PURPOSE: This study investigated trends in family nursing intervention studies and evaluated the quality of studies using the RCT design. METHODS: This study included a total of 898 abstracts published from 1977 to 2007 in order to describe trends in family nursing intervention studies. Out of 898 studies, 153 RCT studies were selected for quality evaluation. The criteria of Jadad et al. (1996) were employed for the quality evaluation. RESULTS: The number of RCT studies on family nursing interventions increased since 2001. Only 6.8% of the studies were published in the area of nursing. Most of the family interventions (27.1%) focused on individual family members and only 8.2% of the studies provided interventions to family as a whole unit. Nine different modes of family nursing intervention could be categorized, but none of the studies used the double blind design. Few studies utilized protocols for interventions. Only 17.5% of the studies reported the rationale for sample size. The mean score was 1.6 out of 5 according to the criteria of Jadad et al. (1996). CONCLUSION: Refined definitions and attributes of family nursing intervention modes are needed. Most of the studies did not meet the expectations of RCT. Thus, it is needed to improve the quality of design. More RCT studies should be conducted to provide evidence-based practice of family nursing interventions.
Evidence-Based Practice ; Family Nursing* ; Humans ; Clinical Trial ; Korea ; Nursing ; Sample Size

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of body alteration and body image with regard to immediate breast reconstruction among women with breast cancer. Methods: Data were collected from July to December 2020 through individual in-depth interviews with 15 women who had undergone immediate breast reconstruction due to breast cancer. Verbatim transcripts were analyzed using Colaizzi’s phenomenological analysis. Results: The following four theme clusters emerged. First, “revalued meaning of breasts due to cancer” illustrated the fact that cancer removal surgery brought the participants to reconsider the meaning of their breasts. Second, “had no choice but breast reconstruction” demonstrated the participants’ decision-making process of not wanting to lose breasts. Third, “unsatisfied breasts despite reconstruction” portrayed the distress due to the unexpected surgical outcomes. Finally, “restarted everyday routines with the altered body” described the healing process of the participants by accepting their changed body. Conclusion In Korea, where family-centeredness and fidelity are highly valued, women perceived their breasts not only as a symbol of femininity but as the mediator connecting the self to family. Despite the distress related to imperfect breasts, the participants were thankful for their reconstructed breasts. Breast reconstruction helped them return to daily life as the psychological trauma of breast cancer was healed. The participants rebuilt their body image by accepting their scarred new body. This may allow health professionals to provide constructive and culturally appropriate counseling in advance by providing insight into women’s perception of their body image with regard to breast reconstruction.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of body alteration and body image with regard to immediate breast reconstruction among women with breast cancer. Methods: Data were collected from July to December 2020 through individual in-depth interviews with 15 women who had undergone immediate breast reconstruction due to breast cancer. Verbatim transcripts were analyzed using Colaizzi’s phenomenological analysis. Results: The following four theme clusters emerged. First, “revalued meaning of breasts due to cancer” illustrated the fact that cancer removal surgery brought the participants to reconsider the meaning of their breasts. Second, “had no choice but breast reconstruction” demonstrated the participants’ decision-making process of not wanting to lose breasts. Third, “unsatisfied breasts despite reconstruction” portrayed the distress due to the unexpected surgical outcomes. Finally, “restarted everyday routines with the altered body” described the healing process of the participants by accepting their changed body. Conclusion In Korea, where family-centeredness and fidelity are highly valued, women perceived their breasts not only as a symbol of femininity but as the mediator connecting the self to family. Despite the distress related to imperfect breasts, the participants were thankful for their reconstructed breasts. Breast reconstruction helped them return to daily life as the psychological trauma of breast cancer was healed. The participants rebuilt their body image by accepting their scarred new body. This may allow health professionals to provide constructive and culturally appropriate counseling in advance by providing insight into women’s perception of their body image with regard to breast reconstruction.

PURPOSE: This study was performed to explore the weight variations in high-risk term newborns hospitalized during the early postnatal period. METHODS: A retrospective explorative study was performed with 64 term newborns who were hospitalized in the NICU after birth. Data on daily weight, birth information, and clinical features such as phototherapy, placements, nutritional status were reviewed through medical records for 14 days of life. General Linear Model, GLM was applied to analyze the weight variation by clinical features of these high-risk term newborns for 14 days of life. RESULTS: Newborns at 40 weeks of gestation showed little weight loss during the few days after birth then steadily gained weight to 7.6% at the 14th day. Infants born at 37-39 gestation showed little weight gain for 14 days though the weight loss itself was not apparent. As well, return to birthweight was not observed in newborns with phototherapy, infants placed on a warmer or infants having gastrointestinal dysfunction for 14 days of life. CONCLUSION: Even for term newborns, physiologic weight loss may not be warranted even if newborn is born at less than 40 week of gestation, or with high-risk conditions that warrant admission to NICU.
Birth Weight ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn* ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ; Linear Models ; Medical Records ; Nutritional Status ; Parturition ; Phototherapy ; Pregnancy ; Retrospective Studies ; Term Birth ; Weight Gain ; Weight Loss

Cutaneous polyarteritis nodosa (CPAN) is a form of necrotizing vasculitis of the medium and small-sized arteries. The condition is limited to the skin and there is a lack of visceral involvement. Treatment with systemic glucocorticoids alone or in combination with azathioprine, methotrexate or cyclophosphamide, depending on the disease severity, has been shown to be effective. This paper reports the clinical case of a 53-year-old female patient with CPAN refractory to treatment with high dose glucocorticoid, methotrexate, azathioprine, and cyclophosphamide, who was treated successfully with anti-tumor necrosis factor-α therapy (adalimumab).
Adalimumab* ; Arteries ; Azathioprine ; Cyclophosphamide ; Female ; Glucocorticoids ; Humans ; Methotrexate ; Middle Aged ; Necrosis ; Polyarteritis Nodosa* ; Skin ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; Vasculitis

PURPOSE: The characteristics of hypoparathyroidism in patients with Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT) after total thyroidectomy are not well established. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between hypoparathyroidism and loss of parathyroid glands in patients with or without HT who underwent total thyroidectomy. METHODS: Patients who underwent total thyroidectomy were divided into two groups; with HT (n=166) and without HT (n=526). Clinicopathologic characteristics were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The mean numbers of parathyroid glands in specimens were significantly smaller in the with HT group than in the without HT group (0.34+/-0.51 vs. 0.42+/-0.58, P=0.003). The rate of transient hypoparathyroidism was significantly higher in the with HT group than in the without HT group (51.8% vs. 34.6%, P=0.000). Serum total calcium levels in patients who experienced transient hypoparathyroidism did not differ significantly between groups (P=0.335). The incidence of transient hypoparathyroidism of patients who preserved all four parathyroid glands or sacrificed one parathyroid gland was higher in the with HT group than in the without HT group, although that of patients who sacrificed two or more parathyroid glands was similar between groups. The incidence of permanent hypoparathyroidism in the two groups did not differ (P=0.546). CONCLUSION: Patients with HT had a higher rate of transient hypoparathyroidism after total thyroidectomy, particularly patients who preserved all four or three parathyroid glands. It is likely that the blood supply to the parathyroid gland might be vulnerable in patients with HT. Therefore, even though all parathyroid glands were preserved, careful monitoring of hypoparathyroidism is necessary after total thyroidectomy in patients with HT.
Calcium ; Hashimoto Disease* ; Humans ; Hypoparathyroidism* ; Incidence ; Parathyroid Glands ; Thyroidectomy*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify sleep quality, job stress, symptoms of stress (SOS), and coping and to examine factors influencing sleep quality in clinical nurses. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 265 clinical nurses at three general hospitals. A self-administrated questionnaire was used for data collection, and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficients, t-test, ANOVA, and backward multiple regression with the SAS statistical program. RESULTS: Sleep quality showed significant differences according to the sociodemographic characteristics of age, length of work, education, current workplace, current job position, shift work, and marital status. Sleep quality was negatively associated with SOS and job stress. Significant factors influencing sleep quality of the clinical nurses were cognitive-behavioral SOS, physiological SOS, inappropriate rewards, physical work environment, and shift work. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that cognitive-behavioral SOS, physiological SOS, job stress regarding inappropriate rewards and physical work environment, and shift work are useful to predict levels of sleep quality of clinical nurses. These factors should be considered when developing nursing interventions to improve sleep quality of clinical nurses through stress management.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Data Collection ; Education ; Hospitals, General ; Marital Status ; Nursing ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Reward

PURPOSE: Several studies have reported that laparoscopic cholecystectomy with percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage (PTGBD) is associated with a reduced duration of surgery and a lower rate of conversion to open laparotomy compared with laparoscopic cholecystectomy without PTGBD and delayed laparoscopic cholecystectomy after conservative therapy. However, these results are contradictory. This retrospective study investigated the safety and usefulness of laparoscopic cholecystectomy combined with pre-operative PTGBD in patients with acute cholecystitis. METHODS: The clinicopathologic data and surgical outcomes of 101 patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy between January 2010 and September 2015 were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: Patients in the PTGBD group vs. the non-PTGBD group were significantly older (mean age: 65.47±12.2 vs. 56.32±13.7; p=0.001). Underlying diseases were also significantly more common in the PTGBD group (75.4% vs. 45.5%; p=0.002). There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of operative time, blood loss, rate of open conversion, postoperative oral intake, and postoperative hospital stay. Total hospital day was significantly longer in the PTGBD group (11.14±7.22 vs. 6.23±5.17; p=0.049). There was no significant difference in the postoperative complications between the two groups, and all patients in this study lived. CONCLUSION: This study suggested that satisfactory results can be achieved with selective preoperative PTGBD in older and sicker patients with acute cholecystitis.
Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic* ; Cholecystitis, Acute* ; Drainage* ; Gallbladder* ; Humans ; Laparotomy ; Length of Stay ; Operative Time ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies

PURPOSE: Open adhesiolysis has been the favored approach regarding surgical management of intestinal obstruction. Following the development of laparoscopic devices and necessary surgical techniques, laparoscopic treatment of intestinal obstruction and adhesion has been tried in highly selected cases. Our study was designed to investigate laparoscopic adhesiolysis to treat intestinal obstruction. METHODS: The clinicopathologic data and surgical outcomes of 14 patients who underwent emergency laparoscopy between January 2007 and April 2015 were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: Five patients had a history of abdominal surgery, and twelve patients had adhesive intestinal obstruction. The causes of adhesive intestinal obstruction included tuberculous peritonitis, periappendiceal abscess, serosal fibrosis and chronic inflammation of intestine, gastric volvulus by fibrotic band. Two patients had non-adhesive intestinal obstruction, caused by intussusception and small bowel ulcer with stricture. The mean surgical time was 98.5 minutes, with mean blood loss of 35 ml. One case was converted to open surgery (7.1%). The mean postoperative hospital stay was 6.5 days. The mean time to oral intake was 3.4 days. There were no postoperative complications or deaths. CONCLUSION: When the patients are selected carefully in accordance with the guidelines, in our experience laparoscopic adhesiolysis is safe and feasible.
Abscess ; Adhesives ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Emergencies ; Fibrosis ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Intestinal Obstruction* ; Intestines ; Intussusception ; Laparoscopy ; Length of Stay ; Operative Time ; Peritonitis, Tuberculous ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Volvulus ; Ulcer