BACKGROUND: This study was performed to evaluate the results of intervention activities on the management of steam sterilizers and sterile items in out-patient clinics and clinical laboratories. METHODS: A checklist was developed and used to monitor and evaluate the adequacy of sterilizers and sterilized items at out-patient clinics and clinical laboratories in a tertiary-care hospital. The checklist consisted of 7 items: condition of the material used for packaging sterile items, maintenance of shelf-life records, sterilizer cleanliness, maintenance of expiry date details of sterilized items, sterilization conditions, use of chemical indicators, and the results of biological indicators. Monitoring and additional intervention activities were carried out once every week for 53 weeks from August 2007 to July 2008. The study period was divided into 2 terms, early and late intervention; the duration of each term was 6 months, and we compared the ratio of adequacy of management of sterilizer and sterilized items between the 2 terms. RESULTS: There were a total of 795 observations from 15 departments in 1 year. Sterility of the materials used for packaging increased from 87.4% in the first 6-month term to 97.9% in the second 6-month term. Records for shelf-life increased from 89.6% to 98.5% in the same period, while the figures for maintaining expiry date details of sterilized items and for steam sterilizer cleanliness increased from 92.6% to 99.2%, and from 91.9% to 98.5 (P<0.05), respectively. CONCLUSION: Our intensive checklist-based intervention was effective in improving the management of steam sterilizers and sterile items in out-patient clinics and clinical laboratories.
Ambulatory Care Facilities ; Checklist ; Humans ; Infertility ; Organothiophosphorus Compounds ; Outpatients ; Product Packaging ; Steam ; Sterilization

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of fentanyl and midazolam on in vitro fertilization rate and early embryo development in a mouse IVF model. METHODS: Mouse oocytes were exposed in vitro to fentanyl at a concentration of 0(control), 50, 250, 500, 1000, 5000 pg/ml, and midazolam, 0(control), 2.5, 12.5, 25, 50, 250 ng/ml for 30 minutes, washed and inseminated. Thereafter fertilization was assessed. And subsequent in vitro development to the blastocyst stage was monitored daily. RESULTS: Where fertilization occurred, subsequent embryo cleavage and development up to the blastocyst stage was affected significantly by the presence of fentanyl and midazolam solution in the medium(i.e., 14% to 31%, 10% to 35%), in comparison with control group( 60%, 62%). CONCLUSION: It can be concluded from these experiments that even a brief exposure of cumulus enclosed oocytes to a low concentration of fentanyl, midazolam is deleterious to subsequent cleavage.
Anesthetics ; Animals ; Blastocyst ; Embryonic Development ; Embryonic Structures* ; Female ; Fentanyl* ; Fertilization ; Fertilization in Vitro* ; Mice* ; Midazolam* ; Oocytes ; Pregnancy

A cholecystectomy is one of the most frequent operations in the field of surgery. Recently, a laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) has become a commonly performed procedure for treatment of gallbadder disease, mainly gallstone disease. It has the advantages of less postoperative pain, fewer complications, and more rapid recovery. There is no doubt that LC will be the first choice for the treatment of gallbladder disease. We performed this study to research problem and to improve the successbility of this operation. We analyzed 300 patients who underwent a laparoscopic cholecystectomy from January 1, 1993 to December 31, 1996, at the Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, Pusan National University. The main results are as follows:1) The age range of the patients was from 17 to 72 years. There were 104 males and 196 females. 2) The most common previous operation was an appendectomy; the second most common was pelvic surgery. 3) The common chief complaints were right upper guadrant pain and indigestion. 4) Radiologic finding showed, gallstones in 212 cases and polyps in 30 cases. 5) The removed stones varied in size and number. 6) Postopertive complications were puncture site infection, bile leakage, pulmonary complications, etc. 7) The mean postopertive hospital stay was 4.2 days. 8) Intraoperative conversion to an open cholecystectomy was due to severe inflammation, adhesion, bleeding, etc. In conclusion, resolution of technical difficulties, meticulous training and experience, proper patient selection, and more developed tools are required.
Appendectomy ; Bile ; Busan ; Cholecystectomy ; Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic* ; Dyspepsia ; Female ; Gallbladder Diseases ; Gallstones ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Length of Stay ; Male ; Pain, Postoperative ; Patient Selection ; Polyps ; Punctures

No abstract available.
Pregnancy, Heterotopic*

This study aimed to establish infection control strategies for preventing the spread of scabies within a single institution by analyzing the epidemiological characteristics of patients diagnosed with scabies. Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study. The electronic medical records of 430 patients diagnosed with scabies at the dermatology outpatient department of Uijeongbu St. Mary’s Hospital from January 2020 to December 2022 were used to collect data on their characteristics. The subjects were divided into three groups: patients, family of confirmed patients, and healthcare workers. General and epidemiological characteristics were analyzed. Results: The average age was 60.89 ± 22.39 years. The number of days from symptom onset to diagnosis was unknown in many cases (65.3%), although the average was 63.42 ± 64.18 days. Repeated visits after treatment were observed in 193 patients (67.5%), 38 family members of confirmed patients (55.1%), and 35 healthcare workers (46.7%), showing a statistically significant difference (p = .002). The most common place of residence before the visit was home (56.2%), and the most common suspected origin of contagion was the home (38.3%), and the most common category of the suspected contagious person was family (49.6%). Conclusion: Cases of scabies were disproportionately common in women and older adults. The interval from symptom onset to diagnosis was long, and about half of the cases involved itching but no skin lesions. More than one-thirds of cases did not revisit for a follow-up after 2 weeks. In the overall results, unlike previous studies, factors related to home and family were frequently observed as epidemiological characteristics.

This study aimed to establish infection control strategies for preventing the spread of scabies within a single institution by analyzing the epidemiological characteristics of patients diagnosed with scabies. Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study. The electronic medical records of 430 patients diagnosed with scabies at the dermatology outpatient department of Uijeongbu St. Mary’s Hospital from January 2020 to December 2022 were used to collect data on their characteristics. The subjects were divided into three groups: patients, family of confirmed patients, and healthcare workers. General and epidemiological characteristics were analyzed. Results: The average age was 60.89 ± 22.39 years. The number of days from symptom onset to diagnosis was unknown in many cases (65.3%), although the average was 63.42 ± 64.18 days. Repeated visits after treatment were observed in 193 patients (67.5%), 38 family members of confirmed patients (55.1%), and 35 healthcare workers (46.7%), showing a statistically significant difference (p = .002). The most common place of residence before the visit was home (56.2%), and the most common suspected origin of contagion was the home (38.3%), and the most common category of the suspected contagious person was family (49.6%). Conclusion: Cases of scabies were disproportionately common in women and older adults. The interval from symptom onset to diagnosis was long, and about half of the cases involved itching but no skin lesions. More than one-thirds of cases did not revisit for a follow-up after 2 weeks. In the overall results, unlike previous studies, factors related to home and family were frequently observed as epidemiological characteristics.

This study aimed to establish infection control strategies for preventing the spread of scabies within a single institution by analyzing the epidemiological characteristics of patients diagnosed with scabies. Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study. The electronic medical records of 430 patients diagnosed with scabies at the dermatology outpatient department of Uijeongbu St. Mary’s Hospital from January 2020 to December 2022 were used to collect data on their characteristics. The subjects were divided into three groups: patients, family of confirmed patients, and healthcare workers. General and epidemiological characteristics were analyzed. Results: The average age was 60.89 ± 22.39 years. The number of days from symptom onset to diagnosis was unknown in many cases (65.3%), although the average was 63.42 ± 64.18 days. Repeated visits after treatment were observed in 193 patients (67.5%), 38 family members of confirmed patients (55.1%), and 35 healthcare workers (46.7%), showing a statistically significant difference (p = .002). The most common place of residence before the visit was home (56.2%), and the most common suspected origin of contagion was the home (38.3%), and the most common category of the suspected contagious person was family (49.6%). Conclusion: Cases of scabies were disproportionately common in women and older adults. The interval from symptom onset to diagnosis was long, and about half of the cases involved itching but no skin lesions. More than one-thirds of cases did not revisit for a follow-up after 2 weeks. In the overall results, unlike previous studies, factors related to home and family were frequently observed as epidemiological characteristics.

This study aimed to establish infection control strategies for preventing the spread of scabies within a single institution by analyzing the epidemiological characteristics of patients diagnosed with scabies. Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study. The electronic medical records of 430 patients diagnosed with scabies at the dermatology outpatient department of Uijeongbu St. Mary’s Hospital from January 2020 to December 2022 were used to collect data on their characteristics. The subjects were divided into three groups: patients, family of confirmed patients, and healthcare workers. General and epidemiological characteristics were analyzed. Results: The average age was 60.89 ± 22.39 years. The number of days from symptom onset to diagnosis was unknown in many cases (65.3%), although the average was 63.42 ± 64.18 days. Repeated visits after treatment were observed in 193 patients (67.5%), 38 family members of confirmed patients (55.1%), and 35 healthcare workers (46.7%), showing a statistically significant difference (p = .002). The most common place of residence before the visit was home (56.2%), and the most common suspected origin of contagion was the home (38.3%), and the most common category of the suspected contagious person was family (49.6%). Conclusion: Cases of scabies were disproportionately common in women and older adults. The interval from symptom onset to diagnosis was long, and about half of the cases involved itching but no skin lesions. More than one-thirds of cases did not revisit for a follow-up after 2 weeks. In the overall results, unlike previous studies, factors related to home and family were frequently observed as epidemiological characteristics.

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to adapt the standardized evidence-based nursing protocol using the IPC (intermittent pneumatic compression) intervention to prevent venous thromboembolism in surgical patients. Further, an investigation was done to measure knowledge on prevention of venous thromboembolism, surrogate incidence of venous thromboembolism and to assess IPC compliance in the study patients compared with those in surgical patients who underwent IPC intervention due to previous clinical experience. METHODS: An analysis was done of the nine modules suggested by National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaborating Agency (NECA) in the adaptation manual of the clinical practice guideline for protocol adaptation. A nonequivalent control group post test design as a quasi-experiment was used to verify the effect of the IPC protocol. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in knowledge of prevention of venous thromboembolism, IPC application time after intervention and the number of IPC applications between the experimental group (n=50) using the IPC nursing protocol and the control group (n=49). However, the symptoms of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary thromboembolism were not observed in either the experimental group or the control group after the intervention. CONCLUSION: Results confirm that the standardized IPC nursing protocol provides effective intervention to prevent venous thromboembolism in surgical patients.
Compliance ; Evidence-Based Nursing ; Evidence-Based Practice ; Humans ; Incidence ; Intermittent Pneumatic Compression Devices ; Nursing Assessment* ; Nursing* ; Pulmonary Embolism ; Venous Thromboembolism* ; Venous Thrombosis

BACKGROUND: The control of multidrug-resistant microorganisms (MDROs) is important in preventing healthcare-associated infections. We performed a survey to evaluate the current system for control of MDROs in general hospitals in Korea. METHODS: A questionnaire consisted of queries about infection control systems, personnel, antibiotic use monitoring systems, isolation and barrier precautions, and obstacles to and opinions about MDROs. The questionnaire was mailed to 145 hospitals with more than 300 beds in November 2005. RESULTS: One hundred and two of the 145 (70.3%) hospitals responded; 65.3% of the responded hospitals had antibiotics control programs and 96.0% of those had control programs for MDROs. Surveillance cultures for vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) were taken in 21.6% and 16.7% of the hospitals, respectively. Over 90% of the hospitals had guidelines with respect to wearing gloves, collecting infectious wastes, and cleaning the environment for MRSA and VRE, but less than a half of the hospitals had the same standard for extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing gram-negative bacteria and carbapenem-resistant gram-negative bacteria. Most hospitals recommended gowning when contamination or invasive procedures were anticipated, but for VRE patients, gowns were used more strictly whenever there was contact with MDROs. Major obstacles related to isolation of patients infected or colonized with MDROs were the cost for isolation rooms (37.3%), and proposed solutions were reimbursement from the medical insurance company (86.3%), construction of a nationwide management system (61.8%), and effort by individual hospitals (58.8%) for MDROs infection control. CONCLUSION: Most of the hospitals have adopted control programs, but more needs to be done. Further efforts, including periodic reporting of antibiotic resistance, sufficient cost reimbursement, and providing education and increased awareness are urgently needed.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Colon ; Drug Resistance, Microbial ; Education ; Enterococcus ; Gram-Negative Bacteria ; Hospitals, General* ; Humans ; Infection Control* ; Insurance ; Korea* ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus ; Postal Service ; Surveys and Questionnaires