Purpose: This study aimed to compare nurses’ perceptions of self-reported pain, the recorded pain score, and pain treatment according to the patient’s facial expression. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional survey, the participants were 482 nurses working at a tertiary hospital in Seoul, Korea. A self-report questionnaire presented nurses with a smiling patient complaining of acute post-surgical pain and a grimacing patient with cancer pain, both of whom reported a pain level of 8 out of 10, and asked nurses to indicate their perception of the pain intensity, the pain score that they would record, and the medication that they would provide for each patient. Results: The pain intensity perceived by nurses for the grimacing patient was significantly higher than that for the smiling patient (P<0.001). The recorded pain score was likewise significantly higher for the grimacing patient than for the smiling patient (P<0.001). There was a significant difference in the amount of morphine chosen by the nurses for pain interventions between the smiling and grimacing patients (P=0.040). Higher perceived pain intensity and score were associated with higher administered doses of morphine. Conclusion These findings suggest that nurses might be affected by patients’ facial expressions when treating pain. A pain management program should be developed that trains nurses to accurately recognize pain hidden in patients’ faces and provides them with the knowledge of how to appropriately assess and manage patients’ pain.

In this paper, we reviewed domestic and foreign cases and evaluation methods for validation of sleep products for development of the domestic sleep industry. Foreign companies and organizations are trying to verify products relatively systematically for demonstration purposes, but they are using different methods depending on the institution, and standardized validation guidelines have not been established. In Korea, there has been little evaluation including objective verification for sleep products. Sleep-wake evaluation for validation of sleep products requires expert evaluation of the product and of the product effectiveness by users, and subjective and objective sleep-wake evaluations and circadian rhythm evaluation methods can be used. For more accurate verification, experimental designs such as randomization method, control product utilization method, and cross-experiment design can be used.

No abstract available.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome ; Limbic Encephalitis ; Neurosyphilis

In this paper, we reviewed domestic and foreign cases and evaluation methods for validation of sleep products for development of the domestic sleep industry. Foreign companies and organizations are trying to verify products relatively systematically for demonstration purposes, but they are using different methods depending on the institution, and standardized validation guidelines have not been established. In Korea, there has been little evaluation including objective verification for sleep products. Sleep-wake evaluation for validation of sleep products requires expert evaluation of the product and of the product effectiveness by users, and subjective and objective sleep-wake evaluations and circadian rhythm evaluation methods can be used. For more accurate verification, experimental designs such as randomization method, control product utilization method, and cross-experiment design can be used.

Background: Based on the importance of ceasing smoking programs to control the regional disparity of smoking behavior in Korea, this study aims to reveal the variation of smoke rate and determinants of it for 229 provinces. An evaluation of the relative efficiency of the cease smoking program under the consideration of regional characteristics was followed. Methods: The main sources of data are the Korean Statistical Information Service and a national survey on the expenditure of public health centers. Multivariate regression is performed to figure the determinants of regional variation of smoking rate. Based on the result of the regression model, clustering analysis was conducted to group 229 regions by their characteristics. Three clusters were generated. Using data envelopment analysis (DEA), relative efficiency scores are calculated. Results from the pooled model which put 229 provinces in one model to score relative efficiency were compared with the cluster-separated model of each cluster. Results: First, the maximum variation of the smoking rate was 16.9%p. Second, sex ration, the proportion of the elder, and high risk drinking alcohol behavior have a significant role in the regional variation of smoking. Third, the population and proportion of the elder are the main variables for clustering. Fourth, dissimilarity on the results of relative efficiency was found between the pooled model and cluster-separated model, especially for cluster 2. Conclusion This study figured regional variation of smoking rate and its determinants on the regional level. Unconformity of the DEA results between different models implies the issues on regional features when the regional evaluation performed especially on the programs of public health centers.

Background: This study aims to figure out the gaps in health status by estimating amenable mortality rate by region, reflecting the characteristics of Korea, and estimating the years of life lost (YLL) per capita by disease. Methods: People who died from amenable diseases between 2008 and 2018 were extracted from the cause of death statistics provided by Statistics Korea. The age-standardized amenable mortality rates were estimated to compare the health status of 229 regions. YLL per capita was calculated to compute the burden of diseases caused by treatable deaths by region. The YLL per capita by region was calculated to identify the burden of disease caused by amenable deaths. Results: First, while the annual amenable mortality rate in Korea is on a steady decline, but there is still a considerable gap between urban and rural areas when comparing the mortality rates of 229 areas. Second, YLL per capita due to the amenable deaths is approximately 14 person-years during the analysis period (2008–2018). Conclusion Although the health status of Koreans has continuously improved, there is still a gap in health status region by region in terms of amenable mortality rates. Amenable death accounts for a loss of life equivalent to 14 person-years per year. Since the amenable mortality rate is an indicator that can measure the performance of the health care system, efforts at each local area are required to lower it.

No abstract available.
Hyperbilirubinemia ; Phototherapy ; Skin

Background: The medial temporal region is the earliest affected structure in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and its atrophy is known as the hallmark of AD. This study aimed to investigate the value of medial temporal atrophy (MTA) for detecting 18F-florbetaben positron emission tomography (PET)-proven AD pathology. Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 265 subjects complaining of cognitive decline at a dementia outpatient clinic from March 2015 to December 2017. All subjects underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging, 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET, and 18F-florbetaben PET at baseline. We performed multivariable logistic regression analyses on variables including age, sex, years of education, white matter hyperintensities, apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype, and memory composite scores in various combinations to investigate whether MTA was indicative of underlying AD pathology. Results: Our sample population of 265 patients comprised 121 with AD-related cognitive impairment, 42 with Lewy bodies-related cognitive impairment, 32 with vascular cognitive impairment, and 70 with other or undetermined pathologies. In the multivariable logistic regression analyses, MTA was not an independent predictor of underlying AD pathology (P>0.200). The predictive power of underlying AD-related cognitive impairment significantly increased when multiple variables including APOE genotype and memory composite scores were considered together (area under the curve >0.750). Conclusion Our results suggest that MTA alone may be insufficient to accurately predict the presence of AD pathology. It is necessary to comprehensively consider various other factors such as APOE genotype and a detailed memory function to determine whether the patient is at high risk of AD.

Background: This study aims to figure out the gaps in health status by estimating amenable mortality rate by region, reflecting the characteristics of Korea, and estimating the years of life lost (YLL) per capita by disease. Methods: People who died from amenable diseases between 2008 and 2018 were extracted from the cause of death statistics provided by Statistics Korea. The age-standardized amenable mortality rates were estimated to compare the health status of 229 regions. YLL per capita was calculated to compute the burden of diseases caused by treatable deaths by region. The YLL per capita by region was calculated to identify the burden of disease caused by amenable deaths. Results: First, while the annual amenable mortality rate in Korea is on a steady decline, but there is still a considerable gap between urban and rural areas when comparing the mortality rates of 229 areas. Second, YLL per capita due to the amenable deaths is approximately 14 person-years during the analysis period (2008–2018). Conclusion Although the health status of Koreans has continuously improved, there is still a gap in health status region by region in terms of amenable mortality rates. Amenable death accounts for a loss of life equivalent to 14 person-years per year. Since the amenable mortality rate is an indicator that can measure the performance of the health care system, efforts at each local area are required to lower it.