No abstract available.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast*

OBJECTIVES: The present study aims to investigate the effects of physical illness on depression in North Korean Defectors. METHODS: One hundred forty-four North Korean Defectors(20 males, 124 females) and 376 South Koreans 133 males, 243 females) in Incheon Metropolitan areas participated the present study. Face-to-face interview was conducted for demographic information including presence of physical illnesses. To investigate depressive symptoms, all participants were required to complete the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale (CES-D). RESULTS: After controlling gender, age, marital status, educational year, employment status and physical illness, North Korean Defectors showed higher CES-D score than South Koreans(beta=0.449, p<0.001). Within North Korean Defectors, the presence of physical illnesses independently was related to higher CES-D score(beta=0.243, p<0.001). However, within South Koreans, the presence of physical illnesses did not significantly predict CES-D score. North Korean Defectors with physical illness have higher CES-D score than North Korean Defectors without physical illness(26.8+/-13.8 versus 19.7+/-12.7). However, there was no significant differences of CES-D score between South Koreans with physical illness and South Koreans without physical illness(10.3+/-9.8 versus 9.3+/-8.8). CONCLUSION: Compared to South Koreans, North Korean Defector showed higher depressive symptoms independently from gender, age, education, employment, marriage. In addition, only North Korean Defectors showed the relationship between depression and physical illness. Our study suggests that depression should be assessed when North Korean Defectors have physical illness.
Depression ; Employment ; Humans ; Male ; Marital Status ; Marriage

No abstract available.
Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic*

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) infusion is an effective therapy for acute Kawasaki disease (KD). Nonetheless, approximately 10 percent to 20 percent of patients have persistent or recrudescent fever despite IVIG treatment, leading to a higher risk for coronary artery aneurysms (CAA). This unresponsiveness may pose a challenge to the clinicians. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels are elevated in the acute phase of the disease, especially in patients who develop CAA. We report a 10-month-old male with KD who failed to respond to multiple doses of IVIG and methylprednisolone and who then was treated with infliximab (5 mg/kg single dose). After infliximab treatment, he became afebrile with normalization of inflammatory markers and no further progression of CAA.
Aneurysm ; Coronary Vessels ; Fever ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins ; Immunoglobulins, Intravenous ; Infant ; Male ; Methylprednisolone ; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; Infliximab

PURPOSE: Although a significant number of reports on new therapeutic options for refractory Kawasaki disease (KD) such as steroid, infliximab, or repeated intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) are available, their effectiveness in reducing the prevalence of coronary artery lesions (CAL) remains controversial. This study aimed to define the clinical characteristics of patients with refractory KD and to assess the effects of adjuvant therapy on patient outcomes. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study of 38 refractory KD patients from January 2012 to March 2015. We divided these patients into 2 groups: group 1 received more than 3 IVIG administration+ steroid therapy, (n=7, 18.4%), and group 2 patients were unresponsive to initial IVIG and required steroid therapy or second IVIG (n=31, 81.6%). We compared the clinical manifestations, laboratory results, and echocardiographic findings between the groups and examined the clinical utility of additional therapies in both groups. RESULTS: A significant difference was found in the total duration of fever between the groups (13.0±4.04 days in group 1 vs. 8.87±2.30 days in group 2; P=0.035). At the end of the follow-up, all cases in group 1 showed suppressed CAL. In group 2, coronary artery aneurysm occurred in 2 patients (6.4 %). All the patients treated with intravenous corticosteroids without additional IVIG developed CALs including coronary artery aneurysms. CONCLUSION: No statistical difference was found in the development of CAL between the groups. Prospective, randomized, clinical studies are needed to elucidate the effects of adjunctive therapy in refractory KD patients.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Aneurysm ; Coronary Disease ; Coronary Vessels ; Echocardiography ; Fever ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins ; Immunoglobulins, Intravenous ; Infliximab ; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome* ; Prevalence ; Prospective Studies ; Retrospective Studies

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the perception of ototoxicity related to chemotherapy (cisplatin) and management status among nurses and doctors. Methods: The participating subjects were 247 nurses working in the oncology ward and the anti-cancer injection room and 40 internal medicine doctors in C University Hospital of D City. The data were collected from October to November 2019, using a self-report structured questionnaire and analyzed by the SPSS/WIN 24.0 program. Results: As a result of this study, 51.4% of nurses answered that they had knowledge of ototoxicity, 33.5% provided prior information on ototoxicity, and 4.5% provided information on the hearing test before cisplatin administration. The group with knowledge of cisplatin-related ototoxicity provided more information on both ototoxicity (χ²=105.02, p<.001) and hearing test (χ²=5.27, p=.022) than the group without knowledge of ototoxicity. The provision of education, including the contents of ototoxicity, improved the nurses’ knowledge about cisplatin-related ototoxicity, and it was found that more information about hearing loss was provided. Conclusion It was confirmed that education on the symptoms of cisplatin-related ototoxicity was required and no ototoxicity management system was in place. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an ototoxicity management program at the hospital level, which will have an effect on improving nursing practice for cancer patients.

Purpose: This descriptive study investigated the effects of nurses’ knowledge of withdrawalof life-sustaining treatment, death anxiety, and perceptions of hospice care on their attitudes toward withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment. Methods: Data were collected from 262 nurses at tertiary hospitals, general hospitals, or primary hospitals in Busan, Korea, and statistically analyzed using the t-test, analysis of variance, the Scheffé test, Pearson correlation coefficients, and hierarchical regression analysis. Results: The participants’ scores were 3.68±0.45 (out of 5) for attitudes toward withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, 0.65± 0.15 (out of 1) for knowledge of withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, 2.61±0.26 (out of 4) for death anxiety, and 4.06±0.43 (out of 5) for perceptions of hospice care. Furthermore, knowledge of withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment and perceptions of hospice care showed positive correlations with attitudes toward withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, while death anxiety showed a negative correlation. The most significant factors influencing attitudes toward withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment were perceptions of hospice care, followed by having experienced caring for patients who withdrew life-sustaining treatment, death anxiety, having a spouse, and ethical values, and the overall explanatory power was 43.0%. Conclusion This study showed that perceptions of hospice were an important fac-tor influencing nurses’ attitudes toward withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment. Therefore,it is necessary to develop and validate educational intervention programs that can improve perceptions of hospice care.

Purpose: This study examined the effects of ankle control training using neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), leg muscle activation, and balance in stroke patients. Methods: Thirty-one stroke patients diagnosed with cerebral infarction and cerebral hemorrhage were selected for the study. The experimental group underwent ankle control training using NMES, while the control group applied NMES to the paretic tibialis anterior muscle for 30 minutes per session, five times a week for four weeks. The muscle activity changes were measured using surface electromyography, and balance parameters were evaluated using a functional reach test (FRT). Results: The intra-group comparison of the concentric muscle activity revealed improvements in the experimental group, including paretic tibialis anterior (TA) muscle (p<0.05), medial gastrocnemius muscle (MG) (p<0.01), and lateral gastrocnemius muscle (LG) (p<0.05), as well as MG (p<0.05), LG (p<0.05), soleus muscle (p<0.05) of the non-paretic side, and soleus muscle symmetry index (p<0.05). The intra-group comparison of the eccentric muscle activity showed improvements in the experimental group, including MG (p<0.01) and LG (p<0.01) of the paretic side, as well as MG (p<0.01), LG (p<0.01) of the non-paretic side, and LG symmetry index (p<0.01). The intra-group comparison of the functional reach test revealed significant differences in the test results in the experimental and control groups (p<0.05). Conclusion Ankle control training using NMES had a positive effect on the changes in muscle activation and improved balance in patients with stroke.

PURPOSE: Kawasaki disease(KD) is a multisystemic inflammatory vasculitis of unknown etiology. Many complications other than cardiovascular involvement have been recognized in KD. However, there have been few reports published concerning involvement of the lungs in this disease. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between serum TNF-alpha, the degree of coronary artery dilatation and chest X-ray(CXR) findings. In addition, we have investigated serum anti-Mycoplasma antibody(AMA) titers in patients with KD who have abnormal CXR findings. METHODS: Eighty four patients with KD were included in this study(group I; 41 patients with normal CXR fndings, group II; 43 patients with abnormal CXR findings). Serum levels of TNF-alpha and AMA titer were measured. RESULTS: We reviewed the CXR findings and clinical courses of 84 patients with Kawasaki disease and found abnormal CXR findings in 43 patients(51.2 percent). Peribronchial cuffing was the most frequent abnormality(22.4 percent). In the group with abnormal CXR findings(group II), a statistical difference was not noted in age, sex, duration of fever, hemoglobin, WBC, platelet, ESR, and CRP levels and incidence of coronary arterial lesions as compared with the group having normal CXR findings(group I). No difference was noted in serum TNF-alpha level between group I and group II. 2 patients(12.5 percent) of 16 KD patients with abnormal CXR findings have positive AMA titer(above 1:320). CONCLUSION: Most of the abnormal CXR findings in KD patients were peribronchial cuffing. The abnormal CXR findings in KD patients did not mean severe inflammations. It is difficult to consider that CXR abnormalities are related to coronary arterial lesions. In addition, further study on the relationship between Mycoplasma infection and Kawasaki disease is needed
Blood Platelets ; Coronary Vessels ; Cytokines ; Dilatation ; Fever ; Humans ; Incidence ; Inflammation ; Lung ; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome* ; Mycoplasma Infections ; Thorax* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha* ; Vasculitis

PURPOSE: To evaluate the usefulness of navigated acetabular cup fixation for total hip arthroplasty in patients with acetabular deformity or revision total hip arthroplasty. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study enrolled 28 patients with at least 12 months' follow-up. The safe zone of the acetabular cup was defined as 40degrees+/-10degreesin inclination and 15degrees+/-10degreesin anteversion. The authors used the navigation and radiographic data to determine whether the acetabular cup was located within the safe zone or not. To evaluate the clinical outcomes, preoperative and last follow-up Harris hip scores were checked, and the occurrence of complications was evaluated. RESULTS: According to the navigation data, the mean inclination and anteversion were 38.5degrees+/-4.7degrees(range, 32degrees-50degrees) and 16.6degrees+/-4.0degrees(range, 8degrees-23degrees), respectively. According to the radiographic data the mean inclination and anteversion were 40.5degrees+/-4.6degrees(range, 32degrees-50degrees) and 19.4degrees+/-4.2degrees(range, 8degrees-25degrees), respectively. In both cases, all values were within the safe zone. Harris hip score was improved in all patients from preoperative 52.3+/-14.4 points (range, 29-87 points) to 88.0+/-9.0 points (range, 65-99 points) at the last follow-up. There was no dislocation or loosening of both cases. CONCLUSION: Navigated acetabular cup fixation is a useful technique for total hip arthroplasty in patients with acetabular deformity or revision total hip arthroplasty because it prevents the malposition and related complications.
Acetabulum* ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip* ; Congenital Abnormalities* ; Dislocations ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hip ; Humans