Purpose: The study aimed to understand the delirium experience of intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Methods: We performed a qualitative study using Colaizzi’s phenomenological method. Eleven patients, who experienced delirium according to the Confusion Assessment Method for ICU, participated after transferring to general wards from the ICU. Individual in-depth semi-structured interviews ranging from 30 minutes to 2 hours in length were conducted between November 2018 and August 2019. Results: Nine themes and four theme clusters emerged. The four theme clusters were: 1) “Overwhelmed by fear,” which describes the experience of a patient close to death and the feeling of difficulty in understanding disorganized thinking; 2) “Anxious about not understanding the situation,” which means that patients’ sense of time and space were disordered in the ICU; 3) “Being deserted,” which indicates the feeling of being separated from others and yourself; and 4) “Resistance to protect my dignity,” which indicates that the dignity and autonomy of an individual in the patient’s position at the ICU, are ignored. Conclusion Nursing interventions are needed that would enable patients to maintain orientation and self-esteem in the ICU. In addition, healthcare providers need to provide information about the unfamiliar environment in the ICU in advance.

Background/Aims: Adherence to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) has become a critical aspect of care in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). We aimed to examine the association of TKI adherence with overall survival (OS) outcomes in Korean patients diagnosed with CML and treated with TKIs using data from the National Health Information Database. Methods: This study included 2,870 CML patients diagnosed between 2005 and 2013. Drug adherence was evaluated according to the medication possession ratio (MPR) and classified as high adherence (i.e., MPR ≥ 0.95 [upper 50%]), moderate adherence (i.e., MPR ≥ 0.68 and < 0.95 [middle 25%]), and low adherence (i.e., MPR < 0.68 [lower 25%]). Results: The median MPR was 0.95 (range, 0 to 4.67). Male sex (p = 0.003), age < 70 years (p < 0.001), high income (≥ 30%, p < 0.001), and maintaining frontline TKI (< 0.001) were associated with better adherence. Adherence to dasatinib was the lowest (vs. imatinib or nilotinib, p < 0.001). Compared with high MPR patients, those with moderate MPR (hazard ratio [HR], 4.90; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.87 to 6.19; p < 0.001) and low MPR (HR, 11.6; 95% CI, 9.35 to 14.42; p < 0.001) had poorer OS. Conclusions Adherence to TKI treatment is an important factor predicting survival outcomes in Korean CML patients. Male sex, age < 70 years, high income, and maintaining frontline TKI are associated with high adherence to TKI. Thus, those without these characteristics should be closely monitored for treatment adherence.