OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the vitamin D perception level in the treatment of osteoporosis of Korean postmenopausal women. METHODS: This study investigates the perception levels of 400 postmenopausal women aged 50 and over, vitamin D supplement administration, knowledge of vitamin D nutrition, consulting and information of vitamin D and the effect of media exposure during osteoporosis management. A descriptive survey design and a convenience sample of 400 female postmenopausal patients were used. Data were collected with a questionnaire and analysed. RESULTS: Sixty-two% of the patients took supplementary drugs in addition to prescribed main anti-osteoporotic medications. As supplementary drugs, most of them took calcium (57%) and this was twice the number of people taking vitamin D. For those who failed to take the recommended vitamin D or calcium regularly, seventy-eight% of them did not understand that it is important to take regularly. And this survey showed that people do not have enough knowledge on vitamin D compared to calcium. Patients thought that vitamin D is the third most important factor, next to calcium and exercise, for managing healthy and strong bones. Findings indicated that the women displayed a low level of perception and interests in vitamin D and the importance of vitamin D in the management of osteoporosis was assessed at lower than the truth. CONCLUSION: These findings suggested that the rates of vitamin D administration of Korean postmenopausal women in the management of osteoporosis is a low level because of a low level of perception of the importance of vitamin D. Therefore the education and the informations about vitamin D are contributable to the treatment of osteoporosis.
Calcium ; Education ; Female ; Humans ; Osteoporosis* ; Surveys and Questionnaire ; Vitamin D* ; Vitamins*

OBJECTIVE: To introduce the technique of laparoscopic incidental appendectomy using single loop during gynecologic laparoscopic surgery and to demonstrate the safety of it. METHODS: This was a retrospective case-controlled study of patients who did (n=52) or did not (n=52) undergo laparoscopic incidental appendectomy at the time of the same gynecologic laparoscopic surgery between March 2003 and February 2007. There was no difference in age, body mass index, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, preoperative diagnosis. RESULTS: No significant differences were found between the two groups with respect to the duration of nothing per os (1.1 days vs 1.1 days), the duration of postoperative hospital stay (5.0 days vs 4.9 days), and the postoperative complications. 42.3% of the histologic specimens were abnormal and abnormal histologic results included fibrous obliteration(21.2%), endometriosis (9.6%), serositis (5.8%) and appendicitis (5.8%). CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic incidental appendectomy using single loop during laparoscopic gynecologic surgery was not found to influence the duration of nothing per os, the duration of postoperative hospital stay, and postoperative complications, so it thought to be the safe procedure.
Appendectomy* ; Appendicitis ; Body Mass Index ; Case-Control Studies ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diagnosis ; Endometriosis ; Female ; Gynecologic Surgical Procedures ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Laparoscopy* ; Length of Stay ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies ; Serositis