PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare psychosocial adjustment in children aged 4-11 years with cancer between on and off treatment. METHOD: The data was collected from parents of children with cancer through interviews with structured questionnaire at the pediatric outpatient department and inpatient ward of one university hospital located in Seoul. The instrument were the Child Behavior Check List(CBCL) developed by Achenbach(1991) and revised to standardize for Korean children by Oh et al(1997). RESULT: Total behavior problem score for children on treatment was greater than the score off treatment but there was no significant difference. Children on treatment reported higher levels of depression/anxiety, withdrawal, internalizing scores than children off treatment. Social competence score of children off treatment was greater than the score on treatment and the difference of school performance score of children between on and off treatment was not significant. The scores on the withdrawal, somatic complaints, social immaturity, internalizing scales in the cancer group including both on and off treatment was greater than normative findings in the general population. The scores on the school competence of children off treatment were lower than the norms for healthy children. CONCLUSION: Findings from this study support the importance of nursing interventions to facilitate the adjustment of children with cancer both on and off therapy.
Child Behavior ; Child* ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Mental Competency ; Nursing ; Outpatients ; Parents ; Seoul ; Weights and Measures ; Child Health ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe health problems and psychosocial adaptation in children with cancer and to determine the relationship between these two variables. METHOD: The data were collected from parents of 61 children with cancer, aged 4-11 years at one university hospital in Seoul. The instruments for this study were the Korea Child Behavior Check List (KCBCL) and a physical symptom checklist developed by the researchers. RESULT: The major health problems were coughing, sleeping disturbances, fatigue and weakness. The total behavior problem score for children in the cancer group was higher than the score for those in the norm group. The scores on the scales for withdrawal, somatic complaints, social immaturity, and internalizing problems were higher in the children with cancer compared to normative findings. Scores on social and school competence in the cancer group were lower than the norms for healthy children. The relationship between health problems and psychosocial adaptation was significant in the subscales of withdrawal, anxiety/depression, internalizing problems and social involvement in the off therapy group. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows the various areas that need further study in caring for children with cancer.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the influencing factors on externalized and internalized problem behaviors among high school students. METHODS: The subjects for this study were 707 students in two high schools in K province. The data were collected during the period from October to November, 2014 by use of questionnaires. The instruments used were the Korean Youth Self-report, Daily Hassles Questionnaire, State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, and Ego Resiliency Scale. The data were analyzed using SPSS. RESULTS: Significant predictors to explain externalized problem behaviors comprised anger-out, anger-in, anger-control, relation with parents, daily stress, and religion. It was found that these factors explained 46% of externalized problem behavior. Ego resiliency, anger-in, daily stress, gender, relation with parent, and anger-out were significant predictors to explain internalized problem behaviors. It was found that these factors explained 45% of internalized problem behaviors. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the influencing factors on problem behaviors differ from externalized and internalized problem behaviors. So these findings will provide the basic data to develop a program that is differentiated by problem behavior type.
Adolescent* ; Anger ; Ego ; Humans ; Parents ; Problem Behavior* ; Stress, Psychological

A 52-year-old man was taken to the emergency room following a motor vehicle accident. An echocardiogram showed moderate to severe tricuspid regurgitation due to rupture of the anterior chordae. An operation to repair the traumatic tricuspid regurgitation was recommended; however, the patient refused because he was asymptomatic. Two years later, he developed mild generalized edema and dyspnea. The echocardiogram revealed progressive severe tricuspid regurgitation and annular dilatation. We treated the posttraumatic tricuspid regurgitation successfully using artificial chordae and ring annuloplasty.
Dilatation ; Dyspnea ; Edema ; Emergencies ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Motor Vehicles ; Rupture ; Tricuspid Valve ; Tricuspid Valve Insufficiency

A 71-yr-old male patient with three vessel coronary artery disease underwent a coronary artery bypass graft. The patient was found to have a large pericardial defect at the apex of the heart that measured approximately 18 cm in circumference. The edge of the pericardial defect impinged on the epicardial coronary arteries. The left phrenic nerve descended via the dorsal boundary of the pericardial defect. Following coronary artery bypass grafting, the pericardial defect was repaired with a polytetrafluorethylene patch. The patient had an uncomplicated postoperative course.
Aged ; Coronary Angiography ; *Coronary Artery Bypass ; Coronary Artery Disease/radiography/*surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Pericardium/*abnormalities ; Phrenic Nerve ; Polytetrafluoroethylene/therapeutic use

In the present study, we examined whether four grains including adlay (AD), buckwheat (BW), glutinous barley (GB), and white rice (WR) affect the duration of food residence in the gastrointestinal tract and hepatic enzyme activities in rats fed different combinations of the grains. The rats were raised for 4 weeks on a high fat diet based on the American Institute of Nutrition-93 (AIN-93G) diets containing 1% cholesterol and 20% dietary lipids. Forty male rats were divided into four groups and raised for 4 weeks with a diet containing one of the grains. Corresponding to the dietary fiber contents of the experimental grains, gut transit time was shortest in the rats fed GB and increased in the order of BW, AD, and WR. In addition, the accumulated shortest transit time occurred in the GB group. Gut transit time affected weight gain and major organ weight, as it was closely related to the absorption of nutrients. The level of thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) in liver was higher in rats fed WR, AD, BW, and GB, indicating that the other grains decreased oxidative stress in vivo more than WR. Glutathione, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione S-transferase levels in the AD, BW, and GB groups were significantly higher than those in the WR group. In conclusion, reduced colonic transit time has been implicated in reducing the incidence of colon cancer, as evidenced by populations consuming diets rich in fiber. Whole grains such as AD, BW, and GB may contribute to a significant supply of antioxidants to prevent oxidative stress if they are consumed in large amounts.
Absorption ; Animals ; Antioxidants ; Edible Grain ; Cholesterol ; Colon ; Colonic Neoplasms ; Diet ; Diet, High-Fat ; Dietary Fiber ; Fagopyrum ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Glutathione ; Glutathione Peroxidase ; Glutathione Transferase ; Hordeum ; Humans ; Incidence ; Liver ; Male ; Obesity ; Organ Size ; Oxidative Stress ; Rats ; Thiobarbiturates ; Weight Gain

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to investigate patients' characteristics and actual conditions of home-based services offered by a free-standing hospice center. METHODS: A retrospective review was performed with the medical records of 75 patients who received home-based hospice care from a free-standing hospice center from January 2014 through December 2014. RESULTS: Most patients (54.7%) were enrolled via self-directed referral. The reason for the service termination was death at home 25.3%, admission to a hospice ward 50.7%, hospitalization 22.6% and patients' refusal 2.7%. Seventy three patients had cancer, and two patients had ALS. Among all, 58.7% were in a dying phase, and 34.7% were almost completely bedfast at the time of their enrollment in this study. When they enrolled, the patients' physical symptoms were characterized as pain (89.4%), sleep disturbance (71.2%), urinary difficulties (35.8%) and defecation difficulties (47.8%). Among all, 77.4% terminated the home visit service within one month. The mean frequency of the home visits was 3.25 (±3.98), and less than five in 82.7% of patients. The mean frequency of the phone service was 3.40 (±3.12). The frequency of doctor's home visits was 1.21±0.79 on average, and the figure increased when patients' conditions turned unstable. CONCLUSION: It is necessary to develop a home-based hospice care model with consideration of patients' characteristics and the actual service conditions delivered by free-standing hospice facilities.
Defecation ; Home Care Services ; Hospice Care* ; Hospices* ; Hospitalization ; House Calls ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Referral and Consultation ; Retrospective Studies

PURPOSE: To evaluate the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding associated with use of low-dose aspirin in children. METHODS: Among about 250 children who received low-dose aspirin (5 mg/kg/day) under the diagnosis of Kawasaki disease, from March 1995 to May 2001, at Eul-Ji general hospital, 100 children were enrolled in this study. We reviewed the medical records and interviewed the children's parents over the phone to confirm the existence of gross gastrointestinal bleeding. RESULTS: The age of the children at the beginning of medication ranged 4~118 months. About 75% of them was younger than 3 years old. The duration of medication ranged 0.5~17 months. About 70% of the children took the medicine for 2~3 months. Only 1 child (1%) had hematochezia during medication without any accompanying gastrointestinal symptom, and cimetidine for 1 week had cleared up the bleeding. The total duration of medication of 100 children was 341.5 months, and only 1 child had gastrointestinal bleeding. This translates into a rate of clinically significant gastrointestinal bleeding of 3.5 episodes/100 children/year. CONCLUSION: The long-term use of low-dose aspirin is safe, but, is associated with the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding in children. Careful follow-up and efforts to reduce the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding are necessary during long-term low-dose aspirin therapy in children.
Aspirin* ; Child* ; Child, Preschool ; Cimetidine ; Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage ; Hemorrhage* ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome ; Parents

To investigate the transmission pattern of geographical area and temporal trends of the 2010~2011 foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks in Korea, and to explore temporal intervals at which spatial clustering of FMD cases space-time analysis based on georeferenced database of 3,575 burial sites, from 30 November 2010 to 23 February 2011, was performed. The cases represent approximately 98.1% of all infected farms (n = 3,644) during the same period. Descriptive maps of spatial patterns of the outbreaks were generated by ArcGIS. Spatial Scan Statistics, using SaTScan software, was applied to investigate geographical clusters of FMD cases across the country. Overall, spatial heterogeneity was identified, and the transmission pattern was different by province. Cattle have more clusters in number but smaller in size, as compared to the swine population. In addition, spatiotemporal analysis and the comparison of clustering patterns between the first 7 days and days 8 to 14 of the outbreak revealed that the strongest spatial clustering was identified at the 7-day interval, although clustering over longer intervals (8~14 days) was also observed. We further discussed the importance of time period elapsed between FMD-suspected notice and the date of confirmation, and emphasized the necessity of region-specific and species-specific control measures.
Animals ; Burial ; Cattle ; Disease Outbreaks ; Foot-and-Mouth Disease ; Geographic Information Systems ; Korea ; Population Characteristics ; Republic of Korea ; Spatial Analysis ; Spatio-Temporal Analysis ; Swine

BACKGROUND: The usage of appropriate disinfectants is essential for infection control in a hospital. Inadequate use of disinfectants is the cause of human or environmental toxicity and is a waste of cost. The objective of this study was to describe the status of the usage of disinfectants in Korean hospitals. METHOD: One hundred and eighty three hospitals of over 300 beds were investigated by a questionnaire distributed by mall. Data collection was done on November 1999. The questionnaire was made by the Association of Infection Control Nurses in Korea, based on references and protocols of the Korean Society of Nosocomial Infection Control. Numerical and percentage data were analyzed by SPSS. RESULTS: The collection rate of the questionnaire was 43.7% (80/300). Thirty five hospitals (46.7%) had an official process in selecting disinfectants in their hospitals. Regarding skin antiseptics, 10% povidone iodine and 70% alcohol were commonly used in skin preparation for intravenous catheterization or pre-operative skin disinfection, For disinfection of mucosal membranes such as mouth and periurethral area, 3% boric acid solution or 3% H202 were used. Most of the hospitals decontaminated contaminated medical instruments manually with dodecyl diamino ethyl glycine (20.8%). glutaraldehyde (15.6%). quaternary ammonium compounds (13.8%), virkon (12.3%) and sodium hypochlorites (11.7%). Glutaraldehyde and virkon were frequently used for disinfection of endoscopes. Sodium hypochlorites (48.9%) and quaternary ammonium compounds (19.8%) were the most commonly used environmental disinfectants. Some noticeable problems in disinfectants were as follows. First, for mouth care, many hospitals (41.7%) over-used boric acid, which has cumulative toxicity for humans. Second, many hospitals had an incorrect protocol of disinfecting endoscopes. Third, for environmental decontamination and instrument cleaning, some hospitals used high level disinfectants such as glutaraldehyde, which is too costly and provides unnecessary safety problems. Fourth, after patient discharge, many hospitals did not use disinfectants at all. Considering the specific Korean medical environment of high incidence of multi-drug resistant microorganisms, use of disinfectants for discharged environments may be warranted. CONCLUSION: This study included only hospitals of over 300 beds, which has a limitation in representing the status of disinfectants usage in a country. However, significant problems from misunderstanding the basic principles of disinfectants and misusages of disinfectants were observed in this investigation. These observations will provide useful information for designing a guideline for the appropriate uses and for efficient education of disinfectants, and also for planning a national control program for proper disinfectants usage in this country.
Anti-Infective Agents, Local ; Catheterization ; Catheters ; Cross Infection ; Data Collection ; Decontamination ; Disinfectants* ; Disinfection ; Education ; Endoscopes ; Glutaral ; Glycine ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infection Control ; Korea* ; Membranes ; Mouth ; Patient Discharge ; Povidone-Iodine ; Quaternary Ammonium Compounds ; Skin ; Sodium ; Surveys and Questionnaires