In chronic illness patients, promotion and self-care are important strategies for maintaining and improving health. Self-care behavior of hypertensive patient are affected by various variables. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between three cognitive-perceptual resources-self efficacy, hardiness and perceived barriers and self-care in hypertensive patients. The subjects for the study were 102 patients who admitted to K medical center or visited to out-patient ward. The instruments used for this study included a survey of general characteristic. self-care, self efficacy, health related hardiness and perceived barriers. Analysis of data was done by use of mean, t-test, ANOVA, Person correlation coefficient and multiple regression The results of this study are summarized as follows: 1)The average score for the self-care was 56.18, for the hardiness was 120.90, for the self efficacy was 59.46 and for the perceived barriers was 34.60. 2)The relationships between the variables of self-care and cognitive-perceptual resource-self efficacy, hardiness, perceived barriers were significant. Self-care was significantly related to hardiness(r=.47, p<.001), suggesting that the person with high hardiness got higher self care scores. Self-care was significantly related to perceived barriers(r=-.41, p<.001), suggesting that the person with high perceived barriers got higher self care scores. A slight but significant correlation was also found between self-care and self efficacy(r=.26, p<.01). 3)In the relationships between general characteristics variables and self-care there were significant differences in gender(t=2.46, p<.05), job(t=3.72, p<.05), duration of illness(t=4.92, p<.05). 4)Stepwise multiple regression analysis was performed to examine the relationship between self-care and independent variables(self-efficacy, hardiness, perceived barriers) and selected general characteristics variables-job, duration of illness. These variables accounted for 36% of the variance in self-care score(F=13.34, p<.000). The hardiness was the most predictive factor(R2=19%) followed by job and perceived barriers. The finding of this study have implications for education of hypertensive patients and health care providers. For chronically ill patients adhere to self-care, we should focus on determining their personal resources such as hardiness and perceived barriers.
Chronic Disease ; Education ; Health Personnel ; Humans ; Hypertension* ; Outpatients ; Self Care* ; Self Efficacy

No abstract available.
Emergencies* ; Humans

No abstract available.
Emergencies* ; Humans

No abstract available.
Amputees* ; Humans

No abstract available.
Emergencies* ; Humans

BACKGROUND: Post-herpetic neuralgia is the most serious one of herpes zoster complications and its incidence becomes higher as the age of the patient increases. Nevertheless, besides considering the age and onset time of treatment, there is no more objective factor estimating the prognosis of post- herpetic neuralgia. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to understand the progression of herpes zoster and estimate the prognosis of post-herpetic neuralgia by practicing electrodiagnostic tests to patients with herpes zoster. METHODS: We evaluated the pain scales in 26 patients with herpes zoster on the first visit and 2 months later. We also performed electrodiagnostic tests, more objective and reproducible methods, including somatosensory evoked potentials and motor nerve conduction studies on both the involved and uninvolved sites of 32 lesions in 26 patients with herpes zoster, and then compared the results with the change of pain scales. RESULTS: 1. The pain category scale and visual analogue scale on the second examination were significantly decreased compared with those on the first examination (P<0.05). 2. Latencies of intercostal somatosensory evoked potentials recorded on scalp and spine were significantly delayed in involved sides compared with those in uninvolved sides (P<0.05). 3. In the latencies and conduction velocities of motor nerve conduction studies, no significant differences were seen between involved sides and uninvolved sides. 4. On the second examinataion, latency differences of somatosensory evoked potentials were significantly improved compared with those on the first examination (P<0.05). 5. Among the various somatosensory evoked potentials parameters, P1 latency difference of cortical somatosensory evoked potentials between involved and uninvolved sides correlated significantly with pain category scale ard visual analogue scale on second examination (r=0.48, P<0.05; r =0.51, P<0.05, respectively). N1 latency difference of spinal somatosensory evoked potentials between involved and uninvolved sides correlated significantly with a visual analoge scale on the first examination and pain category scale on the second examination (r=0.61, P<0.05; r=0.78, P<0.05, respectively). CONCLUSION: Intercostal somatosensory evoked potentials can be a useful and reliable technique to predict the development and severity of post-herpetic neuralgia.
Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory ; Herpes Zoster* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Neural Conduction ; Neuralgia* ; Prognosis ; Scalp ; Spine ; Weights and Measures

Lymphomatoid papulosis, first described by Macaulay in 1558 is a chronic disease characterized by the recurrent self-healing papulonecrotic or nodular skin lision, showing histological features of malignant lymphoma. The clinical course is variable, with rogression to disseminated malignant lymphoma in up to 10-20% of patients. Ki-1 appears to the a representative marker for large cells ir lymphomatoid papulosis and these cells can be detected in l-1 lymphorna, Hodgkins diseasen other disorders with aetivated T cells. However, positive Ki-1 staining is useful for supporting a diagnosis of lymphomatoid papulosis, under the appropriate clinical and histopathologic findings. We report a case of positive lymphomatoid papulosis which is characterized by the typical findings of clinical, histojpathological and immunohistochemica sizdies.
Chronic Disease ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Lymphoma ; Lymphomatoid Papulosis* ; Skin ; T-Lymphocytes

The angiotensin I converting enzyme inhibitor (Captopril) has recently been studied extensively in various experimental models of radiation injury and has proven its protective effects in various organs, such as the lungs, gastrointestinal tract, and kidneys. Twenty-three Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into experimental and control group. The experimental group was divided into two large groups: the first one received a single dose of 18 Gy irradiation from an electron beam on the local field of the kidney region only, and the second group received captopril per oral continuously after the same doses of irradiation. The second experimental group was divided into four subgroups by captopril doses: 62.5 mg/l, 125 mg/l, 250 mg/l, and 500 mg/l, respectively. On light and electron microscopy, the kidneys of the irradiated rats with no captopril treatment showed diffuse glomerular contraction, congestion with occlusion and focal necrosis of the endothelial, and mesangial cells. The tubules showed ballooning degeneration, desquamation, and diffuse coagulation necrosis. Captopril treated rats, especially those given a high dose (more than 250 gm/l), revealed a marked reduction of the tubular and glomerular injuries. There was a statistically significant difference in the degree of renal injury among the experimental groups (p<0.05). The result of this study suggests that an administration of high dose captopril might prevent radiation-induced renal injury, especially in the early post-irradiation period.
Animals ; Captopril* ; Estrogens, Conjugated (USP) ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Kidney ; Lung ; Mesangial Cells ; Microscopy, Electron ; Models, Theoretical ; Necrosis ; Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A ; Radiation Injuries ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

The significance of the angle of anteversion of the femur is widely recognised, especially incongenital dislocation of the hip, cerebral palsy, Legg-Calve-Perthes' disease, and in-toeing gait, And many methods of measuring the anteversion have been described since the early work by Drehmann (1909) who determined anteversion by fluoroscopy. But there has been no reliable method of measuring the angle until recently. The authors studied the comparative accuracy and reproducibility by the use of experimental model of femur on computerized tomography, axial technique(Dunn), biplanar method (Ryder-Crane) and fluoroscopic method(Rogers) and reported the results with consideration in clinical utility. 1. The most accurate and reproducible method is computerized tomography, but it has much clinical disadvantages such as uneconomic, limited supply, more time requiring in measuring, and also limited information until the ossification of the femoral head was not occur (below the 18 months of age). 2. The next accurate and reproducible method is fluoroscopic method and it is widely useful except the case of limited motion of hip joint. 3. The Ryder-Crane's biplanar method is very difficult in clincal use because of its poor accuracy and reproducibility, difficult mtasuring technique, limited in the situation of contracture, deformity around the hip. 4. The axial technique of Dunn are also useful in any state of hip joint and simplicity in its technique. 5. The more acceptable clinical slection of measuring the femoral anteversion are the combination of the above two or three methods and comparing it with the opposite hip.
Cerebral Palsy ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Contracture ; Dislocations ; Femur ; Femur Neck ; Fluoroscopy ; Gait ; Head ; Hip ; Hip Joint ; Methods ; Models, Theoretical ; Neck

To evaluate the health risk of the workplace environment of a general hospital toward the hospital workers, a questionnaire survey on the perception of risk at the workplace environment and environmental measurements at 27 locations with 240 workers in the hospital were made from October 25th, 1993 to October 30th, 1994. The results were as follows; 1. By the environmental measurements, 86 workers(36%) were found to be exposed to poor or harmful degree of general illumination, 193 workers(80%) were exposed to poor or harmful local illumination, 34 workers(14%) were exposed to poor or harmful degree of thermal condition and l80 workers(75%) were exposed to poor or harmful noise level, but nobody was exposed to poor or harmful dust and toluene concentration. Also nobody was exposed to poor or harmful level of radiation or anticancer/antibiotic agents. 2. The subjective perceptions on the environmental conditions felt by the workers were different from the objective findings by the environmental measurements. The workers underscored the poor illumination state and overscored the dust concentrations. Also workers oversensitized about the thermal condition, the noise level, the radiation level, the toluene concentration and anticancer/antibiotic agents. 3. The sources of noise were the dialogue(179 workers) and the office instruments(131workers). The sources of dust came from the clothes(108 workers) and the building materials(79 workers). 4. The questionnaire survey showed that the 28 workers were exposed to poor or harmful level of the antibiotics, 10 workers to alkali or acid and 6 workers to drug dust in the pharmacy but the above findings could not be proved by the environmental measurements.
Alkalies ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Dust ; Hospitals, General* ; Lighting ; Noise ; Pharmacy ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Toluene