Effectiveness of an Interdisciplinary Medical Hospital Admission Center: The Role of the Dental Section in the Interdisciplinary System for Perioperative Management of Patients Awaiting Surgery.

Perioperative oral functional management (POFM) involves total oral management of a patient before surgery. Considerable benefits have been reported, but POFM remains scarce in medical settings. An interdisciplinary Medical Hospital Admission Center (MHAC) opened in our hospital in December 2014, and has since provided unified perioperative management for patients. This study reports on the clinical system and contributions of the systematized, standardized POFM applied through the MHAC. Patients awaiting surgery undergo oral screening before admission, with patients classified into three groups: red, needing surgical oral management (tooth extraction or other oral surgery) before surgery; yellow, needing non-surgical oral management before surgery, due to the planned surgery or the risk of tooth injury in connection with general anesthesia; or green, patients with good oral hygiene considered capable of suitable oral self-management. Patients categorized as red or yellow undergo POFM in the dental section of the MHAC before surgery. Almost all patients (88.8%) awaiting surgery now undergo preoperative oral screening, excluding emergent surgeries. In addition, oral screening is important for preventing tooth injury during endotracheal intubation for general anesthesia, and a need for preventive measures was identified in 6.1% of patients. No traumatic injuries of the teeth in connection with general anesthesia have occurred since the opening of the MHAC. Standardized POFM through an interdisciplinary MHAC thus seems extremely useful.

Tongue cancer with mental retardation due to microcephaly: a clinical report.

Oral cancer in patients with mental retardation has not been reported in detail, although the literature on clinical management of oral malignancies in the general population is extensive. No clear consensus has been established regarding the management of oral cancer in patients with mental retardation. We present herein the case of a 32-year-old Japanese man with mental retardation due to microcephaly who presented with advanced tongue cancer. He was treated with three courses of chemotherapy using superselective intra-arterial infusion of cisplatin at 100 mg/m2 via the femoral artery (Seldinger method). No major complications were encountered, and complete response was achieved. The patient has shown no clinical or radiological evidence of local recurrence or distant metastases as of 22 months after the end of treatment. This case provides a basis for the future appropriate management of oral cancer in patients with mental retardation.