An open clinical trial was performed to test the efficacy and side effects of Pravastatin(Mevlotin(R)), HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, administering 5mg twice daily for 12weeks in 30 patients of hypercholesterolemia in out patient clinics, Pusan National University Hospital. The total cholesterol, triglyceride and HDL-cholesterol were measured with enzyme methods and LDL-cholesterol was calculated indirectly by Friedewald formula. The result obtained were as follows: 1) The degree of change at the end points compared with baseline pretreatment levels were 26.1% fall in serum total cholesterol.36.6% fall in LDL-cholesterol, 20.8% fall in triglyceride and 14, 6% rise in HDL-cholesterol. And the rate of improvement more than moderate degree were 90.0% in total cholesterol(the fall of 10% or more), 53.3% in triglyceride (the fall 20% or more) and 33.3% in HDL-cholesterol(the rise of 7mg% or more). 2) The total cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol/HDL cholesterol ratios were decreased significantly from 6, 4+/-0.7 to 4.2+/-0.5(34.4%) and from 4.5+/-0.7 to 2.5 +/-0.4(44.4%) respectively. 3) The greatest fall in serum total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol were observed in 2 weeks after administrating drug and thereafter fell gradually and maintained until 12 weeks of endpoint, but HDL-cholesterol showed significant rise from the 4 weeks of administration. On the other hand triglyceride showed remarkable fall in the measured values from the 4 weeks but statistical significance was observed only in 10 and 12 weeks after administration owing to wide individual variation of values. 4) There observed the tendency that the higher the initial pretreatment levels the greater the degree of fall in total cholesterol and triglyceride. 5) Neither side effects nor abnormal laboratory findings were shown during the period of observation. The results suggest that Pravastatin will be a useful and safe drug in the treatment of hyperlipidemia.
Busan ; Cholesterol ; Hand ; Humans ; Hypercholesterolemia* ; Hyperlipidemias ; Oxidoreductases ; Pravastatin ; Triglycerides

This study, based on current home nursing services, aims at promoting measures for establishing a community-based home nursing system derived from the pilot home nursing demonstration project conducted by the Seoul Nurses Association. The study was based on an analysis of home nursing records from march 1993 to December 1999. The following is a summary analysis, based on individual characteristics of the patients, the organization, which recommended the service for their patients and personnel services. 1. The service has been used by many elderly people 60years of age or older(66.4%). and married people(60.9%). The average number of visits by service personnel for patients of city government was 23.5. This is 2.5 times as many visits by general patients. General patients(20.2%) had only one visit from service personnel, while 65.5% of patients of city government had 10 or more visits. Particularly, for government recommended patients, 72.7% of the patients were recommended by nurses, while only 21.9% where referred to the services by doctors. The main focus of a home nursing service was to maintain present health status (53.4%), and hospice(11.6%). Also to increase hospital-based home nursing services focused on recovery(55.9%) and maintain present health conditions (19.0%). 2. For general patients, 42.0% of patients were suffering from problems related to CVA, 11.3% from high blood pressure, and for patients referred from city, 21.2% from skeletal muscular disease. Results of home nursing services 29.4% of patients were able to recover or maintain their health status, but 48.9% of the patients died. Another main point of community-based home nursing services is medication(6.7%), other basic nursing services(6.1%), special treatment, instructions on how to use medical devices(5.9%), change of physical posture(4.6%), and training on changing physical positions(4.7%). As mentioned above there were some differences between the characteristics of patients who used the pilot home nursing service conducted by the Seoul Nurses Association and those hospital-based service users. The results are believed to be useful to support a community-based home nursing service model. Particularly, patients under medical supervision and patients recommended by government-run health clinics show a higher frequency and longer use of home nursing services compared to general patients or hospital-based home nursing service users. According to the study, nurses accounted for a large number of recommendations for home nursing services. Many patients with CVA, high blood pressure, skeletal muscular disease and bedsores used community-based home nursing services, while others used the service for minor treatments or maintaining their current health status. Based on the study, the researchers make several suggestions to establish a community- based home nursing service system. First, different ways of setting up a community-based home nursing system have to be mapped out based on the evaluation of the pilot home nursing service conducted by the Seoul Nurses Association. Secondly, a new, community-based, home health care nursing service model, and reimbursement payment system have to be developed. This is based on the outcome of the analysis, and implemented policy. Accordingly, efforts are needed to develop a community- based home nursing system with an intermediary role to promote the visiting nursing services of government-run health centers.
Aged ; Home Health Nursing* ; Home Nursing ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Local Government ; Muscular Diseases ; Nursing ; Nursing Services ; Organization and Administration ; Pressure Ulcer ; Seoul*

Seborrheic keratoses are benign skin tumors and exceedingly common. The etiology of seborrheic keratoses is unknown. Several possible causes such as genetic propensity, sun exposure, human papillomavirus and epidermal growth factors are suggested. Among these findings, their familial occurrences have been rarely reported in the literature. We report a case of early-onset, multiple, familial seborrheic keratoses in a 36-year-old man.
Adult ; Epidermal Growth Factor ; Humans ; Keratosis, Seborrheic* ; Skin ; Solar System

BACKGROUND: Based on the work of Messerklinger, endoscopic sinus surgery(ESS) has become popular during recent years. Many reports on the technique of, indications for, and results of ESS have been published. Few reports are devoted exclusively to the complications of ESS in Korea. OBJECTIVES: In this paper, the complications of ESS in Korea and the findings and prevention of complications are discussed through early recognition and appropriate management. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study about the complications of ESS was done on 42 hospitals from 1988 to 1995 in Korea. The incidence of complications of ESS in Korea(total 31,012 cases) is compared to complications in three other series of patients(total 2,165 cases) who underwent ESS in foreign contries and three series of patients(total 2,454 cases) who underwent conventional endonasal sinus surgery. RESULTS: Major complications occurred in 0.04% and major bleeding was the commonest. Minor complications occurred in 22.54% and were related to recurrent inflammatory symptom and midddle turbinate adhesions. CONCLUSIONS: There are some differences in incidence of each complications according to surgical approach. In major complications, the incidence of intracranial and orbital complication with the conventional endonasal sinus surgery approach was higher than that of endoscopic approach. Another difference is that adhesions do not occur with the conventional approach because middle turbinate is routinely removed. The incidence of recurrent symptoms was highest with ESS in Korea. We discuss complications of the procedures and the related factors to complications.
Hemorrhage ; Incidence ; Korea* ; Orbit ; Retrospective Studies ; Turbinates

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of a BeHaS exercise program on pain, health status, body weight in middle-aged women who have osteoarthritis in their knees. METHOD: The participants in this study were eighteen women whose mean age was 56.22years and who had osteoarthritis in the knees. The BeHaS exercise program consists of approximately one and half hour of exercise, two days per week, for twelve weeks. Data were gathered from September 2005 to December 2005 using a questionnaire and measuring VAS for pain, KWOMAC for health status, body weight for scale. Data were analyzed with the SPSS Win 11.0 using frequency and paired t-test for differences between pre-exercise and post-exercise. RESULTS: The results of this study are as follows: Scores for pain on post test were statistically lower than pre test(t=4.202, p=0.001), health status was statistically improved after exercise program (t=3.479, p=0.002). But body weight did not change(t=-.774, p=0.222). CONCLUSION: From these results, it is concluded that the BeHaS exercise program can be effective in decreasing pain and increasing health status in middle-aged women with knee osteoarthritis.
Body Weight ; Female ; Humans ; Knee* ; Middle Aged* ; Osteoarthritis* ; Osteoarthritis, Knee ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Testing for hepatitis B virus (HBV) serologic markers and appropriate vaccination are required in the management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. We evaluated immunogenicity for HBV in IBD patients and the response to the HBV vaccination. METHODS: From May 2014 to August 2016, patients diagnosed with IBD were prospectively included and evaluated for antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen, antibody to hepatitis B core antigen, and antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen. Among the 73 patients who were confirmed with nonimmunity to HBV, 44 patients who had completed the 3-dose HBV vaccination series received a single booster vaccination, while 29 patients who had not completed the vaccinations series or were unsure of receiving the vaccination received a full vaccination series. RESULTS: An optimal response was obtained in 70.5% of the patients in the booster group, and 89.7% of the patients in the full vaccination group. Age younger than 26 years (odds ratio [OR], 6.01; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.15–31.32; P=0.033) and a complete previous vaccination series (OR, 0.15; 95% CI, 0.03–0.80; P=0.026) were associated with optimal vaccine response. Previous complete vaccination series (OR, 0.11; 95% CI, 0.02–0.73; P=0.022) was the only predictive factor for lower compliance. CONCLUSIONS: The response to the HBV vaccination was lower in patients older than 26 years and for those patients with a complete vaccination history. Since patients with a complete vaccination history also had poor compliance, serum HBV-titers should be checked more thoroughly, and a full vaccination series should be administered in cases when there is a negative response to the booster vaccination.
Compliance ; Hepatitis B Core Antigens ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Hepatitis B virus ; Hepatitis B* ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases* ; Korea* ; Observational Study* ; Prospective Studies* ; Vaccination*

Rhabdomyosarcoma is a malignant soft tissue tumor which shows skeletal muscle differentiation. Leptomeningeal metastasis can occur as a late complication, but currently there are no reports that have documented the cytologic features in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). We report a case of metastatic alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma diagnosed in the CSF of a 28-year-old male who was originally diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma on the neck, and that went through systemic therapy. The tumor was positive for anaplastic lymphoma kinase, but progressed despite additional therapy with crizotinib. The CSF specimen revealed small round cells, large atypical cells with abundant cytoplasm and eccentric nuclei, and cells with horseshoe-shaped nuclei. These cytologic findings were in agreement with previous literature and well-correlated with histopathology. This is the first report to document the cytologic feature of rhabdomyosarcoma in CSF. In many cases it is difficult to perform ancillary tests in a CSF specimen and cytopathologists should be aware of the cytomorphologic characteristics to avoid misdiagnosis.
Adult ; Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Cytoplasm ; Diagnosis ; Diagnostic Errors ; Humans ; Lymphoma ; Male ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Neck ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Phosphotransferases ; Rhabdomyosarcoma ; Rhabdomyosarcoma, Alveolar

BACKGROUND: Chemokine receptor CXC chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) and its ligand CXC motif chemokine 12 (CXCL12; stromal cell-derived factor-1) are implicated in tumor growth, metastasis, and tumor cell-microenvironment interaction. A number of studies have reported that increased CXCR4 expression is associated with worse prognosis in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), but its prognostic significance has not been studied in TNBC patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy. METHODS: Two hundred eighty-three TNBC patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy were retrospectively analyzed. Tissue microarray was constructed from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor tissue and immunohistochemistry for CXCR4 and CXCL12 was performed. Expression of each marker was compared with clinicopathologic characteristics and outcome. RESULTS: High cytoplasmic CXCR4 expression was associated with younger age (p = .008), higher histologic grade (p = .007) and lower pathologic stage (p = .045), while high CXCL12 expression was related to larger tumor size (p = .045), positive lymph node metastasis (p = .005), and higher pathologic stage (p = .017). The patients with high cytoplasmic CXCR4 experienced lower distant recurrence (p = .006) and better recurrence-free survival (RFS) (log-rank p = .020) after adjuvant chemotherapy. Cytoplasmic CXCR4 expression remained an independent factor of distant recurrence (p = .019) and RFS (p = .038) after multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: High cytoplasmic CXCR4 expression was associated with lower distant recurrence and better RFS in TNBC patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy. This is the first study to correlate high CXCR4 expression to better TNBC prognosis, and the underlying mechanism needs to be elucidated in further studies.
Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Cytoplasm ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lymph Nodes ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prognosis ; Receptors, CXCR ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms

BACKGROUND: Various olfactory tests have already been proposed in order to clinically assess the olfactory function, for example, UPSIT, T & T olfactometer, CCCRC test, GITU, IV olfaction test. At recent, electro-olfactogram(EOG), olfactorhinometry, olfactory evoked potential, contingent negative variation was tried as the objective olfactory test. OBJECTIVES: We use the functional imaging of MRI which affords the potential for exploring regional pathophysiologic change in living brain as an olfactory function test. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Functional MRI scans of the brain were performed on 5 healthy subjects and 3 patients with olfactory dysfunction. 2 of the patients were diagnosed Parkinson's disease and the other one had basal skull fracture. Then, all subjects were performed CCCRC test. RESULT: 6 of 8 subjects showed significant region of activation in olfactory bulb and tract. Additional region of activation were also observed in amygdala and parahippocampus. Average activation ratio was 3.42+/-2.37%. CONCLUSION: These studies indicate that functional MRI have many limitations but it may be used to evaluate olfactory dysfunction and predict prognosis.
Amygdala ; Brain ; Contingent Negative Variation ; Echo-Planar Imaging* ; Evoked Potentials ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Olfactory Bulb ; Parkinson Disease ; Prognosis ; Skull Fractures ; Smell

PURPOSE: This study was done to identify correlations between fatigue and quality of life in clinical nurses. METHOD: A sample of 294 nurses working in 3 general hospitals answered a questionnaire containing Yoshitake's fatigue scale and WHOQOL-BREF. Data were analyzed using t-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficients. The SPSS/WIN 11.0 version program was used. RESULTS: The score for level of fatigue was 2.11 (52.7%) and quality of life, 2.89 (57.8%). The level of fatigue was highest in the physical domain followed by psychical and nervous-sensual domain in that order. There were statistically significant differences in scores of fatigue depending on the nurse's age, marital status, career, position, health status and present illness. Quality of life had the highest score in the social domain followed by physical, overall, psychological, and environmental domain in that order. There were statistically significant differences in scores on quality of life depending on nurse's age, marital status, career, position, health status and present illness. CONCLUSION: The relationship between fatigue and quality of life revealed a significant negative correlation. Based on this study, nursing administrators need to reduce the level of nurse fatigue by providing various programs, which improve quality of life.
Administrative Personnel ; Fatigue* ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Marital Status ; Nursing ; Quality of Life* ; Surveys and Questionnaires