1）We instituted the “CHANGE Nagasaki University Hospital” project to improve both management and medical education and to boost the number of physicians recruited to this hospital.
2）We first identified the physicians’ problems and complaints via a questionnaire. Next, focusing on the most common complaints, we reduced secondary duties and methodically improved the educational environment by employing the a– b–c–d–strategy, which is based on the principles of medical education.
3）As a result, both, the hospital’s economic growth and the recruitment figures for resident physicians have increased continuously over the past 4 years.

OBJECTIVE: Equivalent cross-relaxation rate (ECR) imaging is an MRI technique used to evaluate quantitatively a change in the protein-water interaction. We aimed to evaluate retrospectively the usefulness of ECR imaging for the histologic classification of malignant lymphoma (ML). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Institutional Review Board approval was obtained and all patients provided informed consent. The study subjects included 15 patients with untreated ML who were histologically diagnosed with follicular lymphoma (FL; n = 8) or diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL; n = 7). All patients underwent ECR imaging and the offset frequency was set at 7 ppm. RESULTS: The median ECR values were 71% (range; 60.7 to 75.5) in FL and 54% (50.8 to 59.4) in DLBCL (p = 0.001). The median cellular density was 1.5 +/- 0.17 x 10(6) / mm2 in FL and 1.0 +/- 0.70 x 10(6) / mm2 in DLBCL (p = 0.001). The correlation coefficient between the ECR values and cellular density in ML was 0.88 (p = 0.001). In FL and DLBCL, assuming ECR value cut-off points of 60%, both sensitivity and specificity were 100%. CONCLUSION: A strong correlation between ECR and cellular density in ML is demonstrated and the ECR may be a useful technique to differentiate between FL and DLBCL.
Adult ; Aged ; Cell Count ; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging/*methods ; Female ; Humans ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional/methods ; Lymphoma, Follicular/*pathology ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/*pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Observer Variation ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVE: To retrospectively evaluate relative enhancement (RE) in the hepatobiliary phase of gadoxetic acid disodium-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging as a preoperative estimation of future remnant liver (FRL) function in a patients who underwent portal vein embolization (PVE). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 53 patients, the correlation between the indocyanine green clearance (ICG-K) and RE imaging was analyzed before hepatectomy (first analysis). Twenty-three of the 53 patients underwent PVE followed by a repeat RE imaging and ICG test before an extended hepatectomy and their results were further analyzed (second analysis). Whole liver function and FRL function were calculated on the MR imaging as follows: RE x total liver volume (RE Index) and FRL-RE x FRL volume (Rem RE Index), respectively. Regarding clinical outcome, posthepatectomy liver failure (PHLF) was evaluated in patients undergoing PVE. RESULTS: Indocyanine green clearance correlated with the RE Index (r = 0.365, p = 0.007), and ICG-K of FRL (ICG-Krem) strongly correlated with the Rem RE Index (r = 0.738, p < 0.001) in the first analysis. Both the ICG-Krem and the Rem RE Index were significantly correlated after PVE (r = 0.508, p = 0.013) at the second analysis. The rate of improvement of the Rem RE Index from before PVE to after PVE was significantly higher than that of ICG-Krem (p = 0.014). Patients with PHLF had a significantly lower Rem RE Index than patients without PHLF (p = 0.023). CONCLUSION: Relative enhancement imaging can be used to estimate FRL function after PVE.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Embolization, Therapeutic/*methods ; Female ; *Gadolinium DTPA ; Hepatectomy/methods ; Humans ; Indocyanine Green/pharmacokinetics ; Liver/*pathology/surgery ; Liver Neoplasms/*surgery ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/*methods ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Portal Vein/pathology ; Regression Analysis ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome