The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of follow-up care for stroke survivors on primary caregivers' quality of life. Quasi-experimental research was conducted in which an experimental group and a control group-each of 15 stroke survivors and their primary caregivers-were consecutively sampled. Data collected from July to September, 1999 by interview using a structured questionnaire with both the experimental and the control groups. After a month, the two groups were given the same questionnaire. The experimental group was also given a telephone follow-up every week for a month, as well as a home visit. The survey instruments used in this study were Saha and Cooper's Modified Barthel index (11 items) for checking the stroke survivors' level of activities of daily living, and a modified form of Jeong's Quality of life (18 items) for primary caregivers' QOL level. The obtained data were analyzed by percentage, t-test. chi-test. Kruscal-Wallis test, Spearman correlation coefficient by SAS/PC program. The results were as follows: 1. There was no significant difference in the stroke survivors' ADL level. though the level of the experimental group was higher than that of the control group. 2. There was a statistical difference in the before and after treatment of the primary caregivers' QOL level. In conclusion. the follow-up a care program had useful effect on the quality of life of primary caregivers.
Activities of Daily Living ; Caregivers ; Follow-Up Studies* ; House Calls ; Humans ; Quality of Life* ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Stroke* ; Survivors* ; Telephone

Despite continually improving results of total hip arthroplasty, infection remains the major debilitating complication. The treatments of infected total hip arthroplasty were variable. but initially we removed infected implants and inserted antibiotic containing cemented spacer so called PRSTALAC to prevent scar contracture and disuse osteoporosis. After 6 weeks later, control of infection was clinically and radiologically determined, we inserted new prosthesis with cement. Three weeks postoperatively, patient began touch down standing exercise. We observed infected total hip patient in whom hip had been salvaged successfuily with twostage implantation using so called "" PROSTALAC "" which was made with Moore stem.
Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip* ; Cicatrix ; Contracture ; Hip ; Humans ; Osteoporosis ; Prostheses and Implants ; Replantation*

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to determine the factors affecting the prevention of needle stick injury. METHODS: Data collection was conducted during the period July 15-31, 2013 by a self-administered questionnaire involving 220 nurses working in 7 hospitals. The data was analyzed by SPSS v18 and AMOS v18. RESULTS: Actions by nurses to prevent needle stick injury were directly and indirectly influenced by perceived benefits, attitude toward the behavior, perceived behavioral control, and intention underlying the behavior. Specially, perceived behavioral control is verified to have not only direct influence but also indirect influence on the performance of preventive action through the intention underlying the behavior. Also, perceived benefits indirectly influence the intention toward the behavior and performance of preventive action through attitude toward the behavior and perceived behavioral control. The predictor variables in this model are 52% explicable in terms of intention of prevention action against needle stick injury, and 66% explicable in terms of performance of preventive action. CONCLUSION: To ensure high performance of preventive action against needle stick injury, constructing not only the solution that inspires the intention toward behavior but also a system that can positively solve and improve obstructive factors in behavioral performance is of primary importance.
Data Collection ; Intention ; Needles* ; Surveys and Questionnaires

We report a case of squamous metaplasia of the pleura observed in a 51 year old man. Squamous metaplasia of serosal surface, and in particular of the pleura, is uncommon. The pathogenesis of squamous metaplasia is obscure, but it may be associated with chronic irritation.

No abstract available.
Facial Nerve* ; Fetus*

OBJECTIVES: Chronic pain is one of the most common experiences of humans and a typical psychophysiological disorder. The aim of this study was to measure the psychophysiological responses in chronic pain patients using a biofeedback system, and to compare them with the results from normal healthy subjects. METHODS: Forty two patients with chronic pain (17 males and 25 females, average age 44.67+/-11.10 years) and 42 normal healthy controls (17 males and 25 females, average age 45.17+/-10.46 years) participated in this study. Electromyography (EMG), skin conductance (SC), and skin temperature (ST) were recorded using biofeedback system during the 3 phases (baseline, stress, and recovery) of stress reactivity test, and average values of them were calculated. Difference of values between two groups in each corresponding phase was analyzed with independent t-test, and change of values across phases of stress reactivity test was analyzed with paired t-test (all two-tailed, p<0.05). RESULTS: Compared to normal controls, chronic pain patients had higher value of EMG (baseline : 8.10+/-5.97 micronV vs 4.72+/-1.52 micronV, t=-3.56, p<0.01 ; stress : 11.25+/-6.89 micronV vs 8.49+/-4.78 micronV, t=-2.13, p<0.05 ; recovery : 7.12+/-3.77 micronV vs 4.78+/-1.59 micronV, t= -3.70, p<0.01) and SC (baseline : 1.06+/-1.0 micronS vs 0.42+/-0.29 micronS, t=-4.0. p<0.01 ; stress : 1.87+/-2.05 micronS vs 1.03+/-0.86 micronS, t=-2.47, p<0.05 ; recovery : 1.74+/-1.77 micronS vs 0.64+/-0.59 micronS, t=-3.8, p<0.01) in all the 3 phases. But, skin temperature comparison did not reveal significant differences in all the 3 phases between two groups. CONCLUSION: Psychophysiological responses of chronic pain patients in stress reactivity test were different from those of normal healthy controls. These results suggest that sympathetic nervous system is more activated in chronic pain patients.
Biofeedback, Psychology ; Chronic Pain ; Electromyography ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Psychophysiologic Disorders ; Psychophysiology ; Skin ; Skin Temperature ; Sympathetic Nervous System

Capsaicin, the pungent principle of hot peppers, is a neurotoxin that depletes unmyelinated primary sensory neurons (polymodal nociceptors) of neuropeptides like tachykinins. However, the role of capsaicin-sensitive sensory nerve in the production of cytokines, penicillin V (PEV)-induced active fatal anaphylaxis and other immune responses is not yet fully established. Neonatal mice were pretreated s.c. with a single injection of 10 ug of capsaicin per mouse in volume of 20 ul within 5 days of age. Using 5-8 week old mice pretreated as neonates with capsaicin, the capsaicin- pretreated and vehicle-treated control mice were examined for various parameters of immune responses described above. For the induction of active fatal anaphylaxis with PEV, 8 week old mice pretreated as neonates and age-matched capsaicin- untreated control mice were sensitized i.p. with 500 ug of PEV-ovalbumin conjugate plus 2*10(9) B. pertussis and 1.0 mg alum and challenged i.v. with PEV-bovine serum albumin conjugate 14 days later. It was found that neonatal capsaicin-pretreatment significantly enhanced contact hypersensitivity to TNCB and hemagglutination response to SRBC, but significantly inhibited the proliferation response of rnurine splenocyte to Con A and LPS. Interestingly, neonatal capsaicin pretreatment significantly inhibited the intensity of PEV-induced active fatal anaphylaxis and decreased the mortality due to anaphylactic shock. It also significantly inhibited LPS- induced production of cytokines such as TNF-a, IL-1B, IL-6, IL-10, and IL-12. The capsaicin-pretreatment also resulted in an inhibition of the activation of NF-kB. Taken together, these data showed for the first time that neonatal capsaicin-pretreatment significantly inhibited an antibiotic (PEV)-induced anaphylaxis and production of various cytokines, and suggest that capsaicin-sensitive primary sensory nerve may play an important regulatory role in active fatal anaphylaxis and cytokine production, thus potentially presenting tools for immune intervention. In particular, the data presented also indicated the possibility to selectively down-modulate cytokine production and NF-kB activation may offer a broad application for therapeutic intervention in neuroimmunological diseases and other pathological situations.
Anaphylaxis ; Animals ; Capsaicin* ; Cytokines ; Denervation* ; Dermatitis, Contact ; Hemagglutination ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Interleukin-10 ; Interleukin-12 ; Interleukin-6 ; Mice ; Mortality ; Neuropeptides ; NF-kappa B ; Penicillin V ; Sensory Receptor Cells ; Serum Albumin ; Tachykinins ; Whooping Cough

PURPOSE: To compare the outer retinal thickness in normal fellow eyes of patients with unilateral age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and normal control eyes. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 60 patients with unilateral exudative AMD including polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy and 60 normal controls. Spectralis optical coherence tomography was performed in the normal fellow eyes of patients with unilateral AMD and in the normal group. The thicknesses between the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) line and the cone outer segment tips (COST) line, between the COST line and the photoreceptor inner segment/outer segment (IS/OS) line, and between the IS/OS line and the external limiting membrane (ELM) line were measured at the fovea in both groups. RESULTS: The thickness between the RPE and COST lines was 32.4 ± 3.0 µm in normal fellow eyes of patients with unilateral AMD and 35.3 ± 3.5 µm in the normal group (p < 0.001). Total retinal thickness, thicknesses between the COST and the IS/OS lines and the IS/OS and the ELM lines in fellow eyes were not significantly different from those of normal eyes (p = 0.126, 0.615, 0.874). There was no significant difference in total retinal thickness or each outer retinal thickness measured in normal fellow eyes between patients with neovascular AMD and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy. CONCLUSIONS: The thickness between the RPE and the COST lines was thinner in the fellow eyes of patients with unilateral AMD than in the normal eyes. We suggest that less thickness between the RPE and COST lines might indicate a greater risk of AMD.
Choroid ; Humans ; Macular Degeneration* ; Medical Records ; Membranes ; Retinal Pigment Epithelium ; Retinaldehyde* ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, Optical Coherence

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the relationships between variables and factors affecting the intention on retention of nurses in small and medium-sized hospitals. Methods: The participants of this study were 203 nurses working in six small and medium-sized hospitals, and data was collected from August 15 to August 30, 2019 using a structured questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed by t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and multiple regression using IBM SPSS/WIN 24.0. Results: As a result of the study, intention on retention was positively correlated with resilience (r=.40, p<.05) and followership (r=.38, p<.05). Affecting factors of the intention on retention were marital state (married) (β=.21, p=.001), resilience (β=.22, p=.016), and active engagement as a subcartegory of followership (β=.19, p=.034), and the variables explained 20.8% of the nurses’ intention on retention. Conclusion In order to increase the intention on retention of small and medium-sized hospitals nurses, it is necessary to provide an environment in which small and medium-sized hospital nurses are able to have active engagement and independent thinking and to develop a program to promote their resilience.

No abstract available.
Humans