PURPOSE: To investigate audiometery and characteristics related to tinnitus in tinnitus patients. and to understand the relationship between the discomfort of tinnitus and the quality of life. Methods: The subjects were 110 patients with tinnitus. The data were collected using tinnitus handicap questionnaire. quality of life, and pure tone audiometry, which measured hearing level in dB and frequency in Hz matching of tinnitus. RESULTS: Majority of tinnitus patients (75.5%~81.8%) had normal auditory sensation. but 82.7% of patients indicated that they have heard tinnitus frequently. or always, and the major sounds of tinnitus were wing, wung, wang, The matching sounds of tinnitus had various range in hearing level(dB) and frequency(Hz). Tinnitus patients reported moderate levels of the discomfort of tinnitus and the quality of life, and there were negative correlation between the discomfort of tinnitus and the quality of life(r=-.314, p .00l). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that special attention is needed for tinnitus patients because the physical. psychological. and social impacts of tinnitus could be decrease their quality of life, Specialized nursing intervention considering specific conditions related to tinnitus is required to solve various health problems of tinnitus patients.
Audiometry ; Hearing ; Humans ; Nursing ; Quality of Life* ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Sensation ; Social Change ; Tinnitus*

No abstract available.

Neonatal and obstetrical problems related to the low birth weight infants were evaluated by a retrospective review of the medical records of the 186 low birth weight infants born at Yeungnam University Hospital during 3 years and 8 months from May 1, 1983 to February 28, 1987. The results were as follows: 1. The incidence of the low birth weight infants was 4.98% among 3,803 live births. 2. Male to female ratio was 1.02:1. 3. The incidence of the low birth weight infants was lowest in mothers of 25 to 29 years, increased in mothers of 19 years of less and 30 to 39 years significantly. 4. There was no difference in the incidence of low birth weight infants between primiparous and multiparous mothers. 5. Common obstetrical complications associated with low weight infants were multiple pregnancy, toxemia and premature rupture of membrane in order of frequency. 6. Common neonatal problems in low birth weight infants were jaundice, idiopathic respiratory, distress syndrome, asphyxia and metabolic derangement such as hypocalcemia and hypoglycemia in order of frequency.
Asphyxia ; Clinical Study* ; Female ; Humans ; Hypocalcemia ; Hypoglycemia ; Incidence ; Infant* ; Infant, Low Birth Weight* ; Infant, Newborn ; Jaundice ; Live Birth ; Male ; Medical Records ; Membranes ; Mothers ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy, Multiple ; Retrospective Studies ; Rupture ; Toxemia

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between disease progression and expression of c-erbB-2 and S-100 protein positive dendritic cells in Cervical cancer. STUDY DESIGN: Tissues were analyzed from 100 patients. Each of them had invasive carcinoma(44), microinvasive(12), CIS(33), CIN(II) before treatment, c-erbB-2 oncoprotein expression and S-100 protein positive dendritic cell were confirmed by immunohistochemical staining. (Avidin-biotin complex method) RESULTS: C-erbB-2 immunostaining was significantly associated with disease progression (p<0.05). In case of CIN I, there was not noted stained specimen but in case of invasive carcinoma, 24 cases of stained specimen were noted. S-100 protein positive dendritic cell was not associated with disease progression of cervical carcinoma.(p>0.05) CONCLUSIONS: According to our results, c-erbB-2 is possible factor in Carcinogenesis of cervical carcinoma with progression of it. and S-100 protein positive dendritic cell was not associated with disease progression of cervical carcinoma.
Carcinogenesis ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* ; Cervix Uteri* ; Dendritic Cells* ; Disease Progression ; Female ; Humans ; S100 Proteins* ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms

PURPOSE: This study was to determine the effects of foot reflexomassage on constipated college women for the treatment of constipation. METHOD: The researcher sampled nursing students attending a college of nursing science in Gyeonggi-Do, and checked if they were affected by constipation in reference to the Rome II criteria & CAS. They were randomly divided into an experimental group(15 subjects) and a control group(15 subjects). Foot reflexomassage was applied to the experimental group 10 times in 2 weeks : each time lasted 40 minutes. The frequency of defecation and severity of constipation by CAS were measured. The collected data was analyzed using the SPSS 11.5 program. RESULT: The CAS score of the experimental group was significantly lower after foot reflexomassage than those of the control group (p=.000). CONCLUSION: Foot reflexomassage can be considered an effective alternative treatment for constipated young women.
Complementary Therapies ; Constipation ; Defecation ; Female ; Foot* ; Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Nursing ; Students, Nursing

No abstract available.
DNA* ; Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung* ; Ploidies*

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to identify the adequacy of enteral feeding, and the reason and prevalence of under-nutrition, and to determine the relationships between caloric intake and resulting nutritional parameters among neurosurgical intensive care unit (ICU) patients. METHODS: The participants for this descriptive study were 47 neurosurgical ICU patients who had enteral feeding initiated after ICU admission. Data were collected from the initial day of enteral feeding for 7 days. Data related to enteral feeding, feeding interruptions or delay, prealbumin, and transferrin were collected. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 56.62 years. Twenty-six patients did not receive their feeding formula more than once during 7 days, and 11 had interruptions more than 6 times. The mean number of feeding interruptions was 3.23 (SD= 4.47). On the average, only 76.44% of the estimated energy requirement was provided by enteral feeding to the patients. The frequency of underfeeding was 52.17% with respect to enteral feeding. The most frequent reason for the feeding interruption was observation before and after intubation and extubation, which was unavoidable. The next most common reason was gastrointestinal bleeding, mostly due to old clots or trace, followed by residual volume less than 100 mL. Changes in prealbumin and transferrin levels for 7 days between the underfed and adequately fed groups were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The management of enteral feeding by nurses was overprotective because of the unpredictable nature of ICU patients in terms of their underlying disease process. The management of feeding intolerance needs to be evidence-based and nurses must consistently follow the protocol that has been supported as a useful measure.
Energy Intake ; Enteral Nutrition ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Critical Care ; Intensive Care Units ; Intubation ; Malnutrition ; Neurosurgical Procedures ; Nutritional Support ; Prealbumin ; Prevalence ; Residual Volume ; Transferrin

BACKGROUND: This study was undertaken to compare nosocomial infection rates between intensive care units of military and civilian hospitals. METHODS: From July to December 2000, we surveyed the intensive care unit of Armed Forces Capital Hospital (AFCH). We compared device use ratios and device-day infection rates with those of Korean Society for Nosocomial Infection Control (KOSNIC) and National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance (NNIS) system. RESULTS: During the period of study, 185 cases were admitted and 24 nosocomial infections were detected: 7 cases of pneumonia, 6 urinary tract, 3 blood stream, 3 cardiovascular system, 3 surgical site infections, 1 skin and soft tissue, and 1 central nervous system infection. Ventilator, urinary catheter and central venous catheter use ratios were 0.14 (95% confidence interval, 0.12-0.16), 0.58 (0.56-0.60) and 0.33 (0.31-0.35). The ratios of NNIS were 0.41, 0.67 and 0.50. Ventilator-, urinary catheter- and central venous catheter-day infection rates were 18.69(11.36-53.32), 6.65 (3.36-14.20) and 1.95 (1.44-9.92). However, the rates of KOSNIC were 9.93, 5.29 and 3.62. The rates of NNIS were 11.24, 6.14 and 5.55. CONCLUSIONS: In AFCH ventilators were used less frequently than NNIS, but more ventilator-associated pneumonia were developed than KOSNIC and NNIS.
Arm ; Cardiovascular System ; Central Nervous System Infections ; Central Venous Catheters ; Cross Infection* ; Hospitals, Military ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units* ; Critical Care* ; Military Personnel* ; Pneumonia ; Pneumonia, Ventilator-Associated ; Rivers ; Skin ; Urinary Catheters ; Urinary Tract ; Ventilators, Mechanical

BACKGROUND: Disordered lactate metabolism which is due to tissue hypoxia and hypoperfusion is frequently encountered in critically ill patients. These patients suffer from a high hospital mortality rate and are at great risk of developing multiple organ failure. The present study was designed to evaluate the prognostic value of blood lactate as a determinant of mortality in comparison with the APACHE II score. METHODS: 29 adult ICU patients participated in this study. Blood lactate concentrations, arterial blood gas analysis, hemodynamic data and APACHE II scores were collected on the first and last days of ICU stay. These data were compared between survivor and non-survivor groups. RESULTS: On the day of admission, blood lactate concentrations and APACHE II scores of non-survivors were 48.5 +/- 27.0 mg/dl and 18.5 +/- 5.9, while those of survivors were 23.7 +/- 12.9 mg/dl and 6.7 3.1. On the day of discharge, arterial blood lactate concentrations and APACHE II scores of non-survivors were 143.2 +/- 54.0 mg/dl and 28.2 +/- 6.0, while those of survivors were 14.9 +/- 7.1 mg/dl and 4.7 +/- 2.2. There was a significant positive correlation between high arterial blood lactate concentration and fatal outcome in critically-ill patients. There was also a significant positive correlation between arterial blood lactate concentration and APACHE II score. Furthermore, decreases in arterial blood lactate levels during the course of ICU stay may indicate a favorable outcome. The mortality increased abruptly in critically-ill patients with an initial arterial blood lactate concentration higher than 40 mg/dl. CONCLUSIONS: The result shows that arterial blood lactate concentration can serve as a reliable prognostic predictor and clinical guide to therapy in critically ill patients.
Adult ; Anoxia ; APACHE* ; Blood Gas Analysis ; Critical Illness* ; Fatal Outcome ; Hemodynamics ; Hospital Mortality ; Humans ; Lactic Acid* ; Metabolism ; Mortality ; Multiple Organ Failure ; Survivors

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Cardiac troponin T (cTnT) has been used as a very sensitive marker of cardiac injury caused by ischaemia, myocarditis, and cardiomyopathy. After cardiac injury, the fetal cTnT isoform expression in the heart and serum cTnT increases. To investigate the increased levels of serum cTnT, and the expression of fetal cTnT isoform in the heart, that can predict myocardial injury, we measured serum cTnT levels and the fetal cTnT isoform expression at various time points during the early phase of myocardial toxicity induced by adriamycin (ADR) in rat. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were injected, intraperitoneally, with ADR (5 mg/kg) twice a week for 2 weeks. Control rats were injected with saline. Serum cTnT levels were measured by ELISA. The ratio of fetal/adult (F/A) cTnT isoform expression (%) was semi-quantified by RT-PCR using total RNA from frozen hearts. RESULTS: Serum cTnT levels did not increase by 1 week after ADR injection, but increased significantly after 2 weeks. The ratio of F/A cTnT in the heart significantly increased from day 1, peaked at 1 week and persisted until the end of 2 week. CONCLUSION: The expression of the fetal cTnT isoform occurred from 1 day after ADR injection when the serum cTnT levels were still normal. Although the serum cTnT level is a very sensitive, and an early marker, of cardiac damages, the fetal cTnT isoform expression in the endomyocardial biopsy specimen may be a more sensitive and an earlier marker in the ADR-induced myocardial damage.
Animals ; Biopsy ; Cardiomyopathies ; Cardiomyopathy, Dilated ; Doxorubicin ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Heart ; Humans ; Male ; Myocarditis ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; RNA ; Troponin T* ; Troponin*