Oral mucositis continues to be a major complaint of patients who have chemotherapy for the acute leukemia. An innovative and inexpensive remedy which produces favorable results for those afficted is not yet introduced. So we tried to develop two oral care protocols for reducing the level of oral mucositis during cytotoxic therapy through literature review and our clinical experience. The one is sodium bicarbonate-normal saline gargling, and the other consists of chlorhexidine gargling. This quasi-experimental study was performed to compare the efficacy of these two different oral care protocols. Twenty subjects were assigned to one of the two specific diagnosis of leukemia, aim of the chemotherapy. The Oral Assessment Guide(OAG), the Beck's perception of oral comfort, WHO Grading system fot mucositis and the discomfort of oral gargling solution were used to assess oral status and subject's oral discomfort during chemotherapy. Each subjects were observed daily from the start of the chemotherapy until Absolute Neutrophil Count(ANC) reached 1,000. It continued about 2-4 weeks. The data analyzed by Mann-Whittney U test and ANCOVA. The result was follows as: The patient who used sodium bicarbonate-normal saline gargling showed significantly higher mean score of the discomfort of oral gargling solution than chlorhexidine gargling. The other scores were not significantly different between two groups. However the subjects using the sodium bicarbonate-normal saline gargling showed a lower level of oral mucositis. We concluded that oral using sodium bicarbonate-normal saline gargling was between to reduce the level of oral mucositis during chemotherapy and nursing assessments of the oral cavity seemed to promote patient's compliance with the oral care regimen.
Chlorhexidine* ; Compliance ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Leukemia* ; Mouth ; Mucositis ; Neutrophils ; Nursing Assessment ; Sodium* ; Stomatitis*

PURPOSE: Retroperitoneal paraganglioma is a relatively uncommon neurogenic tumor, arising from paraganglial tissue. In our knowledge, there is few report about the radiologic findings of extraadrenal paraganglioma, therefore, here we document the adiologic findings of retroperitoneal paraganglioma with pathologic correlation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 5 patients with surgicopathologically confirmed extraadrenal paraganglioma and 1 clinjcolaboratorily confirmed case, we analyzed the ultrasonographic, computed tomographic and MRI findings, and correlated them with gross pathologic specimen. RESULTS: The location of the tumors was medial aspect of left kindey(n=2), superomedial aspect of right kidney hilum(n=2), and organ of Zuckerkandl area(n=2), UItrasonoram showed well-marginated mass(n=5), occasionally with irregular central necrosis with or without partially echogenic area suggesting hemorrhage(n=2). CT scan also showed well-marginated mass(n=6) with hemorrhagic necrosis(n--3) and contrast enhancement. One showed are shaped calcification along the capsule, and another case showed adhesion with aorta. In MRI, solid portion of the mass showed relatively low signal intensity on T1WI, increased signal on T2WI, and enhancement with gadolinium. Necrotic portion showed increased signal intensity on T1WI, and also showed increased signal intensity on T2WI, without contrast enhancement. Grossly the mass showed internal hemorrhagic necrosis of variable degree(n=6). CONCLUSION: If well-marginated mass is noted around the area of paraganglial distribution including organ of Zuckerkandl, especially with evidence of hemorrhagic necrosis and contrast enhancement, we must consider the possibility of paraganglioma despite no characteristic symptoms.
Aorta ; Gadolinium ; Humans ; Kidney ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Necrosis ; Para-Aortic Bodies ; Paraganglioma* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

PURPOSE: This study examined the effectiveness of an Adolescent Motivational Interviewing Cessation program on smoking cessation change. The study was done with a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. METHODS: The participants were 39 high school students from G city, who were in school from September 1 to October 30, 2009. The students were assigned to the experimental group (20) and participated in the motivational interviewing cessation program or to the control group (19) who did not participate. Data analyses involved chi2-test, independent t-test, Repeated Measures ANOVA, and utilized the SPSS program. RESULTS: The experimental group had significantly less daily smoking, nicotine dependence and smoking temptation in comparison to the control group. The experimental group had significantly higher stage of change in comparison to the control group. CONCLUSION: The results of the study indicate that a motivational interviewing cessation program delivered to adolescents who smoke is an effective method of encouraging cessation, and can be utilized as an effective nursing intervention for adolescents who smoke.
Adolescent ; Humans ; *Interviews as Topic ; *Motivation ; Program Evaluation ; Questionnaires ; *Smoking Cessation ; Tobacco Use Disorder/prevention & control/*psychology

BACKGROUND: The College of Medicine at Korea University has lunched the new curriculum which incorporated optional elective courses in 2000. Optional elective course is consisted of 10 subjects. 8 subjects are conducted in classroom lectures and 2 of them are active experiences in research or community service. The purpose of this study is to identify the level of achievement of its own educational goals and objectives. Also, we tried to explore the possibilities of improving this course for the maximum educational effectiveness.. MATERIAL AND METHOD: We conducted a survey and the subjects of this study were second, and third year medical students who finished this course. RESULTS: 84.8% of respondents were aware of the goals of the course. 91.1% of them agreed this course is needed to enhance the effectiveness in undergraduate medical education. Most students agreed the course provide an opportunity to broaden their perspectives of field of medicine(81.4% of respondents). Also, this course provided good informations for students' future career choice(78.6% of respondents). However, students wanted to have more in-depth learning experience. INTERPRETATION: The implementation of the optional elective course at the Korea University, Medical College was successful. Despite of its initial success, the course has to be revised to allow students to get more in - depth study according their own interests.
Curriculum ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Education, Medical, Undergraduate ; Humans ; Korea ; Learning ; Lectures ; Lunch ; Social Welfare ; Students, Medical

Respiratory syncytial virus is the most common cause of lower respiratory infection (bronchiolitis and pneumonia) of infancy and early childhood. We analyzed clinical and radiological features of 76 patients with lower respiratory infections by respiratory syncytial virus, which were diagnosed by indirect immunofluorescent test or culture of nasal aspirate in Hep-2 cell monolayer, during the period of January-December, 1991. There were peaks of incidences in March-May and November-December, accounting for 87% of eases. Sixty-two cases (82%) were under 1 year of age. Fifty cases(66%) had underlying diseases. Major radiographical findings were overaeration (83%), parahilar peribronchial infiltrates(67%), segmental or subsegmental atelectasis(32%), and segmental or lobar consolidation(16%). In 15 cases(20%), overaeration was the only radiological findings. There was no evidence of pleural effusion or hilar lymph node enlargement in all cases. By considerig clinical features(symptoms, age. Underlying diseases, epidemic seasons) in addition to the radiological findings, radiologists would be familiar with lower respiratory infection by respiratory syncytial virus. Air space consolidation, which is generally though to represent bacterial pneumonia, is also observed not infrequently in respiratory syncytial virus infections.
Child* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant* ; Lymph Nodes ; Pleural Effusion ; Pneumonia, Bacterial ; Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections ; Respiratory Syncytial Viruses* ; Respiratory Tract Infections

Parents are primary care taker for the children and have an important role for the assessment and managent of children's pain following surgery. The purpose of the present study was to examine the validity and clinical utilization of the Postoperative Pain Measure for Parents (PPMP) developed by Chambers et al. Subjects were 52 children aged 4-12 years admitted for tonsillectomy and other minor surgery and their mothers. Faces Pain Scale, State Anxiety, and Postoperative Pain Measure for Parents were used. The data were collected by two research assistant on the operation day and 1st day after surgery at hospital during the period of July 20 to August 28, 1998. The results are as follows: 1. Eta correlation coefficient between 15 items of PPMP and child rated pain were calculated. Correlation coefficients were more than .2 for both day. 2. Internal consistency for PPMP were .82 and .83. 3. The scores of the PPMP were 10.73 (SD=3.71) and 9.27(SD=4.07) on the operation day and 1st day after surgery and there was no significant difference between two days(p=.056) On the other hand, there was a significant difference on the child rated pain by Faces Pain Scale between operation day and 1st day after surgery(p=.001). 4. The correlation(Spearman Rho) between PPMP and child rated pain were .40(p=.003) and .56(p=.000). The score of the PPMP and the children's state anxiety were highly correlated on the operation day and 1st day after surgery (.60, .52, p=.000). 5. Partial correlation between PPMP and child rated pain except state anxiety were .18(p=.23) and .48(p=.001) on the opration day and 1st day after surgery. 6. Using a cut-off score 10 out of 15, the measure showed excellent sensitivity (>80%) and moderate specificity (46.15%, 60% ). This study provides preliminary evidence for the use of the PPMP as a valid pain assessment tool with children between the ages of 4-12 years following surgery. It is suggested to explore the validity with a different subjects with other surgery and to examine the validity for infant and younger children.
Anxiety ; Child ; Hand ; Humans ; Infant ; Mothers ; Pain Measurement* ; Pain, Postoperative* ; Parents* ; Primary Health Care ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Surgical Procedures, Minor ; Tonsillectomy

BACKGROUND: There have been few reports suggesting involvement of mast cell and neutrophil to induce bronchoconstriction in aspirin-sensitive asthrna. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate mast cell and neutrophil activation in pathogenesis of aspirin-sensitive asthma. MATERIAL AND METHOD: We observed changes of serum NCA and MPO levels during L-ASA bronchoprovocation test in 14 subjects with aspirin-sensitive asthma. RESULTS: Serum NCA was significantly increased at 30 min(p=0.01) after the inhalation of L-ASA and then, no significant changes were noted at 240 min (p=0.14). NCA was significantly higher in subjects with late asthmatic responses than in those without it (p=0.04). Serum MPO level tended to increase at 30 min with no statistical significance (p=0.08), and then it significantly decreased at 240 min (p=0.05). There was no significant correlation between serum NCA and MPO level (r=0.22, p=0.58). CONCLUSION: These results support the view that NCA derived from mast cell may contribute to neutrophil recruitment into the airway in aspirin-sensitive asthmatic patients.
Asthma ; Bronchoconstriction ; Humans ; Inhalation ; Mast Cells ; Neutrophil Activation ; Neutrophil Infiltration ; Neutrophils*

BACKGROUND: HLA-B40 is the most frequently identified HLA-B type in Koreans. Also HLA-B60 and B61 are the serologic split antigens of HLA-B40. But because of the lack of mono-specific alloantisera, cross reactivity of sera used as typing reagents, and poor antigenicity of some specific cells such as cord blood lymphocytes, discrimination between HLA-B60 and B61 has been often problematic in laboratories. In this study, authors evaluated whether the PCR-SSP method can be useful for accurate assignments of HLA-B60 and B61 or not. METHODS: Twenty-nine lymphocytes samples which were suspected as heterozygotes or homozygotes of HLA-B60 or B61 and three samples typed as HLA-B40 are selected from stored cord blood and organ transplantation donors. HLA types of these samples were defined by serologic method using a commercial typing kit. PCR that amplified exons 2 and 3 of the HLA-B gene using sequence specific primer pairs exactly matched to HLA-B60 or B61 allele making up a serological specificity was done. RESULTS: A clear discrimination between B60 and B61 was possible in all samples including 9 serologically ambiguous samples. Discrepancy between serologic typing and molecular typing was seen in three cases identified serologically as B40 positive but inable to define a split. Among three samples, two were identified as HLA-B61 and one was identified as HLA-B60. CONCLUSIONS: Molecular typing was useful in discriminating between HLA-B60 and B61. The PCR-SSP method for HLA-B60 and B61 including other cross-reactive HLA types will be helpful as a supplemental method of the serologic typing.
Alleles ; Discrimination (Psychology)* ; Exons ; Fetal Blood ; Heterozygote ; HLA-B Antigens ; HLA-B40 Antigen ; Homozygote ; Humans ; Indicators and Reagents ; Lymphocytes ; Molecular Typing ; Organ Transplantation ; Polymerase Chain Reaction* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tissue Donors ; Transplants

This study investigated dieting behavior, awareness of body shapes, and eating disorders in female adolescents according to age and BMI. The Eating Attitude Test for Korean Adolescents (EAT-26KA) and sociocultural standards were used to measure eating disorders and sociocultural attitudes related to appearance, respectively. In addition, the BDI (Beck Depression Inventory) scale was used to measure the correlation between disordered eating and depression. The data were collected from 390 female adolescents living in Seoul and were analyzed using SPSS15.0. The results indicated that subjects wanted to be thinner despite having a normal body weight (BMI 19.35+/-2.73). They also thought of themselves as fat and with desires to be slimmer, and viewed "diet and exercise" as the best way to lose weight. About 67.4% of the respondents had tried a diet and had experienced dizziness, anorexia, and general exhaustion while dieting. Also, 5.1% of the subjects were classified as eating disorder and suffered from stress to be thin. In addition, 85.0% of the subjects with eating disorder had tried a diet due to "appearance". They thought that "being underweight" was an ideal body image and considered themselves fat, although their BMIs were in the normal range (19.94+/-2.02). In terms of symptoms during dieting, many of the subjects dealing with an eating disorder felt dizzy, had low energy, and were depressed. In conclusion, we must educate young females about healthy eating and positive body image to prevent the development of adolescent eating disorders.
Adolescent ; Anorexia ; Body Image ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Depression ; Diet ; Dizziness ; Eating ; Eating Disorders ; Female ; Humans ; Ideal Body Weight ; Reference Values ; Weights and Measures

PURPOSE: This study aimed to analyze physical activity as measured by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and an actigraph in breast cancer survivors, as well as to identify their intention to participate in a physical activity program. METHODS: Breast cancer patients who had been diagnosed for more than six months (N=135) at a university hospital participated from June 2012 to May 2013. Physical activity was measured using the Korean version of the IPAQ-Short Form and Actigraph GT3X plus an accelerator for seven consecutive days. Data analyses were conducted using the SPSS WIN 19.0 program. RESULTS: Mean total physical activity was 2298.21 metabolic equivalent task (MET)-min/week as assessed by IPAQ and 150,140.57 counts/day as measured by an actigraph. There were statistically significant correlations between moderate physical activity from IPAQ and light intensity of physical activity from the actigraph (r=.735, p<.001), vigorous physical activity from IPAQ and vigorous intensity of physical activity from the actigraph (r=.871, p<.001), total physical activity from IPAQ and light intensity of physical activity from the actigraph (r=.825, p<.001), respectively. Most (80.7%) cancer survivors reported a positive attitude toward physical activity and 57.8% expressed a willingness to participate in a physical activity program. More than half (60%) of the subjects preferred walking, 80.6% preferred more than 30 minutes of exercise, and 57.1% wanted to engage in physical activity three times a week and preferred home-based activities. Perceived barriers included fatigue, lack of strength and pain. CONCLUSION: It is necessary to consider intensity, personal preferences, and patient-perceived barriers when developing physical activity programs for breast cancer survivors.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Fatigue ; Humans ; Intention* ; Metabolic Equivalent ; Motor Activity* ; Statistics as Topic ; Survivors* ; Walking