Okayama Igakkai Zasshi (Journal of Okayama Medical Association)

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   Objective: To survey the current status and problems of cooperation between clinics and hospitals in Okayama Prefecture, Japan for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
   Methods: We distributed a questionnaire to 300 of the 983 Okayama Prefecture clinics that had either an internal medicine or orthopedic surgery department, from December 2013 to February 2014. The questionnaire covered practice pattern for RA treatment in clinics, current status of the hospital and clinic cooperation, and acceptance of the biologic therapy.
   Results: One hundred clinics responded to the questionnaire. Seventy percent of the clinics reported making referrals to rheumatologists before the initiation of RA treatment, and half of the other 30% of the clinics administered methotrexate as the first-line treatment for RA by their own decision. Sixty-six clinics cooperated with flagship hospitals, conducting medical and laboratory examinations, providing prescriptions, and treating common diseases of patients. These clinics expected the cooperating rheumatologists to follow-up patients every 3 to 6 months and to make the diagnosis, make decisions regarding RA treatment changes, and perform surgery. Seventy-one percent of the clinics responded that cooperation with a hospital is possible even for patients who are administered biologics. As reasons for no cooperation with the flagship hospitals, clinics noted the lack of information about rheumatologists in the area and recent trends in the management of RA.
   Conclusion: The current study reported, for the first time, the actual conditions of management of RA in clinics, as well as future problems of hospital and clinic cooperation in Okayama Prefecture.

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We report a case of giant rectal gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) successfully resected by abdominoperineal resection combined with posterior vaginal wall resection. Our patient was a 79-year-old woman had been diagnosed as having von Recklinghausen disease at the age of 30 years. In 2006, a computed tomography (CT) scan revealed a tumor originating from the posterior wall of the rectum. In June 2010, she was admitted to our hospital with the chief complaint of bloody stool. A CT scan revealed a giant tumor that had increased to 9cm in size. Colonoscopy demonstrated a submucosal tumor, which was subsequently diagnosed by biopsy as a GIST. Due to the patient's continuous bleeding and abdominal pain, an emergent abdominoperineal resection was performed at that time. The tumor, which measured 8×9cm, was immunohistochemically positive for c-kit and CD34. Concomitant resection of the posterior wall of the vagina via the perineal approach provided a wide area to expose the tumor for a safe operation. The patient has been well with no sign of recurrence since the operation. This procedure is recommended as a useful approach for giant rectal GISTs or rectal cancer with invasion of the posterior pelvic wall.

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   Appendicitis is a benign disease for which surgical treatment is widely provided. The complication of neoplastic lesions may be discovered only after resection. However, in some cases, specimens are not submitted to histopathological examination in Japan because of an extreme deficiency of pathologists. We report our experience with one patient who experienced the complication of latent low-grade appendiceal mucinous neoplasm (LAMN) after surgery for appendicitis.
   Our patient was an 85-year-old woman. Conservative treatment failed to relieve fever and lower abdominal pain and it was decided to treat her surgically. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) showed appendicitis with severe inflammation and suspected adhesion. We decided to explore the abdominal cavity using a reduced-port laparoscopic approach. We found no mucous debouchment or clear tumors in the specimen. Histopathological findings indicated the coexistence of appendicitis and LAMN. At one year and a half after surgery, there was no evidence of the development of pseudomyxoma peritonei.
   In appendectomy, it is thought that careful perioperative treatment and a postoperative pathological search are important when there are no preoperative findings suggesting a neoplastic lesion.

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