Journal of Pharmaceutical Health Care and Sciences

BACKGROUND: Certain amount of anticancer drugs is excreted in the urine of patients receiving anticancer drugs, and urinary scattering including anticancer drugs at excretion has become a route of anticancer drug contamination. Therefore, we developed an active carbon sheet (HD safe sheet-U) that prevented diffusion by adsorbing anticancer drugs including that excreted in urine. The present study conducted a performance evaluation of this sheet. METHODS: The adsorption performance of active carbon to anticancer drug in the urine was evaluated by determining concentration changes in the active carbon suspension (5 mg/mL) of 14 kinds of anticancer drugs (cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide, carboplatin, cisplatin, methotrexate, 5-fluorouracil, cytarabine, gemcitabine, doxorubicin, epirubicin, paclitaxel, docetaxel, etoposide, and irinotecan) diluted with artificial urine...

BACKGROUND: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reported that resistant dextrin (RD) exerted pleiotropic effects on humans. However, limited information is available on the effects of RD for weight loss. We conducted a systematic review with a meta-analysis to summarize the available literature and compare the efficacy of RD for weight loss with that of a placebo in overweight adults. METHODS: We searched the electronic databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), CINAHL, Web of Science, ClincalTrials...

BACKGROUND: Health foods have been widely sold and consumed in Japan. There has been an increase in reports of adverse effects in association with the expanding health food market. While health food-drug interactions are a particular concern from the viewpoint of safe and effective use of health foods, information regarding such interactions is limited owing to the lack of established methods to assess the effects of health food products on drug metabolism. We therefore developed cells that mimicked the activities of cytochrome P450 1A2 (CYP1A2), CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, and CYP3A4, which strongly contribute to drug metabolism in human hepatocytes, and established a system to assess the inhibitory activity of health foods toward P450-mediated metabolism...

BACKGROUND: Medical gloves are an important piece of personal protective equipment that prevents exposure to antineoplastic agents. The permeability of medical gloves to antineoplastic agents is a crucial factor in the appropriate selection of gloves. However, the relationship between glove permeability and material type, thickness, and surface treatment is poorly understood. METHODS: A continuous flow in-line cell device was used for the evaluation of the permeation of five antineoplastic agents (etoposide, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin hydrochloride, paclitaxel, and fluorouracil) through medical gloves...

BACKGROUND: The accuracy, safety and feasibility of, the compounding robot APOTECAchemo were evaluated in the clinical practice of Japan. METHODS: Accuracy and precision of robotic preparations by APOTECAchemo was evaluated in 20 preparations of fluorouracil (FU) and cyclophosphamide (CPA) infusions by four pharmacists. Environmental and product contaminations with FU and CPA were evaluated by wipe testing. Robotic performance was compared with manual preparation in a biological safety cabinet...

BACKGROUND: With the development of pharmacotherapy and radiotherapy, cancer treatment is being shifted from surgical to outpatient services, consequently increasing insurance-covered pharmacies' frequency of dealing with cancer patients. As the psychology of these patients is complex, it is necessary for pharmacists to educate them in consideration of their cognitive/medical and psychosocial aspects. This study analyzed cancer patient management by pharmacists working in such pharmacies and their communication skills before and after communication skill training based on SPIKES, a six-step protocol for delivering bad news, to confirm the usefulness of such training...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s40780-017-0078-7.].

BACKGROUND: Low-dose aspirin irreversibly inhibits platelet cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) and suppresses platelet aggregation. It is effective for secondary prevention of cardiovascular events. Because nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) reversibly bind with COX-1, the antiplatelet effects of aspirin may be suppressed when NSAIDs are co-administered. This interaction could be avoided by avoiding simultaneous administration; however, the minimum interval that should separate the administration of aspirin and loxoprofen is not well known...

BACKGROUND: Nosocomial infection is one of the most common complications within health care facilities. Certain studies have reported outbreaks resulting from contaminated hospital environments. Although the identification of bacteria in the environment can readily be achieved using culturing methods, these methods detect live bacteria. Sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) gene is recognized to be effective for bacterial identification. In this study, we surveyed wards where drug-resistant bacteria had been isolated and compared conventional culture methods with 16S rRNA gene sequencing methods...

BACKGROUND: Methotrexate (MTX) and salazosulfapyridine (SASP) are disease-modifying drugs that are commonly used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and combination therapy with MTX and SASP is recommended for RA patients who show an inadequate response to monotherapy with either drug. This study was designed to examine the interaction between the two drugs from the viewpoint of serum MTX concentration in Japanese RA patients, who were receiving combination therapy with relatively low doses of MTX and SASP...

BACKGROUND: The aims of this study were to investigate predictive factors involved in effectiveness and safety of enoxaparin for prevention of postoperative venous thromboembolism in aged Japanese total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients. METHODS: Japanese patients over 65 years old who were administered enoxaparin for TKA were enrolled in this study. Their medical records were retrospectively reviewed. Data were corrected at the Izumi Regional Medical Center, from September 2009 to March 2014...

BACKGROUND: An optimal inhalation flow pattern is essential for effective use of a dry powder inhaler (DPI). We wondered whether DPI instructors inhale from a DPI with an appropriate pattern, and if not, whether self-training with visual feedback is effective. METHODS: Subjects were 14 pharmacists regularly engaged in instruction in DPI use. A newly designed handy inhalation flow visualizer (Visual Trainer: VT) was used to assess inhalation profiles and to assist in self-training...

BACKGROUND: Appropriate prescription of dabigatran etexilate methanesulfonate (JAN) is more complicated than assumed, because there are totally 10 items of contraindications and instructions for dosage reduction depending on patients' characteristics. We aimed to study whether the routine audit of first-time prescriptions of dabigatran performed by pharmacists is effective in improving the quality of prescription. METHODS: A retrospective re-audit was performed on all the prescriptions of dabigatran issued at Kitahara International Hospital, Tokyo between March 2011 and February 2014, by evaluating the prescriptions rigorously against the approved prescribing information of the drug...

BACKGROUND: Bladder cancer patients receiving methotrexate, vinblastine, adriamycin and cisplatin (MVAC) chemotherapy are co-administered with dexamethasone as an anti-emetic. We examined whether or not dexamethasone affects the severity and onset day of MVAC-induced severe neutropenia. METHODS: This was a retrospective study of bladder cancer patients treated with MVAC chemotherapy with or without dexamethasone as an antiemetic at Kanazawa University Hospital during January 2005 - December 2009...

BACKGROUND: Medication self-management in stroke patients is important to prevent further progression of disease and incidence of side effects. The purpose of this study was to create a formula for predicting medication self-management introduction in stroke patients using functional independence measure items and patient data, including medication-related information. METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of 104 patients (cerebral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage) discharged from the Kaifukuki rehabilitation ward at Showa University Fujigaoka Rehabilitation Hospital from January to December 2012...

BACKGROUND: Few studies have reported the dosage of cefmetazole (CMZ) for intraoperative antimicrobial prophylaxis in patients underwent surgery for colorectal cancer. We therefore examined the optimal intraoperative dosage of CMZ according to pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) theory in patients who undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer. METHODS: The study group comprised 23 patients with colorectal cancer who underwent surgery, using CMZ as antimicrobial treatment to prevent postoperative infection...

BACKGROUND: Methotrexate (MTX) is currently the anchor drug widely used worldwide in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the therapeutic response to MTX has been shown to vary widely among individuals, genders and ethnic groups. The reason for this has been not clarified but it is considered to be partially due to several mechanisms in the cellular pathway of MTX including single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The purpose of this study was to investigate the allelic frequencies in different ethnic and/or population groups in the 10 polymorphisms of enzyme proteins and transporters related to the MTX response and pharmacokinetics including MTHFR, TYMS, RFC1, FPGS, GGH, ABCB1, ABCC2 and ABCG2 in unrelated healthy Japanese adults and patients with RA...

BACKGROUND: Hyperphosphatemia is one of the common complications in patients undergoing hemodialysis. Although calcium carbonate (CaC) is often used to control serum inorganic phosphorus level in dialysis patients, co-administration of gastric acid reducers (ARs) may interfere with the phosphate binding effect of CaC. We performed a retrospective medical chart review to study whether ARs attenuate the hypophosphatemic effect of CaC in patients undergoing hemodialysis. METHODS: One hundred and eight chronic hemodialysis patients receiving either CaC alone or CaC concomitant with one of the ARs (proton pump inhibitors and histamine H2-receptor antagonists) were retrieved from the medical charts in Juntendo University Nerima Hospital...

BACKGROUND: There are currently no promising therapies available to treat or prevent peripheral neuropathy (PN) induced by anticancer drugs in a cumulative dose-dependent manner. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of regional cooling of hands and feet in preventing paclitaxel (PTX)-induced PN. METHODS: Patients with gynecologic cancer who received a tri-weekly cycle of chemotherapy including PTX at doses of 150-175 mg/m(2) were included in this study. Regional cooling was performed by covering patient hands and feet with cold insulators during PTX administration (regional cooling group)...

In the United States, pharmacists are responsible for the provision of safe, effective, efficient, and accountable medication related-care for hospital and health-system patients. Leveraging automated technologies, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacist extenders are the means through which efficient, effective, and safe medication use processes are created and maintained. These strategies limit the amount of pharmacist resources needed for nonjudgmental tasks such as medication distribution, allowing more capacity for advanced direct patient care roles...