Department of General Internal Medicine

Our department was opened in 2017 as a new department of Internal Medicine. Our department is responsible for the diagnosis of patients with abnormal fevers and test abnormalities with inflammatory reactions, as well as the treatment of intractable infectious diseases that require specialized knowledge in cooperation with the Department of Infection Control.

Our hospital includes the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the Department of Cardiology, the Department of Pulmonary Medicine, the Department of Hematology, the Department of Rheumatology, the Department of Neurology, the Department of Diabetes, and the Department of Nephrology and Hypertension. So, for example, if a patient has pneumonia, then they go the Department of Pulmonary Medicine, if hepatitis, then the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, but for patients with persistent fever where the cause of the high fever is not clear, it was previously hard to know which department of internal medicine they should go to in the past.

In our department, we mainly target patients, when there is an abnormality in the fever and the inflammation test, but the cause is unknown and they don't know which department they should go for treatment. At present, we are only supporting referrals and consultations through other departments in the hospital, but we will enhance the medical care system and aim to have a system that widely accepts patients. In addition, our hospital has the Department of Infection Control, but the diagnosis of the cause of an unknown fever and an increase in inflammatory reaction is performed mainly by our department, and the consultation regarding the medical treatment for general infectious diseases is done in cooperation with both departments.

Our hospital has a specialized department for each organ. However, for patients who do not have a diagnosis, you may not know which department will take lead.

In addition, even if the diagnosis comes later, if the first department is not specialized in such, it becomes a detour, and the treatment may take longer. For medical reasons, fever is the most common symptom, and even if you come to us to consult about a fever, it can be difficult to decide which department to see, and even if it is decided the cause is often not clear.
In such a case, we recommend that they are introduced to or consult with our department through the attending physician.

In addition to fever, we try to accurately diagnose the patient's marginal abnormalities, such as swelling of the lymph nodes, joint pain, rash, coughing, and diarrhea. If the result of the diagnosis is just light pneumonia, a urinary tract infection, or cellulitis, it is possible to treat them with just an outpatient treatment in our department. If the cause is still unclear, we work with each department in the hospital cooperatively to promptly resolve the cause of the fever and inflammation of the patient.