Journal of Nippon Medical School = Nippon Ika Daigaku zasshi
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This report describes our onsite medical rounds and fact-finding activities conducted in the acute phase and medical relief work conducted in the subacute phase in Miyagi prefecture following the Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent tsunami that occurred off northeastern Honshu on March 11, 2011. As part of the All-Japan Hospital Association medical team deployed to the disaster area, a Nippon Medical School team conducted fact-finding and onsite medical rounds and evaluated basic life and medical needs in the affected areas of Shiogama and Tagajo. We performed triage for more than 2,000 casualties, but in our medical rounds of hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes, we found no severely injured person but did find 1 case of hyperglycemia. ⋯ In Kesennuma City, we found that some evacuation shelters could not contact others even after 1 week after the earthquake. We realized from our experiences that, unlike our activities following more localized earthquake disasters, the first task following such large-scale disasters is to acquire information on basic life needs, including medication needs, and the number of persons requiring assistance. We must provide medical relief according to the unique characteristics of the disaster-affected areas as well as the specific nature of the disaster, in this case, a tsunami.
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On March 11, 2011, after the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, the government declared a nuclear emergency following damage to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. A second hydrogen explosion occurred on March 14 at the plant's No. 3 reactor and injured 11 people. At that time the prime minister urged people living 20 to 30 km from the Daiichi plant to stay indoors. ⋯ As a result, we could reduce the number of patients at Iwaki Kyoritsu Hospital, and, thereby, the collapse of medical services in the city was avoided. In retrospect, someone might say the government--either central or local--should ideally have carried out this mission and created a system by which to do it. At the same time, however, to overcome any future bureaucratic issues, we should also prepare private networks, such as those used by NMS, because they can respond flexibly to unexpected large-scale disasters.
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Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is a highly successful treatment for prolonging the lives of selected patients; however, preoperative and postoperative renal dysfunction has been an important predictor of adverse cardiovascular events. Concerns have recently grown regarding chronic kidney disease (CKD), which is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. In the present study we examined the significance of renal function on the basis of the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and analyzed other factors as predictors of long-term clinical outcomes after CABG. ⋯ The mean age of patients was 64.6 ± 9.3 years, and the mean duration of follow-up was 69.5 ± 44.5 months. There were no significant differences in either deaths from all causes or cardiovascular deaths between the CKD group and the non-CKD group. Multivariate analysis using the Cox proportional hazards model revealed that age (hazard ratio, 1.044; p=0.001) was a predictor of all-cause death and that age (hazard ratio, 1.154; p<0.001), diabetes mellitus (hazard ratio, 3.122; p=0.046), unstable angina (hazard ratio, 5.012; p=0.003), and proteinuria (hazard ratio, 7.982; p<0.001) were predictors of cardiovascular death. conclusions: Our study demonstrates that age, diabetes mellitus, unstable angina, and proteinuria are factors that affect long-term prognosis after CABG, whereas eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) is not a predictive risk factor for either all-cause death or cardiovascular death. Although the predictive value of eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) is generally accepted, analysis of our own data with receiver operating characteristic curves shows that eGFR <50 mL/min/1.73 m(2) is a more sensitive predictor of long-term outcome.
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Case Reports
Unexplained lower abdominal pain associated with sacroiliac joint dysfunction: report of 2 cases.
A 25-year-old woman and a 31-year-old man presented with chronic lower back pain and unexplained lower abdominal pain. Both patients had groin tenderness at the medial border of the anterior superior iliac spine. The results of radiographical and physical examinations suggested sacroiliac joint dysfunction. ⋯ We speculate that spasm of the iliac muscle can cause groin pain and tenderness. Groin pain and a history of unexplained abdominal pain, with lower back pain, are symptoms that suggest sacroiliac joint dysfunction. Additionally, compression of the iliac muscle is a simple and useful maneuver; therefore, it can be used as a screening test for sacroiliac joint dysfunction, alongside other provocation tests.