BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to explore the prevalence of and the factors affecting constipation in elementary school students in urban and rural areas. METHODS: Study subjects were 585 grade 5 and 6 students. We conducted self-administered questionnaires during October, 2009. Outcome measure was the prevalence of constipation evaluated by the Rome III Diagnostic criteria for functional constipation. Independent variables were gender, grade, residence, mother's employment status, self-rated health status, number of family members, bowel movement habit, and health behavior (nutrition, exercise, and stress). RESULTS: The multiple logistic regression analysis showed that females, grade 5 students, those with working mothers, and those physically inactive reported having constipation significantly more often. CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed that the female gender, increasing age, mother's employment status, and physical inactivity were risk factors for constipation in elementary school students. To improve bowel function in children, health education programs and school health promotion programs targeting healthy life habits should be implemented.
Child ; Constipation* ; Employment ; Female ; Health Behavior ; Health Education ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Mothers ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; Prevalence* ; Risk Factors ; School Health Services ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND: A rapid and sensitive surveillance culture has a pivotal role in infection control of methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). This study was aimed to compare the performance of MRSASelect (Bio-Rad, France) to that of mannitol salt agar containing 6 microgram/mL of oxacillin (MSA-OX) for detecting MRSA in surveillance cultures. METHOD: From May to June 2006, 86 nasal swabs and 21 sputum specimens were enrolled. All specimens were inoculated onto MRSASelect and MSA-OX, which were incubated for 2 days and 3 days, respectively, and colonies were read daily by a technologist. Pink colonies on MRSASelect and yellow colonies on MSA-OX were examined with Gram stain, Pastorex(R) Staph-plus (Bio-Rad) and mecA-PCR. After the final reading, both media were re-examined by a superviser. RESULTS: Of the 107 specimens cultured, 32 (29.9%) were positive for MRSA. Of these, 27 were detected by both media, one by MSA-OX only, and 4 by re-examination. The day-1 and day-2 sensitivities/specificities of MRSASelect were 78.1%/97.3% and 84.4%/97.3%, respectively, while those of MSA-OX were 53.1%/100% and 78.1%/92.1%, respectively. With MRSASelect, two more positives were detected at day 2, but their incubation was less than 18 hour at day 1. There were six false positive organisms detected: three Enterobacter spp., one Acinectobacter spp., and two coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS). But, the two CNS grew on MSA-OX only. CONCLUSION: MRSASelect with 1-day incubation showed a sensitivity equivalent to and a specificity better than MSA-OX with 2-day incubation. MRSASelect should be a useful medium for MRSA surveillance when it is read after an incubation of 18-28 hours with the confirmatory Gram stain of screen-positives.
Agar ; Enterobacter ; Infection Control ; Mannitol ; Methicillin Resistance* ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus* ; Oxacillin ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Sputum ; Staphylococcus aureus

PURPOSE: This study examines the difference of optimism, self-esteem and depression to verify an effect of laughter therapy program for menopausal women. METHODS: A quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group pre / post-test design was used. The participants (n=57) were 28 in the experimental group and 29 in the control group. The data were collected in December of 2011. The experimental group participated in laughter therapy for 30 min per session, five times a week for the period of 2 weeks. The questionnaires were used to measure pre / post-test optimism, self-esteem, and depression of menopausal women. RESULTS: The results showed that laughter therapy was effective in increasing optimism (p=.020) and self-esteem (p<.001). And the depression of menopausal women decreased (p=.003). CONCLUSION: The result of the study indicates that laughter therapy for menopausal women may be an effective nursing intervention to improve optimism, self-esteem and depression of menopausal women.
Depression ; Female ; Humans ; Laughter ; Laughter Therapy ; Menopause ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: This study was designed to examine the effects of a weight control program on body weight and the sense of efficacy for control of dietary behavior in psychiatric inpatients. METHODS: A quasi-experimental design was used. Data were collected from March 1 to September 30, 2007. Female mentally ill patients in closing psychiatry ward of H University Hospital participated in the study (16 persons in the experimental group and 13 in the control group). RESULTS: The weight control program including diet therapy, exercise, education and behavior modification therapy decreased the rate of weight gain in female mentally ill patients taking atypical antipsychotics, and effectively increased a sense of efficacy for control of dietary behavior. CONCLUSION: Weight control program had a positive effect as a nursing intervention to decrease obesity and to increase the sense of efficacy for control of dietary behavior of psychiatric inpatients in psychiatric inpatients.
Adult ; Cognitive Therapy ; Diet Therapy ; Exercise ; Female ; Health Behavior ; Hospitals, Psychiatric ; Humans ; Inpatients/psychology ; Mentally Ill Persons/*psychology ; Middle Aged ; Patient Education as Topic ; Psychiatric Nursing ; *Weight Loss

The fate of testicular salvage in spermatic cord torsion depends on the duration of ischemia and the degree of torsion. Even though spermatic cord torsion (SCT) can occur at any age, it is rarely reported in older patients. If the physician does not pay close attention to this unusual situation, the lack of suspicion for SCT may result in a missed or delayed diagnosis. We report a very uncommon case of missed SCT occurring in a 63-year-old man.
Delayed Diagnosis ; Humans ; Ischemia ; Middle Aged ; Spermatic Cord ; Spermatic Cord Torsion ; Testis

The purpose of this study was to examine the donators' characteristics and donative foods of both government-dominant and non-governmental food bank program, to understand the problems and benefits of food bank program, and to find the solutions to activate food bank program. The questionnaires were distributed to 120 food bank operators and 3 donators were selected from each food bank for the survey from April 2002 to May 2002. 118 sheets (32.8%) from government-dominant food bank and 53 sheets (20.1%) from non-governmental food bank were collected. The main results of this study were as follows: The largest donators to either government-dominant or non-governmental food bank programs were bakery and confectionery companies 31.4% and 45.3% respectively. The majority of donated foods were "goods in stock" (55.6%) and frequency of donation were largely on a daily basis (27.1% for government-dominant and 22.6% for non-governmental). Some of the donators who had more donative food did not donate, and the reasons were closeness to expiration date of food (67.3%), lack of legal protection in the event of food poisoning (54.5%), and poor public image of food related accidents (52.3%).
Foodborne Diseases

BACKGROUND: Exercise-stress electrocardiography (ECG) is initially recommended for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease. But its value has been questioned in women because of suboptimal diagnostic accuracy. Stress echocardiography had been reported to have comparable test accuracy in women. But the data comparing the diagnostic accuracy of exercise-stress ECG and stress echocardiography directly are few. The aim of the study was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of exercise-stress ECG and dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) in Korean women. METHODS: 202 consecutive female patients who presented with chest pain in outpatient clinic, and who underwent treadmill exercise test (TET), DSE and coronary angiography were included for the study. The diagnostic accuracy TET and DSE were calculated by the definition of > 50% or > 75% coronary artery stenosis (CAS). RESULTS: The sensitivity and specificity were higher with DSE (70.4, 94.6%) than TET (53.7, 73.6%) for detection of > 50% CAS. The higher accuracy of DSE was maintained after exclusion of the patients who could not achieve over 85% age predicted heart rate before ischemia induction. DSE also showed greater diagnostic accuracy than TET by > 75% CAS criteria, and in subsets of patient with intermediate pretest probability. CONCLUSION: In the diagnosis of CAS, DSE showed higher accuracy than TET in female patients who presented with chest pain. As well as the test accuracy, adequate stress was more feasible with DSE than TET. These finding suggests DSE may be used as the first-line diagnostic tool in the detection of CAS in women with chest pain.
Ambulatory Care Facilities ; Chest Pain ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Stenosis* ; Coronary Vessels* ; Diagnosis ; Echocardiography, Stress* ; Electrocardiography* ; Exercise Test ; Female ; Head* ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Ischemia ; Sensitivity and Specificity

PURPOSE: Kawasaki disease (KD) is the main cause of acquired heart disease in children. In addition to cardiovascular involvement, many complications have been recognized in KD. However, respiratory complications have been rarely reported. We investigated the differences in clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, radiography findings, and echocardiography findings of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection and other types of pneumonia in KD patients. METHODS: Among 358 patients with KD, 54 developed concurrent pneumonia. Among the 54 patients, 12 (22.2%) with high titers of anti-M. pneumoniae antibody (AMA) (>1:640) were grouped in the M. pneumoniae group and 42 were included in the control group. Serum AMA was measured in each patient. Clinical laboratory findings and total duration of fever were analyzed. RESULTS: The duration of fever, serum hemoglobin, white blood cell count, platelet count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein level, albumin level, and the incidence of coronary arterial lesions showed no statistical difference in the 2 groups. Neutrophil count was significantly higher in the M. pneumoniae group than in the control group. Among various radiography findings observed in pneumonia, consolidation and pleural effusion were more frequent in the M. pneumoniae group than in the control group. On the other hand, parahilar peribronchial opacification, diffuse interstitial lesion, and normal findings prevailed in the control group. CONCLUSION: KD patients can have concurrent infections, especially pulmonary symptoms. The cause of KD is likely to be associated with M. pneumoniae infection. Thus, immediate treatment of M. pneumoniae infection in KD patients is very important.
Blood Sedimentation ; C-Reactive Protein ; Child ; Echocardiography ; Fever ; Hand ; Heart Diseases ; Hemoglobins ; Humans ; Incidence ; Leukocyte Count ; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome ; Mycoplasma ; Mycoplasma pneumoniae ; Neutrophils ; Platelet Count ; Pleural Effusion ; Pneumonia ; Pneumonia, Mycoplasma

This study aimed to define a one portion size of food items frequently consumed for convenient use by Koreans in food selection, diet planning, and nutritional evaluation. We analyzed using the original data on 5,436 persons (60.87%) aged 20 ~ 64 years among 8,930 persons to whom NHANES 2005 and selected food items consumed by the intake frequency of 30 or higher among the 500 most frequently consumed food items. A total of 374 varieties of food items of regular use were selected. And the portion size of food items was set on the basis of the median (50th percentile) of the portion size for a single intake by a single person was analyzed. In cereals, the portion size of well polished rice was 80 g. In meats, the portion size of Korean beef cattle was 25 g. Among vegetable items, the portion size of Baechukimchi was 40 g. The portion size of the food items of regular use set in this study will be conveniently and effectively used by general consumers in selecting food items for a nutritionally balanced diet. In addition, these will be used as the basic data in setting the serving size in meal planning.
Adult ; Aged ; Animals ; Cattle ; Edible Grain ; Diet ; Food Preferences ; Humans ; Meals ; Meat ; Nutrition Surveys ; Single Person ; Vegetables

Vascular injury caused by a central venous catheter (CVC) has been reported to be a rare complication, especially delayed vascular injury due to CVC has a few cases and it can be fatal because of delayed recognition and more serious complications. A 59-year-old woman with no available medical history was admitted for treatment of ovarian cancer. For the surgery, a triple-lumen CVC was placed through the left subclavian vein. Parenteral nutrition through the CVC was used for postoperative nutritional management in the first postoperative day. On the sixth postoperative day (POD), the patient suddenly complained of dyspnea. The CT revealed bilateral pleural effusion and irregular soft tissue density and air bubble in anterior mediastinum suggesting migration of the distal portion of the CVC into the anterior mediastium. In the intensive care unit (ICU) bilateral thoracentesis and percutaneous drainage were performed. She was discharged from the ICU in 3 days later and transferred to the general ward. This case emphasizes the possibility of the delayed vascular injury related to CVC and some strategies for prevention of vascular injury.
Central Venous Catheters* ; Drainage ; Dyspnea ; Female ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Mediastinitis* ; Mediastinum ; Middle Aged ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; Parenteral Nutrition ; Parenteral Nutrition, Total* ; Patients' Rooms ; Pleural Effusion ; Subclavian Vein ; Thoracentesis ; Vascular System Injuries*