Verification of the Usefulness of an Assessment and Risk Control Sheet that Promotes Management of Cancer Drug Therapy.

Background: Proper management of adverse events is crucial for the safe and effective implementation of anticancer drug treatment. Showa University Hospital uses our interview sheet (assessment and risk control [ARC] sheet) for the accurate evaluation of adverse events. On the day of anticancer drug treatment, a nurse conducts a face-to-face interview. As a feature of the ARC sheet, by separately describing the symptoms the day before treatment and the day of treatment and sharing the information on the medical record, it is possible to clearly determine the status of adverse events. In this study, we hypothesized that the usefulness and points for improvement of the ARC sheet would be clarified by using and evaluating a patient questionnaire. Methods: This study included 174 patients (144 at Showa University Hospital (Hatanodai Hospital) and 30 at Showa University Koto Toyosu Hospital (Toyosu Hospital) who underwent pre-examination interviews by nurses and received cancer chemotherapy at the outpatient center of Hatanodai and Toyosu Hospital. In the questionnaire survey, the ARC sheet's content and quality, respondents' satisfaction, structural strengths, and points for improvement were evaluated on a five-point scale. Results: The patient questionnaire received responses from 160 participants, including the ARC sheet use group (132 people) and the non-use group (28 people). Unlike the ARC sheet non-use group, the ARC sheet use group recognized that the sheet was useful to understand the adverse events of aphthous ulcers (p = 0.017) and dysgeusia (p = 0.006). In the satisfaction survey questionnaire, there was a high sense of security in the pre-examination interviews by nurses using the ARC sheet. Conclusions: The ARC sheet is considered an effective tool for comprehensively evaluating adverse events. Pre-examination interviews by nurses using ARC sheets accurately determined the adverse events experienced by patients with anxiety and tension due to confrontation with physicians.

Evaluation of ozonated water using ASTM E1174 for standardized testing of handwash formulations for healthcare personnel.

Removal of bacteria by handwashing with ozonated water was evaluated using the ASTM E1174 standard test method. Thirty healthy volunteers were assigned randomly to three groups: ozonated water, antimicrobial soap and water, and non-antimicrobial soap and water. A 3 log10 cfu reduction was achieved by washing hands with ozonated water or antimicrobial soap and water. However, ozonated water was not significantly superior to non-antimicrobial soap and water. Ozonated water may remove bacteria from the hands to at least a similar extent as that by non-antimicrobial soap and water in the absence of visible dirt or body fluid contamination.

In vitro reactivation of the cytokinetic contractile ring of fission yeast cells.

Cytokinesis is a process by which a mother cell is divided into two daughter cells after chromosome segregation. In both animal and fungal cells, cytokinesis is carried out by the constriction of the contractile ring made up of actin, myosin-II, and other conserved proteins. Detailed genetic and cell biological analysis of cytokinesis has led to the identification of various genes involved in the process of cytokinesis including the cytological description of the process. However, detailed biochemical analysis of the process is lacking. Critical questions that aim to understand aspects, such as the organization of actin and myosin in the contractile ring, the architecture of the ring, and the molecular process of ring contraction, remain unanswered. We have developed a method to address these aspects of cytokinesis. Using the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, we present a method whereby cell-ghosts containing functional contractile rings can be isolated and used to perform various biochemical analysis as well as detailed electron microscopy studies.

Pertussis outbreak among patients and healthcare workers in a provincial dialysis facility in Japan.

BACKGROUND: Sixteen pertussis cases in haemodialysis patients and healthcare workers were detected in a 25-bed outpatient haemodialysis facility in Japan between October 2013 and April 2014. AIM: To describe an outbreak of pertussis among patients and healthcare workers, and to identify risk factors for pertussis infection. METHODS: Sputum cultures, loop-mediated isothermal amplification assays performed on nasopharyngeal swabs to detect respiratory pathogens including Bordetella pertussis, and serum anti-pertussis toxin immunoglobulin G measurements were performed for all haemodialysis patients and healthcare workers. A retrospective case-control study was performed to identify the risk factors for pertussis infection in the clinic. FINDINGS: Only six of the 16 pertussis patients (37.5%) had respiratory symptoms. Recent exposure to an unmasked individual with a cough was associated with pertussis infection (odds ratio 6.25, P<0.05). The outbreak was terminated successfully after enforcing the use of surgical masks among both patients and healthcare workers. CONCLUSION: This report demonstrates the risk of pertussis transmission in a haemodialysis facility, and underscores the importance of wearing surgical masks to control a pertussis outbreak.