Purpose: Improving survival and health-related quality of life (HRQOL), along with symptom relief, is important for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer (MBC). This study measured HRQOL and analyzed its influence on sociodemographic and clinical factors in patients with MBC. Methods: We interviewed 298 patients with MBC to investigate their sociodemographic characteristics and HRQOL by using EuroQol-5D-5L (EQ-5D) between September and October 2014. We also reviewed medical records to examine the clinical condition of the patients, including disease progression, adverse events, treatments, chronic disease, and metastatic areas. The distribution of the EQ-5D index was compared between different clinical conditions by using the Kruskal-Wallis test. We also conducted multiple regression analyses to identify the factors affecting HRQOL in patients with MBC. Results: The mean EQ-5D index was 0.79 for all patients surveyed. The mean EQ-5D index score was significantly lower in patients in the progressed state than in those in the progression-free survival state (0.73 vs. 0.80, p = 0.0002). The HRQOL of patients treated with chemotherapy alone was significantly lower than that of patients treated with hormonal or targeted therapy (0.76 vs. 0.82 or 0.85; p = 0.0020). Regression analysis revealed that the clinical factors associated with lower HRQOL were progressed state, chemotherapy, and adverse events, such as hair loss or stomatitis. Finally, young age, high income, and employment were the sociodemographic factors that were positively associated with better HRQOL. Conclusion This study provides new information on the health utility of MBC patients on the basis of various patient characteristics and offers insights that can assist medical professionals in treating patients with MBC and help policymakers implement cancer strategies. Further research is needed to reflect the changing environment of cancer treatment and enrich available evidence.

No abstract available.
Catheters* ; Humans

Herniation of the stomach through the esophageal hiatus into the posterior mediastinum is a commom affliction of humans. The incidence of hiatal hernia is difficult to determine because of the absence of symptoms in a large number of patients. Hiatal hernias are classified into two major types; type I sliding hiatal hernia and type II paraesophageal hiatal hernia. Sliding hernia is common, but paraesophageal hernia(PEH) is rare. Most PEH is demonstrated in elderly women. PEH in infancy is really rare. PEH is a true hernia, so it is a potentially life-threatening condition because of the risk of volvulus, incarceration, strangulation, and perforation. PEH is itself the indication for surgery. We experienced congenital PEH in two infants. One case was nearly asymptomatic, found incidentally by plain chest X-ray taken for pneumonia in a 12 month old female infant. She had no vomiting or reflux, but history of frequent feeding of small amount and often gurgling noise in her right chest. She had type IV PEH including herniation of the transverse colon. Another case was presented because of vomiting, and was diagnosed by ultrasonography initially in a 48 day old male infant. He had intrathoracic stomach, type III PEH with idiopathic hypertrophic pyloric stenosis and gastroesophageal reflux.
Aged ; Colon, Transverse ; Female ; Gastroesophageal Reflux ; Hernia ; Hernia, Hiatal* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant ; Intestinal Volvulus ; Male ; Mediastinum ; Noise ; Pneumonia ; Pyloric Stenosis, Hypertrophic ; Stomach ; Thorax ; Ultrasonography ; Vomiting

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to develop feasible and detailed infection control guidelines (ICG) and audit protocols for health care workers and auditors in postpartum care centers (PCC). METHODS: PCC ICG and audit protocols were developed in several steps: 1) review of previous ICG for PCCs; 2) establishment of frameworks for updating guidelines and audit protocols; 3) review of new ICG, regulations, etc.; 4) drafting of PCC ICG and audit protocols and revision based on feedback from the research committee; 5) Delphi survey to solicit opinions from infection control, infant care, and maternal care professionals as well as PCC health care workers; 6) re-revision after discussion with the research committee; and 7) finalization of PCC ICG and audit protocols. RESULTS: We developed ICG with 4 categories and 26 sub-categories, and internal and external audit protocols with 163 and 85 items, respectively. CONCLUSION: The ICG and audit protocols are valid and feasible; we recommend their utilization as auditing tools, baseline data for the development of national infection control policies, and as educational materials for PCC healthcare workers.
Checklist ; Delivery of Health Care ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant Care ; Infection Control* ; Postnatal Care* ; Postpartum Period* ; Social Control, Formal

Purpose: This study investigated the impact of nurse practice environment and organizational justice on nurses’job satisfaction. Methods: We identified the factors between nursing work environment and organizational justice to job satisfaction for 189 nurses working at a general hospital in city C. Data were collected from June 1st to 15th, 2023, and analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and multiple stepwise regression, using IBM/SPSS 27.0 for the Windows program. Results: The mean job satisfaction was 3.24±0.55 points on a 5-point scale. Multiple stepwise regression revealed that the factors affecting nurses’job satisfaction included nursing foundations for quality of care (β=.26, p=.005), staffing and resource adequacy (β=.40, p<.001), collegial nurse-physician relations (β=-.24, p=.007), and distributive justice(β =.27, p<.001).These variables explained 55.0% of job satisfaction. Conclusion The research findings indicate that higher job satisfaction is associated with a better nurse practice environment and positive perceptions of organization justice. These findings indicate that it is necessary to enhance the nurse practice environment and improve organizational justice to enhance job satisfaction among nurses.

Objective of this study was to compare the color stability, mechanical and chemical properties of three different types of temporary crown resins. Commercially available powder-liquid (Group PL), light-cured (Group LC) and auto-mix syringe (Group AM) types' temporary crown resins were used as experimental groups for each of the evaluation. All the test groups were evaluated after 1 day and 7 days of immersion in various staining solutions. The colors of all groups before and after storage in the staining solutions were measured by a spectrophotometer based on CIE Lab system, and the color differences (ΔE(*)) thereby calculated. Micro hardness test was performed before water storage and aging after 7 days at 37 ℃. In addition, flexural strength, water sorption and solubility tests were performed according to international standard, ISO 10477. All experimental groups showed significant color change in staining solutions when compared to those stored in the control solution (distilled water) (p<0.05). Group PL showed the least color change among the three groups followed by Group AM (p<0.05). This tendency was observed after 7 days of immersion. In terms of the micro hardness test, Group PL showed the highest value among the three groups followed by Group AM (p<0.05). Additionally, the flexural strength decreased in the following order: AM > PL > LC (p<0.05). Water sorption and solubility increased in the following order: AM < PL < LC (p<0.05). The results of this study would provide useful information when choosing temporary crown resin types in various clinical situations.
Aging ; Crowns ; Hardness Tests ; Immersion ; Solubility ; Syringes ; Water

No abstract available.
Arteriovenous Fistula* ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic*

Cutaneous metastasis originating from lung cancer is relatively rare and accounts for only 0.5~6.7% of of lung cancer metastases. In general, there is a histomorphologic resemblance between primary carcinoma and cutaneous metastatic carcinoma. A 45-year-old woman presented with a painless 0.8 cm erythematous nodule on her left shoulder. During the past 3 years, she had been receiving chemotherapy for the treatment of lung adenocarcinoma with bone metastases. A histopathological examination of the skin lesion showed adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma components, which were compatible with adenosquamous carcinoma. Herein, we report an interesting case of adenosquamous carcinoma showing cutaneous metastasis, which is a different pathologic subtype from primary lung adenocarcinoma.
Adenocarcinoma ; Carcinoma, Adenosquamous ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Female ; Humans ; Lung ; Lung Neoplasms ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Shoulder ; Skin

PURPOSE: To investigate relationships between age, weight, refractive error, and morphologic changes in children's eyes by computerized tomography (CT). METHODS: Of the 772 eyes of 386 patients under the age of 20 years, who visited our Department of Ophthalmology between January 2005 to August 2006 and underwent CT of the orbit, 406 eyes of 354 patients with clear CT images and normal eyeball contour were enrolled in the present retrospective study. The axial lengths, widths, horizontal and vertical lengths, refractive errors, and body weight of eyes were measured, and relationship between these parameters were investigated. RESULTS: Axial length was found to correlate significantly with eye width (r=0.914), and in emmetropic eyes and myopic eyes, axial lengths and widths were found to increase as age and body weight increased. Axial lengths increased rapidly until age 10, and then increased slowly. In emmetropic eyes, widths / axial lengths increased with age, but in myopic eyes these decreased as age or severity of myopia increased. Moreover, as age increased, the myopic population and severity also increased. CONCLUSIONS: The axial length was longer in case of myopia compared to emmetropia in all age groups and there was almost no difference in the increase rate of axial length by the age of myopia and emmetropia. However, the width was wider in case of myopia compared to emmetropia in all age groups and the increase rate of width in myopia by age was smaller than that of emmetropia. Myopia showed decreasing rate of width/axial length with increase of age, from 1.004 in 5 years to 0.971 in 20 years. However, emmetropia showed increasing rate of width/axial length with increase of age, from 0.990 in 5 years to 1.006 in 20 years.
Adolescent ; *Aging ; *Body Weight ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Eye/*radiography ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Myopia/*radiography ; Orbit/radiography ; Retrospective Studies ; *Tomography, X-Ray Computed

No abstract available.
Ascorbic Acid* ; Pyuria* ; Vitamins*