Amputation-free Home Management of Infected Lower Extremity Pressure Ulcer through Shared Decision-making: Enhancing the Quality of Life and Highlighting Societal Significance in Home Care.

Home healthcare is important for allowing patients to live their lives. However, home-care bedridden patients often experience pressure ulcers in the lower extremities, which can lead to life-threatening infections requiring decisions on the need for amputation. We herein report a patient with an infected lower-limb pressure ulcer with a history of spinal injury. The patient, his family, and the home-care physician repeatedly shared decision-making to deliver home-based treatment instead of amputation. Administration of wound dressing, AQUACEL® Ag, led to complete epithelialization. Such shared decision-making and dressing were feasible in a home-care setting and broadened its scope.

The Impact of the Hospital Volume on the Performance of Residents on the General Medicine In-Training Examination: A Multicenter Study in Japan.

Objective Although several studies have been conducted worldwide on factors that might improve residents' knowledge, the relationship between the hospital volume and the internal medicine residents' knowledge has not been fully understood. We conducted a cross-sectional study to compare the relationships of the hospital volume and hospital resources with the residents' knowledge assessed by the In-training Examination. Methods We conducted a retrospective survey and a clinical knowledge evaluation of postgraduate year 1 and 2 (PGY-1 and -2) resident physicians in Japan by using the General Medicine In-training Examination (GM-ITE) in 2014. We compared the ITE score and the hospital volume. Results A total of 2,015 participants (70.6% men; age, 27.3±2.9 years old) from 208 hospitals were retrospectively analyzed. Generalized estimating equations were used, and the results revealed that an increasing number of hospitalizations, decreasing staff number, decreasing age and PGY-2 were significantly associated with higher GM-ITE scores. Conclusion The hospital volume, such as the number of hospitalizations, is thus considered to have a positive impact on the GM-ITE scores.

Impact of inpatient caseload, emergency department duties, and online learning resource on General Medicine In-Training Examination scores in Japan.

BACKGROUND: Both clinical workload and access to learning resource are important components of educational environment and may have effects on clinical knowledge of residents. METHODS: We conducted a survey with a clinical knowledge evaluation involving postgraduate year (PGY)-1 and -2 resident physicians at teaching hospitals offering 2-year postgraduate training programs required for residents in Japan, using the General Medicine In-Training Examination (GM-ITE). An individual-level analysis was conducted to examine the impact of the number of assigned patients and emergency department (ED) duty on the residents' GM-ITE scores by fitting a multivariable generalized estimating equations. In hospital-level analysis, we evaluated the relationship between for the number of UpToDate reviews for each hospital and for the hospitals' mean GM-ITE score. RESULTS: A total of 431 PGY-1 and 618 PGY-2 residents participated. Residents with four or five times per month of the ED duties exhibited the highest mean scores compared to those with greater or fewer ED duties. Those with largest number of inpatients in charge exhibited the highest mean scores compared to the residents with fewer inpatients in charge. Hospitals with the greater UpToDate topic viewing showed significantly greater mean score. CONCLUSION: Appropriate ED workload and inpatient caseload, as well as use of evidence-based electronic resources, were associated with greater clinical knowledge of residents.

Efficacy of magnetic resonance imaging in the diagnosis of perianal hidradenitis suppurativa, complicated by anal fistulae: A report of two cases and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Perianal hidradenitis suppurativa (PHS) is a chronic recurrent inflammatory disease of the apocrine glands present in the skin and soft tissue adjacent to the anus. It is often misdiagnosed or treatment is delayed, resulting in the formation of an abscess or, in the worst case, leading to sepsis. It is difficult to treat perianal lesions merged with fistulae completely due to its high recurrence rate. Therefore, we should diagnose it correctly and treat it with appropriate methods. PRESENTATION OF CASE: We report two cases of PHS with anal fistulae that were examined preoperatively using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and treated safely by surgery without any recurrence. DISCUSSION: The anal sphincter area cannot be visualized and evaluated directly by fistulography. Also CT has only limited resolution, making it difficult to distinguish between soft tissues and inflammatory streaks. Endosonography is not suitable for the examination of supra-sphincteric or extra-sphincteric extensions, as it is limited by insufficient penetration of the ultrasonic beams. MRI can demonstrate the entire course of the fistulae owing to its high contrast resolution. CONCLUSION: Our findings support the idea that PHS with complicated anal fistulae can be diagnosed accurately using MRI and treated safely and completely with surgery.

The hospital educational environment and performance of residents in the General Medicine In-Training Examination: a multicenter study in Japan.

BACKGROUND: It is believed that the type of educational environment in teaching hospitals may affect the performance of medical knowledge base among residents, but this has not yet been proven. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the association between the hospital educational environment and the performance of the medical knowledge base among resident physicians in Japanese teaching hospitals. METHODS: To assess the knowledge base of medicine, we conducted the General Medicine InTraining Examination (GM-ITE) for second-year residents in the last month of their residency. The items of the exam were developed based on the outcomes designated by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. The educational environment was evaluated using the Postgraduate Hospital Educational Environment Measure (PHEEM) score, which was assessed by a mailed survey 2 years prior to the exam. A mixed-effects linear regression model was employed for the analysis of variables associated with a higher score. RESULTS: Twenty-one teaching hospitals participated in the study and a total of 206 residents (67 women) participated and completed the exam. There were no residents who declined to participate in the exam. The mean GM-ITE score was 58 (standard deviation 8.4). The mixed-effects linear regression analysis showed that a higher PHEEM score was associated with a higher GM-ITE score (P = 0.02). Having a department of general medicine, and hospital location in a provincial community (versus an urban setting), were also shown to have a significant relationship with the higher score (P = 0.03, and P = 0.02, respectively). CONCLUSION: We found that the performance of the medical knowledge base of resident physicians was significantly associated with the educational environment of their hospitals. Improvement of the educational environment in teaching hospitals might be crucial for enhancing the performance of resident physicians in Japan.

Primary site resection is superior for incurable metastatic colorectal cancer.

AIM: To investigate survival in patients treated with FOLFOX followed by primary site resection or palliative surgery for incurable metastatic colorectal cancer. METHODS: Between 2001 and 2009, a total of 98 patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma and non-resectable metastases were diagnosed and treated with the new systemic agent chemotherapy regimen FOLFOX. Primary site resection was carried out in 38 patients, creation of a colostomy or bypass without resection was carried out in 36 patients, and 23 were not operated on because of advanced disease. The survival times of patients in different groups were analyzed. RESULTS: There were no differences between the patients regarding their general condition, concurrent disease, or tumor stage according to AJCC classification. The median survivals of the three groups were 30.6, 20.8, and 12.7 mo (log-rank P value < 0.05), respectively. The postoperative complication rate was higher in the primary site resection group than in the palliative surgery group. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that there are benefits from primary site resection for incurable metastatic colorectal cancer with systemic chemotherapy.

A case report of endocrine cell carcinoma in the sigmoid colon with inferior mesenteric vein tumor embolism.

We report a case of endocrine cell carcinoma in the sigmoid colon with inferior mesenteric vein (IMV) tumor embolism. A 79-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with narrowing of the stools. We performed colonoscopy, computed tomography and positron emission tomography, which disclosed sigmoid colon cancer with IMV tumor embolism. She underwent sigmoidectomy and lymph node dissection. The tumor was diagnosed as endocrine cell carcinoma (type 4, pSS, med, INFalpha, v3, n1, stage IIIb). Immunohistochemically, chromographin A, synaptophysin, cytokeratin 20 and mucicarmine showed partial staining, and CD56 was totally reactive. Three months after operation multiple liver metastases appeared. She was treated with chemotherapy of cisplatin (CDDP) + irinotecan (CPT11). This case highlights the aggressiveness of endocrine cell carcinoma with tumor embolism, and it is essential to establish an accurate diagnosis and effective treatment.

Benign Pigmented Schwannoma of the Great Omentum: Report of a Rare Case and Review of the Literature.

Schwannoma in the abdomen is an uncommon neoplasm that occurs most frequently in the cranial and peripheral nerves; it is extremely rare in the great omentum and only 6 cases of schwannoma of the great omentum have been observed previously. We report the case of a schwannoma found in the great omentum of a 55-year-old man who was treated with laparoscopic surgery. Though it was difficult to diagnose preoperatively, the tumor showed malignant potential by rapidly increasing in size. Histologically it was configured by a well-encapsulated round mass measuring 30 × 18 × 15 mm in diameter. Immunohistochemically most of the neoplastic cells reacted moderately to NSE, NCAM and S-100 protein. We document the clinicopathological study of a schwannoma of the great omentum, followed by a review of the literature.