OBJECTIVE: The aim of study was to analyze obstetric and neonatal causes of Korean neonatal deaths. METHODS: The study subjects are a cohort of infants who were born during 1996 and who died before their first birthday. The data were collected through three stages of the study: the collection of existing data, a national infant mortality survey at medical facilities, and data integrating and adjusting process. The sources of existing data were health insurance data and the resident registration data. The National infant mortality survey was conducted by both 'Ministry of Health and Welfare' and 'Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs'. 3930 medical and health facilities where obstetrics services are available were surveyed during November 1998. The survey results were computerized to match data sets, and any overlap among different data sets were filtered. Causes of deaths were grouped according to the KCD (Korean Standard Classification of Diseases). Causes of neonatal death were further analyzed using composite causes combining obstetric and neonatal conditions. RESULTS: Causes of 2,433 neonatal death were known out of 2,856 deaths. "Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period" comprised 77.1% of neonatal death, being the most common cause. The next common cause was 'congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities', constituting 15.7% of neonatal death. Among the 'certain conditions originating in the perinatal period', 'respiratory distress of newborn' constituted 17.1% of neonatal deaths and 'disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight', constituted 15.6% of neonatal deaths. Neonatal sepsis constituted 14.8% of neonatal death. Among congenital malformations 'congenital malformation of the heart' was most common, constituting 6.2% of neonatal death. 'Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period' was more important cause of preterm neonatal death. Of the related maternal condition, idiopathic preterm birth, multifetal pregnancy, premature rupture of the membranes and hypertensive diseases during pregnancy were common conditions. Congenital malformation was the most important cause of term neonatal death. CONCLUSION: Prematurity-related condition was more important cause of preterm neonatal death while congenital malformation was the most important cause of term neonatal death.
Cause of Death ; Classification ; Cohort Studies ; Dataset ; Gestational Age ; Health Facilities ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant Mortality ; Insurance, Health ; Membranes ; Obstetrics ; Parturition ; Pregnancy ; Premature Birth ; Rupture ; Sepsis

No abstract available.
Gestational Age* ; Humans ; Infant*

Glutathione S-Transferase (GST) is a conjugation enzyme in the metabolism of exogenous and endogenous lipophilic compounds for their excretion and detoxification. Acidic isozyme of GST, GST-Pi, has been recognized as a preneoplastic marker in the experimental hyperplastic nodules of liver in rats, and GST-Pi is abundant in the squamous cells of the skin, also. This histochemical study was carried out to evaluate the distribution and the relationship between the differentiation status of squamous cells in dysplastic or neoplastic epithelium in various organs. The human placental form of glutathione S-transferase (GST-Pi) were stained immunohistochemically with specific anti GST-Pi rabbit antibody in 23 cases of human squamous cell carcinomas. The patients consisted of 14 cases from the uterine cervix, 3 cases from the esopahgus, 3 cases from the lung and 3 cases from the larynx. The results obtained were as follows; 1. Basal cells in normal mucosa were stained negative for GST-Pi while superficial keratinocytes were stained moderately positive. Basal dysplastic cells were stained negatively or weakly positive. Carcinoma cells especially large cells either keratinizing or nonkeratinizing were stained moderately to strongly. Carcinoma cells surrounding keratin pearl were strongly reacted with GST-Pi than other carcinoma cells. 2. Differentiated cells of squamous cell carcinoma showed moderate to strong positive reaction to GST-Pi staining irrespective of its site of origin. 3. Therefore, Immunohistochemical staining pattern of GST-Pi in various squamous carcinoma cells showed similar immunohistochemical reaction to the GST-pi, which is closely correlated to the degree of differentiation, keratinigation and also suggested that squamous carcinoma cells had abundant GST-Pi related detoxifying system.
Humans ; Rabbits ; Animals

PURPOSE: This study was to identify the relationship among self-management, economic stability, self-esteem, self-achievement and predictor of the self-achievements in elders. METHODS: A total of 294 subjects aged between 60 and 92 were selected through convenient sampling. Data were collected by self-reported questionnaire from May to June, 2008. Collected data were analysed by the SPSS/WIN 15.0 program. RESULTS: Self-management, economic stability, self-esteem, self-achievement were positively correlated. The most significant predictor of self-achievement in elders were self-management and self-esteem. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that self-achievement is influenced by self-management and self-esteem and needed for aged well.
Self Care ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: The study was a non-equivalent control group, quasi-experimental study to find out the effect of the laughter therapy on anxiety and depression of burn patients. METHODS: Study subjects were 60 hospitalized patients with the diagnosis of 2nd degree burn (30 experimental group; 30 control group). Experimental group received laughter therapy by the certificated therapist. STAI questionnaire, blood pressure and pulse were checked before and after the laughter therapy. RESULTS: Before and after the laughter implementation, the experimental group's anxiety decreased, however, the comparison group's anxiety did not show significant difference. Moreover, experimental group's anxiety decreased after the implementation. Experimental group's systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure did not decrease pre/post laughter therapy mediator. The comparison group showed that systolic blood pressure increased, and diastolic blood pressure did not show significant difference. Also, experimental group's systolic blood pressure and diastolic pressure did not show significant difference after the treatment. Pre/post laughter therapy mediation did not decrease the experimental group's pulse and comparison group's pulse. Furthermore, the experimental group's pulse did not show the significant difference after the treatment. In pre/post laughter therapy mediation, the experimental group's depression was decreased, however, the comparison did not how significance difference in pre/post depression score after the treatment. Moreover, the experimental group's depression was decreased after the treatment. CONCLUSION: According the results above, the laughter therapy had effect on decreasing anxiety and depression of the burn patients and it is efficient mediator for the burn patient. Repetitive research was needed to investigate the effect of laughter on cardiovascular system since it did not have decreasing effect on the blood pressure and pulse.
Anxiety* ; Blood Pressure ; Burns* ; Cardiovascular System ; Depression* ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Laughter ; Laughter Therapy* ; Negotiating ; Surveys and Questionnaires

To clarify the exact role of endomyocardial biopsy in the diagnosis and monitoring of adriamycin-induced cardiotoxicity and to observe the actual relationship between pathologic changes and cardiac dysfunction, a cross-sectional clinical study was conducted. Echocardiography was used to evaluate cardiac dysfunction in 18 patients who had received chemotherapy including adriamycin(mean dose : 410mg/m2 of B.S.A.) without clinical evidence of congestive heart failure, and in 19 normal controls. Six patients receiving adriamycin underwent 7 transfemoral endomyocardial biopsy procedures, and the specimens were evaluated by light and electron microscopy for evidence of drug-related cardiotoxicity. Indexes of cardiac systolic function obtained by M-mode echocardiography(left ventricular dimension, excursion of interventricular septum and left ventricular posterior wall, shortening fraction and ejection fracton) did not show any statistically significant difference between patients who received adriamycin and normal controls. In transmitral flow-velocity curves recorded by Doppler echocardiography with a 2.25MHz probe, the patients showed less E peak velocity and decreased E/A ratio compared with normal controls, which suggests left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in the patients who received adriamycin. All the specimens of the endomyocardial biopsy showed significant pathologic changes of adriamycin indnced cardiotoxicity which was characterized by myofibrillar loss and vacuolization of the cytoplasm. In 2 specimens, pathologic grade was II, while 5 specimens showed pathologic changes of grade III and further chemotherapy with adriamycine was not done in thse 5 cases. From these results it is suggested that pathologic changes precede the clinical onset of congestive cardiomyopathy in the patients receiving adriamycin and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction occurrs before ejection fraction falls to subnormal levels. We conclude that sequential endomyocardial biopsy is absolutely indicated for exact diagnosis and monitoring of adrinamycin-induced cardiotoxicity to prevent the development of irreversible and often fatal cardiomyopathy.
Biopsy ; Cardiomyopathies ; Cardiomyopathy, Dilated ; Cytoplasm ; Diagnosis ; Doxorubicin* ; Drug Therapy ; Echocardiography ; Echocardiography, Doppler ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Microscopy, Electron

A wide-spectrum initiation model was investigated in mice. Sequential treatments with diethylnitrosamine, urethane and N-methylnitrosourea, with or without a promoter, phenobarbital, resulted in tumor formation in the lungs in 85-90% of animals, but did not produce any tumorous lesions in other organs. The lung tumors were adenomas and the mean number of adenomas was 2.2-2.6 per mouse. Phenobarbital combination had no additive effect on lung tumor incidence and multiplicity. Splenic NK cell activity showed inconsistent increment in the carcinogen plus phenobarbital-treated group during the experiment (P less than 0.05).
*Adenoma/chemically induced/immunology ; Animals ; Diethylnitrosamine/pharmacology ; Female ; *Killer Cells, Natural/drug effects ; *Lung Neoplasms/chemically induced/immunology ; Methylnitrosourea/pharmacology ; Mice ; Phenobarbital/pharmacology ; Random Allocation ; Urethane/pharmacology

Recurrent disc herniation and postoperative fibrosis are the main disease entities causing failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging has become a major diagnostic modality in differentiating the two. To observe the variable entities of FBSS and their MR findings, we retrospectively analyzed 15 MR images in 12 patients. The causes of FBSS were as follows; normal (no organic cause), fibrosis, new or recurrent disc herniation, discitis, osteomyelitis, inflammation at operation site, epidural abscess, arachnoiditis, and hematoma. Except a case of hematoma, gadolinium enhancement scan was necessary and informative in the diagnosis of FBSS and MR imaging only was not enough in the diagnosis of arachnoiditis.
Arachnoid ; Arachnoiditis ; Diagnosis ; Discitis ; Epidural Abscess ; Failed Back Surgery Syndrome* ; Fibrosis ; Gadolinium ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Osteomyelitis ; Retrospective Studies

No abstract available.

No abstract available.
Female ; Fetal Blood* ; Humans ; Hypertension, Pregnancy-Induced* ; Infant, Newborn* ; Mothers* ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy*