PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of decentralization, participation in decision making, job satisfaction on organizational commitment among hospital nurse managers. METHODS: The data were derived from the self-reported questionnaire responses of 198 nurse managers from January to March, 2006 at four general hospitals over 900 beds in Seoul and Gyungi province and analyzed by frequency and percentage, t-test, ANOVA and Sheffe's test and stepwise multiple regression. RESULTS: Mean of decentralization was 3.53+/-0.52, participation in decision making was 5.04+/-0.83, job satisfaction 3.54+/-0.48, and organizational commitment was 5.30+/-0.76. There were significant differences between participation in decision-making and career of manager, field of practice, span of control, especially in staffing decision. A significant correlation was found between organizational commitment and decentralization (r=.22, p<.001), participation in decision making (r=.40, p<.001), job satisfaction (r=.64, p<.001). The job satisfaction has the highest significant predictor of organizational commitment (R2=43%). CONCLUSIONS: Nursing managers' job satisfaction and organizational commitment will be promoted by granting participation in decision-making.
Decision Making ; Financing, Organized ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Job Satisfaction ; Nurse Administrators ; Politics ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: This methodological study develops an oral health assessment tool for critically ill patients.METHOD: From February 15 to April 30, 2014, this study was conducted to test the validity and reliability of the tool at two general hospitals and three medical and surgical intensive care units (ICUs) in Seoul, Korea.RESULTS: The result of the intraclass correlation coefficient to test the between-observer reliability by analyzing the oral health assessment scores before and after oral nursing care showed that .93 of before oral care and .90 of after oral care. The correlation coefficient values of .68 (p < .001) and .71 (p < .001) before and after providing oral nursing care, respectively, indicated the presence of a statistically significant correlation between the tool and the criterion. Using the paired t-test, the differentiated validity of the tool was tested in patients who had developed pneumonia after entering the ICU. A statistically significant difference in scores was found between the time of entering the ICU and that of developing pneumonia (t=−8.73, p < .001), which provided evidence for the differentiated validity of the tool.CONCLUSION: Since the validity and reliability of the tool developed in this study were verified, this tool can be used to assess the oral health conditions of critically ill patients.
Critical Care ; Critical Illness ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Korea ; Methods ; Nursing Care ; Oral Health ; Pneumonia ; Reproducibility of Results ; Seoul

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to establish profiles of socioeconomic characteristics, dietary intake, and health status among Korean older adults by employing 3 multivariate analysis techniques. METHODS: Data were obtained from 1,352 adults aged 65 years and older who participated in the 2019 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Principal component analysis (PCA), factor analysis (FA), and cluster analysis (CA) were utilized for profiling, with data preprocessing undertaken to facilitate these approaches. RESULTS: PCA, FA, and CA yielded similar results, reflecting the high common variance among the variables. PCA identified 4 components, accounting for 71.6% of the accumulated variance. FA revealed 5 factors, displaying a Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value of 0.51 and explaining 74.3% of the total variance. Finally, CA grouped the participants into 4 clusters (R2=0.465). Both PCA and FA identified dietary intake (energy, protein, carbohydrate, etc.), social support from family (incorporating family structure, number of family numbers, and engagement in social eating), and health status (encompassing oral, physical, and subjective health) as key factors. CA classified Korean older adults into 4 distinct typologies, with significant differences observed in dietary intake, health status, and household income (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS The study utilized PCA, FA, and CA to analyze profiling domains and derive characteristics of older adults in Korea, followed by a comparison of the results. The variables defining the clusters in CA were consistent with those identified by PCA and FA.

PURPOSE: This study was to present improvement strategy and the problems of the nursing fee in national health insurance system. METHODS: A total of 23 nursing activities performed by nurses were selected. Data were collected the relative value score and criteria of the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Agency. Sixty clinical nursing experts panels were composed and nursing time surveyed self-reported method. The actual fee was calculated through the nursing time, relative value score and actual labor costs. Nextly, the labor costs analyzed was compared with that in the national health insurance. RESULTS: Although the practices were mainly performed by the nurse, other occupations have been recorded as main practitioners and the time of the nursing activity is partially improperly reflected. Additionally, although the nurse practiced mainly in glucose (semi-quantitative) test, it was confirmed that the principal practitioner was described as a clinical pathologist. The the labor cost gap was estimated that is 9.3 times (median) and 11.9 times (average) in this analysis. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that it is necessary to legislate a policy that can improve the quality of clinical nursing by reinforcing the appropriateness and improving nursing fee through reflection of the actual time spent for nursing care.
Fees and Charges ; Glucose ; Insurance, Health ; Methods ; National Health Programs ; Nursing Care ; Nursing ; Occupations ; Relative Value Scales

PURPOSE: The pathogensis and etiologic agents are still unknown but clinical studies suggest that Kawasaki disease (KD) is an autoimmune disease caused by infectious agents associated with the early development of acute myocarditis and coronary artery abnormalities. The study investigates serum troponin I (cTnI) and creatine kinase (CK)-MB in the acute stage of KD before diagnosis the use of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment to confirm and find early diagnosis of acute myocarditis. METHODS: The patient group consisted of 36 cases of KD in the acute stage before IVIG treatment, and the control group consisted of 10 cases who didn't suffer from KD. The obtained sera was measured by using the Chemiluminoimmunoassay method, and compared with the results of both groups. RESULTS: The sex ratio of male to female was 1.5 : 1, and the male age was 2.6 +/- 1.6 years old. The level of cTnI increased in 14 cases (31.9%), and CK-MB increased in 9 cases (25%). Five cases (13.9%) in the patient group increased in both cTnI and CK-MB levels which correlated with each other significantly (P<0.05). But the levels of cTnI and CK-MB were negative in the control group. Acute phase reactants such as CRP, C3, ESR were positive and WBC increased in the acute stage of both groups. CONCLUSION: The level of cTnI correlates accurately to myocardial cell injury, so increasing the level of cTnI in the acute stage of KD is recommended for acute myocarditis or myocardial cell injure in the early stage before onset of clinical symptoms and signs. Therefore, the measurement of cTnI can be a more useful method for early diagnosis and confirmation of acute myocarditis than a CK-MB test, and may help in the early treatment of IVIG by reducing cardiovascular abnormalities in KD.
Acute-Phase Proteins ; Autoimmune Diseases ; Cardiovascular Abnormalities ; Coronary Vessels ; Creatine Kinase ; Diagnosis ; Early Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins ; Immunoglobulins, Intravenous ; Male ; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome* ; Myocarditis ; Sex Ratio ; Troponin I* ; Troponin*

Experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU), an animal model of human uveitis, is characterized by infiltration of autoimmune T cells in the uvea as well as in the retina of susceptible animals. EAU is induced by the immunization of uveitogenic antigens, including either retinal soluble-antigen or interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding proteins, in Lewis rats. The pathogenesis of EAU in rats involves the proliferation of autoimmune T cells in peripheral lymphoid tissues and breakdown of the blood-retinal barrier, primarily in the uvea and retina, finally inducing visual dysfunction. In this review, we describe recent EAU studies to facilitate the design of a therapeutic strategy through the interruption of uveitogenic factors during the course of EAU, which will be helpful for controlling human uveitis.

The polymorphism at codon 129 (M129V) of the human prion protein gene (PRNP) is a known risk factor for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in Caucasians. There are few reports of this polymorphism's effect on memory and on the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The M129V genotype distributions among Asians are very different from Caucasians. Another polymorphism, codon 219 (E219K) is not found in Caucasians. We investigated two polymorphisms of PRNP, M129V (rs1799990) and E219K (rs1800014) in 297 Korean AD patients and 217 healthy subjects. The analysis of the genotype and allele distributions showed no significant difference between the AD patients and the controls in both polymorphisms (P=0.19 genotype, P=0.51 allele for M129V; P=0.64 genotype, P=0.50 allele for E219K). Also, the PRNP polymorphisms were not significantly associated with AD when the populations were stratified for the presence or absence of apolipoprotein E-e4 (ApoE-epsilon4) allele. These results suggest that the PRNP genetic variants are not associated with the risk for AD in Korean population.
Prions/*genetics ; Polymorphism, Genetic/*genetics ; Male ; Korea/epidemiology ; Humans ; Genotype ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease/genetics ; Female ; Codon/genetics ; Apolipoproteins E/genetics ; Alzheimer Disease/*epidemiology/*genetics ; Alleles ; Aged

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in Lewis rats is characterized by transient paralysis followed by recovery. To evaluate whether transient paralysis in EAE affects bone density, tibiae of EAE rats were morphologically investigated using micro-computed tomography and histology. The parameters of bone health were significantly reduced at the peak stage of EAE rats relative to those of controls (p < 0.05). The reduction of bone density was found to remain unchanged, even in the recovery stage. Collectively, the present data suggest that osteoporosis occurs in paralytic rats with monophasic EAE, possibly through the disuse of hindlimbs and/or autoimmune inflammation.
Animals ; Autoimmunity ; Bone Density ; Encephalomyelitis, Autoimmune, Experimental* ; Hindlimb ; Inflammation ; Osteoporosis* ; Paralysis ; Rats* ; Tibia

Experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU) is an animal model of human autoimmune uveitis that is characterized by the infiltration of autoimmune T cells with concurrent increases in pro-inflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen species. This study aimed to assess whether betaine regulates the progression of EAU in Lewis rats. EAU was induced via immunization with the interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP) and oral administration of either a vehicle or betaine (100 mg/kg) for 9 consecutive days. Spleens, blood, and retinas were sampled from the experimental rats at the time of sacrifice and used for the T cell proliferation assay, serological analysis, real-time polymerase chain reaction, and immunohistochemistry. The T cell proliferation assay revealed that betaine had little effect on the proliferation of splenic T cells against the IRBP antigen in an in vitro assay on day 9 post-immunization. The serological analysis showed that the level of serum superoxide dismutase increased in the betainetreated group compared with that in the vehicle-treated group. The anti-inflammatory effect of betaine was confirmed by the downregulation of pro-inflammation-related molecules, including vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 and interleukin-1β in the retinas of rats with EAU. The histopathological findings agreed with those of ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule 1 immunohistochemistry, further verifying that inflammation in the retina and ciliary bodies was significantly suppressed in the betaine-treated group compared with the vehicle-treated group. Results of the present study suggest that betaine is involved in mitigating EAU through anti-oxidation and anti-inflammatory activities.

Experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU) is an animal model of human autoimmune uveitis that is characterized by the infiltration of autoimmune T cells with concurrent increases in pro-inflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen species. This study aimed to assess whether betaine regulates the progression of EAU in Lewis rats. EAU was induced via immunization with the interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP) and oral administration of either a vehicle or betaine (100 mg/kg) for 9 consecutive days. Spleens, blood, and retinas were sampled from the experimental rats at the time of sacrifice and used for the T cell proliferation assay, serological analysis, real-time polymerase chain reaction, and immunohistochemistry. The T cell proliferation assay revealed that betaine had little effect on the proliferation of splenic T cells against the IRBP antigen in an in vitro assay on day 9 post-immunization. The serological analysis showed that the level of serum superoxide dismutase increased in the betainetreated group compared with that in the vehicle-treated group. The anti-inflammatory effect of betaine was confirmed by the downregulation of pro-inflammation-related molecules, including vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 and interleukin-1β in the retinas of rats with EAU. The histopathological findings agreed with those of ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule 1 immunohistochemistry, further verifying that inflammation in the retina and ciliary bodies was significantly suppressed in the betaine-treated group compared with the vehicle-treated group. Results of the present study suggest that betaine is involved in mitigating EAU through anti-oxidation and anti-inflammatory activities.