PURPOSE: The aim of the study is to evaluate the possibility of giving student interns intern- level responsibilities and to discuss the various obstacles. METHODS: Modifications were made to the student internship program, including rotations through major departments, for 4th-year medical students and was conducted at the College of Medicine, Kangwon National University. We surveyed 49 students for the evaluation of the program, administered a checklist evaluation for their performance, and interviewed two focus groups of faculties and residents to find out the obstacles of the program. RESULTS: Most of the students answered that the program was satisfactory and necessary. Of the students, 71.4% performed as an acting intern. The mean score of the students' performance was 84.1. The students had the most difficulty with time management and making diagnostic and management decisions. Initially, at the start of the program, both students and residents were somewhat confused about the student interns' duties. They suggested that definite learning objectives, legal and institutional support to students' clinical practice, and announcements to patients and hospital staff should be put in place prior to the implementation of such a program. CONCLUSION: We discovered that it was possible for student interns to perform at the level of interns. We suggest that systemic improvements continue for the establishment of such student internship program.
Checklist ; Education, Medical ; Focus Groups ; Gangwon-do ; Humans ; Internship and Residency* ; Learning ; Students, Medical ; Time Management

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between subjective and objective depression rating scale for the elderly with depressive symptoms. Methods: Thirty three outpatients aged more than 55 with depressive symptoms were assessed with the Patient Health Questionnare-9 (PHQ-9) and the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). Similar items from each scale were paired to investigate their correlations. The level of agreement between the PHQ-9 and the MADRS was also assessed for subjects by using discrepancy-score. Results: Correlation between total scores of the PHQ-9 and the MADRS was significant (r=0.85, p<0.001). There were signifi-cant correlations between the paired items except for the item about volition. These results were the same in the group whose total education years are 7 or more. However, in the group whose total education years are 6 or less, there was no significant corre-lation between the paired items about sleep, concentration and volition. Conclusion These results demonstrate that using the PHQ-9 in elderly patients is reliable and education level might be considered when interpreting the scale.

The purpose of this study was to obtain baseline data on dietary management of women's constipation. We estimated the prevalence of self reported constipation, bowel habits and foods & nutrients intake. The subjects were 169 female college students (normal = 92, constipation group = 77) aged 19 to 23 years. We conducted anthropometric measurements, an evacuation habits survey, and a dietary intake assessment for three days by a 24 hour recall method. The prevalence of self reported constipation was 46% (n = 77). Results showed that bowel habits (the difficulty of evacuation, the duration of evacuation and the feeling after evacuation) were significantly different between the two groups. Over 65% of constipation group used laxatives for constipation relief. Frequency of stress and deep sleeping were related with constipation. In daily food consumption and nutrients intake, there was not a significant difference between the groups. However in relation to bowel habits which factors influence constipation, the study showed that the intake of water, potatoes, kimchi, and fruits correlated with evacuation facility. Further, there were no findings in the difference of foods consumption and nutrients intake between the two groups. But some life style changes and food intakes (potato and kimchi) may be useful to improve constipation symptoms in young women.
Aged ; Constipation ; Female ; Fruit ; Humans ; Laxatives ; Life Style ; Prevalence ; Self Report ; Solanum tuberosum ; Water

No abstract available.
Condoms* ; Education* ; Humans ; Intention*

Obesity is caused by interactions of energy consumption, amount of food intake, physical activity and etc, and these elements are influenced by genetic factors. Obesity related genes which have been known by now are over 200. One of these is Kir6.2 which forms the pore region of K(ATP) channel, and genetic variation of which may result in altered beta-cell electrical activity, insulin secretion, glucose homeostasis, and increased susceptibility to type 2 diabetes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between Kir6.2 E23K polymorphism and fat distribution or metabolic profiles in Korean. A total of 164 patients who visited Dongsan Medical Center Obesity Clinic from February 2004 to December 2005, were enrolled in this study. Screening for Kir6.2 polymorphism carried out by PCR-RFLP analyses. We divided this group into three groups E/E, E/K, K/K. Serum lipid and blood glucose were measured by autoanalyzer. Visceral fat amount and subcutaneous fat by abdominal CT, total fat mass by DEXA were measured. The subjects of E/E, E/K, K/K genotypes were 24, 79, and 61, respectively. The results of ANOVA analysis was that subjects with the K/K genotypes had more visceral fat amount (P<0.05) and higher total cholesterol levels (P<0.05) than E/E subjects group. Visceral fat amount and serum total cholesterol were significantly different according to Kir6.2 E23K polymorphism. Therefore, Kir6.2 polymorphism may act on fat distribution in Koreans.
Blood Glucose ; Cholesterol ; Eating ; Genetic Variation ; Genotype ; Glucose ; Homeostasis ; Humans ; Insulin ; Intra-Abdominal Fat ; Mass Screening ; Metabolome ; Motor Activity ; Obesity ; Subcutaneous Fat

OBJECTIVES: Although previous studies have investigated the correlation between fruit and vegetable consumption and depression, the results remain inconclusive. The present study aimed to investigate the association between weekly fruit and vegetable consumption and depressive symptoms in elderly Koreans. METHODS: A multiple covariate linear regression analysis was performed using the data of 1,226 elderly individuals ≥ 60 years of age who participated in the Korean Elderly Environmental Panel II study from 2012 to 2014. Depressive symptoms were evaluated using the Korean version of the Short form Geriatric Depression Scale (SGDS-K). Generalized linear mixed-effects models were constructed to analyze the repeated measurements of 305 people who participated in the survey every year. RESULTS: After adjusting for confounders, SGDS-K scores were negatively associated with the frequency of weekly fruit consumption as follows (β [95% confidence interval; CI]: -0.17 [-0.28 to -0.05], -0.17 [-0.27 to -0.07], -0.42 [-0.54 to 0.29], and -0.33 [-0.44 to -0.21]) for less than 1 time/wk, 1-3 times/wk, 4-6 times/wk, and daily, respectively, compared to no consumption. The SGDS-K scores were also negatively associated with the frequency of vegetable consumption (β [95% CI]: -0.86 [-1.18 to -0.55], -0.18 [-0.35 to -0.01], -0.36 [-0.53 to -0.18], and -0.15 [-0.29 to 0.00]) in the above order, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Fruit consumption was inversely associated with depression levels in a dose-dependent manner. Although there was no dose-response relationship between vegetable consumption and the level of depression, it was negatively associated with SGDS-K scores.

OBJECTIVES: Although previous studies have investigated the correlation between fruit and vegetable consumption and depression, the results remain inconclusive. The present study aimed to investigate the association between weekly fruit and vegetable consumption and depressive symptoms in elderly Koreans. METHODS: A multiple covariate linear regression analysis was performed using the data of 1,226 elderly individuals ≥ 60 years of age who participated in the Korean Elderly Environmental Panel II study from 2012 to 2014. Depressive symptoms were evaluated using the Korean version of the Short form Geriatric Depression Scale (SGDS-K). Generalized linear mixed-effects models were constructed to analyze the repeated measurements of 305 people who participated in the survey every year. RESULTS: After adjusting for confounders, SGDS-K scores were negatively associated with the frequency of weekly fruit consumption as follows (β [95% confidence interval; CI]: -0.17 [-0.28 to -0.05], -0.17 [-0.27 to -0.07], -0.42 [-0.54 to 0.29], and -0.33 [-0.44 to -0.21]) for less than 1 time/wk, 1-3 times/wk, 4-6 times/wk, and daily, respectively, compared to no consumption. The SGDS-K scores were also negatively associated with the frequency of vegetable consumption (β [95% CI]: -0.86 [-1.18 to -0.55], -0.18 [-0.35 to -0.01], -0.36 [-0.53 to -0.18], and -0.15 [-0.29 to 0.00]) in the above order, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Fruit consumption was inversely associated with depression levels in a dose-dependent manner. Although there was no dose-response relationship between vegetable consumption and the level of depression, it was negatively associated with SGDS-K scores.

PURPOSE: This study was performed to evaluate the usefulness of abdominal computed tomography (CT) for patients with right lower quadrant (RLQ) pain. METHODS: Between January 2006 and July 2008, 191 consecutive patients with RLQ pain underwent abdominal CT (CT group). Forty-two patients who had undergone abdominal ultrasound (US group) and 52 patients without abdominal CT or abdominal ultrasound for RLQ pain (clinical Dx group) underwent emergent operations. Using the Alvarado scoring system, we scored all patients. The abdominal CT was performed in the abdominal and pelvic area with contrast. RESULTS: One hundred twenty-one (63.4%) of the 191 patients in the CT group were preoperatively diagnosed as having acute appendicitis and underwent surgery. There were three cases of negative appendectomy (1.6%). In the US group and the clinical Dx group, the negative appendectomy rates were 4.8% and 3.8%, respectively. The sensitivity of the abdominal CT was 96.7%. In the CT group, in addition to acute appendicitis, colitis, nonspecific enteritis, diverticulitis, urinary stone, ovary, uterine, and diseases were indentified. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, abdominal CT scans in patients with RLQ pain were useful for the diagnosis acute appendicitis and for the differential diagnosis of other diseases presenting with RLQ pain. The false positive rate was significantly lower in the CT group than in the other groups.
Appendectomy ; Appendicitis ; Colitis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Diverticulitis ; Enteritis ; Female ; Humans ; Ovary ; Urinary Calculi

PURPOSE: Recent advances in the internet have enabled us to search for large amounts of medical information. In Korea there are many websites providing medical information, but the quality and quantity of these websites relating to surgery remains to be clarified. Therefore, through the analysis of the surgical websites in Korea, the characteristics and future directions are presented. METHODS: Two hundred and thirteen websites were retrieved using three search engines: Yahoo, Lycos and Naver. We reviewed these websites, and they were classified according to their administrator, subject and content. We also recorded the presence or absence of e-mail addresses, the section on medical counseling and internet reservation. RESULTS: One hundred and sixty-eight websites (78.9%) were administrated by the local clinics. In relation to the main subjects, 94.4% of websites targeted the general public. The main contents of the websites were colorectal and anal disease (83.1%). Of the 168 websites administrated by local clinics, online medical counseling was available in 142 (84.5%) and internet reservation was possible in 39 (23.2%). Most of the local clinics' websites were located in urban area. CONCLUSION: Our study showed surgical websites were led by local clinics, which specialized in colorectal and anal disease. It is emphasized that efforts to informationalization are needed by medical schools, affiliated hospitals and medical associations, and the guidelines enabling validity of medical counseling should be put in place.
Administrative Personnel ; Counseling ; Electronic Mail ; Humans ; Internet ; Korea* ; Schools, Medical ; Search Engine

Mosapride stimulated dietary motility was introduced because of the arrhythmogenic effect of cisapride. Cisapride, 5-HT receptor agonist, induces prolongation of QT interval. Additionally, this condition can raise the possibility of acute, "malignant" arrhythmias such as torsade de pointes. It is hard to find any reports about effects of mosapride on cardiac parameters in dogs. By confirming electrocardiogram (ECG) parameters, the surface extremity leads ECG that was obtained from the four-limb electrodes and which was recorded by an ECG recorder after administration of mosapride 3 mg/kg PO b.i.d, and mosapride 3 mg/kg with itraconazole 5 mg/kg PO b.i.d, respectively. QT interval was shortened on the days of 3, 5, and post-day 1 in both mosapride 3 mg/kg administrated group and mosapride with itraconazole group. Heart rate increased significantly. QTc was slightly prolonged in mosapride administration group and mosapride with itraconazole group. However, all dogs of QTc were in normal variation (150~250 msec). Besides, the dogs showed no side effects reported in human medicine during the administration with these drugs. Although mosapride can increase the heart rate, this study suggest that mosapride may be useful for the dogs with disorders of gastrointestinal motility because of no fatal arrhythmogenic effect inspite of administration with itraconazole in dogs.
Animals ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Benzamides ; Cisapride ; Citric Acid ; Dogs ; Electrocardiography ; Electrodes ; Extremities ; Gastrointestinal Motility ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Itraconazole ; Morpholines ; Serotonin ; Torsades de Pointes