Duration of sweat cyclophosphamide excretion in patients undergoing a conditioning regimen of high-dose cyclophosphamide for hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation.

Purpose: To investigate the duration of cyclophosphamide (CPA) excretion in the sweat after administration when receiving high-dose CPA therapy as a conditioning regimen for hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT).

Methods: Shirts and pillowcases samples (changed once a day) from 12 patients, categorized as groups 1 (n  =  6), 2 (n = 4), and 3 (n  =  2), receiving high-dose CPA therapy were collected, sealed, stored at 4°C, and mailed to an analytical facility for CPA estimation using LC-MS/MS. CPA was administered intravenously at a dose of 60 mg/kg on days 1, 2 (closed-system delivery for group 3), and samples were collected during days 1-4 (groups 1,3) or days 1-9 (group 2).

Prospective randomized study evaluating the usefulness of a surgical smoke evacuation system in operating rooms for breast surgery.

Background: No prospective evaluation of surgical smoke evacuation systems has yet been conducted anywhere in the world. A prospective randomized study was conducted to clarify the usefulness of a surgical smoke evacuation system in terms of reducing the quantity of environmental pollutants found in operating room air and reducing the occupational exposure of doctors and nurses involved in surgical procedures to surgical smoke, volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, etc.

Methods: Operating room environment conditions with and without the use of a surgical smoke evacuation system were measured, and the personal exposure levels of doctors and nurses involved in surgical procedures were also surveyed.

[Report of a tour of the surgical centers in the United States organized by the Japanese Association for Operative Medicine].

We, 4 authors, visited 4 surgical centers in the United States last year on a tour sponsored by the Japanese Association for Operative Medicine. The surgical center of each hospital we visited aimed to contribute to the hospital not only in terms of financial strength but also in the creation of a unique hospital brand value by increasing the number of surgeries compared with previous years as much as possible. The role of surgical centers in the United States was comparable with what we consider an ideal center in Japan.