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Fumio Yamagishi

Publications and source records attributed to Fumio Yamagishi.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

[Clinical review of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis who were detected by the screening of homeless persons admitted in the shelter facilities].

PURPOSE AND METHODS: There has been a recent increase in the number of non-profit facilities that provide shelter for the homeless. These social service facilities aim to assist the social rehabilitation of homeless persons. The Public Health Center of Chiba City screened 1,054 residents of these homeless shelters between November 2002 and August 2004 and found 17 individuals (1.6%) with active pulmonary tuberculosis. We clinically reviewed these cases. RESULTS: All 17 individuals were male, and their ages ranged from 44 to 70 years (mean 54.9 years). Four cases were smear positive and three cases were smear negative but culture positive by sputum examination for acid-fast bacilli. Nine cases had cavitary lesions on chest X-ray. There were three cases complicated with hepatitis C, two cases with diabetes mellitus and two cases with past history of gastrectomy. Of the 17 individuals, 13 were treated as inpatients, and four as outpatients. The mean hospitalization duration was 146.7 days excluding two patients who were discharged by themselves. Of the 11 inpatients, four remained hospitalized until the completion of treatment. Final outcome of the treatment was the following; 12 patients were cured, while five patients dropped out or discontinued treatment. CONCLUSION: The screening performed by the Public Health Center of Chiba City revealed a very high prevalence of tuberculosis among shelter residents. Thus, in the future, public health centers and medical institutions must work in collaboration to actively screen and provide treatment for residents of homeless shelters. This study also revealed that in spite of recommended hospitalization or long-term treatment, patients often self-discharged or discontinued regular outpatient treatment. Health centers and other public agencies must therefore work in close cooperation to help the homeless to continue hospitalization and subsequent medication and treatment even after their discharge from hospital.

Adult↗

[The clinical features for tuberculosis in compromised hosts].

We investigated the clinical features and measures for tuberculosis with diabetes mellitus, AIDS, gastrectomy, malignant tumor, or receiving anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha. In these days, tuberculosis patients with diabetes mellitus are increasing. Their tuberculosis is often found in advanced cases and the periods of symptomatics are short. In short, in tuberculosis with diabetes mellitus, the progress of tuberculosis is fast. Japanese patients of tuberculosis with AIDS are frequent in mid-life and increasing. Extra-pulmonary tuberculosis including disseminated tuberculosis is frequent with patients of AIDS. The prognosis of them is improved with the spread of HAART treatment. The most frequent occasion for gastrectomy is gastric cancer and the prognosis is good. Many of them are thin and malnutrition. The prognosis of tuberculosis with malignant tumor is bad, especially with lung cancer and malignant lymphoma. People receiving infliximab, an antitumor necrosis factor-alpha, are frequent to have onset of tuberculosis. Particularly, extra-pulmonary tuberculosis, including disseminated tuberculosis are often. Tuberculin reaction before receiving infliximab are weak. No one, receiving chemoprophylaxis, has onset of tuberculosis. When the rate of chemoprophylaxis increases, the number of tuberculosis patients decreases. Immunocompromised hosts need to be examined periodical or extraordinary when they had symptoms of tuberculosis to discover the onset of tuberculosis. To prevent the onset of tuberculosis, patients who previously infected tuberculosis should receive active chemoprophylaxis regardless of their age.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗

[Case of disseminated tuberculosis complicated with tuberculous meningitis while investigating an abdominal lymphadenopathy].

In February 2005, a 33-year-old man visited A hospital complaining of fever. The blood screening test revealed the liver dysfunction, then computed tomography showed swelling of abdominal lymph nodes. In April, headache and disorientation appeared. He was diagnosed as disseminated tuberculosis and tuberculous meningitis based on chest X-ray and computed tomography findings and examination of cerebrospinal fluid. After admission to our hospital, anti-tuberculous drugs were prescribed, but the cerebral infarction happened. The disturbance of consciousness and the left half of his body paralysis appeared. They did not improve and hydrocephalus was complicated in August, though he was treated by steroids. He needed all helps because of the left half of his body paralysis and an advanced sequelae was left. It was thought that the abdominal lymph adenopathy preceded as one of symptoms of the disseminated tuberculosis in this case. It is said to be rare that abdominal lymph node swelling is seen in the early stage of disseminated tuberculosis. But, we think that it is necessary to keep in mind that the possibility of disseminated tuberculosis as one of the diseases in differential diagnosis, when we examine enlargement of abdominal lymph nodes with symptoms suggesting the presence of infection such as fever.

Abdomen↗

[A case of esophageal tuberculosis which developed during the treatment for tuberculous lymphadenitis].

A 23-year-old man was admitted to the other hospital complaining of fever and lymph node swelling in the left neck. Computed tomography showed swollen mediastinal lymph nodes without intrapulmonary lesions. Mycobacterium tuberculosis were identified by sputum culture and cervical lymph node biopsy and the case was diagnosed as tuberculous lymphadenitis. Three weeks after starting treatment with four anti-tuberculous drugs, he complained chest pain while eating and chest X-ray showed a new infiltrative shadow in the right cardiophrenic angle, then he was admitted to our hospital. Esophagoscopy revealed a deep ulceration with fistulas at 30 cm from the incisor and he was diagnosed as esophageal tuberculosis by histological examination of the biopsy specimen showing remarkable leukocytes infiltration and epithelioid cell granulomas with a few multinucleated giant cells. After antituberculous chemotherapy for six months, the mediastinal and cervical lymphadenopathy were reduced in size and the esophageal ulceration almost disappeared. Although esophageal tuberculosis is rare, the disease might develop during or after mediastinal or periesophageal tuberculous lymphadenitis.

Adult↗

[Current situation of contacts examination and chemoprophylaxis for persons exposed to multi-drug resistant tuberculosis in ordinance-designated cities in Japan].

PURPOSE: To evaluate the current situation of contacts examination and chemoprophylaxis for those who were exposed to multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in Japan. OBJECT AND METHOD: The questionnaire survey was conducted about the MDR-TB patients and their contacts examination enforced in the ordinance-designated cities in Japan from 1998 to 2002. RESULT: Nine cities out of total 13 ordinance-designated cities replied to the questionnaire (69.2%). The cases newly diagnosed as MDR-pulmonary tuberculosis were 189 cases from 1998 to 2002. Out of 189 cases, 34 MDR pulmonary tuberculosis patients were the source of MDR-TB infection. Among 659 individuals who were exposed to 34 MDR-TB, 58 persons (8.8%) were diagnosed as the contacts who were infected with MDR-TB. Out of 58 persons, 41 had chemoprophylaxis; 18 with isoniazid (INH), 3 with Ethionamide (TH), 2 with INH + Rifampin (RFP) + Ethambutol (EB), and each one with EB + Pyrazinamide (PZA) + TH, PZA + TH, PZA + Levofloxacin, PZA + EB. In 6 persons, INH was changed to other medicines, and 8 persons were treated with unknown prescription. Thirteen contacts developed MDR-TB, and out of them, 9 cases had several problems when they developed MDR-TB. Those problems were the delay in detection, infection from hospitalization refused cases, infection at the time of bacteriological relapse, and no use of chemoprophylaxis. CONCLUSION: MDR-TB bacilli produce the tuberculosis infection similarly as the sensitive tubercle bacilli, and it is necessary to re-examine the action plan of contacts examination including chemoprophylaxis.

Adolescent↗

[Chemoprophylaxis for tuberculosis].

In Japan, a person who is 29 or younger, contacted a tuberculosis patient recently and judged to have received infection is the object of the chemoprophylaxis by the public expenditure. On the other hand, in ATS/CDC, they call chemoprophylaxis as the treatment of latent tuberculosis infection, and if there is a strong possibility that a person may appear tuberculosis, they start chemoprophylaxis, regardless of age. We usually prescribe isoniazid for latent tubercular infection. The period of prescription is at least 6 months, which is effective, but 9 months is more desirable. Recently, in the West, tuberculosis are frequent among patients who are administered Infliximab, anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha. In Japan, after 6 months' evaluation period for Infliximab medication to rheumatoid arthritis, 11 out of 2,000 became tuberculosis (100,000 to 550). As for the tuberculin reaction before Infliximab medication, 2 were un-carrying out and 4 were negative. Moreover, even in positive examples, many of them were small redness. From this result, the Japanese Society for Tuberculosis and the Japan College of Rheumatology advised jointly. Those who are using immunosuppressant drugs and a doctor judged that they need chemoprophylaxis are supposed to the start medication if they are positive in tuberculin reaction, or there are some proof of tubercular infection on chest X-ray film, or there are high possibility of having received tubercular infection. By carrying out active chemoprophylaxis regardless of age, tuberculosis from high risk group is expected to decrease.

Adolescent↗

Specific detection of tuberculosis infection: an interferon-gamma-based assay using new antigens.

The tuberculin skin test for immunologic diagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection has many limitations, including being confounded by bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination or exposure to nontuberculous mycobacteria. M. tuberculosis-specific antigens that are absent from BCG and most nontuberculous mycobacteria have been identified. We examined the use of two of these antigens, CFP-10 and ESAT-6, in a whole blood IFN-gamma assay as a diagnostic test for tuberculosis in BCG-vaccinated individuals. Because of the lack of an accurate standard with which to compare new tests for M. tuberculosis infection, specificity of the whole blood IFN-gamma assay was estimated on the basis of data from people with no identified risk for M. tuberculosis exposure (216 BCG-vaccinated Japanese adults) and sensitivity was estimated on the basis of data from 118 patients with culture-confirmed M. tuberculosis infection who had received less than 1 week of treatment. Using a combination of CFP-10 and ESAT-6 responses, the specificity of the test for the low-risk group was 98.1% and the sensitivity for patients with M. tuberculosis infection was 89.0%. The results demonstrate that the whole blood IFN-gamma assay using CFP-10 and ESAT-6 was highly specific and sensitive for M. tuberculosis infection and was unaffected by BCG vaccination status.

Adolescent↗

[A study on cases developed pulmonary tuberculosis after receiving gastrectomy].

OBJECTIVE: Patients who had undergone gastric resection are considered to be high risk of developing tuberculosis. We investigated the factors leading to pulmonary tuberculosis after gastrectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively examined 654 pulmonary tuberculosis patients discharged from Chiba-East National Hospital from January 1999 to December 2001. RESULTS: Fifty-five patients (31-84 years old, mean 63.5 +/- 12.5 years, 48 males and 7 females) had the history of gastric resection. The proportion of patients receiving gastrectomy among patients with pulmonary tuberculosis was 8.4 percent. The mean age of patients received gastric resection was 50.2 +/- 16.6 years, and the mean interval from gastrectomy to the development of pulmonary tuberculosis was 13.6 +/- 11.0 years. On admission to our hospital, 34 out of 55 cases were smear positive by sputum examination for acid-fast bacilli and 39 cases had cavitary lesions on chest X-ray. Gastrectomy was done due to carcinoma of the stomach in 31 cases, peptic ulcer in 21 cases, adenomatous polyp in two cases, and accidental injury in one case. Out of total 55 cases, 52 patients improved, but three cases died of pulmonary tuberculosis. None had the recurrence of carcinoma of the stomach. Body weight, Body mass index, Prognostic nutritional index (PNI; 10 x serum albumin concentration + 0.005 x peripheral lymphocyte count) which was proposed by Onodera, serum albumin level and serum total cholesterol level were lower in the gastrectomy group than in the non-gastrectomy group. The odds ratio of developing tuberculosis among gastrectomy patients compared with the appropriate controls in 30 to 59 year-old-men was 3.8. CONCLUSION: This study confirms that gastrectomy is one of the risk factors of developing tuberculosis in 30 to 59 year-old-men. However, whether gastrectomy in itself is a risk factor or whether it is secondarily associated with another risk factor such as underweight status and/or inadequate nutrition following surgery remains unclear.

Adult↗

[Tuberculosis in the elderly].

Recently, the proportion of the elderly in the newly registered TB patients has increased. Not only the relative increase, but the newly registered TB patients older than 70 years is leveling off, and the number of smear positive TB patients among the elderly is obviously on the increase. The rapid aging of the population and the blunting of the decreasing speed of the TB patients percentage in the elderly may be accountable for the increase in the elderly TB patients. Elderly TB patients often have complications. Particularly noticeable is the high percentage of complications by cardiovascular diseases, malignant tumor, central nervous diseases and digestive tract diseases. However, the proportion of complications by diabetes was higher in the non-elderly persons (younger than 64 years). The frequency of pyrazinamide being used was extremely low in the elderly, particularly in the late cases of the elderly. In elderly TB patients, there were many cases of death and moving out, and the clinical results were poor. Of the female elderly TB patients, many were the late cases of the elderly and cases of moving out after discharge. Of the male elderly TB patients, there were many cases of death, which was conspicuous particularly in the late cases of the elderly. As the measures to counter the elderly TB patients who continue to increase in number, mention can be made of the early discovery of elderly TB patient, measures to prevent the development of TB in the elderly and support to hospital treatment of elderly TB patients. In the future, taking measures is needed so that the development of TB in the elderly be suppressed and that TB treatment of the elderly be carried out smoothly.

Adolescent↗

[A clinical study on tuberculosis among young adults in Japan: analysis on patients admitted to national hospitals in Kanto- and Kinki-areas in the year 2000].

Considering the high social activity, the trend of tuberculosis among young adults appears to be one of the key factors that influence the future morbidity rate of tuberculosis in Japan. To investigate its current characteristics, we analyzed new cases of tuberculosis aged 20 to 29 who were admitted to 7 national hospitals in Kanto- and Kinki-areas during the period of January 1st to December 31st, 2000. Data on the following items were compiled: sex, age, body height and weight, nationality; background factors such as life style, complications; course of the disease before the diagnosis; result of PPD skin test; severity of the disease estimated by the amount of M. tuberculosis in sputum and the grade of chest X-ray findings; therapeutic regimens and the response rate. Data were collected from 234 patients (129 males and 105 females) and the results were as follows: 1) about 80% of the patients were symptomatic and in 50% of patients who presented with cough, more than one month was needed before establishing the diagnosis as TB, 2) the disease was found in advanced stage in more than half of the patients, 3) foreigner patients, most of them were from Kanto-area, accounted for 11%, and were in advanced stage, some with drug-resistant tuberculosis, 4) INH resistance was noted in 7.7%, 5) pyrazinamide was included in the therapeutic regimens in 84.0% of the smear positive patients, 6) the admission period was within 90 days in 63.7% of the patients, however, the duration of treatment was 6 months in only 48.0% of patients who were treated with regimens containing pyrazinamide. More efforts for early detection of patients is needed to prevent the transmission of the disease, and more extensive use of directly observed therapy is essential for the prevention of dropout. We also argued about the shortening of the admission and duration of treatment in these patients.

Adult↗

[Measures for tuberculosis in compromised hosts--mainly on chemoprophylaxis].

As for the measures for tuberculosis in Japan, BCG inoculation and chemoprophylaxis have been done with emphasis placed on children and young people. Since, however, about 90% are older than 30 years and more than 50% are older than 60 years among the new TB patients, measures, particularly chemoprophylaxis aiming at the middle-old aged people are needed in the future. We discuss the method to select cases for chemoprophylaxis as to the cases of diabetes, collagen diseases and lung cancer administered corticosteroid preparations as well as the cases of Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis administered anti-TNF-alpha among compromised hosts. In diabetics, chemoprophylaxis is necessary for those who show healing of TB despite there being no history of TB treatment. Where a corticosteroid preparation, more than 10 mg in terms of prednisolone is administered over a long period of time for collagen disease and lung cancer, chemoprophylaxis is necessary for those who show healing of TB despite there being no history of TB treatment and those who are suspected of having TB infection by a tuberculin test. In the cases of Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis administered anti-TNF-alpha, chemoprophylaxis is necessary for those who show healing of TB despite those who are suspected of having TB infection by a tuberculin test. The administration period of INH as chemoprophylaxis should preferably be set at 9 months instead of 6 months hitherto used.

Antibiotic Prophylaxis↗

[A study on pulmonary tuberculosis retreatment cases].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the factors leading to the retreatment for tuberculosis. MATERIALS: Forty-seven retreatment cases with pulmonary tuberculosis, who were discharged from the National Chiba Higashi Hospital from 2000 to 2002. METHODS: Data on all retreatment cases were studied as to the condition of the original treatment and factors leading to the retreatment. RESULTS: Of the 47 cases, 33 cases received the original treatment in our hospital. Of the 33 cases, 24 cases were relapsed cases and 9 cases were defaulters. Most relapsed cases were male aged 50s and 12 cases (50%) were jobless. As the factors leading to retreatment, the delay in the negative conversion of sputum culture accounted for 11 cases (45.8%) out of 24 cases. No specific factors were found in three cases (12.5%). Among the defaulters, no bias was seen as to age and occupation of cases, but all the cases were male, and they defaulted during the maintenance phase of treatment at the out-patient department. CONSIDERATION: The delay in the negative conversion of sputum culture was the main factor relating to the relapse. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the factors leading to the relapse, but many factors were observed in DM patients. Male cases aged 50s had many factors leading to the relapse. An intensive management for out-patients and involvement of welfare department aiming at the completion of treatment for the socially vulnerable groups might be necessary as the measure to prevent defaulting. CONCLUSION: The delay in the negative conversion of sputum culture was the main factor leading to relapse, and intensive management for out-patients aiming at the completion of treatment is necessary to prevent the defaulting.

Adult↗

[Tuberculosis in the patients undergoing haemodialysis in Japan, 1996].

UNLABELLED: We conducted a questionnaire survey on patients undergoing haemodialysis about the present situation of tuberculous incidence. They are immunocompromised hosts and are said to be at high risk of developing tuberculosis in many reports. (1) DESIGN Of the 167,192 patients on haemodialysis registered on December 31, 1996 in Japan, 71,411 patients were available for the questionnaire survey. Of the 2,893 hospitals used as the study subjects, 1,108 hospitals gave satisfactory replies. Of them, 141 hospitals reported that they had patients with tuberculosis in 1996, and 79 cases were collected by the detailed survey on tuberculosis patients conducted later. They included 45 male cases, 34 female cases for tuberculosis of all forms, 28 male cases, 15 female cases for pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB), 13 male cases, 4 female cases for tuberculosis bacilli positive pulmonary tuberculosis (TB positive PTB), and 17 male cases, 19 female cases for extrapulmonary tuberculosis. (2) RESULTS: In tuberculosis of all forms, the number of observed patients (O) against the number of patients expected (E) was calculated, and the standardized patients ratio (O/E ratio) was computed. It was 1.55 for male, 2.79 for female and 1.99 for total. The incidence of tuberculosis haemodialysis patients was significantly higher compared with the general population (p < 0.01). As to PTB, the O/E ratio was 1.01 for male, 1.40 for female and 1.16 for total; the incidence of PTB was not significantly higher compared with the general population. With TB positive PTB, the O/E ratio was 0.96 for male, 0.80 for female and 0.97 for total, and no significant difference was found. As for extrapulmonary tuberculosis, the O/E ratio was 13.45 for male, 13.07 for female and 12.97 for total; the incidence of extrapulmonary tuberculosis in haemodialysis patients was significantly higher (p < 0.01), but it was lower than these reported in the past literature. The seventy nine cases consisted of 52 primary treatment cases, 23 retreatment cases, and 4 unknown cases. Out of 79 cases, 36 cases developed tuberculosis almost at the same time or within 1 year after undergoing haemodialysis, and thereafter it decreased gradually. Underlying diseases for haemodialysis were mainly glomerulonephritis and diabetic nephropathy. There were many patients who failed to notify to the public health centers after the diagnosis of tuberculosis was made, and it is needed to improve such a situation in the future. The prognosis of tuberculosis undergoing haemodialysis was poor. Three out of 43 patients with PTB and 2 out of 13 tuberculosis pleurisy cases died. (3) CONCLUSION: The risk of developing PTB in patients undergoing haemodialysis was not high compared with the general population, however, the risk was much higher for extrapulmonary tuberculosis. Moreover, the treatment outcome was not satisfactory in patients with PTB and pleurisy. As patients undergoing haemodialysis have the factors which suppress the cell-mediated immunity, it is required to restudy the measures to prevent development of tuberculosis, management and treatment in the future.

Adult↗

[Clinical review of pneumothorax cases complicated with active pulmonary tuberculosis].

Pneumothorax is an important and dangerous complication of pulmonary tuberculosis. Forty-six pneumothorax cases complicated with active pulmonary tuberculosis at National Chiba-Higashi Hospital were studied retrospectively. From Jan. 1987 to Dec. 1997, we experienced 3611 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, and among them 46 patients (18-90 years old, 38 males and 8 females) had pneumothorax. On admission, 33 out of 46 cases (71.7%) were smear positive by sputum examination of mycobacteria and 41 out of 46 cases (89.1%) had cavitary lesions on chest X-ray. Eleven cases had mild pneumothorax, thirty-two had moderate, and three had severe. Pneumothorax was present on admission in 23 patients and developed during treatment for tuberculosis in the other 23 patients. Eleven patients were treated with bed rest alone, four were thoracentesis and aspiration, twenty-four were intrathoracic tube drainage and seven were operated. Thirty-one patients were recovered, but fifteen passed away, among them 13 due to respiratory failure. The Prognostic nutritional index (PNI; 10 x serum albumin concentration +0.005 x peripheral lymphocyte count) which was proposed by Onodera, serum albumin level and Body mass index were lower in the fatal group than in the survival group. We consider these indices are useful to evaluate the prognosis of active tuberculosis patients complicated with pneumothorax.

Adolescent↗

[A study on far-advanced cavitary pulmonary tuberculosis cases].

In cases with far-advanced cavitary pulmonary tuberculosis, the most serious lesions according to the chest X-ray classification by the Japanese Society of Tuberculosis (b I 3), their prognosis is believed to be poor due to their emaciated general conditions, and a retrospective clinical study was made on these cases admitted to our hospital. The subjects consisted of 95 cases, and among them 87 were male and 8 were female, and their mean age was 49.5 +/- 13.0 years. Eighty four cases were detected by symptomatic visits to clinics, 10 cases during their treatment for other diseases, and 1 case was discovered accidentally. Sputum examination for acid fast bacilli was all smear positive. As to their social background, the majority were occupied by socially vulnerable groups; 31 cases (32.6%) were jobless on admission, 24 cases (25.3%) were day laborers, and 25 cases (26.3%) were receiving poor relief. Regarding their general condition on admission, 40 cases were very serious and they could not stand by themselves, and their nutritional conditions were poor, and 19 cases (20%) died during hospitalization. All of them were male, and they were found by symptomatic visit to clinics. The period from hospital admission to death was short, the average was 35.0 +/- 39.8 days, and the median was 11.0 days. Among 84 patients detected by symptomatic visit, the patient's delay was 5.5 +/- 5.0 months, while the doctor's delay was 0.3 +/- 0.9 months. Major cause of late detection at advanced stage of these cases was patient's delay which caused poor prognosis of these cases, and various measures to shorten the delay in case-detection must be taken.

Adolescent↗

[A case of perforative peritonitis complicated with lung and intestinal severe tuberculosis].

A 27-year-old man was admitted to our hospital in September 18, 2000, complaining of fever, cough, appetite loss and body weight loss. He was diagnosed as advanced lung tuberculosis, because of chest X-ray findings and positive acid-fast bacilli in his sputum. He was administrated rifampicin (RFP), isoniazid (INH) and ethambutol (EB). Two days after starting treatment he complained of abdominal pain and the signs of perforating peritonitis. Emergency laparotomy was performed and we observed multiple ulcers and a perforation of ileum. We resected a part of distal ileum and ascending colon and made ileostomy. Histopathologic examination of resected ileum and colon showed multiple ulcers and epithelioid cell granulomas with caseous necrosis. Many acid bacilli were identified from the lesion by specially stained tissue sections. He was administrated streptomycin and INH by injection post-operatively while oral administration was impossible. Six days after the first operation, we found the signs of perforation in another part of the ileum. So we were obliged to perform second laparotomy and resect the part involved. Five days after the second operation, he was able to take RFP, INH, and levofloxacin per oral route. On February 8, 2001 we performed ileocolonal reconstruction with side to side anastomosis and closed ileostomy at the third laparotomy. He had continued chemotherapy and went back to Korea in April 7, 2001. Although intestinal tuberculosis has sharply declined in Japan thanks to development of effective antituberculous drugs, we should keep in mind that it could be a possible cause of the acute abdomen.

Adult↗

[Tuberculosis control of construction workers living in Hanba].

Construction workers living in temporal quarters, HANBA, rarely have opportunity to receive the routine health screening program such as that for general inhabitants organized by the local government or that for permanent employees by the employer. Long delay in detecting TB and high drop-out rate from TB treatment among them have been reported. We carried out the following interventions to cope with the problems: In 1999 and 2000, we organized TB screening with X-ray and further examination in the same day when necessary among workers in 6 HANBA in Chiba City. A total of 382 workers were screened, and they also received structured interviews to assess their health-related behaviors and conditions. Four active pulmonary TB cases were detected, and the incidence of 1,047/1,000,000 was forty times higher than that of Chiba City. All four patients were treated and cured. According to the experiences through our intervention, we developed the following recommendations on TB control of construction workers living in HANBA: 1) A system carry out the health examination routinely in the HANBA should be provided, and its implementation be supervised by the public health center and the Labor Standards Inspection Office. 2) It is necessary to guarantee worker's minimum living conditions and medical treatment, and for this regular purpose, close cooperation should be established between clinical service providers and public health, social welfare, and work management authorities. 3) We should start "DOTS" (Directly Observed Treatment Short-Course) not only to the patients in the hospital but also to the outpatients and in the HANBA. To control TB among those workers, further effort is necessary to motivate them to receive basic regular health screening program that is provided in free of charge in Japan.

Adult↗

[The present situation of daily life of tuberculosis patients treated in hospitals with beds for tuberculosis in Japan].

We sent a questionnaire to hospitals with beds for tuberculosis in Japan to know current situation of daily life of tuberculosis patients treated in hospitals. It was evident that some services of daily life facilities was delayed; e.g. the difficulty in using stores in a hospital, no dining rooms and no installation of a personal television set. The use of personal computers was not allowed in many hospitals. Tuberculosis patients were subjected to a marked restriction in the hospital in spite of their isolation from the family and the society. Patients were prohibited to go out from the ward except when they undergo certain examinations in the hospitals, to take a walk in the hospital compound and to go out or stay overnight outside the hospital. In the majority of hospitals, patients were allowed to take a walk or to stay overnight outside the hospital only after the negative conversion of tubercle bacilli in sputum. Judging from the above findings, it appears that many tuberculosis patients under hospital treatment are not spending a pleasant daily hospital life.

Health Facility Environment↗