No abstract available.

No abstract available.
Occlusive Dressings* ; Skin*

No abstract available.
Cartilage* ; Ear* ; Snails* ; Transplants*

Disasters have frequently been a problem in Korea. Many initiatives have been carried out to mitigate this problem and to respond to disasters properly. The National Medical Emergency Center organized the Disaster Medical Response Center, which operates 24 hours a day. Regional emergency medical centers were designated as hospitals that receive disaster victims. Along with the designated disaster hospitals, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, city and district governments, and community health centers were all assigned standard roles to carry out in case of disasters. Disaster medical assistance teams were developed to respond to disaster events in their regions. This system has enabled a more rapid and systematic response to disaster events, and has standardized disaster-related medical equipment and vehicles to ensure the proper treatment of disaster victims. Although many valuable systems have been developed to respond to disasters, practical training within each institution and community-wide team training are still lacking; therefore, the government needs to further develop and support such programs.
Community Health Centers ; Disaster Victims ; Disasters ; Emergencies ; Emergency Medical Services ; Korea ; Medical Assistance

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics of antipsychotic medication prescription for the symptom control in patients with delirium. METHODS: One hundred and eighty-five patients referred to consultation-liaison psychiatric services for delirium due to general medical condition were included in this study. All subjects were divided into two groups (antipsychotics users vs. antipsychotics nonusers), and comparison analyses on their clinical characteristics were performed. RESULTS: One hundred and twenty nine patients (66.5%) used antipsychotics for their delirium, and 56 patients (30.3%) did not use antipsychotics. The history of psychotropic medication was more frequently observed in antipsychotic users (5.4% vs. 18.6%, χ²=5.498, p=0.022). Especially, the history of benzodiazepine use was significantly high in antipsychotics users. The total score and sub-items of delirium rating scale-severity items except for the psychomotor retardation item showed higher scores in antipsychotic users than in nonusers (all p<0.05). The total score of the delirium rating scale-diagnosis items was higher in antipsychotic users than in the nonusers (p=0.010). CONCLUSIONS Delirium patients with more severe delirium symptoms and with more history of benzodiazepine use were treated with antipsychotics more frequently than those without. These findings imply that benzodiazepine may not only exacerbate delirium but be associated with aggression or psychomotor agitation that need immediate intervention. Clinicians may need to pay attention not only these external symptoms but also to hypoactive symptoms that may lead to misdiagnosis and undertreatment.

Disasters have frequently been a problem in Korea. Many initiatives have been carried out to mitigate this problem and to respond to disasters properly. The National Medical Emergency Center organized the Disaster Medical Response Center, which operates 24 hours a day. Regional emergency medical centers were designated as hospitals that receive disaster victims. Along with the designated disaster hospitals, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, city and district governments, and community health centers were all assigned standard roles to carry out in case of disasters. Disaster medical assistance teams were developed to respond to disaster events in their regions. This system has enabled a more rapid and systematic response to disaster events, and has standardized disaster-related medical equipment and vehicles to ensure the proper treatment of disaster victims. Although many valuable systems have been developed to respond to disasters, practical training within each institution and community-wide team training are still lacking; therefore, the government needs to further develop and support such programs.

Family psychoeducation is a potent therapeutic tool for schizophrenia and is strongly recommended in major treatment guidelines. Family psychoeducation is effective for improving the psychopathology and therapeutic adherence of the patients as well as reducing the burden of the illness and the stress of family members. Despite its effectiveness, family psychoeducation is underutilized. Group family psychoeducation appears to be quite effective because it enhances the social network of family members and activates therapeutic factors, such as universalization, acceptance, interpersonal learning, and instillation of hope in the group. This review article overviews the currently published group family psychoeducation programs in detail, including number, length, and contents of sessions. The author recommends two-track group family psychoeducation, which may be suitable for the Korean situation: 1) large open group psychoeducation course that deals with general knowledge about schizophrenia; and 2) small closed group intensive psychoeducation course that covers discussions about the psychological needs and strengths of each family, communication, and problem-solving skill training and self-care.

A dietary supplement, also known as a food supplement or nutritional supplement, is a preparation intended to supplement the diet and provide nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, fiber, fatty acids, or amino acids. A health functional food is a food where one or more new ingredients have been added to a food and the new product has an additional function. Physicians and patients need information on current evidence on the efficacy and safety of selected dietary supplements that are commonly used. The current evidence on the efficacy and safety of selected dietary supplements (beta-carotene, vitamin C, D, E, calcium, selenium, omega 3, ginseng, glucosamine, chlorella, saw palmetto, gingko, gamma linolenic acid, echinacea) for specific conditions is assessed by an evidence-based approach. With an increase in income and the aging of the population, spending on dietary supplements is steadily increasing, but concern about the safety and efficacy of dietary supplements may be relatively low. Recently, many domestic and international clinical trials on nutritional supplements have been performed. As a result, the evidence on the efficacy and safety of dietary supplements may be changed or recommendations may also be changed. Greater efforts should be made to acquire the latest knowledge about dietary supplements.
Aging ; Amino Acids ; Ascorbic Acid ; Calcium ; Chlorella ; Diet ; Dietary Supplements ; Evidence-Based Medicine ; Fatty Acids ; Functional Food ; gamma-Linolenic Acid ; Ginkgo biloba ; Glucosamine ; Humans ; Minerals ; Panax ; Selenium ; Vitamins

Vitamin D is not only a nutrient, but also a hormone that affects the musculoskeletal system. Recently, extensive attention has been drawn to the autocrine and paracrine functions of vitamin D. Consequently, its extraskeletal effect and its known effects on the skeletal system have drawn particular interest. The socioeconomic development and aging of the population of Korea have also raised interest in dietary supplements. Because vitamin D deficiency is high among Koreans, both physicians and patients are questioning whether vitamin D supplements are needed. This review assessed the skeletal and extraskeletal efficacy of vitamin D with regard to mortality, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes via an evidence-based approach. The recent interest surrounding vitamin D can be expected to motivate many more studies on its effects and adverse effects, and accordingly, the level of evidence and recommendations will be adjusted. Clinicians should familiarize themselves with updated evidence about vitamin D, and must counsel patients with that evidence in mind.
Accidental Falls ; Aging ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Dietary Supplements ; Evidence-Based Medicine ; Humans ; Korea ; Musculoskeletal System ; Osteoporosis ; Vitamin D ; Vitamin D Deficiency ; Vitamins

To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of transthoracic fine needle aspiration cytology(TFNAC) in the preoperative diagnosis of pulmonary nodules, a retrospective analysis was carried out on a consecutive series of 200 TFNACs. They included 186 primary malignant tumors, 66 squamous cell carcinomas, 65 adenocarcinomas, 36 small cell carcinomas, 7 large cell carcinomas, 4 carcinoids, 8 others, 9 metastatic tumors, and 5 benign tumors. On cytohistologic correlation of malignant pulmonary tumors, the pro- cedure had a sensitivity of 97.3% and a specificity of 100%. A 86.6% correct correlation between the cytologic and histologic diagnoses was achieved. Five out of the 7 undifferentiated large cell carcinomas, 10 out of the 65 adenocarcinomas, 2 out of the 36 small cell carcinomas, and 2 out of the 66 squamous cell carcinomas were turned out to be mistyped in cytologic diagnosis. We concluded that TFNAC is a highly sensitive and specific preoperative diagnostic procedure in the investigation of patients with discrete pulmonary nodules in whom the specific cell type of the malignant neoplasm has important implications in treatment modality and prognosis.
Adenocarcinoma ; Bezafibrate ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Carcinoid Tumor ; Carcinoma, Large Cell ; Carcinoma, Small Cell ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Diagnosis ; Endometrial Neoplasms ; Female ; Humans ; Hydronephrosis* ; Kidney* ; Natural History* ; Papanicolaou Test ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity