OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of pet dog-assisted activities on self-esteem, depression and cognitive function of elderly people. METHOD: The experimental group(pet dog-assisted group) consisted of 22 people over 65 years old out of about 90 elderly people registered with a home for the aged and the control group(non-pet dog assisted group) consisted of 22 people over 65 years old out of about 90 elderly people registered with another home for the aged in Daegu. Both groups had similar general characteristics, state of health, conduct on health and self-esteem, depression and cognitive abilities. Nineteen people who participated in the program at least 10 times out of 12, were chosen for the final analysis from the experimental group. For the control group, 20 people who responded to all three tests, which had been conducted before, 1 week after, and four week after the experiment, were analyzed. RESULT: Mean(+/-SD) differences between before and 1 week after the experiment for self-esteem, depression, and cognitive function were 5.84(+/-3.06), -3.26(+/-1.76), 1.47(+/-1.26), respectively. Those between before the experiment and 4 weeks after the experiment was 5.68(+/-3.64), -3.94(+/-2.32), 1.63(+/-0.96), respectively. Those for control group between before and after the experiment were -0.40(+/-1.27), 0.00(+/-0.92), 0.15(+/-0.93), respectively. Those for control group between before and 4 weeks after the experiment were -0.45(+/-2.24), 0.25(+/-1.68), 0.15(+/-0.93), respectively. All the differences between experiment and control group in mean differences between before and 1 week after experiment, between before and 4 weeks after experiment were statistically significant(p<0.05). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the pet-assisted activities can be useful solution for elderly people who have psychological and emotional problems caused by retrogression of physical, mental and social ability.
Aged ; Animals ; Depression ; Dogs ; Humans

PURPOSE: To explore the meaning of prayer in Korean patients with end-stage cancer who profess Christianity or Buddhism, given the significant differences between these religions. METHODS: The Colaizzi (1978) analysis method was employed. In-depth interview were performed with 13 participants (seven Christians and six Buddhists) who were admitted to a University-affiliated hospital in Korea. RESULTS: The six categories emerged: 1) communication with God, 2) mind discipline, 3) spiritual growth, 4) mysterious experiences, 5) perception of death and after-life, and 6) various forms of prayers. CONCLUSION: The participants' prayer experiences were described in a religious context. Christians believed that prayer is communication with God while Buddhists regarded it as disciplining of minds. Despite some differences between the religious groups, a general meaning of prayer was a desperate desire to solve their health issues by relying on God or someone who is more powerful than themselves. They also experienced personal and spiritual growth through prayer. This study explains the phenomenon of prayer experiences and shows that prayer is an important coping mechanism.
Buddhism ; Christianity ; Faith Healing ; Humans ; Korea ; Methods ; Religion*

Schizophrenia and delusional disorders are recognised as chronic mental conditions. During this time, the clinical course may fluctuate and co-morbidities may set in. Individuals with these conditions often lack insight and have high rates of default. We report the need to develop a chronic disease model of care to cater to this unique group of individuals in Singapore. Methods: The Ministry of Health in Singapore recently funded the Institute of Mental Health to develop a model of psychiatric care for individuals with schizophrenia and delusional disorders. Crucial to the success was the development of an information technology (IT) enabled platform to track and monitor the clinical status of this group of individuals. On a yearly interval, patients undergo a comprehensive review and needs analysis of their psychiatric and medical needs in the Annual Review Clinic (ARC). Clinical ratings and metabolic parameters of every patient were obtained, and every patient was assigned a case-tracker or case manager to monitor their engagement with the relevant services. Results: In the first year of operations, ARC reviewed 1525 patients with schizophrenia and delusional disorders. The median GAS score for the cohort seen was 75 (slight impairment in functioning). The median CGI-S score was 2 (borderline mentally ill). 48.5% of reviewed patients were classified as overweight and above with BMI ≥ 25. After the needs analysis, 100 patients received referrals to primary healthcare services for medical conditions that were recently diagnosed or for which they have defaulted medical treatment. Conclusions: In the first year of this program, a snapshot of the clinical status of the outpatient population was obtained and we also identified a high prevalence of obesity among the patients. Through this program, we can continuously monitor the health status of every patient and monitor for developing trends so as to plan the necessary interventions.

Croup is a common upper airway infection characterized by a barking cough, stridor, and hoarseness. It is usually caused by viral infection. A small number of croup caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been reported in children before the omicron variant surge. Previously reported cases indicated that croup caused by COVID-19 can be treated in the same manner as those with other viral causes. We describe two cases (9-monthold girl and 11-month-old boy) of previously healthy infants who presented with a barking cough and chest retraction and required endotracheal intubation and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Despite receiving dexamethasone and nebulized racemic epinephrine (NRE) treatment for croup in the emergency department, these patients still developed acute respiratory failure. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of nasopharyngeal samples revealed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2) omicron BA.2 variant (Stealth omicron) and no other common respiratory viral pathogens. Both patients were treated with mechanical ventilation, dexamethasone, and NRE in the pediatric intensive care unit. The duration of intubation was 112 hours and 80 hours, respectively. Both patients were discharged without complications. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of life-threatening croup produced by the omicron BA.2 variant and confirmed by RT-PCR. We suggest that this SARS-CoV-2 variant may cause severe croup that may not improve with conventional treatment, even in children without underlying diseases.

The pulmonic autograft as a replacement for the diseased aortic valve has become increasingly popular due to the potential to do away with anticoagulation and superior durability. There has not been any case of mitral valve replacement with pulmonic autograft reported in Korea. A 53-year-old female patient with rheumatic mitral steno-insufficiency, chronic atrial fibrillation, tricuspid insufficiency, and obstruction of the left circumflex artery, received mitral valve replacement using pulmonic autograft, maze procedure, tricuspid valvuloplasty and coronary artery bypass. The postoperative course was uneventful with a well functioning pulmonic autograft in the mitral position on echocardiogram. She is currently doing well without anticoagulation.
Aortic Valve ; Arteries ; Atrial Fibrillation ; Autografts* ; Coronary Artery Bypass ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Middle Aged ; Mitral Valve* ; Transplantation, Autologous

The Korean hemorrhagic fever is an acute febrile disease, which characteristically accompanies high fever, abdominal pain, headache, vomiting, bleeding tendency and renal failure. The Korean hemorrhagic fever displays various clinical manifestations and courses. Complication includes hypertension, intra-organ bleeding, respiratory problems including pulmonary edema, pituitary insufficiency, infection and anemia. In rare cases, cardiac complications, such as acute myocarditis and atrioventricular conduction block were reported. In addition, an acute pancreatitis, which accompanied serum amylase and lipase elevation, was rarely reported as one of the cause of abdominal pain in the patients with the Korean hemorrhagic fever. We report a patient, who were diagnosed with Korean hemorrhagic fever and displayed persistent abdominal pain, elevation of serum amylase and lipase, and detection of diffuse edema of the pancreas and fluid collection in the retroperitoneal space, especially around the pancreas and kidney, in the ultrasound and CT scan.
Abdominal Pain ; Amylases ; Anemia ; Atrioventricular Block ; Edema ; Fever ; Headache ; Hemorrhage ; Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome* ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Hypopituitarism ; Kidney ; Lipase ; Myocarditis ; Pancreas ; Pancreatitis* ; Pulmonary Edema ; Renal Insufficiency ; Retroperitoneal Space ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Ultrasonography ; Vomiting

PURPOSE: Recently, reports in the mass media have implicated that bicycle riding increases the risk of erectile dysfunction and prostatic diseases. So, we evaluate the impact of bicycle riding on erectile function and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in healthy general men. METHODS: From 26 June 2010 to 20 July 2010, we investigate degree of LUTS (voiding and storage symptoms), using International Continence Society-male Questionnaire (ICS-mQ) and erectile function using International Index of Erectile Function-5 Questionnaire (IIEF-5) in 5 work places (personnel of public office, hospital, university, etc.) of which bicycle riding club members were doing active club activities. Respondents, who participated in club activities for 6 months and longer, were classified as the bicycle club (142 men; age, 44.02+/-8.56). Ones who do not ride bicycles were classified as the control group (83 men; age, 42.13+/-7.85). People who were having the history of urological and other chronic diseases (diabetes, vascular disease, heart disease, etc) were excluded from both groups. RESULTS: Bicycle club is not significantly associated with increased prevalence of LUTS (bicycle club, 2.1 to 57.7% control, 4.8 to 73.5%) and erectile dysfunction (bicycle club, 46.1% control, 55.4%). The total mean score (storage/voiding/erectile function) of bicycle club (13.93+/-1.95/11.14+/-3.49/20.46+/-5.30) were not significantly different from control (14.35+/-2.49/11.52+/-3.38/20.40+/-4.07) (P=0.190 to 0.968). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggested that bicycle riding as exercise or hobby has no negative effect on LUTS and erectile function in healthy general men, although this research data were limited to the questionnaire analysis.
Chronic Disease ; Erectile Dysfunction ; Heart Diseases ; Hobbies ; Humans ; Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms ; Male ; Mass Media ; Prevalence ; Prostatic Diseases ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Vascular Diseases ; Workplace

Background: Forgotten Joint Score (FJS) has become a popular tool for total knee arthroplasty (TKA), but almost all studies had assessment performed 1 year after surgery. There is a need for a sensitive tool for earlier outcome assessment. The aim of this study was to investigate the usefulness of FJS within the first year after TKA. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Patients within the first year after primary TKA were recruited. FJS was translated into the local language with a cross-cultural adaptation and was validated by assessing the correlation with the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index score (WOMAC). Ceiling and floor effects (highest or lowest 10% or 15%) of both scores were compared. Skewness of scores was assessed with a histogram. Results: One hundred sixty-three subjects were recruited: 84 (51.5%) had evaluation at 3 months after the operation, 56 (34.4%) at 6 months, and 23 (14.1%) at 12 months. FJS had fewer patients at the highest 10% (10.7% vs. 16.1%, P = 0.046) or 15% (19.6% vs. 32.1%, P = 0.027) at 6 months and within the first year overall (6.7% vs. 13.5%, P <0.001; 14.1% vs. 22.7%, P <0.001). Also, it had more patients at the lowest 10% (16.7% vs. 0%, P <0.001) or 15% (21.4% vs. 0%, P < 0.001) at 3 months, 6 months (10.7% vs. 0%,P <0.001), and overall (12.9% vs. 0%, P <0.001; 16.6% vs. 0%, P <0.001). The skewness was much less than WOMAC (0.09 vs. −0.56). Conclusions FJS has a low ceiling effect but a high floor effect in the first year after TKA. Such characteristics make it less useful for the general assessment of early patient report outcome after operation.

The habenula (Hb) is small but important brain structure, anatomically and functionally links the forebrain with the midbrain to modulate various neuropsychiatric functions associated with drug addiction and emotion-associated dysfunctions. Several reports suggested that the dysfunction of Hb-related functions affected the Hb structurally and functionally. However, the technical limitation has awaited the solid conclusion of whether Hb change due to depression is likely to occur in certain subnuclei of the Hb. To probe this possibility, we developed 3-dimensional reconstruction methods for the high-resolution volumetric analysis of Hb and the mRNA levels at the given volume in normal or lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-mediated mouse model of depression. Notably, we discovered that the volume reduction was prominent in medial Hb but not in lateral Hb after LPS treatments. On the other hand, the RNA expression levels of known Hb regional markers such as Tac1 (dorsal part of medial Hb), ChAT (ventral part of medial Hb), and Tacr1 (medial and lateral Hb) were all decreased in all Hb subnuclei in LPS-injected mice. Accordingly, accurate volumetry with marker labeling was not feasible. Collectively, these established 3D analyses of mouse Hb successfully and precisely determine the volume-based changes of small brain structure, which should be applicable in a wider range of mouse models or pathological specimens.
Animals ; Brain ; Depression ; Gene Expression ; Habenula ; Hand ; Mesencephalon ; Mice ; Prosencephalon ; RNA ; RNA, Messenger ; Substance-Related Disorders