PURPOSE: The study analyzed and categorized the colorectal cancers related medical journals published in Korea by the name of the journal, research materials, study method, statistical method and by content of study for the quality improvement of colorectal cancers related studies. METHODS: The authors reviewed a total of 567 colorectal cancer-related studies published in the Korean medical journals during the period 1967 and 2004 and kept in the National Assembly Library. The distribution of research materials, study method, statistical method and content of these studies were analyzed by the 5 year publication interval. RESULTS: By study period, the number of published studies steeply increase during the period between 2000 and 2004. As the research materials, hospital patients(64.6%) and In-vitro(16.6%) were the most prevalently used research materials, but health adults were the lowest research materials by only taking up 0.4%. In study methods, patient follow up studies(28.7%) and human in vitro experimental(27.9%) were prevalent, and human in vitro experimental were relatively the most popular performed studies during the years of 1990-1994. As the statistical method, life table and survival analysis(27.0%) were the mostly performed methods, and the use of statistical method was applied in nearly all studies. The contents of the studies mainly focused on the patient prognostic estimations(27.6%) of therapeutic safety & efficacy(25.6%), but only the 4.1% of risk factors studies. Among the 109 studies which analyzed the survival term 78.9% of the studies mainly used the 5 year term in the analysis of survival rates. CONCLUSION: The results of the study could be utilized as the basic data for the quality improvement of further colorectal cancers related studies.
Adult ; Colorectal Neoplasms* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Korea ; Life Tables ; Publications ; Quality Improvement ; Research Design ; Risk Factors ; Survival Rate

PURPOSE: This study aims to examine how elementary, middle and high school health teachers in Gyeonggi province react to infectious disease like MERS. METHODS: This is a descriptive study using a convenience sample of 1,267 school health teachers. RESULTS: When MERS was an epidemic, school health teachers who took the ‘leading’ role were 92.4%. A school heath teacher's countermeasures against infectious diseases showed a high score during MERS outbreak (3.81) compared to regular days (3.59). CONCLUSION: Based on such results, it has been determined that schools need to keep two types of procedures manual, such as ‘countermeasures on a regular basis’ and ‘countermeasures in the event of a pandemic disease outbreak’ manual in the staff offices so that anyone can view them at any time. It is necessary to prepare regulations to strengthen their authority so that school health teachers can take the role of control tower, in a professional capacity, when communicable disease is spreading. In order to prevent any confusion and chaos, there should be a unitary reporting system at each school when dealing with an epidemic. School health teachers need to get continuous training to reinforce their abilities to react to communicable diseases.
Communicable Diseases ; Coronavirus Infections ; Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Pandemics ; School Health Services ; School Nursing ; Social Control, Formal

OBJECTIVE: The loudness dependence of the auditory evoked potential (LDAEP) has been known as an indicator of central serotonergic neurotransmission. Nicotine increases the release of serotonin levels. The current study investigated whether cigarette smoking would make difference in LDAEP among male patients with major depressive disorder. METHODS: Twenty-four non-smoking and 20 smoking male patients meeting DSM-IV criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD) were recruited. There was no significant difference in severity of MDD symptoms between the two groups. The age of participants ranged from 20 to 65 years old. Event-related potentials (ERP) N100 were measured on 5 different sounds (55, 65, 75, 85, 95 dB) and on 5 electrodes (Fz, Cz, Pz, C5, C6). The N1/P2 peak to peak amplitudes and amplitude slope according to 5 different sounds were calculated. RESULTS: LDAEP was significantly weaker in the smoking group in comparison to the non-smoking group (p<0.05). Among non-smoking group LDAEP was negatively correlated with a core depression subscale of Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) (r=-0.41, p<0.05). CONCLUSION: LDAEP of the smoking patients with MDD group was weaker than the non-smoking patient with MDD group's. This result suggests that smoking may have increased the release of serotonergic neurotransmission in patients with MDD. Future studies need to examine LDAEP changes before and after tobacco use among smoking patients.
Depression ; Depressive Disorder, Major ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Electrodes ; Evoked Potentials ; Evoked Potentials, Auditory ; Humans ; Male ; Nicotine ; Serotonin ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Synaptic Transmission ; Tobacco

Melioidosis, which is an infectious disease caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei, is prevalent mostly in Southeast Asia and northern Australia; it can progress to abscess formation, pneumonia and sepsis, and ultimately cause death. A 66-yr-old male patient with diabetes mellitus was hospitalized for sepsis 3 months after coming back from Cambodia, and B. pseudomallei was identified from the blood culture. The B. pseudomallei strain was found to be susceptible to carbapenem, and non-susceptible to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and ceftazidime. Although the patient was treated with carbapenem, to which the strain was susceptible, the bacteremia persisted, and progressed to septic shock and pneumonia, and eventually to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The patient died on the 12th day of hospitalization. This study, which reports the first case of ceftazidime-nonsusceptible B. pseudomallei in Korea, indicates the importance of B. pseudomallei infection, which is highly likely to be imported to Korea, and discuss its clinical progress, which can lead to fatality.
Abscess ; Asia, Southeastern ; Australia ; Bacteremia ; Burkholderia pseudomallei* ; Burkholderia* ; Cambodia ; Ceftazidime ; Communicable Diseases ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Melioidosis ; Pneumonia ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Adult ; Sepsis ; Shock, Septic

OBJECTIVES: N100 amplitude slope(the intensity dependence of the cortical auditory evoked potentials) is widely considered as an indirect indicator of central serotonergic neurotransmission. However, there are only a few studies about N100 amplitude slopes of major psychiatric disorders. In this study, we examined N100 amplitude slope differences among major depressive disorder(MDD), bipolar disorder(BD), schizophrenia (SCZ) and normal controls(NC). METHODS: We measured the N100 amplitude slopes of 35 patients with MDD, 33 patients with BD, 27 patients with SCZ and 35 NC subjects. Amplitude differences from N1 to P2 at the five different sound intensities(55, 65, 75, 85 and 95dB) were examined at Cz electrode. The N100 amplitude slope was calculated as the linear regression of five N1/P2 peak-to-peak amplitudes across stimulus intensities. RESULTS: BD patients showed significantly reduced N100 amplitude slope compared with NC(0.54+/-0.70 vs. 0.96+/-0.72, p=0.035). N100 amplitude slope of SCZ patients was significantly reduced compared with NC(0.50 +/-0.47 vs. 0.96+/-0.72, p=0.027). N100 amplitude slope of BD patients was significantly lower than that of MDD patients(0.54+/-0.70 vs. 0.94+/-0.60, p=0.046). SCZ patients also showed significant reduction of N100 amplitude slope compared with MDD patients(0.50+/-0.47 vs. 0.94+/-0.60, p=0.036). There was no significant difference of N100 amplitude slope between MDD patients and NC(0.94+/-0.60 vs. 0.96+/-0.72, p=1.000). CONCLUSION: Interestingly, the N100 amplitude slopes of BD and SCZ were reduced compared to NC and MDD patients. Our results suggest the predictive use of N100 amplitude slope in making differential diagnoses of major psychiatric disorders. Clinical implications of N100 amplitude slope in major psychiatric disorders were discussed.
Bipolar Disorder ; Depressive Disorder, Major ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Electrodes ; Humans ; Linear Models ; Schizophrenia ; Synaptic Transmission

Due to a mistake in reference by the author submission in this article, an erroneous grant number had been published.

Synergistic integration of the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, and big data technologies in healthcare have led to the notion of “smart health.” Smart health is an emerging concept that refers to the provision of healthcare services for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up management at any time or any place by connecting information technologies and healthcare. As a significant breakthrough in smart healthcare development, IoT-enabled smart devices allow medical centers to carry out preventive care, diagnosis, and treatment more competently. This review focuses on recently developed patient health monitoring platforms based on IoT-enabled smart devices that can collect real-time patient data and transfer information for assessment by healthcare providers, including doctors, hospitals, and clinics, or for self-management. We aimed to summarize the available information about recently approved devices and state-of-the-art developments through a comprehensive, systematic literature review. In this review, we also discuss possible future directions for the integration of cloud computing and blockchain, which may offer unprecedented breakthroughs in on-demand medical services. The combination of IoT with real-time, remote patient monitoring empowers patients to assert more control over their care, thereby allowing them to actively monitor their particular health conditions.
Cloud Computing ; Delivery of Health Care ; Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Health Personnel ; Humans ; Internet* ; Monitoring, Physiologic ; Self Care

Objectives: With the growing importance of monitoring cancer patients’ internet usage, there is an increasing need for technology that expands access to relevant information through text mining. This study analyzed internet articles from portal sites in 2023 to identify trends in the information available to cancer patients and to derive meaningful insights. Methods: This study analyzed 19,578 news articles published on Naver, a major Korean portal site, from January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023. Natural language processing, text mining, network analysis, and word cloud analysis were employed. The search term “am” (Korean for “cancer”) was used to identify keywords related to cancer. Results: In 2023, an average of 1,631 cancer-related articles were published monthly, with a peak of 1,946 in September and a low of 1,371 in February. A total of 132,456 keywords were extracted, with “cure” (2,218 occurrences), “lung cancer” (1,652), and “breast cancer” (1,235) being the most frequent. Term frequency-inverse document frequency analysis ranked “struggle” (1064.172) as the most significant keyword, followed by “lung cancer” (839.988) and “breast cancer” (744.840). Network analysis revealed four distinct clusters focusing on treatment, celebrity-related issues, major cancer types, and cancer-causing factors. Conclusions The analysis of cancer-related keywords in 2023 indicates that news articles often prioritize gossip over essential information. These findings provide foundational data for future policy directions and strategies to address misinformation. This study underscores the importance of understanding the nature of cancer-related information consumed by the public and offers insights to guide official policies and healthcare practices.

Objectives: With the growing importance of monitoring cancer patients’ internet usage, there is an increasing need for technology that expands access to relevant information through text mining. This study analyzed internet articles from portal sites in 2023 to identify trends in the information available to cancer patients and to derive meaningful insights. Methods: This study analyzed 19,578 news articles published on Naver, a major Korean portal site, from January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023. Natural language processing, text mining, network analysis, and word cloud analysis were employed. The search term “am” (Korean for “cancer”) was used to identify keywords related to cancer. Results: In 2023, an average of 1,631 cancer-related articles were published monthly, with a peak of 1,946 in September and a low of 1,371 in February. A total of 132,456 keywords were extracted, with “cure” (2,218 occurrences), “lung cancer” (1,652), and “breast cancer” (1,235) being the most frequent. Term frequency-inverse document frequency analysis ranked “struggle” (1064.172) as the most significant keyword, followed by “lung cancer” (839.988) and “breast cancer” (744.840). Network analysis revealed four distinct clusters focusing on treatment, celebrity-related issues, major cancer types, and cancer-causing factors. Conclusions The analysis of cancer-related keywords in 2023 indicates that news articles often prioritize gossip over essential information. These findings provide foundational data for future policy directions and strategies to address misinformation. This study underscores the importance of understanding the nature of cancer-related information consumed by the public and offers insights to guide official policies and healthcare practices.

Objectives: With the growing importance of monitoring cancer patients’ internet usage, there is an increasing need for technology that expands access to relevant information through text mining. This study analyzed internet articles from portal sites in 2023 to identify trends in the information available to cancer patients and to derive meaningful insights. Methods: This study analyzed 19,578 news articles published on Naver, a major Korean portal site, from January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023. Natural language processing, text mining, network analysis, and word cloud analysis were employed. The search term “am” (Korean for “cancer”) was used to identify keywords related to cancer. Results: In 2023, an average of 1,631 cancer-related articles were published monthly, with a peak of 1,946 in September and a low of 1,371 in February. A total of 132,456 keywords were extracted, with “cure” (2,218 occurrences), “lung cancer” (1,652), and “breast cancer” (1,235) being the most frequent. Term frequency-inverse document frequency analysis ranked “struggle” (1064.172) as the most significant keyword, followed by “lung cancer” (839.988) and “breast cancer” (744.840). Network analysis revealed four distinct clusters focusing on treatment, celebrity-related issues, major cancer types, and cancer-causing factors. Conclusions The analysis of cancer-related keywords in 2023 indicates that news articles often prioritize gossip over essential information. These findings provide foundational data for future policy directions and strategies to address misinformation. This study underscores the importance of understanding the nature of cancer-related information consumed by the public and offers insights to guide official policies and healthcare practices.