No abstract available.
Blood Group Incompatibility* ; Bromelains*

Background and OBJECTIVE: There has been a few case reports of anaphylaxis due to honeybee in Korea. In order to observe the clinical feature of bee sting anaphylaxis. Moderials and methods: Six patients living in Kyunggi province area were referred under history of anaphylaxis after the bee sting. Atopy was defined by skin prick test result to common inhalant allergen. Serum specific IgE antibody to each bee antigen was detected by radioimmunoassay to identify the causative bee. RESULTS: All six cases were female. Three had atopy and four had combined allergic diseases such as allergic rhinitis, asthma, and urticaria. The etiologic bees consisted of yellow jacket (6 cases), paper wasp (4 cases), yellow hornet (3 cases), white faced hornet (1 case) and honey bee (1 case). Four cases had experienced anaphylaxis after ant bite and they showed positive result on specific IgE to imported fire ant. Specific immunotherapy against causative bee venom was begun using bee venom extracts from Bayer (USA) based upon results of specific IgE anti-body to bee venom. CONCLUSION: The yellow jacket is the most common cause of bee venom anaphylaxis in this area. Further studies will be needed to evaluate possible cross-reactivity between bee and ant venom.
Anaphylaxis* ; Ant Venoms ; Ants ; Asthma ; Bee Venoms* ; Bees* ; Bites and Stings ; Female ; Fires ; Gyeonggi-do ; Honey ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E ; Immunotherapy ; Korea ; Radioimmunoassay ; Rhinitis ; Skin ; Urticaria ; Wasps

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

No abstract available.
Anemia, Megaloblastic* ; Humans ; Megaloblasts* ; Methotrexate*

PURPOSE: This study aimed at characterizing Korean nurses' occupational responsibilities to apply the results for improvement of the Korean Nursing Licensing Examination. METHODS: First, the contents of nursing job were defined based on a focus group interview of 15 nurses. Developing a Curriculum (DACOM) method was used to examine those results and produce the questionnaire by 13 experts. After that, the questionnaire survey to 5,065 hospital nurses was done. RESULTS: The occupational responsibilities of nurses were characterized as involving 8 duties, 49 tasks, and 303 task elements. Those 8 duties are nursing management and professional development, safety and infection control, the management of potential risk factors, basic nursing and caring, the maintenance of physiological integrity, medication and parenteral treatments, socio-psychological integrity, and the maintenance and improvement of health. CONCLUSION: The content of Korean Nursing Licensing Examination should be improved based on 8 duties and 49 tasks of the occupational responsibilities of Korean nurses.
Curriculum ; Focus Groups ; Infection Control ; Job Description ; Korea ; Licensure* ; Licensure, Nursing ; Methods ; Nursing* ; Risk Factors

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to develop a MD-MBA joint program that will teach doctors professional hospital management and administration skills. METHODS: To assess the demand for hospital management and administration skills in the medical field, information was gathered from community physicians through a questionnaire. Personal interviews were also conducted with doctors having who graduated from a MD-MBA joint program and those working for hospital consulting firms. We visited institutions in developed countries offering this program and conducted literature reviews. Based on the data collected, a tentative plan for the introduction of a MD-MBA program in Korea was developed. RESULTS: The results of this study are as follows. Community practitioners realize the need for basic management skills and feel that hospital management should be part of undergraduate or graduate medical curriculum. In the United States, there is an annual increase in the number of institutions offering MD-MBA programs and in the number of MD-MBA graduates. These programs are run very systematically. It is apparent that the introduction of this program to Korean medical students is imminent. This program can be offered in Korea at the undergraduate level with the School of Business Administration in charge of the program, with the Medical School in charge, or as a cooperative effort between these two schools. CONCLUSION: Most private practitioners and medical professors recognize the necessity for a MD-MBA program. Systemic and experiential research must be done. Support must be given to finances, human resources and equipment in offering this program.
Commerce ; Curriculum ; Developed Countries ; Humans ; Joints* ; Korea ; Program Development* ; Schools, Medical ; Students, Medical ; United States ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to analyze the assessment of student performance in Problem-Based Learning, which was an elective course at Korea University College of Medicine, from 2001 to 2003, and to delineate effective strategies for Problem-Based Learning. METHODS: A questionnaire was given to 126 third year Korea University medical students. The questionnaire consisted of 25 items in 2001, 37 in 2002, and 64 in 2003. These items covered self-evaluation and overall evaluation of contents, learning environments, small group activity, and tutor in PBL. The respective reliability of items in scale was .67, .75, .79, and 81. Data was analyzed using the Spsswin.11.0 RESULTS: The results of this study are as follows. By most of all respondents, PBL was recognized as a more effective learning method, more interesting, and able to provide a more diverse spectrum of information than traditional lectures. Neutral or negative responses were given for educational settings. Competence of students was increased in the PBL setting. A large percentage of learning method was through the use of textbooks. Most respondents were satisfied with the small group activity and tutor. CONCLUSION: There should be sufficient educational equipments such as rooms for small group activity, textbooks, and journals for PBL. We have to consider student's characteristics carefully and to make concrete guideline and system for effective Problem based learning.
Surveys and Questionnaires ; Diagnostic Self Evaluation ; Humans ; Korea ; Learning ; Lectures ; Mental Competency ; Problem-Based Learning* ; Students, Medical

BACKGREOUND: Since it has been reported that ketamine, an intravenous anesthetic, is a non-competitive antagonist of N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptors, a large number of experimental data on the several mechanism of this process have been accumulated. But the mechanism about the effect of ketamine on neurotransmitter release in central nervous system has not been clearly elucidated yet. Therefore the present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of ketamine and thiopental sodium on hippocampal norepinephrine (NE) release, and also to examine the relationship between ketamine and NMDA receptor mechanisms in the rat hippocampus. METHODS: Slices from rat hippocampus were equilibrated with [3H]norepinephrine ([3H]NE) and the release of labelled products was evoked by electrical stimulation (3 Hz, 5 V/cm, 2 ms, rectangular pulses, 2 min), and the influence of various agents on the evoked tritium-outflow and the basal rate of release were investigated. RESULTS: In rat hippocampal slices, ketamine (1~30 micrometer) and thiopental sodium (1~30 micrometer) did not affect the evoked NE release and the basal release in the normal and Mg2 free medium. NMDA (3~100 micrometer) did not alter the NE release in the normal medium, but NMDA (1~30 micrometer) increased the basal rate of NE release in the Mg2 free medium. The increasing effects of NMDA on basal release were completely abolished by ketamine treatment in a concentration dependent manner. But, thiopental sodium did not affect the NMDA effect. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that increment of the basal rate of NE release is mediated by NMDA receptor in the rat hippocampus and ketamine completely block this effect, but thiopental sodium is not involved in these process.
Animals ; Central Nervous System ; Electric Stimulation ; Hippocampus* ; Ketamine* ; N-Methylaspartate ; Neurotransmitter Agents ; Norepinephrine* ; Rats* ; Thiopental

PURPOSE: To evaluate the CT findings of Burkitt's lymphoma involving the abdomen in children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the abdominal CT of ten children who presented with abdominal symptom. Theywere confirmed by operation in two cases and by fine needle aspiration biopsy in eight to be suffering from Burkitt's lymphoma. We also abdominal ultrasonography(USG) (n=10) and carried out small bowel follow-through examination(SBS) (n=5). Analyses focused on features of the abdominal mass : bowel wall thickening, ascites, lymphadenopathy, and the involvement of intra-abdominal solid organ. RESULTS: Abdominal CT at the time ofpresentation showed a huge conglomerated mass encasing segments of small bowel and also peripherally displacingbowel loops (n=9), bowel wall thickening (n=10), and ascites (n=10). In three of these cases, we were able to see tumor necrosis and cavity formation. Extensive infiltration into mesenteric fat and obliteration of tissue planemade it impossible to identify on CT the margin of the tumor and the presence of mesenteric lymphadenopathy. Infour patients, sonography showed enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes(15-20mm), and in three, retroperitoneal lymphnodes(5mm, 10mm, 12mm in long dimension) were detected on CT and USG. CONCLUSION: Abdominal CT can reveal the characteristic imaging features of Burkitt's lymphoma in children. These are a huge conglomerate mass with or without cavity formation, that encases the small bowel and infiltrates the mesentery, ascites, and the relatively spared retroperitoneal lymph nodes.
Abdomen ; Ascites ; Biopsy ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Burkitt Lymphoma* ; Child* ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Lymphatic Diseases ; Lymphoma ; Mesentery ; Necrosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

PURPOSE: Since 2000, the Korea University Medical College has conducted Comprehensive Basic Medical Sciences Examination as a summative test. Summative assessment must be dependable in that it meets the highest standards of reliability and validity. The purpose of this study were to examine the validity and reliability of Comprehensive Basic Medical Sciences Examination and to improve the quality of the examination. METHODS: The subject of this study was the examination materials and scores of the test. We conducted exploratory factor analysis to testify validity. Cronbach alpha coefficient was used to examine the reliability. RESULTS: Only one factor was extracted from exploratory factor analysis. Its eigen value was 4.61 and it explained 65.93% of total variance. We could infer the extracted factor as an ability of basic medical sciences knowledge. The reliability coefficient of the test was ranged from 0.45 to 0.74. Of the total 335 item, overall acceptable items were 206(58.0%); the range of difficulty was 0.21~1.00 and discriminative indices were higher than 0.20. CONCLUSION: We confirmed the Comprehensive Basic Medical Sciences Examination in 2000 met the relative highest standards of reliability and validity. Item analysis could be of help to improve the quality of examination
Korea ; Psychometrics* ; Reproducibility of Results