BACKGROUND: White coat effect (WCE) and white coat hypertension (WCH) are relatively prevalent in clinical situation (20 - 57% of WCH in the hypertensive population). The aim of this study was to analyze the determinant factors of WCE. METHODS: A prospective study was carried out in outpatient clinic in a consecutive hypertensives without receiving pharmacologic treatment. Twenty-four hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) was performed following more than two resting blood pressure (BP) determinations carried out with the interval of 1 - 2 weeks by mercury sphygmomanometer. WCE was calculated for systolic and diastolic BP as the difference between a clinic BP (CBP) and an average daytime ambulatory BP (ABP). WCH was defined as;BP in the clinic > or = 140/90 mmHg with a mean daytime BP by ABPM < or =137/< or =89 mmHg. RESULTS: 1) Two hundred thirty-five patients (mean age 49.7 years, females 74%) were studied. Thirty-seven percent in male and forty-six percent in female patients fulfilled WCH criteria. 2) CBP was significantly correlated to daytime ABP (systolic BP;r=.47, p<.001 and diastolic BP;r=.65, p<.001). 3) The magnitude of WCE was greater in the group of WCH (28.9+14.6/19.3+6.9 mmHg) than ambulatory hypertensives (15.1+15.7/13.0+8.2 mmHg) (p<.001). 4) The magnitude of WCE is significantly correlated with female (r2=.12, p<.001) and the stage of CBP according to JNC-V (r2=.23, p<.001) in systolic BP, the stage (r2=.08, p<.001) in diastolic BP, and the stage (r2=.09, p<.001) and weight (r2=.15, p<.01) in mean BP. CONCLUSIONS: The magnitude of WCE in essential hypertension diagnosed at the clinic is significantly correlated with female, the magnitude of clinic BP, and weight.
Ambulatory Care Facilities ; Blood Pressure ; Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension* ; Male ; Prospective Studies ; Sphygmomanometers ; White Coat Hypertension

No abstract available.
Dentures*

No abstract available.
Animals ; Epidermal Growth Factor* ; Gene Expression* ; Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone* ; Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide* ; Rats*

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to investigate the relationship between the levels of IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in the peritoneal fluid(PF) of women with and without endometriosis and infertile women. Design: Prospective and case-control study. Setting: University hospital. Patients: Twenty-nine women with laparotomy or laparoscopic findings of minimal to severe endometriosis, and twenty-eight women with no visual evidence of pelvic endometriosis and with benign gynecologic disease. Main Outcome Measures: PF IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels were determined using commercial ELISA. IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha concentrations were compared among women with and without endometriosis, and with infertile and fertile women, and then also compared according the revised American Fertility Society classification. RESULTS: IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha concentrations were higher than in the PF of women with endometriosis than in matched normal controls. Cyclic variations in IL-6 concentrations were seen in PF from patients with endometriosis: the concentrations in the secretory phase were significantly higher than those in the proliferative phase. IL-6 concentrations were higher than in the PF among of infertile women than in fertile women. A significant correlation between PF IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha concentrations and endometriosis stage III and IV was noted. CONCLUSIONS: Increased PF levels of IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in patients with endometriosis may be relate to endometriosis-associated infertility and to the pathogenesis of endometriosis suggesting that partially contribute to the disturbed immune regulation observed in patients with endometriosis.
Ascitic Fluid* ; Case-Control Studies ; Classification ; Endometriosis* ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Fertility ; Genital Diseases, Female ; Humans ; Immunity, Cellular* ; Infertility ; Interleukin-6 ; Laparotomy ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; Prospective Studies ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

Ethical problems in an emergency department (ED) are much more common than is usually recognized. But these difficult ethical dilemmas have not been dealt with by general medical ethicists. Most medical ethics guidelines tend to concentrate on chronic or at least relatively stable situations rather than on the acute, episodic cases that are typical in the ED. most ethical problems such as abortion, euthanasia, and professionalism can be solved after reflection and deliberation, and after a process of communication that reveals the values and interests of the patient or the patient's family. In contrast, when health care professionals in the ED recognize ethical problems, they often don't have enough time for an ethical consultation such as a Hospital Ethics Committee. Ethical principles such as autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice need to be applied to the unique setting of emergency medicine. Hence, it is necessary to develop ethics guidelines in emergency medicine and ethics education for health care professionals in emergency departments. At first, we collected cases involving ethical problems and reviewed the ethical and legal aspects of those cases. In this article, we summarize the ethical issues in emergency medicine, deal with actions in emergency medical services, and also consider the relationships between ethical issues and act on emergency medical services. We want to present the important factors that should be considered in ethical decision making within an emergency medicine department including patient decision making capacity, legal custody, and ethical principles.
Beneficence ; Decision Making ; Delivery of Health Care ; Emergencies ; Emergency Medical Services ; Emergency Medicine ; Ethicists ; Ethics Committees, Clinical ; Ethics, Medical ; Euthanasia ; Humans ; Jurisprudence ; Social Justice

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a nutrition education and personalized lunch service program in a senior welfare center. A total of 30 elderly (14 males, 16 females) aged 62~89 years participated in this study. Nutrition education lessons (2 hour/lesson/week) were provided for 4 weeks. Also, ten weeks from week 3rd to week 12th, personalized lunch providing 1/3 personal needed energy was served 5 times for a week. After the nutrition intervention program, we compared anthropometric characteristics, blood biochemical characteristics, nutrition knowledge, dietary attitude and dietary intake using 24 hr recall with those before the intervention. The body weight (p < 0.001) and body mass index (BMI) (p < 0.001) were decreased. There were significant increases in score of nutrition knowledge (p < 0.01) and consumption of milk & milk products for snacks. There was a positive effect on fasting blood sugar (FBS) showing significant decreases in portion of impaired fasting glucose and diabetes mellitus (p < 0.05). Also, serum triglyceride (TG) was significantly decreased (p < 0.05). In evaluation of nutrient intake by Dietary Reference Intakes for Koreans (KDRIs), riboflavin (p < 0.01), vitamin C (p < 0.001), calcium (p < 0.05) were positively improved. The index of nutritional quality (INQ) and intakes of vitamin C (p < 0.001), riboflavin (p < 0.05), Ca (p < 0.01) and Fe (p < 0.05) were increased. In conclusion, this nutrition education and lunch service program providing 1/3 personal needed energy can be used to develop and implement a tailored nutritional intervention programs in the setting of a community senior welfare center to improve health and nutritional status of Korean elderly.
Aged ; Ascorbic Acid ; Blood Glucose ; Body Mass Index ; Body Weight ; Calcium ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Fasting ; Glucose ; Humans ; Lunch ; Male ; Milk ; Nutritional Status ; Nutritive Value ; Riboflavin ; Snacks

No abstract available.
Oocytes* ; Pregnancy* ; Spermatozoa*

PURPOSE: In this study we analyzed and compared the orbital anatomy in Korean and Caucasian subjects using computed tomography (CT) measurements. METHODS: Two observers performed a cross-sectional, retrospective analysis of 44 CT scans of subjects (22 Koreans, 22 Caucasians) with no appreciable orbital or globe disease. Ten length measurements and 3 angle measurements of various orbital aspects were obtained. Analysis was performed to determine if changes in these parameters were associated with race. RESULTS: Anterior medial interorbital length was 24.05 +/- 2.00 mm in Korean and 21.96 +/- 1.96 mm in Caucasian subjects. Anterior vertical orbital length was 34.19 +/- 1.67 mm in Korean and 35.03 +/- 1.18 mm in Caucasian subjects. The anterior medial interorbital length and anterior vertical orbital length (p < 0.05) were significantly different. Interorbital angle was 47.69degrees +/- 1.49degrees in Korean and 46.15degrees +/- 2.19degrees in Caucasian subjects; the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with Caucasians, the orbit of Korean subjects has a narrower orbital opening and longer interorbital distance. The present study regarding the anatomy of Korean and Caucasian orbits will assist physicians with the evaluation and treatment of orbital diseases.
Continental Population Groups ; Humans ; Orbit* ; Orbital Diseases ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

BACGROUND: The accuracy and efficiency of a job performed by hospital employee can be linked directly with patients' health and life. It is considered that their irregular work and stress are relatively high as compared with other workplaces. In this article we tried to look into how job stress, working environment and factors of life-style influence sleep problems in hospital employees. METHODS: This research was conducted among 248 workers of a hospital in Busan on April, 2002. Sleep problems were categorized into insomnia, sleep deprivation, daytime sleepiness and snoring on the basis of the factor analysis of 11-item questions. The job stress was proposed by Karasek, etc., and measured by 14-item modified questions. The statistical analysis was conducted using Chi-square test and multiple logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Statistically insomnia, sleep deprivation and daytime sleepiness showed a significant increase in women (OR:2.1/2.69/3.16) and shift workers (OR:4.67/3.28/1.98) and snoring showed a significant increase in obesity (OR:5.0) and smokers (OR:2.34). CONCLUSION: This research showed that many hospital employees perceive sleep disorders as critical. Especially, work shift seemed to be an important risk factor for sleep disorders.
Busan ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Obesity ; Prevalence* ; Risk Factors ; Sleep Deprivation ; Sleep Wake Disorders ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders ; Snoring

PURPOSE: We report on a modified four-corner bladder neck suspension using a manufactured Tension-free Vaginal Tape (TVT) carrier for moderate-degree cystocele, with a simultaneous TVT procedure, for stress urinary incontinence (SUI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The operation was performed in 21 SUI patients with moderate cystocele. Seven patients were operated on under local anesthesia, and the others under general anesthesia. Two incisions were made over the suprapubic area, and a midline incision over the anterior vaginal wall for the TVT procedure. For cystocele repair, bilateral parallel incisions were made over both the lateral vaginal walls. Through the lateral incisions, a dissection was carried out to expose the vesicopelvic fascia. Then a Gore-Tex suture was placed on each side. Each suture incorporated the entire vaginal wall, excluding the epithelium, cardinal ligament and pubocervical fascia. We made two pinholes at the end of the TVT carrier for the suture materials to be threaded through. Using the TVT carrier, each thread was transferred to the ipsilateral suprapubic incisions through the retropubic space. Each side of the ligature was tied together under the subcutaneous space, and the TVT procedure completed. RESULTS: Mean operation time and hospitalization days were 75+/-24 minutes and 3.3+/-2.19 days, respectively. The cystocele was fully corrected in 19 patients (90.5%), and diminished to grade I in 2. There were no significant operative or postoperative complications, including bladder perforations or retropubic hematomas, etc. CONCLUSIONS: It is suggested that the repair of cystocele and incontinence, using a TVT device, is an effective treatment for moderated cystocele, with a simple technique, low morbidity and high cure rate.
Anesthesia, General ; Anesthesia, Local ; Cystocele* ; Epithelium ; Fascia ; Hematoma ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Ligaments ; Ligation ; Neck ; Polytetrafluoroethylene ; Postoperative Complications ; Suburethral Slings* ; Sutures ; Urinary Bladder ; Urinary Incontinence