Disparities in co-payments for influenza vaccine among the elderly, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.

INTRODUCTION: Seasonal influenza vaccination for the elderly is highly recommended during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Japan, the amount of subsidy for influenza differs among municipalities. Thus, we investigated the amount of and variation in subsidy for influenza vaccination for the elderly in 2020. METHODS: This was an ecological study of 1,922 municipalities in Japan. The amount of subsidy for influenza vaccines for the elderly in each municipality was surveyed through websites or via telephone. Geographic and financial data for municipalities and prefectures were obtained from the open data. The amount of co-payment for the influenza vaccine and the geographical and financial status of each municipality were compared, according to the aging rate. Univariate logistic regression analysis was performed to explore factors related to the free influenza vaccine. RESULTS: Municipalities with higher aging rates tended to have higher median co-payments for vaccines in 2020. (0 yen vs 1000 yen, p < 0.001) In addition, they tended to have worse financial conditions and lower per capita incomes. A similar trend was observed in the analysis by prefecture, i.e., a higher influenza mortality rate in prefectures with a higher aging rate. Despite having lower incomes, municipalities and prefectures with higher aging populations had higher mortality rates from influenza and higher co-payments for influenza vaccination. CONCLUSIONS: In Japan, there is a disparity among elderly people; areas with an aging population have higher co-payments for influenza vaccines despite lower incomes, suggesting that the government needs to implement corrective measures to reduce this disparity.

Yokukansankachimpihange Is Useful to Treat Behavioral/Psychological Symptoms of Dementia.

Yokukansankachimpihange is a Japanese herbal medicine reported to benefit anxiety and sleep disorders, and it has recently been introduced to treat behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia. There are no multicenter studies of its effectiveness regarding dementia in Japan, and this study's main objective was to clarify the effects of Yokukansankachimpihange on behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia in a sample of patients from multiple healthcare centers. Nine facilities affiliated with Osaka Association of Psychiatric Clinics participated in November 2013 through April 2015 and provided 32 Alzheimer's disease patients to whom Yokukansankachimpihange was orally administered for 8 weeks. During the study, the patients continued their regular medication regimens. Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (Behavioral Pathology in Alzheimer's Disease Rating Scale [Behave-AD]), core symptoms [Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE)], activities of daily living [Nishimura Activity of Daily Living Scale (N-ADL)], and gastrointestinal symptoms (nausea/vomiting, loss of appetite, gastric discomfort, constipation, and diarrhea) were measured at baseline, after 4 weeks of treatment and after 8 weeks of treatment. Yokukansankachimpihange was orally administered at a dosage of 7.5 g twice daily before or between meals for 8 weeks. The Behave-AD mean score significantly improved after 8 weeks of treatment. There were no significant changes in MMSE, N-ADL, or gastrointestinal symptoms; however, decreased gastrointestinal scores were observed after 8 weeks. There were no side effects related to Yokukansankachinpihange. Pharmaceutical treatments are important for treating behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, and this study confirmed Yokukansankachimpihange's efficacy for treating Alzheimer's disease. Because the aggressiveness and sleep disorder components of the Behave-AD construct were the symptoms most improved and those symptoms are known to significantly burden dementia patients' caregivers, Yokukansankachimpihange's efficacy might indirectly relieve these caregivers' burden of care.

A discrepancy between Tc-99m HMPAO SPECT and Tc-99m ECD SPECT in Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease.

We observed a discrepancy between the perfusion patterns seen in single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images obtained using technetium-99m hexamethyl propylene amine oxime (HMPAO) and SPECT images obtained using technetium-99m ethyl cysteinate dimer (ECD) in an 84-year-old man with Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (CJD). HMPAO-SPECT demonstrated a reduction in perfusion in the parieto-temporal regions, especially the left temporal area. However, ECD-SPECT revealed a significant reduction in the bifrontal regions. At autopsy, the characteristic pathological findings of CJD, spongiform vacuolation, were most prominent in the bifrontal regions. Thus, the clinical features and the pathological findings were more closely correlated with the ECD-SPECT images than the HMPAO-SPECT images.

Right ventricular end-diastolic volume monitoring after cardiac surgery.

INTRODUCTION: In the postoperative management of cardiac surgery patients, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) and central venous pressure (CVP) are the most commonly used parameters of preload. However, these pressure parameters are easily affected by ventricular compliance, positive end-expiratory pressure and other factors. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether right ventricular end-diastolic volume index (RVEDVI) reflects cardiac output or ventricular preload in patients after cardiac surgery during postoperative management. METHODS: We performed measurements in 31 patients postoperatively in the intensive care unit every 1 or 2 hours using a modified thermodilution catheter. RESULTS: There were 999 measured hemodynamic data sets and the measurement duration was 47 +/- 21 hours (mean +/- SD). RVEDVI was 119 +/- 32 ml/m(2), cardiac index (CI) was 2.7 +/- 0.7 L/min/m(2), and PCWP was 11 +/- 4 mmHg. A significant correlation was found between RVEDVI, CVP and CI in 15 of 31 patients, and between PCWP and CI in 4 of 22 patients. In 33% of cases, CVP showed a negative correlation with CI, whereas 7% showed a negative correlation between RVEDVI and CI. CONCLUSION: RVEDVI was a significant index during the postoperative management after cardiac surgery.

Sequential bypass using the right gastroepiploic artery for coronary artery bypass grafting.

OBJECTIVE: Since 1989, we have applied the right gastroepiploic artery (RGEA) as a third arterial conduit for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and started to use sequential RGEA in 1992. We evaluated the feasibility and efficacy of sequential RGEA grafting in CABG. METHODS: From December 1990 to January 2000, 46 patients underwent CABG with sequential RGEA. There were 42 male and 4 female patients with a mean age of 59 +/- 8.1 years. Mean postoperative follow-up period was 70 months. RESULTS: The mean number of anastomoses was 3.7 per patient. Mean luminal diameter of the RGEA was 2.2 +/- 0.4 mm by preoperative angiography and 2.3 +/- 0.6 mm by intraoperative measurement. Patency of the sequential RGEA was 92%; proximal anastomosis 100%, distal anastomosis 86% (p = 0.01). The 5-year actuarial survival and cardiac event-free rate were 91% and 93%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Sequential bypass using the RGEA is feasible, with excellent early and long-term results. The indication for sequential RGEA, however, needs careful anatomical consideration of both the luminal diameter of the RGEA and proximal stenosis of the target coronary arteries.

Decreased plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor and vascular endothelial growth factor concentrations during military training.

Decreased concentrations of plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and serum BDNF have been proposed to be a state marker of depression and a biological indicator of loaded psychosocial stress. Stress evaluations of participants in military mission are critically important and appropriate objective biological parameters that evaluate stress are needed. In military circumstances, there are several problems to adopt plasma BDNF concentration as a stress biomarker. First, in addition to psychosocial stress, military missions inevitably involve physical exercise that increases plasma BDNF concentrations. Second, most participants in the mission do not have adequate quality or quantity of sleep, and sleep deprivation has also been reported to increase plasma BDNF concentration. We evaluated plasma BDNF concentrations in 52 participants on a 9-week military mission. The present study revealed that plasma BDNF concentration significantly decreased despite elevated serum enzymes that escaped from muscle and decreased quantity and quality of sleep, as detected by a wearable watch-type sensor. In addition, we observed a significant decrease in plasma vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) during the mission. VEGF is also neurotrophic and its expression in the brain has been reported to be up-regulated by antidepressive treatments and down-regulated by stress. This is the first report of decreased plasma VEGF concentrations by stress. We conclude that decreased plasma concentrations of neurotrophins can be candidates for mental stress indicators in actual stressful environments that include physical exercise and limited sleep.

Bacteriological evaluation of the cardiac surgery environment accompanying hospital relocation.

PURPOSE: Airborne bacteria in the environment are thought to be a cause of postoperative infection. With the relocation of our hospital, the operating room we had used for 35 years was replaced, changing the surgical environment for cardiac operation completely. We conducted this study to evaluate the bacteriological change in the surgical environment between the new and old operating rooms. METHODS: Airborne contaminants in the operating rooms were collected on blood agar plates, and samples of intraoperative salvaged blood from cardiac surgery were drawn from salvaged bags produced by Cell Saver 5 (Haemonetics, Braintree, MA, USA) in both the old (group O) and the new operating rooms (group N). These samples were cultured and evaluated bacteriologically. RESULTS: We collected nine samples of airborne contaminants from both group O and group N. The mean number of isolated bacteria colonies was 5.0 +/- 1.2 in group O, and 2.0 +/- 0.94 in group N (P < 0.001). Bacterial growth was detected in 85% of the salvaged blood samples from group O (n = 20) versus 60% from group N (n = 15) (P = 0.09). The mean bacteria count was 1.9 +/- 2.7 colony-forming units (cfu)/ml in group O versus 0.4 +/- 0.5 cfu/ml in group N (P = 0.032). CONCLUSION: Hospital relocation resulted in an improved operating room environment with less bacterial contamination of intraoperative salvaged blood.