Consideration of a Survey Regarding Mortuary Care / 日本農村医学会雑誌

　　Our ward encounters many cases (approximately 80 every year) requiring end-of-life care. The experiences of nurses, as well as of patients’ families and friends, vary widely and nurses appear to be anxious about providing mortuary care, known as Angel care. There is no standardized manual, and therefore medical care professionals need to optimize good Angel care practices in order to alleviate nurses’ anxiety around the issue. We administered a questionnaire regarding the situation of Angel care to 208 ward nurses in our hospital and extracted difficulties in providing Angel care reported by the 173 respondents. Less than 5% of nurses, regardless of length of nursing experience, experienced no anxiety. Nurses found it difficult to conduct basic technical procedures: 51.7% had difficulties in closing the deceased patient’s mouth and 40.2% had difficulties judging whether the results of mortuary makeup resemble antemortem appearance. Ninety-five percent of nurses wished to study Angel care in the future should learning materials be available. In conclusion, more than half of nurses were anxious about providing Angel care regardless of length of their nursing experience and number of cases handled. Nurses are greatly interested in Angel care and wish to learn more if learning materials are made available.

Emerging Technologies for Telemedicine

This paper focuses on new technologies that are practically useful for telemedicine. Three representative systems are introduced: a Digital Video Transport System (DVTS), an H.323 compatible videoconferencing system, and Vidyo. Based on some of our experiences, we highlight the advantages and disadvantages of each technology, and point out technologies that are especially targeted at doctors and technicians, so that those interested in using similar technologies can make appropriate choices and achieve their own goals depending on their specific conditions.

Comparative study between laparoscopic and opean distal pancreatectomy for distal benign lesions

Laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy [LDP] has been shown to be an effective surgical option for benign lesions in the body and tail of the pancreas. However, its advantages and disadvantages have not been well characterized. In this study, we compared the outcomes of LDP and open distal pancreatectomy [ODP], Peri-and postoperative outcomes were retrospectively compared between patients with benign pancreatic disorders who underwent open distal pancreatectomy [ODP] [n=35] and those underwent LDP [n=40]. The peri-and postoperative factors analyzed included operative time, blood loss, hospital stay, postoperative recovery, biochemical findings and complications. LDP was associated with significantly less operative blood loss [363 vs 606 ml; P=0.001], shorter hospital stay [22 vs 27 day; P=0.009], but longer operative time [342 vs 250 min; P=0.000], compared with ODP. There were no significant differences in complication rates or postoperative recovery between the two groups except for significant less postoperative pain killer intake and earlier improvement of the biochemical analysis in LDP than in ODP. LDP appears to be a safe and desirable procedure for the management of benign pancreatic diseases, with outcomes similar to ODP

Role of the Duodenum on Sphincter of Oddi Motility in Conscious Dogs / 中华肝胆外科杂志

Objective The aim of the present study was to determine the role of the duodenum in controlling sphincter of Oddi(SO) motility using conscious dogs after total duodenectomy. Methods In a control group (n=6), a cannula was implanted into the duodenum opposite to the papilla to allow sphincter of Oddi manometry. In a duodenectomy group (n=6), the papillae were preserved at total duodenectomy and sutured to the jejunum anastomosed to the stomach (neoduodenum). The cannula was implanted opposite to the implanted papillae. Interdigestive and postprandial sphincter of Oddi and duodenal or neoduodenal motility were recorded by manometric and myoelectric methods. Results Duodenectomy disrupted SO cyclic motility. Conclusions During the interdigestive period, the duodenum has a distinct role in regulating sphincter of Oddi cyclic motility.