OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate client satisfaction with mental health services across sociodemographical and service utilization characteristics and to identify the predictors for quality of life for schizophrenic patients who registered in community mental health center. METHODS: One hundred five schizophrenic patients who had received intensive or continuing care completed questionnaires, which included Consumer Satisfaction Scale and the Korean version of World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment Instrument-Brief (WHOQOL-BREF). Subject's sociodemographic and service utilization characteristics were compared using t-test or one-way analysis of variance. To examine the influence of these variables on quality of life, stepwise multiple regression was conducted. RESULTS: Consumer satisfaction scores differed significantly depending on the length of contact with a current mental health staff. In a stepwise multiple regression model, service relevance and occupation together explained 20.5% of variance in quality of life. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that continuity in contact with a current mental health staff was important in consumer satisfaction. Service relevance and occupation had an impact on quality of life.
Consumer Satisfaction ; Humans ; Mental Health Services* ; Mental Health* ; Occupations ; Quality of Life* ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Schizophrenia* ; World Health Organization

BACKGROUND: The recently developed nucleic acid amplification methods may provide us with very sensitive, specific and rapid tests for the detection of M. tuberculosis. So the aim of this study was to compare the commercial Amplicor M. tuberculosis kit and our in-house polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with the conventional culture and direct AFB staining method. Materials and METHODS: Among the total of 2,340 clinical specimens, 1,314 sputum samples were tested for the presence of M. tuberculosis by Amplicor PCR and 1,026 sputum samples were tested by in-house PCR performing with resin matrix preparation and DNA extraction, synthesized primer pair, detection using agarose gel electrophoresis. RESULTS: One hundred-seventeen specimens were positive by Amplicor PCR, 105 were positive by in-house PCR, 185 were positive by culture. The sensitivity of the Amplicor PCR for all of the specimens and for smear-positive and smear-negative specimens was 92.9%, 97.9% and 88.2%, respectively after discrepant analysis. The sensitivity of the in-house PCR for all of the specimens and for smear-positive and smear-negative specimens was 80.0%, 93.6% and 65.5%, respectively after discrepant analysis. The specificity of the Amplicor PCR and in-house PCR for all of the specimens was 97.9% and 99.0%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Amplicor PCR was more sensitive than in-house PCR, but there was another problems such as high false positive rate and high cost. So PCR may certainly become very useful in microbiological laboratories if PCR method is selected according to the laboratory conditions.
DNA ; Electrophoresis, Agar Gel ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis* ; Mycobacterium* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Sputum* ; Tuberculosis

No abstract available.
Pregnancy*

Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH) is associated with severe outcomes. We report a case of acute respiratory failure that required mechanical ventilation and was clinically and pathologically diagnosed as DAH related to exposure to organic dust. A 39-year-old man, who had visited a warehouse to grade beans for purchase, was referred to our hospital for impending respiratory failure. His initial radiographic examinations revealed diffuse bilateral ground-glass opacities in his lungs and bronchoalveolar lavage resulted in progressively bloodier returns, which is characteristic of DAH. He underwent bedside open lung biopsy of his right lower lobe in the intensive care unit. Biopsy results revealed DAH and organization with accumulation of hemosiderin-laden macrophages and a few fibroblastic foci. The patient was treated with empirical antibiotics and high-dose corticosteroids and successfully weaned from mechanical ventilation. DAH might be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients with acute respiratory failure after exposure to organic particles.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Adult ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Biopsy ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Dust* ; Fibroblasts ; Hemoptysis ; Hemorrhage* ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Lung ; Macrophages ; Respiration, Artificial ; Respiratory Insufficiency*

PURPOSE: This study was performed to measure hospital nurses' perceived patient safety culture and their safety care activities, and to investigate the relationship between these two factors. METHOD: This study was a cross-sectional survey. The participants were 301 nurses working at 4 general hospitals, and data collection was done from June 22 to June 30, 2009 by self-administrated questionnaires. RESULTS: With a possible score of 5 points, the average score for nurses' perceived patient safety culture was 3.34, and for their safety care activities, 4.25. There were perceived differences in patient safety culture and safety care activities according to age, position, length of work experience and number of patient safety education sessions attended. All sub-factors in patient safety culture had a positive relationship with safety care activities. Factors influencing nurses' safety care activities were number of patient safety education sessions attended, hospital environment, and supervisor/manager. These factors explained 58.2% of the variance. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that patient safety education is very important to improve nurses' safety care activity. So nursing supervisors/ managers should develop strategies encourage patient safety education, and make nurses' working environment safer.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Medical Errors ; Organizational Culture ; Patient Safety

The purpose of this study were to find out the practical way to enlarged child-raising knowledge and to enhance their satisfaction with out-patient care by evaluating how effectively the education is done by nurses for mothers with ill-child and how their satisfaction with out-patient care changed. This study was designed as a Nonequivalent Control Group study. The subjects studied were consisted of the experimental and control group. Each consisted of 50 mothers with ill-child in pediatric department at one university hospital in Seoul. The period of this study is from May 20, 1996 to June 28, 1996. The first data were collected fro both of experimental and control groups in which mothers with ill-child come to the hospital for the first time. After this being done, the experimental group had been educated by the planned program and then the second data were collected from them. On the contrary, as for the control group, there had been no education and the second data were collected on the same method. The data analysis was done by SPSS program. The results of this study are as follow, 1. The child-raising knowledge level of mothers with education was higher than that of with no education.(t=18.84, df=49, p=0.000) 2. The satisfaction with out-patient care level of mothers with education was higher than that of no education.(t=10.51, df=49, p=0.000) Based on these results, I suggest as follow, 1. The research on the patients and their family should be made not only in pediatric department, but in every out-patient department. 2. For more effective education, it is required for all out-patient nurses to research the education demand of patients and their family. 3. To increase the effect of education, there must be the consultation room in out-patient department. 4. The meetings with the mothers with ill-child of the same illness have to be established and periodical education must be executed. 5. Audio-visual education programs like video tapes are needed to make use of waiting time for the medical treatment. 6. On-line consulting program are needed.
Education ; Humans ; Mothers* ; Outpatients* ; Seoul ; Statistics as Topic ; Child Health

Hyperkeratosis of the renal pelvis and ureter is a rare condition and is explained by the metaplastic change from transitional to cornified squamous epithelium. This lesion is frequently associated with, and perhaps caused by chronic urinary infection, but potentially premalignant, accompaning with carcinoma in about 10 to 20 per cent of the cases at the time of diagnosis. A case of hyperkeratosis of renal pelvis & ureter which was clinically suspected of carcinoma in a 49-year old woman with a long history of chronic pyelonephritis is presented with review of literature.
Female ; Humans

It has suggested that a significant proportion of intraepithelial lesion of the cervix may be related to the influence of human papillomaviurs (HPV). Its etiological relation with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and cervical squamous cell carcinoma has recently been proposed. The 131 cases of CIN and 6 condyloma acuminata were stained by immunoperoxidase technique for HPV anigen. The results are as follows: The 18 cases (13.1%) exhibited positive staining, localized in nuclei of koilocytotic cells confined to superficial and intermediate layer of epithelium. HPV antigen was found in 1 case (16.7) of 6 condyloma acuminata, 4 cases (12.5%) of 32 mild dysplasia, 3 cases (13.6%) of 22 moderate dysplasia, 2 cases (14.3%) of 14 severe dysplasia and 8 cases (12.7%) of 63 carcinoma in situ. In the positive cases of mild and moderate dysplasia, HPV antigen was localized directly within the lesion, while those cases of severe dysplaia and carcinoma in situ contained positive cells in areas of mild or moderate dysplasia adjacent to the lesion. Of three distinct morphologic patterns, flat type was most common and papillary type was least. Histologically condylomatous lesions were present in 67 cases (51.1%) out of 131 cases of CIN. The histological and cytological feature encountered most frequently was koilocytotic arypia. Other main histological features are bi- or multinucleation, exocytosis of inflammatory cells, acanthosis, mitotic figures, dyskeratosis and epithelial pearl. On the cervical smear, the evidence of condyloma was proved in 50.0%. Cytologically in the condyloma with high degree of CIN, the nuclear atypia was so prominent that the differentiation from dysplasia or carcinoma in situ was very difficult, although the chromatin appeared somewhat smudged. The mean age of 18 cases was 42.4 years which is older than previous study. The results of this study provide common association with HPV and CIN and add great weight to the suggestion that the infection with HPV plays an important part in genesis of cervical cancer.
Humans

The cryopathic hemolytic anemia is an autoimmune hemolytic anemia induced by cold antibody. Authors report a case of cryopathic hemolytic anemia confirmed by immunohematologic examination. A 22-year-old man was admitted at Kyung Hee Medical Center in March, 1994, with a past history of Kleinerfelter's syndrome and complained jaundice as well as dizziness. Direct antiglobulin test using polyvalent and anti-C3d monovalent antisera was positive, but was negative against anti-IgG, anti-IgA, and anti-IgM monovalent antisera. Cold agglutinin titer was as high as 1:1024 at 4 degrees C and anti-I specificity was confirmed by using cord bloods. The patient was not improved despite transfusion of washed red cells and administration of prednisolone, and on 16th day of hospitalization he manifested sudden episode of headache and loss of conscioussness, soon followed by death.
Anemia, Hemolytic* ; Anemia, Hemolytic, Autoimmune ; Coombs Test ; Dizziness ; Fetal Blood ; Headache ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Immune Sera ; Jaundice ; Prednisolone ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND: The purpose of our study is to evaluate the usefulness of cervicovaginal fetal fibronectin assay for the prediction of rupture of membrane and preterm labor. METHODS: A group of 39 pregnant women was involved in this prospective study. Out of 139 pregnant women, 96 were clinically diagnosed as ruptured membranes (group A). The remaining 43 of 139 pregnant women were clinically diagnosed as preterm labor(group B). The assay was performed by using the ROMCheckTM kit (Adeza Biomedical Corp., Sunnyvale, CA). RESULTS: In group 4, fetal fibronectin (fFN) positive rate is 55% (53 patients) and negative rate is 45% (43 patients). In group B, fFN positive rate is 56% (24 patients) and negative rate is 44% (19 patients). Both group of fFN positive patients show a significantly shorter interval from sampling to delivery than fFN negative patients. Also in group A, the percentage of fFN positive patients who delivered at less than 48 hours after sampling is greater than those with fFN negative patients and in group B, the preterm delivery rate is 79% with positive fFN and 37% with negative fFN. As a predictor for preterm delivery, the presence of fFN has the sensitivity 79%, the specificity 84%, the positive Predictive value 76% and the negative predictive value 86%. CONCLUSIONS: The result suggests that a positive fFN in pregnant women who have uterine contractions and ruptured membrane indicates a significant risk for preterm delivery and labor onset, and a negative fFN is a reassuring sign.
Female ; Fibronectins* ; Humans ; Labor Onset ; Membranes ; Obstetric Labor, Premature ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women* ; Prospective Studies ; Rupture ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Uterine Contraction