This study examined burdens of primary family carcgivcrs of paticnto with cerebrovascular accidents (CVA) along with related factors. In addition, their needs for support group intervention were assessed to develop a support group to reduce the burdens of caregiving. Eighty-one primary family caregivers of patients with CVAs at a general hospital in Seoul participated in this study . The patients with CVAs aged from 26 to 83 years with mean age of 63 years. About 90% of the patients had some paralysis and 56.6% suffered speech problems. Fifty-eight percent of the primary family caregivers were spouses of the patients and 80.2% were women. Primary family caregivers' burdens were assessed by the Burden Scale originally devel oped by Zarit (1980) and Novak & Geust(1989) and modified by Jang (1995) for use in Korea. The instrument consists of six subscales time-dependent burden, developmental burden, physical burden, emotional burden, social burden, and financiaI burden. The results were as follows : 1. The average of burden score was 91.7, indicating moderate to severe level of burden. The time-dependent burden was scored highest followed by physical, developmental, social, financial, and emotional burdens. 2. of the characteristics of patients, age, gender, and severity of the disease were found to be associated with the level of burden. Of the characteristics of primary family caregivers, age and educational level were significantly related to the level of burden. Time of care since the CVA and the quality of relationship between a patient and a caregiver prior to the stroke were significant situational factors affecting the level of burden. 3. The need for support group intervention for the caregivero was very high (95.1%). The earcgivcrs of patients who had a CVA for the first time showed higher levels of need compared to those of patients who had a CVA more than once. The caregivers indicated a support group held once a month near home or hospital would be welcomed. In addition, they replied that a group composed of 9 to 10 caregivers and guided by health care professionals (e.g., physicians and nurses) would be most desirable. More than 85% of the earegivers identified the areas that they wanted intervention in as follows : knowledge, skills, and resources to care for a patient with a CVA. the counsel of health care professionals, share of their experiences with those who have similar situations, stress management skills, and methods to overcome emotional isolation due to the great responsibility for a patient. Given the results, support group is expected to be an effective way to reduce the burdens of primary family caregivers of patients with CVAs. As a follow up It is necessary to examine the effect of support group intervention on the patient's recovery and rehabilitation.
Caregivers* ; Delivery of Health Care ; Female ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Korea ; Paralysis ; Rehabilitation ; Self-Help Groups* ; Seoul ; Spouses ; Stroke*

BACKGROUND : The recent studies shows that Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) related chronic gastritis leads to dysplasia, intestinal metaplasia and gastric cancer. The aim of this study was to determine the association between precancerous lesion of stomach (dysplasia, intestinal metaplasia) and H.pylori infection in the elderly. METHODS : 469 patients were enrolled this study, Patients with intestinal metaplasia or dysplasia (case, n=148) were compared with controls (without intestinal metaplasia and dysplasia, n=321) about H. pylori positive rates H. pylori positivity was confirmed by histologic determination of endoscopic biopsy specimens. Results : 1) Among study populations H. pylori positive rates were 51.8% (55.8% in male, 40.7% in female). It was significantly higher in male (p=0.001). 2) There were no significant differences in sex distribution between cases and controls, but in old age, the cases were more frequent than in young age (p<0.001). 3) Age distribution of H. pylori positive rates were not significant between cases and controls. 47.5% in intestinal metaplasia, 43.4% in dysplasia, 21.3% in dysplasia+intestinal metaplasia were H. pylori positive. H. pylori positive rates were more higher in controls than cases, followed by in decreasing order by the intestinal metaplasia group, the dysplasia group, and those having both (p=0.003). 4) Age and sex adjusted H. pylori positive rates were more higher in controls (42.7%) than in cases (25.0%)(p<0.009). CONCLUSION : The prevalence of intestinal metaplasia and dysplasia was age dependent. But we couldn't explain the carcinogenic effect of H. pylori, because H. pylori positive rates were lower in cases than in controls
Age Distribution ; Aged ; Aging* ; Biopsy ; Gastritis ; Helicobacter pylori* ; Helicobacter* ; Humans ; Male ; Metaplasia* ; Prevalence* ; Sex Distribution ; Stomach ; Stomach Neoplasms

Leiomyoma is one of the rarest solid tumor of the ovary. Approximately 50 cases have been published to date. However, most reported leiomyoma of the ovaries were small and rarely induced serious symptoms. We report a case of ovarian leiomyoma in 57-year-old woman which has been experienced in our haspital with brief review of literature.
Female ; Humans ; Leiomyoma* ; Middle Aged ; Ovary*

No abstract available.

This study was undertaken to investigate the characterization and distribution patterns of MHC class II positive dendritic cells[DCs] and ED2 positive tissue macrophages throughout the estrous cycle and during pregnancy in the rat ovary. The immunohistochemical characterization of the cells was carried out using the monoclonal antibodies OX6 and ED2 in cryostat-cut sections. DCs were distributed in the theca cell layer of the growing and mature follicles,stroma and corpus luteum. Tissue macrophages were distributed in the theca externa of the growing and mature follicles, stroma and corpus luteum but they were smaller in number than DCs. None of DC and tissue macrophage was found in the ovum, granulosa layer and follicular cavity of the ovarian follicle. However, DCs and tissue macrophages were present in the granulosa layer and follicular cavity in the atretic follicles. Degenerating corpus luteum contained a vast number of OX6 positive cells. On the contrary, fewer tissue macrophages were founcl in the degenerating corpus luteum. More macrophages tended to be observed in the former follicular cavity and theca lutein cell layer than in the granulosa lutein cell layer of the corpus luteum. In stroma,DCs and tissue macrophages were more frequently found around the blood vessels than in the other region, however, DCs were relatively greater in number than tissue macrophages. There was no estrous cycle and pregnancy dependent variation in the numbers and distribution patterns of DCs and tissue macrophages. In conclusion, the rat ovary contains rich networks of MHC class II positive dendritic cells and ED2 positive tissue macrophages. These findings suggest the existence of a well-developed system of immunological surveillance in the rat ovary. The results of this study have potentially important implications for the understanding not only of the ovarian immune system and the pathogenesis of various ovarian diseases but also of various physiologic functions of the ovary.
Animals ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; Blood Vessels ; Corpus Luteum ; Dendritic Cells* ; Estrous Cycle ; Female ; Immune System ; Immunologic Surveillance ; Luteal Cells ; Macrophages* ; Ovarian Diseases ; Ovarian Follicle ; Ovary* ; Ovum ; Pregnancy ; Rats* ; Theca Cells

No abstract available.
DNA, Viral* ; Hep G2 Cells* ; Hepatitis B virus* ; Hepatitis B* ; Hepatitis* ; Spices*

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical manifestations, contact history, and status of tuberculosis contact investigations in school-age children and adolescents with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) at two centers. METHODS: This study was conducted with 54 patients in the age ranging from 10 to 18 years, who were diagnosed with pulmonary TB at the Pusan National University Hospital and Pusan National University Children's Hospital, January 2008 to December 2012. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of the patients. RESULTS: The median age of the patients was 16 years old; 11 patients were aged 10 to 14 and 43 patients were aged 15 to 18. Among 54 patients, 19 had history of contact with pulmonary TB, 10 had contact with house members (household), and remaining 9 had contact with classmates (non-household). One out of 10 patients who had household contacts and 6 out of 9 patients who had non-household contacts were evaluated with contact investigation after the exposure to pulmonary TB. Among 7 patients who were evaluated with contact investigation, 3 were diagnosed with active pulmonary TB, 1 had latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), and 3 had no evidence of TB or LTBI. The median period of diagnosis after the exposure to active pulmonary TB was 2 years in patients with household contacts and 0.23 years in patients with non-household contacts. CONCLUSION: This study suggested that if the contact investigation conducted properly, it would be helpful for early diagnosis and prevention of pulmonary TB.
Adolescent* ; Busan ; Child* ; Diagnosis ; Early Diagnosis ; Family Characteristics ; Humans ; Latent Tuberculosis ; Medical Records ; Retrospective Studies ; Tuberculosis* ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary*

No abstract available.
Dinoprostone* ; Suppositories*

No abstract available.
Rheumatic Fever*

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to develop the decision tree models to classify the characteristics of those who had not undergone the health screening tests provided by the National Health Insurance Corporation. METHODS: Total of 5,102,761 subjects of health screening services in the year of 2002 was used. The data was divided into two data-sets (disease VS. non-disease group). The target variable was whether they took the health screening services. The number of input variables was 25 in total. RESULTS: The decision trees were classified into fourteen different types of non-examinees in the non-disease group and nineteen in the disease group. The ROC curve areas in the non-disease and disease groups were .761 and .714, respectively. CONCLUSION: The different types of non-examinees classified by the decision tree models would facilitate the foundation for the further analysis of individual characteristics and the effective health screening service management in future.
Data Mining ; Decision Trees* ; Mass Screening* ; National Health Programs ; ROC Curve