BACKGROUND: The smoking rate of adult male is 68.2% in Korea and that of adolescent and women has risen recently. Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to raise the price of cigarettes by 1,000 Won per pack this year in hopes of securing funds to aid the underprivileged and discourage excessive smoking. In this study, we tried to find the relationship between tobacco price increase and willingness to quit smoking among university students, and the factors associated with willingness to quit smoking. METHOD: The data were collected by questionnaire survey from 225 university students living in Seoul. The questionnaire contained items on age, sex, smoking history, economical status and the intention to quit smoking when the tobacco price be raised. RESULT: The proportion of smokers who has the intention to quit smoking if the price of tobacco be raised by 3,000 Won was 46.2%. The factors associated with willingness to quit smoking were age of initiating smoking, opinion for price of cigarette, self efficacy scores, current plans to quit smoking, and viewpoint of changes in the rate of smokers. CONCLUSION: The results showed that tobacco price rises will increase willingness to quit smoking among university students.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; Financial Management ; Hope ; Humans ; Intention ; Korea ; Male ; Self Efficacy ; Seoul ; Smoke* ; Smoking Cessation ; Smoking* ; Tobacco Products ; Tobacco* ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Lymphagiomas are composed of multiple lymphatic channels lined by benign-appearing endothelial cells. The lisions can occur anywhere in body and extremely rarely affect the colon. But lymphangiomas of the colon have been reported more frequently since the development and widespread use of the colonofiberscope. In the past, most lympangioma have been removed surgically, But now that transendoscopic snare polyectomy is possible, diagnosis by total biopsy constitutes the treatment. In the present paper, we reported the case af colonic lymphangioma in 51-year old woman who underwent endoscopic resection.
Biopsy ; Colon* ; Diagnosis ; Endothelial Cells ; Female ; Humans ; Lymphangioma* ; Middle Aged ; SNARE Proteins

PURPOSE: Headaches occur frequently in the pediatric population and have a significant impact on their quality of life. Several mechanisms are currently thought to contribute to headache pathogenesis. Our aim was to investigate the association of chronic headache in children and cerebral vascular anomaly by performing brain magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed medical records and MRA of 44 patients with chronic headache who visited the pediatric clinic of Young Dong Severance hospital from January 2006 to April 2008. RESULTS: The number of enrolled patients was 44. Eight(18.2%) of them showed abnormal brain MRA findings. Abnormal findings included 5 cases of unilateral A1 hypoplasia, 1 case of unilateral vertebral artery hypoplasia, 1 case of unilateral A1 and P1 hypoplasia, 1 case of Moyamoya disease. Among the 44 patients, 21 had complained only headache and 23 had complained other neurological symptoms with headache. The ratio of abnormal MRA between the two groups showed no statistical difference. CONCLUSION: Vascular anomaly could be a possible pathogenesis and risk factor in chronic headache in children. Further investigation and long term follow up is needed.
Brain ; Child ; Follow-Up Studies ; Headache ; Headache Disorders ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Angiography ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Magnetics ; Magnets ; Medical Records ; Moyamoya Disease ; Quality of Life ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Vertebral Artery

PURPOSE: Schizencephaly is a uncommon congenital brain anomaly characterized by congenital clefts spanning the cerebral hemispheres from pial surface to lateral ventricles and lined by gray matter. In this study, we investigated the clinical manifestation and radiologic findings of pediatric schizencephaly. METHODS: The data of 13 patients who were diagnosed with schizencephaly in Severance Childrens Hospital and Yongdong Severance Hospital from January 2005 to December 2007 were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: The mean age at diagnosis was 9.08+/-2.67 months old and ranged from 1 to 30 months. The ratio of male to female patients was 3.33:1. Five (38.5%) patients had bilateral clefts, while 8 (61.5%) had unilateral clefts. Five (38.5%) patients had closed lip clefts, and 4 (30.8%) had opened lip clefts. Four (30.8%) patients had multiple clefts. Associated anomalies showed in all cases. The clinical features consisted of mild unilateral weakness in 7 (53.8%) cases and a hemiparesis was present in 3 (23.1%) patients. A tetraparesis was in 3 (23.1%) patients. There was no difference in motor deficit between unilateral and bilateral clefts. Delayed development was observed in all cases. Epilepsy was present in 7 (53.8%) patients, 5 patients with unilateral clefts and 2 patients with bilateral clefts. Three (42.8%) patients showed intractable seizures. CONCLUSION: Schizencephaly showed variable clinical manifestations and radiologic findings in association with the types and locations of the clefts. It is necessary to diagnose schizencephaly early and to detect the development of epilepsy. Intensive and large studies of the correlation of clinical outcomes and radiologic findings should be continued for more effective treatment.
Brain ; Cerebrum ; Child ; Epilepsy ; Female ; Humans ; Lateral Ventricles ; Lip ; Male ; Malformations of Cortical Development ; Neuroimaging ; Paresis ; Retrospective Studies ; Seizures

Objectives: This review article examines international examples of personal health records (PHRs) in advanced countries and discusses the implications of these examples for the establishment and utilization of PHRs in South Korea. Methods: This article synthesized PHR case reports of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries, the Global Digital Health Partnership website on PHRs, and patient portals of individual countries to review the status of PHR services. The concept and significance of PHRs were also discussed with respect to PHR utilization status in European Union and OECD countries. Results: A review of international PHR services showed that the countries shared common points regarding the establishment of Electronic Health Records and national health information infrastructure. In addition, the countries provided services centered on primary healthcare institutions and public hospitals. However, promoting more positive participation and increasing the PHR acceptance rate requires workflow integration, including Electronic Medical Records, the provision of incentives, and the preparation of a supportive legal framework. Conclusions South Korea is also conducting a national-level PHR project. Since the scope of PHRs is extensive and a wide range of PHR services must be connected, an extensive trial-and-error process will be necessary. A long-term strategy should be prepared, and necessary resources should be secured to establish national-level PHRs.

Objectives: This review article examines international examples of personal health records (PHRs) in advanced countries and discusses the implications of these examples for the establishment and utilization of PHRs in South Korea. Methods: This article synthesized PHR case reports of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries, the Global Digital Health Partnership website on PHRs, and patient portals of individual countries to review the status of PHR services. The concept and significance of PHRs were also discussed with respect to PHR utilization status in European Union and OECD countries. Results: A review of international PHR services showed that the countries shared common points regarding the establishment of Electronic Health Records and national health information infrastructure. In addition, the countries provided services centered on primary healthcare institutions and public hospitals. However, promoting more positive participation and increasing the PHR acceptance rate requires workflow integration, including Electronic Medical Records, the provision of incentives, and the preparation of a supportive legal framework. Conclusions South Korea is also conducting a national-level PHR project. Since the scope of PHRs is extensive and a wide range of PHR services must be connected, an extensive trial-and-error process will be necessary. A long-term strategy should be prepared, and necessary resources should be secured to establish national-level PHRs.

The previously reported repositioning methods have been known to be very difficult to be performed. A new external knotting technique was performed to reposition the dislocated intraocular lenses (IOLs). After 3-port vitrectomy, a 30 gauge injecting needle tip into which the thread end of a 10-0 polypropylene was put, was introduced into the vitreous cavity through the ciliary sulcus to make a loop having an external knot. After one haptic of the IOL was engaged into the loop, the thread was pulled back and tied to make a knot. After holding and pulling the haptic of the IOL with the intraocular forceps for proper position of the knot. Then it was sutured and fixed in sclera. The IOLs were kept in central position without complications. The final visual outcome was 0.8 and 0.3 respectively. This method might be safe and easy to correct the dislocated IOL.
Lenses, Intraocular* ; Needles ; Polypropylenes ; Sclera ; Surgical Instruments ; Vitrectomy

Purpose: The threshold levels for symptom development of pollinosis vary among studies and countries. This study aimed to determine currently used threshold levels for it. Methods: Oak, pine, Japanese hop, and ragweed pollen samples were collected daily for 8 years from the Seoul and Guri areas. A total of 792 subjects with allergy to these pollens were recruited. The symptom index (SI) was assessed through telephone interviews and allergy questionnaires, and data were analyzed using decision tree. Results: The risk index for oak pollen allergy was “mild” when the pollen count was 0–2 grains/m3 , “moderate” when it was 3–11 grains/m3 , “severe” when it was 12–28 grains/m3 , and “dangerous” when it was ≥ 29 grains/m3 . The risk level for pine pollen allergy was “mild” when the pollen count was 0–4 grains/m 3 , “moderate” when it was 5–42 grains/m3 , “severe” when it was 43–66 grains/m3 , and “dangerous” when it was ≥ 67 grains/m3 . For Japanese hop pollen allergy, the risk level was “mild” when the pollen count was 0–8 grains/m3 , “moderate” when it was 9–10 grains/m3 , “severe” when it was 11–19 grains/m3 , and “dangerous” when it was ≥ 20 grains/m3 . Finally, for ragweed, the risk level was “mild” when the pollen count was 0–1 grains/m3 , “moderate” when it was 2–6 grains/m3 , “severe” when it was 7–33 grains/m3 , and “dangerous” when it was ≥ 34 grains/m3 . Conclusions Revising the threshold levels for the risk index for pollen allergies may be useful for developing pollen prediction models for patients with pollen allergies in Korea.

Objectives: Community Water Fluoridation (CWF) was suspended in Ansan city in 2018. The purpose of this study was to inspect the status of caries in the permanent teeth of adolescents and suggest the index as the baseline for cohort study in the CWF suspended area. Methods: Oral examinations and questionnaire surveys were conducted on adolescents aged 12 years. Of 1,479 individuals, 890 (60.2%) consented to the examinations. Frequency and logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the status of permanent dental caries by demographic, sociological, and health behavioral characteristics. The study was conducted with approval from IRB Kyung Hee University. Results: The findings reveal gaps in the prevalence of caries among the study sample according to demographic, sociological and health behavioral factors. Rates of untreated caries were higher among adolescents who stayed in the area for a lesser duration, had foreign parents, or had cariogenic drinks more often (p<0.05). Conclusions A gap in untreated caries was observed based on demographic, sociological, and health behavioral factors. The findings of the study suggest the need to monitor oral health following cessation of CWF, along with developing alternative programs in the near future.