Actual resuscitation actions after the training of chest compression-only CPR and AED use among new university students.

BACKGROUND: Although cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training is recommended in schools, there are few attempts to train all students at universities and no reports showing actual resuscitation actions at emergency settings after the training. We surveyed how many students encountered a collapsed person, whether they performed any resuscitation actions, and any reasons why they could not do any resuscitation actions. METHODS: We have provided chest compression-only CPR and automated external defibrillator (AED) use training for 3000 new university students every April since 2015 and followed up on their subsequent emergency actions to collapsed persons in the real world. We carried out a questionnaire survey for 2nd through 4th-year students during the annual student health checkup period in 2018. RESULTS: A total of 7595 students underwent the annual health checkup and 5549 of them (73.1%) responded to the survey. The rates of encountering collapsed persons and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients were 2.5 and 1.1 per 100 person-years, respectively. Of the 264 students who encountered a collapsed person, 82 (53.6%) who encountered non-OHCA collapsed persons and 54 (48.6%) who encountered OHCA persons performed at least one resuscitation action including either chest compression, AED use, or any other various resuscitation actions. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence rate of encountering OHCA patients was 1.1 per 100 person-years and half of them who encountered a collapsed person performed at least one resuscitation action. Hands-on mass training would encourage university students to perform any resuscitation actions on the emergency scene.

Development of a 2-h suicide prevention program for medical staff including nurses and medical residents: A two-center pilot trial.

BACKGROUND: Suicide is a crucial global health concern and effective suicide prevention has long been warranted. Mental illness, especially depression is the highest risk factor of suicide. Suicidal risk is increased in people not only with mental illness but also with physical illnesses, thus medical staff caring for physically-ill patients are also required to manage people with suicidal risk. In the present study, we evaluated our newly developed suicide intervention program among medical staff. METHODS: We developed a 2-h suicide intervention program for medical staff, based on the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), which had originally been developed for the general population. We conducted this program for 74 medical staff members from 2 hospitals. Changes in knowledge, perceived skills, and confidence in early intervention of depression and suicide-prevention were evaluated using self-reported questionnaires at 3 points; pre-program, immediately after the program, and 1 month after program. RESULTS: This suicide prevention program had significant effects on improving perceived skills and confidence especially among nurses and medical residents. These significant effects lasted even 1 month after the program. LIMITATIONS: Design was a single-arm study with relatively small sample size and short-term follow up. CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests that the major target of this effective program is nurses and medical residents. Future research is required to validate the effects of the program with control groups, and also to assess long-term effectiveness and actual reduction in suicide rates.

Tele-auscultation support system with mixed reality navigation.

The aim of this research is to develop an information support system for tele-auscultation. In auscultation, a doctor requires to understand condition of applying a stethoscope, in addition to auscultatory sounds. The proposed system includes intuitive navigation system of stethoscope operation, in addition to conventional audio streaming system of auscultatory sounds and conventional video conferencing system for telecommunication. Mixed reality technology is applied for intuitive navigation of the stethoscope. Information, such as position, contact condition and breath, is overlaid on a view of the patient's chest. The contact condition of the stethoscope is measured by e-textile contact sensors. The breath is measured by a band type breath sensor. In a simulated tele-auscultation experiment, the stethoscope with the contact sensors and the breath sensor were evaluated. The results show that the presentation of the contact condition was not understandable enough for navigating the stethoscope handling. The time series of the breath phases was usable for the remote doctor to understand the breath condition of the patient.

[PPI treatment for gastric ulcer patients in the elderly].

Proton pump inhibitor (PPI) is an effective and safe medication for the elderly people for the treatment of peptic ulcer disease. However, some PPIs have been reported that they have metabolic interactions with some drugs. Therefore, drug-interactions should be considered when the PPI is prescribed to the elderly people. The number of NSAIDs ulcer patients is thought to increase along with the increase of those who take NSAIDs in the elderly. Although PPI is indispensable for the prevention of the NSAIDs ulcer, PPI has not obtained authorization for the purpose of prevention in Japan. PPIs are strongly expected to be approved for prevention of NSAIDs ulcer by the Japanese government in the near future.