No abstract available.
Estrogens* ; Progesterone* ; Receptors, Progesterone*

Purpose: This study aimed to examine changes in nurse staffing grades and nursing fee revenues in intensive care units (ICUs) following the third amendment of the resource-based relative value scale, which was implemented in January 2024. Methods: Changes in staffing grades from the fourth quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024 were analyzed among 588 general ICUs, 94 neonatal ICUs, and 13 pediatric ICUs. Annual nursing fee revenues per nurse were estimated based on the new nursing fee structure for each grade. Results: In general ICUs, the highest grade (grade S) and the second-highest grade (grade A) accounted for 7.3% and 41.5%, respectively, in tertiary hospitals, whereas 3.8% were grade S and 11.5% were grade A in general hospitals. In neonatal ICUs, the proportion of higher grades (S, A, and 1) was greater in general hospitals (54.3%) than in tertiary hospitals (38.6%). In pediatric ICUs, 30.8% were grade S and 61.5% were grade A. When applying the same grading criteria (i.e., beds per nurse) across both quarters, staffing levels remained unchanged in most ICUs. Nursing fees and their revenues did not increase proportionally to staffing requirements (i.e., the number of nurses required per patient). Conclusion Revisions to staffing grade and nursing fee systems are necessary to induce medical institutions to improve their ICU staffing levels.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine changes in nurse staffing grades and nursing fee revenues in intensive care units (ICUs) following the third amendment of the resource-based relative value scale, which was implemented in January 2024. Methods: Changes in staffing grades from the fourth quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024 were analyzed among 588 general ICUs, 94 neonatal ICUs, and 13 pediatric ICUs. Annual nursing fee revenues per nurse were estimated based on the new nursing fee structure for each grade. Results: In general ICUs, the highest grade (grade S) and the second-highest grade (grade A) accounted for 7.3% and 41.5%, respectively, in tertiary hospitals, whereas 3.8% were grade S and 11.5% were grade A in general hospitals. In neonatal ICUs, the proportion of higher grades (S, A, and 1) was greater in general hospitals (54.3%) than in tertiary hospitals (38.6%). In pediatric ICUs, 30.8% were grade S and 61.5% were grade A. When applying the same grading criteria (i.e., beds per nurse) across both quarters, staffing levels remained unchanged in most ICUs. Nursing fees and their revenues did not increase proportionally to staffing requirements (i.e., the number of nurses required per patient). Conclusion Revisions to staffing grade and nursing fee systems are necessary to induce medical institutions to improve their ICU staffing levels.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine changes in nurse staffing grades and nursing fee revenues in intensive care units (ICUs) following the third amendment of the resource-based relative value scale, which was implemented in January 2024. Methods: Changes in staffing grades from the fourth quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024 were analyzed among 588 general ICUs, 94 neonatal ICUs, and 13 pediatric ICUs. Annual nursing fee revenues per nurse were estimated based on the new nursing fee structure for each grade. Results: In general ICUs, the highest grade (grade S) and the second-highest grade (grade A) accounted for 7.3% and 41.5%, respectively, in tertiary hospitals, whereas 3.8% were grade S and 11.5% were grade A in general hospitals. In neonatal ICUs, the proportion of higher grades (S, A, and 1) was greater in general hospitals (54.3%) than in tertiary hospitals (38.6%). In pediatric ICUs, 30.8% were grade S and 61.5% were grade A. When applying the same grading criteria (i.e., beds per nurse) across both quarters, staffing levels remained unchanged in most ICUs. Nursing fees and their revenues did not increase proportionally to staffing requirements (i.e., the number of nurses required per patient). Conclusion Revisions to staffing grade and nursing fee systems are necessary to induce medical institutions to improve their ICU staffing levels.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine changes in nurse staffing grades and nursing fee revenues in intensive care units (ICUs) following the third amendment of the resource-based relative value scale, which was implemented in January 2024. Methods: Changes in staffing grades from the fourth quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024 were analyzed among 588 general ICUs, 94 neonatal ICUs, and 13 pediatric ICUs. Annual nursing fee revenues per nurse were estimated based on the new nursing fee structure for each grade. Results: In general ICUs, the highest grade (grade S) and the second-highest grade (grade A) accounted for 7.3% and 41.5%, respectively, in tertiary hospitals, whereas 3.8% were grade S and 11.5% were grade A in general hospitals. In neonatal ICUs, the proportion of higher grades (S, A, and 1) was greater in general hospitals (54.3%) than in tertiary hospitals (38.6%). In pediatric ICUs, 30.8% were grade S and 61.5% were grade A. When applying the same grading criteria (i.e., beds per nurse) across both quarters, staffing levels remained unchanged in most ICUs. Nursing fees and their revenues did not increase proportionally to staffing requirements (i.e., the number of nurses required per patient). Conclusion Revisions to staffing grade and nursing fee systems are necessary to induce medical institutions to improve their ICU staffing levels.

Vulvar hematomas are uncommon outside of the obstetric population and may be the result of trauma to the perineum. Vulvar hematomas most often present with low abdominal pain and urologic and neurologic symptoms. The vulva has rich vascularization that is supplied by the pudendal artery, a branch of the anterior division of the internal iliac artery. We describe a rare case of a 15-cm-sized vulvar hematoma with the suggested rupture of a pseudoaneurysm of the left pudendal artery without trauma injury. A 14-year-old girl presented with sudden pain and swelling in her left labium and was successfully treated with selective arterial embolization and surgical evacuation. We provide a literature review and discuss patient treatment and management strategies.
Abdominal Pain ; Adolescent ; Aneurysm, False* ; Arteries* ; Female ; Hematoma* ; Humans ; Iliac Artery ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Perineum ; Rupture* ; Vulva

No abstract available.
Cervix Uteri* ; Female

BACKGROUND: Liver transplantation (LT) is a complicated procedure with a high incidence of postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI). Previous studies indicate that even transient or mild post-LT AKI can result in critical conditions, including prolonged stays in hospitals and intensive care units and increased morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between body mass index (BMI) and occurrence of AKI in LT recipients. METHODS: Medical data from 203 patients who received LT surgery from January 2010 to August 2016 in a single university hospital setting were retrospectively collected and analyzed. Patients were classified as either underweight (BMI <20 kg/m²) or normal weight (20 ≤ BMI < 30 kg/m²). Demographic data, anesthetic methods, complications, and perioperative laboratory test values of each patient were assessed. Propensity analyses and logistic regression were performed to evaluate the association between BMI and post-LT AKI. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in occurrence of post-LT AKI between underweight and normal weight patients. The underweight patient group had significantly longer hospital stay compared with the normal weight patient group (P = 0.023). CONCLUSIONS: BMI classification was neither a positive nor negative predictor of postoperative AKI occurrence. However, patients with lower BMI had significantly longer hospital stay compared with their counterparts. Although our study was limited by its retrospective design, our observations suggest that lower BMI might play a role in post-LT AKI.
Acute Kidney Injury* ; Body Mass Index* ; Classification ; Humans ; Incidence ; Intensive Care Units ; Length of Stay ; Liver Transplantation* ; Liver* ; Logistic Models ; Mortality ; Retrospective Studies* ; Thinness

BACKGROUND: Community-acquired pneumonia is one of the main causes of hospitalization and death, especially in elderly patients. There have been many studies on prognosis for community-acquired pneumonia, but few in Korea. We sought to identify characteristics on admission predicting mortality in elderly patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia and to compare mortality rates by PORT score with PORT study's ones. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study of 267 patients aged 65 years and over admitted with community- acquired pneumonia from January 2000 to December 2002. We reviewed demographic, clinical, laboratory, microbiological and radiologic data and identified independent factors associated with the mortality using logistic regression analysis. We classified patients into risk classes by PORT score and calculated the mortality rate. RESULTS: Among of 267 patients, 48 (18.0%) died. We identified six independent predictors of mortality; male (OR, 2,496; 95% CI, 1,012~6,153), lung cancer (OR, 3,409; 95% CI, 1,302~8,920), general weakness (OR, 5.218; 95% CI, 2,140~12,718), unable to walk (OR, 9,232; 95% CI, 2,228~38,257), BUN > or =30 mg/dL (OR, 3,327; 95% CI, 1.072~10.327), albumin <3 g/dL (OR, 3,219; 95% CI, 1,351~7,670) and pleural effusion (OR, 3.135; 95% CI, 1,052~9,342). Mortality rates of risk class II-V by PORT score were 6.7%, 9.5%, 30.4% and 34.4%, respectively. CONCLUSION: There were factors that were associated with mortality in elderly patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia.
Aged* ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Lung Neoplasms ; Male ; Mortality* ; Pleural Effusion ; Pneumonia* ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies

Since 2015, the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) has performed annual qualitative assessments of asthma management provided by all medical institutions that care for asthma patients in Korea. According to the third report of qualitative assessment of asthma management in 2017, the assessment appears to have contributed to improving the quality of asthma care provided by medical institutions, especially primary clinics. However, there is still a gap between the ideal goals of asthma management and actual health care policies/regulations in real clinical settings, which leads to the state of standstill with respect to the quality of asthma management despite considerable efforts such as the qualitative assessment of asthma management by national agencies such as the HIRA. At this point, a harmonized approach is needed to raise the level of asthma management among several components including medical policies, efforts of academic associations such as education and distribution of the guideline for management, and reliable financial support by the government.
Asthma* ; Delivery of Health Care ; Education ; Financial Support ; Humans ; Insurance, Health* ; Korea* ; Physicians, Primary Care