Articles

Joint symptoms associated with anastrozole and letrozole in patients with breast cancer: a retrospective comparative study

Joint symptoms are a common side effect of aromatase inhibitors. However, it is not known if the risk of these symptoms varies between the members of this drug class. The aim of this study was to compare the f...

Authors: Yoshihito Morimoto, Shuhei Sarumaru, Yuko Oshima, Chiho Tsuruta and Kazuhiro Watanabe

Association between itching and the serum zinc levels in patients with varicose veins

Varicose veins commonly occur in the lower extremities and can cause pain and discomfort in the affected area. Many patients with varicose veins suffer from itching, but its cause has not been sufficiently exp...

Authors: Yasushi Takai, Keiichi Hiramoto, Yoshiyuki Nishimura, Ryota Uchida, Keigo Nishida and Kazuya Ooi

Efficacy of switching to dolutegravir plus rilpivirine, the small-tablet regimen, in patients with dysphagia: two case reports

The advent of well-tolerated and effective anti-retroviral drugs against human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection has been a major step forward that has achieved long-term survival in recent years. The...

Authors: Takefumi Suzuki, Nobuko Hara, Morichika Osa, Kazuhisa Misawa, Kazuo Imai, Yuji Fujikura, Takuya Maeda, Wataru Sonehara and Akihiko Kawana

The detection of influenza virus at the community pharmacy to improve the management of local residents with influenza or influenza-like disease

As of 2014, community pharmacies in Japan are approved by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare to measure lipid panel, HbA1c, glucose, ALT, AST and γ-GTP, but not to screen for influenza virus. We provid...

Authors: Akio Kawachi, Yusuke Sakamoto, Shunya Mouri, Mitsuaki Fukumori, Riku Kawano, Takaya Murakami, Junichiro Sonoda, Keiko Narumi, Yoshihiro Shimodozono, Kenji Etoh, Susumu Chiyotanda, Takashi Furuie, Keizo Sato, Masao Fukumori and Toshiro Motoya

Objective evaluation of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy using quantitative pain measurement system (Pain Vision^®), a pilot study

In an evaluation of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), objectivity may be poor because the evaluation is determined by the patient’s subjective assessment. In such cases, management of neuropat...

Authors: Junya Sato, Megumi Mori, Satoru Nihei, Satoshi Takeuchi, Masahiro Kashiwaba and Kenzo Kudo

Kamishoyosan and Shakuyakukanzoto promote recovery from paclitaxel-induced neurite retraction in PC12 cells

In chemotherapy, the full round of treatment must be completed as scheduled to achieve the strongest therapeutic effect. However, peripheral neuropathy, a severe side effect of the chemotherapeutic agent pacli...

Authors: Ken Konaka, Kota Moriyama, Takumi Sakurada, Naoto Okada, Masaki Imanishi, Yoshito Zamami, Kazuyoshi Kawazoe, Shuji Fushitani and Keisuke Ishizawa

Drug-induced gingival hyperplasia: a retrospective study using spontaneous reporting system databases

Drug-induced gingival hyperplasia (DIGH) causes problems with chewing, aesthetics, and pronunciation, and leads to the deterioration of the patient’s quality of life (QOL). Thus, the aim of this study was to e...

Authors: Haruna Hatahira, Junko Abe, Yuuki Hane, Toshinobu Matsui, Sayaka Sasaoka, Yumi Motooka, Shiori Hasegawa, Akiho Fukuda, Misa Naganuma, Tomofumi Ohmori, Yasutomi Kinosada and Mitsuhiro Nakamura

Safety of human papillomavirus vaccines in healthy young women: a meta-analysis of 24 controlled studies

Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines have been shown to be effective for the eradication of HPV and prevention of cervical cancer. However, the number of women who receive HPV vaccinations has decreased over th...

Authors: Yukari Ogawa, Hinako Takei, Ryuichi Ogawa and Kiyoshi Mihara

Usefulness of limited sampling strategy for mycophenolic acid area under the curve considering postoperative days in living-donor renal transplant recipients with concomitant prolonged-release tacrolimus

The optimal dose of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) in renal transplant patients has been recommended to be decided on the basis of area under the concentration-time curve (AUC_0-12) of mycophenolic acid (MPA). Althou...

Authors: Tomoyuki Enokiya, Kouhei Nishikawa, Yuichi Muraki, Takuya Iwamoto, Hideki Kanda, Yoshiki Sugimura and Masahiro Okuda

Development and evaluation of adsorption sheet (HD safe sheet-U) using active carbon for the purpose of the preventing the contamination diffusion of urinary excreted anticancer drug

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 contamin...

Authors: Junya Sato, Haruka Ohkubo, Yuki Sasaki, Makoto Yokoi, Yasunori Hotta and Kenzo Kudo

Effects of resistant dextrin for weight loss in overweight adults: a systematic review with a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

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 sy...

Authors: Junichi Mukai, Yuta Tsuge, Michiko Yamada, Katsuya Otori and Koichiro Atsuda

Effect of health foods on cytochrome P450-mediated drug metabolism

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 ...

Authors: Takamitsu Sasaki, Yu Sato, Takeshi Kumagai, Kouichi Yoshinari and Kiyoshi Nagata

Evaluation of the permeation of antineoplastic agents through medical gloves of varying materials and thickness and with varying surface treatments

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 ap...

Authors: Toyohito Oriyama, Takehito Yamamoto, Yoshitsugu Yanagihara, Katsuhiko Nara, Toshihide Abe, Katsuyoshi Nakajima, Takao Aoyama and Hiroshi Suzuki

Performance evaluation of the compounding robot, APOTECAchemo, for injectable anticancer drugs in a Japanese hospital

The accuracy, safety and feasibility of, the compounding robot APOTECAchemo were evaluated in the clinical practice of Japan.

Authors: Takuya Iwamoto, Takuya Morikawa, Miki Hioki, Hirofumi Sudo, Demis Paolucci and Masahiro Okuda

Effects of communication skill training (CST) based on SPIKES for insurance-covered pharmacy pharmacists to interact with simulated cancer patients

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...

Authors: Manako Hanya, Yoshitake Kanno, Junko Akasaki, Keiko Abe, Kazuhiko Fujisaki and Hiroyuki Kamei

Erratum to: Influence of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on aspirin’s antiplatelet effects and suggestion of the most suitable time for administration of both agents without resulting in interaction

Authors: Kenta Shibata, Yuuki Akagi, Naofumi Nozawa, Hitoshi Shimomura and Takao Aoyama

Influence of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on aspirin’s antiplatelet effects and suggestion of the most suitable time for administration of both agents without resulting in interaction

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-inflam...

Authors: Kenta Shibata, Yuuki Akagi, Naofumi Nozawa, Hitoshi Shimomura and Takao Aoyama

Comparison of 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequence analysis and conventional culture in the environmental survey of a hospital

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 identificatio...

Authors: Akihiro Manaka, Yutaka Tokue and Masami Murakami

Drug interaction between methotrexate and salazosulfapyridine in Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis

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 ...

Authors: Morihiro Okada, Hiroshi Fujii, Yukio Suga, Satoshi Morito, Masae Okada, Jun Nishigami, Mitsuhiro Kawano, Tsutomu Shimada and Yoshimichi Sai

Predictive factors for effectiveness and safety of enoxaparin for total knee arthroplasty in aged Japanese patients: a retrospective review

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 ...

Authors: Akihiro Sonoda, Yuki Kondo, Yasuhiro Tsuneyoshi, Yoshitaka Iwashita, Shoji Nakao, Kazuhisa Ishida, Kentaro Oniki, Junji Saruwatari, Tetsumi Irie and Yoichi Ishitsuka

Appropriate use of a dry powder inhaler based on inhalation flow pattern

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-trai...

Authors: Tetsuri Kondo, Makoto Hibino, Toshimori Tanigaki, Stanley M. Cassan, Sakurako Tajiri and Kenichro Akazawa

Impact of Pharmacists’ audit on improving the quality of prescription of dabigatran etexilate methanesulfonate: a retrospective study

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...

Authors: Teppei Shimizu, Yoshio Momose, Ryuichi Ogawa, Masahiro Takahashi and Hirotoshi Echizen

Co-administration of dexamethasone increases severity and accelerates onset day of neutropenia in bladder cancer patients on methotrexate, vinblastine, adriamycin and cisplatin chemotherapy: a retrospective cohort study

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 affe...

Authors: Shingo Itai, Yukio Suga, Yusuke Hara, Kouji Izumi, Yuji Maeda, Yasuhide Kitagawa, Junko Ishizaki, Tsutomu Shimada, Atsushi Mizokami and Yoshimichi Sai

Development and evaluation of a formula for predicting introduction of medication self-management in stroke patients in the Kaifukuki rehabilitation ward

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 s...

Authors: Hisato Fujihara, Mari Kogo, Isao Saito, Nobuyuki Kawate, Masazumi Mizuma, Hiroko Suzuki, Jun-ichiro Murayama and Tadanori Sasaki

Optimal dosage of cefmetazole for intraoperative antimicrobial prophylaxis in patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer

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 dosa...

Authors: Atsushi Tomizawa, Takatoshi Nakamura, Toshiaki Komatsu, Hiroshi Inano, Rumiko Kondo, Masahiko Watanabe and Koichiro Atsuda

Genetic polymorphisms of enzyme proteins and transporters related to methotrexate response and pharmacokinetics in a Japanese population

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, ge...

Authors: Masayuki Hashiguchi, Mikiko Shimizu, Jun Hakamata, Tomomi Tsuru, Takanori Tanaka, Midori Suzaki, Kumika Miyawaki, Takeshi Chiyoda, Osamu Takeuchi, Jiro Hiratsuka, Shin Irie, Junya Maruyama and Mayumi Mochizuki

Influence of proton pump inhibitors and histamine H₂ receptor antagonists on serum phosphorus level control by calcium carbonate in patients undergoing hemodialysis: a retrospective medical chart review

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-adm...

Authors: Masaomi Tatsuzawa, Ryuichi Ogawa, Atsushi Ohkubo, Kazuyo Shimojima, Kunimi Maeda, Hirotoshi Echizen and Akihisa Miyazaki

The effectiveness of regional cooling for paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy

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 efficac...

Authors: Junya Sato, Megumi Mori, Satoru Nihei, Masumi Kumagai, Satoshi Takeuchi, Masahiro Kashiwaba and Kenzo Kudo

A review of American pharmacy: education, training, technology, and practice

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 technolo...

Authors: Scott J. Knoer, Allison R. Eck and Amber J. Lucas

Possible involvement of distinct phylogenetic clusters of HIV-1 variants in the discrepancies between coreceptor tropism predictions based on viral RNA and proviral DNA

The coreceptor tropism testing should be conducted prior to commencing a regimen containing a CCR5 antagonist for treatment of HIV-1 infection. For aviremic patients on long antiretroviral therapy, proviral DN...

Authors: Hiroshi Kotani, Koji Sudo, Naoki Hasegawa, Hiroshi Fujiwara, Tomohisa Hayakawa, Osamu Iketani, Masaya Yamaguchi, Mayumi Mochizuki, Satoshi Iwata and Shingo Kato

Cost-minimization analysis of adjuvant chemotherapy regimens given to patients with colorectal cancer in Japan

Consideration of medical costs as well as effectiveness and adverse events is rapidly been becoming an important factor in the selection of chemotherapy regimens. However, practical data on the costs of chemot...

Authors: Kosuke Takata, Ken-ichi Fujita, Yutaro Kubota, Hiroo Ishida, Wataru Ichikawa, Ken Shimada, Takashi Sekikawa, Iori Taki-Takemoto, Daisuke Kamei, Shinichi Iwai and Yasutsuna Sasaki

Pregabalin prescription for terminally ill cancer patients receiving specialist palliative care in an acute hospital

Pregabalin is recommended as an adjuvant analgesic for neuropathic cancer-related pain, and may be taken at all steps of the World Health Organization analgesic ladder. However, unlike opioids, pregabalin trea...

Authors: Ryo Yajima, Kazuaki Matsumoto, Yuya Ise, Norihito Suzuki, Yuta Yokoyama, Junko Kizu and Shiro Katayama

Effectiveness of activated carbon masks in preventing anticancer drug inhalation

The exposure of healthcare workers to anticancer drugs such as cyclophosphamide (CPA) is a serious health concern. Anticancer drug pollution may spread outside biological safety cabinets even when a closed sys...

Authors: Junya Sato, Atushi Kogure and Kenzo Kudo

Early rehospitalization after initial chronic kidney disease educational hospitalization relates with a multidisciplinary medical team

It is well-documented that chronic kidney disease (CKD) often results in end-stage renal failure and puts patients at extremely high risk for developing cardiovascular disease. Educational hospitalization at m...

Authors: Eiji Kose, Taesong An, Akihiko Kikkawa and Hiroyuki Hayashi

Application of ozone gas for decontamination of nucleoside anticancer drugs

Exposure to anticancer drugs is hazardous and may lead to chromosomal abnormalities and spontaneous abortion in healthcare workers. Guidelines recommend surface decontamination and cleaning in order to minimiz...

Authors: Ayumi Tsukamoto, Shunji Ishiwata, Asami Kajimoto, Ryusuke Murata, Rika Kitano, Tomomi Inoue and Takeshi Kotake

Validated determination method of tramadol and its desmethylates in human plasma using an isocratic LC-MS/MS and its clinical application to patients with cancer pain or non-cancer pain

This study aimed to develop a simultaneous determination method for tramadol and its desmethylates in human plasma using isocratic liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry and to validate it f...

Authors: Hironari Tanaka, Takafumi Naito, Yasuaki Mino and Junichi Kawakami

A novel predictive factor for the onset time of docetaxel-induced onychopathy: a multicenter retrospective study

Taxanes are known to cause onychopathy. Previous studies have reported the relationship between onychopathy and paclitaxel dosing intervals and cumulative doses. However, there are no studies of the predictive...

Authors: Hidenobu Takahata, Kouichi Tanabe, Akiyoshi Takaki, Tsuneaki Yamanouchi, Yasuhiko Mimura, Atsumi Nitta, Hatsuna Yasuda, Tatsuhiko Kashii and Isao Adachi

Correlation between blood magnesium and calcium concentration in patients treated with an anti-EGFR antibody

Hypomagnesemia is one of the characteristic side effects of the human anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) monoclonal antibodies, cetuximab and panitumumab.

Authors: Toshiyasu Tsujii, Takafumi Ogaki, Kaori Nakae, Kiyotaka Imai, Daisuke Kise, Shoji Tada, Hiroki Ueda and Masahiro Moriyama

Plasma tenofovir trough concentrations are associated with renal dysfunction in Japanese patients with HIV infection: a retrospective cohort study

Plasma tenofovir (TFV) trough concentrations may be relevant for tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF)-induced renal dysfunction. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between plasma TFV tro...

Authors: Yusuke Kunimoto, Hiroshi Ikeda, Satoshi Fujii, Manabu Kitagawa, Kieko Yamazaki, Hiromasa Nakata, Norimasa Noda, Tadao Ishida and Atsushi Miyamoto

Pharmaceutical studies on and clinical application of olanzapine suppositories prepared as a hospital preparation

A new formulation of olanzapine available for terminally ill patients is needed. Rectal administration using suppositories is an alternative for patients for whom administration via the oral route is not feasi...

Authors: Kazuaki Matsumoto, Satoru Kimura, Kenichi Takahashi, Yuta Yokoyama, Masayuki Miyazawa, Satoko Kushibiki, Morio Katamachi and Junko Kizu

Evaluation of pharmaceutical lifesaving skills training oriented pharmaceutical intervention

Many pharmacists are participating in team-based medical care in emergency hospitals. Therefore, there is a desperate need to improve the education system. In the present study, we provided a “pharmaceutical l...

Authors: Yoshito Zamami, Toru Imai, Masaki Imanishi, Kenshi Takechi, Naoko Shiraishi, Toshihiro Koyama, Hidenori Sagara, Yasukazu Shiino, Toshiaki Sendo and Keisuke Ishizawa

Predictors of the therapeutic effect of sivelestat in patients with acute lung injury associated with systemic inflammatory response syndrome

Sivelestat, a neutrophil elastase inhibitor, was previously approved in Japan for the treatment of acute lung injury associated with systemic inflammatory response syndrome. However, sivelestat produced incons...

Authors: Takuma Ozawa, Kiyoshi Mihara and Nobuhiro Yasuno

Pharmacokinetics and dose adjustment of etoposide administered in a medium-dose etoposide, cyclophosphamide and total body irradiation regimen before allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

We investigated the pharmacokinetics of etoposide (ETP) to reduce the inter-individual variations of ETP concentrations in patients with acute leukemia who underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transpla...

Authors: Yuki Tazawa, Akio Shigematsu, Kumiko Kasashi, Junichi Sugita, Tomoyuki Endo, Takeshi Kondo, Takanori Teshima, Ken Iseki, Mitsuru Sugawara and Yoh Takekuma

Effect of vitamin K₂ on the anticoagulant activity of warfarin during the perioperative period of catheter ablation: Population analysis of retrospective clinical data

Catheter ablation is a non-medication therapy for atrial fibrillation, and during the procedure, warfarin is withdrawn in the preoperative period to prevent the risk of bleeding. In case of emergency, vitamin K₂ ...

Authors: Zhi Zhou, Ikuko Yano, Sumiko Odaka, Yosuke Morita, Satoshi Shizuta, Mamoru Hayano, Takeshi Kimura, Akinori Akaike, Ken-ichi Inui and Kazuo Matsubara

Genotype frequencies for polymorphisms related to chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in a Japanese population

Genotype frequencies for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV)-related polymorphisms have not yet been reported for Japanese subjects.

Authors: Aya Goto, Haruka Kotani, Masayuki Miyazaki, Kiyofumi Yamada, Kazuhiro Ishikawa, Yasuhiko Shimoyama, Toshimitsu Niwa, Yoshinori Hasegawa and Yukihiro Noda

Elevated prothrombin time/international normalized ratio associated with concurrent administration of regorafenib and warfarin in a patient with advanced colorectal cancer

Regorafenib and its metabolites may inhibit the activities of several CYP or UDP-glucuronosyltransferase isoforms, including that of CYP2C9. Therefore, pharmacological agents that are CYP2C9 substrates may sho...

Authors: Hironori Kitade, Azusa Hiromasa-Yamasaki, Kengo Hokkoku, Mitsue Mori, Michio Watanabe, Masuo Nakai and Seiji Yano

Analysis of Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis using the Japanese Adverse Drug Event Report database

Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) are severe cutaneous adverse reactions associated with fatal disorders. Although many causes of SJS/TEN have been proposed, the time-to-onset...

Authors: Junko Abe, Ryogo Umetsu, Kanako Mataki, Yamato Kato, Natsumi Ueda, Yoko Nakayama, Yuuki Hane, Toshinobu Matsui, Haruna Hatahira, Sayaka Sasaoka, Yumi Motooka, Hideaki Hara, Zenichiro Kato, Yasutomi Kinosada, Naoki Inagaki and Mitsuhiro Nakamura

Preliminary study for predicting better methotrexate efficacy in Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by systemic inflammatory status, joint destruction, disability, and pain. Methotrexate (MTX) has been confirmed to reduce disease activit...

Authors: Masayuki Hashiguchi, Tomomi Tsuru, Kumika Miyawaki, Midori Suzaki, Jun Hakamata, Mikiko Shimizu, Shin Irie and Mayumi Mochizuki

The pharmacokinetics of mianserin suppositories for rectal administration in dogs and healthy volunteers: a pilot study

We formulated mianserin suppositories for the treatment of delirium and evaluated their pharmacokinetics by measuring plasma drug concentrations in dogs and healthy human volunteers.

Authors: Shuichi Nawata, Noriko Kohyama, Naoki Uchida, Satoshi Numazawa, Masayuki Ohbayashi, Yasuna Kobayashi, Masanori Iwata, Takanori Nakajima, Hiroshi Saito, Akira Izuka and Toshinori Yamamoto

Instructing students to measure their own bone density and prepare a simulated health class during pharmacy school improves their awareness and understanding of osteoporosis prevention

Osteoporosis is estimated to afflict over 200 million people worldwide and healthcare professionals are needed to successfully intervene. The aim of this study was to assess cognitive changes in students perta...

Authors: Erisa Tomishige-Mukai, Akio Kawachi, Erika Kiyohara, Fuminori Esaki, Junichiro Sonoda, Tomohiro Shinya, Keiko Narumi, Keizo Sato and Toshiro Motoya