BACKGROUND: In the clinical setting, for convenience of transfusion, blood is requested in advance, even though 'the type and screen' method has been used for the efficient supply of blood. We employed the precedent antibody screening test method for all patients who were scheduled for surgery, and compared the disposal rate and the clear rate pre and post-activity. METHODS: We evaluated the disposal rate and the cancellation ratio before and after employment of the precedent antibody screening test method for all patients expected to undergo surgery. A comparison of the frequency and type of side effects of transfusion was also performed. RESULTS: The disposal rate and the cancellation ratio showed a decrease, from 1.48% to 1.29%, and from 17.0% to 11.0%. No significant change was observed in the cause of disposal and the side effects of transfusion. CONCLUSION: Enforcement of a precedent antibody screening test resulted in a decrease in the disposal and clear rates. In addition, it aided in reduction of the amount of work performed at the blood bank by establishing the proper utilization of blood and reducing unnecessary cross match testing. There appears to be no problem regarding the stability of transfusion. However, for the sample showing a positive result on the antibody screening test, an effort to decrease the side effects of transfusion, such as exhaustive cross-matching and increasing the rate of identification, would be needed.
Blood Banks ; Blood Transfusion ; Employment ; Humans ; Mass Screening

BACKGROUND: In the clinical setting, for convenience of transfusion, blood is requested in advance, even though 'the type and screen' method has been used for the efficient supply of blood. We employed the precedent antibody screening test method for all patients who were scheduled for surgery, and compared the disposal rate and the clear rate pre and post-activity. METHODS: We evaluated the disposal rate and the cancellation ratio before and after employment of the precedent antibody screening test method for all patients expected to undergo surgery. A comparison of the frequency and type of side effects of transfusion was also performed. RESULTS: The disposal rate and the cancellation ratio showed a decrease, from 1.48% to 1.29%, and from 17.0% to 11.0%. No significant change was observed in the cause of disposal and the side effects of transfusion. CONCLUSION: Enforcement of a precedent antibody screening test resulted in a decrease in the disposal and clear rates. In addition, it aided in reduction of the amount of work performed at the blood bank by establishing the proper utilization of blood and reducing unnecessary cross match testing. There appears to be no problem regarding the stability of transfusion. However, for the sample showing a positive result on the antibody screening test, an effort to decrease the side effects of transfusion, such as exhaustive cross-matching and increasing the rate of identification, would be needed.
Blood Banks ; Blood Transfusion ; Employment ; Humans ; Mass Screening

A clinical study was performed of the respiratory care of 1309 critically ill patients who had been admitted to respiratory intensive care units (RICU) in 1986 and 1987. 1) The number of patients who needed respiratory care was 691 and the mortality in RICU was 1.45% (10 case) in 1986, and 618 and 2.59% (16 cases) in 1987, respectively. 2) The average duration of ventilatory support was 2.1 days in 1986, and 1.9 days in 1987. The patients of thoracic surgery needed respiratory support for 2.6 days in 1986, and 2.3 days in 1987. 3) The mortalities according to department were:1.42% (6 of 424 cases) in thoracic surgery, 1.89% (2 of 107 cases) in general surgery, 20% (1 of 5 cases) in pediatry surgery, and 7.14% (1 of 14 cases) in gynecology in 1986. In 1987, 2.56% (8 of 312 cases) in thoracic surgery, 4.0% (6 of 150 cases) in neurosurgery, 0.96% (1 of 104 cases) in general surgery, and 7.69% (1 of 13 cases) in urology. 4) The most frequently used ventilator was Bear II, followed by Benett MA-I. 5) The major causes of death in RICU were low cardiac output syndrome, sepsis, respiratory failure, and brain damage.
Brain ; Cardiac Output, Low ; Cause of Death ; Critical Illness* ; Gynecology ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Critical Care* ; Mortality ; Neurosurgery ; Respiratory Insufficiency ; Sepsis ; Thoracic Surgery ; Urology ; Ventilators, Mechanical

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the difference in micronutrient levels between oral feeding and enteral feeding in chronic stroke patients to assess the risks of enteral feeding. METHODS: Patients with chronic stroke who were admitted to the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine between January 2011 and June 2012 were enrolled. The serum concentrations of iron, copper, zinc, folate, and vitamin B12, as well as the absolute CD4 and CD8 lymphocyte counts, were assessed. RESULTS: Of the 73 patients enrolled in this study, 50 were fed orally, while the other 23 were fed through a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) or nasogastric (NG) tube. The serum concentrations of vitamin B12 and folate were significantly higher in the enteral feeding group than in the oral feeding group. However, the serum concentration of zinc was significantly lower in the enteral feeding group. CONCLUSION: There is little difference between enteral feeding and oral feeding in terms of micronutrient provision except that the serum concentration of zinc in the enteral feeding group was significantly lower than that in the oral feeding group. Clinicians should recognize that chronic stroke patients who require tube feeding have a risk of micronutrient deficiency. Early detection of malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency is important for providing the necessary nutrients.
Copper ; Enteral Nutrition* ; Folic Acid ; Gastrostomy ; Humans ; Iron ; Lymphocyte Count ; Malnutrition ; Micronutrients* ; Rehabilitation ; Stroke* ; Vitamin B 12 ; Zinc

PURPOSE: This study attempted to understand health behaviors and analyze the association of the health behaviors with musculoskeletal diseases in adults. METHOD: The subjects of this study were 6,946 adults aged between 20 and 65 who had participated in the 2001 National Health Nutrition Survey. The instrument was composed of Health Interview Survey (HIS), Health Behavior Survey (HBS) and Health Examination Survey (HES), which were used in the 2001 National Health Nutrition Survey. Data were analyzed using SPSS 10.1 by applying chi2 and multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: 1. The present smoking rate was 46.5% and the present drinking rate was 81.2%. 2. Of the subjects, 22.7% were overweight (BMI> or =25), and 28.1% were exercising regularly. 3. Major factors affecting musculoskeletal diseases were low education, poor economic state, smoking, and BMI. Middle school graduates were 2.54 times more likely to have musculoskeletal diseases than college graduates. The risk was 1.83 times higher in indigent respondents than in affluent ones, and 1.43 times higher in smokers than in non-smokers. CONCLUSION: Therefore, in order to reduce musculoskeletal diseases in adults, other various factors should be looked into, and public education about appropriate posture and exercise should be carried out in community. Additionally, concentrated intervention programs for patients with musculoskeletal diseases should be performed.
Adult* ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Drinking ; Education ; Health Behavior* ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Musculoskeletal Diseases* ; Nutrition Surveys ; Overweight ; Posture ; Poverty ; Smoke ; Smoking

The informations concerning knowledge, value and consumption pattern for rice foods of elementary schoolchildren (630 boys and 550 girls in 5th or 6th grade) were investigated in Changwon and Gimhae of Gyeongnam province. They were asked based on knowledge, one's value and intake frequence of rice foods by questionnaries. Menus for 3 days including 2 weekdays and 1 weekend day were taken from 136 students (77 boys and 59 girls) in two Elementary Schools in Changwon and Gimhae to know intake reality of rice product. The purpose of this survey was to find the way of encouraging rice intake and preference which now seemed to be low because of simplified, westernized eating habits, and to provide basic information needed for inheriting and improving our traditional cooked rice centered eating culture. The results are summarized as follows. The knowledge of rice was positively correlated to the one's value (r=0.365, p<0.001) and the preference (r=0.132, p<0.001), the one's value was positively correlated to preference (r=0.409, p<0.001). The score of knowledge for rice was 12.8 points out of 20, the girls get points(13.12) significantly higher than the boys (12.53) (p<0.01). One's value about rice foods was 37.35 points out of 50 what is relatively high. They have eaten cooked rice type food for 2.24 times per day. Both boys and girls in Changwon and Gimhae area were having cooked rice type food significantly more during weekdays compared to weekends (p7lt;0.001) by 3 days food record. According the results, we can see the possibility that schoolchildren can be encouraged to eat more rice foods by nutritional education to go with the development of various programs.
Eating ; Education ; Female ; Gyeongsangnam-do* ; Humans

Cantrell's syndrome is a rare congenital anomaly, consists of five malformations. There are the midline abdominal wall defect, the defect of sterna lower part, an agenesis of the anterior part of the diaphragm, an absence of the diaphragmatic pericardium, and the congenital intracardiac problem. We diagnosed Cantrell's syndrome with left ventricular diverticulum in a female neonate with no perinatal problems. She experienced an one-staged operation and discharged with no complications. We report a case with brief review of the literature.
Abdominal Wall ; Diaphragm ; Diverticulum* ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn* ; Pericardium

This study was carried out to investigate the nutritional education status and the recognition of the importance of elementary school dietitians (N=183) in the Gyeongnam area. The results are summarized as follows. All subjects took part in nutritional education program, but the educational methods were passive, as in the case of "home correspondence" (80.8%) and "bulletin board poster" (16.4%), and the education frequency was very low as in "one time/month" (90.2%). The subjects thought "as an independent subject" (41.5%) and "as a related subjects" (35.1%) were suitable teaching venues for the nutritional education. They were very low in individual counseling (4.5%) for school children because of "lack of opportunity" (42.2%) and "heavy work load" (24.1%). However, most of the subjects wished that nutritional counseling could offered in the future (95.5%). The parents' experience of nutritional education was also low (34.3%). Information sources for nutritional education were mainly the "internet" (53.1%) and "re-educational materials" (25.0%). The available instructional materials included "printed materials" (96.7%), "exhibition bulletin materials" (70.3%) and "electronic materials" (46.4%). The preferred education materials were "exhibition bulletin materials" (32.2%), "printed materials" (29.2%), and "electronic materiaThis study was carried ls" (27.7%). However, materials they wished to purchase were "electronic materials" (54.5%) and "cubic materials" (26.0%). These results show a difference between the preferred materials and the possessed materials. Most school dietitians (98.4%) recognized the necessity of nutritional education with respect to "good table manners" (42.0%), "correction of food prejudices" (30.3%), and "proper nutrition for growth" (21.0%). Although they had a great interest in nutritional education, they had difficulty in cutting their learning into practice because of "heavy work load" (30.9%), "lack of a systematic curriculum" (25.2%), and "lack of a educational opportunity" (22.8%). Ninety five percent of subjects wished to have nutrition education taught as an independent subject. They pointed out "kindergarten" (60.0%) and "lower grades in elementary school" (33.9%) as the optimal starting times for nutritional education and "school dietitians" (91.3%) as suitable teachers for these programs. The required topics chosen by the subjects for nutritional education for children were "proper eating habits" (54.2%) and "nutritional problem" (31.5%). The dietitians thought "food prejudices" (44.7%), "eat too much processed and instant foods" (36.5%), and "obesity" (11.8%) were the most common nutritional problems among elementary school children. These results suggest the necessity of solving the nutritional problems in children by developing a nutritional education program. Along with this program, if dietitian assisted programs for parents were developed, the effects of nutritional education could definitely be increased.
Child ; Counseling ; Eating ; Education* ; Humans ; Learning ; Nutritionists* ; Parents

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: NT-proBNP, a sensitive and specific marker of congestive heart failure (CHF), is also useful in monitoring the effectiveness of treatment and in predicting prognosis. However, the usefulness of NT-proBNP for measuring the functional capacity as a component of the quality of life (QoL) in patients with CHF remains to be discovered. The Korean Activity Scale/Index (KASI) is a Koreanized tool for measuring the functional capacity in patients with cardiac diseases during daily activities, thus representing the physical domain of the QoL. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between NT-proBNP and the KASI. SUCJECTS AND METHODS: Between July, 2003 and September, 2003, the NT-proBNP levels were measured in 76 patients with CHF that visited the OPD or who were hospitalized. They were asked to fill out a self-administered questionnaire, from which their KASI scores were obtained. NYHA Fc and Heart Failure scores were also obtained from a history taking and physical examination conducted by the investigator. RESULTS: The level of NT-proBNP increased with increasing NYHA Fc (p<0.001 by Kruskall-Wallis test). The Spearman correlation coefficient between NT-proBNP and the KASI score was -0.730 (p<0.001), which was higher than that between the HF and KASI scores (rho=-0.557, p<0.001). The level of NT-proBNP also had a positive correlation with the HF score (rho=0.706, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The level of NT-proBNP has a strong negative correlation with the KASI score, reflecting the functional capacity during daily activities. This suggests that NT-proBNP is useful in measuring the functional capacity as an element of the QoL in patients with CHF.
Estrogens, Conjugated (USP)* ; Heart Diseases ; Heart Failure* ; Humans ; Physical Examination ; Prognosis ; Quality of Life ; Research Personnel ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: The gene-encoding cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4(CTLA-4) is one of the candidate genes for conferring susceptibility to atopic dermatitis(AD). The aim of the study was to investigate the association between Korean children with AD and the polymorphisms of CTLA-4 gene promoter(-318) and exon 1(+49). METHODS: The CTLA-4 promoter(-318 T/C) and exon 1(+49 A/G) polymorphisms were genotyped via restriction fragment length polymorphism methods in 145 children with atopic eczema, 69 children with non-atopic eczema, and 96 healthy controls. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in genotype and allele frequencies of the CTLA-4 promoter -318 T/C and exon 1 +49 A/G polymorphisms when the atopic eczema, non-atopic eczema, and control groups were compared. Additionally the CTLA-4 promoter -318 T/C and exon 1 +49 A/G polymorphisms were not shown to be associated with severity, IgE level, or eosinophil counts. CONCLUSION: Our data show that the polymorphisms within the CTLA-4 promoter(-318 T/C) and exon 1(+49 A/G) genes are not associated with susceptibility to AD in Korean children.
Child* ; Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Eczema ; Eosinophils ; Exons* ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length