Development of Liquid-Chromatography Tandem-Mass-Spectrometry Method for Determining Environmental Contamination by Powdered Medicinal Drugs in Pharmacies.

The environment and personnel are both exposed to powdered pharmaceuticals inside pharmacies. This makes developing new methods for rapidly determining such contaminants an important objective. In this study, we developed a liquid-chromatography tandem-mass-spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for the simultaneous qualitative and quantitative determination of powdered medicinal drugs, such as famotidine, risperidone, lansoprazole, olanzapine, haloperidol, clarithromycin, promethazine, levomepromazine, and chlorpromazine.

Occupational Fatalities Due to Mammal-Related Accidents in Japan, 2000-2019.

Introduction: Animal-related fatal accidents occur annually while individuals are outside working. This study intended to evaluate the trends of occupational fatal accidents related to mammals and compare them with nonoccupational accidents.

Methods: We collected occupational and nonoccupational fatalities related to mammals between 2000 and 2019 from data on fatal occupational accident cases certified by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Japan, in addition to other statistics from relevant ministries, media reports such as newspapers, and academic case reports.

Suspended particle and drug ingredient concentrations in hospital dispensaries and implications for pharmacists' working environments.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the present status of working environments for pharmacists, including the concentrations of suspended particles and suspended drug ingredients in dispensaries.

Methods: We conducted a survey on the work processes and working environment in 15 hospital dispensaries, and measured the concentrations of suspended particles and suspended drug ingredients using digital dust counter and high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), respectively. Of 25 types of powdered drugs that were frequently handled in the 15 dispensaries surveyed, 11 could be quantitatively determined.

Prevalence of subjective symptoms among hospital pharmacists and association with drug compounding practices.

In Japan, the principal role of hospital pharmacists has changed from that of dispensing medicines for outpatients to provision of clinical pharmacy services for inpatients. A self-administered questionnaire about subjective symptoms, working patterns, work environments and job satisfaction was administered to 495 hospital pharmacists and 84 prefectural office-based pharmacists (control group). The response rates were 63.

Views of old age and death held by working-age men and women and their relationship to health-related behavior.

Background: Many working-age people have poor health habits. The aim of this study was to investigate their views of old age and death and the relationship of those views to their health habits.

Methods: A structured interview about views on old age and death, self-rated health, satisfaction with life (life satisfaction) and health habits was conducted on a random sample of 1,200 men and women aged 30-59 years in the southern part of Gifu Prefecture, Japan.

Relationship of health services to medical expenses for the national health insurance and certification rate for long-term care insurance services in municipalities.

In many municipalities, implementation rates of health services mandated by the Health and Medical Service Law for the Elderly have not reached the national goal that was set at the start. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of health services using medical expenses for the National Health Insurance (NHI) and certification rate for long-term care insurance services in 99 municipalities in Gifu Prefecture as indices. Both indices were standardized by the age composition of the population.