Search

Background and objective: Continuous spinal analgesia (CSA) offers considerable pain relief, and has been used in various procedures such as for surgery and cancer pain control. In Japan, portable and disposable infusion kits are increasingly employed for continuous epidural analgesia and CSA. In CSA, the use of a microcatheter is expected to reduce the incidence of spinal headache previously encountered with larger catheters. However, the flow rate of disposable infusion kits is reduced when used in conjunction with a microcatheter. Methods: This study aimed to investigate the influence of catheter length on the flow rate of two different devices: 20- or 91-cm 28-G microcatheters connected to balloon- or syringe-type infusion pumps were examined (50 mL, 1 mLh -1). There were four groups each of 10 experiments: Group A: balloon-type infuser, 91 cm catheter; Group B: balloon-type infuser, 20 cm catheter; Group C: syringe-type infuser, 91 cm catheter; Group D: syringe-type infuser, 20 cm catheter Results: The mean flow rate in Group A was significantly less than that in Group B and the mean flow rate in Group C was significantly less than Group D (P < 0.05). Conclusion: These results indicated that the use of a shorter microcatheter achieves a better flow rate during CSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, attention has been focused on environmental exposure of anticancer drugs, and guidelines for occupational exposure measures in cancer drug therapy have been created in Japan. Exposure measures related to the preparation and administration of anticancer drugs are being standardized. Although exposure measures have been implemented for the preparation and administration of the infusion pump(IP)used for continuous fluorouracil administration for 46-hour in FOLFOX and FOLFIRI therapies, which are standard chemotherapies for colorectal cancer, needle-removal procedures after the end of administration have not been investigated. Therefore, in this study, we investigated anticancer drug exposure at the time of IP needle removal to establish a safe needle-removal procedure from the viewpoint of anticancer drug exposure countermeasures. The results suggest that the IP's clamp lock position and the pulsing flush of the Huber needle may reduce antineoplastic exposure. In the future, we would like to consider this an educational method for needle-removal techniques.

Some infectious diseases, such as infective endocarditis, osteomyelitis, and abscesses, require treatment with long-term intravenous antimicrobial treatment. Therefore, the patient is required to stay in the hospital to receive therapy, which lowers their quality of life. Establishing an outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) by continuous infusion pump is desired in Japan to overcome these issues. However, the 24-h stability of antimicrobial agents dissolved in infusion solutions is unclear. Thus, we investigated the stability of antimicrobial agents in five different infusion solutions in a clinical setting. Benzylpenicillin potassium (PCG) and ampicillin (ABPC) were dissolved separately in five different infusion solutions and kept at 25 or 31.1 °C for 24 h. The residual ratios were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Dissolved PCG in acetate ringer solution remained stable for 24 h at temperatures of 25 and 31.1 °C (101.7 ± 1.4% and 92.9 ± 1.3%, respectively). In addition, the PCG solution did not adsorb onto the elastomeric infusion pump after 24 h at 31.1 °C. PCG dissolved in acetate ringer solution was also stable for 10 days after being kept in an elastomeric infusion pump at 4 °C (99.7 ± 0.5%). ABPC was unstable in all of the tested infusion solutions and temperatures. Based on our results, PCG in acetate ringer solution can be used in OPAT with continuous infusion pumps., (Copyright © 2018 Japanese Society of Chemotherapy and The Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In 2014, we reported the first trial based on outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) with continuous infusions in Japan. Following this, we found many patients who were eligible for OPAT but could not undertake it owing to difficulties in accessing the clinic daily. To overcome this problem, we created a model in collaboration with visiting nursing stations and started providing OPAT with the services. We report herein on a summary of the investigation of the first 10 patients treated under this model. We collected data pertaining to diseases, organisms, antimicrobials, treatment duration, bed days saved, outcome, readmission rate, and cost reductions associated with these patients. The most commonly targeted disease was osteomyelitis, followed by infective endocarditis. The condition of nine of the patients was complicated by bacteremia. The most commonly targeted organism was Staphylococcus aureus. Cefazolin was the most frequently prescribed antimicrobial, followed by Penicillin G. The median duration for OPAT was 12 days (range: 5-23 days). The total number of bed days saved was 129. All patients completed the planned OPAT. Eight patients were cured and two showed improvement. Only one patient was readmitted within a month after the completion of therapy. The estimated medical cost reduction was 496,540 yen, which is approximately 4,200 US dollars. Collaboration with visiting nursing stations provided OPAT to the patients who had difficulties in accessing the clinic daily. Our study shows that OPAT administered by continuous infusion in collaboration with home-visit nursing services would be a safe and feasible practice for efficient bed utilization and medical cost saving.

Aim: According to a national report on incident analysis, the mental workload that exists during the i.v. medication administration process might affect nurses' visual behavior and, thus, influence the accuracy of the process. This study examined changes in the visual behavior of nurses who operated an infusion pump under the influence of time pressure and dual tasking., Methods: mTen nursing students, 13 experienced nurses, and nine inexperienced nurses, equipped with an eye tracker and instruments that measure the heart rate and breathing frequency, carried out an infusion pump operation in a simulated patient room under three mental workload conditions: without a mental workload, under time pressure, and while dual tasking., Results: Under the time pressure condition, the total visual fixation duration of the procedures was shortened. The experienced and inexperienced nurse groups could shorten the tasks in order of priority but the student group could reduce the tasks only inconsistently. Dual tasking had no influence on the total fixation duration of the procedures. However, the fixation location was influenced by the dual-tasking condition. This condition caused dispersed attention in the student and inexperienced-nurse groups, but not in the experienced-nurse group., Conclusion: Time pressure appears to cause nurses to shorten the duration of infusion pump operation and to reduce the quantity of checking. Dual tasking appears to have no influence on the total visual fixation duration but causes dispersed attention, reducing the quality of checking., (© 2010 The Authors. Japan Journal of Nursing Science © 2010 Japan Academy of Nursing Science.)

Background and Aim: To clarify the usefulness of a newly designed method for measuring intraduodenal pH to examine the relationship between duodenal acidity and upper gastrointestinal symptoms during intragastric acid infusion., Methods: The study subjects were six healthy volunteers. A Bravo pH capsule with thread fixed to the gastric wall was endoscopically introduced into the second portion of the duodenum, and intraduodenal acidity was measured during intragastric infusion of 300 mL of 0.1 mol/L hydrochloric acid or pure water through an elemental diet tube. The severity of several upper gastrointestinal symptoms were assessed by using a 10-cm visual analogue scale every 2 min for up to 30 min, and the area under the severity scale-time curve (cm×min.) were calculated., Results: The percentage time during 30 min when the intraduodenal pH was <4.0 and was significantly greater than during water infusion (61.4±6.1% vs 24.8±6.5%). Several upper gastrointestinal symptoms were observed during acid infusion (acid vs water epigastric heaviness, 29.1±12.0 vs 2.7±1.4; dull epigastric pain, 8.8±4.9 vs 0.7±0.7 cm×min/30 min). Intraduodenal pH below 4.0 was correlated with the severity of dull pain in the stomach (R(2)=0.342, P=0.044)., Conclusion: The newly designed intraduodenal pH monitoring by using catheterless radiotelemetry system is useful to examine the relationship between duodenal acidity and upper gastrointestinal symptoms., (© 2010 Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation and Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.)