PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of aromatherapy on pain, depression, and feelings of satisfaction in life of arthritis patients. METHOD: This study used a quasi-experimental design with a non-equivalent control group, pre-and post-test. The sample consisted of 40 patients, enrolled in the Rheumatics Center, Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital, South Korea. The essential oils used were lavender, marjoram, eucalyptus, rosemary, and peppermint blended in proportions of 2:1:2:1:1. They were mixed with a carrier oil composed of almond (45%), apricot(45%), and jojoba oil(10%) and they were diluted to 1.5% after blending. The data were analyzed using an 2-test, Fisher's exact test, t-test and paired t-test. RESULT: Aromatherapy significantly decreased both the pain score and the depression score of the experimental group compared with the control group. However, aromatherapy didn't increase the feeling of satisfaction in life of the experimental group compared with the control group. CONCLUSION: The result of this study clearly shows that aromatherapy has major effects on decreasing pain and depression levels. Based on our experiment's findings, we suggest that aromatherapy can be a useful nursing intervention for arthritis patients.
*Personal Satisfaction ; Pain/etiology/*therapy ; Osteoarthritis/*complications ; Oils, Volatile/*administration & dosage ; Middle Aged ; Humans ; Female ; Depression/etiology/*therapy ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/*complications ; *Aromatherapy

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Reflux esophagitis is a recurring condition for which many patients require maintenance therapy. This comparative, randomized multicenter study was designed to evaluate the effect of long-term maintenance treatment comparing proton pump inhibitor, rabeprazole and H2 receptor antagonist, ranitidine. METHODS: Eighty four patients with healed reflux esophagitis confirmed by endoscopy were randomly allocated to receive maintenance treatment with either rabeprazole 10 mg once daily or ranitidine 300 mg once daily for 32 weeks. Patients were seen every 8 weeks or at symptomatic relapse. RESULTS: Of 84 initially treated patients, 73 entered the maintenance study. The percentage of asymptomatic patients after 90-day and 210-day treatment were 97% and 81.5%, for rabeprazole and 74.3% and 62.3%, for ranitidine, respectively. After 32 weeks, the relapse rates of esophagitis were 21.3% in the rabeprazole group and 62.9% in the ranitidine group (RR: 0.405, 95% CI: 0.215-0.766). CONCLUSIONS: Maintenance treatment with rabeprazole (10 mg once daily) is superior to ranitidine (300 mg once daily) in keeping the patients with reflux esophagitis in remission over a 32 week period.
2-Pyridinylmethylsulfinylbenzimidazoles ; Adult ; Anti-Ulcer Agents/*therapeutic use ; Benzimidazoles/*therapeutic use ; Esophagitis, Peptic/*drug therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Omeprazole/*analogs & derivatives/therapeutic use ; Ranitidine/*therapeutic use

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Rectal carcinoid tumors, at diagnosis, are as small as 10 mm or less in about 80% of patients. These tumors are generally removed by endoscopic resection. The aim of this study was to compare treatment efficacy and safety between endoscopic submucosal resection with band ligation (ESMR-L) and conventional polypectomy. METHODS: Between January 2005 and September 2010, a total of 88 patients, who visited at Busan Paik Hospital and Kosin University Gospel Hospital for endoscopic resection of rectal carcinoid, were reviewed, retrospectively. RESULTS: Thirty-three cases were treated by ESMR-L, and 55 cases by conventional polypectomy. There were no significant difference in the size of tumor between ESMR-L group and polypectomy group (6.02+/-2.36 vs. 6.49+/-3.24 mm, p=0.474). The rate of positive resection margin was significantly lower in ESMR-L group (2/33, 6.1%) than in polypectomy group (19/55, 34.5%; p=0.002). The rate of positive vertical resection margin, among others, was markedly lower in ESMR-L group (1/33, 3.0%) compared to polypectomy group (19/55, 34.5%; p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: ESMR-L, rather than conventional polypectomy, is a useful treatment option for removal of rectal carcinoid tumors less than 10 mm in diameter.
Carcinoid Tumor ; Humans ; Ligation ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that presents with variable features and repeated disease aggravation. The incidence of CD is increasing in Korea. We evaluated the clinical features of CD in a study population in Busan and Gyeongnam, Korea. METHODS: A hospital-based analysis included 619 patients diagnosed with CD between March 1986 and February 2013 from seven tertiary care hospitals in Busan and Gyeongnam. Individual case records were reviewed with regard to age at diagnosis, sex, disease location, disease behavior, and medical and surgical treatments received during the follow-up period. RESULTS: The cumulative frequency of patients diagnosed with CD revealed a continued increase in the number of cases reported yearly. The male-to-female ratio was 2.5:1 and the median age at diagnosis was 24 years. At diagnosis, 114 (18.4%) had isolated small bowel disease, 144 (23.3%) had isolated colonic disease, and 358 patients (57.8%) presented with disease in the small bowel and colon. The number of patients presenting with stricturing or penetrating disease behavior was 291 (47%) at the final evaluation. In total, 111 (17.9%) patients underwent intestinal resections. CONCLUSIONS: A continued increase in the number of patients diagnosed with CD was found in Busan and Gyeongnam as observed in other regions. We report results similar to that of other Korean studies in terms of sex distribution, age, and location of disease.
Busan* ; Colon ; Colonic Diseases ; Crohn Disease* ; Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Incidence ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Korea ; Sex Distribution ; Tertiary Healthcare