score at admission and compared the items of the index at admission and discharge to analyze the characteristics of decline in activities of daily living. [Results] Forty-nine inpatients (2.0%) had declined in activities of daily living. There were no significant between-group differences in age, length of hospital stay, clinical department, or ratio of individual rehabilitation. However, transfer and toilet use remarkably decreased in the group with Barthel Index scores at admission <85, and bathing and ascending/descending remarkably decreased in the group with Barthel Index at admission ≥85. [Conclusion] The characteristics of decrease in each activity of daily living vary, and our results suggested the components that easily declined when inpatients were divided based on their performance of activities of daily living at admission.

Can blood pressure be measured during exercise with an automated sphygmomanometer based on an oscillometric method?

[Purpose] This study investigated the reliability of an automated sphygmomanometer based on an oscillometric method, when used during exercise. [Subjects and Methods] Ten healthy subjects were included. Blood pressure (BP) was measured with an automated sphygmomanometer based on a cuff-oscillometric method. The experiment consisted of five tests: sitting posture at rest, walking with swinging the upper limbs, walking without swinging the upper limbs, walking on a treadmill, and riding a bicycle ergometer. Right and left brachial artery BP was measured twice at the same times. If the difference in systolic BP on bilateral testing was less than 15 mmHg, it was judged to be accurate, and accurate measurement rates were calculated. [Results] BP could not be measured in most limbs on walking with swinging the upper limbs, walking without swinging the upper limbs, or walking on a treadmill. The accurate measurement rates in bilateral limbs were 95.0% in sitting posture at rest, 0.0% on walking with swinging upper limbs, 5.0% on walking without swinging upper limbs, 15.0% on walking on a treadmill, and 65.0% on riding a bicycle ergometer. [Conclusion] An automated sphygmomanometer based on an oscillometric method was useful for BP measurement only at rest.