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Biomedical subjects

Eiji Marui

Publications and source records attributed to Eiji Marui.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

A study of home deaths in Japan from 1951 to 2002.

BACKGROUND: Several surveys in Japan have indicated that most terminally ill Japanese patients would prefer to die at home or in a homelike setting. However, there is a great disparity between this stated preference and the reality, since most Japanese die in hospital. We report here national changes in home deaths in Japan over the last 5 decades. Using prefecture data, we also examined the factors in the medical service associated with home death in Japan. METHODS: Published data on place of death was obtained from the vital statistics compiled by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan. We analyzed trends of home deaths from 1951 to 2002, and describe the changes in the proportion of home deaths by region, sex, age, and cause of death. Joinpoint regression analysis was used for trend analysis. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify secular trends in home deaths, and the impact of age, sex, year of deaths and cause of deaths on home death. We also examined the association between home death and medical service factors by multiple regression analysis, using home death rate by prefectures in 2002 as a dependent variable. RESULTS: A significant decrease in the percentage of patients dying at home was observed in the results of joinpoint regression analysis. Older patients and males were more likely to die at home. Patients who died from cancer were less likely to die at home. The results of multiple regression analysis indicated that home death was related to the number of beds in hospital, ratio of daily occupied beds in general hospital, the number of families in which the elderly were living alone, and dwelling rooms. CONCLUSION: The pattern of the place of death has not only been determined by social and demographic characteristics of the decedent, but also associated with the medical service in the community.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Epidemiological studies on Bartonella quintana infections among homeless people in Tokyo, Japan.

In an epidemiological investigation of trench fever in Japan, we compared the seroprevalence of Bartonella quintana in homeless people and in the general population. In homeless rescue outreach programs held in Tokyo from May 2001 to March 2003, 151 blood samples were taken from non-hospitalized homeless people. The prevalence of IgM and IgG antibodies against B. quintana in these people was compared with that in 200 healthy blood donors using a commercially available indirect fluorescent antibody test. Although IgG titers of > or = 1:128 were found in 57% (86/151) of homeless people and 51% (101/200) of blood donors, high titers of > or = to 1:1,024 were encountered only in homeless people (11%, 16/151). Attempts to isolate B. quintana from the blood of homeless people were unsuccessful, but polymerase chain reaction based detection, using Bartonella genus specific primers, demonstrated the presence of B. quintana DNA in the blood of 10 homeless people. Our data suggest that urban trench fever is endemic among the Japanese homeless population.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

[Usefulness of QuantiFERON TB-2G in contact investigation of a tuberculosis outbreak in a university].

PURPOSE: This study examined the usefulness of QuantiFERON TB-2G (QFT) i.e., a novel technique for detecting tuberculosis infection based on the whole blood interferon-gamma response to specific antigens, in the investigation of a tuberculosis outbreak among university students. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: One university student was diagnosed as smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis. In order to determine the extent of tuberculosis infection among contact students, tuberculin skin tests and QFT were performed on the close-contact group (220 people), as well as on the non-close-contact group (242 people). RESULTS: Nine students were found to be TB either clinically or on the X-ray screening in the contact investigation. In the close-contact group, the QFT-positive rate was 32.7%. The proportion of those exhibiting tuberculin reactions with erythema diameters of 30 mm or larger was 57.7%. In the non-close-contact group, the QFT-positive rate was only 0.8 %, as expected from the current healthy Japanese youths of this age. In contrast, strong tuberculin reactions with erythema of 30 mm or larger were seen in 18.2% in the latter group, most likely due to the previous history of BCG vaccination. CONCLUSION: QFT was clearly demonstrated to be a useful method for diagnosing tuberculosis infection, especially among subjects who show tuberculin reactivity due to past BCG vaccination. At the same time, the current criteria for the indication of chemoprophylaxis based on the strong tuberculin reaction were considered to be unreliable, causing many subjects with strong reactions to be given unnecessary preventive medications.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Relationship between self-reported low productivity and overtime working.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between overtime working and self-reported low productivity due to poor health over the course of 1 year. METHODS: The subjects were 94 random-sampled workers at a Japanese manufacturing company. The data on sickness absence and low productivity due to poor health were collected by self-report questionnaires every month from October 1999 to September 2000. Seventy-four workers returned complete answers. The complete data on overtime hours of forty-nine of these employees were obtained from company records. RESULTS: In those reporting low productivity, cold-like symptoms and sleep loss were given as the causes. Low productivity was closely linked to overtime worked, whereas sick leave tended to increase during periods of change in overtime working. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest the possibility of a relationship between overtime working and self-reported low productivity.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Effect of the helmet act for motorcyclists in Thailand.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the effect of the helmet act for motorcyclists on increasing helmet use and reducing motorcycle-related deaths and severe injuries in Thailand. METHODS: Data were derived from a trauma registry at the Khon Kaen Regional Hospital in the northeast Thailand. Helmet use and outcome in motorcycle crashes were compared 2 years before (1994-1995) and after (1996-1997) enforcement of the helmet act. During the study period, there were 12002 injured motorcyclists including 129 death cases in the municipality of Khon Kaen Province who were brought to the regional hospital. RESULTS: After enforcement of the helmet act, helmet-wearers increased five-fold while head injuries decreased by 41.4% and deaths by 20.8%. Those who had head or neck injuries or died were less likely wearing a helmet. Compliance of helmet use was lower at night. Fatality of injured motorcyclists did not significantly decrease in the post-act period and among helmet-wearers. CONCLUSION: Enforcement of the helmet act increased helmet-wearers among motorcyclists but helmet use did not significantly reduce deaths among injured motorcyclists. Motorcyclists should be instructed to properly and consistently wear a helmet for their safety.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2002

How is "coverage" defined for occupational health services?

The proportion of workers receiving occupational health services (OHS), or OHS coverage, is considered an important indicator in the evaluation of the national OHS levels. Although the term "coverage" is used in some papers, the definition of the term appears to vary from author to author. Despite vague definitions of the term, the issue has not been much studied. It appears that this vagueness has not led to attempts to establish a clear definition of the term. This study, was undertaken to clarify the meaning of "coverage" when used in relation to OHS. Papers using "coverage" as an indicator of the OHS levels or discussing the issue were collected and analyzed. The first aspect examined concerned the definition of "coverage." Next, the denominator (the target population), and methods for estimating the numerator (the number of workers provided with OHS) were described according to this definition. Few papers dealing with OHS coverage provided an explicit definition: none of the papers stated clearly the OHS functions encompassed when considering coverage, using simply the term in the context. Nor was the worker category to be represented in the denominator discussed, e.g. employees only, or the entire working population. The method for estimating the numerator was generally undefined. This study makes it clear that the term "coverage" in relation to OHS is currently used without clear definition. To permit objective assessments of the national OHS levels, "coverage" must be defined in terms of three elements: OHS functions, the numerator and the denominator of the proportion representing the extent of OHS coverage.

Evidence-Based Medicine↗