No abstract available.
Infection Control*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the asthma management educational program given to the allergic asthmatics receiving immunotherapy due to house dust mite on the disease related to knowledge, stress, and self-efficacy. METHOD: The subjects of this study were the patients received immunotherapy to house dust mite at a week interval after being diagnosed for house dust mite allergic asthma at the respiratory center of a hospital affiliated to the university. They were divided into the experimental group of 29 patients who received asthma management education, the control group of 32 patients, and 61 patients in total. Experimental treatment, as an asthma management educational program, was the group education of one time and the reinforcement education of three times with environmental therapy and immunotherapy to house dust mite. RESULTS: The results revealed that the improvement in disease related knowledge, the improvement in self-efficacy and the decrease in stress, were significantly higher in the experimental group than the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The asthma management educational program had an effect on improving the disease related knowledge and self-efficacy, and decreasing the stress of the patients asthmatics allergic to house dust mite.
Asthma* ; Dust* ; Education ; Humans ; Immunotherapy ; Pyroglyphidae* ; Respiratory Center

No abstract available.
Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections* ; Respiratory Syncytial Viruses*

BACKGROUND: Microdeletion syndromes not detectable by conventional cytogenetic analysis have been reported to occur in approximately 5% of patients with unexplained mental retardation (MR). Therefore, it is essential to ensure that patients with MR are screened for these microdeletion syndromes. Mental retardation syndrome multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MRS-MLPA) is a new technique for measuring sequence dosages that allows for the detection of copy number changes of several microdeletion syndromes (1p36 deletion syndrome, Williams syndrome, Smith-Magenis syndrome, Miller-Dieker syndrome, DiGeorge syndrome, Prader-Willi/Angelman syndrome, Alagille syndrome, Saethre-Chotzen syndrome, and Sotos syndrome) to be processed simultaneously, thus significantly reducing the amount of laboratory work. METHODS: We assessed the performance of MLPA (MRC-Holland, The Netherlands) for the detection of microdeletion syndromes by comparing the results with those generated using FISH assays. MLPA analysis was carried out on 12 patients with microdeletion confirmed by FISH (three DiGeorge syndrome, four Williams syndrome, four Prader-Willi syndrome, and one Miller-Dieker syndrome). RESULTS: The results of MLPA analysis showed a complete concordance with FISH in 12 patients with microdeletion syndromes. CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of these results, we conclude that MLPA is an accurate, reliable, and cost-effective alternative to FISH in the screening for microdeletion syndromes.
*Chromosome Deletion ; Classical Lissencephalies and Subcortical Band Heterotopias/genetics ; DiGeorge Syndrome/genetics ; Humans ; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence/*methods ; Laboratories, Hospital ; Mental Retardation/*diagnosis/genetics ; Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques/*methods ; Prader-Willi Syndrome/genetics ; Williams Syndrome/genetics

This study examined the structure and contents of the information provided by the web sites, in terms of clarity, business goal, authority, sustainment of operation and responsibility of customer care, as well as menus. The findings from the analysis of 217 web sites selected from 5 major portal sites, are 1) most of catering business over internet are located around Seoul area, 2) almost 80% of the selected sites are administered by professional agents or firms while the remnants by individuals, 3) except menu and price, any additional information is hardly shown, 4) about three quarter of the sites opened after 2001, that is coherent with the trend of the growth of internet users and eating-out, 5) it is strongly required to create healthful cyber space for the customers, 6) a small number of the sites(12.4%) try to manage access from customers, 7) many sites(73.7%) open the channels for feedback from the customers 8) among the types of catering services offered by the sites, home party is the most popular and the kinds of cuisine, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese, are divided into almost same proportion of the sites, 9) the average number of dishes is 33.5, 10) they offer 7 to 8 different dishes of grain, 4 to 6 of meat, 4 to 10 of fishes, 5 to 13 of vegetables, 1 of fruits, and 1 to 3 of dairy products, 11) The majority of price level is 15,001won ~ 20,000won.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Edible Grain ; Commerce ; Dairy Products ; Fishes ; Fruit ; Humans ; Internet ; Meat ; Seoul ; Vegetables

BACKGROUND: Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura/hemolytic uremic syndrome (TTP/HUS) is a disease entity defined by the presence of thrombocytopenia and microangiopathic hemolytic anemia with or without fever, neurologic and renal symptoms. Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) has proven to be an effective treatment for TTP/HUS and has decreased mortality. We evaluated the effectiveness of TPE for TTP/HUS at the Department of Clinical Pathology, Samsung Medical Center during the last 6 years. METHODS: We assessed retrospectively the chief complaints, the clinical course, the treatment and the outcome in 17 TTP/HUS patients treated with TPE from December 1994 to May 2001. Minimal diagnostic criteria for TTP/HUS were unexplained thrombocytopenia and microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, with or without fever, neurologic, and renal symptoms. The range of ages of the patients was 15 to 63 years and the female to male ratio was 2:1. RESULTS: The most frequent clinical presentation was a renal problem (71%), followed by fever (53%) and neurologic symptoms (24%). The causes of TTP/HUS followed in the order of frequency: idiopathic (41%), suspicious for Escherichia coli O157: H7 infection (24%), systemic lupus erythematosus (18%), mitomycin C induced (12%), and preeclampsia (6%). A total of 229 TPE procedures were performed for 17 patients (mean: 13 procedures). The replacement fluids for TPE were fresh frozen plasma (59%) and cryosupernatant (41%). Thirteen patients (76%) survived and three of them relapsed (23%); however, they responded to further treatment. In comparing the laboratory results between pre and post TPE, significant changes were found in the white blood cells and platelet counts, creatinine, total bilirubin, and lactic dehydrogenase. The initial symptoms did not indicate a recurrence rate and a variety of drugs were used, except for corticosteroid administration. CONCLUSIONS: TTP/HUS patients responded well to TPE. The overall efficacy of TPE for TTP/HUS was 76%. The causes of TTP/HUS, the administered drugs and the replacement fluid did not affect the patient's prognosis.
Anemia, Hemolytic ; Bilirubin ; Creatinine ; Escherichia coli O157 ; Female ; Fever ; Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome ; Humans ; Leukocytes ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; Male ; Mitomycin ; Mortality ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Oxidoreductases ; Pathology, Clinical ; Plasma Exchange* ; Plasma* ; Platelet Count ; Pre-Eclampsia ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Thrombocytopenia

Nowadays, Klebsiella oxytoca is described as a causative organism for antibiotic-associated hemorrhagic colitis (AAHC). Here we report two cases of pediatric AAHC, from which K. oxytoca was cultured after starting amoxicillin-clavulanate or amoxicillin treatment. The patients developed severe abdominal pain and a large amount of bloody diarrhea. K. oxytoca was obtained in intestinal fluid culture of a boy through the colonoscopy. On the other hand, colonic tissue culture and intestinal fluid culture were negative of the other patient. K. oxytoca was detected in stool culture when he was admitted. These cases showed characteristic endoscopic findings of segmental hemorrhagic colitis, and both boys recovered spontaneously within 2–3 days after they stopped taking the antibiotics. Therefore, in children who develop relatively large amount of bloody diarrhea after antibiotic treatment, we should consider AAHC caused by K. oxytoca.
Abdominal Pain ; Amoxicillin ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Child ; Colitis* ; Colon ; Colonoscopy ; Diarrhea ; Hand ; Humans ; Klebsiella oxytoca* ; Klebsiella* ; Male

Gynecomastia is a proliferation of the glandular component of the male breast. Gynecomastia is the most common variant condition of the male breast and results from the effect of an altered estrogen-androgen balance on breast tissue or from the increased sensitivity of breast tissue to a normal estrogen level. We experienced a case of macrogynecomastia in a 16-year-old boy who had a normal male phenotype and was treated by reduction mammoplasty with breast tissue removal, which was effective and produced good cosmetic and psychologic results.
Adolescent ; Breast ; Estrogens ; Female ; Gynecomastia ; Humans ; Male ; Mammaplasty* ; Phenotype

PURPOSE: This study was done to analyze variations in unit staffing and recommend policies to improve nursing staffing levels in intensive care units (ICUs). METHOD: A cross-sectional study design was used, employing survey data from the Health Insurance Review Agency conducted from June-July, 2003. Unitstaffing was measured using two indicators; bed-to-nurse (B/N) ratio (number of beds per nurse), and patient-to-nurse (P/N)ratio (number of average daily patients per nurse). Staffing levels were compared according to hospital and ICU characteristics. RESULT: A total of 414 institutions were operating 569 adult and 86 neonatal ICUs. Tertiary hospitals (n=42) had the lowest mean B/N (0.82) and P/N (0.76) ratios in adult ICUs, followed by general hospitals (B/N: 1.34, P/N: 0.97). Those ratios indicated that a nurse took care of 3 to 5 patients per shift. Neonatal ICUs had worse staffing and had greater variations in staffing ratios than adult ICUs. About 17% of adult and 26% of neonatal ICUs were staffed only by adjunct nurses who had responsibility for a general ward as well as the ICU. CONCLUSION: Stratification of nurse staffing levels and differentiation of ICU utilization fees based on staffing grades are recommended as a policy tool to improve nurse staffing in ICUs.
Analysis of Variance ; Female ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units/economics/*manpower/statistics & numerical data ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal/economics/*manpower/statistics & numerical data ; Nursing Staff, Hospital/economics/*supply & distribution ; Personnel Staffing and Scheduling/*economics ; Workload

No abstract available.
Airway Obstruction*