Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine person-centered care, nursing professionalism, the nursing work environment, and empathy capacity among hospice ward nurses and to identify the factors affecting person-centered care. Methods: Data were collected using a self-report questionnaire completed by 120 nurses at 30 inpatient hospice institutions in South Korea from August 24, 2020 to September 8, 2020. The independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and Pearson correlation analysis were conducted using SPSS version 26.0. Results: The scores were 3.76±0.45 for person-centered care, 3.58± 0.47 for nursing professionalism, 3.24±0.57 for the nursing work environment, and 4.00± 0.46 for empathy capacity. There were positive correlations between the variables. Factors that influenced the person-centered care of hospice nurses were being a manager (β=0.20, P=0.002), high nursing professionalism (β=0.20, P=0.012), a better nursing work environ-ment (β=0.15, P=0.033), and high empathy capacity (β=0.51, P＜0.001). The explanatorypower was 65.3%. Conclusion To reinforce the person-centered care competency of hospice nurses, it is necessary to improve nursing professionalism, the nursing work environment, and empathy competency. Opportunities for nurses to practice independently must be expanded for nurses to develop nursing professionalism. Sufficient nursing personnel and material resources must be provided to nurses to cultivate a positive work environment.Empathy should be improved by implementing integrated education programs that include nursing practice situations.

The Jr(a+) antigen is one of the high-frequency antigens belonging to the JR blood group system. Although the clinical significance of anti-Jra is not well defined, cases of hemolytic disease of the newborn and hemolytic transfusion reactions caused by anti-Jra have been reported. This review introduces the genetic background of the JR blood group, the frequency of Jr(a＋), and the clinical significance of anti-Jra based on existing literature.Additionally, it summarizes the identification of anti-Jra and the transfusion strategies that can be adopted for patients with anti-Jra alloantibodies.

The Jr(a+) antigen is one of the high-frequency antigens belonging to the JR blood group system. Although the clinical significance of anti-Jra is not well defined, cases of hemolytic disease of the newborn and hemolytic transfusion reactions caused by anti-Jra have been reported. This review introduces the genetic background of the JR blood group, the frequency of Jr(a＋), and the clinical significance of anti-Jra based on existing literature.Additionally, it summarizes the identification of anti-Jra and the transfusion strategies that can be adopted for patients with anti-Jra alloantibodies.

The Jr(a+) antigen is one of the high-frequency antigens belonging to the JR blood group system. Although the clinical significance of anti-Jra is not well defined, cases of hemolytic disease of the newborn and hemolytic transfusion reactions caused by anti-Jra have been reported. This review introduces the genetic background of the JR blood group, the frequency of Jr(a＋), and the clinical significance of anti-Jra based on existing literature.Additionally, it summarizes the identification of anti-Jra and the transfusion strategies that can be adopted for patients with anti-Jra alloantibodies.

The Jr(a+) antigen is one of the high-frequency antigens belonging to the JR blood group system. Although the clinical significance of anti-Jra is not well defined, cases of hemolytic disease of the newborn and hemolytic transfusion reactions caused by anti-Jra have been reported. This review introduces the genetic background of the JR blood group, the frequency of Jr(a＋), and the clinical significance of anti-Jra based on existing literature.Additionally, it summarizes the identification of anti-Jra and the transfusion strategies that can be adopted for patients with anti-Jra alloantibodies.

BACKGROUND: Hyperleukocytosis is a medical emergency that is characterized by increased blood viscosity and predisposition to various neurological, pulmonary, and gastrointestinal complications. In addition, patients are at risk of the tumor lysis syndrome because of the increased tumor burden. Therapeutic leukapheresis is an important treatment for these emergent states. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed therapeutic leukapheresis procedures that were performed in our institution during the last 10 yr. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed therapeutic leukapheresis procedures conducted from July 2005 to March 2015 at a tertiary care hospital. We present our observations, especially the procedural characteristics and hematological parameters before and after the aforementioned procedures. RESULTS: Seventy-two patients underwent a total of 146 therapeutic leukapheresis procedures. The average presenting white blood cell (WBC) count was 268×10(3)/µL, and ranged from 54×10(3)/µL to 673×10(3)/µL. After an average of two sessions, a statistically significant drop in the WBC counts was observed. The average WBC removal rates during the initial and entire therapeutic leukapheresis procedures of each patient were 33% and 46%, respectively. The platelet count and hemoglobin concentration were significantly reduced. CONCLUSIONS: Therapeutic leukapheresis significantly reduces peripheral WBC counts and is a safe and effective procedure for the treatment of hyperleukocytosis.
Blood Viscosity ; Emergencies ; Humans ; Leukapheresis* ; Leukemia ; Leukocytes ; Platelet Count ; Retrospective Studies ; Tertiary Healthcare* ; Tumor Burden ; Tumor Lysis Syndrome

Transfusion-associated circulatory overload (TACO) is recently becoming more important than transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) in terms of the number of patients with definite diagnosis as well as its prognosis. In order to diagnose TACO, it is helpful to recognize early the symptoms suspicious of transfusion reaction through electronic medical record system and computer network, and this will be of help for obtaining samples for brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) measurement before and after the onset of transfusion reaction. We report a case in which a transfusion reaction was diagnosed as TACO. A 62-year-old woman was admitted to the emergency room due to bleeding tendency. Two fresh frozen plasma units and one unit of leukocyte-reduced red blood cells were transfused. Blood pressure increased during transfusion, and the chest X-ray showed findings suggestive of newly developed pulmonary edema. N-terminal prohormone of BNP (NT-proBNP) test was carried out using the specimens in refrigerated storage. Compared with the NT-proBNP level measured 12 hours before the transfusion, that measured 6 hours after the transfusion was markedly increased (>48 fold of pre-transfusion level). As a result, this case was diagnosed with TACO.
Acute Lung Injury ; Blood Pressure ; Diagnosis ; Electronic Health Records ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Erythrocytes ; Female ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain ; Plasma ; Prognosis ; Pulmonary Edema ; Thorax ; Transfusion Reaction

A global effort was made to respond to COVID-19 using convalescent plasma therapy. The United States Food and Drug Administration Emergency Use Authorization facilitated rapid deployment, enabling the treatment of 94,287 patients by August 2020. The guidelines continuously evolved to emphasize the importance of a high titer plasma and specific immunocompromised patient groups. Korea has developed guidelines for treatment with convalescent plasma based on the successful treatment of two patients. By December 2023, convalescent plasma was collected from 67 donors at nine blood centers and transfused to 67 patients at 10 hospitals in Korea. The Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapies recommendations, based on recent research, are believed to encompass the therapeutic effects of convalescent plasma therapy in COVID-19 patients. Korea initially considered convalescent plasma but experienced difficulties in development because of the switch to hyperimmune globulin and monoclonal antibodies. The insights gained from COVID-19 convalescent plasma treatment will be helpful in future pandemics caused by new infectious agents, underscoring the importance of domestic readiness for timely policy implementation.

A 54-yr-old male, who was treated by chemotherapy for gastric cancer 15 months ago, presented to Yongdong Severance Hospital, Seoul, with complaints of pain in his right eye caused by a foreign body from the ground in the previous week. He had been treated with topical and oral antibacterial in addition to antifungal agents, but did not show significant clinical improvement. After a positive corneal culture with mold, topical amphotericin B was added to the initial regimen. The mold was identified as Scedosporium apiospermum by macroscopic and microscopic morphologies and the nucleotide sequences of a fungal PCR product showing 99% homology with those of S. apiospermum (EF151349). He recovered with good results at 25 days after corneal epithelial debridement. The early diagnosis of S. apiospermum keratitis is very important for proper treatment. It is recommended that molecular diagnostic methods such as fungal PCR and sequencing be done with conventional cultures whenever a fungal infection is suspected.
Amphotericin B/therapeutic use ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use ; Antifungal Agents/therapeutic use ; Cornea/microbiology ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Eye Infections, Fungal/*diagnosis/microbiology ; Humans ; Keratitis/*diagnosis/microbiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Scedosporium/genetics/growth & development/*isolation & purification ; Sequence Analysis, DNA

BACKGROUND: Chlamydia trachomatis is common etiological agent of sexual transmitted disease. We evaluated two real-time PCR assays for the detection of C. trachomatis; Cobas TaqMan CT test v2.0 (Roche Diagnostics, Switzerland) and AdvanSure CT/NG real-time PCR (LG Life Sciences, Korea). And we compared performance of two real-time PCR assays with Cobas Amplicor CT test (Roche Diagnostics, Switzerland). METHODS: Seventy-nine cervical swab specimens collected from patients with suspected C. trachomatis infection were tested using CTM CT, ADVANSURE, and AMPLICOR for the detection of C. trachomatis. RESULTS: Twenty-five (31.6%) samples showed positive results in all three assays. The positive and negative concordance rates among three assays were 100%. CONCLUSIONS: CTM CT and ADVANSURE showed excellent agreement with AMPLICOR. Therefore, these assays were reliable for the evaluation of C. trachomatis infection.
Biological Science Disciplines ; Chlamydia ; Chlamydia trachomatis ; Humans ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction