BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To determine appropriate counseling time for the first hearing aids user, we measured the effectiveness of first counseling time limit of 20 minutes for those who need hearing aids and collected predictive parameters during history taking. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: We reviewed the medical records of 956 patients (age 66.5±12.1) with hearing impairment who needed hearing aids. We divided patients into two groups, those who had counseling time limited to 20 minutes and others who had no time limitation. Job status, working condition of noise status, social activity and audiological variables were analyzed as probable predicting factors influencing the purchasing of the hearing aid (penetration rate). RESULTS: Of the total 956 patients, 48.64% of subjects decided to purchase hearing aids at first counseling. The two groups showed no significant difference (p=0.396): 49.81% of the group without time limitation purchased the hearing aid and 47.04% of those with time limitation purchased the aid. The social status, right side pure tone threshold and right side tinnitus were significant for calculating the explanation power (64.15%) in the hearing aid uptake probability equation. CONCLUSION: The level of social activity, hearing threshold and tinnitus were predictive variables obtained during the counseling. The time limitation of 20 minutes did not affect the rate of decision to purchase hearing aids. These results might help hearing clinics improve efficient time management at hearing aid clinics.

Hemophagocytosis by myeloma cells after chemotherapy is a rare phenomenon. We have experienced a case of phagocytic, IgG, Kappa type plasma cell myeloma in a 41-year-old man after chemotherapy. Phagocytosis of erythrocytes and platelets was found.
Adult ; Drug Therapy* ; Erythrocytes ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Multiple Myeloma ; Phagocytosis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) and heart rate variability (HRV) indices in SDB children based on objective parameters of polysomnography (PSG). MATERIALS AND METHOD: This prospective study enrolled 67 children who underwent a physical examination and full-attended in-lab PSG with continuous electrocardiographic signal. The sAA were measured at night before PSG and in the early morning after PSG. RESULTS: The subjects were divided into control [n=26, apnea-hypopnea index (AHI)≤1] and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS, n=41, AHI>1) groups; the OSAS group was subdivided into mild (1 alpha-Amylases* ; Child ; Electrocardiography ; Heart Rate* ; Heart* ; Humans ; Methods ; Physical Examination ; Polysomnography ; Prospective Studies ; Saliva ; Sleep Apnea Syndromes* ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive

PURPOSE: The Korean Society of Coloproctology holds its annual colorectal awareness month every September. This study analyzed the users and the contents of Korean tweets regarding colorectal cancer and estimated the transmissibility of the awareness campaign among Twitter users. METHODS: Prospective data collection was employed to accumulate Korean tweets containing the keywords "colorectal cancer," "colorectal cancer awareness campaign," "gold ribbon," and/or "love handle," from August 1 to September 30, 2014. Twitter users and contents were analyzed, and the credibility of information-sharing tweets throughout the study period was evaluated. RESULTS: In total, 10,387 tweets shared by 1,452 unique users were analyzed. As for users, 57.8% were individuals whereas 5.8% were organizations/communities; spambots accounted for a considerable percentage (36.4%). As for content, most tweets were spam (n = 8,736, 84.1%), repetitively advertising unverified commercial folk remedies, followed by tweets that shared information (n = 1,304, 12.6%) and non-information (n = 347, 3.3%). In the credibility assessment, only 80.6% of the information-sharing tweets were medically correct. After spam tweets had been excluded, a significant increase was seen in the percentage of information-sharing tweets (77.1% to 81.1%, P = 0.045) during the awareness campaign month. CONCLUSION: Most Korean tweets regarding colorectal cancer during the study months were commercial spam tweets; informative public tweets accounted for an extremely small percentage. The transmissibility of the awareness campaign among Twitter users was questionable at best. To expand the reach of credible medical information on colorectal cancer, public health institutions and organizations must pay greater attention to social media.
Colorectal Neoplasms* ; Data Collection ; Korea* ; Medicine, Traditional ; Prospective Studies ; Public Health ; Social Media