Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the influence of health literacy and insight on medication adherence in mental illness.
Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive correlational study design was used. Participants were 135 adults diagnosed with mental disorders and living in D city. Collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation, and hierarchical multiple regression with SPSS 26.0.
Results: On multiple regression analysis, clinical insight (β=.32, p<.001) and reading response (β=.23, p=008) were statistically significant factors for medication adherence and showed a total explanatory power of 20%.
Conclusion In order to enhance medication adherence, strategies and programs are needed to improve the insight and health literacy among patients with severe mental illness.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the influence of health literacy and insight on medication adherence in mental illness.
Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive correlational study design was used. Participants were 135 adults diagnosed with mental disorders and living in D city. Collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation, and hierarchical multiple regression with SPSS 26.0.
Results: On multiple regression analysis, clinical insight (β=.32, p<.001) and reading response (β=.23, p=008) were statistically significant factors for medication adherence and showed a total explanatory power of 20%.
Conclusion In order to enhance medication adherence, strategies and programs are needed to improve the insight and health literacy among patients with severe mental illness.

We constructed an age-to-age infection matrix to characterize the household transmission pattern of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Korea. Among 4,048 household clusters, within-age group infection dominated the overall household transmissions. Transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 was more common from adults to children than from children to adults.

We constructed an age-to-age infection matrix to characterize the household transmission pattern of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Korea. Among 4,048 household clusters, within-age group infection dominated the overall household transmissions. Transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 was more common from adults to children than from children to adults.

Objectives: Healthcare facilities are high-risk sites for infection. This study analyzed the epidemiological characteristics of a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in a tertiary hospital after COVID-19 vaccination had been introduced in Republic of Korea. Vaccine effectiveness (VE) and shared anti-infection strategies are also assessed. Methods: The risk levels for 4,074 contacts were evaluated. The epidemiological characteristics of confirmed cases were evaluated using the chi-square test. The “1 minus relative risk” method was used to determine VE in preventing infection, progression to severe disease, and death. In the largest affected area (the 8th floor), a separate relative risk analysis was conducted. A multivariate logistic regression analysis (with 95% confidence interval [CIs]) was used to identify transmission risk factors with a significance level <10% via the backward elimination method. Results: In total, 181 cases of COVID-19 were confirmed, with an attack rate of 4.4%. Of those cases, 12.7% progressed to severe disease, and 8.3% died. In the cohort isolation area on the 8th floor, where 79.0% of the confirmed cases occurred, the adjusted odds ratio was 6.55 (95% CI, 2.99–14.33) and 2.19 (95% CI, 1.24–3.88) for caregivers and the unvaccinated group, respectively. VE analysis revealed that 85.8% of the cases that progressed to severe disease and 78.6% of the deaths could be prevented by administering a second vaccine. Conclusion Caregiver training for infection prevention and control is necessary to reduce infection risk. Vaccination is an important intervention to reduce the risk of progression to severe disease and death.

Arterial thrombosis and its associated diseases are considered to constitute a major healthcare problem. Arterial thrombosis, defined as blood clot formation in an artery that interrupts blood circulation, is associated with many cardiovascular diseases. Oxidative stress is one of many important factors that aggravates the pathophysiological process of arterial thrombosis. Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1/redox factor-1 (Ref-1) has a multifunctional role in cells that includes the regulation of oxidative stress and anti-inflammatory function. The aim of this study was to investigate the therapeutic effect of adenovirus-mediated Ref-1 overexpression on arterial thrombosis induced by 60% FeCl3 solution in rats. Blood flow was measured to detect the time to occlusion, thrombus formation was detected by hematoxylin and eosin staining, reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels were detected by high-performance liquid chromatography, and the expression of tissue factor and other proteins was detected by Western blot. FeCl3 aggravated thrombus formation in carotid arteries and reduced the time to artery occlusion. Ref-1 significantly delayed arterial obstruction via the inhibition of thrombus formation, especially by downregulating tissue factor expression through the Akt-GSK3β-NF-κB signaling pathway. Ref-1 also reduced the expression of vascular inflammation markers ICAM-1 and VCAM-1, and reduced the level of ROS that contributed to thrombus formation. The results showed that adenovirus-mediated Ref-1 overexpression reduced thrombus formation in the rat carotid artery. In summary, Ref-1 overexpression had anti-thrombotic effects in a carotid artery thrombosis model and could be a target for the treatment of arterial thrombosis.

Arterial thrombosis and its associated diseases are considered to constitute a major healthcare problem. Arterial thrombosis, defined as blood clot formation in an artery that interrupts blood circulation, is associated with many cardiovascular diseases. Oxidative stress is one of many important factors that aggravates the pathophysiological process of arterial thrombosis. Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1/redox factor-1 (Ref-1) has a multifunctional role in cells that includes the regulation of oxidative stress and anti-inflammatory function. The aim of this study was to investigate the therapeutic effect of adenovirus-mediated Ref-1 overexpression on arterial thrombosis induced by 60% FeCl3 solution in rats. Blood flow was measured to detect the time to occlusion, thrombus formation was detected by hematoxylin and eosin staining, reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels were detected by high-performance liquid chromatography, and the expression of tissue factor and other proteins was detected by Western blot. FeCl3 aggravated thrombus formation in carotid arteries and reduced the time to artery occlusion. Ref-1 significantly delayed arterial obstruction via the inhibition of thrombus formation, especially by downregulating tissue factor expression through the Akt-GSK3β-NF-κB signaling pathway. Ref-1 also reduced the expression of vascular inflammation markers ICAM-1 and VCAM-1, and reduced the level of ROS that contributed to thrombus formation. The results showed that adenovirus-mediated Ref-1 overexpression reduced thrombus formation in the rat carotid artery. In summary, Ref-1 overexpression had anti-thrombotic effects in a carotid artery thrombosis model and could be a target for the treatment of arterial thrombosis.

PURPOSE: We aimed to investigate the epidemiological characteristics of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia in Korean children. METHODS: We retrospectively collected and analyzed data from the medical records of the patients with S. aureus bacteremia ≤18 years of age in Gil Medical Center from 2002 to 2016. RESULTS: A total of 212 SAB cases were detected. The annual incidence of SAB from 2002 to 2016 ranged from 0.77 to 1.95 per 1,000 patients hospitalized. The neonate group (<28 days of age) and the pediatric group (28–18 years of age) were 51.4% (n=109) and 48.6% (n=103), respectively. According to the origin of infection, there were 93 cases (43.9%) of community-associated (CA)-SAB and 119 cases (56.1%) of healthcare-associated (HA)-SAB. The rates of HA-SAB among the neonate group and among the pediatric group were 64.2% and 47.6%, respectively (P=0.015). There was no difference in complications between CA-SAB and HA-SAB, but mortality was higher in HA-SAB. The proportion of methicillin-resistance S. aureus (MRSA) was the highest in neonates (88.1%), decreased with age, and was 36.4%–37.5% among children aged ≥5 years. The MRSA proportion was 72.2%, showing no consistent trend over the period. CONCLUSIONS: The annual incidence of SAB and the proportion of MRSA in SAB remained constant in the recent 15 years in children. Judicious decision of antimicrobial agents for treatment considering the patient's age and the origin of infection is necessary.
Anti-Infective Agents ; Bacteremia ; Child ; Epidemiology ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Medical Records ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus ; Mortality ; Retrospective Studies ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Staphylococcus