The purpose of this study was to identify the degree of self-care activities of stroke patients, the family burden, and the educational needs of primary caregivers. A descriptive survey research was conducted in 97 stroke patients and their respective primary caregivers. Data were collected the using 26th to by interviews a structure questionnare from July August 5th, 1999. NIH stroke status was 12.15+/-8.40, the degree of self-care activities of stroke patients was 26.85+/-9.39. The score of objective burden of primary caregivers was 31.24+/-4.81 and subjective burden was 24.30+/-6.99. The score of the educational needs was 89.78+/-9.99. We present several imformations about clients from these scores as follows: The patients were convalescent and their depentant level of self-care was middle range: The objective burden was higher than the subjective burden: And the educational needs of family caregivers were very high. The Elain Mattis Educational Wants of Family Caregivers of Disabled Adults Questionnaire was used to assess the educational needs of primary caregivers of stroke patients. The results of this research are offered to help nurses understand the feelings of uncertainty about the new and unexpected role that family caregivers face and to help nurses meet the needs of families preparing to care stroke survivors at home.
Adult ; Caregivers* ; Humans ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Self Care* ; Stroke* ; Survivors ; Uncertainty

PURPOSE: This study was done to apply failure mode & effect analysis (FMEA) to chemotherapy in order to reduce prescribing, dispensing and administering errors related to treatment and provide patients with a safe medical environment. METHODS: A one group pre-post test design was used to verify the effects using the tool for FMEA in chemotherapy. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant decrease in prescribing errors from 11.47% to 3.18%; administering errors decreased but they were not statistically significant. In a addition, there was no change in dispensing errors. CONCLUSION: The results show that FMEA removed risk factors that might occur during the process of chemotherapy and that it was an effective tool for prevention of negligent accident occurring in actual patients.
Drug Therapy* ; Evaluation Studies as Topic ; Humans ; Nursing* ; Patient Safety* ; Risk Factors

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to understand the effects of infection control fatigue and social support on burnout among nurses during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: This study is a descriptive survey study designed to confirm the effects of nurses' infection control fatigue and social support on burnout among nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. The collected data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, standard devia analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, independent t-test, One-way ANOVA, Scheffé test, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and stepwise multiple regression analysis using SPSS Statistics 26.0. Results: An analysis of the correlations between fatigue from infection control, social support, and burnout showed a positive correlation between burnout and fatigue from infection control (r=.39, p<.001), and a negative correlation between burnout and social support (r=-.29, p<.001). Conflict and lack of support due to uncertain circumstances (β=.51, p<.001), support from supervisor's (β=-.22, p<.001), and experience of infection management education during the previous 1year (β=-.15, p=.007) were identified as the factors that influenced burnout among nurses, and explained 39.0% of the variance in burnout. Conclusion The results of this study demonstrate that fatigue from infection control and social support influence burnout levels among nurses, which suggests the need to establish a new kind of work culture. Additionally, the findings call for the development and implementation of interventional programs that can reduce fatigue from infection control and increase social support for nurses.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of oral hygiene with 0.1% chlorhexidine or with normal saline on the incidence of pathogens in the oral cavity of patients in Intensive Care Units (ICU). METHOD: A quasi experimental design with non-equivalent control group and non-synchronized design was used. For the study 46 patients were recruited from a university hospital (24 for the experimental group, 22 for the control group). patients in the experimental group received mouth care with 0.1% chlorhexidine gluconate and those in the control group received mouth care with normal saline twice a day for 7 days in a row. Oral samples were taken for bacterial cultures on admission day, the 4th day and the 7th day for both groups. RESULTS: The incidence of oral pathogens decreased in the experimental group, and increased in the control group. There was no significant difference in the incidence of oral pathogens between the two groups. However oral hygiene using 0.1% chlorhexidine gluconate decreased the incidence of oral pathogens significantly for patients who already had pathogenic bacteria in their mouths on the admission day. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that mouth care with 0.1% chlorhexidine is effective for decreasing the incidence of oral infection for ICU patients who have oral infections.
Bacteria ; Chlorhexidine* ; Humans ; Incidence* ; Intensive Care Units ; Mouth ; Oral Hygiene* ; Research Design

The purpose of present study was to investigate the antimicrobial resistance in Escherichia coli isolated from healthy animals in all provinces of the Republic of Korea. A total of 2,085 E. coli strains isolated from 11,336 fecal samples of healthy animals during 2010-2012 were examined for antimicrobial resistance. Comparison of average resistance rate through the years revealed that tetracycline (47.0% and 76.1%) and streptomycin resistance (42.6% and 64.6%) was most frequently observed in cattle and pigs, respectively. Whereas, in chicken isolates, resistance against nalidixic acid (90.9%) was highest among the antimicrobials tested. Percentage of E. coli that showed multidrug resistance (resistance against > or = three subclasses of antimicrobial agents) was 17.6% (151/860) in cattle, 69.4% (506/729) in pigs, and 86.1% (427/496) in chickens. Overall, the rates of resistance are apparently different between animal species and, in particular, resistance was less prevalent in cattle than in pigs and chickens. In conclusion, this study showed higher prevalence of resistance in commensal E. coli strains to antimicrobial agents in Korean livestock and highlighted the urgent need for measures to regulate the abuse of antimicrobial agents.
Animals ; Anti-Infective Agents ; Cattle ; Chickens ; Drug Resistance, Multiple ; Escherichia coli* ; Livestock ; Nalidixic Acid ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea ; Streptomycin ; Swine ; Tetracycline

PURPOSE: Hydrofluoric acid(HF) is one of the most dangerous mineral acids with dissociated fluoride ions. As hydrofluoric acid is present in various household products(such as rust removers), a large population of industrials is at the risk of HF exposure. It is a very strong organic acid, used widely in glass etching, metal washing, and in the semiconductor industry. Even when using adequate safety measures, lack of care on the user's part results in chemical burn by HF. Symptoms caused by HF-induced chemical burns shows delayed manifestations resulting in a loss of proper treatment opportunities. We therefore reviewed 20 cases of HF- induced chemical burns and treatment principle. METHODS: The objects of this study were 19 male patients and 1 female treated from March 2004 to March 2006. There were 19 cases of injury on digits and 1 on the wrist area. There were 15 cases of immediate treatment after sustaining HF-induced burns, and 5 cases of delayed treatment. As a principle, in the emergency treatment, partial or complete removal of the nail along with copious washing with normal saline was done, depending on the degree of HF invasion of the distal digital extremities. RESULTS: The 15 cases who came to the hospital immediately after the injury were healed completely without sequelae, and those who delayed their treatment needed secondary surgical measures, due to the severity of inflammation and necrosis of the digital tissues. CONCLUSION: As the industrial sector develops, the use of HF is increasing more and more, leading to increase in incidences of HF-induced chemical burns. When treating chemical burns caused by HF, washing by copious amounts of normal saline, along with early removal of the nails, rather than calcium gluconate, seems to be a available method for preserving the shape and function of the digits and the nail. The education of patients regarding this subject should be empathized accordingly.
Burns ; Burns, Chemical ; Calcium Gluconate ; Emergency Treatment ; Extremities ; Family Characteristics ; Female ; Fluorides ; Glass ; Hand* ; Humans ; Hydrofluoric Acid* ; Incidence ; Inflammation ; Ions ; Male ; Necrosis ; Patient Education as Topic ; Semiconductors ; Wrist

BACKGROUND: Ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) is the most serious nosocomial infection of intensive care units. Several studies have investigated the relationship between the interval of ventilator circuit changes and the incidence of pneumonia in foreign countries, but there are no reports about it in Korea yet. So we performed this study to compare the clinical and cost impact between 3 days and 7 days interval in ventilator circuit changes. METHODS: Seoul National University Hospital is a 1,500-bed, university affiliated, tertiary and acute care hospital. All patients admitted to medical intensive care unit (MICU) and surgical intensive care unlt (SICU) between April 1, 1998 and October 31, 1998, requiring mechanical ventilation were included. Patients were divided into two groups of a-cay circuit changes and weekly changes. Daily surveillance was conducted using the criteria of VAP of the National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance System. Incidence of VAP and risk factors for VAP were evaluated. Standard microbiologic methods were used for the identification of clinical and environmental isolates. Statistical analysis was done by SAS Program (version 6.12), analysis of difference in variables was performed using chi-square test and t-test. Analysis of odds ratios was done with logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: VAP developed at a rate of 12.2 per 1,000 ventilator-days in the 3 days change group and 15.6 per 1,000 ventilator-days in the weekly change group (P=0.7240). The only statistically significant risk factor of VAP was duration of mechanical ventilation, The risk of VAP in patients with more than 7 days was 2.23 times higher than in patients with 7 days and below (OR; 2.2296). Estimated annual savings of nursing time by extending ventilator circuit change interval from 3 days to 7 days were 26,806 min 48 sec and estimated savings of cost by reduction of nursing times was calculated as 6,701,700 won. CONCLUSIONS: Weekly ventilator circuit changes in patients undergoing ventilation therapy in the ICU do not contribute to increased the rates of VAP and are cost-effective.
Cross Infection ; Humans ; Incidence ; Income ; Critical Care ; Intensive Care Units ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Nursing ; Odds Ratio ; Pneumonia ; Pneumonia, Ventilator-Associated* ; Prospective Studies* ; Respiration, Artificial ; Risk Factors ; Seoul ; Ventilation ; Ventilators, Mechanical

Cutaneous metastases rarely develop in patients with internal malignancy. Cholangiocarcinoma, a malignant cancer of the bile duct, is a relatively rare adenocarcinoma and has a poor prognosis. Few reports have mentioned cutaneous metastases of cholangiocarcinoma, and the most of them were due to direct tumor seeding by percutaneous procedures. Herein, we report a case of cholangiocarcinoma with distant cutaneous metastases in a 60-year-old man.
Bile Duct Neoplasms/*diagnosis/pathology ; *Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic ; Cholangiocarcinoma/*diagnosis/pathology/secondary ; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18/diagnostic use ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Skin Neoplasms/*diagnosis/pathology/secondary ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to assess the microbiological quality of unchlorinated drinking water in Korea, 2010. One hundred and eighty unchlorinated drinking water samples were collected from various sites in Seoul and Gyeonggi province. METHODS: To investigate bacterial presence, the pour plate method was used with cultures grown on selective media for total bacteria, total coliforms, and Staphylococcus spp., respectively. RESULTS: In the 180 total bacteria investigation, 72 samples from Seoul and 33 samples from Gyeonggi province were of an unacceptable quality (>10(2) CFU/mL). Of all the samples tested, total coliforms were detected in 28 samples (15.6%) and Staphylococcus spp. in 12 samples (6.7%). Most of the coliform isolates exhibited high-level resistance to cefazolin (88.2%), cefonicid (64.7%) and ceftazidime (20.6%). In addition, Staphylococcus spp. isolates exhibited high-level resistance to mupirocin (42%). Species of Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, Cupriavidus, Hafnia, Rahnella, Serratia, and Yersinia were isolated from the water samples. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that consumption of unchlorinated drinking water could represent a notable risk to the health of consumers. As such, there is need for continuous monitoring of these water sources and to establish standards.
Acinetobacter ; Bacteria ; Cefazolin ; Cefonicid ; Ceftazidime ; Cupriavidus ; Drinking ; Drinking Water ; Hafnia ; Korea ; Mupirocin ; Pseudomonas ; Rahnella ; Serratia ; Staphylococcus ; Water ; Yersinia

BACKGROUND: Vaporizers convert liquid anesthetics into measured amount of vapor that are added to the fresh gas mixture to produce known concentrations of anesthetics. As with anesthesia machines, mordern precision vaporizers require regular checks with respect to technical safety by experts. Some private hospitals in Korea do not have had a anesthesiologist belong exclusively to hospital. Therefore it is difficult to perform a regular checks of anesthesia machine especially vaporizers. We had a question about the accuracy of vaporizer output which used in the private hospitals. METHODS: We investigated outputs of 47 vaporizers which used in 23 private hospitals and 5 general hospitals around Kangdong Gu and Kangnam Gu in Seoul, Korea. Anesthetic agent monitor(Biochem anesthetic agent monitor 8100, Waukesha, Wisc, USA) was used and its analysis value was 0.1 vo1%. 50 vo1% O2 and 50 vol% N2O were used as a carrier gas. The flow rates of the carrier gas were 4 1/min. Dial settings were 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3 vo1%. RESULTS: The result was that vaporizers which had the inaccuracy ranges of concentration less than +/-0.5 vo1% was 76.6% of 47 vaporizers, +/-1 vo1% was 93.6%. And above +/-1 vol% was 6.4% of all. CONCLUSIONS: This research concludes that great care needed when the anesthesiologist strange to the vaporizers in the private hospitals operates the vaporizers.
Anesthesia ; Anesthetics ; Hospitals, General ; Hospitals, Private* ; Korea ; Nebulizers and Vaporizers* ; Seoul