BACKGROUND: Social support is defined as interpersonal transaction ; the giving of symbolic or material aid to another. It has been shown to have both buffering effects and direct beneficial effects on diverse health related outcomes. But there has been the dearth of well-validated measurement instruments. This article describes the development of Korean version of the Duke-UNC functional social support questionnaire(DUFSS), focusing on the aspect of social support. METHODS: The 13-item, self-administered questionnaire was translated to Korean language. It was evaluated on 177 patients attending the family medicine clinic of Seoul National University Hospital during one month(November, 1996.) Comparisons to the family APGAR, COOP/ WONCA functional status chart are made to assess validity. Factor analyses are performed. Correlation of the questionnire score with the sum of family APGAR and each items of COOP/ WONCA functional chart are measured Internal consistency are evaluated. RESULTS: The questionnaire score are correlated with significantly correlated with social activity item. The total Cronbachs alpha is calculated as 0.89. The four content areas developed by factor analyses are donfidant support(items 8, 9, 10), af fective support(items 4, 5, 6, 7), instrumental support(items 3, 12) and quantity of support(item 1). These shows similarity to American study results. CONCLUSIONS: The Korean version of the Duke-UNC functional social support questionnaire has been documented as having high reliability and moderate validity. It covers two dimensions well(confidant support, affective support) with a small enough number of questions. Instrumental support may need further study.
Humans ; Seoul ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: It is known that single umbilical artery is frequently associated with gastrointestinal or urogenital anomaly, however, routine renal sonography has been debated in healthy neonate with isolated single umbilical artery. This study is designed to determine the usefulness of routine renal sonography in apparently healthy infants with an isolated single umbilical artery. METHODS: Thirty healthy neonates with a single umbilical artery without a major anomaly from January 1995 to July 2002 were enrolled. The authors investigated the clinical background of babies and their mothers after renal sonography after 72 hours of age. When the abnormalities were found at the first renal sonography, the severity of hydronephrosis and degree of obstruction and renal function were analyzed by follow up renal sonography, voiding cystourethrography(VCUG) and technetium-99m-dimercaptosuccinic acid(DMSA) scan or technetium-99m-mercaptoacetyl-triglycerine (MAG3) scan. RESULTS: Among the 30 healthy patients with isolated single umbilical artery, five patients(16.7%) showed abnormalities on first renal sonography with one major(3.3%) and four(13.4%) minor renal anomaly(minimal or mild hydroneohrosis). One major renal anomaly(severe hydronephrosis) showed severe decreased renal function on MAG3 scan without reflux, and the other four minor regressed spontaneously on follow up study. CONCLUSION: The value of routine early renal sonograpy for detecting renal anomaly in healthy infants with an isolated single umbilical artery remained unclear because most of the anomalies would regress spontaneously in the follow up study.
Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hydronephrosis ; Infant* ; Infant, Newborn ; Mass Screening* ; Mothers ; Single Umbilical Artery*

PURPOSE: We investigated the risk factors related to the development and aggravation of allergic rhinitis, which is associated with residential environment and lifestyle habits of children residing in Incheon. METHODS: A total of 182 children diagnosed with moderate to severe allergic rhinitis and 67 healthy children were enrolled. A detailed questionnaire of the environmental characteristics and the dietary habits were completed by the parents. Further, skin prick tests with 14 common allergens were performed. RESULTS: The mean age of the children with allergic rhinitis and healthy control was 8.2+/-2.8 and 9.4+/-2.0 years, respectively. The presence of indoor mold was associated with an increased risk of development of allergic rhinitis. (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 4.26; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.96-9.27) Among the food groups, there was no significant difference of the daily intake of milk and yogurt between the patients and the controls. However, daily intake of vegetables, except Kimchi, and daily intake of fruits or fruit juice were associated with a decreased risk of allergic rhinitis. (aOR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.20-0.92 / aOR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.13-0.90, respectively) CONCLUSION: The results indicate that an indoor dampness is one of the risk factors of development and aggravation of allergic rhinitis. Control of indoor humidity and daily intake of fruits and vegetables can prevent the development and control symptoms of allergic rhinitis.
Allergens ; Child ; Diet ; Food Habits ; Fruit ; Fungi ; Humans ; Humidity ; Life Style ; Milk ; Odds Ratio ; Parents ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Rhinitis ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial ; Risk Factors ; Skin ; Vegetables ; Yogurt

Nerve sheath myxoma or neurothekeoma, a rare cutaneous neoplasm probably originating from the nerve sheath, is classified into three groups as classical, cellular, and mixed types based on cellularity, mucin content and growth patterns. Only two cases of nerve sheath myxoma have been reported in the Korean literatures. We report a case of nerve sheath myxoma occurring on the scalp of a 29 year-old woman. It was identified as the mixed type by histopathological, immunohistochemical and electronmicroscopic findings.
Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Mucins ; Neurothekeoma* ; Scalp ; Talus

PURPOSE: To identify the necessity of more reasonable diagnostic criteria and the possibility of early prediction of coronary involvement in the higher risk group, we investigated and compared clinical and laboratory findings in the acute phase and coronary involvements in those younger (n=17) and older(n=53) than one year of age in Kawasaki disease(KD). METHODS: Retrospective chart reviews were performed on 70 patients with KD who were admitted to the Chung-Ang University Hospital from April 1997 to May 2001. RESULTS: Male were significantly higher in the younger age group(M : F ratio 3.3 : 1 vs. 1.0 : 1, P=0.004). Fever durations before intravenous immunoglobulin(IVIG) and echocardiography were significantly shorter in the younger group(4.6+/-1.3 vs. 6.2+/-2.5, P=0.004 vs. 0.01, respectively). Cases meeting typical diagnostic criteria were significantly less in the younger group(P=0.006). In the laboratory findings, serum albumin, BUN and K+ levels in the acute febrile phase were significantly higher in the younger group(P=0.002, 0.006, <0.001, respectively) and incidences of coronary artery dilatation in the acute phase were significantly higher in the younger group(P=0.01). CONCLUSION: Although less met the typical diagnostic criteria of KD, infants younger than one year of age are more susceptible to coronary artery change in the acute febrile phase. Therefore, KD should be entertained as a diagnostic possibility in young infants with prolonged fever without distinct fever focus, and echocardiography should be considered as part of the evaluation of these patients, and then early diagnosis and prompt IVIG should be conducted.
Coronary Vessels ; Dilatation ; Early Diagnosis ; Echocardiography ; Fever ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins, Intravenous ; Incidence ; Infant ; Male ; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome* ; Retrospective Studies ; Serum Albumin

Adenoaquamous carcinoma of stomach is a extremely rare malignant tumor which is composed of the mixed giandular-epidermoid neoplastic comyonnts. The pathogenesis of this neoplasm remains obscure and has various different theories, such as the origin of squamous components are island of ectopic squamous epithelium in the, gastric mucosa, squamous metaplasia of gastric epithelium, squamous differentiation in a preexisting adenocarcinoma, endotheliai cell differentiated toward squamous elements, and totipotential undifferentiated cells of the gastric mucosa. Primary adenosquamous carcinoma(ASC) was classified into two types, differentiated type adenocarcinomatous component(DAC) and undifferentiated type adenocarcinomatous component(UAC), according to the degree of glandular formation of the adenocarcinomatous elements. As a consequence, with respect to biologic behavior, ASC with DAC was similar to the differentiated type adenocarinoma, and ASC with UAC to the undifferentiated type adenocarcinoma. Accodingly, the behavioristic features of ASC seemed to be governed by the adenocarcinomatous component. We reported a case of primary gastric adenosquamous carcinoma with undifferentiated type adenocarcinomatous component.
Adenocarcinoma ; Carcinoma, Adenosquamous* ; Epithelium ; Gastric Mucosa ; Metaplasia ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Stomach*

BACKGROUND: Exercise testing is a standard noninvasive method used in the evaluation and management of patients with suspected coronary artery disease. However, patients with lower limb impairment are unable to undergo a standard bicycle or treadmill test. Alternative methods of exercise testing are needed for patients with vascular, orthopedic or neurologic conditions who cannot perform leg exercise. This study was aimed to determine the diagnostic accuracy of arm exercise thallium-201 SPECT for evaluating chest pain in patients unable to perform leg exercise. METHOD: Twenty-five anginal patients performed arm ergometry testing in conjunction with thallium-201 SPECT. Thereafter all underwent coronary angiography. RESULT: Significant coronary artery disease (> or =50% stenosis) in at least one vessel was present in 22 (88%) of the 25 patients. The sensitivity of thallium-201 SPECT for detecting coronary artery disease was 91%, which was significantly higher than the 32% sensitivity found with the electrocardiographic response alone (p <0.001). Thallium-201 SPECT yielded a sensitivity of 88, 86 and 100% for one, two, and three vessel diseases, respectively, and an 84% sensitivity and 81% specificity for detecting individual vessel stenosis. CONCLUSION: Arm exercise thallium-201 SPECT is useful for detecting coronary artery disease in patients unable to perform leg exercise. In addition, it provides an information regarding exercise tolerance. Therefore, this test appears to be reliable and useful and should be considered in the detection of coronary artery disease in nonambulatory patients.
Angina Pectoris ; Arm* ; Chest Pain ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Artery Disease* ; Coronary Vessels* ; Electrocardiography ; Exercise Test ; Exercise Tolerance ; Humans ; Leg ; Lower Extremity ; Orthopedics ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon*

A few studies have shown that the function of fusiform face area is selectively involved in the perception of faces including a race difference. We investigated the neural substrates of the face-selective region called fusiform face area in the ventral occipital-temporal cortex and same-race memory superiority in the fusiform face area by the event-related fMRI. In our fMRI study, subjects (Oriental-Korean) performed the implicit distinction of the race while they consciously made familiar-judgments, regardless of whether they considered a face as Oriental-Korean or European-American. For race distinction as an implicit task, the fusiform face areas (FFA) and the right parahippocampal gyrus had a greater response to the presentation of Oriental-Korean faces than for the European-American faces, but in the conscious race distinction between Oriental-Korean and European-American faces, there was no significant difference observed in the FFA. These results suggest that different activation in the fusiform regions and right parahippocampal gyrus resulting from superiority of same-race memory could have implicitly taken place by the physiological processes of face recognition.
Continental Population Groups* ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Memory ; Parahippocampal Gyrus ; Physiological Processes

A few studies have shown that the function of fusiform face area is selectively involved in the perception of faces including a race difference. We investigated the neural substrates of the face-selective region called fusiform face area in the ventral occipital-temporal cortex and same-race memory superiority in the fusiform face area by the event-related fMRI. In our fMRI study, subjects (Oriental-Korean) performed the implicit distinction of the race while they consciously made familiar-judgments, regardless of whether they considered a face as Oriental-Korean or European-American. For race distinction as an implicit task, the fusiform face areas (FFA) and the right parahippocampal gyrus had a greater response to the presentation of Oriental-Korean faces than for the European-American faces, but in the conscious race distinction between Oriental-Korean and European-American faces, there was no significant difference observed in the FFA. These results suggest that different activation in the fusiform regions and right parahippocampal gyrus resulting from superiority of same-race memory could have implicitly taken place by the physiological processes of face recognition.
Continental Population Groups* ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Memory ; Parahippocampal Gyrus ; Physiological Processes

PURPOSE: Comparison between lung ultrasound (LUS) score and indices of respiratory severity in very preterm infants born at 28 to 31 weeks' gestation. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed medical records of 32 very preterm infants born at 28 to 31 weeks' gestation at Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center. Before surfactant administration, bedside LUS in the neonatal intensive care unit was recorded within the first hour of life. Partial pressure of capillary oxygen to fraction of inspired oxygen ratio (PcO2)/FiO2, alveolar-arterial gradient (A-aO2), modified oxygenation index (OI), and arterial to alveolar ratio were calculated. Correlation between LUS score and indices of respiratory severity were analyzed between the intubation and nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP) groups depending on the presence or absence of endotracheal intubation. RESULTS: Mean LUS scores, A-aO2, and modified OI in the intubation group were significantly higher than those in the NCPAP group. Conversely, PcO2/FiO2 and arterial to alveolar ratios in the intubation group were significantly lower than those in the NCPAP group. LUS score was found to be significantly correlated with A-aO2 (r=0.448, P>0.05) and modified OI (r=0.453, P>0.05), but not with PcO2/FiO2 ratio (r=−0.205, P<0.05) and arterial to alveolar ratio (r=−0.190, P>0.05). CONCLUSION: The LUS score is well correlated with indices of respiratory severity in very preterm infants born at 28 to 31 weeks' gestation. Further investigation is needed to use LUS as an alternative tool in infants with respiratory distress.
Capillaries ; Continuous Positive Airway Pressure ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Intensive Care, Neonatal ; Intubation ; Intubation, Intratracheal ; Lung ; Medical Records ; Oxygen ; Partial Pressure ; Pregnancy ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn ; Retrospective Studies ; Ultrasonography