PURPOSE: This study was done to identify the effects of nurse-physician collaboration on nursing performance and organizational commitment in intensive care unit (ICU) nurses. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was used and data were collected from 203 ICU nurses working in two advanced general hospitals and two general hospitals. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, One-way ANOVA, Scheffé test, Pearson correlation coefficients and Hierarchical multiple regression with SPSSWIN 23.0 program. RESULTS: The sub-domains of nursephysician collaboration were as follows: 3.77±0.51 for sharing of patient information, 3.36±0.65 for decision-making process on the cure or care, and 3.20±0.72 for relationship between nurse and physician. Nurse-physician collaboration was significantly positively correlated with nursing performance and organizational commitment. Regression analysis showed that nurse-physician collaboration explained an additional 24.9%p of nursing performance and an additional 13.4%p of organizational commitment. 'Sharing of patient information' and 'Relationship between nurse and physician' were significant predictors of nursing performance. 'Relationship between nurse and physician' was a significant predictor of organizational commitment. CONCLUSION: These results provide evidence that the collaboration between nurses and physicians should be enhanced in terms of sharing patient information and mutual respect, to improve nursing performance and organizational commitment of ICU nurses.
Cooperative Behavior ; Critical Care ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Nursing ; Work Performance

Blue nevus of the uterine cervix is a rare benign pigmented lesion consisting of dermal melanocytes in the stroma. It is similar to those of common blue nevus of the skin. Most of these are clinically or colposcopically unsuspected and an incidental finding often found in hysterectomy specimens. The case here was incidentally found in surgical pieces after hysterectomy in 43-year-old women performed for leiomyoma. We report a case of blue nevus of the uterine cervix with a review of the literature.
Adult ; Cervix Uteri* ; Female ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Incidental Findings ; Leiomyoma ; Melanocytes ; Nevus, Blue* ; Skin

Schwannomas or neurilemmomas are the most often found as solitary, slow-growing, asymptomatic, well-encapsulated, firm yet transversely mobile benign mass in head and neck region. Most of Schwannomas appear in the cranial nerve, especially vestibular nerve, but must always be considered to be able to appear in any parts where the nerve tissues are distributed. Sometimes, inaccurate preoperative clinical diagnosis leads to accidentally resecting the affected nerve and produces permanent neurological deficits. We experienced a extremely rare schwannoma being confused with lipoma in upper left postauricular sulcus. After simple mass excision without considering possibility of schwannoma, the patient complained of dull sensation and pinprick pain in the superior part of the ipsilateral postauricular area. When clinical symptom and physical examinations are insufficient to distinguish schwannoma from other benign soft masses, and the mass along the critical nerve pathway can possibly be originated from the designated nerves, we would like to recommend radiologic examinations such as ultrasonography and/or MRI for correct diagnosis prior to operation. Moreover, when it is adjacent the neurovascular structures, meticulous microscopic surgery must always be performed so as not to impair the important structures.
Cranial Nerves ; Diagnosis ; Head ; Humans ; Lipoma* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Neck ; Nerve Tissue ; Neurilemmoma* ; Physical Examination ; Sensation ; Ultrasonography ; Vestibular Nerve

Parovarian cysts constitute 10% of adnexal masses. They were found in broad ligament and mostly arise from mesothelium and less commonly from paramesonephric element and rarely from mesonephric element. In most cases parovarian cysts were asymptomatic. So, they were found incidentally at surgery for other conditions. Torsion is infrequent and it is difficult to distinguish it from torsion of other adnexal masses, appendicitis, etc. Recently, we experienced a voluminous parovarian cyst undergoing torsion, 25 cm in diameter. The case is presented with a review of literature.
Appendicitis ; Broad Ligament ; Epithelium ; Female ; Parovarian Cyst*

Abdominal pregnancy is a rare form of extrauterine pregnancy which is account for 1.4% of all ectopic pregnancy cases. Among these omental pregnancy is extremely rare and may cause life-threatening massive hemorrhage as a complication. But the diagnosis of early abdominal pregnancy is difficult because of non specific findings about clinical history, physical examination and ultrasonography. Risk factors related to ectopic pregnancy include inflammation, infection and surgery, but endometriosis is an uncommon factor. We present a case of the ruptured primary omental pregnancy associated with endometriosis with a review of the literature.
Diagnosis ; Endometriosis* ; Female ; Hemorrhage ; Inflammation ; Physical Examination ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy, Abdominal* ; Pregnancy, Ectopic ; Risk Factors ; Ultrasonography

A 30-year-old primigravida with gestational age of 25 weeks and 4 days was admitted for emergency cesarean section. She was diagnosed as pre-eclampsia with fetal distress. We anesthetized the patient through the combined spinal-epidural anesthetic technique, and there was no specific event throughout the surgical procedures and in post anesthetic care unit. Subsequently, she complained of unilateral hearing difficulty in the ward and an otolaryngology consultation was obtained. She was diagnosed with left sudden sensorineural hearing loss in full frequency range after an acoustic examination. She received intravenous and local steroid treatments for 4 weeks. She showed 32 dB on pure tone audiometry after 5 months. However, we could not continue follow-up testing on the patient because she stopped visiting the hospital since the last examination. We reported a case of uncommon unilateral sudden sensorineural hearing loss after a combined spinal-epidural anesthesia for emergency cesarean section.
Acoustics ; Adult ; Anesthesia* ; Audiometry ; Cesarean Section* ; Emergencies* ; Female ; Fetal Distress ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gestational Age ; Hearing ; Hearing Loss ; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural* ; Humans ; Otolaryngology ; Pre-Eclampsia ; Pregnancy

The treatment of intraosseous ateriovenous malformation in the jaw is difficult because of life threatening frequent bleeding tendency. The surgical resection of AVM may be mortal due to massive blood loss .In the growing pediatric patient, surgery may cause facial deformity and growth disturbance. So currently, the treatment of AVM is only embolization using various material through endovascular access, direct-puncture or embolization in conjunction with surgical resection. We report a case of combined techniques.
Congenital Abnormalities ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Jaw ; Mandible*

Objective: : Pituitary adenomas frequently extend into the suprasellar space. After a suprasellar tumor is removed, the superiorly extended arachnoid becomes redundant and sinks down into the intrasellar space which often hiders visualization and accessibility to the hidden space behind the evaginated arachnoid. We introduced arachnoid remodeling by clipping technique, and evaluated its usefulness and safety during TSS. Methods: : Total 223 patients who underwent arachnoid remodeling with our new clipping technique were included. Redundant arachnoid was clipped along the dural edge with multiple 2.6-mm titanium clips until the redundant arachnoid membrane no longer blocked the surgical route. To check for possible deterioration of hormonal function by this technique, we assessed anterior pituitary function of 166 patients who underwent arachnoid remodeling by clipping and compared this with those of other 429 control patients. Results: : Our technique greatly enhanced the accessibility and visualization of intrasellar and parasellar spaces, both of which are generally hindered by redundant arachnoid during transsphenoidal surgery (TSS). We found no difference in anterior pituitary function between a clip-assisted arachnoid remodeling group and the control group, implying that this technique does not result in hypopituitarism. Conclusion : During TSS for pituitary adenomas with suprasellar extension, arachnoid remodeling by clipping technique is very useful and convenient for the management of the redundant arachnoid membrane to enhance visualization and surgical accessibility.

Background: With increasing economic evaluation studies on the treatment of or screening tools for liver diseases that cause hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), interest in the analysis of the medical utilization and costs of HCC treatment is increasing. Therefore, we aimed to estimate the medical utilization and costs of HCC patients, and calculate the cost of main procedures for HCC treatment, including liver transplant (LT), hepatic resection (HR), radiofrequency ablation (RFA), and transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). Methods: We analyzed claim data from January to December 2018 from the Health Insurance and Review and Assessment Service–National Patient Sample (HIRA-NPS-2018) dataset, including data of patients diagnosed with HCC (Korean Standard Classification of Diseases code C22.0) who had at least one inpatient claim for HCC. Results: A total of 715 HCC patients were identified. In 2018, the yearly average medical cost per HCC patient was ₩18,460K (thousand), of which ₩14,870K was attributed to HCC. Among the total medical costs of HCC patients, the inpatient cost accounted for the largest portion of both the total medical and HCC-related costs. The major procedures of HCC treatment occurred most frequently in the order of TACE, RFA, HR, and LT. The average medical cost per treatment episode was the highest for LT (₩87,280K), followed by HR (₩10,026K), TACE (₩4,047K), and RFA (₩2,927K). Conclusion By identifying the medical costs of HCC patients and the costs of the main procedures of HCC treatment, our results provide basic information that could be utilized for cost estimation in liver disease-related economic evaluation studies.

Background: With increasing economic evaluation studies on the treatment of or screening tools for liver diseases that cause hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), interest in the analysis of the medical utilization and costs of HCC treatment is increasing. Therefore, we aimed to estimate the medical utilization and costs of HCC patients, and calculate the cost of main procedures for HCC treatment, including liver transplant (LT), hepatic resection (HR), radiofrequency ablation (RFA), and transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). Methods: We analyzed claim data from January to December 2018 from the Health Insurance and Review and Assessment Service–National Patient Sample (HIRA-NPS-2018) dataset, including data of patients diagnosed with HCC (Korean Standard Classification of Diseases code C22.0) who had at least one inpatient claim for HCC. Results: A total of 715 HCC patients were identified. In 2018, the yearly average medical cost per HCC patient was ₩18,460K (thousand), of which ₩14,870K was attributed to HCC. Among the total medical costs of HCC patients, the inpatient cost accounted for the largest portion of both the total medical and HCC-related costs. The major procedures of HCC treatment occurred most frequently in the order of TACE, RFA, HR, and LT. The average medical cost per treatment episode was the highest for LT (₩87,280K), followed by HR (₩10,026K), TACE (₩4,047K), and RFA (₩2,927K). Conclusion By identifying the medical costs of HCC patients and the costs of the main procedures of HCC treatment, our results provide basic information that could be utilized for cost estimation in liver disease-related economic evaluation studies.