No abstract available.
Humans* ; Keratinocytes* ; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases* ; Serine* ; Threonine*

BACKGROUND: To identify the prevalence and related factors for vitamin D deficiency in the patients who admitted to the medical intensive care unit (ICU) of a Korean tertiary care hospital. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the data from ICU patients requiring mechanical ventilation (MV) for a period of > 48 h to identify the prevalence and associated factors for vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] level < 20 ng/mL. RESULTS: Among 570 patients admitted to the ICU, 221 were enrolled in the study, 194 in the vitamin D deficient group and 27 in the non-deficient group. Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in critically ill patients was 87.8%. The patient age was lower in the vitamin D deficient group compared with the non-deficient group (64.4 ± 15.4 vs. 71.0 ± 9.6 years, p = 0.049). A higher acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II) score (odds ratio [OR] 1.23, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.10-1.37) and chronic illness (OR 3.12, 95% CI 1.08-9.01) were associated with vitamin D deficiency after adjusting for age and body mass index. Clinical outcomes of duration of MV, ICU stay, and 28- and 90-day mortality rates were not significantly different between the vitamin D deficient and nondeficient groups. CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D deficiency was common in critically ill patients, particularly among younger patients. Higher APACHE II score and chronic illness were associated with vitamin D deficiency.
APACHE ; Body Mass Index ; Calcitriol ; Chronic Disease ; Critical Care ; Critical Illness* ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Mortality ; Prevalence* ; Respiration, Artificial ; Retrospective Studies ; Tertiary Healthcare ; Vitamin D Deficiency* ; Vitamin D* ; Vitamins*

Empathy is an essential factor for establishing therapeutic relationship. Especially for pediatric nursing, the nurses need to know how to perceive children's feeling and thought and to express her understanding about them affectively. So, empathy is considered as an important concept in pediatric nursing. This study was attempted to measure the empathic ability of pediatric nurses by pediatric nurse and mothers of hospitalized children. The subject of this study consisted of 83 pediatric nurses and 106 mothers of hospitalized children in 4 hospitals in Seoul and 1 hospital in Kyung-Gi. Data were collected from Jan. 14 to Feb. 6, 1997, by the questionnaire method. The instrument for this study was the Empathic Construct Rating Scale : ECRS(60-item, 5 point scale). Data Were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test and ANOVA. Result of this study are summarized as follows : 1. Pediatric nurses perceived their empathic ability to be moderately high(Mn=3.71) The level of perceived empathic ability of the pediatric nurses showed no significance by general characteristics. 2. The mothers of hospitalized children perceived nurses' empathic ability to be moderate(Mn=3.27). The level of perceived nurses' empathic ability of the mothers of hospitalized children showed significant differences by the experience of hospitalization of the children and the age of the mothers. 3. The perceived nurses' empathic ability of the mothers was significantly low than of the pediatric nurses(t=6.50, P<.001). From the above results, it can be concluded. that the empathic ability of the pediatric nurses is not sufficient for caring children and mothers efficiently. So, the pediatric nurses' empathic ability is needed to improve through facilitative relationship training as refreshment in-service education program.
Child ; Child, Hospitalized ; Education ; Empathy* ; Gyeonggi-do ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Mothers ; Pediatric Nursing ; Seoul ; Child Health ; Surveys and Questionnaires

The dysfunction of either or both noradrenaline and serotonin system are important in the pathophysiology of depression. Previous reports have suggested that there may be an important interaction between these two systems. Recently, some investigators have suggested that the combination of tricyclic antidepressants(TCAs and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors(SSRIs would produce a rapid synergistic effect on down-regulation of either or both of these two systems and that this combination may produce a more rapid and absolute antidepressant effect. We compared the treatment efficacy, treatment associated side effects, treatment satisfaction, and the quality of life between the combination therapy of dothiepin-sertraline as well as the therapy of dothiepin alone in the treatment of major depressive disorder and dysthymic disorder. In our study, the combination therapy of dothiepin and sertraline produced a more rapid and absolute antidepressant effect than dothiepin alone. And the patients with combination therapy experienced relatively high treatment satisfaction than the patients with dothiepin therapy. The patients quality of life improved more rapidly in the combination therapy, especially, in the health perception, social behavior, and life satisfaction, that dothiepin alone. These results support the hypothesis that the combination of TCA an SSRI may produce a rapid synergistic effect on either or both norepinephrine and serotonin system, and more rapid antidepressant effect and high treatment satisfaction.
Depression ; Depressive Disorder* ; Depressive Disorder, Major ; Dothiepin* ; Down-Regulation ; Dysthymic Disorder ; Humans ; Norepinephrine ; Quality of Life ; Research Personnel ; Serotonin ; Sertraline ; Social Perception ; Treatment Outcome

No abstract available.
Anemia, Aplastic*

No abstract available.
Gastroschisis*

Three cases of intestinal lipoma near the ileocecal valve are described. In patients of cecal and ileocecal valve lipoma, they had right lower quadrant abdominal pain secondary to partial intestinal obstruction. In rarely developed segmental lipomatosis of the ileum, the patient had right abdominal mass and pain to fecal impaction of the diverticula. Diagnosis may be made by an abnormal roentgenographic pattern and confirmed by colonoscopy. Surgical removal of the affected segment results in cure in symptomatic patients.
Abdominal Pain ; Colonoscopy ; Diagnosis ; Diverticulum ; Fecal Impaction ; Humans ; Ileocecal Valve ; Ileum ; Intestinal Obstruction ; Lipoma* ; Lipomatosis

For the successful autologous chondrocyte transplantation, it is important to maximize the number of chondrocyte and maintain its original morphology and phenotypic change of the chondrocyte in the culture. In this study, the effect of ascorbic acid and human serum which are known to promote cell proliferation and collagen synthesis was observed in the culture of human chondrocyte. Media were prepared with the conditions of fetal bovine Serum(FBS) treated group, FBS +ascorbic acid(asc) treated group, human serum(HuS) treated group, and HuS+asc treated group, respectively. Proliferation was measured by cell counting using trypan-blue staining method. We used to determine the degree of expression of aggrecan of mRNA and type II collagen using RT-PCR. Type II collagen in cultured cell and medium was measured by western blot analysis and proteoglycan synthesis by DMB (Dimethylene Blue) assay. Under all conditions, aggrecan on mRNA level was well expressed. On the other hand, expression of type II collagen was reduced on HuS treated group than FBS treated group, and ascorbic acid treated groups showed decreased expression of type II collagen. Western blot analysis showed increased expression of type II collagen on HuS treated group than FBS treated group, and ascorbic acid treated groups showed increased level. HuS+asc treated group showed the most significant effect than the other groups. The increased effects of ascorbic acid on the proliferation and collagen synthesis were more prominent in the culture with human serum. It might be due to the synergic effect with some growth factors which were present in human serum.
Aggrecans ; Ascorbic Acid* ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Count ; Cell Proliferation ; Cells, Cultured ; Chondrocytes* ; Collagen ; Collagen Type II ; Hand ; Humans* ; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins ; Phenotype* ; Proteoglycans ; RNA, Messenger

We present a very rare case of a 29-month-old boy with acute onset right abducens nerve palsy complicated by inferior petrosal sinus septic thrombosis due to mastoiditis without petrous apicitis. Four months after mastoidectomy, the patient fully recovered from an esotropia of 30 prism diopters and an abduction limitation (-4) in his right eye.
Abducens Nerve Diseases/diagnosis/*etiology ; Child, Preschool ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Humans ; Male ; Mastoiditis/*complications/diagnosis/surgery ; Otitis Media/*complications/diagnosis ; Sinus Thrombosis, Intracranial/*complications/diagnosis

OBJECTIVES: The valid assessment of food and nutrients intakes using appropriate dietary intake method is necessary to improve the nutritional status of the hemodialysis (HD) patients. This study was conducted to compare the method between newly developed, semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (Semi-FFQ) and 7-day dietary records (7-DRs) for hemodialysis patients. METHODS: We conducted both methods on 53 maintenance HD patients in two university hospitals. We calibrated the frequency, portion size and daily intake of 47 food items reported in Semi-FFQ. The food and nutrients intake was compared and the correlation of the two methods was analyzed. Also each nutrient intake was compared to recommended dietary allowance for Korean (KDRIs) and recommended nutrient reference value for HD patients. RESULTS: Energy and energy-yielding nutrients intakes were significantly higher in the two methods (p<0.01). These support the possible reliability between Semi-FFQ and 7-DRs that is similar with regard to most mineral and vitamin intakes. Thus, the Semi-FFQ used in this study for the assessment of nutrient intakes of HD patients can be reliable for the assessment of the nutrient intake along with the 7-DRs. The correlation coefficients were higher for foods consumed daily, such as steamed rice, meat and chicken, bean, egg, milk, coffee and alcohol than for those of foods eaten rarely (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The Semi-FFQ used in this study can be a reliable tool for the assessment of the HD patients' nutrient intake along with the 7-DRs, despite its limitations.
Chickens ; Coffee ; Diet Records* ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Meat ; Methods* ; Milk ; Miners ; Nutritional Status ; Ovum ; Portion Size ; Recommended Dietary Allowances ; Reference Values ; Renal Dialysis* ; Steam ; Vitamins