Purpose: This study developed a protocol for nursing care after death for adult patients in hospitals. Methods: This was a methodological study to develop a care after death protocol. The preliminary protocol was developed based on a literature review, guidelines, and practice recommendations from groups of experts and clinical nurses. Content validity was evaluated by a group of experts (n=6) and nurses (n=30) in two hospitals. Results: The preliminary protocol recommendations were modified by validation and the open-question analysis results. The final protocol comprised three general recommendations and 43 recommendations in five steps that are verification and notification of a death, personal care of the body, viewing the patient, patient transfer, and documentation and self-care. Conclusion This study result provides nurses with a consensus information on patient care after death and family support in a hospital setting. This nursing protocol is expected to improve the quality of care after death for adult patients and their families, and can be used for developing educational and emotional support for nurses to accomplish their important role.

OBJECTIVE: This study compared the efficacy and tolerability of aripiprazole with that of other atypical antipsychotics by examining patients with pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD) at a child and adolescent psychiatric clinic in a university hospital in Korea. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 127 pediatric patients with bipolar disorder aged 4-18 years treated at Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric, Yonsei University Severance Hospital between January 2010 and October 2011 to collect demographic and clinical data. Using the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scales, we evaluated levels of severity of and improvements in symptoms at the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth hospital visits. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 12.29+/-3.47 years. The sample included 91 (71.7%) male and 36 (28.3%) female patients. Aripiprazole was prescribed to 62 (48.8%) patients, risperidone to 52 (40.9%), quetiapine to 11 (8.7%), and paliperidone to two (1.6%). Patients treated with aripiprazole had lower CGI-Severity (CGI-S) scores than did patients treated with other atypical antipsychotics at the second and third visits. The CGI-Improvement (CGI-I) scores of patients treated with aripiprazole were lower at the second visit. Treatment with atypical antipsychotics was well tolerated, and no serious or fatal side effects were observed. CONCLUSION: The present retrospective chart review suggests that atypical antipsychotics may be effective and safe for the treatment of patients with PBD. In particular, treatment with aripiprazole may be more effective than treatment with other atypical antipsychotics in the early phase. These results should be verified in future multi-center controlled studies.
Adolescent ; Aged ; Antipsychotic Agents ; Bipolar Disorder ; Child ; Child Psychiatry ; Dibenzothiazepines ; Female ; Humans ; Isoxazoles ; Male ; Medical Records ; Piperazines ; Pyrimidines ; Quinolones ; Retrospective Studies ; Risperidone ; Weights and Measures ; Aripiprazole ; Quetiapine Fumarate

No abstract available.
Ascorbic Acid/*chemistry ; Blood Chemical Analysis/instrumentation/*methods ; Blood Glucose/*analysis ; Maltose/*chemistry

Primary aldosteronism (PA) is a common, yet underdiagnosed cause of secondary hypertension. It is characterized by an overproduction of aldosterone, leading to hypertension and/or hypokalemia. Despite affecting between 5.9% and 34% of patients with hypertension, PA is frequently missed due to a lack of clinical awareness and systematic screening, which can result in significant cardiovascular complications. To address this, medical societies have developed clinical practice guidelines to improve the management of hypertension and PA. The Korean Endocrine Society, drawing on a wealth of research, has formulated new guidelines for PA. A task force has been established to prepare PA guidelines, which encompass epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up care. The Korean clinical guidelines for PA aim to deliver an evidence-based protocol for PA diagnosis, treatment, and patient monitoring. These guidelines are anticipated to ease the burden of this potentially curable condition.