This study was done to compare the nutritional status of antioxidant vitamins between college women smokers and nonsmokers. Dietary intakes and serum levels of antioxidant vitamins were determined in 33 smokers and 42 nonsmokers residing in the Seoul area. Dietary intakes of vitamin A and C were determined by a quick and convenient dietary intake method. Serum vitamin C level was measured by 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine method and serum levels of vitamin A and E were measured by HPLC. The mean A intake of nonsmokers and smokers was 504.3 microgram R.E./day and 450. 4 microgram R.E./day and the mean vitamic C intake of nonsmokers and smokers was 51.6mg/day and 50.2mg/day, reapectively. There was no difference in the dietary intakes of antioxidant vitamins between smokers and nonsmokers. The serum vitamin A level, 0.71mg/1 in nonsmokers was not significantly different from that of 0.74mg/1 in smokers. However, the serum vitamin C level, 7.94mg/1 in smokers was 15% lower(p<0.05) than that of 9.30mg/1 in nonsmokers. The serum vitamin E level, 18.15mg/1 in smoders was also 34% lower(p<0.05) than that of 27.58mg/1 in nonsmokers. There was no significant correlation between dietary intakes and serum levels of vitamin A and C for both smokers and nonsmokers. These results suggest that cigarette smokers need more dietary intakes of vitamin C and E than do nonsmokers to reach the same serum level.
Ascorbic Acid ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Female ; Humans ; Nutritional Status* ; Seoul ; Tobacco Products ; Vitamin A ; Vitamin E ; Vitamins*

One fetal demise of twin pregnancy in the second or third trimester is an unusual and difficult problem in the managemcnt of pregnancy. It can be associated with an increased risk for mortality and morbidity in the remaining fetus and with maternal DIC. 255 twin gestations were delivered at our hospital between December 1984 and August 1998. 8 cases of twin pregnancies with one fetal demise were observed. We reviewed 8 cases of twin pregnancies with one fetal demise that had been managed conservatively. The incidence of twin pregnancies with one fetal demise was 3.14% in the study population. The incidence of preterm delivery was 87.5%. The perinatal mortality rate of surviving twins was 25%. There were no cases of maternal disseminated intravascular coagulation or infection. There were no cases of neurologic damages in the surviving twins. The main cause of neonatal death was prematurity. An expectant approach to the twin pregnancies with one fetal demise seems reasonable.
Dacarbazine ; Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation ; Female ; Fetus ; Humans ; Incidence ; Mortality ; Perinatal Mortality ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Trimester, Third ; Pregnancy, Twin*

Burns is children result in the loss of precious life, or if the child survives, in much suffering from physical, emotional, social, and economic problems. These burn accidents to children happen in the bustle of family life and frequently without any warning. With this background information, this study was designed to identity types of burns in children and mother's attitudes towards, and knowledge of burn prevention, in order, to not only, in still a safety consciousness regarding the seriousness of burn accidents and the strengthening prevention, but also as basic data towards the development of an educational program aimed at prevention. From May 1 to May 25 in 1997, data were collected from the mothers of children attending five day care centers and kindergartens located in Seoul, which had been selected for the study. The tools used for the study, which were developed by the researchers, surveyed the type of burns suffered by children, mother's knowledge of burns and attitudes toward burn accidents. The data were analyzed through real numbers percentages and analysis was done using SPSS computer programs. The results of the study show that the most frequent type of burn accidents were those caused by hot water(55.4%) and these were frequently related to everyday habits that easily lead to danger. Further, the first aid treatment following a burn was weak. The majority of the mothers had not instructed their children on who to contact in the cape of a fire, first aid for burns, or how to take escape in the case of a fire. This left the children in a defenseless position in case of a fire. The mothers showed a lack knowledge, on what to do when a blaze is discovered, how to put out a fire, first aid for burns, escaping from a fire and appropriate water temperature, in that 50% of the time they answered incorrectly. From this study a prevention program, HIPP(Home Injury Prevention Program) could be developed that includes fire prevention habits and first aid for burns. This program can be used with kindergarten and elementary school children for group education fire prevention and can be used as a foundation for construction of a system of facilities and equipment to prevent fires and also prevent injury from fires.
Burns* ; Child* ; Consciousness ; Day Care, Medical ; Education ; Fires ; First Aid ; Humans ; Mothers ; Seoul ; United Nations ; Water ; Child Health

A survey was conducted to study attitudes of physician, nurse and patient towards physician's and nurse's uniform, from March 1 to March 31, 1996. The study population was 130 physicians and 147 nurses engaged in Yeungnam University Medical Center and 211 inpatients of Yeungnam University Medical Center. A questionnaire method was used to collect data. The following are summaries of findings: In the respect of physician's uniform, both physicians and nurses preferred other type of gown to the traditional coat-typed one and especially, nurses preferred more than physicians. Patients showed no difference in the preference of the traditional one and other form of gown as a whole but those who had higher educational level preferred other form of gown(p<0.01). It tended to agree wearing casual wear of physician during the working time of weekend and holiday as a whole. Younger physicians showed significantly higher preference for it(p<0.05). Regarding the nurse's uniform, both physicians and nurses preferred trousers, and 96% of the nurses did. Especially, nurses who were forty years old or more and who served at outpatient department and administrative and aid parts expressed 100 percent partiality to trousers. For the patients, those who had lower educational level preferred skirt and those who had higher educational level preferred trousers. As to the color of nurse's gown, 46.7% of the physicians and nurses liked white color. The physicians preferred white and nurses preferred other color(p<0.01). Of the patients, 79.1% liked white color. Regarding the wearing cap, 95.9% of the nurses replied it didn't have to wear the cap. The nurses who were fifty or more and who served at outpatient department and special parts gave whole answers of not having to wear the cap. On the other hand, 77.7% of the patients answered nurse had to wear the cap. From the above findings, it would be advisable to give a change to the forms and colors of the gowns to match with the trend and sense of the time instead of insisting on the traditional typical ones.
Academic Medical Centers ; Hand ; Holidays ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Outpatients

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to examine the frequency and characteristics of needlestick/sharps injuries (NSIs) in nursing students in Korea. METHODS: The study was based on a survey of questionnaires completed by 341 nursing students who had sustained at least one NSI during clinical practice in hospitals. RESULTS: The NSI incidence rate was 36.4%. Approximately half of the students reported two to four NSIs. Most (90.2%) of the NSIs occurred on the fingertips and were caused by a hollow-bore needle (46.8%) or lancet (45.8%). Some students were exposed to used needles contaminated with unknown pathogens (37.3%), HBs Ag (2.3%), Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) (0.8%), or HIV (0.6%). Students cited the reason for injury as carelessness, inexperience, hastiness, or recapping. Almost two-thirds of students who reported having experienced an NSI knew about post-exposure treatment. However, only one-third of the students with NSIs completed an official report. CONCLUSION: Korean nursing students lack knowledge about injury prevention, report procedures, and treatment after NSI. A revised educational approach with emphasis on occupational risk, skill development, and injury reporting is necessary to prevent NSI and to ensure that students obtain post-exposure prophylaxis.
Dietary Sucrose ; HIV ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Needles ; Needlestick Injuries ; Post-Exposure Prophylaxis ; Sexually Transmitted Diseases ; Students, Nursing ; Surveys and Questionnaires

No abstract available.
Leukemia* ; Leukemia, Megakaryoblastic, Acute*

OBJECTIVES: Depression, sleep complaints and cognitive impairments are commonly observed in the elderly. Elderly subjects with depressive symptoms have been found to show both poor cognitive performances and sleep disturbances. However, the relationship between sleep complaints and cognitive dysfunction in elderly depression is not clear. The aim of this study is to identify the association between sleep disturbances and cognitive decline in late-life depression. METHODS: A total of 282 elderly people who underwent nocturnal polysomnography in a sleep laboratory were enrolled in the study. The Korean version of the Neuropsychological Assessment Battery developed by the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD-K) was applied to evaluate cognitive function. Depressive symptoms were assessed with the geriatric depression scale (GDS) and subjective sleep quality was measured using the Pittsburg sleep quality index (PSQI). RESULTS: The control group (GDS< or =9) when compared with mild (10< or =GDS< or =16) and severe (17< or =GDS) depression groups, had significantly different scores in the Trail making test part B (TMT-B), Benton visual retention test part A (BVRT-A), and Stroop color and word test (SCWT)(all tests p<0.05). The PSQI score, REM sleep duration, apnea-hypopnea index and oxygen desaturation index were significantly different across the three groups (all indices, p<0.05). A stepwise multiple regression model showed that educational level, age and GDS score were predictive for both TMT-B time (adjusted R2=35.6%, p<0.001) and BVRT-A score (adjusted R2=28.3%, p<0.001). SCWT score was predicted by educational level, age, apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and GDS score (adjusted R2=20.6%, p<0.001). Poor sleep quality and sleep structure alterations observed in depression did not have any significant effects on cognitive deterioration. CONCLUSION: Older adults with depressive symptoms showed mild sleep alterations and poor cognitive performances. However, we found no association between sleep disturbances (except sleep apnea) and cognitive difficulties in elderly subjects with depressive symptoms. It is possible that the impact of sleep disruptions on cognitive abilities was hindered by the confounding effect of age, education and depressive symptoms.
Adult* ; Aged ; Alzheimer Disease ; Depression* ; Education ; Humans ; Oxygen ; Polysomnography ; Sleep, REM ; Trail Making Test

No abstract available.
Muscle, Smooth* ; Smooth Muscle Tumor* ; Stomach*

A 58-year-old female with an episode of gross hematuria two months before and fever and chill for the past three days presented oliguric acute renal failure. She has taken NSAID intermittently for 18 years due to rheumatoid arthritis, and herb medicine for one week two months ago when gross hematuria developed. Physical examination revealed mild tenderness on costovertebral angles. Her blood pressure was 170/100 mmHg, the urinalysis showed >300 mg protein with many RBCs and 10-20 WBCs and the serum creatinine was 5.8 mg/dl. A renal biopsy performed on the 4th hospital day showed that it was overwhelmed by severe tubular lesions which reveal intratubular obstruction by massive erythrocyte casts and tubular necrosis. The glomeruli showed focal minimal crescents with many red blood cells entrapped in the crescents and in the capillaries. Immune deposits were not present. A renal failure resolved spontaneously and the patient was discharged three weeks later with creatinine of 2.4 mg/dl. In this patient, acute renal failure was considered to be due to a tubular lesion related to the glomerular bleeding from focal glomerulonephritis revealing minimal crescents.
Acute Kidney Injury* ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Biopsy ; Blood Pressure ; Capillaries ; Creatinine ; Erythrocytes ; Female ; Fever ; Glomerulonephritis* ; Hematuria* ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Necrosis ; Physical Examination ; Renal Insufficiency ; Urinalysis

No abstract available.
Mortality*