The autoinfective filariform larva of Strongyloides stercoralis causes hyperinfection in immunosuppressed hosts. Here we report on the case of a male patient who was admitted to the emergency room at Gwangju Veterans Hospital with a complaint of dyspnea, and who was receiving corticosteroid therapy for asthma. Many slender larvae of S. stercoralis with a notched tail were detected in Papanicolaou stained sputum. They measured 269 +/- 21.2 micrometer in length and 11 +/- 0.6 micrometer in width. The esophagus extended nearly half of the body length. The larvae were identified putatively as autoinfective third-stage filariform larvae, and their presence was fatal. The autoinfective filariform larva of S. stercoralis has not been previously reported in Korea.
Aged ; Animals ; Fatal Outcome ; Humans ; Immunocompromised Host ; Larva ; Male ; Sputum ; Strongyloides/growth & development/*isolation & purification ; Strongyloidiasis/*etiology ; Superinfection/*parasitology

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study is to investigate health problems of migrant workers in Korea. METHODS: The data were collected from the records of the medical history of 2,233 migrant workers who visited the community health clinic in Ansan city, Gyeonggi province from Jan. 2005 to Jan. 2007. The data were analyzed by SPSS. RESULTS: Men accounted for 56.4% of the total who participated in the study. Most of them were Chinese, Russian, and Bangladesh people. The 590 people out of all the migrant workers were employed in manufacturing industries and they comprised the largest percentage. The most commonly complained health problems were musculoskeletal (31.7%), digestive (20.7%), respiratory (12.5%), dermatologic (6.5%), cardiovascular (5.5%) and dental disorder (5.2%). The 1,853 (36.0%) workers were assumed to have hypertensive disorder and 1310 (11.1%) workers ,some diseases due to high cholesterol level. CONCLUSIONS: It is necessary to establish a public health care system to improve health and welfare of migrant workers. Furthermore, the communities need to draw their attention to this matter. And it is also necessary to make accurate research on their health and medical service.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Bangladesh ; Cholesterol ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Public Health ; Transients and Migrants

Tuberculous involvement of the colon is an uncommon clinical entity. Other colonic disease which should be considered in the differential diagnosis include inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and colon cancer. Intestinal tuberculosis most frequently involves the ileocecal area. The common presenting symptoms are abdominal pain, fever, weight loss and malabsorption. Pathologically, tuberculous colitis may present as an ulcerative type, hypertrophic type or in combination. Massive bleeding is said to be very rare even in the ulcerative type because of an obliterative endarteritis. We report a case of colonic tuberculosis presenting with massive bleeding in 52-year-old man with alcoholic liver cirrhosis, which was diagnosed by colonoscopic biopsy and acid-fast stain.
Abdominal Pain ; Biopsy ; Colitis ; Colitis, Ulcerative ; Colon* ; Colonic Diseases ; Colonic Neoplasms ; Crohn Disease ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Endarteritis ; Fever ; Hemorrhage* ; Humans ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic ; Middle Aged ; Tuberculosis* ; Ulcer ; Weight Loss

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to analyze papers published in the Journal of Korean Academy of Child Health Nursing (JKACHN) to identify the current state of child health nursing research and recommend directions for future research. METHODS: Using analysis criteria developed by the researchers, 233 papers published in JKACHN between 2005 and 2009 were reviewed. RESULTS: Both quantity and quality of these papers showed significant improvement compared to before 2005. The number of published papers, the proportion of intervention studies, and studies that involved children directly as participants had increased. However, published papers still leave much to be desired. Quantitative studies were dominant (91.4%) and many of these studies were survey designs (65.7%). Children, especially young children were still less likely to be direct participants. All experimental studies were quasi or pre-experimental studies. There were few qualitative research studies. CONCLUSION: Findings of this study indicate that strengthening peer review according to review guidelines will improve the quality of published papers and promote JKACHN as an international journal. Instead of proxy accounts from parents or nurses, research involving direct accounts by children is needed. Child-friendly data collection methods need to be developed and used by child health nurse researchers.
Child ; Data Collection ; Humans ; Clinical Trial ; Nursing Research ; Parents ; Pediatric Nursing ; Peer Review ; Proxy ; Qualitative Research ; Child Health

Silk peptide, the hydrolysate of silk protein derived from cocoons, has been employed as a biomedical material and is believed to be safe for human use. Silk peptide display various bioactivities, including anti-inflammatory, immune-regulatory, anti-tumor, anti-viral, and anti-bacterial. Although earlier investigations demonstrated that silk peptide stimulates macrophages and the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, its effect on natural killer (NK) cell function has not yet been explored. In this study, we initially confirmed that silk peptide enhances NK cell activity in vitro and ex vivo. To assess the modulatory activity of silk peptide on NK cells, mice were fed various amounts of a silk peptide-supplemented diet for 2 months and the effects on immune stimulation, including NK cell activation, were evaluated. Oral administration of silk peptide significantly enhanced the proliferation of mitogen- or IL-2-stimulated splenocytes. In addition, oral silk peptide treatment enhanced the frequency and degree of maturation of NK cells in splenocytes. The same treatment also significantly enhanced the target cell cytolytic activity of NK cells, which was determined by cell surface CD107a expression and intracellular interferon-γ expression. Finally, oral administration of silk peptide stimulated T helper 1-type cytokine expression from splenic lymphocytes. Collectively, our results suggest that silk peptide potentiates NK cell activity in vivo and could be used as a compound for immune-modulating anti-tumor treatment.
Administration, Oral* ; Animals ; Cytokines ; Diet ; Humans ; In Vitro Techniques ; Killer Cells, Natural* ; Lymphocytes ; Macrophages ; Mice ; Silk*

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to apply patient-engaged bedside handoffs in comprehensive care units, and to evaluate the effects of bedsides to nurses and patients. Methods: This study employed a cluster randomized cross-over design.Electrical Medical Record (EMR)-based handoffs and patient-engaged bedside handoffs were alternatively applied to 104 patients, who were assigned to a total of 30 clusters (nursing handoff teams) in 4 comprehensive care units at the S medical center in Seoul, and the patients evaluated each type of handoffs. A total of 139 nurses were also participated in the same units and evaluated each type of handoffs. Data were analyzed using t-test, Wilcoxon rank sum test, ANOVA, and Kruskal-Walls test. Results: The patient's satisfaction of the patient-engaged bedside handoffs was higher than that of the EMR-based handoffs (Z=-5.16, p<.001). On the other hand, the nurse's satisfaction of the patient-engaged bedside handoffs was significantly lower than that of the EMR-based handoffs (t=13.21, p<.001). There were no differences in length of the reporting time between two types of handoffs (t=-0.48, p=.634). Conclusion Patient satisfaction with the patient-engaged bedside handoffs was higher than that of EMR-based handoffs, and nurses' satisfaction with the patient-engaged bedside handoffs was significantly lower than that of EMR-based handoffs. Future studies are needed regarding the impacts of patient-engaged bedside handoffs on the quality of healthcare by identifying the benefits of the handoffs.

P-ANCA small vessel vasculitis is multisystemic disease, especially frequently involving the kidney. Diagnosis is delayed because it's non-specific clinical manifestation. Recently ANCA becomes available tools for diagnosis of vasculitis. Infection and gastrointestinal complications are relatively common in vasculitis. But spontaneous rupture of gastrointestinal artery is a rare complication. A 61-year-old housewife was admitted due to poor oral intake, weight loss and microscopic hematuria. Renal biopsy showed an extensive necrotizing glomerulonephritis, consistent with Wegener's granulomatosis or microscopic polyangitis. Serum test showed positive for P-ANCA. Despite steroid therapy, she expired due to spontaneous rupture of right gastroepiploic artery.
Antibodies, Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic* ; Arteries ; Biopsy ; Diagnosis ; Gastroepiploic Artery ; Glomerulonephritis ; Hematuria ; Hemorrhage* ; Humans ; Kidney ; Middle Aged ; Rupture, Spontaneous ; Vasculitis* ; Wegener Granulomatosis ; Weight Loss

PURPOSE: The modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale (mYPAS) was developed for evaluating the level of preoperative anxiety in children. The purpose of this study was to develop a Korean version of the mYPAS (K-mYPAS) and to establish its validity and reliability based on the Korean preoperative pediatric patients. METHODS: K-mYPAS was made through stringent back-translation procedure. Total enrolled 102 patients answered questionnaires of Korean version of State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (K-STAIC), and were videotaped for 2 to 5 minutes before induction of anesthesia. Three observers of experienced psychiatrist, surgeon, and nurse analyzed videotape with K-mYPAS comparing to K-STAIC. The inter- and intraobservers reliability, concurrent and construct validity, sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value were analyzed. RESULTS: The value of Cronbach alpha for interobservers reliability was 0.939 and intraobserver reliability was statistically significant (P < 0.001). Concurrent and construct validity were also statistically significant (P < 0.001 and P < 0.001, respectively). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy were 81.3%, 91.4%, 81.3%, 91.4%, and 88.2%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The K-mYPAS had good psychometric properties and can be used as a reliable and valid instrument for the assessment of preoperative anxiety in children.
Anesthesia ; Anxiety* ; Child ; Humans ; Psychiatry ; Psychometrics ; Reproducibility of Results* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Videotape Recording

PURPOSE: This study was to develop and prove the effects of aself management compliance promotion program for primary hypertension patients who reside in rural communities. METHOD: The content of the self management compliance promotion program developed by this study was as follows: A leader trains patients as a group or individually, in walking, education and green tea therapy from the first to twelfth week. From the thirteenth to twenty fourth week, the patients should perform walking and green tea therapy by themselves. One hundred twenty subjects volunteered to participate in the study, who were among those registered as hypertension patients in the 14 community health clinics located in Chungcheongbuk-do. RESULT: Systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride, step width, and degree of obesity decreased significantly. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol, step length, knowledge of hypertension, and self management compliance significantly increased. CONCLUSION: A self management compliance promotion program for primary hypertensive patients enhances biophysical index and knowledge on hypertension, thus ultimately suggesting a nursing intervention for promoting self management compliance.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Hypertension/psychology/*therapy ; Life Style ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Patient Compliance ; *Patient Education as Topic ; Rural Population ; *Self Care

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) is a clinical assessment tool that is widely used in clinical trials and practice to evaluate stroke-related neurological deficits. The aim of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of the Korean version of the NIHSS (K-NIHSS) for evaluating Korean stroke patients. METHODS: The K-NIHSS was translated and adapted with regard to cultural and linguistic peculiarities. To examine its content validity, we quantified the Content Validity Index (CVI), which was rated by 11 stroke experts. The validity of the K-NIHSS was assessed by comparison with the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), the modified Rankin Scale (mRS), and the Barthel Index. The reliability of the K-NIHSS was evaluated using the unweighted kappa statistics for multiple raters and an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). RESULTS: The CVI of the K-NIHSS reached 0.91-1.00. The median K-NIHSS score at baseline was 3 (interquartile range, 2-7), and the mean+/-SD score was 6.0+/-6.6. The baseline K-NIHSS had a significantly negative correlation with the GCS at baseline and the Barthel Index after 90 days. The K-NIHSS also had a significantly positive correlation with the mRS after 90 days. Facial paresis and dysarthria had moderate interrater reliability (unweighted kappa, 0.41-0.60); kappa values were substantial to excellent (unweighted kappa, >0.60) for all the other items. The ICC for the overall K-NIHSS score was 0.998. The intrarater reliability was acceptable, with a median kappa range of 0.524-1.000. CONCLUSIONS: The K-NIHSS is a valid and reliable tool for assessing neurological deficits in Korean acute stroke patients.
Dysarthria ; Facial Paralysis ; Glasgow Coma Scale ; Humans ; Linguistics ; National Institutes of Health (U.S.) ; Reproducibility of Results ; Stroke