No abstract available.
Drug Eruptions ; Humans ; Melanoma

PURPOSE: The purpose of study was to identify how patients experienced chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) and quality of life related to CIPN. METHODS: This was a descriptive research. We collected data from 105 patients with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. They completed a self-reported questionnaire including Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (EORTC) CIPN20 and items related to their disease and peripheral neuropathy. The investigators filled in part of items about disease and treatment. RESULTS: In the study, duration of peripheral neuropathy was 9.4 month and 54.3% of patients used pharmacological or non-pharmacological interventions. Patients reported the highest score for sensory scale and it's score was 38.74+/-20.24. The scores for motor scale and autonomic scale were 21.95+/-19.19 and 26.61+/-21.0 respectively. This showed that patients more suffered from sensory neuropathy than any other domain of neuropathy. The most frequently selected two items were 'did you have tingling fingers or hands?' and 'did you have tingling toes or feet?'. CONCLUSION: The results of this study will provide useful information for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.
Fingers ; Humans ; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases ; Quality of Life ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Research Personnel ; Toes

PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to identify job definition, duties and tasks of Korean oncology Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs) and assess frequency, importance, and difficulty for each of duty and task using the DACUM method. METHODS: The DACUM committee was organized with nine oncology APNs. The committee documented the job definition, duties and tasks based on their daily job descriptions. Validity of the elicited duties and tasks was tested by a study team and 6 oncology APNs. Data were collected using a questionnaire survey from 53 oncology APNs. RESULTS: The job description of oncology APNs was identified 12 duties and 66 tasks. Among the twelve duties, 'education for patients/ families' was the most frequently performed and was the most important duty. 'Case management' was the most difficult duty. Among 66 tasks, 'providing education for patients/families' was most frequently performed. 'Providing education for patients/families' and 'assessing patient condition comprehensively' were the most important tasks. 'Implementation research' as the principal investigator was perceived as the most difficult task. CONCLUSION: In this study, Korean oncology APNs' job performances were identified and analyzed. It is recommended that job description for oncology APNs needs to be standardized and reshaped in advanced way in future.
Humans ; Job Description ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Research Personnel

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to compare the long term effect of the cholesterol lowering diet education provided by physicians with the education provided by dieticians on serum lipid profiles of hypercholesterolemic patients. METHODS: Among 248 ambulatory patients who had mean baseline serum total cholesterol (TC) level > or = 200mg/dL and received cholesterol lowering diet education from physicians or dieticians, 41 patients who checked serum lipid profiles three times during the mean of 403 days after education were included as subjects. The differences in means of all serum lipid profiles associated with education methods after controlling for follow up duration, differences in means of all serum lipid profiles associated with follow up duration after controlling for education methods, any interaction between education methods and follow up duration on serum lipid profiles were analysed by using repeated measures of analysis of variance. The difference between the baseline lipid levels and the third lipid levels after education were analyzed by using Wilcoxon signed ranks tests in each group. Correlations between baseline serum lipid profiles and the last changes in serum lipid profiles were analyzed. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in means of all serum lipid profiles associated with education methods or follow up duration except LDL cholesterol (LDL C). The first LDL C level after education was significantly lower in the group educated by physicians compared with the baseline LDL C, but there was no such change in the group educated by dieticians. There were no interactions between education methods and follow up duration on all serum lipid profiles. The last change of total cholesterol in both groups and LDL C only in the group educated by dieticians were significant. Correlation coefficients between baseline triglyceride (TG) and change in TG, baseline LDL C and change in LDL C, baseline total cholesterol (TC) and change in TC in patients with TC > or = 240mg/dL were 0.500 (P=0.002), 0.597 (P<0.001), and 0.578 (P=0.001), respectively. CONCLUSION: The changes of serum lipid profile during more than 1 year after education were not significantly different according to diet education methods, but total cholesterol level was significantly decreased in both groups.
Cholesterol ; Cholesterol, LDL ; Diet* ; Education* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hypercholesterolemia ; Nutritionists* ; Triglycerides

PURPOSE: This study aimed to assess the discomfort and factors influencing the discomfort of cancer patients with peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC). METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted at a tertiary university-based hospital in Seoul in 2013. Subjects were eligible if patients were diagnosed with cancer and four weeks had passed since the PICC was inserted. Anxiety was assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and discomfort was assessed with 8 questions developed through qualitative interviews and a literature review. Questions were about pain, interruption of daily activity or leisure, satisfaction, usefulness and feelings towards the PICC. RESULTS: Total 111 patients participated in the study. Over 75% of patients reported annoyance with PICC line. There was low positive correlation between discomfort due to PICC and anxiety. In anxious patients, patients discomfort was significantly higher than that of non-anxious patients. Significant factors influencing discomfort were gender, age, education level, PICC complications and anxiety. CONCLUSION: Patient engagement in selecting the type of catheter and individualized care considering the level of anxiety and patient demographics might help to reduce discomfort in cancer patients.
Anxiety ; Catheters* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Demography ; Depression ; Education ; Humans ; Leisure Activities ; Patient Participation ; Seoul ; Vascular Access Devices

Folliculosebaceous cystic hamartoma (FSCH) is a rare cutaneous hamartoma composed of dilated folliculosebaceous units and mesenchymal elements. It presents as a papule or nodule usually on the face and scalp, rarely on the genital or trunk area. Histologically, FSCH shares several similar features to sebaceous trichofolliculoma. We report one case of FSCH misdiagnosed as a neurofibroma. He was a 38-year-old man with a neurofibromatosis type I and a nodule on his left earlobe was excised under the impression of neurofibroma. Pathological examination revealed FSCH. Although FSCH is clinically not distinctive, awareness of the lesion is important to differentiate papulonodular or cyst-like cutaneous lesions.
Adult ; Follicular Cyst ; Hamartoma ; Humans ; Neoplasms, Basal Cell ; Neurofibroma ; Neurofibromatoses ; Neurofibromatosis 1 ; Scalp ; Skin Neoplasms

Background: Oxidative stress is generally accepted as one of the principal pathogenesis of vitiligo, and keratinocyte-melanocyte interactions are also thought to play critical roles. It is well-known that antioxidant response and autophagy protect cells against oxidative damage, but the details and the compensatory relationship between the two mechanisms in the keratinocytes of vitiligo lesions remain unclear. Objective: To evaluate the antioxidant response and autophagy status of patients with vitiligo and to explore the interactions between these two mechanisms. Methods: Ten patients with clinicopathologically proven vitiligo and 10 normal controls were enrolled in our Department of Dermatology, Soonchunhyang University Hospital, Bucheon, Korea. Tissue samples of vitiligo lesions in the patient group and normal skin in the control group were immunohistochemically stained for nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), Beclin-1, microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3)-II, and p62. The immunopositivity of epidermal keratinocytes was evaluated. Results: Keratinocytes in vitiligo lesions had a significantly lower expression of Nrf2 (p=0.002) than that in the cells of normal controls. The levels of autophagy markers did not differ significantly between the two groups, but decreases in the Beclin-1 and LC3-II levels, and an increase in the p62 level in the patient group may indicate a small decrease in autophagy of patients with vitiligo. Conclusion Decreased antioxidant response and reduced autophagy may trigger melanocyte apoptosis in vitiligo lesions.

PURPOSE: In this study, we attempted to analyze the effectiveness of the atopic dermatitis camp for primary school students in the Seoul area. METHODS: Seoul city's atopy camp 2010 was conducted 10 times from May 22nd to October 24th for primary school students at an atopy friendly school and their parents. A total of 374 atopic dermatitis patients participated in the camp and questionnaires for 363 were analyzed, except 11 participants who had left several questions unanswered. In a 3-month follow-up survey, 167 participants out of 374 responded to the mailing questionnaire to evaluate the efficiency of the camp. The response rate was 44.7%. RESULTS: Satisfaction with the educational program of the camp was higher for lower grade students than for higher grade students.(P<0.001) Before camp, higher grade students (P<0.001) or students with severe symptoms were more knowledgeable of atopic dermatitis.(P<0.01) After the camp, the higher the grade, the more the knowledge the student had about atopic dermatitis.(P<0.001) Three months after the camp, there was positive change in the lifestyle of atopic dermatitis patients.(P<0.001) CONCLUSION: Knowledge on atopic dermatitis increased and the lifestyle of atopic dermatitis patients was improved due to the camp. Consequently, Seoul city's atopy camp can be utilized as a method to improve the quality of life of atopic dermatitis patients and their family. And Seoul city's atopy camp is expected to be a model for atopy camps in other local communities.
Dermatitis, Atopic ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Life Style ; Parents ; Patient Education as Topic ; Postal Service ; Quality of Life ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND: The value of metabolic syndrome (MetS) evaluation in predicting cardiovascular disease is recently criticized. We investigated, in hypertensive patients without diabetes mellitus, the influence of MetS on the target organ damage. METHODS: Data from the fourth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey performed in 2008 were analyzed. Metabolic syndrome is defined by the 2001 National Cholesterol Education Program-Third Adult Treatment Panel guideline. The category of hypertension is defined following the seventh report of the Joint National Commitee-7 guideline. RESULTS: The prevalence of target organ damage (TOD), defined as history of myocardial infarction/angina/stroke/chronic renal disease as well as the presence of macroalbuminuria, was increased according to blood pressure; 8.5% in the population of normal blood pressure, 12.5% in those of prehypertensive range, and 20.5% in hypertensive population. Hypertensive population associated with MetS showed greater prevalence of TOD than those without MetS even excluding diabetic population. The presence of MetS in hypertensive population showed 2.2 fold increased risk for TOD. Any single parameter of MetS diagnostic criteria as well as obesity did not show the comparable range of risk prediction as MetS. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate a strong relationship of Mets with TOD in hypertensive population. Evaluating the metabolic components in hypertensive population is necessary in establishing management strategies for overall risk.
Adult ; Blood Pressure ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cholesterol ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Joints ; Nutrition Surveys ; Obesity ; Prevalence