BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to examine the frequency and characteristics of needlestick/sharps injuries (NSIs) in nursing students in Korea. METHODS: The study was based on a survey of questionnaires completed by 341 nursing students who had sustained at least one NSI during clinical practice in hospitals. RESULTS: The NSI incidence rate was 36.4%. Approximately half of the students reported two to four NSIs. Most (90.2%) of the NSIs occurred on the fingertips and were caused by a hollow-bore needle (46.8%) or lancet (45.8%). Some students were exposed to used needles contaminated with unknown pathogens (37.3%), HBs Ag (2.3%), Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) (0.8%), or HIV (0.6%). Students cited the reason for injury as carelessness, inexperience, hastiness, or recapping. Almost two-thirds of students who reported having experienced an NSI knew about post-exposure treatment. However, only one-third of the students with NSIs completed an official report. CONCLUSION: Korean nursing students lack knowledge about injury prevention, report procedures, and treatment after NSI. A revised educational approach with emphasis on occupational risk, skill development, and injury reporting is necessary to prevent NSI and to ensure that students obtain post-exposure prophylaxis.
Dietary Sucrose ; HIV ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Needles ; Needlestick Injuries ; Post-Exposure Prophylaxis ; Sexually Transmitted Diseases ; Students, Nursing ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: The present study purposed to investigate Korean adults health status, smoking perception. and self-efficacy of smoking cessation according to whether smoking or not. METHODS: This study conducted a questionnaire survey of 694 adults at D County in Korea during the period from the 10th of June to the 10th of July 2004. The instruments used for this study were scales on health status, smoking perception and self-efficacy: of smoking cessation. Data was analyzed by frequency and percentage, mean and SD, chi2-test, t-test, ANOVA using SPSS 11.0 program. RESULTS: The subjects of this study were 503 men and 191 women, and 60.8% of the male subjects and 6.8% of the female subjects were smokers. With respect to health status (t=-2.58, p=0.010), smoking perception (t=10.59. p<0.000) and the self-efficacy of smoking cessation (t=-23.04, p<0.000), there were significant differences according to whether smoking or not. CONCLUSIONS: It is necessary to make repeated study to find other variables that affect adults smoking and to develop smoking cessation programs that enhance the self-efficacy of smoking cessation.
Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Smoke* ; Smoking Cessation* ; Smoking* ; Weights and Measures ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the spectrum of MR characteristics of cystic acoustic neurinomas and to correlate with pathologic findings. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the MR findings of 12 patients with cystic acoustic neurinomas. The signal intensity and enhancement pattern of the cystic components as well as the location relative to the tumors were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 30 cysts were found in 15 acoustic neurinomas;28 were intratumoral cysts and the remaining two were extratumoral cysts. The signal intensity of all 28 intratumoral cysts was higher than that of CSF on Tl-weighted images, and isointense to CSF on T2-weighted images, while the signal intensity of the two extratumoral cysts was same as CSF on both Tl-weighted and T2-weighted images. Rim enhancement was seen in 27 of 28 intratumoral cysts but in none of the two extratumoral cysts. CONCLUSION: We concluded that intratumoral cyst was due to tumoral necrosis, hemorrhage or degenerative change and extratumoral cyst due to secondary arachnoid cyst formation.
Acoustics* ; Arachnoid ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Necrosis ; Neuroma, Acoustic* ; Retrospective Studies

Spinal epidural abscesses were evaluated using Gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 19 surgically and clinically confirmed cases, including 13 with tuberculous spondylitis and 6 with pyogenic spondylitis. We observed rim enhancement patterns in 10 patients and diffuse enhancement patterns in 9 patients. The spread patterns were localized to ventral or dorsal epidural space and encircled entire epidural space. We conclude that rim enhancement indicates abscess and diffuse enhancement indicates granulation tissue and fibrosis. Tuberculous epidural abscess spreads to ventral epidural space and pyogenic epidural abscess encircles entire epidural space.
Abscess ; Epidural Abscess* ; Epidural Space ; Fibrosis ; Granulation Tissue ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Spondylitis

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to determine the infertility stress, marital intimacy, and marital satisfaction of women under infertility treatment, and to reveal associated factors of marital satisfaction. METHODS: As a descriptive correlation study, data was collected from 174 women under infertility treatment. Data was analysed using χ2-test, t-test, ANOVA, pearson's correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression. RESULTS: Infertility stress, marital intimacy, and marital satisfaction averaged 3.20±.3 (range of scale 1~5), 3.53±.5, and 3.74±.6, respectively. The marital satisfaction varied with a statistical significance by the spouse's attitude about infertility treatment and financial burden on infertility treatments. Marital satisfaction had a positive correlation with infertility stress (r=.526, p<.001) and marital intimacy (r=.637, p<.001). We also identified the marital intimacy as the most influencing factor and the infertility stress as the second most influencing factor on the infertile women's marital satisfaction. CONCLUSION: This research provided a valuable opportunity to recognize infertility as a marital, family, and societal problem, which calls for relational support as well as personal support. The infertility experts need to recognize both the personal and relational aspects of the infertility problem, and make various efforts to promote the reproductive health of the infertile patients.
Female ; Humans ; Infertility* ; Reproductive Health ; Statistics as Topic

No abstract available.
Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the levels in student nurse of knowledge, compliance and risk factor recognition for needlestick injuries. METHOD: Nine hundred and thirty eight(938) student nurse from 3 universities and 3 junior colleges participated in this study. Completed questionnaires were collected between October and November 2004. They were analyzed by using the descriptive statistics and chi2-test, t-test with the SAS program. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the general characteristics of participants between the two groups - Needlestick Injury(NSI) group and non-Needlestick Injury(non-NSI) group. The scores for knowledge levels of treatment after needlestick injuries and the risk factor recognition level were significantly higher in the NSI group. The scores for performance level as to handling and using needles after needlestick injuries were significantly higher in the non-NSI group. CONCLUSION: It is necessary to develop a preventive program to decrease the needlestick injury rate among student nurse.
Compliance* ; Humans ; Needles ; Needlestick Injuries* ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Risk Factors*

Osteoblastoma is a rare tumor which forms osteoid and bone with highly vascular stroma, account for less than 1 percent of all bone tumors. The lesion had been though to be controlled with curettage and local excision. In recent years, osteoblastomas have been described as aggressive osteoblastoma or malignant osteoblastoma, separated from the innocuous behavior of usual osteoblastoma. It represents the histologic characteristics of the presence of epithelioid osteoblasts, trabecular rather than lace-like osteoid, low mitotic rate with no atypical form with prominent giant cells of osteoclastic type. The differential diagnosis between aggressibe osteoblastoma and osteogenic sarcoma is extremely difficult, but its peculiar histologic pattern and its different clinical and radiologic features and better prognosis are helpful. We report here a case of aggressive osteoblastoma of 17 years old female patient with 3 years and 4 months follow-up period and review the literature.
Curettage ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Giant Cells ; Humans ; Osteoblastoma ; Osteoblasts ; Osteoclasts ; Osteosarcoma ; Prognosis

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of phenobarbital (PB) on hepatotoxic effect of carbon tetrachloride (CCI4) which induces centrilobular necrosis in liver. Rats were injected intraperitoneally CCI4 dissolved in olive oil by a dose of 0.4 mg/kg. For change related to PB pretreatment, rats were injected CCI₄ 0.4mg/kg after PB pretreatment. The liver samples were taken in 6, 12, 24, 48, 72 and 120 hours after CCI₄ and/ or PB injection. Extracted liver tissue was examined with light and electron microscopes. The results were summarized as follows: 1. Light microscopic findings: In CCI₄ group, centrilobular necrosis developed from 6 hours after injection, was the most severe in 48 hours, and recovered after 72 hours. In addition to necrosis, fatty change and pale cell change were accompanied. In PB-CCI4 group, necrosis occurred from 6 hours after CCI₄ injection and continued to 72 hours, and the degree of necrosis was more severe than that of CCI₄ group and pale cell change was decreased. 2. Electron microscopic findings: In CCI4 group, the early principal change was clumping and vesicular dilatation of endoplasmic reticulum. In PB-CCI₄ group, the degenerative change of endoplasmic reticulum was aggravated and the mitochondria also revealed severe degenerative change. According to the results, it was revealed that CCI₄ hepatotoxicity primarily began with the damage of endoplasmic reticulum, then damage of other cell organelles and cell necrosis followed, and these cytotoxic effects were aggravated by PB pretreatment.
Animals ; Carbon Tetrachloride* ; Carbon* ; Dilatation ; Endoplasmic Reticulum ; Liver ; Mitochondria ; Necrosis ; Olive Oil ; Organelles ; Phenobarbital* ; Rats*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the CT and MR findings of brain absecss with emphasis on the thickeness and signal intensity of abscess wall. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty CT scans and seven MR studies of 23 patients with brain abscess (27 abscesses) were retrospectively reviewed with respect to thickeness and signal intensity of abscess wall, shape and size of abscess, etc. Thickness of abscess wall was measured in the greatest abscess diameter on the CT scans and MR images obtaihed after intravenous administration of contrast material. RESULTS: Enhancing abscess wall was 2mm--6mm (average 3mm) thick. The abscess wall was uniform in thickness in 14 cases (52%), thinner in the roedial wall than lateral wall in 8 cases (30%), and thicker in the medial wall than lateral wall in 5 cases (18%). Signal intensity of abscess wall was isointense relative to gray matter on Tl-weighted MR images and hypointense on both proton- and T2-weighted MR images in 7 out of 8 lesione (88%). The inner margin of the abscess wall was smooth in 14 (52%) and irregular in 13 lesions (48%). The outer margin was smooth in 15 (55%) and irregular in 12 lesions (45%). The size of the abscesses was variable, ranging from lcm to 6cm in diameter. They were round (16 cases), elliptical (6 cases), or multilobulated (5 cases) in shape. Satellite or daughter abscesses were found in 5 patients. CONCLUSION: Abscess wall showed variable thickness in the medial and lateral walls with no specific findings. Other CT and MR findings were also nonspecific, although hypointensity of abscess wall on T2-weighted MR images may be helpful in diagnosis of brain abscess.
Abscess* ; Administration, Intravenous ; Brain Abscess* ; Brain* ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Nuclear Family ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed