Relationship between oral hygiene knowledge, source of oral hygiene knowledge and oral hygiene behavior in Japanese university students: A prospective cohort study.

The aim of this prospective cohort study was to examine whether oral hygiene knowledge, and the source of that knowledge, affect oral hygiene behavior in university students in Japan. An oral exam and questionnaire survey developed to evaluate oral hygiene knowledge, the source of that knowledge, and oral hygiene behavior, such as the frequency of tooth brushing and regular dental checkups and the use of dental floss, was conducted on university student volunteers. In total, 310 students with poor tooth brushing behavior (frequency of tooth brushing per day [≤ once]), 1,963 who did not use dental floss, and 1,882 who did not receive regular dental checkup during the past year were selected. Among these students, 50, 364, and 343 in each respective category were analyzed in over the 3-year study period (follow-up rates: 16.1%, 18.5%, and 18.2%, respectively). The odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for oral hygiene behavior were calculated based on oral hygiene knowledge and the source of that knowledge using logistic regression models. The results showed that dental clinics were the most common (> 50%) source of oral hygiene knowledge, and that a more frequent use of dental floss was significantly associated with dental clinics being a source of oral hygiene knowledge (OR, 4.11; 95%CI, 1.871-9.029; p < 0.001). In addition, a significant association was seen between dental clinics being a source of oral hygiene knowledge and more frequent regular dental checkups (OR, 13.626; 95%CI, 5.971-31.095; p < 0.001). These findings suggest the existence of a relationship between dental clinics being the most common source of oral hygiene knowledge and improved oral hygiene behavior in Japanese university students.

Intention-to-treat assessment of glecaprevir + pibrentasvir combination therapy for patients with chronic hepatitis C in the real world.

AIMS: We assessed the problems and efficacy of glecaprevir + pibrentasvir (GLE/PIB) therapy for patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the real world. METHOD: A total of 423 patients infected with HCV who started treatment at eight different centers in Japan were enrolled in the study. Glecaprevir (300 mg) and pibrentasvir (120 mg) were given once daily for 8 weeks to 246 non-cirrhotic direct-acting antiviral (DAA)-naive patients with HCV genotype (GT)-1 or -2, and for 12 weeks to patients who: were DAA-naive cirrhotic (n = 55), had experienced DAA failure (n = 78), were cirrhotic and had DAA failure (n = 37), and were other GT-1/2 (n = 7). Anti-HCV efficacy was defined as a sustained virologic response 12 weeks post-treatment (SVR12). The evaluation was undertaken in an intention-to-treat (ITT) population and in patients who were assessed at SVR12 (modified ITT population). RESULTS: In the ITT population, 220 (89%) patients on the 8-week regimen and 164 (93%) patients on the 12-week regimen achieved SVR12. The 30 dropout patients were predominantly men and with GT-2. All other DAA-naive GT-1 patients achieved SVR12. The 12-week regimen resulted in 100% SVR12 in 41 GT-2 patients. Nine patients did not achieve SVR12: two DAA naive with GT-2a, two GT-3b patients, two GT-1 patients with discontinuation, and three other GT-1 patients with a history of DAA failure. Four of seven patients who discontinued treatment due to severe adverse effects were more than 75 years old. CONCLUSIONS: Glecaprevir + pibrentasvir had a remarkable anti-HCV effect in GT-1 and GT-2 patients, but not in GT-3b patients. Although this therapy was reasonably safe, it is necessary to carefully consider elderly and dropout patients.

Associations between dental knowledge, source of dental knowledge and oral health behavior in Japanese university students: A cross-sectional study.

The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between dental knowledge, the source of dental knowledge and oral health behavior in a group of students at a university in Japan. A total of 2,220 university students (1,276 males, 944 females) volunteered to undergo an oral examination and answer a questionnaire. The questionnaire assessed dental knowledge, the source of dental knowledge and oral health behavior (e.g., daily frequency of tooth brushing, use of dental floss and regular dental checkups). The odds ratio and 95% confidence interval for oral health behavior based on dental knowledge and source of dental knowledge were calculated using logistic regression models. Of the participants, 1,266 (57.0%) students obtained dental knowledge from dental clinics, followed by school (39.2%) and television (29.1%). Logistic regression analyses indicated that use of dental floss was significantly associated with source of dental knowledge from dental clinics (P = 0.006). Receiving regular dental checkups was significantly associated with source of dental knowledge; the positive source was dental clinic (P < 0.001) and the negative sources were school (P = 0.004) and television (P = 0.018). Dental clinic was the most common source of dental knowledge and associated with better oral health behavior among the Japanese university students in this study.

Long-term quality-of-life comparison of total gastrectomy and proximal gastrectomy by postgastrectomy syndrome assessment scale (PGSAS-45): a nationwide multi-institutional study.

BACKGROUND: Although proximal gastrectomy (PG) is widely accepted as a function-preserving operation for early upper-third gastric cancer, postoperative disorders, such as reflux or gastric stasis, have often been pointed out. From the perspective of postoperative disorder, the choice of total gastrectomy (TG) or PG for such cancers is still controversial. By using the newly developed Postgastrectomy Syndrome Assessment Scale (PGSAS)-45, the quality of life after TG and PG was compared. METHODS: The PGSAS-45 consists of 45 items composed of the SF-8 and GSRS scales and 22 new items. The main outcomes are measured by seven subscales (SS) covering symptoms, physical and mental component summary (SF-8), meals (amount and quality), ability to work, dissatisfaction for daily life, and change in body weight. A total of 2,368 eligible questionnaires were acquired from 52 institutions. From these, 393 patients with TG and 193 patients with PG were selected and compared. RESULTS: The PG was better than TG in terms of body weight loss (TG 13.8% vs. PG 10.9%; p = 0.003), necessity for additional meals (2.4 vs. 2.0; p < 0.001), diarrhea SS (2.3 vs. 2.0; p = 0.048), and dumping SS (2.3 vs. 2.0; p = 0.043). There were no differences in the other main outcome measures. CONCLUSIONS: Proximal gastrectomy appears to be valuable as a function-preserving procedure for early upper-third gastric cancer.

Validity of response assessment criteria in neoadjuvant chemotherapy for gastric cancer (JCOG0507-A).

BACKGROUND: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy may improve outcomes in gastric cancer. Tumor responses can be evaluated with RECIST, Japanese Classification of Gastric Carcinoma (JCGC), and histological criteria. These approaches have not yet been compared. METHODS: We analyzed two phase II trials of neoadjuvant chemotherapy using S-1 plus cisplatin. JCOG0210 included patients with linitis plastica and large ulcero-invasive tumors, whereas JCOG0405 comprised those with para-aortic or bulky lymph node metastases. Radiologic evaluations were conducted using RECIST in JCOG0405 and JCGC criteria in JCOG0210, because the latter included many patients without measurable lesions. A histological responder was defined as a patient in whom one third or more of the tumor was affected. The hazard ratios (HR) for death between responders and non-responders and response rate differences between short- and long-term survivors were estimated. RESULTS: In JCOG0210 (n = 49), HR was 0.54 in JCGC responders (P = 0.059) and 0.40 in histological responders (P = 0.005). The difference in response rates between short- and long-term survivors using histological criteria (34 %, P = 0.023) was greater than that using JCGC criteria (24 %, P = 0.15). In JCOG0405 (n = 51), HR was 0.67 in RECIST responders (P = 0.35) and 0.39 in histological responders (P = 0.030). In short- and long-term survivors, respectively, RECIST response rates were 62  and 67 % (P = 0.77), whereas histological response rates were 33  and 63 % (P = 0.048). CONCLUSIONS: Histological criteria showed higher response assessment validity than RECIST or JCGC criteria and yielded the best surrogate endpoint for overall survival.

Assessment of health-related quality of life and how it predicts the outcome of pegylated interferon and ribavirin therapy for chronic hepatitis C.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Chronic infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) decreases health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The present study was planned to investigate the impact of HRQOL of patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) on the outcomes of therapy with pegylated interferon and ribavirin (RBV), in addition to IL28B polymorphisms. METHODS: The present study enrolled 228 CHC patients and assessed their HRQOLs prospectively with the 36-item short-form health survey. RESULTS: The patients with CHC have lower physical HRQOL status than the general population (P = 0.037, the Z-test). The patients with advanced liver diseases exhibited further decreases in HRQOL (P = 0.036, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient). The score of total HRQOL was significantly lower in the group with sustained virological response (SVR) to the therapy with pegylated interferon and RBV than the non-SVR group (P = 0.031, the Mann-Whitney U-test), with significantly lower scores of mental component and its comprising subscales in the SVR group. Stepwise multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that low HRQOL score ≤ 400 points was significantly associated with SVR (odds ratio = 2.4, P = 0.013), independently from high platelet counts, low HCV RNA, favorable single-nucleotide polymorphism type of IL28B, and HCV serotype 2. The patients with low HRQOL score will have significantly less decrease in HRQOL score by 4 weeks of the treatment than those with high HRQOL score at baseline (P = 0.0045). CONCLUSION: HRQOL is one of the significant predictor of the outcomes of therapy with pegylated interferon and RBV independently from IL28B polymorphism.

Efficacy and cost-effectiveness of consensus interferon monotherapy with high-dose induction for hepatitis C patients with genotype 2.

OBJECTIVE: Several treatment strategies for patients with chronic hepatitis C have been compared mainly in terms of their efficacy, and it has been found that pegylated interferon (IFN) plus ribavirin has become the standard therapy, but aged patients may not tolerate ribavirin and the cost-effectiveness of treatment should also be further considered. We conducted a study to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness of consensus IFN monotherapy with high-dose induction for patients with chronic hepatitis C in clinical practice. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We consecutively enrolled 104 patients with chronic hepatitis C. Patients were scheduled to receive 12 or 18 µg of consensus IFN daily for 2 weeks, then three times a week for 22 weeks. Efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness were assessed. A Markov model was developed to investigate cost-effectiveness in patients with chronic hepatitis C treated by different IFN-based treatment strategies. RESULTS: Of the 104 study patients, a sustained virological response (SVR) was achieved in 66 (63%). Logistic regression analysis revealed that genotype 2, lower hepatitis C virus RNA levels, and patient age were independently associated with SVR. The response rate was significantly higher in patients with genotype 2 (51/66, 77%) versus genotype 1 (15/38, 40%). Cost-effectiveness analysis in patients with genotype 2 revealed that high-dose induction with consensus IFN monotherapy was as highly cost-effective as pegylated IFN plus ribavirin. CONCLUSION: Consensus IFN monotherapy with high-dose induction shows high efficacy and cost-effectiveness in chronic hepatitis C patients with genotype 2 infection. Thus, it may be a reliable alternative in aged patients and for those excluded from standard combination therapy.