A new carbapenem drug dosage metric for carbapenem usage and correlation with carbapenem resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The emergence and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance is a worldwide problem. Inappropriate antimicrobial use contributes to this resistance, and several metrics of drug usage have been used to monitor their consumption and rational use. We examined several existing drug metrics, and developed a new one, dose/duration-density (D/d), for a the best correlation between carbapenem usage and carbapenem resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Daptomycin susceptibility of 833 strains of Gram-positive cocci from a university hospital in Japan (2009-2011).

The aim of this study was to confirm the daptomycin (DAP) susceptibility of bacteria isolated before the launch of DAP in Japan. DAP showed good activity against all 833 isolates (MIC90 = 0.25-0.

Tongue pressure during swallowing is decreased in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Although dysphagia is a life-threatening problem in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), the pathophysiology of oral stage dysphagia is yet to be understood. The present study investigated the tongue motor deficit during swallowing in patients with DMD and its relationship with disease-specific palatal morphology. Tongue pressure during swallowing water was recorded in 11 male patients with DMD and 11 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects using an intra-oral sensor with five measuring points, and the state of tongue pressure production was compared between the groups.

Development of disaster pamphlets based on health needs of patients with chronic illnesses.

The aim of this research was to develop a pamphlet that would enable patients with diabetes, rheumatic diseases, chronic respiratory disease, and dialysis treatment to be aware of changes in their physical conditions at an early stage of a disaster, cope with these changes, maintain self-care measures, and recover their health. Illness-specific pamphlets were produced based on disaster-related literature, news articles, surveys of victims of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake Disaster and Typhoon Tokage, and other sources. Each pamphlet consisted of seven sections-each section includes items common to all illnesses as well as items specific to each illness.

[A case of sensory ataxic neuropathy associated with asymptomatic primary biliary cirrhosis].

A 65-year-old woman showed progressive asymmetric sensory ataxic neuropathy (SAN) in upper limbs over 12 years, beginning with the onset of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). Nerve conduction study showed that sensory action potential was not evoked in upper limbs. Right superficial radial nerve biopsy showed the density of myelinated fibers was severely decreased with large-fiber predominance.

A cross-sectional study for glucose intolerance of myotonic dystrophy.

We made a cross-sectional study to analyze glucose intolerance of myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) with several examination including oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), insulin tolerance test (ITT) and adiponectin. Ninety-five DM1 patients participated in this study. Health examination data from general people were used as controls.