[A Study on problems associated with a patient's death during home care, based on the duration of home care and patient's age-why terminal home care is difficult for a patient's family].

When a patient receives home care, an important factor is how the family accepts the patient's death. In this study, we observed that the number of long-term in-home terminal care cases increased, as well as the number of short-term in-home care cases. Moreover, the number of cancer cases among the young population is also increasing.

[Postoperative patterns of improvement of symptoms and degrees of satisfaction in families of patients after operations for definite idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus: a long-term follow-up study].

Purpose: To clarify the patterns of improvement of pre- and post-operative symptoms and family satisfaction in patients with definite idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPN) who responded well to shunt intervention.

Subjects And Methods: The subjects included 40 patients definitively diagnosed with iNPH and who were followed up for one year or longer (age, 61-85; male-to-female ratio, 18: 22). The study focused on (1) preoperative clinical symptoms, (2) improvements in symptoms at 1, 3, 5, and 12 months after surgery, and the satisfaction of the families based on medical results of the Zarit caregiver burden interview, and infomation through questionnaires to medical personnel.

[Reinvestigation of CSF outflow resistance value in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus--comparing epidural pressure monitoring with lumbar subarachnoid cerebrospinal fluid pressure monitoring].

Purpose: To compare the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) outflow resistance values (Ro) with epidural pressure (EDP) monitoring and lumbar subarachnoid CSF pressure (L-CSFP) monitoring.

Subjects And Methods: The subjects were 14 patients with possible iNPH (age: 59-74 years old, ratio of male and female 8:6). All the patients were subjected to an infusion test by a single bolus injection method (1 ml/sec.

[Significance of shunt efficacy decision of SPECT on idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus].

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the significance of the shunt-effect evaluation of SPECT in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH).

Subjects And Methods: The subjects were 15 patients with possible iNPH, aged 62-83 (mean 75.3, the ratio of males to females to 6:9), who were treated at our department during the period from June to September, 2004.