No abstract available.
Paget Disease, Extramammary

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among workplace bullying, organizational commitment, and turnover intention of nurses. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire from nurses at five public hospitals (N=190). RESULTS: The experience of bullying was 31.29 points (range 16–64) on average: Work-related bullying was the highest, followed by verbal/non verbal bullying and external threats. The consequences of bullying were 30.54 points (range 13–52) on average: The physical/psychological withdrawal was the highest, followed by increasing distrust and the poor quality of patient care. The experiences of bullying had positive correlations with the consequences of bullying (r=.55, p < .001) and the turnover intention (r=.27, p < .001), and had a negative correlation with organizational commitment (r=−.28, p < .001). The consequences of bullying had a positive correlation with the turnover intention (r=.52, p < .001), and had a negative correlation with organizational commitment (r=−.49, p < .001). Organizational commitment showed a negative correlation with the turnover intention (r=.63, p < .001). CONCLUSION: The findings of this study suggests the needs of a regular monitoring system and organizational management for workplace bullying, which helps nurses to commit to their organization and to be retained in a workplace.
Bullying ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Hospitals, Public ; Intention ; Patient Care ; Personnel Turnover

No abstract available.
Gastrointestinal Diseases*

No abstract available.

BACKGROUND: Chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) is a relatively common disease, and yet not much is known about the causative factors or its pathophysiology, which makes it difficult to cure. Due to its chronic nature, many patients have significantly reduced quality of life (QOL). OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of CIU on QOL of Korean patients, and to determine whether a relationship exists between QOL and the severity of disease. METHODS: One hundred sixty three patients with CIU, who first visited our out-patient clinic between August 2005 and July 2007, were asked to complete two questionnaires: one designed to assess the clinical features of their disease; the other on the influences of CIU on their daily lives. QOL was divided into six categories: mental status (MS), daily living activities (DLA), leisure activities (LA), self-perception (SP), treatment-induced restrictions (TIR), and social functions (SF). All of the QOL scores were recalibrated to a 0~100 scale, with 100 indicating the worst QOL, and 0 the best. RESULTS: The average QOL scores obtained from the questionnaire were as follows: SP (13.1+/-4.6), DLA (12.0+/-4.3), MS (10.3+/-3.3), SF (8.5+/-3.4), LA (6.1+/-3.0), and TIR (5.5+/-2.6). SP was the domain that was most affected; TIR the least. There were positive correlations between pairs of the six different QOL categories (p<0.001). These results demonstrate that CIU exerts an influence on many aspects of QOL. TIR was significantly affected in longer term CIU cases (p<0.05), while SP, MS, DLA, SF, and SR scores did not correlate with disease duration. Disease severity was found to have a significant impact on SP, MS, SF, and LA (p<0.05). In patients with concurrent physical urticaria, DLA and SF scores were significantly affected (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Based on these results, it is suggested that CIU has a negative impact on QOL in Korean patients. Therefore, it is important to recognize the effects CIU can have on QOL and consider them in evaluating the response to treatment.
Activities of Daily Living ; Humans ; Leisure Activities ; Outpatients ; Quality of Life ; Self Concept ; Urticaria ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Sarcoidosis is an idiopathic multisystemic disorder with variable cutaneous presentations that are classified as specific or non-specific according to the presence of non-caseating granulomas on histologic examination. Specific manifestations can include papules, scar sarcoidosis, ulcers, or even alopecia. Herein, we present a case of cutaneous sarcoidosis that presented as multiple erythematous macules and patches on the trunk and extremities of a 32-year-old man. The clinical appearance was unlike any other form reported in the literature.
Adult ; Alopecia ; Cicatrix ; Extremities ; Granuloma ; Humans ; Sarcoidosis ; Ulcer

Mycobacterium fortuitum is one of the rapidly-growing atypical mycobacteria, belonging to Runyon group IV. M. fortuitum infection is usually related to trauma, injections and surgical procedures, and is resistant to treatment with anti-tuberculous agents. Herein, we report on a case of M. fortuitum infection after footbath. A 51-year-old male presented with painful, erythematous nodules and plaques with crust and purulent discharge on the lower legs for 3 months. The skin lesion occurred after two herb and aroma footbaths and leg massage. He went to the massage shop again, and received the footbath one more time. The skin lesion aggravated and he visited a hospital, then the skin biopsy was performed but the result was unremarkable. He was treated with antihistamine and antibiotics but there was no improvement. So he visited our hospital, and culture demonstrated atypical mycobacterium, which was identified as M. fortuitum by polymerase chain reaction. He was treated with oral clarythromycin for 5 months, and the skin lesions have improved.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Biopsy ; Humans ; Leg ; Male ; Massage ; Middle Aged ; Mycobacterium ; Mycobacterium fortuitum ; Nontuberculous Mycobacteria ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Skin

Leukemia cutis (LC) is defined as a neoplastic leukocytic infiltration of the skin. Few clinical studies are available on recent trends of LC in Korea. The purpose of this study was to analyze the clinical features and prognosis of LC in Korea and to compare findings with previous studies. We performed a retrospective study of 75 patients with LC and evaluated the patients' age and sex, clinical features and skin lesion distribution according to the type of leukemia, interval between the diagnosis of leukemia and the development of LC, and prognosis. The male to female ratio was 2:1, and the mean age at diagnosis was 37.6 yr. The most common cutaneous lesions were nodules. The most commonly affected site was the extremities in acute myelocytic leukemia and chronic myelocytic leukemia except for acute lymphocytic leukemia. Compared with previous studies, there was an increasing tendency in the proportion of males and nodular lesions, and LC most often occurred in the extremities. The prognosis of LC was still poor within 1 yr, which was similar to the results of previous studies. These results suggest that there is a difference in the clinical characteristics and predilection sites according to type of leukemia.
Adult ; Extremities/pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/*diagnosis/mortality/pathology ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/*diagnosis/mortality/pathology ; *Leukemic Infiltration ; Male ; Neoplasm Staging ; Retrospective Studies ; Skin/*pathology

To our knowledge, implantation into the uterine muscle wall is one of the rare form of ectopic pregnancy, with only 16 cases reported until 1995. The early diagnosis depends upon the sonographic finding of intramural gestational sac-like growth and persistent high beta human chorionic gonadotropin (beta-hCG) levels after dilatation and curettage. But, nobody can't exclude intramural pregnancy in case that associated with adenomyosis in uterus in spite of negative beta-hCG. Hsieh et al. and Dousias et al. mentioned 2 cases of such situation with negative beta-hCG result. And confirmative diagnosis depends upon the pathologic finding for specimen obtained from laparoscopic or explorative hysterotomy. The authors have experienced one case of intramural pregnancy in uterus and report our case with a brief review of literature.
Adenomyosis ; Animals ; Chorionic Gonadotropin ; Diagnosis ; Dilatation and Curettage ; Early Diagnosis ; Female ; Hysterotomy ; Mice ; Myometrium ; Pregnancy* ; Pregnancy, Ectopic ; Ultrasonography ; Uterus*

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease (CVD), especially ischemic heart disease (IHD) and vascular access occlusion (VAO) is the most common morbidity in dialysis patients. Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) is regarded as an independent risk factor of atherosclerosis in general population, however clinical implication of HHcy in dialysis patients is controversial. Nutritional status of dialysis patients is also known to be closely linked to CVD. METHODS: To investigate the impact of the presence of HHcy and malnutrition on cardiovascular events, especially ischemic heart disease (IHD) and vascular access occlusion (VAO). We measured plasma levels of Hcy and other biochemical parameters with an evaluation of nutritional status using subjective global assessment (SGA) in 44 HD patients and gender-matched control subjects of comparable age. RESULTS: Mean plasma Hcy was 18.6 microM/L (range 5-28), which was significantly higher than normal control (8.6+/-2.0 microM/L, p< 0.05). There was no significant correlation between plasma Hcy and the levels of folate or vit B12. Mean Hcy was significantly higher in patients with normal nutritional status compared to mild-to-moderately malnourished patients (22.0+/-3.2 vs. 15.1+/-4.1 microM/L, p<0.05), and there was a significant positive correlation of Hcy level with serum albumin or nPNA. There was no significant difference in plasma Hcy level according to the presence of IHD or VAO. However, interestingly, in HD patients group with lower serum albumin (<3.9 g/ dL), frequency of VAO was significantly correlated with Hcy (r2=0.68, p<0.001) whereas no significant correlation was observed in patients with higher albumin level. CONCLUSION: The clinical implication of HHcy in HD patients may be different from general healthy population. Nutritional status can be one of the important factors influencing plasma Hcy level. And, high plasma level of Hcy in malnourished HD patients has to be carefully followed up in terms of the development of atherosclerotic CVD and VAO.
Atherosclerosis ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Dialysis ; Folic Acid ; Humans ; Hyperhomocysteinemia* ; Malnutrition ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Nutritional Status* ; Plasma ; Renal Dialysis* ; Risk Factors ; Serum Albumin