No abstract available.
Hallermann's Syndrome*

PURPOSE: A study was undertaken to assess the social background of abandoning children at adoption institutions. The results were compared to those of three previous reports from the institution. METHODS: A total of 536 children who had been admitted to the institution during the period of 1993 to 1996 were subjected to the study. The medical records were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: The sex ratio of male to female was 1 : 0.9, which was opposite compared to previous studies. Mean birth weight was 2.76+/-0.58kg. The proportion of prematurity was 27.2% and their mean gestational age was 34.0+/-2.25 weeks. The academic background of the mother was mainly high school, comprising 58.4%. The highest rate of maternal age(75.9%) was between 16 to 25 years of age. Maternal age below 15 years was 2.8%, which showed increased in tendency compared to previous studies. Classifying the mother's occupation, they were unemployed(19.4%), office workers(16.8%), store clerks(15.9%), students(13.6%), factory workers(12.3%) and waitresses (5.6%) in this order of frequency. The order of birth showed that the first baby was 89.4%. The reasons for putting their baby up for adoption were they were unmarried(83.2%), poor(8.6%), extramarital birth(3.2%), divorce(2.9%) and death of parents(0.4%) in this order of frequency, showing a significant increased in the rate of unmarried mothers. Only 38.4% of mothers had taken antenatal care. Most of the children (90.8%) were adopted by parents in foreign countries. CONCLUSION: The main reason for adoption was the mothers were unmarried and the maternal age tended to be younger. The rate of foreign adoption was still high.
Birth Weight ; Child* ; Child, Institutionalized ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Illegitimacy ; Male ; Maternal Age ; Medical Records ; Mothers ; Occupations ; Parents ; Parturition ; Retrospective Studies ; Sex Ratio ; Single Person

PURPOSE: A study was undertaken to assess the social background of abandoning children at adoption institutions. The results were compared to those of three previous reports from the institution. METHODS: A total of 536 children who had been admitted to the institution during the period of 1993 to 1996 were subjected to the study. The medical records were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: The sex ratio of male to female was 1 : 0.9, which was opposite compared to previous studies. Mean birth weight was 2.76+/-0.58kg. The proportion of prematurity was 27.2% and their mean gestational age was 34.0+/-2.25 weeks. The academic background of the mother was mainly high school, comprising 58.4%. The highest rate of maternal age(75.9%) was between 16 to 25 years of age. Maternal age below 15 years was 2.8%, which showed increased in tendency compared to previous studies. Classifying the mother's occupation, they were unemployed(19.4%), office workers(16.8%), store clerks(15.9%), students(13.6%), factory workers(12.3%) and waitresses (5.6%) in this order of frequency. The order of birth showed that the first baby was 89.4%. The reasons for putting their baby up for adoption were they were unmarried(83.2%), poor(8.6%), extramarital birth(3.2%), divorce(2.9%) and death of parents(0.4%) in this order of frequency, showing a significant increased in the rate of unmarried mothers. Only 38.4% of mothers had taken antenatal care. Most of the children (90.8%) were adopted by parents in foreign countries. CONCLUSION: The main reason for adoption was the mothers were unmarried and the maternal age tended to be younger. The rate of foreign adoption was still high.
Birth Weight ; Child* ; Child, Institutionalized ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Illegitimacy ; Male ; Maternal Age ; Medical Records ; Mothers ; Occupations ; Parents ; Parturition ; Retrospective Studies ; Sex Ratio ; Single Person

PURPOSE: To report a case of Congenital stationary night blindness associated with myopia. METHODS: A 19-year-old male with night blindness was referred to our hospital. We studied patient's family history, refraction, color vision test, fundus examination, electroretinogram and visual field. RESULTS: Both fundi showed temporal conus and myopic change. Both visual field revealed generalized depression. The light- and dark-adapted electroretinogram showed a normal a wave with extremely reduced b wave, resulting in a typical "negative" wave form.
Color Vision ; Conus Snail ; Depression ; Humans ; Male ; Myopia* ; Night Blindness* ; Visual Fields ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation between the motor evoked potentials (MEPs) amplitude of 1st dorsal interosseus in affected limbs and affected hand function after stroke. METHOD: We enrolled 109 patients with acute and subacute 1st attack stroke. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was applied to the motor cortex and MEP was recorded at the 1st dorsal interossei (DI) muscle. MEP parameters were latency of the affected side, latency ratio (latency of affected side/latency of unaffected side), amplitude of affected side and amplitude ratio (amplitude of affected side/latency of unaffected side). Hand function tests (HFT) including hand power measures and a nine hole peg test (NHPT) were conducted and the ratios of the value of the affected hand to unaffected hand were used for the analysis. The Korean version of the modified Barthel index (K-MBI) and the manual muscle test (MMT) of finger flexion were also evaluated. Correlation between MEP parameters and the clinical variables such as HFT, K-MBI and MMT grades were analyzed. RESULTS: While MEPs in the affected 1st DI were recorded in fifty six patients, MEPs were not recorded in forty nine patients. The responsiveness of MEPs was significantly correlated with the HFT, K-MBI and MMT grades. The amplitude ratio had the most significant correlation with the HFT and MMT grade in this MEP study. Also, the amplitude ratio had more significant correlations with the K-MBI score compared with other MEP parameters. CONCLUSION: We concluded that the amplitude ratio may be a useful MEPs parameter for indicating hand function.
Evoked Potentials, Motor ; Extremities ; Fingers ; Hand ; Humans ; Motor Cortex ; Muscles ; Organometallic Compounds ; Stroke ; Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

PURPOSE: To report the short-term results of second-generation metal-on-metal total hip arthroplasty (THA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred and sixty-five patients (169 hips) were followed for more than 2 years after primary THA using a modern metal-on-metal bearing conducted between April 2000 and March 2002. All patients were examined clinically and radiographically. RESULTS: The average Harris hip score improved from 53.9 points preoperatively to 94.2 points at the time of the last follow-up. All prostheses demonstrated radiographic evidence of bone ingrowth. Nine patients (10 hips) had an osteolytic lesion localized at the greater trochanter. Patients with osteolysis had a significantly higher rate of positive skin-patch tests for cobalt than controls (p=0.031). Of these, two hips underwent revision operation due to recurrent dislocation and imminent fracture through the greater trochanter, respectively. There was no evidence of metal wear on the retrieved bearing surfaces, but microscopic analysis of periprosthetic tissues revealed abnormal histological findings consistent with delayed-type hypersensitivity. CONCLUSION: Early results of THA using the current metal-on-metal bearing design were encouraging in most of the patients. However, this implant bearing should be avoided in patients with a history of allergic reaction to metals.
Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip* ; Cobalt ; Dislocations ; Femur ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hip ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Hypersensitivity, Delayed ; Metals ; Osteolysis ; Prostheses and Implants

PURPOSE: This study was done to identify the relationship of malnutrition, social network and health-related quality of life and to investigate the main factors influencing health-related quality of life in elders. METHODS: The research design was a descriptive survey design using a convenience sampling. Data were collected by self-report questionnaires from 196 elders. Data analysis was done using SPSS 18.0 pc+ program for descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficients and stepwise multiple regression. RESULTS: The average score for health related quality of life was 3.33 (SD=0.86). Differences in health-related quality of life were statistically significant according to age, gender, occupation, presence of spouse, monthly income, source of income, economic status, medicine, and existence of chronic disease. Health-related quality of life was significantly correlated with malnutrition and social network. Major factors affecting health related quality of life for elders were malnutrition, occupation, age, social network, and economic status which explained 52.0% of the variance in health related quality of life. CONCLUSION: Findings provide a basis for developing nursing interventions to improve health-related quality of life. Future studies are needed a wide variety of variables that might influence health-related quality of life in elders.
Aged ; Chronic Disease ; Humans ; Malnutrition ; Occupations ; Quality of Life ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Research Design ; Spouses ; Statistics as Topic

PURPOSE: This study aimed was done to analyze recent trends in nursing research published in the Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing by focusing on the content of nursing interventions and their level of evidence. METHODS: A total of 209 studies published between 2007 and 2008 were reviewed using analysis criteria developed by the researchers. RESULTS: The number of quantitative studies was greater than that of qualitative studies. There was a slight increase in the number of qualitative studies and studies including elderly populations, which reflects the recent population trend in Korea. More randomized controlled trials with a low risk of bias were needed to support more evidence-based nursing practice. Concerning the low rate of ethical consideration, stricter application of research ethics needs to be encouraged. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study suggest the recent trends in nursing research and the direction of nursing research and review in the Journal.
Bibliometrics ; Humans ; Nursing Research/*trends ; *Periodicals as Topic ; Qualitative Research ; Republic of Korea

PURPOSE: During the past decade, various endoscopic thyroid surgeries have been conducted, each with its own benefits. The incorporation of robotic systems to endoscopic thyroid surgery has improved the visualization and precision of endoscopic techniques. We previously reported our initial experience with robotic modified radical neck dissection (MRND) of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) with lateral neck node metastasis (LNM). The aim of this study was to compare surgical outcomes of robotic vs. conventional open MRND of PTC with LNM using propensity score matching. METHODS: From January 2008 to February 2011, 515 patients with PTC with LNM were enrolled. One hundred patients underwent robotic MRND, and 415 patients underwent conventional open MRND. These two groups were retrospectively compared with respect to their clinicopathological characteristics, surgical outcomes, and surgical completeness. Furthermore, to avoid selection bias, propensity score matching analysis was used to compare surgical outcomes of each group without any compounding factors. RESULTS: The operative time for the robotic MRND was longer than for the open MRND (297.9±60.2 min vs. 212.1±55.6 min, P=0.089). However, the mean numbers of retrieved lymph nodes and mean hospital stay after surgery were similar in the two groups (36.0±12.9 vs. 40.8±13.3, P=0.235), (6.1±1.6 days vs. 6.1±2.1 days, P=0.577). The complication rates were similar between the two groups, and there was no statistical difference in postoperative thyroglobulin levels between groups (0.51±0.83 ng/ml vs. 0.89±2.46 ng/ml, P=0.593). CONCLUSION: According to our study, robotic MRND shows similar surgical outcomes to conventional open MRND after case-matched analyses. We suggest that robotic MRND is an acceptable alternative as an operative method for PTC with LNM, resulting in excellent cosmesis and patient satisfaction.
Humans ; Length of Stay ; Lymph Nodes ; Methods ; Neck Dissection ; Neck* ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Operative Time ; Patient Satisfaction ; Propensity Score* ; Retrospective Studies ; Selection Bias ; Thyroglobulin ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms*

PURPOSE: This study was done to investigate the status of disinfection and sterilization in healthcare facilities. METHOD: A survey of 193 Korean healthcare facilities was conducted from February 8 to March 7, 2013. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi2 test, Fisher's exact test, one-way ANOVA, Scheffe with SPSS WIN 18.0. RESULTS: Of the healthcare facilities 93.2% had specific guidelines for disinfection/sterilization, but only 47.9% had a committee on disinfection/sterilization for decision-making, less than half (42.7%) conducted regular monitoring of actual practices, while 83.9% had established procedures for recovery in case of problems with the disinfection process and 89.0% kept records and archives of disinfection practices. Cleaning process, selection of chemical disinfectants and process of disinfection and sterilization were found to be inadequate in some healthcare facilities. Perception score for adequacy of medical instruments was 8.10, environmental disinfection was 7.20, and sterilizer management was 8.45 out of a possible 10. CONCLUSION: Compared to larger institutions, smaller healthcare facilities had less effective disinfection and sterilization management systems, while some facilities showed inadequate practices for medical equipment and general sterilization. Better academic and state-level support is recommended for smaller facilities in order to establish a better system-wide management system.
Delivery of Health Care* ; Disinfectants ; Disinfection* ; Sterilization*