A novel telerehabilitation with an educational program for caregivers using telelecture is feasible for fall prevention in elderly people: A case series.

BACKGROUND: The importance of fall prevention rehabilitations has been well recognized. Recently telerehabilitation was developed, however, there have been no reports on telerehabilitation with direct support from specialists for fall prevention among the elderly. We herein reported telerehabilitation by caregivers educated by our novel educational program. METHODS: Caregivers were educated with our educational program using a telelecture system and supported telerehabilitation following instructions from rehabilitation specialists in our university using the telemedicine system every two to four weeks for three months. Caregivers were assessed with our original questionnaire before and after the telelecture. Participants were assessed by the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Timed Up & Go test (TUG test), Hand-held dynamometer (HHD) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) before and after telerehabilitation. Wilcoxon's signed-rank test was used for the statistical analyses. A value of P<.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Nine elderly people were enrolled. The mean age was 84.7 (78-90) years old and the sex ratio was 1:8 (males:females). The average number of telerehabilitation sessions was 4.7. The average score of nineteen caregivers before the lecture was 15.3, while that after the lecture was 18.3. Caregivers' understanding was significantly increased after the telelecture (P<.001). No adverse events occurred during the study period. The median values of the BBSs, TUG test, right and left HHD and MMSE before and after 3 months' telerehabilitation were 43 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 40.10, 49.01) and 49 (95% CI: 41.75, 50.91), 17.89 (95% CI: 15.51, 23.66) and 18.53 (95% CI: 14.56, 25.67), 7.95 (95% CI: 4.38, 10.14) and 11.55 (95% CI: 7.06, 13.55), 9.85 (95% CI: 6.79, 12.59) and 13.20 (95% CI: 7.96, 14.42), and 19 (95% CI: 12.34, 21.66) and 16 (95% CI: 10.81, 21.00), respectively. Although approximately half of the participants showed improvement in the BBS, TUG test, right and left HHD and MMSE, no significant changes were observed (P=.7239, P=.3446, P=.1023, P=.3538 and P=.8253, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Our telerehabilitation program exhibited significant effects in elderly people and improved the degree of understanding concerning rehabilitation among caregivers in facilities for elderly people.

Venous-drainage-guided selective hepatectomy: a novel approach to liver surgery.

Selective hepatectomy under the guidance of hepatic venous drainage has not yet been developed because hepatic venous occlusion alone produces no visible congested area. Now that this area can be identified by simultaneous occlusion of the hepatic vein and artery, venous-drainage-guided selective hepatectomy is considered feasible. Because the congested area becomes dysfunctional or atrophic due to the absence of portal blood supply, it can be regarded as a first candidate for preventive resection in livers that may bear latent tumors. We report here a novel approach to selective hepatectomy. Segment 4 hepatectomy and ventral hemisectorectomy of segments 5+8, with middle hepatic vein resection, was undertaken in a patient with hepatocellular carcinoma. After hepatic dissection between segments 2+3 and 4, the root of the middle hepatic vein was isolated. Test clamping of the middle hepatic vein and proper hepatic artery demonstrated a discolored area. Hepatic dissection was performed along the discolored border towards the hepatic hilum, exposing the right anterior portal pedicle with division of the ventral branches. The middle hepatic vein was finally divided. Selective hepatectomy was successfully performed without transfusion or complications. Venous-drainage-guided selective hepatectomy is feasible with acceptable perioperative results.