Clinical Features and Treatment Outcome of Childhood Leukemia / 日本農村医学会雑誌

  We reviewed the clinical features and treatment outcome of 110 children with leukemia. Treatment was performed between 1980 and 2009 at our hospital. The mean age at onest was 5 years 6 months, the ratio of males to females was 1:0.72, and mean leukocyte count was 4.91×10⁴/μl. Subtypes of leukemia were acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in 79.1% of the patients, acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in 17.2%, and chronic leukemia in 3.6%. In all patients, the overall 30-year survival rate estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method was 67.4%. In the three decades from the 1980s, the overall 10-year survival rate has been improved significantly from 46.4% in the 1980s, 69.2% in the 1990s to 87.2% in the 2000s (P<0.01). The overall 10-year survival rate was 70.7% in all children with ALL, and 70.6% in all children with AML. But in the last decade, the 10-year survival rate was improved to 87.0% in children with ALL and 87.3% in children with AML. Twenty-four patients received hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation, and the 10-year survival rate was 58.6% after transplant. Second malignancies were detected in three patients, and six patients have long-term sequelae. In conclusionn, the treatment result of childhood leukemia has improved considerably, so that more intensive treatment for patients with poor prognosis and less toxic treatment for patients with good prognosis will be necessary in future.

Clinical Featues and Role of \it{Helicobacter pylori} Infection in Children with Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura / 日本農村医学会雑誌

We demonstrated the clinical features and outcome of 87 children with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpure (ITP). Most of them were younger children with severe thrombocytopenia; 71.3% were under 5 years old and 49.4% had platelet counts below 1×104/μl. Initial treatment consisted of high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin in 60 (69.0%), steroid in 10 (11.5%), and no therapy in 17 (19.5%). More than 90% of the children with platelet counts below 2×104/μl received treatment, but most children with platelet counts above 2×104/μl were observed without treatment. No patients had complications with CNS hemorrhage. Chronic ITP was noted in 17 patients (19.5%). Their mean age was 6 years 3 months compared with 2 years 8 months for the acute patients (p<0.01). But there were no significant differences in sex, platelet count, and initial treatment between chronic ITP and acute ITP. Six (35.3%) out of 17 children with chronic ITP subsequently achieved a spontaneous recovery. As of today, only 3 patients (3% of all patients, and 17.6% of patients with chronic ITP) have platelet counts below 5×104/μl. The overall prognosis and quality of life were excollent. Helicobacter Pylori (H. pylori) infection was found in 7.1% of the chronic patients and 5.3% of the acute patients, but platelet counts of them returned to normal without H. pylori eradication thrapy. It seemed that H. pylodi infection played a minor role in pediatric ITP.

Clinical Featues and Role of Helicobacter pylori Infection in Children with Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura / 日本農村医学会雑誌

  We demonstrated the clinical features and outcome of 87 children with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpure (ITP). Most of them were younger children with severe thrombocytopenia; 71.3% were under 5 years old and 49.4% had platelet counts below 1×10⁴/μl. Initial treatment consisted of high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin in 60 (69.0%), steroid in 10 (11.5%), and no therapy in 17 (19.5%). More than 90% of the children with platelet counts below 2×10⁴/μl received treatment, but most children with platelet counts above 2×10⁴/μl were observed without treatment. No patients had complications with CNS hemorrhage. Chronic ITP was noted in 17 patients (19.5%). Their mean age was 6 years 3 months compared with 2 years 8 months for the acute patients (p<0.01). But there were no significant differences in sex, platelet count, and initial treatment between chronic ITP and acute ITP. Six (35.3%) out of 17 children with chronic ITP subsequently achieved a spontaneous recovery. As of today, only 3 patients (3% of all patients, and 17.6% of patients with chronic ITP) have platelet counts below 5×10⁴/μl. The overall prognosis and quality of life were excollent. <i>Helicobacter Pylori</i> (<i>H. pylori</i>) infection was found in 7.1% of the chronic patients and 5.3% of the acute patients, but platelet counts of them returned to normal without <i>H. pylori</i> eradication thrapy. It seemed that <i>H. pylodi</i> infection played a minor role in pediatric ITP.

Together With the Community / 日本農村医学会雑誌

Anjo Kosei Hospital was instituted in March 1935. In those days many people in rural areas of our country were suffering from poverty and illness. Of the numerous agricultural cooperative hospitals and clinics that were established across the nation in the 1930s with the spirit of cooperation, many were inaugurated with a heroic resolve. However, the Kosei Hospital in Anjo founded by the Maruheki Association was fraught with optimism and great promise. The reason for this was that the county of Hekikai-gun was, at the time, called the “Denmark of Japan” and boasted the largest business expenses among all the counties in the nation. In order to return the surplus to group members, a plan to build a hospital was drafted with the advice of Nobukichi Yamazaki, the first principal of Anjo Norin (Agricultural and Forestry) Senior High School. He used to say, “The greatest threats to a farmer's livelihood are accidents and sicknesses. There can be no happiness without good health. We should build an agricultural cooperative hospital to provide its members with modern health care.”Initially, the hospital had 34 beds, eight medical departments, and 40 staff members, including seven physicians. Control over the hospital was transferred to Aichi Koseiren (the Aichi Prefectural Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives for Health and Welfare) in 1948, after having tided over a shortage of labor prior to World War II and during the chaotic postwar period. The hospital began togrow rapidly, measuring up to the expectations and trust placed by local residents. Through enrichment of functions and expansion of the wards, the institution went on to become what could be called a citizens' hospital of Anjo and in fact, the largest hospital in the Nishi-Mikawa area. With the passage of time, the hospital got cramped for space and the buildings decrepit, adversely affecting not only the care environment but also disaster prevention measures. To maintain medical standards, hospital relocation was a must. In May 2002, the hospital moved to the present site, thanks in part to the support of the City of Anjo.After relocation, the hospital decided to give priority to treatment of acute diseases. Now, the number of hospital employees has been increased to 1,205, including 128 physicians and 676 nurses. In addition, there are 40 interns. Designated as an emergency medical care center, the hospital is the nucleus medical institution in the southern part of the Nishi-Mikawa area.However, due to the excessive concentration of patients in this hospital, it has come to pass that all the 692 beds are almost always occupied. This has inevitably made it difficult for the hospital to accept emergency patients. Measures to combat the situation, such as bed control, shortening the length of hospital stay and referring patients to other facilities have reached their limit. Therefore, further effort must be put into the division of hospital functions in the community. The required number of personnel such as physicians and nurses currently reaches the full quota, though only barely. Nonetheless, it would become more difficult even to maintain the present level.The 71-year history of Anjo Kosei Hospital reminds us of our predecessors' will and wishes to work hand in hand with the community to promote the health andwell-being of the people. We would like to continue to be a hospital that appeals not only to local residents but also to physicians and nurses by upholding the following basic principles:1. To contribute to the health and happiness of local residents through health care.2. To place patient care at the center of all the activities of the hospital.3. To create a work environment which the staff can be proud of and feel happy with.

Together With the Community--71-Year History of Anjo Kosei Hospital in Retrospect-- / 日本農村医学会雑誌

  Anjo Kosei Hospital was instituted in March 1935. In those days many people in rural areas of our country were suffering from poverty and illness. Of the numerous agricultural cooperative hospitals and clinics that were established across the nation in the 1930s with the spirit of cooperation, many were inaugurated with a heroic resolve. However, the Kosei Hospital in Anjo founded by the Maruheki Association was fraught with optimism and great promise. The reason for this was that the county of Hekikai-gun was, at the time, called the “Denmark of Japan” and boasted the largest business expenses among all the counties in the nation. In order to return the surplus to group members, a plan to build a hospital was drafted with the advice of Nobukichi Yamazaki, the first principal of Anjo Norin (Agricultural and Forestry) Senior High School. He used to say, “The greatest threats to a farmer's livelihood are accidents and sicknesses. There can be no happiness without good health. We should build an agricultural cooperative hospital to provide its members with modern health care.”<br>  Initially, the hospital had 34 beds, eight medical departments, and 40 staff members, including seven physicians. Control over the hospital was transferred to Aichi Koseiren (the Aichi Prefectural Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives for Health and Welfare) in 1948, after having tided over a shortage of labor prior to World War II and during the chaotic postwar period. The hospital began togrow rapidly, measuring up to the expectations and trust placed by local residents. Through enrichment of functions and expansion of the wards, the institution went on to become what could be called a citizens' hospital of Anjo and in fact, the largest hospital in the Nishi-Mikawa area. With the passage of time, the hospital got cramped for space and the buildings decrepit, adversely affecting not only the care environment but also disaster prevention measures. To maintain medical standards, hospital relocation was a must. In May 2002, the hospital moved to the present site, thanks in part to the support of the City of Anjo.<br>  After relocation, the hospital decided to give priority to treatment of acute diseases. Now, the number of hospital employees has been increased to 1,205, including 128 physicians and 676 nurses. In addition, there are 40 interns. Designated as an emergency medical care center, the hospital is the nucleus medical institution in the southern part of the Nishi-Mikawa area.<br>  However, due to the excessive concentration of patients in this hospital, it has come to pass that all the 692 beds are almost always occupied. This has inevitably made it difficult for the hospital to accept emergency patients. Measures to combat the situation, such as bed control, shortening the length of hospital stay and referring patients to other facilities have reached their limit. Therefore, further effort must be put into the division of hospital functions in the community. The required number of personnel such as physicians and nurses currently reaches the full quota, though only barely. Nonetheless, it would become more difficult even to maintain the present level.<br>  The 71-year history of Anjo Kosei Hospital reminds us of our predecessors' will and wishes to work hand in hand with the community to promote the health andwell-being of the people. We would like to continue to be a hospital that appeals not only to local residents but also to physicians and nurses by upholding the following basic principles:<br>1. To contribute to the health and happiness of local residents through health care.<br>2. To place patient care at the center of all the activities of the hospital.<br>3. To create a work environment which the staff can be proud of and feel happy with.

Impressions of 54th General Assembly of JARM / 日本農村医学会雑誌

The 54th General Assembly of the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine was held in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, on October 20 and 21. The autumnal air was crisp and refreshing. Presiding over this annual meeting was Dr. Shusuke Natsukawa, director of the Saku Central Hospital affiliated with the Nagano Prefectural Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives for Health and Welfare. Nagano, the venue for five annual congresses in the past including the monumental first one, played host to the latest event for the first time in 20 years. With “the return to the starting point of rural medicine” as its main theme, the 54th meeting was opened with the speeches and lectures by the General Assembly president and others. Symposia were so excellently performed and papers presented by JARM members were so rich in substance that, I think, the scientific meeting was very valuable for all the participants. Moreover, President Natsukawa and staff members of his hospital and the people of the Nagano Prefectural Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives for Health and Welfare showed warm hospitality to us so that the general assembly turned out to be an unforgettable heart-warming gathering.