ABSTRACT
Purpose: Distress screening is mandated by Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan, however there is few data available on its effect in actual practice. We examined the impact of distress screening on palliative care referral at Hyogo Prefectural Amagasaki General Medical Center in Japan. Materials and Methods: We implemented distress screening on cancer patients who were given chemotherapy from February 2018. Patients were referred to the palliative care team when the physicians judged the need on the basis of the screening results or when the patients themselves wanted to receive the palliative care service. We examined the number of the patients referred to the palliative care team, then we researched the changes of the number after implementation of the screening, using the regression discontinuity analysis. Results: The distress screening didn’t increase the number of the patients who were referred to the palliative care team: the estimated difference of the number was 3.32 (95% confidence interval: −3.19〜9.82). Conclusion: We implemented distress screening at our hospital but it didn’t increase palliative care referral. Only a few studies have examined how routine screening impacts clinical outcomes. We expect our study helps to research the effectiveness of screening in each healthcare facility.
ABSTRACT
An 84-year-old man with a thoracic aortic aneurysm underwent total arch replacement with selective antegrade cerebral perfusion. Immediately after the operation, respiratory distress and hypotension developed and Chest X-ray films and computed tomography showed bilateral lung edema. Echocardiography showed a small, underfilled left ventricle, but with preserved systolic function. We suspected transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI), and started sivelestat and steroid pulse therapy. His respiratory condition gradually improved, and he was discharged on postoperative day 78. The diagnosis of TRALI was confirmed by positive test results of an HLA class I antibody in the transfused fresh frozen plasma and T- and B-cells of the patient. TRALI should be considered as a cause of acute lung injury after surgery with blood transfusion.