PURPOSE: Kawasaki disease is notorious for coronary arterial complication which is usually developed as a febrile disease in early childhood. Increased polymorphonucleus(PMN) cell levels in acute phases may be associated with the pathophysiology of Kawasaki disease. We studied the relationship between coronary arterial dilatation and elastase activity which was excreted from PMN cell and roles as an important factor for vasculitis. METHODS: Ten patients diagnosed with Kawasaki disease in Yonsei University Medical Center were examined between November, 2001 and January, 2002. In addition, 15 patients with other febrile diseases were also examined. Echocardiography was done in patients with Kawasaki disease on the first day of admission and four weeks after the onset of the disease. At each time, venous samples were drawn and separated into plasma and leukocytes. In patients with other febrile disease, samples were drawn on admission. Elastase activities in plasma and neutrophil extracts were measured. RESULTS: The significant increased plasma elastase activity, 6.19+/-0.74 U/mL, found in Kawasaki disease patients compared with the other febrile disease patients, 4.86+/-1.17 U/mL(P<0.05). And there was no significance between the above two diseases in terms of the elastase activity in neutrophil extracts. The relationship between initial elastase activity and the coronary arterial complication which was shown in subacute phase wasn't significant. CONCLUSION: Plasma elastase activity was increased in Kawasaki disease significantly, but the initial plasma elastase activity in the acute phase could not reflect the range of coronary arterial complication.
Academic Medical Centers ; Dilatation* ; Echocardiography ; Humans* ; Leukocyte Elastase* ; Leukocytes ; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome* ; Neutrophils* ; Pancreatic Elastase ; Plasma ; Vasculitis

No abstract available.
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay* ; Herpes Simplex* ; Immunoglobulin G* ; Immunoglobulin M*

OBJECTIVES: As a part of plan to develop evidence-based treatment guidelines for depression that is more suitable for Korean situation, we investigate the present status and client's requirements for non-pharmacological treatment of depression in Korean clinical situation. METHODS: Subjects were patients with depression in 12 university hospitals which are located in metropolises in Korea. We analyzed the records from questionnaires about current clinical status and requirements for the non-pharmacological treatment of depression in Korea. RESULT: 50.8% of the subjects have experienced non-pharmacological treatments for their depression. The preference of non-pharmacological treatment method of depression is exercise/interesting activity, counseling by psychiatrists and psychotherapy, and the best effective treatment method is psychotherapy (Es=4.36). Actually, the mean consultation time by psychiatrist is 11.31+/-7.16 min, and the appropriate consultation time for client's situation is 18.39+/-8.95 min. During consultation, patients' satisfaction measurement for psychiatrist's explanation about pharmacological treatment is 64.17+/-27.11, and satisfaction measurement for psychiatrist's counseling for their depression about personal problems, resent stress, interpersonal relationship is 61.66+/-26.63. CONCLUSION: In Korea, many psychiatrists offered biologically oriented treatment to their patients with depression, and patients' satisfaction measurement about consultation by psychiatrists is low. Many patients wanted to combined pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment for their depression, and aspired to information about complementary and self-help treatment methods. It is necessary to develop non-pharmacological treatment guideline for depression which reflect the clinical situation in Korea and meet Korean patients' need.
Counseling ; Depression* ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Korea* ; Psychiatry ; Psychotherapy

No abstract available.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore adult diabetics' eating styles and factors which influence them. METHOD: The study adopted an ethnographic method based on a perspective which views the eating style as a cultural phenomenon. Data was collected through a personal interview, participant observation, and documented materials from Oct.2001 to Sept. 2002. In this study, fifteen adult diabetics, with an average age of 57, participated. Data analysis was done by the Spradley's taxonomic analysis technique. RESULT: The patients' eating styles were rooted in their viewpoint on illness as well as the meaning of food. Eating styles were classified into 4 types: Pathology-centered, symptom-centered, need-centered, and role-centered. CONCLUSION: A conventional approach to the treatment and management of diabetes did not consider the patient's inner world which may play an important role in the successful management of the disease. We found that it was critical for health care personnel to understand patients' values, beliefs and their way of life in order to facilitate the most successful self-care diet.
Middle Aged ; Male ; Korea ; Humans ; *Food Habits ; Female ; *Eating ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/*diet therapy/nursing/psychology ; Culture ; *Attitude to Health ; Aged

PURPOSE: This research was done to explore the meaning of 'well-being' as experienced by middle aged people. METHOD: The data were collected by individual in-depth interviews with 107 middle aged adults and it was analysed using qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: 4 components of the meaning of well-being as perceived by the participants were identified as follows: the life of free without physical discomfort and psychosocial distress; the life of comfort with plenty of time, space, material, and mind; the life of purity with natural material and honest mind; the life of harmony with extended consciousness. CONCLUSION: Therefore the identified meanings of the well-being in this study should be reflected to the nursing education and the nursing practice.
Adult* ; Consciousness ; Education, Nursing ; Humans ; Middle Aged* ; Nursing ; Qualitative Research

No abstract available.
Groin* ; Vulvar Neoplasms*

The purpose of this study was to analyze research trends and to suggest future directions for nursing research on the diabetes in Korea. The method was a review of 97 nursing research papers on diabetes published between 1981 and 2000. Analysis included year of publication, academic theses or not, research design, key words and the results. The results of the analysis can be summarized as follows: The number of the nursing research papers on diabetes has been increasing. Of those paper analyzed, it was found that 64 (65.97%) were master's theses, and 58 (59.79%) were descriptive or correlational studies. The most frequent key word was client behavior. Client behavior as the dependent variable was reported to be influenced by various causal variables but the results were not consistent. Nursing interventions reported as effective included education, exercise therapy, camps, and telephone coaching. CONCLUSION: We question whether the concepts, measurement scales, and theories used in these research papers were appropriate for Korean clients with diabetes. Development of concepts and theories for Korean clients is necessary.
Diabetes Mellitus ; Education ; Exercise Therapy ; Korea* ; Nursing Research* ; Nursing* ; Publications ; Research Design ; Telephone ; Weights and Measures

No abstract available.
Child* ; Humans ; Nephrosis, Lipoid*

PURPOSE: A microscopic hematuria is a common finding on urine examination, with a prevalence rate of between 0.5 and 1.6% in urine samples from children. Although there are many causes of an asymptomatic microscopic hematuria, the vast majority of causes are diagnosed as idiopathic or benign, which are not indicative of significant renal disease. This study was performed to determine the value of standard laboratory and radiological evaluations of asymptomatic microscopic hematuria in children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between January 2001 and December 2003, a retrospective study of 150 children with an asymptomatic microscopic hematuria, who visited the Hanyang University Guri Hospital, was conducted. The mean age was 10.2 years old, with a male to female ratio of 83:67. The diagnostic studies reviewed included; blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine, complete blood count, liver function test, serum electrolyte, serum coagulation test, serum complement concentration, serum immunoglobulin, antinuclear antibody, ultrasonography, intravenous urogram and renal biopsy. RESULTS: 5 diseases (3.3%), 2 nephrologic and 3 urologic, were diagnosed in 150 cases. For the nephrologic diseases, two children were diagnosed with thin basement membrane disease, and for the urologic diseases, one child was diagnosed with a renal stone, with a further two diagnosed with renal cysts. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, a microscopic hematuria was a benign finding in the vast majority of children. Because of the high false positive rate for a hematuria in the urinary mass screening, this does not seem to be an appropriate exclusive method for evaluating the etiology of a microscopic hematuria. We recommend that basic diagnostic studies, including urinalysis with dysmorphic RBC and ultrasonography, for the evaluation of children with an asymptomatic microscopic hematuria. If no abnormality was found in children using the basic diagnostic study, and in those with no family history of renal disease, proteinuria, and hypertension, it may be rational that doctors periodically follow up with routine urinalysis.
Antibodies, Antinuclear ; Basement Membrane ; Biopsy ; Blood Cell Count ; Blood Urea Nitrogen ; Child* ; Complement System Proteins ; Creatinine ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hematuria* ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Immunoglobulins ; Liver Function Tests ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Prevalence ; Proteinuria ; Retrospective Studies ; Ultrasonography ; Urinalysis ; Urologic Diseases