BACKGROUND: This study aimed to empirically investigate the determinants on oxygen free radical degree which causes biological damage focusing on smoking habit and health behaviors in daily life. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, the subjects were adult males who submitted free radical tests among the examinees of the comprehensive medical testings at an university hospital in Suwon from 2008 to 2010. Total 497 samples were used in analyses for clarifying the relations of free radical degree to age, smoking, obesity, and other health behaviors. RESULTS: First, the degree of oxygen free radical increases by 0.164 as the age group increases (P<0.05). Second, the degree of oxygen free radical increases by 0.547 as the smoking habit increases (P<0.001). Third, the degree of oxygen free radical increases by 0.087 as the exposure to hazardous factors in workplace increases (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of the study imply that the smoking habit has more great influence on the increase of oxygen free radical in body than any other health behaviors. The causality of free radical to smoking and health behavior was not identified due to the limit of the cross-sectional study so it needs to be studied prospectively in the future.
Adult ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Free Radicals ; Health Behavior ; Humans ; Male ; Obesity ; Oxygen ; Smoke ; Smoking

No abstract available.
Emergencies* ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Emergency Treatment* ; Humans

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of structured information provided on self care knowledge, self care performance, and functional status. METHOD: The data were collected using self care knowledge and performance assessment tool, and functional status assessment tool from both group hospitalized patients at D hospital in Busan. RESULTS: There was a significant improvement(p=.032) in self care knowledge in experimental group compared to the control group. But there were not improvement in self care performance and functional status in experimental group compared to the control group. But comparing to pretest and posttest in experimental group, There were significant improvement in self care performance (p=.003) and functional status(p=.013). CONCLUSION: Structured information provided showed increased in the degree of knowledge, self care performance, and functional status. But the effect size of program which had been developed in this study was estimated small, so there is needed to modify this program and to research repeatedly.
Busan ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis* ; Liver* ; Self Care*

PURPOSE: Cytokines are known to play a major role in mediating many of the immunological and pathological findings of allergic disease. Many studies on allergen-specific T cell clones isolated from atopic individuals have shown that these cells produce cytokines of the Th2 phenotype. The purpose of the present study was to investigate cytokine patterns of T lymphocyte induced by Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus in atopic asthma. METHODS: Freshly isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells of Dp(+) asthmatic children, Dp(-) asthmatic children, nonasthmatic children, and normal adults were stimulated with Dp antigen and examined for the induction of IFN-gamma, IL-2, IL-4, and IL-5 mRNA using RT-PCR. RESULTS: The lymphoproliferative response to crude Dp antigen was maximized at Dp concentration of 2.5 microgram/mL. The lymphoproliferative response was low in children including Dp(+) asthmatics, Dp(-) asthmatics and nonasthmatics, but that of normal adults was high. The expression of IFN-gamma was not so different in each group, but the expression of IL-4 was least in adults, and that of IL-5 was most prominent in Dp(+) asthmatic children. In adult healthy group, IFN-gamma expression without IL-4 and IFN-gamma without IL-5 was significantly higher than those in children. IL-5 expression with or without IFN-gamma was the highest in Dp(+) asthmatic children. IL-4 and IL-5 or IL-5 without IL-4 expression were observed more frequently in Dp(+) asthmatic children than in any other groups. Th2 response was most prominent in Dp(+) asthmatics, and Th1 response was most prominent in normal adult group. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, we observed significantly prominent Th2 response in Dp(+) asthmatic children, especially that of IL-5.
Adult ; Asthma ; Child ; Clone Cells ; Cytokines* ; Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus* ; Gene Expression* ; Humans ; Interleukin-2 ; Interleukin-4 ; Interleukin-5 ; Lymphocytes ; Negotiating ; Phenotype ; Pyroglyphidae* ; RNA, Messenger

BACKGROUND: To elucidate the clinical presentation, antimicrobial susceptibility, and prognostic factors of monomicrobial Aeromonas bacteremia in order to determine the most effective optimal therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of Aeromonas bacteremia patients for the period January 2000 to December 2013 in a retrospective multi-center study. RESULTS: A total of 336 patient records were reviewed, with 242 having community-acquired bacteremia. The major clinical infections were of the hepatobiliary tract (50.6%) and peritonitis (18.5%), followed by primary bacteremia (17.9%). The infections usually occurred in patients with malignancy (42.3%), hepatic cirrhosis (39.3%), or diabetes mellitus (25.6%). High antimicrobial-resistance rates (15.5% for ceftriaxone, 15.5% for piperacillin/tazobactam) were noted. However, resistance to carbapenem and amikacin was only 9.8% and 3.0%, respectively. Aeromonas hydrophila (58.9%) was the most common pathogen, followed by Aeromonas caviae (30.4%). The severity of A. caviae bacteremia cases were less than that of A. hydrophila or Aeromonas veronii bacteremia (P <0.05). A. hydrophila showed higher antimicrobial resistance than did other Aeromonas species (P <0.05). Patients with hospital-acquired bacteremia were more likely to have severely abnormal laboratory findings and relatively high antimicrobial-resistance rates. Mortality was associated with metastatic cancer, shock, delayed use of appropriate antimicrobial agents, increased prothrombin time, and increased creatinine level (P <0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Aeromonas species should be considered one of the causative agents of bacteremia in patients with intra-abdominal infections or malignancies. Although ceftriaxone-resistant Aeromonas bacteremia was not statistically related to mortality in this study, it was associated with severe clinical manifestations and laboratory abnormalities. Appropriate antibiotics, including carbapenem, should be administered early, especially in Aeromonas bacteremia patients with shock and impaired renal function.
Aeromonas caviae ; Aeromonas hydrophila ; Aeromonas* ; Amikacin ; Animals ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Anti-Infective Agents ; Bacteremia* ; Ceftriaxone ; Creatinine ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Guinea Pigs ; Humans ; Intraabdominal Infections ; Korea* ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Medical Records ; Mortality ; Peritonitis ; Prothrombin Time ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Shock

OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the nutritional status and prevalence of metabolic syndrome of the people who participated in the KNHANES according to the number of household members. They were assessed by using information from the 2013~2014 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). METHODS: A total of 6,088 persons aged 19 years and over participated in 2013~2014 KNHANES, and they were classified into three groups according to the number of household members (single-person, two-person, three-person & over). The dietary behavior, nutritional status, health-related factors and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome of the subjects were investigated with using information from the survey questionnaires of KNHANES. The nutrient intake data of the subjects were obtained by the 24-hour recall method and this was analyzed for evaluating the nutrition adequacy ratio and the index of nutritional quality. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome among the subjects, and according to the study groups, was estimated using the blood and physical measurement data of the subjects. RESULTS: As for EQ-5D index available for all the health states generated by the EQ-5D descriptive system, the single-person household member was the lowest among all the household types. The index of nutrition quality for protein, crude fiber, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, riboflavin and vitamin C in the single-person household was lower than that of the two-person or the three-person and over households (p<0.001). The mean adequacy ratio of single-person households was significantly decreased compared with that of the other types of households (p<0.001). The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was higher in the single-person households than that in the multiple-person households (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These results showed that dietary behaviors, nutrition status and health status might be influenced by the number of household members. The results from this study would be useful for improving Korean people's dietary life and health status by implementing evidence-based, specialized intervention for the members of diverse types of households.
Ascorbic Acid ; Calcium ; Family Characteristics ; Humans ; Korea ; Methods ; Nutrition Surveys ; Nutritional Status ; Nutritive Value ; Phosphorus ; Potassium ; Prevalence ; Riboflavin

PURPOSE: To estimate the prevalence of co-prescribing contraindicated drugs for elderly patients in Busan. METHODS: We used the Health Insurance Review Agency (HIRA) claims database. Study population consisted of elderly patients who visited clinics or hospitals in Busan metropolitan city from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2001. Contraindicated drugs were defined as 162 combinations of contraindicated drugs announced by the Korea Ministry of Health and Welfare in 2004. The co-prescription of contraindicated drugs was defined as prescribing two or more contraindicated drugs in combination in the same prescription. The prevalence of co-prescribing contraindicated drugswas estimated as proportion of co-prescribed patients out of the study patients. We estimated and age-adjusted prevalence and its 95% confidence interval of co-prescription of contraindicated drugs among the elderly patients in Korean population in 2001. RESULTS: The study elderly patients were 262,952 with 2,483,227 prescriptions. Among the study patients 1,208 (4.6%) were prescribed contraindicated drugs in combination. A total of 16,255 patients were estimated as the number of co-prescribed patients among the Korean elderly in 2001. Age-standardized prevalence of co-prescription to the Korean elderly was estimated to be 45 per 10,000 persons. The most frequently prescribed combinations were cisapride & amitriptyline, roxithromycin & ergoloid mesylate, and terfenadine & erythromycin, and the frequency were 325 (16.8%), 149 (7.7%), and 132 (6.8%),respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The contraindicated drugs were co-prescribed to the elderly patients in Korea. Many of these co-prescriptions should be avoided if unnecessary. The patients should be carefully monitored if they were inevitably prescribed the contraindicated drugs.
Aged ; Amitriptyline ; Cisapride ; Drug Combinations ; Drug Utilization Review ; Ergoloid Mesylates ; Erythromycin ; Humans ; Insurance, Health ; Korea ; Prescriptions ; Prevalence ; Roxithromycin ; Terfenadine

Hypocalcemia is due to Hypoparathyroidism, Vitamin D deficiency, Hypomagnesemia, Inadequate calcium intake. The benefits of breast-feeding are well established. There are no need to supply calcium or Vitamin D in breast-fed infant. We report a case of infantile hypocalcemia caused by Vitamin D deficiency in exclusively breast-fed infant. He had no hypocalcemic symptom and hypocalcemia was found incidentally by routine laboratory tests during pneumonia treatment. He was presented with a low serum calcium level and 1,25(OH)2 Vit D3 level and high PTH. He was improved by Calcium and Vitamin D supplement. After then his mother continued breast feeding exclusively and resisted to feed her baby weaning food. During follow up period, hypocalcemia was recheked after discontinuation of vitamin D supplement. At 11 months of age, the calcium level was normal without vitamin D supplement after he had eaten weaning food. This report describes a case of hypocalcemia induced by vitamin D deficiency in exclusively breast-fed infant, with review of the literature.
Breast Feeding ; Calcium ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hypocalcemia* ; Hypoparathyroidism ; Infant* ; Mothers ; Pneumonia ; Vitamin D Deficiency* ; Vitamin D* ; Vitamins* ; Weaning

Background: Pharmacists communicate with a variety of healthcare experts to prevent medication errors. Situation-BackgroundAssessment-Recommendation (SBAR) is a tool used for concise and accurate communication. In 2018, we developed the pharmacy-SBAR (P-SBAR) to deliver pharmacists intervention more quickly and effectively through quality improvement activities. Objectives: This study evaluates the efficacy of P-SBAR on pharmacists’ intervention activities before and after the implementation of P-SBAR applications. We assessed the impact of P-SBAR on reducing the burden of intervention work, promoting pharmacists’ participation, and enhancing the acceptance rate. Methods: This is a retrospective study of the two groups before and after P-SBAR implementation. All pharmacists’ intervention records during two periods (2016-2017 and 2019-2020) were extracted from the data warehouse system at Kyunghee University Hospital at Gangdong, Seoul. The outcome was the number of inpatients and pharmacists who participated in the prescription monitoring activity, the number of interventions, and the physicians’ acceptance rate. Results: Although the total number of inpatients decreased (364,753 vs. 348,229), the number of pharmacists who participated in intervention activity increased (monthly mean: 15.8 vs. 18.0, p=0.001). The total number of interventions (2,767 vs. 4,389), the frequency of full acceptance (2,018 vs. 3,710), and the monthly acceptance rate increased significantly (73.8% vs. 83.8%, p<0.001). Conclusion P-SBAR improved accessibility and convenience by digitalizing the intervention activities performed in an offline environment. Improvement in work burden and acceptance rate using P-SBAR is expected to contribute toward reducing medication errors.

OBJECTIVES: In surgically treated non-small cell lung cancer, patients have a wide difference in prognosis even though they may be in the same stage. Therefore it is difficult to establish the prognosis for individual lung cancer patients. In this study, by using flow cytometric analysis of nuclear DNA content and S-phase fraction(SPF) of surgically treated non-small cell lung cancer patients, we proposed to establish other prognostic factors and their validity in comparison with the existing ones. METHODS: Paraffin-embedded tissue specimens from 81 surgically treated patients, diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer ranging from stage I to stage IIIa, were analyzed by flow cytometrically determined nulear DNA content and S-phase fraction. Cellular DNA content stained with propidium iodide was analyzed by flow cytometry: histograms with a coefficient of variation exceeding 8% were not used. RESULTS: 1) DNA content analysis was carried out for 59 of 81 patients. Of the 59 patients who were investigated by flow cytometry, 45 (76.3%) of the tumors were DNA aneuploidy and 14 (23.7%) were DNA diploidy. The proportion of DNA aneuploidy tumors showed no significant difference between cell types or stage. 2) S-phase fraction was evaluated for 36 of 81 patients. Mean value of SPF was 19.2% (+/-12.62)%. The value of SPF had nothing to do with stage. 3) The proportion of the high SPF group (more than 10% of cell proliferation cycle) was 75% With advance staging, the proportion of the high SPF group increased. 4) Significant difference in the median survival time was observed between the low SPF group and the high SPF group (32 months in low SPF, 12 months in high SPF) (p<0.05). No significant difference in the median survival time was observed between the aneuploidy group and the diploidy group (19 months in aneuploidy, 34 months in diploidy). 5) Significant difference in the disease free median survival time was observed between the low SPF group and the high SPF group (5 months in low SPF, 19 months in high SPF) (p<0.05). No significant difference in the disease free median survival time was observed between the aneuploidy group and the diploidy group (12 months in aneuploidy, 34 months in diploidy). 6) Upon multivariate analysis, stage and high SPF (more than 10% of cell proliferation cycle) were significant prognostic factors in surgically treated non-small cell lung cancer patients. CONCLUSION: The TNM stage and high SPF were significant as prognostic factors in surgically treated non-small cell lung cancer patients. Therefore new treatment plan should be needed in the patients who have high SPF.
Aneuploidy ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung* ; Cell Proliferation ; Diploidy ; DNA* ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prognosis ; Propidium