Vibrio alginolyticus is a microorganism of marine environment that occasionally occurs as a human pathogen. We isolated V. alginolyticus from a patient with otitis media. A 37-year-old man had been exposed to seawater one month before admission. The isolate showed typical biochemical and characteristics of this organism such as positive Voges-Proskauer reaction, fermentation of sucrose, growth on 10% sodium chloride media. In vitro susceptibility test shows the isolate was resistant to ampicillin and carbenicillin, but was susceptible to other antimicrobial agents. The patient improved with ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin therapy.
Adult ; Ampicillin ; Anti-Infective Agents ; Carbenicillin ; Ciprofloxacin ; Fermentation ; Humans ; Ofloxacin ; Otitis Media* ; Otitis* ; Seawater ; Sodium Chloride ; Sucrose ; Vibrio alginolyticus* ; Vibrio*

No abstract available.
Syphilis, Congenital*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe sports injuries among elderly people and to compare physical activity, perceived health status and exercise self-efficacy between elderly people who had experienced a sports injury and elderly people who hadn't. METHODS: The sample of this study were 100 elderly in Korea, 51 of whom had had a sports injury. The study used questionnaires to gather data. There were 8 demographic factors, 4 factors related to physical activity, perceived health status and exercise self-efficacy of the subjects. Data were analyzed by frequencies, chi-square test, and t-test. RESULTS: Among the sports injured elders, one occurrence of a sport injury was 86.3%. There were more outdoor than indoor sports injuries of elders (66.7%), and sports injuries of elders occurred more in the winter (82.7%). The major cause of the sports injuries was loss of balance. Ankles were frequently damaged from these injuries. The most significant change after the sports injury was reduction of physical activity (60.8%). There were significant differences between sports injured elderly and non-injured elderly for age (χ2=2.58, p=.011) and the amount of physical activity (t=1.96, p=.050), but there was no significant difference in perceived health status and exercise self-efficacy. CONCLUSION: To prevent sports injuries in the elderly means to maintain a medium level of physical activity and to improve their balance.
Aged* ; Ankle ; Athletic Injuries* ; Demography ; Humans ; Korea ; Motor Activity* ; Sports*

OBJECTIVE: Adult onset Still s disease is an acute systemic inflammatory disorder. There are no pathognomonic symptoms or specific laboratory abnormalities. In recent reports, serum ferritin concentration is increased in active disease phase and decreased after defervescence. Our purpose was to determine the clinical significance of serum ferritin as an indicator for disease activity. METHODS: Seven patients who were diagnosed as adult onset Still s disease at Samsung Medical Center between October 1994 and March 1997, were reviewed. In these patients we checked leukocyte count, ESR, CRP and serum ferritin concentrations at the time of diagnosis and during follow-up periods and recorded febrile events during follow-up periods. RESULTS: At the time of diagnosis and during febrile periods, the concentrations of ferritin were extremely high(927ng/ml to 96,650ng/ml normal 10-290.8 ng/ml). The values were unrelated to other manifestations of the disease or laboratory findings. The ferritin concentrations decreased rapidly after adequate treatment. Eleven febrile reattacks happened in 7 patients. Serum ferritin concentrations were increased in 8 febrile attacks, while leukocyte count, ESR, and CRP were increased in 5, 5, 6 febrile attacks respectively, There were 10 events of increased serum ferritin concentrations in 7 patients during follow-up periods and 8 events were related with fever. The increases of other laboratory tests were similar. CONCLUSIONS: In all patients, serum ferritin concentrations were increased at the time of diagnosis and closely related to fever. During follow-up periods, serum ferritin concentrations are helpful in monitoring disease activity and guiding decisions about treatment.
Adult* ; Diagnosis ; Ferritins* ; Fever ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Leukocyte Count ; Still's Disease, Adult-Onset*

Malignant acanthosis nigricans is very rare disease. The disease is related with internal malignancy, especially gastrointestinal tract malignancy. Reported occurrence rate of malignant acanthosis nigricans associated internal malignancies are 64% of stomach adenocarcinoma, 27% of other organs of abdomen (liver, gall bladder, small intestine, rectum, uterus, ovary), 9% of non-abdominal organs(breast, lung). We report a case of malignant acanthosis nigricans associated with stomach adenocarcinoma from 20-year-old female and discuss review of literature on a acanthosis nigricans briefly.
Female ; Humans ; Adenocarcinoma

PURPOSE: This study is to determine the effects of Colorectal Neoplasms patients' stage, location of disease, functional status (physiological factor), mood (psychological factor), and social support (situational factor) on their symptom experience, and to verify the relationship between symptom experience and the quality of life. METHODS: The Theory of Unpleasant Symptoms was the framework for the study. A descriptive correlational design was used in analysis of data obtained from a sample of 113 Colorectal Neoplasms patients who were undergoing chemotherapy. RESULTS: Total mood disturbance and symptom experiences were negatively correlated with physical component score (PCS) and mental component score (MCS) of quality of life (r −.33 to r=−.51, p<.001; r=.40 to r=.50, p<.001). Multiple regression analysis revealed that the functional status and symptoms interference variables explained 29.2% of the variance in PCS of quality of life. Symptoms interference and age explained 30.6% of the variance in MCS of quality of life. CONCLUSION: Although overall depression levels were low in this sample, these findings suggest that insomnia and fatigue are related to depression and that depression is more closely associated with quality of life than are insomnia and fatigue.
Colorectal Neoplasms* ; Depression ; Drug Therapy ; Fatigue ; Humans ; Quality of Life* ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify risk factors and protective factors for the mental health problems of the children of mothers with mental illnesses. METHODS: We interviewed 136 mothers with mental illnesses, each of whom had at least one child under age 18, using a structured questionnaire to obtain sociodemographic data, clinical characteristics (diagnosis, chronicity, number of hospitalizations, symptom severity) and protective factors, such as social support and parental and marital cohesion. In addition, these mothers completed the Korean personality rating scale for their children, evaluating their children's mental health problems (behavioral, emotional, and developmental). RESULTS: High scores on measures of mental health problems in children correlated with significantly lower economic level, fewer social supports, lower marital and parental cohesion and more symptoms associated with the mother's mental illness. Using a decision tree analysis, we determined the important predictors were protective factors (parental cohesion, economic level, and social support), even though risk factors, such as mother's symptoms, were also important. CONCLUSION: This study proposes that for these children, preventive interventions that meet mothers' needs could minimize psychopathology in their children.
Child ; Decision Trees ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Mental Health ; Mothers ; Parents ; Psychopathology ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Risk Factors

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the relationships among emotional labor, grit, and job satisfaction of pediatric nurses and factors affecting job satisfaction. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 137 pediatric nurses working in a general hospital in Seoul. Data were collected from January 1, 2022 to January 31. The data were analyzed using SPSS/WIN version 28.0.1.1. Results: The mean score of job satisfaction was 3.63±0.43 (out of 5), emotional labor was 3.70±0.39 (out of 5), and grit was 2.90±0.30 (out of 4). Job satisfaction had positively correlated with emotional labor (r=.27, p=.002) and grit (r=.65, p<.001). The regression analyses showed subcategories of grit had a significant influence on job satisfaction. The factors significantly affecting job satisfaction were persistence to achieve long-term goals (β=.39, p<.001), patient-oriented intrinsic motivation (β=.30, p<.001), and passion to become a nursing professional (β=.21, p=.004). Conclusion These results suggested a need to increase grit for improving the job satisfaction. Furthermore, it would be necessary to develop a diverse program to increase job satisfaction for pediatric nurses by improving grit.

This study was performed using mealtime atmosphere to characterize the food ecology of Korean children residing in different regions of Korea. A total of 705 elementary school students, 347 girls and 358 boys, were divided into three groups according to the areas where they lived, which included Seoul (n = 230), provincial cities (n = 273) and rural areas (n = 202). The subjects were asked to fill out questionnaires which were categorized to determine various factors related to food ecology, life styles, and health related symptoms. The average age of the study subjects was 11.5 years. The results showed that the average height (p < 0.01), weight (p < 0.01) and body mass index (BMIs)(p < 0.01) of the rural group were significantly lower than those of the Seoul and provincial city groups. A significantly higher proportion (10.4%) of the rural group was from disfunctional families, including single parent families, than those of the Seoul (1.7%) or provincial city (4.4%) groups. However, a larger number of children from Seoul ate alone, did not enjoy their meals, and hardly talked to each other during breakfast time, compared to those from the provincial city or rural areas. Also, the proportion (33.0%) of 'good' in balance of meal was the lowest (33.0%) in Seoul of the three areas (p < 0.01). Most of the children answered that they liked having breakfast and dinner with the whole family. In conclusion, the food ecology of elementary children differed according to the regions in which they resided. Although children from Seoul had higher BMIs, their nutritional intake was not satisfactory, and their undesirable food ecology could be a contributing factor.
Atmosphere ; Body Mass Index ; Breakfast ; Child* ; Ecology* ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Life Style ; Meals ; Seoul ; Single-Parent Family ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether the basal serum luteinizing hormone (LH) levels in the presence of normal serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) are useful as a prognostic indicator of ovarian response to controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH). METHODS: From January 1997 to January 1999, 91 infertile women with tubal factor who had undergone in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) were enrolled in the present study. COH was performed using long protocol of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist. All patients included in this study had blood samples drawn on cycle day 2 or 3 prior to COH for measurement of basal FSH and LH. Women who had other infertility factors or high basal FSH levels (> or = 8.5 mIU/ml) were excluded from this study. The results of COH and IVF-ET were compared between two groups according to the level of basal LH (low LH group [< 3mIU/ml] vs. control group [> or = 3mIU/ml]). RESULTS: Patient's characteristics were comparable in both groups except basal LH level. The number of ampules and duration of exogenous gonadotropins required were significantly higher in the low LH group than those in the control group (p<0.001; p<0.005, respectively). The number of follicles > or = 14mm diameter on the day of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) injection was significantly less in the low LH group than that in the control group (p<0.001). The serum estradiol level on the day of hCG injection was also significantly lower in the low LH group, with 1115.5 +/- 380.9 pg/ml compared with 1340.6 +/- 403.0 pg/ml in the control group (p<0.005). There were significantly lower numbers in oocytes retrieved, oocytes fertilized and embryos frozen in the low LH group than those in the control group (< 0.001; < 0.001; <0.005, respectively). However, there was no difference in the fertilization rate between the two groups. The clinical pregnancy rate per cycle seemed to be lower in the low LH group, but the difference did not achieve significance (26.2% vs 39.7%). There were no differences in the miscarriage rate and multiple pregnancy rate between the two groups. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that the low basal LH levels ( < 3 mIU/ml) could be predictive of low ovarian response to COH and poor IVF results.
Abortion, Spontaneous ; Chorionic Gonadotropin ; Embryo Transfer ; Embryonic Structures ; Estradiol ; Female ; Fertilization ; Fertilization in Vitro ; Follicle Stimulating Hormone ; Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone ; Gonadotropins ; Humans ; Infertility ; Lutein* ; Luteinizing Hormone* ; Oocytes ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Rate ; Pregnancy, Multiple