PURPOSE: This study tested a model of hospice volunteer's motivations and outcomes to encourage more volunteer workers to participate in hospice care. METHODS: This included 200 volunteers who attended the Autumn Conference in 2007 and 132 volunteers from five hospice organizations. RESULTS: Volunteers' existential well-being affected an endogenous variable of volunteers' participation in volunteer activities. The durability of volunteer activity was affected by value motivation, the level of participation in volunteer activities and the level of job satisfaction. For volunteers' job satisfaction level, valid endogenous variables included existential well-being, social motivation, understanding motivation and value motivation. The durability of volunteer activities was indirectly affected through three different paths. Volunteers' existential well-being determined the level of their participation in volunteer activities, which in turn affected the durability of such activities. Social motivation influenced volunteers' job satisfaction, and then the durability of volunteer activities. Volunteers' understanding of motivation also influenced their job satisfaction, and then the durability of volunteer activities. CONCLUSION: Based on these results, this study proposes that the durability of volunteers activities could be improved by developing a program to improve volunteers' well-being and by providing volunteers with education on altruistic values, encouraging them to seek intellectual growth, and advocating them to continue volunteer activities based on close relationships with other volunteers.
Hospices ; Humans ; Job Satisfaction ; Motivation ; Quality of Life ; Voluntary Workers

We report a case of basilar artery dissection presenting with subarachnoid hemorrhage, which was successfully treated with self-expandable stent placement and coil embolization, achieving excellent clinical and anatomical outcome. This method can provide protection of the rupture point, collapse of dissected space within the vessel wall, and prevention of further dissection although long-term outcome needs to be seen.
Basilar Artery* ; Embolization, Therapeutic* ; Rupture* ; Stents* ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Two cases of blood blisterlike aneurysm or dorsal bleb of the internal carotid artery (ICA) underwent segmental occlusion of the aneurysmal segment and trapping of the ICA. With this procedure, the causative lesions were successfully excluded from the circulation and moderate to good clinical outcome could be attained. We describe these cases with review of the literature.
Aneurysm ; Blister* ; Carotid Artery, Internal* ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Recently with the development in computer technology and its communication system, many changes have come to the medical field. For example, Picture Archiving and Communication System(PACS) has been used in the medicine experimentally. But this system needs high cost and instrument, so this system is not used in personal generally. Our hospital established the medical forum for health and medical counseling in Computer communication network called HITEL. We analysed the questions about urologic problem especially from Sep, 1994 to Jan, 1997. Most of questions are related to external genitalia and sexually transmitted diseases and most of users were in their 2nd, 3rd and 4th decades and male-predominant. In conclusion, medical counseling using PC communication is an effective method especially in urologic field.
Computer Communication Networks ; Counseling* ; Genitalia ; Humans ; Microcomputers ; Sexually Transmitted Diseases

No abstract available.
Acidosis* ; Aorta, Thoracic*

Purpose: To report a case of spontaneous resolution of vitreomacular traction (VMT) syndrome after cataract surgery.Case summary: A 70-year-old woman underwent lens emulsification and intraocular lens implantation for a right-eye cataract.Preoperative optical coherence tomography (OCT) showed vitreomacular adhesion (VMA). At that time, the decimal visual acuityof the right eye was 0.63 and the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 0.8. At one day after cataract surgery, OCT showedVMT, with disruption of the ellipsoid zone and outer limiting membrane. The BCVA of the right eye was 0.32, which was worsethan before surgery. At two weeks after cataract surgery, OCT revealed spontaneous resolution of the VMT, whereas the VMApersisted. At four months after cataract surgery, the BCVA of the right eye was 0.8. Conclusions In cases of VMT after cataract surgery, there is a possibility of spontaneous resolution without VMA separation.Therefore, careful observation in the early stages should be considered before surgical treatment.

Primary CNS lymphoma (PCNSL) which is localized in the cauda equina of the spinal cord is very rare. A 75-year-old man had pain in both legs and gait disturbance for the last 45 days. Painful paresthesia and weakness in both legs worsened during a one month period and he was unable to stand up by himself. In a physical examination, lym-phadenopathy nor organomegaly was found. A neurological examination revealed a dominantly proximal muscle weak-ness of the lower extremities. All modalities of sensation were decreased in both legs and a Romberg test was found positive. A CSF cytology demonstrated a large B-cell lymphoma. Following an extensive evaluation of the patient, the lymphoma was found to be limited in the cauda equina. The patient was treated with systemic dexamethasone. After the treatment, his symptoms were improved and a follow up lumbar spine MRI showed shrunken cauda equina lesions.
Aged ; Cauda Equina* ; Dexamethasone ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gait ; Humans ; Leg ; Lower Extremity ; Lymphoma* ; Lymphoma, B-Cell ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Neurologic Examination ; Paresthesia ; Physical Examination ; Polyradiculopathy* ; Sensation ; Spinal Cord ; Spine

BACKGROUND: Multifocal hypointense cerebral lesions (MHCLs) manifesting as minute round signal loss on T2*-weighted gradient echo MR imaging (GE-MRI), are known to be frequently detected in chronic hypertensive patients. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the correlation among hypertension (HTN), intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), and MHCLs. METHODS: We prospectively examined GE-MRI in 104 patients with HTN (40 ICH and 64 non-ICH patients) and 72 age and sex matched controls. MHCLs on GE-MRI were counted by two neurologists separately and determined as abnormal by consensus, and the number of MHCLs in each subject was graded as 0 (the number of MHCLs: 0), 1 (1-5), and 2 (>5). RESULTS: MHCLs were found in 71 of 104 patients with HTN (68.3%) and in 11 of 72 controls (15.3%). The grade of MHCLs was significantly correlated with HTN (p<0.001). In addition, MHCLs were discovered in 34 of 40 hypertensive patients with ICH (85%) and in 37 of 64 hypertensive patients without ICH (57.8%). The degree of MHCLs was more severe in the former than that in the latter with statistical significance (p<0.005). Multivariate analysis revealed that only HTN and the presence of ICH were the independent risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: Microaneurysm or microbleeding, which has been known as one of the characteristic findings of hyper-tensive microangiopathy, may be shown as MHCLs on GE-MRI. In this study, the positive correlation between MHCLs and HTN was clear. Moreover, we also found that in hypertensive patients with ICH, MHCLs are more fre-quently seen than in patients without ICH. These suggest the causal relationship between MHCLs and ICH. Further cohort study would be necessary in order to confirm this suggestion.
Cerebral Hemorrhage ; Cohort Studies ; Consensus ; Humans ; Hypertension* ; Intracranial Hemorrhage, Hypertensive* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prospective Studies ; Risk Factors

10~25% of all cases of lymphoma involves the nervous system. Neurolymphomatosis, one of the complications of lymphoma, is rare clinical disorder with signs of peripheral neuropathy. It is also a rare cause of painful neuropathy and usually presents with sensorimotor polyneuropathy in nerve conduction studies. We report a case of neurolymphomatosis that had originated from a nasal type NK/T cell lymphoma with clinical and electrophysiological evidences of peripheral neuropathy, confirmed by histopathologic evidences of lymphomatous infiltration.
Animals ; Lymphoma* ; Marek Disease* ; Nervous System ; Neural Conduction ; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases ; Polyneuropathies

Adenoid basal carcinoma and adenoid cystic carcinoma of the uterine cervix are rare tumors that have often been regarded as a single entity. But adenoid basal and adenoid cystic carcinomas of the cervix differ from each other in their histology, treatment, and prognosis. We experienced 2 cases of these neoplasms, with 1 case in each category. Whereas adenoid basal carcinoma is a slow-growing, locally invasive lesion amenable to simply hysterectomy, adenoid cystic carcinoma is an aggressive tumor associated with regional lymph node involvement and late distant metastases. This study reviews the literature and formulates a program for the management of these rare lesions.
Adenoids* ; Carcinoma, Adenoid Cystic* ; Cervix Uteri* ; Female ; Hysterectomy ; Lymph Nodes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prognosis