BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to provide a fundamental data and improve health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in increasing population of middle-aged male patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) by investigating and analyzing the factors affecting the HRQoL. METHODS: The survey was performed with 124 middle-aged male BPH patients of Fatima hospital located in Daegu city. The data were collected by questionnaires and were analyzed by using SPSS WIN ver. 18.0 (IBM Corp., New York, NY, USA). RESULTS: Severity of BPH in participants was classified into moderate (54%), severe (31.5%), and mild (14.5%). The mean HRQoL score was 3.78 points. The scores in each section were 4.18 points for ‘disability of daily living activity’, 3.95 points for ‘discomfort due to BPH’, 3.69 points for ‘psychological state’, 3.65 points for ‘anxiety’ and 2.93 points for ‘sex life’. Perceived health state presented positive correlation with HRQoL and negative correlation with BPH symptoms. The BPH symptoms showed negative correlation with HRQoL. The level of BPH symptoms, perceived health status and prostate volume were revealed to influence the HRQoL in the order of the degree of influence. The factors' determination value was 63.0%. CONCLUSIONS: It was confirmed that the lower the patient's level of BPH symptoms is, the better the perceived health status is and that the smaller the prostate volume is, the higher the HRQoL is. Therefore, administration of medicine that relieves BPH symptoms and reduces a volume of the prostate should be encouraged and sustainable education, customized treatment and nursing care should be provided.
Daegu ; Education ; Humans ; Male* ; Middle Aged ; Nursing Care ; Prostate ; Prostatic Hyperplasia* ; Quality of Life*

BACKGROUND: The risk of bleeding during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a potential deterrent in performing tracheostomy at many centers. To evaluate the safety of surgical tracheostomy (ST) in critically ill patients supported by ECMO, we reviewed the clinical correlation between preoperative coagulation status and bleeding complication-related ST during ECMO. METHODS: From April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2016, ST was performed on 38 patients supported by ECMO. We retrospectively reviewed and analyzed the medical records including complications related to ST. RESULTS: Heparin was administered to 23 patients (60.5%) for anticoagulation during ECMO, but 15 patients (39.5%) underwent ECMO without anticoagulation. Of the 23 patients administered anticoagulation therapy, heparin infusion was briefly paused in 13 prior to ST. The median platelet count, international normalized ratio, and activated partial thromboplastin time before ST were 126 ×109/L (range, 46 to 434 ×109/L), 1.2 (range, 1 to 2.3) and 62 seconds (27 to 114.2 seconds), respectively. No peri-procedural clotting complications related to ECMO were observed. Two patients (5.3%) suffering from ST-related major bleeding required surgical hemostasis. Minor bleeding after ST occurred in two cases (5.3%). No significant difference was found according to anticoagulation management (P = 0.723). No fatality was attributable to ST. CONCLUSIONS: The complication rates of ST in the patients supported by ECMO were low. Therefore, ST performed by an experienced operator, and with careful optimization of coagulation status, is a relatively safe procedure; the use of ST with ECMO should thus not be dismissed on account of the potential for bleeding caused by the administration of anticoagulants.
Anticoagulants ; Critical Illness ; Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation* ; Hemorrhage ; Hemostasis, Surgical ; Heparin ; Humans ; International Normalized Ratio ; Medical Records ; Partial Thromboplastin Time ; Platelet Count ; Retrospective Studies ; Tracheostomy*

BACKGROUND: Occupational radiation exposure causes certain types of cancer, specifically hematopoietic diseases like leukemia. In Korea, radiation exposure is monitored and recorded by law, and guidelines for compensation of radiation-related diseases were implemented in 2001. However, thus far, no occupation-related disease was approved for compensation under these guidelines. Here, we report the first case of radiation-related disease approved by the compensation committee of the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, based on the probability of causation. CASE PRESENTATION: A 45-year-old man complained of chronic fatigue and myalgia for several days. He was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia. The patient was a diagnostic radiographer at a diagnostic radiation department and was exposed to ionizing radiation for 21 years before chronic myeloid leukemia was diagnosed. His job involved taking simple radiographs, computed tomography scans, and measuring bone marrow density. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first approved case report using quantitative assessment of radiation. More approved cases are expected based on objective radiation exposure data and the probability of causation. We need to find a resolution to the ongoing demands for appropriate compensation and improvements to the environment at radiation workplaces.
Bone Marrow ; Compensation and Redress ; Fatigue ; Humans ; Jurisprudence ; Korea ; Leukemia ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive* ; Middle Aged ; Myalgia ; Occupational Diseases ; Radiation, Ionizing ; Workers' Compensation

PURPOSE: School foodservice employees (SFEs) could be exposed to the risk of musculoskeletal disease and of job stress due to their job characteristics. This study was to evaluate the level of job stress and the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal symptoms (WRMS) in Seoul city's SFEs, and to determine associations between job stress and WRMS. METHODS: The study design was cross-sectional, and 975 SFEs were recruited. Self-administered questionnaire included the 'Korean occupational stress scale-short form' and the 'KOSHA GUIDE H-9-2012' instrument to evaluate the job stress and WRMS, respectively. SFEs' medians of job stress were compared to the reference values of published study in Korean workers. RESULTS: The participants reported greater levels of job demand and physical environment than the general Korean population. WRMS were reported in 89.0% of participants at any body part, and 41.1% were presumed to need for medical intervention. High levels of job demand and of physical environment were significantly associated with WRMS. CONCLUSION: Subscales of job demand and physical environment were relatively high in SFEs and those were related to the occurrence of WRMS. To reduce the WRMS prevalence, a job stress management program focused on job demand and physical environment may be required.
Humans ; Musculoskeletal Diseases ; Prevalence ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Reference Values ; Seoul

PURPOSE: School foodservice employees (SFEs) could be exposed to the risk of musculoskeletal disease and of job stress due to their job characteristics. This study was to evaluate the level of job stress and the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal symptoms (WRMS) in Seoul city's SFEs, and to determine associations between job stress and WRMS. METHODS: The study design was cross-sectional, and 975 SFEs were recruited. Self-administered questionnaire included the 'Korean occupational stress scale-short form' and the 'KOSHA GUIDE H-9-2012' instrument to evaluate the job stress and WRMS, respectively. SFEs' medians of job stress were compared to the reference values of published study in Korean workers. RESULTS: The participants reported greater levels of job demand and physical environment than the general Korean population. WRMS were reported in 89.0% of participants at any body part, and 41.1% were presumed to need for medical intervention. High levels of job demand and of physical environment were significantly associated with WRMS. CONCLUSION: Subscales of job demand and physical environment were relatively high in SFEs and those were related to the occurrence of WRMS. To reduce the WRMS prevalence, a job stress management program focused on job demand and physical environment may be required.
Humans ; Musculoskeletal Diseases ; Prevalence ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Reference Values ; Seoul

BACKGROUND: Sputum decontamination with NALC-NaOH (N-acetyl-L-cysteine-sodium hydroxide) is known to better detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) by culture than that with using NaOH, which is widely used in Korean hospitals. In this report, sputum samples collected from pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) patients were treated with either NaOH or NALC-NaOH, and we compared the results of smear and culture positivity to determine whether the NALC-NaOH treatment method improves culture positivity in the sputum samples, and especially for those sputum samples that are smear negative and scanty. METHODS: For each decontamination method, 436 sputum samples from pulmonary TB patients in the National Masan Tuberculosis Hospital were collected for this study. Sputum from a patient was collected two times for the first and second day of sampling time, and these samples were employed for the decontamination process by performing the 4% NaOH and NALC-2% NaOH treatment methods, respectively, for detecting M. tb by an AFB (Acid Fast Bacilli) smear and also by culture in solid Ogawa medium. RESULTS: The NaOH and NALC-NaOH treatment methods did not significantly affect the AFB smear positivity of the sputum samples (33.0% vs 39.0%, respectively, p=0.078). However, the culture positive percents of M. tb in the Ogawa medium treated with NALC-NaOH and NaOH were 39.7% and 28.0%, respectively, which was a significantly different (p=0.0003). This difference in culture was more prominent in the sputum samples that were smear negative (the positive percents with NALC-NaOH and NaOH were 15.8% and 7.2%, respectively, p=0.0017) and scanty (NALC-NaOH and NaOH were 60.8% and 42.9%, respectively, p=0.036), but not for a smear that was 1+ or higher (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: NALC-NaOH treatment is better than NaOH treatment for the detection of M. tb by culture, but not by smear, and especially when the AFB smear is negative and scanty.
Decontamination ; Hospitals, Chronic Disease ; Humans ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; Nitroimidazoles ; Sputum ; Sulfonamides ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary

Previous studies showed that whole body vibration could prevent bone resorption and stimulate new bone formation. The aim of this study is to detect and track effect of whole body vibration for osteoporotic bone of OVX rats. 12 Female rats were used and allocated into 5 group, CON, SHAM, WBV 17, WBV 30 and WBV 45. Rats except SHAM group were ovariectomised to induce osteoporosis. Rats in WBV groups were stimulated whole body vibration at magnitude of 1 mm(peak-peak) and frequency 17 Hz, 30 Hz and 45 Hz, repectively, for 8 weeks (20 min, 5 days/week). The 4th lumbar in rats were scanned at a resolution of 35 micrometer at baseline, before stimulation, and 8 weeks by In-vivo Micro-CT. To detect and track changes of morphological characteristics in lumbar trabecuar bone of rats, structural parameters were measured and calculated from acquiring images. In the results, changes of structural characteristics of WBV group were smaller than those of CON group. Loss of quantity of trabecular bone in WBV 45 was the least. In contrast, that in WBV 17 was the biggest. These results showed that reasonable whole body vibration beneficially affected osteoporotic bones. In addition to, whole body vibration was likely to be substituted partly for drug treatment.
Animals ; Bone Resorption ; Female ; Humans ; Osteogenesis ; Osteoporosis ; Rats* ; Vibration*

BACKGROUND: Primary tracheal tumors occur infrequently, accounting for less than 0.1% of all tumors. Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is the second most common type of malignancy of the trachea after squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Little has been reported on the risk factors for tracheal ACC. The purpose of this study is to describe a case of tracheal ACC in a patient who had been exposed to rubber fumes, and to review the relationship between tracheal ACC and rubber fumes. CASE REPORT: A 48-year-old man who had been experiencing aggravation of dyspnea for several months was diagnosed as having ACC of the trachea on the basis of a pathologic examination of a biopsy specimen obtained via laser microscopy-guided resection. The patient had been exposed to rubber fumes for 10 years at a tire manufacturing factory where he worked until ACC was diagnosed. His job involved preheating and changing rubber molds during the curing process. CONCLUSION: ACC of both the trachea and the salivary glands show very similar patterns with regard to histopathology and epidemiology and are therefore assumed to have a common etiology. Rubber manufacturing is an occupational risk factor for the development of salivary gland tumors. Further, rubber fumes have been reported to be mutagenic. The exposure level to rubber fumes during the curing process at the patient's workplace was estimated to be close to or higher than British Occupational Exposure Limits. Therefore, tracheal ACC in this case might have been influenced by occupational exposure to rubber fumes.
Adenoids* ; Biopsy ; Carcinoma, Adenoid Cystic* ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Dyspnea ; Epidemiology ; Fungi ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Exposure ; Risk Factors ; Rubber* ; Salivary Glands ; Trachea

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to develop and validate the Korean version of the clinician-administered KSADSCOMP, which is the recently updated, web-based computerized version of the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for school-age children (KSADS). Methods: A total of 71 participants (mean age=12.04±3.86 years, female=29.57%) participated in the study. A child-adolescent psychiatrist established a diagnosis for the participant after a thorough psychiatric interview with the participant and the parent. Researchers who were blind to the diagnoses administered the clinician-administered KSADS-COMP to the parents and participants. The gold-standard diagnoses made by child-adolescent psychiatrists were compared to the current diagnoses generated by the clinician-administered KSADS-COMP. Percent agreement, Cohen’s Kappa, Gwet’s first-order agreement coefficient (AC1), sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were calculated. Results: Gwet’s AC1, our preferred measure of agreement, showed excellent range between 0.78 and 1. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predicted value and negative predictive value also showed high scores. Conclusion The current study demonstrated excellent criterion validity of the Korean version of the clinician-administered KSADSCOMP, though the small sample size could be a limitation. The current study was the first study to examine the criterion validity of the KSADS-COMP. Due to its readily usable format and efficient and accurate diagnostic process, widely-use of KSADS-COMP is expected.

Background: Postpartum hemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal mortality. Oxytocin being the most popular uterotonic agent, has been routinely administered after both vaginal delivery and cesarean section. Carbetocin is a newer uterotonic agent and provides the benefit of a longer duration of action without additional administration post-delivery. Methods: We recruited 34 women undergoing elective cesarean section under spinal anesthesia. All patient was received spinal anesthesia using 0.5% hyperbaric Marcaine 8–10 mg in conjugation with fentanyl 20 μg in the left lateral decubitus position. Hartmann’s solution 10–15 ml/kg was administered before carbetocin. The operation started as soon as sensory block at level T4–T6 was confirmed. A non-invasive hemodynamic monitoring cuff (Finometer®) was attached to the patient’s finger soon after the induction of spinal anesthesia. Using the Finometer, we recorded the heart rate and mean arterial pressure at every 15 s, starting from 15 s before the administration of carbetocin to 5 min after. After the removal of the placenta, the bolus group was administered intravenous bolus injection of carbetocin 100 μg and the infusion group was administered carbetocin 100 μg diluted in 50 ml normal saline, over 5 min using an infusion pump. Results: The demographic data showed no significant difference between the two groups. Furthermore, there were no significant hemodynamic differences between the two groups. Conclusions The method of administration of carbetocin does not influence its hemodynamic effects.