No abstract available.
Colon* ; Lymphangioma, Cystic*

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the factors influencing infection-related characteristics and patient safety culture on awareness of blood-borne infection prevention between operating room nurses and general ward nurses. Methods: Participants were 198 nurses(operating room nurses 98 and general ward nurses: 100) working at three general hospitals and three university hospitals in three cities. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire from September 11 to October 14, 2020. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and multiple regression with IBM SPSS/WIN 26.0 program. Results: Typically, 39.8% of nurses in the operating room and 24.0% of ward nurses experienced injuries such as needles and sharp instruments used by the patient. The awareness of patient safety culture was identified to be higher for the ward nurses. Factors influencing the awareness of blood-borne infection prevention in operating room nurses were patient safety culture and wearing protective equipment for infection prevention while nursing infected patients. Moreover, the explanatory power of these variables was 19.4%. In general ward nurses, the patient safety culture was identified as a significant predictor, which accounted for 16.5% of awareness of blood-borne infection prevention. Conclusion To prevent hospital infection, a strategy is needed to improve the level of awareness of blood-borne infection prevention and patient safety culture of operating room nurses. To this end, the difference in infection-related characteristics and influencing factors between the operating room nurses and the general ward nurses should be considered and planned.

Tsutsugamushi disease cases occur throughout the rural area in Korea, and the number of the reported cases has been increased recently. Tsutsugamushi disease is a kind of rickettsiosis, and causative organism of that is Rickettsia tsutsugamushi. The field rodents, especially Apodemus agrarius, are the animal hosts, and main vector is chigger, Leptotrombidium pallidum. The pathogen is transmitted to human via this chigger bite. We experienced 60 cases of tsutsugamushi disease at Uijungbu Saint Mary's Hospital from January 1993 to December 1996. A group(study group) consists of 8 patients. They complained of abdominal (RUQ or epigastric) pain and had a finding of GB wall thickening by ultrasonogram and computerized tomogram. B group (control group) consists of 52 patients. They had no abnormal findings of GB by that. A clinical analysis of those patients was done retrospectively. Then A group was compared to B group. The obtained results were as follows. 1) All patients(A group and B group) those visited emergency room from October to December complaining of fever had lived at north area of Kyonggi-Do and had experienced outdoor play in field two weeks before expression of symptoms. 2) Percentage of leukocytopenia was 26%(2/8 cases) and 10%(5/52 cases) in A and B group respectively. Thrombocytopenia was found in many patients, and serum AST and ALT level was elevated in all patients of A and B group. 3) Percentage of patients with hypoalbuminemia was 87%(7/8 cases) and 67%(35/52 cases) in A and B group respectively. 4) Mean age of A group patients was higher than that of B group patients(A:62.4, B:49-years-old), and only all patients of A group had abdominal pain and hyperbilirubinemia. 5) Mean thickness of GB wall in A group patients was 7.3 mm(range 4~14 mm) by ultrasonogram. Conclusively, tsutsugamushi disease should be considered as differential diagnosis when old patient with fever and abdominal pain visits ER in endemic area of that despite jaundice, leukocytopenia, thrombocytopenia, and GB wall thickening founded by ultrasonogram.
Abdominal Pain* ; Animals ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Fever ; Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Hyperbilirubinemia ; Hypoalbuminemia ; Jaundice ; Korea ; Leukopenia ; Murinae ; Orientia tsutsugamushi ; Retrospective Studies ; Rodentia ; Saints ; Scrub Typhus* ; Thrombocytopenia ; Trombiculidae ; Ultrasonography

In treating young women for gestational trophoblastic tumor ( G.T.T. ), all efforts are made to preserve fertility and hysterectomy is avoided unless absolutely essential. However, in some cases the operation may be lifesaving. During the last 20 years among the 310 cases of G.T.T. treated at Il Sin Christian Hospital, there were 3 cases in which hysterectomy was avoided by the excision of a localized uterine lesion thus preserving fertility.
Choriocarcinoma* ; Female ; Fertility ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Pregnancy ; Trophoblastic Neoplasms

In 2018, The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced its first comprehensive plan for patient safety, which included the imperative to develop a patient safety curriculum for students studying to become health professionals. The aim of this study is to assess current patient safety education and points of consideration for introducing new curriculum. An online survey was used to understand the status of patient safety education in medical schools, and key informant interviews and focus group interviews were used to collect qualitative data on the experience of patient safety education. The results of the online survey from 16 out of 40 medical schools (40% response rate) and the qualitative data analysis were integrated and analyzed. Twelve schools (75%) had established courses related to patient safety. The qualitative responses suggest that patient safety education is appropriate both before and after clinical training through a variety of educational methods, and that the topics should be linked with clinical training. The challenge of securing lecture time to address patient safety was mentioned as a realistic obstacle. When patient safety education is integrated in future curriculum, it is necessary to consider it as a priority. Moreover, in the early stages of introducing patient safety education, a step-by-step, policy-based approach is required for seamless adoption and settlement.

Background: Respiratory specimens subjected to mycobacterial detection were initially pretreated with N-acetyl-L-cysteine-sodium hydroxide (NALC-NaOH) to remove the mucus and normal flora. Next, they were washed and neutralized with phosphate-buffered solution (PBS).The effectiveness of distilled water (DW) compared to PBS as a washing neutralizer during identification of mycobacteria was evaluated in this study. Methods: We analyzed the results of mycobacterial test conducted at a general hospital in Gwangju from October 2016 to September 2018. PBS and DW were used as a respiratory sample washing agent for one year each. Results: The positive culture rate for the culture of mycobacteria was 12.7% (1,843/14,532) and 14.7% (2,095/14,291), when PBS and DW were used, respectively. The recovery rate of the mycobacteria growth indicator tubes (MGIT) and the separation rates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) showed no significant change.However, in 2% Ogawa medium, as the NTM culture increased from 47.4% (399/841) to 56.1% (630/1,122), the recovery rate increased from 45.6% (841/1,843) to 53.6% (1,122/2,095). The MGIT contamination rate decreased from 6.5% to 4.1%. Conclusion DW as a washing agent for NALC-NaOH increased the recovery rate of Ogawa media and reduced the contamination rate of MGIT. Therefore, use of DW instead of PBS as a washing neutralizer during identification of mycobacteria might be useful.

The morphologic change of the mouse brain after exposure to magnetic field is studied. Our magnetic field model was a pulsed unipolar magnetic field with the flux density of 0.2 - 0.3 tesla and the frequency of 60 hertz. Twelve adult male mice were exposed to the magnetic field for 2, 4, 8, 12, 18 and 24 hours. After the exposure to the magnetic field mice were anesthetized with chloral hydrate, and paraformaldehyde was infused through the left ventricle for fixation. During exposure to the magnetic field, behavioral and weight changes of mice were observed. Mice became irritable and restless, especially during first 2 hours of the exposure. Microscopic and ultrastructural examination on the brain revealed nuclear chromatin clumping of the neuron in mice exposed to the magnetic field for more than four hours. The change was proportional to the exposed time and more prominent in the cerebral cortex. An immunohistochemical study for amyloid precursor protein (APP) was also performed. There was an increased expression of APP in the neuronal cytoplasm of the mouse brain exposed to the magnetic field for 4 hours or more. But the reaction was not proportional to the exposure time and reactive neuron was diffusely distributed through the whole brain. Anti-APP antibody reactivity was not correlated with the chromatin clumping. The mechanism of APP induction was postulated as stress-induced APP-gene induction, and the role of APP was presumed to protect the neuron against hazardous environment.
Adult ; Male ; Female ; Humans ; Mice ; Animals

OBJECTIVES: Clinical studies have shown cognitive dysfunctions and soft neurological signs in schizophrenic patients and these findings have been suggested as evidence of organic bases in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. This study was intended to investigate the characteristics of cognitive deficits and soft neurological signs in schizophrenia and, to determine whether any abnormality in these functions can be regarded as a trait marker of the illness which is independent of antipsychotic treatment and clinical improvement. We also investigated the correlation between cognitive deficits and soft neurological signs reflecting cognitive dysmetria, respectively. METHODS: Twenty schizophrenic patients were assessed for the soft neurological signs and cognitive functions before and after neuroleptic treatment. The patients had been medicated for at least 3 weeks with one of the atypical neuroleptics. Cognitive functions were evaluated by Trail making A, B, Stroop test and Word fluency test. Soft neurological signs were assessed by Cambridge Neurological Inventory(Part 2). Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale(PANSS) and Clinical Global Impression(CGI) were used to assess the clinical severity and Extrapyramidal Symtoms Rating Scale was used to estimate the extrapyramidal symptoms. Cognitive functions and soft neurological signs of twenty normal controls were assessed with the same scale. RESULTS: Before treatment, schizophrenic patients showed significant impairments on cognitive function tests(Trail Making A, B, Stroop Test) and soft neurological sign tests(8 items:Grasp reflex, Go/no-go, Finger thumb opposition, Rhythm tapping, Finger agnosia, Fist-edge-palm, Left-right orientation, Extinction). Although significant clinical improvements were observed after the treatment, there were no significant changes in cognitive functions and soft neurological signs(except for Go/no-go test and Finger agnosia). Among the soft neurological signs of the patients, abnormality in Rhythm tapping was significantly correlated with cognitive deficits. CONCLUSION: Schizophrenic patients showed characteristic cognitive deficits and soft neurological signs which were independent of medication and clinical symptoms. And these two characteristics were partly correlated with each other.
Agnosia ; Antipsychotic Agents ; Cerebellar Ataxia ; Fingers ; Humans ; Reflex ; Schizophrenia ; Stroop Test ; Thumb

Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis (TPP) is associated with hypokalemia and occurs sporadically and usually in young adult males. We report ten cases with TPP ; all were males, mean onset age was 32.4 years old. The duration of attack. Varied from 10 to 18 hours. The distribution of paralysis was confined to limb muscles; more severe in proximal limbs and lower extremities. Potassium levels during acute attack correlated with the severity of paralysis and ECG changes, but not with the severity of decrease in TSH level. In all cases, administration of potassium salts was successful in treatment of acute attack. A patient had further attack in spite of euthyroid state under the treatment of thyrotoxicosis for one year. Another patient was free from paralytic attacks by chronic administration of the potassium salt and acetazolamide without treatment of thyrotoxicosis.
Acetazolamide ; Age of Onset ; Electrocardiography ; Extremities ; Humans ; Hypokalemia ; Lower Extremity ; Male ; Muscles ; Paralysis* ; Potassium ; Salts ; Thyrotoxicosis ; Young Adult