Variation in Utilization of Postoperative Rehabilitation After Total Hip Arthroplasty in Japan.

OBJECTIVE: The use of rehabilitation after arthroplasty in Japan is unknown. We aimed to identify utilization of postoperative rehabilitation after total hip arthroplasty (THA) and to explore the factors associated with rehabilitation usage. DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study using the National Database of Health Insurance Claims and Specific Health Checkups of Japan (NDB). SETTING: Hospitals nationwide. PARTICIPANTS: Patients aged >40 years who underwent primary THA between 2017 and 2018 (N=51,332). INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The proportion of patients who underwent postoperative rehabilitation and the number of rehabilitation days were also calculated. Patient demographic characteristics, hospital case volumes, and regions associated with continuing postoperative rehabilitation were analyzed using a Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: Eligible patients were selected from 3033 hospitals, of whom 41,192 (80%) were women. Of these, 94% used inpatient rehabilitation, and 20% received outpatient rehabilitation. The mean durations of rehabilitation were 47±72 days for inpatient and 195±109 days for outpatient, respectively. Large-scale hospitals performing more than 200 procedures annually had the shortest duration of inpatient rehabilitation (36-65 days) and the longest duration of outpatient rehabilitation (220-109 days) compared with smaller hospitals. The regression model consistently showed that rehabilitation continued longer at hospitals with over 200 patients per year (HR 0.96, 95% CI 0.93-0.99, P<.007). CONCLUSION: The Japanese health care system provided higher access to inpatient rehabilitation after THA than other countries. One limitation of this study is that long-term care insurance data were not analyzed. However, outpatient rehabilitation vary according to hospital case volume. Further research is needed to determine the causes of variation in rehabilitation use and the effect of variation on patient outcomes.

[Promotion of Diversity in the Academic Field of Urology : Analysis of 10,000 Articles Published in Acta Urologica Japonica during a 65-Year Period].

Gender equality is one of the most important issues in the promotion of diversity. The participation status of female urologists in academic activities has not been clarified. In the present study, we analyzed a total of 10,288 articles published by 58,914 authors in Acta Urologica Japonica since the first issue in 1955 to the present. The author's gender was determined by an application program interface for gender estimation in combination with independent manual confirmation by two researchers. The increasing rate (⊿person/⊿year) of female authors was as low as 0.067 in 1955-79, but increased to 0.400 in 1980-2000 and 0.814 in 2001-20. Over the time periods, the annual total numbers of female authors (person/year) showed an increasing trend from 3.2 in 1955-79 to 16.3 in 1980-2000 and 26.0 in 2001-20. The numbers of female author individuals, the ratio of female authors to all authors and the ratio of publications by female first author to all publications also showed similar trends. These results suggest that gender equality is becoming more prevalent in the academic field of urology. The methods and data of this study are considered to be useful for the promotion of gender equality in the academic field of urology for the future.

A survey of clarithromycin monotherapy and long-term administration of ethambutol for patients with MAC lung disease in Japan: A retrospective cohort study using the database of health insurance claims.

BACKGROUND: The number of patients with nontuberculous mycobacteriosis (NTM) has increased exponentially in recent years. In Japan, approximately 88.8% of patients with NTM suffer from Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare complex (MAC) lung disease. Incidence of MAC lung disease is increasing in particularly among the middle-aged and elderly women owing to a rapid increase in nontuberculous mycobacterial infections. General treatment for MAC lung disease is chemotherapy. The type of chemotherapy recommended by specialists to prevent the development of a drug-resistant strain of the bacteria consists of a combination of clarithromycin (CAM), rifampicin, and ethambutol (EB). CAM monotherapy is contraindicated by specialists owing to its high potential to induce drug-resistant bacterial strains in patients with MAC lung disease. In addition, administering EB at doses not less than 1000 mg d-1 is not recommended to avoid adverse drug reactions. However, it is unclear how much such treatment cases exist in real world clinical settings. This is because no long-term investigation has been carried out. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study investigated treatment with these drugs from 2005 to 2017, by studying 1135 patients with MAC lung disease based on health insurance claims database. RESULTS: Results showed that approximately 9.2% (101 cases) were prescribed long-term CAM monotherapy for 3 months or longer and approximately 3.6% (18 cases) were prescribed high doses of EB. CONCLUSION: CAM monotherapy over a long period of time is potentially detrimental to some patients. Better awareness of the types of treatments and their potential negative effects will be beneficial to clinical practitioners.

Chemoenzymatic Posttranslational Modification Reactions for the Synthesis of Ψ[CH2 NH]-Containing Peptides.

The Ψ[CH2 NH] reduced amide bond is a peptide isostere widely used in the development of bioactive pseudopeptides. Reported here is a method of chemoenzymatic posttranslational modification for the synthesis of Ψ[CH2 NH]-containing peptides converted from ribosomally expressed peptides. The posttranslational conversion composed of an enzymatic cyclodehydration and facile two-step chemical reduction achieves deoxygenation of a specific amide bond present in a nonprotected peptide in water. This method generates the Ψ[CH2 NH] bond in peptides and is applicable to various peptide sequences, potentially enabling the preparation of a library of Ψ[CH2 NH]-containing peptides.

The prevalence and disease burden of severe eosinophilic asthma in Japan.

Background: There are limited data on the prevalence and burden of severe eosinophilic asthma (SEA) both in Japan and globally. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and burden of SEA in Japan. Methods: This study was a retrospective, observational cohort analysis using health records or health insurance claims from patients with severe asthma treated at Kyoto University Hospital. The primary outcome was the prevalence of SEA, defined as a baseline blood eosinophil count ≥300 cells/µL. Secondary outcomes included frequency and risk factors of asthma exacerbations, and asthma-related healthcare resource utilization and costs. Results: Overall, 217 patients with severe asthma were included; 160 (74%) had eosinophil assessments. Of these, 97cases (61%), 54cases (34%), and 33cases (21%) had a blood eosinophil count ≥150, ≥300, and ≥500 cells/µL, respectively. Proportion of SEA was 34%. Blood eosinophil count was not associated with a significantly increased frequency of exacerbations. In the eosinophilic group, lower % forced expiratory volume in 1 second and higher fractional exhaled nitric oxide were predictive risk factors, while the existence of exacerbation history was a predictive risk factor for asthma exacerbations in the non-eosinophilic group. Severe asthma management cost was estimated as ¥357,958/patient-year, and asthma exacerbations as ¥26,124/patient-year. Conclusions: Approximately, one-third of patients with severe asthma in Japan have SEA. While risk factors for exacerbations differed between SEA and severe non-eosinophilic asthma, both subgroups were associated with substantial disease and economic burden. From subgroup analysis, blood eosinophil counts could be an important consideration in severe asthma management.

The Improvement of the Electronic Health Record User Experience by Screen Design Principles.

The amount and complexity of data accumulated in electronic health record (EHR) is quite large, and the quantity of information that clinicians can examine and handle is very limited. Thus, it is necessary to enhance the accessibility of EHR by improving the user experience (UX). To apply information visualization that turns EHR data into an understandable visual format, we propose following five screen design principles when designing UX interfaces. #1: One view should contain single patient data. #2: Data should be summarized or titled for overview and details should be given on-demand. #3: Data should be displayed in time-series. #4: Data should be categorized by primary type. #5: More data should be displayed at the same time. Three screen designs are plausible utilizing the above-mentioned principles. To measure the UX of screen designs and validate the design principles, we built an EHR viewer system that has three windows corresponding to these screen designs and had it tested by medical staff. The results of the test revealed that the UX of the screen design is proportional to the number of design principles that the screen design incorporates. It shows that the proposed screen design principles improve the UX of EHR.

The effect of model selection on cost-effectiveness research: a comparison of kidney function-based microsimulation and disease grade-based microsimulation in chronic kidney disease modeling.

BACKGROUND: Cost effectiveness research is emerging in the chronic kidney disease (CKD) research field. Especially, an individual-level state transition model (microsimulation) is widely used for these researches. Some researchers set CKD grades as discrete health states, and the transition probabilities between these states were dependent on the CKD grades (disease grade-based microsimulation, MSM-dg), while others set estimated glomerular filtration rate value which determines the severity of CKD as a main variable describing patients' continuous status (kidney function-based microsimulation, MSM-kf). MSM-kf seems to reflect the real world more precisely but is more difficult to implement. We compared the calculation results of these two microsimulation models to evaluate the effect of model selection on CKD cost-effectiveness analysis. METHODS: We implemented simplified MSM-dg and MSM-kf emulating natural course of CKD in general, and compared models using parameters derived from an IgA nephropathy cohort. After checking these models' overall behavior, life-years, utilities, and thresholds regarding intervention costs below which the intervention is thought as dominant (V0) or cost-effective (V1) were calculated. In addition, one-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed. RESULTS: With base-case parameters, the calculated life-years was shorter in MSM-dg (73.89 vs. 75.80 years) while the thresholds were almost equal (86.87 vs. 90.43 (V0), 132.29 vs. 146.25 [V1 in 1000 USD]) compared to MSM-kf. Sensitivity analyses showed a tendency of the MSM-dg to show shorter results in life-years. V0 and V1 were distributed by approximately ±100,000 USD (V0) and ± 150,000 USD (V1) between models. CONCLUSIONS: Estimated cost-effectiveness thresholds by both models were not the same and its difference distributed too wide to be ignored. This result indicated that model selection in CKD cost-effectiveness research has large effect on their conclusions.

Analysis of the evidence-practice gap to facilitate proper medical care for the elderly: investigation, using databases, of utilization measures for National Database of Health Insurance Claims and Specific Health Checkups of Japan (NDB).

As Japan becomes a super-aging society, presentation of the best ways to provide medical care for the elderly, and the direction of that care, are important national issues. Elderly people have multi-morbidity with numerous medical conditions and use many medical resources for complex treatment patterns. This increases the likelihood of inappropriate medical practices and an evidence-practice gap. The present study aimed to: derive findings that are applicable to policy from an elucidation of the actual state of medical care for the elderly; establish a foundation for the utilization of National Database of Health Insurance Claims and Specific Health Checkups of Japan (NDB), and present measures for the utilization of existing databases in parallel with NDB validation.Cross-sectional and retrospective cohort studies were conducted using the NDB built by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan, private health insurance claims databases, and the Kyoto University Hospital database (including related hospitals). Medical practices (drug prescription, interventional procedures, testing) related to four issues-potential inappropriate medication, cancer therapy, chronic kidney disease treatment, and end-of-life care-will be described. The relationships between these issues and clinical outcomes (death, initiation of dialysis and other adverse events) will be evaluated, if possible.

Effect of a Kinect-based exercise game on improving executive cognitive performance in community-dwelling elderly: case control study.

BACKGROUND: Decrease of dual-task (DT) ability is known to be one of the risk factors for falls. We developed a new game concept, Dual-Task Tai Chi (DTTC), using Microsoft's motion-capture device Kinect, and demonstrated that the DTTC test can quantitatively evaluate various functions that are known risk factors for falling in elderly adults. Moreover, DT training has been attracting attention as a way to improve balance and DT ability. However, only a few studies have reported that it improves cognitive performance. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to demonstrate whether or not a 12-week program of DTTC training would effectively improve cognitive functions. METHODS: This study examined cognitive functions in community-dwelling older adults before and after 12 weeks of DTTC training (training group [TG]) or standardized training (control group [CG]). Primary end points were based on the difference in cognitive functions between the TG and the CG. Cognitive functions were evaluated using the trail-making test (part A and part B) and verbal fluency test. RESULTS: A total of 41 elderly individuals (TG: n=26, CG: n=15) participated in this study and their cognitive functions were assessed before and after DTTC training. Significant differences were observed between the two groups with significant group × time interactions for the executive cognitive function measure, the delta-trail-making test (part B-part A; F1,36=4.94, P=.03; TG: pre mean 48.8 [SD 43.9], post mean 42.2 [SD 29.0]; CG: pre mean 49.5 [SD 51.8], post mean 64.9 [SD 54.7]). CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that DTTC training is effective for improving executive cognitive functions. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Japan Medical Association Clinical Trial Registration Number: JMA-IIA00092; https://dbcentre3.jmacct.med.or.jp/jmactr/App/JMACTRS06/JMACTRS06.aspx?seqno=2682 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6NRtOkZFh).

Development of a methodology for the detection of hospital financial outliers using information systems.

Comparison of financial indices helps to illustrate differences in operations and efficiency among similar hospitals. Outlier data tend to influence statistical indices, and so detection of outliers is desirable. Development of a methodology for financial outlier detection using information systems will help to reduce the time and effort required, eliminate the subjective elements in detection of outlier data, and improve the efficiency and quality of analysis. The purpose of this research was to develop such a methodology. Financial outliers were defined based on a case model. An outlier-detection method using the distances between cases in multi-dimensional space is proposed. Experiments using three diagnosis groups indicated successful detection of cases for which the profitability and income structure differed from other cases. Therefore, the method proposed here can be used to detect outliers.

Medical resource usage for COVID-19 evaluated using the National Database of Health Insurance Claims and Specific Health Checkups of Japan.

PURPOSE: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic exhibited several different waves threatening global health care. During this pandemic, medical resources were depleted. However, the kind of medical resources provided to each wave was not clarified. This study aimed to examine the characteristics of medical care provision at COVID-19 peaks in preparation for the next pandemic. METHODS: Using medical insurance claim records in Japan, we examined the presence or absence of COVID-19 infection and the use of medical resources for all patients monthly by age group. RESULTS: The wave around August 2021 with the Delta strain had the strongest impact on the working population in terms of hospital admission and respiratory support. For healthcare providers, this peak had the highest frequency of severely ill patients. In the subsequent wave, although the number of patients with COVID-19 remained high, they were predominantly older adults, with relatively fewer patients receiving intensive care. CONCLUSIONS: In future pandemics, we should refer to the wave around August 2021 as a situation of medical resource shortage resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Individual Activity Anomaly Estimation in Operating Rooms Based on Time-Sequential Prediction.

Surveillance videos of operating rooms have potential to benefit post-operative analysis and study. However, there is currently no effective method to extract useful information from the long and massive videos. As a step towards tackling this issue, we propose a novel method to recognize and evaluate individual activities using an anomaly estimation model based on time-sequential prediction. We verified the effectiveness of our method by comparing two time-sequential features: individual bounding boxes and body key points. Experiment results using actual surgery videos show that the bounding boxes are suitable for predicting and detecting regional movements, while the anomaly scores using key points can hardly be used to detect activities. As future work, we will be proceeding with extending our activity prediction for detecting unexpected and urgent events.

Gamification Approach to Provide Support About the Deferral Experience in Blood Donation: Design and Feasibility Study.

BACKGROUND: Multiple studies have examined the impact of deferral on the motivation of prospective blood donors, proposing various policies and strategies to support individuals who undergo this experience. However, existing information and communications technology systems focused on blood donation have not yet integrated these ideas or provided options to assist with the deferral experience. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to propose an initial gamified design aimed at mitigating the impact of the deferral experience by addressing the drivers of awareness and knowledge, interaction and validation, and motivation. Additionally, the study explores the feasibility of implementing such a system for potential users. METHODS: We conducted a literature review focusing on the dynamics of motivation and intention related to blood donation, as well as the deferral situation and its impact on citizens. Through this review, we identified weak donor identity, lack of knowledge, and reduced motivation as key factors requiring support from appropriate interventions. These factors were then defined as our key drivers. Taking these into account, we proposed a gamification approach that incorporates concepts from the MDA framework. The aim is to stimulate the aforementioned drivers and expand the concept of contribution and identity in blood donation. For a preliminary evaluation, we designed a prototype to collect feedback on usability, usefulness, and interest regarding a potential implementation of our proposed gamification approach. RESULTS: Among the participants, a total of 11 citizens interacted with the app and provided feedback through our survey. They indicated that interacting with the app was relatively easy, with an average score of 4.13 out of 5 when considering the 11 tasks of interaction. The SUS results yielded a final average score of 70.91 from the participants' answers. Positive responses were received when participants were asked about liking the concept of the app (3.82), being likely to download it (3.55), and being likely to recommend it to others (3.64). Participants expressed positivity about the implementation of the design but also highlighted current shortcomings and suggested possible improvements in both functionality and usability. CONCLUSIONS: Although deferral is a common issue in blood donation, there is a missed opportunity in existing ICT services regarding how to effectively handle such experiences. Our proposed design and implementation seem to have captured the interest of prospective users due to its perceived positive usefulness and potential. However, further confirmation is needed. Improving the design of activities that currently rely heavily on extrinsic motivation elements and integrating more social components to create an enhanced activity loop for intrinsic motivation could further increase the value of the proposed project. Future research could involve conducting a more specialized and longitudinal design evaluation with a larger sample size.

Operating table stability and patient safety during an earthquake based on the results of a shaking table experiment.

Background: The damage that may be caused to the operating table and patients under general anaesthesia when a large earthquake occurs is unclear. We aimed to evaluate the movement and damage to operating tables and patients under general anaesthesia during an earthquake. Methods: An operating table with a manikin resembling a patient on it was placed on a shaking table, and seismic waves were input into the shaking table. The effects of seismic waves were evaluated by altering surgical positions (supine and head-down positions), operating tables, flooring material, seismic waves, and output. We observed the movement of the operating table and measured the acceleration of the operating table and manikin head. Results: Under 90% output of long-period seismic waves, the operating table with the supine manikin was overturned. Under experimental conditions that did not cause rocking, shaking such as tilting of the operating table caused stronger acceleration in the manikin's head than in the operating table. There was no clear relationship between operating table rocking and maximum acceleration as a result of programmed seismic waves. In long-period earthquakes, rocking and overturning occurred >60 s after the onset of shaking, whereas in direct earthquakes, rocking occurred within 10 s. Conclusions: An earthquake could cause strong acceleration of the patient's head under general anaesthesia, and operating tables may overturn or shake violently. Regarding patient safety, further measures to prevent overturning should be considered.

Appropriate Relevancy and Reliability of Real-World Data for the Utilization of Regulatory Submission.

The extraction of data that contribute to regulatory approval from real-world data (RWD) is difficult because of the lack of a standardized data format and extraction methodology. Additionally, when real-world evidence (RWE) is used as an external control group, the similarity between internal and external control data is not evaluated. To investigate the data extraction methodology for the external control data of rare molecular subtypes, we have initiated the "REALISE" study. In this study, we aim to elucidate the "relevance" and "reliability" of RWD/RWE necessary for regulatory approval. As most databases are not designed for regulatory use in the creation phase, we will investigate retrospective methodologies to ensure RWD/RWE reliability. This study will compare the "relevance" and "reliability" of the ARCAD global database, SCRUM-Japan Registry, SCRUM-Japan observational study, and Flatiron Health RWD, and statistically analyze the differences and similarities among the four databases. We will also examine the methodology for extracting sufficiently relevant data from the SCRUM-Japan observational study. Additionally, if the reliability of the RWD/RWE does not reach the required level for regulatory approval, we will examine the methodologies to ensure the "reliability" of the SCRUM-Japan observational study for regulatory approval. The obtained results will be submitted to the "Consultation for Development of Registry" in the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency, and we will discuss the standard methodology. The procedures and findings identified in the REALISE study will be organized from the perspectives of "database construction," "data analysis," and "outcome evaluation" and will be issued as "the draft guidelines."

Rupture progression model of stress integration for virtual reality ablation.

Virtual reality (VR) simulation is expected to be advantageous to surgical training for invasive operations such as incision and dissection that are unrepeatable in the real world. This study focuses on ablation in order to provide a simulation model for soft tissue rupture progression. To simulate soft tissue handling by two or more manipulators, the model must calculate the stress accumulation at the tip of a rupture. This stress accumulation is affected by the stress condition caused by the manipulators. Herein, the authors propose a method to integrate multiple stresses with two different hypotheses. The proposed model was evaluated through the simulation of primitive board ablation.

Reduction in X-ray Retake Rate Using the Token Economy Method.

Excessive retakes of X-ray images increase labor and material costs, as well as result in excess radiation exposure for patients and a long waiting time. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of the token economy method as a management method for reducing X-ray retake rate among radiology technicians. The results showed a 2.5% reduction in retake rate, indicating the effectiveness of our method. In addition, we suggest that the token-economy-based approach can be applied to other hospital management problems.

Post-translational backbone-acyl shift yields natural product-like peptides bearing hydroxyhydrocarbon units.

Hydroxyhydrocarbon (Hhc) moieties in the backbone of peptidic natural products can exert a substantial influence on the bioactivities of the products, making Hhc units an attractive class of building blocks for de novo peptides. However, despite advances in in vitro genetic code reprogramming, the ribosomal incorporation of Hhc units remains challenging. Here we report a method for in vitro ribosomal synthesis of natural-product-like peptides bearing Hhc units. A series of azide/hydroxy acids were designed as chemical precursors of Hhc units and incorporated into the nascent peptide chain by means of genetic code reprogramming. Post-translational reduction of the azide induced an O-to-N acyl shift to rearrange the peptide backbone. This method allows for one-pot ribosomal synthesis of designer macrocycles bearing various ß-, γ- and δ-type Hhc units. We also report the synthesis of a statine-containing peptidomimetic inhibitor of ß-secretase 1 as a showcase example.

Investigation on factors related to poor CPAP adherence using machine learning: a pilot study.

To improve patients' adherence to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy, this study aimed to clarify whether machine learning-based data analysis can identify the factors related to poor CPAP adherence (i.e., CPAP usage that does not reach four hours per day for five days a week). We developed a CPAP adherence prediction model using logistic regression and learn-to-rank machine learning with a pairwise approach. We then investigated adherence prediction performance targeting a 12-week period and the top ten factors correlating to poor CPAP adherence. The CPAP logs of 219 patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) obtained from clinical treatment at Kyoto University Hospital were used. The highest adherence prediction accuracy obtained was an F1 score of 0.864. Out of the top ten factors obtained with the highest prediction accuracy, four were consistent with already-known clinical knowledge. The factors for better CPAP adherence indicate that air leakage should be avoided, mask pressure should be kept constant, and CPAP usage duration should be longer and kept constant. The results indicate that machine learning is an adequate method for investigating factors related to poor CPAP adherence.

Token Economy-Based Hospital Bed Allocation to Mitigate Information Asymmetry: Proof-of-Concept Study Through Simulation Implementation.

BACKGROUND: Hospital bed management is an important resource allocation task in hospital management, but currently, it is a challenging task. However, acquiring an optimal solution is also difficult because intraorganizational information asymmetry exists. Signaling, as defined in the fields of economics, can be used to mitigate this problem. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to develop an assignment process that is based on a token economy as signaling intermediary. METHODS: We implemented a game-like simulation, representing token economy-based bed assignments, in which 3 players act as ward managers of 3 inpatient wards (1 each). As a preliminary evaluation, we recruited 9 nurse managers to play and then participate in a survey about qualitative perceptions for current and proposed methods (7-point Likert scale). We also asked them about preferred rewards for collected tokens. In addition, we quantitatively recorded participant pricing behavior. RESULTS: Participants scored the token economy-method positively in staff satisfaction (3.89 points vs 2.67 points) and patient safety (4.38 points vs 3.50 points) compared to the current method, but they scored the proposed method negatively for managerial rivalry, staff employee development, and benefit for patients. The majority of participants (7 out of 9) listed human resources as the preferred reward for tokens. There were slight associations between workload information and pricing. CONCLUSIONS: Survey results indicate that the proposed method can improve staff satisfaction and patient safety by increasing the decision-making autonomy of staff but may also increase managerial rivalry, as expected from existing criticism for decentralized decision-making. Participant behavior indicated that token-based pricing can act as a signaling intermediary. Given responses related to rewards, a token system that is designed to incorporate human resource allocation is a promising method. Based on aforementioned discussion, we concluded that a token economy-based bed allocation system has the potential to be an optimal method by mitigating information asymmetry.