Bed bathing maintains cleanliness and body temperature and can be considered part of a healthy lifestyle. An increasing number of studies have provided scientific evidence of the benefits of bed baths. In this study, we measured spectral absorbance of the skin surface and the wiping material before and after wiping adopting imaging-type two-dimensional Fourier spectroscopy to investigate the usefulness of the measurement technique.
　The target participants were nine men, and the samples were a steam cloth, squeezed ordinary loop-weave cotton towel, and squeezed shirring fabric towel. The method of intervention was to wipe the inside of the forearm, and the spectral absorbance of the skin surface before and after wiping as well as the spectral absorbance of the wiping material used for bed bathing were measured for 40 seconds through imaging-type two-dimensional Fourier spectroscopy. The use of near-infrared light is a new method of evaluation. The moisture contents of the wiping material and skin surface were quantitatively evaluated from the spectral absorbance.
　The results show that the spectral absorbance of the wiping material increased in the order of the steam cloth, squeezed shirring fabric towel, and squeezed ordinary loop-weave cotton towel. The spectral absorbance of the skin surface increased in the order of the steam cloth, squeezed ordinary loop-weave cotton towel, and squeezed shirring fabric towel for eight of the nine participants.
　It is thus possible to measure the change in water content from the spectral absorbance, and we confirmed the usefulness of the proposed measurement technique as a non-contact technique with low invasiveness.

　This study aimed to identify the cognition of nursing students and instructors based on eye movement analysis in a situation-based simulation. The author provided a nursing assistance task to study participants: nine nursing students and four full-time instructors. Eye movements of the participants performing the task were measured. After the completion of the task the author conducted interviews, and performed quantitative text analysis and eye movement analysis. The analyses showed that participant students and instructors had gazed at a “doll” longer and more frequently than any other objects. The objects with the longest gazing times per area of interests (AOI) were “doll” (students) and “vital sign measuring objects” (instructors). In addition, students were “conscious” of the “facial expression” of a “baby” and “mother,” while instructors looked at the “face” of the “baby” and “thought” that the “mother” was “worried” about the “baby”. It was suggested that students had not realized what they saw until they had confirmed observations in their own line of sight, and also that it is not easy for instructors to verbalize what they themselves were doing in the observations and judgments they made.

　Objective: To compare skin cleanliness after wiping with warm water versus antisepsis with alcohol to assess the effects of water baths on microorganism removal.
　Methods: We recruited 24 healthy adults aged ≥ 18 years and applied the following interventions to three 7×6-cm experimental areas on their forearms: 1) wiping with warm water (40℃) twice using a different washcloth surface each time, 2) antisepsis with 83% ethanol, or 3) the same wiping procedure followed by antisepsis with 83% ethanol. We measured the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence using the total adenylate A3 (ATP+ADP+AMP) test to evaluate the skin’s cleanliness. We used analysis of covariance and Tukey’s honest significant difference test to compare the mean ATP levels between procedures after the interventions. ATP levels before the interventions were adjusted as covariates.
　Results: We excluded one participant with outlier data at baseline and analyzed the data from 23 participants aged 19-22 years. ATP levels immediately after the interventions were related to the type of skin cleaning intervention (F=31.4, P<0.001). Multiple comparison tests showed that the ATP levels were significantly lower after the procedures that included skin wiping than after those of antisepsis only (P<0.001). ATP levels did not significantly differ between the wiped skin only and the wiped skin followed by antisepsis (P=0.31).
　Conclusions: Wiping a small area of skin using a clean washcloth surface with warm water significantly reduced the number of microorganisms on the skin, suggesting that its temporal effect on microorganism removal could be equivalent to the temporal effect of antisepsis with alcohol.

　The COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult to conduct fundamental nursing practicum in a face-to-face environment. We adopted a new approach: a fully remote practicum, that involved implementation of simulation exercises using simulated patient and student surrogates. Additionally, a web-based questionnaire survey was administered to 97 nursing students (sophomore) who took the course after the practicum to examine the possibilities and challenges of remote practicum. The survey response rate was 38.1%. Further, the average score of the remote simulation exercise was 7.38 on a 10-point scale. The students indicated that the exercise allowed them to experience the flow of nursing practicum and realistic interactions with a simulated patient. However, some students stated that it was difficult to interact with the simulated patient remotely for several reasons, including website malfunctions. Full-remote training has several limitations, such as the inability to allow students to experience real-life nursing practicum. Nevertheless, the advantages of simulation education, such as using multiple cameras that reflect the students’ perspective and angle of view-can be exploited to make it an effective training tool.

　This study aimed to clarify the current state of perioperative nursing practice in positioning patients for preventing perioperative peripheral nerve injury in endoscopic surgery. We conducted a semi-structured interview with eight perioperative nurses, using an interview guide. Qualitative and inductive analyses were then performed, and the results were categorized. It was observed that perioperative nurses assessed “the patient’s joint movement and physique to get an idea of positioning.” They performed “to prevent brachial plexus injury by placing the head and neck so as not to be rotated or bent sideways” and “to prevent brachial plexus injury by avoiding shoulder compression and adjusting the shoulder angle along with immobilization of the shoulder.” The nurses evaluated “confirming safety by observing no change in positioning” and “continue to evaluate according to the patient’s situation.” Perioperative nurses assessed patient positioning based on the patient’s physical characteristics during the preoperative visits. Brachial plexus injury, which has an increased risk due to the changes in body position caused by the tilting of the operating bed, is prevented by perioperative nurses. Moreover, they continuously monitored patient positioning to detect early changes in body position caused by, tilt of the operating bed.

　Intramuscular injection into the deltoid muscle may cause peripheral nerve damage and tissue damage. To avoid such damage, establishing safe intramuscular injection techniques and educating practitioners, including nursing students, on these methods is important. This study reviewed textbooks and research articles focusing on the selection of injection sites and techniques used during needle puncture and examined the appropriateness of the descriptions in textbooks and future research issues. The results showed that the injection site three finger widths below the acromion process is not necessarily a safe site for all subjects, and that it is necessary to clearly state in the text that the axillary nerve may be damaged depending on the size of the fingers of the person giving the injection and the size of the patient. The description of the depth of puncture according to the length of the needle should also have been reviewed as soon as possible. The accumulation of results of research on the course of the axillary nerve in the deltoid muscle, and the verification and confirmation of the degree of thickness of subcutaneous fat for each method of grasping the subject’s arm, were suggested as future research.

　During manual syringe exchange, catecholamines are at risk of decreasing blood concentration because of their short half-life. The objective of this study was to consider which manual syringe exchange method was chosen by nurses in critical care units for patients receiving continuous catecholamine administration and whether they changed the exchange method depending on the patient’s blood pressure at the exchange. We conducted an online survey in critical care units in Tokai-Hokuriku, Japan. The questionnaire defined hypertension as 20 mmHg or more and hypotension as 20 mmHg or less. These were based on the patient’s blood pressure target value, as directed by the physician. We obtained responses from 144 nurses in critical care units. The results showed that during hypertension, 45.2% of the nurses chose the single-pump unit method, 33.3% the double-pumps unit method, and 20.1% the quick-change method. During hypotension, 83.3% of the nurses chose the double-pumps unit method, 11.8% the quick-change method, and 4.2% the single-pump unit method. Nurses in the critical care unit chose the appropriate manual syringe exchange method to minimize the effects of catecholamine on patients. However, our result showed that more than 30% of the nurses chose the double-pumps method, which resulted in an overdose of catecholamine being administered during hypertension.

　The purpose of this study was to investigate the safety of applying a hot compress (Maruyama-method) to the lumbar region of elderly based on changes in skin temperature and skin barrier function, and explore factors affecting safety. This study applied a quasi-experiment study design, wherein a hot compress was applied on the lumbar region of 20 elderly people for 20 minutes. No adverse events such as moderate temperature burns were observed, and the deep skin temperature fluctuated below 38℃. The deep skin temperature during and after the application of the hot compresses was significantly higher in the group aged 75 years and over, than in the group aged less than 75 years, suggesting that those aged over 75 years old are more prone to an increase in deep skin temperature and heat accumulation. In terms of skin barrier function, the stratum corneum hydration was significantly decreased before and after the application of the hot compress. These results suggest a low risk of moderate temperature burns among the elderly on application of a hot compress using the Maruyama method. For those over 75 years of age, hot compresses tend to increase the deep skin temperature and heat accumulation; hence, care should be taken when applying hot compresses using other methods. As a whole, the dry heat stimulation induced by the hot compress appeared to reduce the stratum corneum hydration; thus, it is suggested that moisturizing care be provided after implementation of the hot compress.