This is a first report on an interview study of fertility and attitude toward family planning among a systematic random sample of about 1,000 couples in Korean rural area. More specifically, the authors analyzed the replies to the five important questions in fertility control; (1) the level of fertility, (2) the ideal family size, (3) the family planning limitation factors, (4) the prevalence of conception control and (5) the attitude towards the use of contraceptives. It was found that the level of reproductive performance has remained high with the total fertility rate of 7 or more, while their ideal family size revealed at the interview was 3 to 5. Such an excess fertility has not been well controlled by delaying of the age of marriage and/or by spacing birth, but the most prominent factors in limiting the family size has been the high mortality of children especially in infancy. As the infant mortality rate is declining, the family limitation is now practiced by the increasing rate of induced abortion. The practice of modern contraceptive method was low in prevalence, and if they were in use a high proportion were known to have begun the practice only after having their desired number of children(3 to 5). Family planning information was widespread and general1y accepted by the informed population. Also the majority of the respondents desired to learn (60%) and to practice (55%) the family planning. However, they were unable to practice it mainly due to the lack of detailed knowledge and instructions. This points out the need for proper education for developing the active family planning program in Korean rural area.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; *Family Planning Services ; *Fertility ; Human ; Korea ; Middle Aged ; Vital Statistics

A volvulus of the colon is a twisting of a redundant segment of the colon at its narrow mesentery. A sigmoid volvulus is the most common type. This disorder may spontaneously reduce and recur as a chronic problem. However, it more frequently becomes acute as a result of an obstruction, which can lead to strangulation and gangrene with a high mortality if not treated promptly. Colonoscopic reduction and decompression is the preferred initial treatment for patients with a sigmoid volvulus who show no signs of bowel strangulation, which may be the cause of the high mortality associated with emergency surgery. We experienced 2 cases of a sigmoid volvulus in a 44-year-old female and a 51-year-old male. The sigmoid volvulus was diagnosed by simple abdominal film and treated successfully by an emergency colonoscopic reduction. We report our experience on the use of colonoscopy to treat sigmoid volvulus with a reviews of the relevant literlature.
Female ; Humans ; Mortality

Gastritis cystica profunda (GCP) is a rare disease in which mature glandular epithelium extends into the muscularis mucosae or below. GCP lesions mainly develop at the gastroenterostomy stomas. These lesions show malignant histologic features such as metaplastic and even dysplastic alteration, however they usually exhibit benign behavior. We report a case of a patient with GCP who had not previously undergone gastric surgery. A 63-year-old woman visited our hospital for anorexia and epigastric discomfort. The esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed two polyps on the anterior wall of the greater curvature, antrum. The polyps were removed by snare polypectomy and the histology findings showed the character of a tubular adenoma and a hyperplastic polyp with an associated GCP.
Adenoma* ; Anorexia ; Endoscopy, Digestive System ; Epithelium ; Female ; Gastritis* ; Gastroenterostomy ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Mucous Membrane ; Polyps ; Rare Diseases ; SNARE Proteins

The incidence of intussusception in adults is quite low. A preoperative diagnosis was quite difficult due to the atypical clinical features, but the success rate of preoperative diagnosis of intussusception has improved with the advances in abdominal US and CT. However, the value of colonoscopy in making a preoperative diagnosis is unclear. The incidence of multiple primary cancer of the colon and rectum can vary widely. We report a case of intussusception in a patient who had synchronous cecal and sigmoid colonic cancer. A 71-year-old man was visited our hospital for diarrhea and general weakness. The abdominal US and CT revealed a mass lesion in the cecal area. Preoperative colonoscopy confirmed the lesion to be cecal cancer with a synchronous sigmoid colon cancer. In conclusion, the rarity of these synchronous cancers may result in a misdiagnosis. Therefore, a preoperative colonoscopy or postoperative colonoscopy might be useful.
Adult ; Aged ; Cecal Neoplasms ; Colon* ; Colon, Sigmoid* ; Colonic Neoplasms* ; Colonoscopy ; Diagnosis ; Diagnostic Errors ; Diarrhea ; Humans ; Incidence ; Intussusception* ; Rectum ; Sigmoid Neoplasms*

The throat swabs obtained from 1,098 adults and 432 children patients with respiratory diseases were examined for Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection detected by culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Antimicrobial susceptibilities of the resulting 60 M. pneumoniae isolates were evaluated by testing minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of erythromycin, minocycline, tetracycline, josamycin, sparfloxacin, ofloxacin, and ciprofloxacin by a broth micro-dilution method. In a preliminary screening, the detection rate of M. pneumoniae by PCR was 29.2% (277/948) for the adults and 28.3% (90/318) for the children. In the second survey, the isolation rate of M. pneumoniae by culture was 29.3% (44/150) for the adults, and 14.0% (16/114) for the children. The PCR detection rate was 36.7% (55/150) for the adults and 23.7% (27/114) for the children. The MIC90s of the M. pneumoniae isolates were 0.015 mg/ml for erythromycin, lower than 0.03 mg/ml for josamycin, 0.06 mg/ml for sparfloxacin and minocycline, 0.12 mg/ml for tetracycline, 0.5 mg/ml for ofloxacin and CFC-222, and 1.0 mg/ml for ciprofloxacin. The isolates were susceptible to erythromycin, josamycin, sparfloxacin, minocycline, tetracycline, and ofloxacin, but the 63.3% of them was resistant to ciprofloxacin. These results indicate that the PCR method has a significant potential as a rapid and sensitive method for early detection of M. pneumoniae infection in clinical specimens as compared with the culture method, but the PCR method could not provide any information concerning the biological chracteristics of M. pneumoniae strains. Erythromycin, josamycin, sparfloxacin, minocycline, and tetracycline could be recommended as the antimicrobial agents of choice in Korea.
Adult ; Anti-Infective Agents ; Child ; Ciprofloxacin ; Erythromycin ; Humans ; Josamycin ; Korea ; Mass Screening ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Minocycline ; Mycoplasma pneumoniae* ; Mycoplasma* ; Ofloxacin ; Pharynx ; Pneumonia* ; Pneumonia, Mycoplasma* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Tetracycline