What preferences do potential obstetrics-gynecology specialists have regarding their working environment? Results of a questionnaire survey of participants in the Summer School 2023 of the Japanese Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

AIM: The chronic lack of obstetrics-gynecology (Ob/Gyn) doctors is a serious problem to be tackled in Japan. To address this issue, it is necessary for medical students to be interested in working as an Ob/Gyn doctor and more junior residents need to specialize in Ob/Gyn. This study aims to identify the preferences concerning working conditions among students and discusses what information should be provided and what conditions should be changed. METHODS: A questionnaire survey was conducted among participants in the Summer School 2023 of the Japanese Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The respondents were medical students and junior residents interested in Ob/Gyn. Ob/Gyn specialists contributing to the summer school were also asked the same questions for comparison. The resulting data focused on important working conditions, concerns about future work, and expected future working conditions. RESULTS: Responses from 132 medical students (97.8%, N = 135), 122 residents (99.2%, N = 123), and 76 specialists (95.0%, N = 80) were obtained. There were three main findings. First, large gaps between students/residents and specialists were observed in terms of preferences. Second, differences between male and female students/residents were not negligible, although the difference was relatively small in specialists. Third, students/residents were more concerned about risks related to medical malpractice than specialists. CONCLUSIONS: Gaps in preferences and perceptions regarding working conditions between students/residents and specialists should be narrowed through sufficient information provision. Working conditions should become gender-inclusive rather than focus on female persons.

Association of abnormalities in electrocardiography and ultrasonic echocardiography with the occurrence of cardiovascular disease in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND: In patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) increases with disease progression. CVD screening tests in those with CKD were researched to determine whether abnormalities observed in electrocardiography (ECG) and ultrasonic echocardiography (UCG) were risk factors associated with the development of CVD. METHODS: This study included 604 patients with CKD G4 and G5, for whom both ECG and UCG were performed. They were divided into four groups: those without ECG- and UCG-indicated abnormalities (group A, n = 333), with only ECG abnormalities (group B, n = 106), with only UCG abnormalities (group C, n = 75), and with both ECG and UCG abnormalities (group D, n = 90). Multivariate analysis using Cox regression analysis of the occurrence of CVD was performed during a follow-up period. RESULTS: During the observation period, 124 patients had clinical events. Among them, 45 patients (13.5%) were in Group A, 25 patients (23.6%) in Group B, 19 patients (25.3%) in Group C, and 35 patients (38.9%) in Group D, respectively. CVD event occurrence was highest in Group D. The results of the multivariate analysis also showed that the CVD event rates were significantly higher in Group C (HR: 2.96, P = < .001) and D (HR: 4.22, P < .001) than in Group A. CONCLUSION: In patients with advanced CKD, there was a significant correlation of ECG and UCG abnormalities with CVD events. Additionally, those having both types of abnormalities may have a higher risk of coronary artery disease than other groups.

Renal protective effects of astragalus root in rat models of chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND: Astragalus root is a commonly used herb in traditional Chinese medicine. Although renoprotective effects have been reported in some clinical and experimental studies, the details remain unknown. METHODS: We used 5/6 nephrectomized rats as chronic kidney disease (CKD) models. At 10 weeks, they were divided into four groups, namely, CKD, low-dose astragalus (AR400), high-dose astragalus (AR800), and sham groups. At 14 weeks, they were sacrificed for the evaluation of blood, urine, mRNA expression in the kidney, and renal histopathology. RESULTS: Kidney dysfunction was significantly improved following astragalus administration (creatinine clearance: sham group; 3.8 ± 0.3 mL/min, CKD group; 1.5 ± 0.1 mL/min, AR400 group; 2.5 ± 0.3 mL/min, AR800 group; 2.7 ± 0.1 mL/min). Blood pressure, urinary albumin, and urinary NGAL levels were significantly lower in the astragalus-treated groups than those in the CKD group. Excretion of urinary 8-OHdG, an oxidative stress marker, and intrarenal oxidative stress were lower in the astragalus-treated groups than those in the CKD group. Furthermore, the mRNA expression of NADPH p22 phox, NADPH p47 phox, Nox4, renin, angiotensin II type 1 receptor, and angiotensinogen in the kidney was lower in the astragalus-treated groups compared with the CKD group. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that astragalus root slowed CKD progression, possibly through the suppression of oxidative stress and the renin-angiotensin system.

Managing Interhospital Referrals During a COVID-19 Patient Surge in Japan: Creating Available Beds by Exchanging Patients.

A COVID-19 patient surge in Japan from July to September 2021 caused a mismatch between patient severity and bed types because hospital beds were fully occupied and patient referrals between hospitals stagnated. Japan's predominantly private healthcare system lacks effective mechanisms to coordinate healthcare providers to address the mismatch. To address the surge, in August 2021, Tokyo Saiseikai Central Hospital started a scheme to exchange patients with other hospitals to mitigate the mismatch. In this article, we outline a retrospective observational study using medical records from a tertiary care medical center that treated severe COVID-19 cases. We describe daily patient admissions to our hospital's COVID-19 beds from July to September 2021, and compared the moving average of daily admissions before and after the exchange scheme was introduced. Bed occupancy reached nearly 100% in late July when the patient surge began and continued to exceed 100% in August when the surge peaked. However, the average daily admission did not decrease in August compared with July: the median daily admission (25th to 75th percentile) during each period was 2 (1 to 2.5) in late July and 3 (2 to 4) in August. The number of patients referred in from secondary care hospitals and the number of patients referred out was balanced in August. During the patient surge, the exchange scheme enabled the hospital to maintain and even increase the number of new admissions despite the bed shortage. Coordinating patient referrals in both directions simultaneously, rather than the usual 1-way transfer, can mitigate such mismatches.

Clinical Implication of Consistently Strict Phosphate Control for Coronary and Valvular Calcification in Incident Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis.

AIMS: Serum phosphate control is crucial for the progression of vascular and valvular calcifications. Strict phosphate control is recently suggested; however, there is a lack of convincing evidence. Therefore, we explored the effects of strict phosphate control on vascular and valvular calcifications in incident patients undergoing hemodialysis. METHODS: A total of 64 patients undergoing hemodialysis from our previous randomized controlled trial were included in this study. Coronary artery calcification score (CACS) and cardiac valvular calcification score (CVCS) were evaluated using computed tomography and ultrasound cardiography at baseline and 18 months after the initiation of hemodialysis. The absolute changes in CACS (ΔCACS) and CVCS (ΔCVCS) and the percent change in CACS (%ΔCACS) and CVCS (%ΔCVCS) were calculated. Serum phosphate level was measured at 6, 12, and 18 months after the initiation of hemodialysis. Moreover, phosphate control status was evaluated using the area under the curve (AUC) by the amount of time spent with a serum phosphate level of ≥ 4.5 mg/dL and the extent to which this threshold exceeded over the observation period. RESULTS: ΔCACS, %ΔCACS, ΔCVCS, and %ΔCVCS were significantly lower in the low AUC group than in the high AUC group. ΔCACS and %ΔCACS were also significantly lower. ΔCVCS and %ΔCVCS tended to be lower in patients whose serum phosphate level never exceeded 4.5 mg/dL than in those whose serum phosphate level continuously exceeded 4.5 mg/dL. AUC significantly correlated with ΔCACS and ΔCVCS. CONCLUSION: Consistently strict phosphate control may slow the progression of coronary and valvular calcifications in incident patients undergoing hemodialysis.

Comparison of two protocols for steroid pulse therapy in patients with IgA nephropathy: a retrospective observational study.

BACKGROUND: Steroid pulse (SP) therapy is one of the immunosuppressive therapies for immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN). Although there are various protocols of SP therapy in IgAN, the intermittent SP (ISP) and consecutive SP (CSP) protocols are prevalently performed in clinical settings. However, there is a lack of evidence of comparisons of the effects on IgAN between these two protocols. METHODS: A total of 189 patients with IgAN who had received SP therapy were included in this study. They were divided into two groups according to the SP protocols into the intermittent SP (ISP) or consecutive SP (CSP) group as follows: ISP; three-times SP therapy in alternate months, CSP; three-times SP therapy in three consecutive weeks. Kidney function, remission of urinary findings, and side effects of SP therapy were compared between the two groups. The observational period was 12 months after the initiation of SP therapy. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in kidney function between the two groups during the observational period. The remission rate of proteinuria and hematuria at 12 months also did not significantly differ between the two groups. Furthermore, even after the adjustment of clinical characteristics using propensity score matching, the remission rate of proteinuria and hematuria at 12 months was similar between the two groups. At 2 months, the remission rate of proteinuria was significantly higher in the CSP group than in the ISP group. There were no critical side effects in both groups. CONCLUSION: The effects of SP therapy on IgAN were similar between the ISP and CSP group at 12 months although CSP therapy could remit proteinuria faster than ISP therapy.

Screening for Fabry disease among male patients on hemodialysis in Awaji Island.

Fabry disease (FD) manifests decreased α-galactosidase A (α-Gal A) activity and multiorgan damage. There are some undiagnosed cases of the condition among patients on dialysis. The prevalence of FD may also vary with the region. Among 227 male patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis in Awaji Island, a remote island in Japan, 201 (88.5%) were included in this study. Patients with α-Gal A activity <5.0 pmol/h/disk proceeded to secondary screening. Patients with positive secondary screening underwent further genetic analysis. The number of patients with a family history of cardiac, cerebrovascular, and kidney diseases was 31 (15.4%), 23 (11.4%), and 31 (15.4%) patients, respectively. Although three patients (1.5%) had low α-Gal A activity, none of them was positive in the secondary screening. We could not identify any male hemodialysis patient with FD in Awaji Island, even though some patients had a family history of kidney and cardiovascular diseases.