BACKGROUND: Headache is a common complaint in patients presenting to the emergency department(ED). Many patients suffered sustained headache even after presenting to the ED. This study investigate whether the patients were received analgesics and timely adequate. METHOD: We analyzed 131 adolescent and adult patients with non-traumatic headache without any neurologic deficit in two emergency department during 6 months period retrospectively. RESULTS: The positive and negative predictive value according to primary impression were 47% and 74% respectively. The mean time to take brain computed tomography(CT) after ED presentation was 120 minutes. The patients with primary impression of intracranial hemorrhage(mainly SAH) were the most fast(mean time 88+/- 70 minutes). 28(21%) patients were received analgesics before taking brain CT(after ED presentation), and 70(53%) patients after CT, 27(54%) patients after cerebrospinal fluid examination. The mean time interval were 43, 126 and 149 minutes on each group being received the analgesics. CONCLUSION: According to this study many patients suffered sustained headache before being classified to certain type of disorder. It may due to the reasons that there were no definite guidelines treating headache, the pain itself, or the physician treats patients as physician's way.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Analgesics ; Brain ; Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Headache* ; Humans ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Retrospective Studies

BACKGROUND: We designed this study to determine whether trauma history and initial assessment anticipate the injury severity of the free-fall patient. METHODS: Two hundred patients who admitted emergency department of Severance hospital because of the fall from a height were enrolled in this study. The height of fall, the body orientation, and the characteristics of impacted material, and the Injury Severity Score(ISS) were evaluated by retrospective chart reviews. And regression equations were determined for predicting ISS on the basis of clinical parameters using multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: According to the characteristics of impacted material, the ISS was higher in the hard surface(13.7+/-9.5) than the sort surface(10.5+/-8.8)(p<0.05). There were correlations between height of fall and ISS(p<0.01, r=0.5). To the body orientation, the ISS was higher in the head-to-feet orientation(18.211.7) than the feet-to-head(10.9+/- 7.0) or other position(8.5+/-5.8)(p<0.01). The regression equations were as follows, ISS=2 +0.082xage(year)-1.54x(Glasgow Coma Scale)-3x(feet-to-head orientation)+0.65x height of fall(m)+2.7 x (hand surface)(p<0.01, R2=0.53). CONCLUSION: This study suggest that the injury severity of patient with free fall are significancy related to the height of fall, the characteristics of impacted material and the body orientation.
Coma ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Humans ; Retrospective Studies

BACKGROUND: Vasopressin has recently been recognized to have greater effect on improving blood flow to myocardium and brain during cardiac resuscitation than epinephrine and also improves rates of ROSC(return of spontaneous circulation) and survival in pre-hospital and in-hospital prolonged refractory cardiac angst patients who did not respond to the standard epinephrine treatment. This study was designed to investigate the effects of vasopressin on ROSC rates and survival rates in rat asphyxia arrest model. METHOD AND MATERIAL: Thirty male Sprague-Dawley rats were used. Anesthesia was induced with halothane and nitrous oxide and ventilatory cairo was maintained. EtCO2 was adjusted to 30-40mmHg and halothane was maintained. Right infernal carotid artery and right femoral vein were cannulated and EKG electrodes were attached. After 10 minutes of asphyxia, group 1 was treated with 1ml of saline, group 2 with 1ml(0.001mg/100g) of epinephrine and group 3 with 1ml(0.16u/100g) of vasopressin for resuscitation. Statistical significance was an analysed by SPSS with ANOVA and chi-square tests. RESULTS: No significant differences were seen in baseline measurements. Three ROSC and eight 60 minutes survivals were found in group 1, whereas nine ROSC and eight 60 minutes survivals were obtained in group 2 and all of the subjects in group 3 showed ROSC and 60 minutes survival, but no statistical differences were seen between group 2 and 3. CONCLUSION: Vasopressin seems to have similar effect on improving ROSC and survival rates compared to epinephrine in rat asphyxia models.
Anesthesia ; Animals ; Asphyxia* ; Brain ; Carotid Arteries ; Electrocardiography ; Electrodes ; Epinephrine* ; Femoral Vein ; Halothane ; Humans ; Male ; Myocardium ; Nitrous Oxide ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Resuscitation* ; Survival Rate ; Vasopressins*

Objective: The risk of rapid cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been recognized. The purpose of this study was to investigate the cognitive decline in such patients during the COVID-19 pandemic by evaluating changes in their cognitive measure parameters before and after the pandemic. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study conducted in AD patients during their first visit and one-year regular follow-up for testing cognitive function at the Geriatric Psychiatry Clinic of Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital. Changes in the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), and Sum of Box for CDR (CDR-SB) scores were investigated. A time series analysis was performed to determine whether there was a significant difference in the MMSE, CDR, and CDR-SB scores of AD patients in pre- and post–COVID-19 periods. Results: Overall, 130 AD patients aged 60 to 93 years were assessed. Their baseline mean MMSE score was 22.30 which had decreased to 21.08 at the one-year follow-up. Before November 2019, the average CDR differences for one year was 0.06, but after November 2019, it increased to 0.36 (p<0.001). Before November 2019, the average of the CDR-SB change value for one year was 1.69, but after November 2019, it increased to 3.00 (p<0.001). The difference in MMSE values for one year was not statistically significant. The time series analysis revealed a significant increase in the CDR and CDR-SB scores by approximately 0.47 (p=0.005) and 2.39 (p=0.002), before and after November 1, 2019, respectively. Conclusion This study revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing worsen cognitive function in AD patients rapidly. Exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing for at least seven months worsen cognitive decline significantly. Therefore, in order to minimize the adverse effects of the cognitive decline in these patients, the period of social distancing should be minimized.

OBJECTIVE: Although the diagnosis and treatment of cancer is associated with psychosocial distress, routine distress screening is difficult in hospitalized oncology settings. We developed a consecutive screening program for psychosocial distress to promote psychiatric treatment of cancer patients and evaluated the feasibility of our program by Distress Thermometer (DT) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). METHODS: Among 777 cancer inpatients recruited from the Catholic Comprehensive Institute of Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, 499 agreed to complete primary distress screening through DT. We conducted secondary distress screening through HADS in 229 patients who had high scores of DT. RESULTS: Of the 499 participants, 270 patients with low scores of DT were included in the distress education program. 229 patients with high scores of DT received secondary distress screening through HADS. Among 115 patients with low scores of HADS, 111 patients received distress management. Among 114 patients with high scores in the secondary distress screening, 38 patients received psychiatric consultation service whereas 76 patients refused psychiatric consultation. CONCLUSION: Using consecutive screening for psychosocial distress appeared to be feasible in an inpatient oncology setting. Nevertheless, the low participation rate of psychiatric consultation service in cancer patients with high distress level should be improved.
Anxiety ; Depression ; Diagnosis ; Education ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Mass Screening* ; Seoul ; Thermometers

OBJECTIVE: No reports have investigated the influence of age at first or last childbirth on maternal mental health. The aim of this study was to determine whether there is an association between age at first or last childbirth and the mental health of premenopausal women. METHODS: The data used in this study were collected from the 2010 to 2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. A total of 3,370 premenopausal women were considered. The association between childbirth age and maternal mental health factors, including stress, depressed mood, and suicidal ideations were analyzed using multiple logistic regression analyses adjusted for confounding factors. RESULTS: After adjusting confounding factors, younger maternal age at first childbirth was found to be associated with an increase in the prevalence of maternal depressed mood and suicidal ideations. Also, older maternal age at last childbirth was related to an increase in maternal stress, depressed mood and suicidal ideations. CONCLUSION: Both younger first childbirth and older last childbirth maternal age may be risk factors for poor outcomes of premenopausal women’s mental health. These data support the need for comprehensive mental health assessment for premenopausal women who either gave birth at an age too young or too old.
Depression ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Maternal Age ; Mental Health ; Nutrition Surveys ; Parturition ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Suicidal Ideation ; Suicide

Amiodarone is an antiarrhythmic drug known to have adverse effects on multiple organs. Most studies have reported the side effects of the drug, which may result from rapid administrations or from long-term, high dosage administrations. However, toxicity issues have also been reported from patients administered with low doses of the drug for a long period of time. Here we report a case of an 82-year-old female who had shown symptoms and signs of pulmonary, hepatic, and neurotoxicity after taking amiodarone for 14 months in order to treat her atrial fibrillation without regular outpatient follow-up. We highlight the importance of the recommended evaluations, including lung, liver, and thyroid functions, as well as the neurological examinations in patients treated with amiodarone for a long period of time during regular follow-up.
Aged, 80 and over ; Amiodarone* ; Atrial Fibrillation* ; Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic* ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Liver ; Lung ; Neurologic Examination ; Outpatients ; Thyroid Gland

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) in a rural area of Korea and to examine the relationship between the prevalence and correlates of subjects. METHOD: This study was done as a part of the chronic disease survey of rural area by the Asan Foundation. Among 30 years or older population from Jung Eup, a rural area of Korea, 711 male subjects were sampled using a cluster probability sampling method. Trained interviewers visited and interviewed subjects aged 30 years or older with a structured interview. ED was categorized as 'none', 'mild', 'moderate', or 'severe' according to the ability to 'attain and/or maintain an erection satisfactory for sexual intercourse'. Response rate was 54.3% (N=386). RESULTS: The age weighted prevalence of ED was 27.2% (minimal 14.1%, moderate 7.6%, severe 5.5%). Prevalence and severity increased with age. Liver disease and underweight were significantly (p<0.05) associated with ED. Smoking seemed to be correlated with ED, but did not reach statistically significant level. CONCLUSION: ED was highly prevalent in the rural community of Korea. Medical, sociodemographic, and lifestyle variables associated with ED may alert physicians to patients at risk for ED and offer insight to its etiology.
Chronic Disease ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Epidemiology* ; Erectile Dysfunction* ; Humans ; Korea ; Life Style ; Liver Diseases ; Male ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Rural Population* ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Thinness

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 levels are elevated in several types of human cancer tissues. COX-2 is not constitutively expressed by most normal tissues, but it is rapidly induced by certain inflammatory cytokines, tumor promoters, growth factors and oncogenes. Inflammation is important risk factor for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Therefore, this study was aimed to evaluate the role of COX-2 in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma development. METHODS: 18 intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma patients was conducted in this study. COX-2 expression was investigated by immunohistochemical staining in resected liver specimen that involved 47 hyperplasia, 30 low-grade dysplasia, 38 high- grade dysplasia and 18 cancer. The relationship of clinicopathological factor and COX-2 expression of cancer was evaluated. RESULTS: COX-2 expression was not observed in normal bile duct epithelium. COX-2 expression in high-gade dysplasia was higher than in low-grade dysplasia. COX-2 expression in cancer was higher than in hyperplasia, low-grade and high grade dysplasia. There was no significant correlation between clinicopathological factors and COX-2 expression in cancer. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that COX-2 may play a role in the early and late carcinogensis of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.
Bile Ducts ; Carcinogenesis ; Carcinogens ; Cholangiocarcinoma* ; Cyclooxygenase 2* ; Cytokines ; Epithelium ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Inflammation ; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins ; Liver ; Oncogenes ; Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases ; Risk Factors

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Vaccinations in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are recommended to prevent infectious diseases. However, there are few reports of vaccination in IBD patients in Korea. The frequency of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use is high despite its uncertain effectiveness. This study aimed to identify the rates of vaccination and use of CAM in patients with IBD. METHODS: A total of 219 patients attended an education session for IBD patients held at Severance Hospital on March 23, 2013. We conducted a survey on vaccination and CAM use in IBD patients; 120 patients completed the questionnaire. RESULTS: The influenza vaccination rate was 44.2% and pneumococcal vaccination rate was 4.2%. Thirty-one (66%) patients were aware of the importance of vaccination. The vaccination rate was higher in patients who were aware of the importance of vaccination compared with that in patients who were unaware of the importance of vaccination (70.1% vs. 41.7%, P=0.004). The rate of CAM use was 30.0%. The most commonly used CAMs were oral products: vitamins (33.3%), red ginseng (25.0%), and probiotics (19.4%). CONCLUSIONS: Awareness of the importance of vaccination and actual vaccination rates were low in IBD patients. Despite insufficient evidence on the effectiveness of CAMs in IBD patients, many patients used CAMs. We believe that repeated education and promotion of vaccination are important. Further large-scale studies to investigate the efficacy and safety of CAMs are warranted in patients with IBD.
Communicable Diseases ; Complementary Therapies* ; Education ; Humans ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases* ; Influenza, Human ; Korea ; Panax ; Probiotics ; Vaccination* ; Vitamins ; Surveys and Questionnaires