PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects on health information education for the deaf. METHOD: One group pre-test and post-test research design was applied to 46 deaf people. The instrument developed by research team was used for data collection. The questionnaire consisted of 91 items including demographics and 5 diseases, such as hypertension, cancer, diabetes, pulmonary tuberculosis, and hepatitis. RESULT: The degrees of knowledge on 4 diseases, such as, hypertension, diabetes, pulmonary tuberculosis, and hepatitis were significantly improved. There was no educational effect on cancer even though the degree of knowledge during the pre-test was the highest. There were educational effects on 5 diseases by gender, but no effects by age and hearing/deaf status of parent. CONCLUSION: This study was the first for the deaf in nursing. Further studies are needed for the deaf who have low education. Also, good educational materials using video and CD need to be developed.
Data Collection ; Deafness ; Demography ; Education* ; Hepatitis ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Methods ; Nursing ; Parents ; Research Design ; Sign Language ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary

No abstract available.
Endocarditis*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare the levels of knowledge on 5 diseases between persons in hearing impaired and normal hearing groups. METHOD: The participants consisted of 44 people who are hearing impaired and 47 who are not. An instrument developed by the research team was used for data collection. The questionnaire consisted of 90 items including demographics and items on 5 diseases, hypertension, cancer, diabetes, pulmonary tuberculosis, and hepatitis. RESULTS: The level of knowledge on the 5 diseases, hypertension, cancer, diabetes, pulmonary tuberculosis, and hepatitis in normal hearing group was significantly higher than hearing impaired group. CONCLUSION: More attention and comprehensive educational programs are needed for people with hearing impairment.
Data Collection ; Demography ; Hearing Loss ; Hearing* ; Hepatitis ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary

This study was carried out to investigate the intake patterns of health food according to the kind of disease of the elderly aged over 60 years living in the Chuncheon area. This study was conducted by using a questionnaire from December 1999 to the March 2000. The data was analyzed using a SPSS program. The results were summarized as follows : The poorer the self-perceived health condition, the lower the level of activity of daily living(ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living(IADL) were the higher. the frequency score of health food intake. The incidence of disease, such as arthritis(44.7%), hypertension(18.8%), digestive diseases(17.1%), diabetes(10.5%) were found to be higher. than other chronic diseases among the elderly. The frequency score of health food intake was not significantly different according to self-perceived health status, disease status, or the level of ADL and IADl.. The must important source of information for health food intake was the recommendation of friends and relatives(68.7%). Twenty eight point two percent of the elderly considered health foods to be effective, however 8.3% of the elderly considered them to be ineffective. The elderly with chronic diseases had taken health floods in the descending order of neuralgia-arthritis, hypertension, digestive disease, diabetes. The elderly with digestive diseases, diabetes, renal disease, neuralgia-arthritis and respiratory disease were inclined to habitually take health floods once or twice per year. Intake of Korean traditional folk food was as high as intake of registered health food and Chinese tonic medicine. The most frequently taken health food was tonic medicine, which is fo11owed by pumpkin, ginseng products, herbal tea formula with black goat, deer antler and Kye-so-ju. Intakes of health food such as tonic medicine, blood of the deer, royal jelly, aloe were found to be higher among the elderly with chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and digestive disease. However, intakes of ginseng products, deer antler, pumpkin, herbal tea formula with black goat and Kye-so-ju were found to be higher among the healthy elderly. The elderly with neuralgia-arthritis had taken sixteen kinds of health foods. From these results, a wide consumer education program should be developed to convince people of the importance of well-balanced diet and to choose proper health foods according to the elderly's health conditions. Also, comprehensive and scientific research into Korean traditional folk foods are needed for the correct use.
Activities of Daily Living ; Aged* ; Aloe ; Animals ; Antlers ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Teas, Herbal ; Chronic Disease ; Cucurbita ; Deer ; Diet ; Education ; Floods ; Friends ; Gangwon-do* ; Goats ; Food, Organic* ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Incidence ; Panax ; Surveys and Questionnaires

The aim of this study was to investigate health-related and eating-related behaviors as part of self-recognized health status. The survey was conducted among 304 elderly people in Chunchon city in 1999. Fifty two percent(52%) of the respondents recognized they were healthy, 32% felt so-so and 16% thought themselves unhealthy. When they felt healthy, they engaged in more social work and regular exercise, had better appetites, lower conflict scores with their children, lower depression, higher satisfaction in life, better physical condition(eye, ear, tooth, mentality and walking), and higher ability of ADL(activities of daily living) and IAD(instrumental activities of daily living). Also, the self-recognized group consumed each food groups (meats, green, yellow and white vegetables, fruits, milks, seaweeds, beans) more often and showed a higher preference of food. The results of this study indicate that self-recognized health status affects every pattern of life among the elderly. As a result, comprehensive education(such as nutrition, health, physical and psychological education) should be offered to the elderly.
Activities of Daily Living ; Aged ; Appetite ; Child ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Depression ; Ear ; Eating* ; Feeding Behavior ; Fruit ; Gangwon-do ; Humans ; Milk ; Social Work ; Tooth ; Vegetables

Severe hyperammonemia can occur as a result of inherited or acquired liver enzyme defects in the urea cycle, among which ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency (OTCD) is the most common form. We report a very rare case of a 45-year-old Korean male who was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) due to severe septic shock with acute respiratory failure caused by Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia. During his ICU stay with ventilator care, the patient suffered from marked hyperammonemia (>1,700 µg/dL) with abrupt mental change leading to life-threatening cerebral edema. Despite every effort including continuous renal replacement therapy and use of a molecular adsorbent recirculating system (extracorporeal liver support-albumin dialysis) to lower his serum ammonia level, the patient was not recovered. The lethal hyperammonemia in the patient was later proven to be a manifestation of acquired liver enzyme defect known as OTCD, which is triggered by serious catabolic conditions, such as severe septic shock with acute respiratory failure.
Ammonia ; Brain Edema ; Humans ; Hyperammonemia* ; Intensive Care Units ; Liver ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Ornithine Carbamoyltransferase Deficiency Disease* ; Ornithine Carbamoyltransferase* ; Ornithine* ; Pneumocystis jirovecii ; Pneumonia ; Renal Replacement Therapy ; Respiratory Insufficiency ; Shock, Septic* ; Urea ; Ventilators, Mechanical

Parasitemia characteristics of Plasmodium vivax malaria in temperate regions may differ from those in tropical zones. However, most parasitological and clinical features of P. vivax malaria have been investigated in the latter. In this study, we investigated 383 malaria patients to clarify the parasitemia characteristics of a P. vivax strain in the Republic of Korea (ROK). The mean parasitemia (8,396/microL) was less than half of tropical P. vivax malaria, and multiple invasions of erythrocytes were not rare (53.5% of the patients, 2.4% of the total investigated RBCs), but less than the observations in tropical zones. The intervals between the first symptom onset and diagnosis were significantly longer in gametocyte (+) patients than in gametocyte (-) patients. Only half of the total patients had both genders of gametocytes (191 of 353), and the male gametocyte density (169/microL) was lower than that of P. vivax strains of a previous study. Multiple invasions of erythrocytes and gametocytemia were coincident factors of the degree of anemia in P. vivax malaria. The present findings demonstrate the P. vivax strain in ROK reveals relatively low parasitemia and low male to female gametocyte ratio. The low ratio may be related with low transmission efficacy.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Erythrocytes/parasitology ; Female ; Humans ; Malaria, Vivax/*diagnosis/epidemiology/parasitology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Parasitemia/*diagnosis/epidemiology/parasitology ; Plasmodium vivax/isolation & purification ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology

Parasitemia characteristics of Plasmodium vivax malaria in temperate regions may differ from those in tropical zones. However, most parasitological and clinical features of P. vivax malaria have been investigated in the latter. In this study, we investigated 383 malaria patients to clarify the parasitemia characteristics of a P. vivax strain in the Republic of Korea (ROK). The mean parasitemia (8,396/microL) was less than half of tropical P. vivax malaria, and multiple invasions of erythrocytes were not rare (53.5% of the patients, 2.4% of the total investigated RBCs), but less than the observations in tropical zones. The intervals between the first symptom onset and diagnosis were significantly longer in gametocyte (+) patients than in gametocyte (-) patients. Only half of the total patients had both genders of gametocytes (191 of 353), and the male gametocyte density (169/microL) was lower than that of P. vivax strains of a previous study. Multiple invasions of erythrocytes and gametocytemia were coincident factors of the degree of anemia in P. vivax malaria. The present findings demonstrate the P. vivax strain in ROK reveals relatively low parasitemia and low male to female gametocyte ratio. The low ratio may be related with low transmission efficacy.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Erythrocytes/parasitology ; Female ; Humans ; Malaria, Vivax/*diagnosis/epidemiology/parasitology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Parasitemia/*diagnosis/epidemiology/parasitology ; Plasmodium vivax/isolation & purification ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology

Purpose: To assess the diagnostic potential of whole-exome sequencing (WES) and elucidate the clinical and genetic characteristics of primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) in the Korean population. Materials and Methods: Forty-seven patients clinically suspected of having PCD were enrolled at a tertiary medical center. WES was performed in all patients, and seven patients received biopsy of cilia and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Results: Overall, PCD was diagnosed in 10 (21.3%) patients: eight by WES (8/47, 17%), four by TEM. Among patients diagnosed as PCD based on TEM results, two patients showed consistent results with WES and TEM of PCD (2/4, 50%). In addition, five patients, who were not included in the final PCD diagnosis group, had variants of unknown significance in PCD-related genes (5/47, 10.6%).The most frequent pathogenic (P)/likely pathogenic (LP) variants were detected in DNAH11 (n=4, 21.1%), DRC1 (n=4, 21.1%), and DNAH5 (n=4, 21.1%). Among the detected 17 P/LP variants in PCD-related genes in this study, 8 (47.1%) were identified as novel variants. Regarding the genotype–phenotype correlation in this study, the authors experienced severe PCD cases caused by the LP/P variants in MCIDAS, DRC1, and CCDC39. Conclusion Through this study, we were able to confirm the value of WES as one of the diagnostic tools for PCD, which increases with TEM, rather than single gene tests. These results will prove useful to hospitals with limited access to PCD diagnostic testing but with relatively efficient in-house or outsourced access to genetic testing at a pre-symptomatic or early disease stage.

PURPOSE: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is recognized as an important cause of not only healthcare-associated pneumonia (HCAP) but also community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). We determined the impact of MRSA on differences in clinical characteristics, courses, and outcomes between CAP and HCAP. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective observational study on 78 adult patients admitted with MRSA pneumonia at a university-affiliated tertiary hospital between January 2008 and December 2011. We compared baseline characteristics, chest radiographs, treatment outcomes, and drug resistance patterns between the CAP and HCAP groups. RESULTS: Of the 78 patients with MRSA pneumonia, 57 (73.1%) were HCAP and 21 (26.9%) were CAP. MRSA infection history in the previous year (29.8% vs. 14.3%, p=0.244) tended to be more common in HCAP than in CAP. Despite similar Pneumonia Severity Index scores (151 in CAP vs. 142 in HCAP), intubation rates (38.1% vs. 17.5%; p=0.072) and intensive care unit admission (42.9% vs. 22.8%; p=0.095) tended to be higher in the CAP group, while 28-day mortality was higher in the HCAP group (14.3% vs. 26.3%; p=0.368), although without statistical significance. All patients showed sensitivity to vancomycin and linezolid; meanwhile, HCAP patients showed greater resistance to gentamicin than CAP patients (58.3% vs. 16.6%; p=0.037). The median total hospital charges were 6899 American dollars for CAP and 5715 American dollars for HCAP (p=0.161). CONCLUSION: MRSA pneumonia showed significantly differences in baseline characteristics, chest radiographs, treatment outcomes, and medical expenses between HCAP and CAP groups.
Aged ; Community-Acquired Infections/*microbiology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus/*pathogenicity ; Middle Aged ; Pneumonia/*microbiology ; Retrospective Studies