Purpose: This study aimed to determine the impact of an intervention using voice recording of family members on pain, anxiety, and agitation in patients undergoing weaning from mechanical ventilation. Methods: A randomized control pre-post experimental design was implemented to 53 participants, with 27 and 26 participants in the experimental and control groups, respectively. A 70-second voice recording of a family member, repeated three times at 10-minute intervals was used as an intervention for the experimental group. Meanwhile, participants in the control group used headset for 30 minutes. Structured instruments were utilized to measure pain, anxiety, agitation, and the weaning process. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test and the Mann-Whitney U test, or χ2 test, were used for data analysis. Results: The experimental group exhibited significant decrease in pain (Z = - 3.53, p < .001), anxiety (t = 5.45, p < .001), and agitation (Z = - 2.99, p = .003) scores compared with those of the control group. However, there was no significant difference between groups in the weaning process’ simplification (χ2 = 0.63, p = .727). Conclusion Intervention using family members’ voice recording effectively reduces pain, anxiety, and agitation in patients undergoing weaning from mechanical ventilation. This can be actively utilized to provide a more comfortable process for patients.

BACKGROUND: Dietary sodium restriction is an essential component of self-care behavior for improved health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with heart failure (HF). However, there is little direct evidence about the impact of dietary sodium restriction on HRQoL. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of dietary sodium intake on HRQoL in HF patients with no cardiac events over 1-year of follow-up. METHODS: A total of 106 patients with HF completed a 3-day food diary to estimate daily sodium intake. Patients were divided into 4 groups (<2 g, 2-3 g, 3-4 g, and >4 g). The Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire was used to assess HRQoL at baseline and one year later. Hierarchical linear and logistic regressions were used to determine the relationship between dietary sodium intake and HRQoL. RESULTS: Thirty-seven (35%) patients had a daily sodium intake >3 g. Greater than 4 g of daily sodium intake was independently associated with a worse HRQoL at baseline and one year later (F=3.15, P=0.028; F=4.33, P=0.006) and an almost 5.2 times higher risk of a worsening HRQoL at one year follow-up (P=0.040) after controlling for age, gender, etiology, body mass index, New York Heart Association class, ejection fraction, total comorbidity score, and use of beta blockers. CONCLUSIONS: This finding provides additional evidence that greater than 4 g of daily sodium intake is associated with worsening HRQoL in stable HF patients who are free from cardiac events.
Body Mass Index ; Comorbidity ; Diet Records ; Diet, Sodium-Restricted ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Minnesota ; New York ; Quality of Life ; Self Care ; Sodium ; Sodium, Dietary ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND: Dietary sodium restriction is an essential component of self-care behavior for improved health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with heart failure (HF). However, there is little direct evidence about the impact of dietary sodium restriction on HRQoL. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of dietary sodium intake on HRQoL in HF patients with no cardiac events over 1-year of follow-up. METHODS: A total of 106 patients with HF completed a 3-day food diary to estimate daily sodium intake. Patients were divided into 4 groups (<2 g, 2-3 g, 3-4 g, and >4 g). The Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire was used to assess HRQoL at baseline and one year later. Hierarchical linear and logistic regressions were used to determine the relationship between dietary sodium intake and HRQoL. RESULTS: Thirty-seven (35%) patients had a daily sodium intake >3 g. Greater than 4 g of daily sodium intake was independently associated with a worse HRQoL at baseline and one year later (F=3.15, P=0.028; F=4.33, P=0.006) and an almost 5.2 times higher risk of a worsening HRQoL at one year follow-up (P=0.040) after controlling for age, gender, etiology, body mass index, New York Heart Association class, ejection fraction, total comorbidity score, and use of beta blockers. CONCLUSIONS: This finding provides additional evidence that greater than 4 g of daily sodium intake is associated with worsening HRQoL in stable HF patients who are free from cardiac events.
Body Mass Index ; Comorbidity ; Diet Records ; Diet, Sodium-Restricted ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Minnesota ; New York ; Quality of Life ; Self Care ; Sodium ; Sodium, Dietary ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND: Dietary sodium restriction is an essential component of self-care behavior for improved health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with heart failure (HF). However, there is little direct evidence about the impact of dietary sodium restriction on HRQoL. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of dietary sodium intake on HRQoL in HF patients with no cardiac events over 1-year of follow-up. METHODS: A total of 106 patients with HF completed a 3-day food diary to estimate daily sodium intake. Patients were divided into 4 groups (<2 g, 2-3 g, 3-4 g, and >4 g). The Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire was used to assess HRQoL at baseline and one year later. Hierarchical linear and logistic regressions were used to determine the relationship between dietary sodium intake and HRQoL. RESULTS: Thirty-seven (35%) patients had a daily sodium intake >3 g. Greater than 4 g of daily sodium intake was independently associated with a worse HRQoL at baseline and one year later (F=3.15, P=0.028; F=4.33, P=0.006) and an almost 5.2 times higher risk of a worsening HRQoL at one year follow-up (P=0.040) after controlling for age, gender, etiology, body mass index, New York Heart Association class, ejection fraction, total comorbidity score, and use of beta blockers. CONCLUSIONS: This finding provides additional evidence that greater than 4 g of daily sodium intake is associated with worsening HRQoL in stable HF patients who are free from cardiac events.
Body Mass Index ; Comorbidity ; Diet Records ; Diet, Sodium-Restricted ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Minnesota ; New York ; Quality of Life ; Self Care ; Sodium ; Sodium, Dietary ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to identify the level of health literacy and to determine its impact on disease-related knowledge and adherence to self-care in adults with hypertension. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study in which patients with hypertension were recruited from outpatient hypertension clinics in Seoul, Korea from December, 2009 to February, 2010. A total 186 patients completed series of questionnaires to assess health literacy, disease-related knowledge, and adherence to self-care. Hierarchical linear regression was used to determine whether health literacy was associated with disease-related knowledge and adherence to self-care. RESULTS: Seventy-one (38.2%) and seventy-two (38.7%) patients had inadequate and marginal health literacy, respectively. In hierarchical linear regression, health literacy independently predicted disease-related knowledge (beta= .43, p < .001) and adherence to self-care (beta= .37, p < .001) after controlling for age, education level, having a job or not, and body mass index. CONCLUSION: These findings show that health care providers need to pay attention to patients with hypertension who have inadequate health literacy. Further, it is recommended to develop and implement new strategies for assessing health literacy in clinical practices. Interventions to improve health literacy could promote disease-related knowledge and adherence to self-care in patients with hypertension.
Adult ; Health Literacy ; Health Personnel ; Health Status ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Korea ; Linear Models ; Outpatients ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Self Care

PURPOSE: This study was done to identify the prevalence of depression and determine the relationship of body mass index and perceived health status to depression for elderly women who live alone in the community. METHODS: A total of 175 adults aged over 60 participated in this cross-sectional descriptive study. Perceived heath status was measured using a self-report one-item questionnaire. Body mass index was calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters. Depression was assessed using the Korean short version of the geriatric depression scale. Hierarchical linear regression was used to identify associations between variables. RESULTS: Approximately 61.7% of elderly women who lived alone were depressed. The mean score for depression was 7.4 (SD 3.39). Hierarchical linear regression showed body mass index (beta=.25, p<.001) and perceived health status (beta=-.26, p<.001) were independently associated with depression adjusting for general characteristics. These two predictors accounted for 12% of the variance in depression. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that obesity and perceived health status are risk factors for depression in elderly women living alone. Therefore, these factors should be considered when developing intervention program for elderly women with depression.
Adult ; Aged* ; Body Mass Index* ; Depression* ; Female ; Humans ; Linear Models ; Obesity ; Prevalence ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Residence Characteristics ; Risk Factors

The development of myolysis has allowed number of gynecologic surgeons to treat myoma instead of hysterectomy or myomectomy. However not long time has passed since this operation started, little studies were conducted on this complication and side effect. Especially, there are not enough studies about complication and prognosis related pregnancy after myolysis. One of these complications, uterine rupture during pregnancy is not frequent, but fatal condition to both mother and fetus. We report a case of uterine rupture that occurred in early second-trimester who had been myolysis 22 months before pregnancy.
Fetus ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Mothers ; Myoma ; Pregnancy ; Prognosis ; Uterine Rupture

PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper was to examine the relationship between type D personality and cardiovascular disease, and to suggest future research directions. METHOD: A literature search was conducted from the following nine databases: 1) MEDLINE, 2) CINAHL, 3) Pubmed Unrestricted, 4) PsycINFO, 5) KISS, 6) RICHIS, 7) RISS4U, and 8) Nanet. The combinations of the words, "type D personality", "personality", "heart", "cardiovascular", and "coronary" were used for keyword searches to find relevant articles. Twenty eight studies were identified. RESULT: Type D personality has been associated with increased morbidity and mortality in patients with established cardiovascular disease. Type D patients are also at increased risk for impaired quality of life, and seem to benefit less from medical and invasive treatment. CONCLUSION: There is substantial evidence for a relationship between type D personality and clinical outcomes related to cardiovascular disease. Randomized clinical trials are needed to further evaluate the value of controlling type D personality to improve survival and reduce morbidity in patients with cardiovascular disease. Accumulating evidence from this analysis indicates the urgent need to adopt a personality approach in order to optimize the identification of patients at risk for stress related cardiac events.
Aged ; Cardiovascular Diseases/*psychology ; Chronic Disease ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; *Personality ; Risk Factors ; *Stress, Psychological

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop an eye care protocol for intensive care unit (ICU) patients. METHOD: A systematic review was conducted to develop an eye care protocol for ICU patients. Searches were performed using computerized databases (CINAHL, MEDLINE, EBM Review) and citation search from 1996 to January 2007. For the keywords, "eye care", and "randomized controlled trial" were used to identify experimental studies regarding eye care for ICU patients. After reviewing the collected studies, a preliminary eye care protocol algorithm was created. Then, content validity was examined with ophthalmologists and ICU nurses. RESULTS: Six studies were included to serve as a basis for framing of the preliminary algorithm. The final eye care protocol was completed after verifying the preliminary algorithm's content validity. The final eye care protocol was organized in the following manner: 3 items in the assessment stage, 7 items in the no-risk stage, 4 items in the low-risk stage, and 5 items in the high-risk stage. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that, for ICU patients, nurses can broaden their knowledge regarding ocular diseases, as well as improve their practice-based eye care nursing performance.
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; Clinical Protocols ; Cytarabine ; Etoposide ; Eye ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Methotrexate

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of butorphanol on the Bispectral Index (BIS) during the administration of intravenous anesthesia with propofol and remifentanil. METHODS: Forty adult patients, ASA I-II, scheduled for an emergency laparoscopic appendectomy were studied. The doses for the anesthetics were adjusted to keep the BIS value between 40 and 50. After 20 minutes of stable anesthesia, the subjects were randomly allocated to receive intravenous saline (control group) or 0.02 mg/kg butorphanol (butorphanol group). The BIS values, mean arterial pressure, and heart ratewere recorded every five minutes for a period of 20 minutes. RESULTS: The mean BIS values after butorphanol administration were not significantly different from the values following the administration of saline, throughout the observation period. No patients were able to recall explicitly any events under anesthesia. No significant changes in mean arterial pressure and heart rate were noted after butorphanol administration. CONCLUSIONS: Butorphanol given to prevent postoperative pain does not modify the BIS value during anesthesia maintained with remifentanil and propofol.
Adult ; Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, Intravenous* ; Anesthetics ; Appendectomy ; Arterial Pressure ; Butorphanol* ; Emergencies ; Heart ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Pain, Postoperative ; Propofol*