Oral environment and taste function of Japanese HIV-infected patients treated with antiretroviral therapy.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the oral environment and the taste function of Japanese HIV-infected patients treated with antiretroviral therapy. Their median age of 73 patients taking anti-HIV drugs was 46 years. The median period of taking anti-HIV drugs was 30 months. The oral condition was evaluated by measurement of oral moisture, amount of saliva secretion, the number of oral bacteria, presence of oral candida, a taste test, and the number of missing teeth. The levels of oral moisture and secreted saliva were significantly lower in the HIV-infected group than in the healthy volunteer (control) group. The HIV-infected group showed a more robust decrease in taste sensation than the control group. The number of missing teeth was significantly higher in the HIV-infected group than in the control group. Furthermore, all of the evaluated oral conditions were worse in the HIV-infected patients whose CD4+ T lymphocyte counts were less than 500/mm3 than in the control group. It became clear that the patients taking anti-HIV drugs, especially the CD4+ count < 500/mm3 group, had a deteriorated oral environment and dysgeusia, suggesting that the management of oral hygiene is necessary to maintain oral health, which leads to systemic health.

[Evaluation and multivariate statistical analysis of factors influencing patient adherence to ophthalmic solutions].

In this study, factors influencing patients adherence to ophthalmic solutions were investigated. Seventy-one subjects (aged 62.3 +/- 15.5 years) were randomly selected from patients admitted to the Ophthalmology Department at Hiroshima University Hospital. The patients (n = 71) completed questionnaires, which were evaluated by clinical pharmacists. The patient group to which the ophthalmic solutions were applied once or twice daily was more compliant than other patient groups (p = 0.00057). A multivariate statistical analysis revealed that the factors influencing patients adherence were the number of ophthalmic solutions used, patient age, taste, administration intervals, the number of drops used, and hand washing before the application of ophthalmic solutions. Patients who understood the significance of the medication made fewer mistakes than those who understood only the route of administration but not the significance. In conclusion, our study shows that patient counseling should emphasis the significance of the administered medicine as well as the route of administration.