PURPOSE: This study was done to identify family burden, resilience, spiritual well-being and quality of life of primary caregivers of people with mental illness. METHODS: Participants were 160 primary caregivers of people with mental illness being treated at one of three mental health clinics in Busan. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Scheffe test, Pearson's correlation coefficients and stepwise multiple regression. RESULTS: Quality of life was positively correlated with resilience (r=.55, p=.006), spiritual well-being (r=.41, p<.001), and negatively correlated with family burden (r=-.28, p<.001). Factors influencing quality of life were resilience (β=.36), family monthly income (β=.24), support from others (β=.20) and education (β=.18). The explanatory power of these factors for quality of life of primary caregivers of people with mental illness was 45%. CONCLUSION: Findings indicate that resilience is the most important factor affecting quality of life of primary caregivers of people with mental illness. Therefore, the development of nursing interventions to improve resilience and enhance the quality of life of primary caregivers is necessary.
Busan ; Caregivers* ; Education ; Humans ; Mental Health ; Nursing ; Quality of Life*

PURPOSE: This study aimed to understand the experiences of married North Korean women's child-rearing, working lives, and their home and work environment in depth.METHODS: This study adopted van Manen's hermeneutic phenomenological method to qualitatively analyze data. The participants were 8 married North Korean women defectors. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and observations from July 4 to August 20, 2018.RESULTS: Nine essential themes emerged: more personal challenges after overcoming a life-threatening crisis; hopes of firmly settling in this land; the wound from the north, which chased them here; a body that becomes stronger through hardship; being stuck in a past full of anxiety and pain; the present is full of hope; hope for the future; sense of alienation from coworkers that cannot be overcome; and sense of power to endure an exhausting work life.CONCLUSION: This study provided a broader understanding of the life and experiences of married women from North Korea. It highlights the need for nurses to recognize their importance in nursing care. The study also suggests that academic and practical approaches for nursing, and basic data for a nursing intervention for married women from North Korea be provided. The study findings can be used as a basis for preparing a national policy that will help North Korean defectors to find employment and gain stability.
Anxiety ; Child ; Democratic People's Republic of Korea ; Emigrants and Immigrants ; Employment ; Female ; Hermeneutics ; Hope ; Humans ; Methods ; Nursing ; Nursing Care ; Qualitative Research ; Wounds and Injuries

PURPOSE: This study aimed to understand the experiences of married North Korean women's child-rearing, working lives, and their home and work environment in depth. METHODS: This study adopted van Manen's hermeneutic phenomenological method to qualitatively analyze data. The participants were 8 married North Korean women defectors. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and observations from July 4 to August 20, 2018. RESULTS: Nine essential themes emerged: more personal challenges after overcoming a life-threatening crisis; hopes of firmly settling in this land; the wound from the north, which chased them here; a body that becomes stronger through hardship; being stuck in a past full of anxiety and pain; the present is full of hope; hope for the future; sense of alienation from coworkers that cannot be overcome; and sense of power to endure an exhausting work life. CONCLUSION This study provided a broader understanding of the life and experiences of married women from North Korea. It highlights the need for nurses to recognize their importance in nursing care. The study also suggests that academic and practical approaches for nursing, and basic data for a nursing intervention for married women from North Korea be provided. The study findings can be used as a basis for preparing a national policy that will help North Korean defectors to find employment and gain stability.

PURPOSE: The aims of this study were to compare serum procalcitonin (PCT) levels between febrile children with Kawasaki disease (KD) and those with bacterial or viral infections, and assess the clinical usefulness of PCT level in predicting KD. METHODS: Serum PCT levels were examined in febrile pediatric patients admitted between August 2013 and August 2014. The patients were divided into 3 groups as follows: 49 with KD, 111 with viral infections, and 24 with bacterial infections. RESULTS: The mean PCT level in the KD group was significantly lower than that in the bacterial infection group (0.82±1.73 ng/mL vs. 3.11±6.10 ng/mL, P=0.002) and insignificantly different from that in the viral infection group (0.23±0.34 ng/mL,P=0.457). The mean erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) level in the KD group were significantly higher than those in the viral and bacterial infection groups (P<0.001 and P<0.001 for ESR, P<0.001 and P=0.005 for CRP, respectively). The proportion of patients in the KD group with PCT levels of >1.0 ng/mL was significantly higher in the nonresponders to the initial intravenous immunoglobulin treatment than in the responders (36% vs. 8%, P=0.01). CONCLUSION: PCT levels may help to differentiate KD from bacterial infections. A combination of disease markers, including ESR, CRP, and PCT, may be useful for differentiating between KD and viral/bacterial infections.
Bacteria ; Bacterial Infections ; Blood Sedimentation ; C-Reactive Protein ; Calcitonin ; Child* ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins ; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome*

PURPOSE: We evaluated the clinical characteristics of lower respiratory infections of preterm children with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and compared them between those with and without lower respiratory infections that of preterm patients without BPD. METHODS: This study enrolled preterm patients under 2 years old, who admitted with acute lower respiratory infection from March 2014 to May 2016. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to BPD, and we retrospectively reviewed their medical records. RESULTS: A total of 71 patients (106 cases) were enrolled; the BPD group consisited of 29 patients (54 cases) and the control group 42 patients (52 cases). Compared to the patients in the control group, those in the BPD group were older (P=0.001), had lower gestational age and birth weight (P<0.001), and showed more frequent readmission in hospital (P=0.017). The most common causative virus was human rhinovirus (hRV) in the BPD group, whereas respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in the control group. The patients in the BPD group showed a higher incidence of tachypnea, decreased aeration, and chest retraction (P<0.001, P=0.009, and P=0.026, respectively), a higher respiratory symptom score (P=0.011), a longer duration of cough and wheezy sounds (P=0.004 and P=0.009, respectively), and higher incidence and longer duration of treatment with oxygen, and mechanical ventilator support (P=0.016 and P=0.017, respectively) than those in the control group. In the BPD group, the patients with RSV showed a higher incidence of tachypnea and rales (P=0.033 and P=0.033, respectively) than those with hRV. CONCLUSION: The preterm children with BPD may have more severe clinical manifestations than those without.
Birth Weight ; Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia* ; Child* ; Cough ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant, Newborn ; Medical Records ; Oxygen ; Respiratory Sounds ; Respiratory Syncytial Viruses ; Respiratory Tract Infections* ; Retrospective Studies ; Rhinovirus ; Tachypnea ; Thorax ; Ventilators, Mechanical

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to identify the influence of trauma experiences and social adjustment on health-related quality of life in North Korean defectors. METHODS: The subjects were 117 North Korean defectors living in B and Y city. The data were collected from September 1 to September 20, 2014, and analyzed by the SPSS/WIN 18.0 program. RESULTS: Significant differences were found in the health-related quality of life with respect to the subjects' education, marriage status, types of dwelling, family types, duration of residence in South Korea, jobs in South Korea and in North Korea, families left in North Korea or other surrounding countries, and subjective health status. Health-related quality of life is negatively related to trauma experiences during escape from North Korea and during their life in South Korea. Health-related quality of life positively is related to social adjustment. The meaningful variables which influenced the subjects'health-related quality include social adjustment, job in South Korea, job in North Korea, current family structure, and trauma experiences in South Korea. Total explanatory power of these factors for health-related quality in North Korean Defectors is 43.0% and social adjustment is the most influential factor. CONCLUSION: Therefore, in order to enhance health-related quality of life in North Korean defectors, it is necessary for them to increase social adjustment and decrease trauma experiences. In addition, methods are needed to provide job opportunities, better education and family services for North Korean defectors.
Democratic People's Republic of Korea ; Diagnostic Self Evaluation ; Education ; Humans ; Korea ; Marriage ; Psychological Trauma ; Quality of Life ; Social Adjustment ; United Nations

Recurrent pericarditis is rare in children and is considered idiopathic in most cases. Its course is chronic, and preventing recurrences is important for the patient's quality of life. Although a treatment strategy in pediatric recurrent pericarditis has not yet been established, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the most common treatment for management of this condition, followed by corticosteroids, colchicine, immunosuppressive agents, immunoglobulins, and interleukin-1β receptor antagonists (e.g. anakinra). Herein, we report a case of recurrent pericarditis with pericardial effusion in a 5-year-old child who presented with fever and epigastric pain. He responded poorly to NSAIDs and corticosteroid therapy, but was successfully treated with colchicine.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Colchicine ; Fever ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; Pericardial Effusion ; Pericarditis ; Quality of Life ; Recurrence

Recurrent pericarditis is rare in children and is considered idiopathic in most cases. Its course is chronic, and preventing recurrences is important for the patient's quality of life. Although a treatment strategy in pediatric recurrent pericarditis has not yet been established, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the most common treatment for management of this condition, followed by corticosteroids, colchicine, immunosuppressive agents, immunoglobulins, and interleukin-1β receptor antagonists (e.g. anakinra). Herein, we report a case of recurrent pericarditis with pericardial effusion in a 5-year-old child who presented with fever and epigastric pain. He responded poorly to NSAIDs and corticosteroid therapy, but was successfully treated with colchicine.

Necrotizing fasciitis (NF) is a severe soft tissue infection, characterized by rapid and fulminant progression. Thus, early suspicion, and prompt medical and aggressive surgical management are important for the clinical outcomes of NF. Despite the rarity of NF in infants and group B streptococcus as its cause, a 2-month-old preterm girl presented with NF involving the suprapubic, inguinal, and lower lateral abdominal regions caused by group B streptococcus. The girl recovered after early medical and surgical management.