Angioedema Caused by Drugs That Prevent the Degradation of Vasoactive Peptides: A Pharmacovigilance Database Study.

Angioedema results from the decreased degradation of vasoactive peptides such as substance P and bradykinin. In this study, we sought to clarify whether dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors that suppress the degradation of substance P and bradykinin are involved in angioedema onset. We calculated information coefficients (ICs) by performing a disproportionality analysis to evaluate DPP-4/ACE inhibitor-induced angioedema using the Japanese Adverse Drug Event Report (JADER) database.

Association between dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor and aspiration pneumonia: disproportionality analysis using the spontaneous reporting system in Japan.

Purpose: Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor (DPP-4-Is), a kind of drug used for the treatment of diabetes, is considered to prevent the degradation of substance P that suppresses the occurrence of dysphagia. On the other hand, DPP-4 inhibitors are also known to act on the immune system. In this study, we used a spontaneous reporting system to evaluate the signals for dysphagia and aspiration pneumonia with DPP-4-Is.

The Relationship Between Dialysis Patients' Quality of Life and Caregivers' Quality of Life.

Patients on dialysis require caregiving and assistance in their daily lives from family members and/or others for hospital visitation and supervised administration. This places a considerable burden on caregivers, which can in turn influence caregivers' quality of life (QOL). We recruited dialysis patients and their caregivers to elucidate how the QOL of patients relates to that of their caregivers'.

The Effect of Quality of Life on Medication Compliance Among Dialysis Patients.

Dialysis treatment is known to lead to reduced quality of life (QOL) among patients. This decreased QOL is believed to influence medication compliance, although this effect has not yet been clarified. In this study, we investigated whether decreased QOL due to dialysis treatment does in fact influence medication compliance.

Signals of gastroesophageal reflux disease caused by incretin-based drugs: a disproportionality analysis using the Japanese adverse drug event report database.

Background: Incretin-based drugs are important in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. However, among the incretin-based drugs, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1-RAs) have been reported to cause gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)-like symptoms making it difficult to continue treatment. Therefore, with the aim of clarifying the relationship between incretin-based drugs and GERD-like symptoms, we conducted a pharmacoepidemiological study using the Japanese adverse drug event report database (JADER).

Evaluating communication skills after long-term practical training among Japanese pharmacy students.

Introduction: The goal of this study was to assess pharmacy students' satisfaction with long-term practical training programs at hospital and community pharmacies and how these programs benefitted communication skills.

Methods: We asked 83 fifth-year pharmacy students to answer anonymous questionnaires assessing their satisfaction and perceived benefits of practical training and to complete Teramachi's Pharmacist Communication Skill Scale (TePSS-31), a measure of pharmacists' communication skills, after undergoing their practical training periods at hospital and community pharmacies in 2014.

Results: Over 90% of students who underwent the practical training were satisfied with their experiences.

A simple method for exploring adverse drug events in patients with different primary diseases using spontaneous reporting system.

Background: Patient background (e.g. age, sex, and primary disease) is an important factor to consider when monitoring adverse drug events (ADEs) for the purpose of pharmacovigilance.

A New Search Method Using Association Rule Mining for Drug-Drug Interaction Based on Spontaneous Report System.

Adverse events (AEs) can be caused not only by one drug but also by the interaction between two or more drugs. Therefore, clarifying whether an AE is due to a specific suspect drug or drug-drug interaction (DDI) is useful information for proper use of drugs. Whereas previous reports on the search for drug-induced AEs with signal detection using spontaneous reporting systems (SRSs) are numerous, reports on drug interactions are limited.

The adoption of generic drugs by a hospital: effects on drug dispensation among community pharmacies.

Background: The objective of the current study is to elucidate the effect that the adoption of generic drugs by a large hospital has on the dispensation of generic drugs by community pharmacies. We evaluated the percentage of generic drugs dispensed by pharmacies and the cost of drugs dispensed before and after the adoption of generic drugs by a large hospital.

Methods: Participants comprised patients who were admitted to Gifu Municipal Hospital prior to its adoption of generic drugs (November 1, 2013 to November 14, 2013) and after its adoption (November 1, 2014 to November 14, 2014) and who utilized generic drugs dispensed by pharmacies.

Medical and economic factors influencing generic drug use in the Japanese public health system: Influencing factors in different populations.

Factors influencing generic drug use must be considered when new drug policies are established and initiatives are implemented to promote generic drug use. This study was conducted to elucidate medical and economic factors that influence generic drug use in the Japanese public health system by evaluating the degree of generic drug use via a multivariate analysis. We conducted a retrospective study of medications administered to inpatients at Gifu Municipal Hospital (Japan) from November 1 to 14, 2014.

Renoprotective Effect of Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibitors in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Diabetic nephropathy is one of three major complications of diabetes mellitus, often leading to chronic renal failure requiring dialysis. Recently developed dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors may exhibit renoprotective effects in addition to antihyperglycemic effects. In this study, we retrospectively investigated temporal changes in the renal function index of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and examined the influence of DPP-4 inhibitors on renal function.