PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess pain, sleep disturbance, fatigue, and the quality of life and to identify the impact of pain, sleep disturbance and fatigue on the quality of life in patients with pancreatic cancer undergoing chemotherapy. METHODS: Data were collected from June to July, 2010. Participants were recruited from Y university hospital in Seoul. Research instruments included numeric rating scale for pain, Functional Assessment Chronic Illness Therapy-Functional Well-Being (FACIT-FWB): General Factor 5 (GF5) for sleep disturbance, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) for quality of life, and FACT-Fatigue for fatigue. RESULTS: The quality of life for cancer patients had a significant relationship with pain, sleep disturbance, and fatigue. The significant factors influencing quality of life were pain, sleep disturbance, and fatigue that explained 52.6% of the variance. CONCLUSION: Patients with pancreatic cancer undergoing chemotherapy experienced pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbance which led to a negative effect on quality of life. The results suggest that intervention program to improve quality of life could reduce pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbance of pancreatic cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
Chronic Disease ; Fatigue ; Humans ; Pancreatic Neoplasms ; Quality of Life ; Sleep Wake Disorders

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to test whether sleep disturbance mediates the effect of pain on fatigue, whether fatigue mediates the effect of pain on depression, and whether fatigue mediates the effect of sleep disturbance on depression. METHODS: This study was conducted from September 12th to December 20th, 2011. One hundred eighty-eight breast cancer patients were recruited from D city and S city in Korea. The instruments used in this study were the pain, sleep disturbance, fatigue, and depression scales. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficients, and mediation pathway with the SPSS 12.0 and AMOS 20.0 programs. RESULTS: There was correlation among pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and depression. Mediation analyses indicated that pain influences fatigue. sleep disturbance, and depression directly as well as indirectly. Sleep disturbance influences fatigue and depression directly, also fatigue influences depression directly. But sleep disturbance had no direct effect on depression. CONCLUSION: Significant correlations among the four symptoms supported the existence of the symptom cluster. Effects of pain on fatigue was partially mediated by sleep disturbance, also effects of pain on depression was partially mediated by fatigue. However, the effects of sleep disturbance on depression was fully mediated by fatigue.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Cluster Analysis* ; Depression ; Fatigue ; Humans ; Korea ; Negotiating* ; Weights and Measures

To evaluate the efficacy of transdermal scopolamine patch in reducing nausea and vomiting associated with general anesthesia, we studied 60 healthy women undergoing major gynecologic surgery. The patients were divided into 2 groups. Each group was composed of 30 patients. Group I; not applied a transdermal scopolamine patch. Group II: applied one transdermal scopolamine patch on the skin behind her ear at the night before surgery. Anesthesia was induced by thiopental sodium(5 mg/kg) and succinylcholine(1.5 mg/kg) and maintained with fentanyl(3-6 ug/kg), enflurane(0.5-1.5 vol%) and nitrous oxide(50 vo1%) in oxygen. A comparison with Group I and Group II indicated that the transdermal scopolamine patch reduced the incidence of postoperative nausea or vomiting associated with general anesthesia significantly(Group I; 36.67%, Group II; 13.33%, p<0.05).
Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, General* ; Antiemetics ; Ear ; Female ; Gynecologic Surgical Procedures ; Humans ; Incidence ; Nausea* ; Oxygen ; Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting ; Scopolamine Hydrobromide* ; Skin ; Thiopental ; Vomiting*

We experienced a case of aldosterone and cortisol secreting adrenal adenoma associated with pregnancy in a 23 year old female patient.The patient complained of severe thoraco-lumbar pain, weight gain, sweating, anxiety, and mild abdominal discomfort. On physical findings, hypertension, tachycardia, facial plethora, moon face, buffalo hump and truncal obesity were found.
Adenoma ; Aldosterone ; Anxiety ; Buffaloes ; Female ; Humans ; Hydrocortisone ; Hypertension ; Moon ; Obesity ; Pregnancy ; Sweat ; Sweating ; Tachycardia ; Weight Gain

Background: The goal of this study was to confirm the relationship between subjective body shape perception and the depression screening tool Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) in the geriatric population. Methods: A total of 1,251 subjects were analyzed among adults aged 65 or older who performed the 2020 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The subjective body shape perception was divided into three groups (thin, normal, and obese). Depression screening tool PHQ-9 10 points were employed as a cut-off value. The association between subjective body shape perception and the risk of depression based on the PHQ-9 was first verified by achi-square test, and then logistic regression analysis was performed along with items expected to influence the relationship. Results: There was a considerable difference between the depression risk and the normal groups in subjective body shape perception, which was classified as thin, normal, and obese. In the final model, the group who thought they were thin had an increased risk of depression compared with the normal group. Dyslipidemia, being female, and not owning a home have all been demonstrated to greatly raise the risk of depression. Conclusion We verified that subjective body shape was related to the risk of depression through the PHQ-9.

OBJECTIVES: The posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) checklist (PCL) is currently the most popular self-report scale employed in screening PTSD. This study was conducted 1) to test the reliability and validity of PCL in veterans of the Vietnam War and 2) to compare the results when using a conventional paper survey and mobile app survey. METHODS: Participants included 186 Korean veterans of the Vietnam War. Mini Mental Status Examination, PTSD module of Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID), and Life Event Checklist were administered. PCL was administered in either written format or mobile app. Diagnostic validity of the PCL was compared using the PTSD module of SCID. Other psychometric properties of PCL were also calculated. RESULTS: PCL results using different methods, paper and mobile app, showed no significant difference in each item and total score. Cronbach's coefficient of PCL was 0.95, optimal cut-off 49.5, sensitivity 91.7%, and specificity 93.5%. CONCLUSION: PCL showed excellent internal reliability, sensitivity, specificity, and validity. There was no statistically significant difference between survey methods. These results suggest that PCL is a reliable self-report scale in veterans. In addition, PCL with mobile app can be helpful in screening PTSD.
Aged* ; Checklist* ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Mobile Applications* ; Psychometrics ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic* ; Veterans* ; Vietnam*

OBJECTIVE: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often missed or incorrectly diagnosed in primary care settings. Although brief screening instruments may be useful in detecting PTSD, an adequate validation study has not been conducted with older adults. This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the primary care PTSD screen (PC-PTSD) and single-item PTSD screener (SIPS) in elderly veterans. METHODS: The PC-PTSD and SIPS assessments were translated into Korean, with a back-translation to the original language to verify accuracy. Vietnamese war veterans [separated into a PTSD group (n=41) and a non-PTSD group (n=99)] participated in several psychometric assessments, including the Korean versions of the PC-PTSD (PC-PTSD-K), SIPS (SIPS-K), a structured clinical interview from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV(SCID), and PTSD checklist(PCL). RESULTS: The PC-PTSD-K showed high internal consistency (Cronbach α=0.76), and the test-retest reliability of the PC-PTSD-K and SIPS-K were also high (r=0.97 and r=0.91, respectively). A total score of 3 from the PC-PTSD-K yielded the highest diagnostic efficiency, with sensitivity and specificity values of 0.90 and 0.86, respectively. The 'bothered a lot' response level from the SIPS-K showed the highest diagnostic efficiency, with sensitivity and specificity values of 0.85 and 0.89, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that both PC-PTSD-K and SIPS-K have good psychometric properties with high validity and reliability for detecting PTSD symptoms in elderly Korean veterans. However, further research will be necessary to increase our understanding of PTSD characteristics in diverse groups with different types of trauma.
Adult ; Aged* ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Humans ; Mass Screening* ; Primary Health Care ; Psychometrics ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic* ; Veterans

PURPOSE: To evaluate the radiologic findings for complete and partial ablation after percutaneous CT-guided transthoracic radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of lung VX2 tumor implanted in rabbits. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirteen rabbits with successfully implanted lung VX2 were used. Three rabbits as controls did not receive RFA while the other ten rabbits underwent RFA; 5 complete and 5 partial. RFA was performed using an internally cooled, 17-gauge electrode (Radionics, Burlington, MA) with a 1-cm active tip under CT guidance. Postprocedural CT was performed within 3 days, and we analyzed the ablated size, enhancement pattern, shape, margin, and complications of the complete and partial ablation groups. Rabbits were sacrificed after postprocedural CT with an overdose of ketamine, and pathologic findings of the ablated groups were compared with those of the control group. RESULTS: The size of the ablated lesions and the enhancement pattern differed between the completely and partially ablated groups on chest CT. The size of the ablated lesions was increased by 47.1% in the completely ablated group and by 2.1% in the partially ablated group. In the completely ablated group, VX2 tumor showed absolutely no enhancement, whereas only ablated pulmonary parenchyma outside VX2 showed mild enhancement on enhanced CT. In the partial ablated group, a part of VX2 became strongly enhanced on enhanced CT. On microscopic examination, the completely ablated group demonstrated that a viable tumor cell was not visible. In the partially ablated group, however, a viable tumor cell within the surrounding fibrous capsule on the peripheral area of the VX2 was observed. CONCLUSION: The important CT findings for evaluation of complete and partial RFA are the ablated size and enhancement pattern of the ablated lesion.
Animals ; Catheter Ablation ; Electrodes ; Ketamine ; Lung* ; Rabbits ; Tomography, Spiral Computed* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

BACKGROUND: The distribution of ABO and Rhesus D (RhD) blood group antigens differs according to race and region. Previous studies have reported that blood group type was associated with not only transfusion-related diseases but also various diseases, such as malignancy and infectious disease. However, true relationship of blood groups and many diseases remained controversial. The aim of this study was to determine whether ABO and RhD blood groups are correlated with several infectious diseases. METHODS: From January 2003 to December 2012, we retrospectively reviewed results for HBsAg, HCV Ab, HIV Ab, VDRL, HAV IgM, CMV IgM, EBV VCA IgM, and Clostridium difficile toxin A and B (CD toxin). We also reviewed ABO and RhD results of these patients. Data were analyzed using chi-square test and binary logistic regression test. Odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals were determined. RESULTS: A total of 109,898 medical records of ABO and HBsAg results were reviewed. Blood group type-A was more prone to have positive results with HBsAg, while blood group type-O was less affected (odds ratio 1.086, P=0.003, odds ratio 0.935, P=0.029, respectively). With 3,171 records of CD toxin, blood group type-O was more affected (odds ratio 1.247, P=0.027). The relationship of the other serologic results and blood groups was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Seroprevalence of HBsAg and CD toxin showed an association with blood group type. Blood group type-A had higher HBsAg seroprevalence than the other group. Blood group type-O was more prone to have CD toxin.
Blood Group Antigens ; Clostridium difficile ; Communicable Diseases* ; Continental Population Groups ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Herpesvirus 4, Human ; HIV ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin M ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Medical Records ; Odds Ratio ; Phenotype* ; Retrospective Studies ; Seroepidemiologic Studies*

We report a case of ruptured mycotic aneurysm involving innominate artery requiring an urgent surgical treatment. A 62-yr-old woman presented with fever and dyspnea. Previously, she was diagnosed with colon cancer and received right hemicolectomy and one cycle of adjuvant chemotherapy. On echocardiogram, pericardial effusion was noted and emergency pericardiocentesis was performed. CT scan revealed aortic aneurysm involving ascending aorta and innominate artery, and thrombi surrounding those structures. Patch repair of the defect in the ascending aorta and ringed Goretex graft to bypass the innominate and ascending aorta were performed. We believe that this is the first case of ruptured mycotic aneurysm involving innominate artery.
Aneurysm, Infected/*surgery ; Aorta/pathology ; Aortic Aneurysm/surgery ; Brachiocephalic Trunk/pathology ; Colonic Neoplasms/drug therapy/surgery ; Female ; Human ; Middle Aged ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Transplants