PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to provide preliminary data for alleviating nurses' job stress and support health promotion behaviors. Further, the study reviews the mediating effects of positive psychological capital and nursing work environment in relation to job stress and health promotion behaviors among nurses in a regional general hospital. METHODS: A study survey was conducted from June 9 to 16, 2017. The subjects were current nurses working at a regional general hospital in D city. Analysis of a survey questionnaire from 147 participants was conducted. RESULTS: Upon reviewing the mediating effects of positive psychological capital and nursing work environment in relation with health promotion behaviors and job stress, it was found that positive psychological capital (Z=−4.78, p < .001) and nursing work environment (Z=−4.17, p < .001) were significant mediators. CONCLUSION: As demonstrated through the results of this research, it is necessary to build programs to strengthen individual positive psychological capital and increase the practice of health promotion behaviors among nurses. It is also evident that a systematic approach is needed to improve the nursing work environment.
Health Promotion ; Hospitals, General ; Negotiating ; Nursing

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to provide preliminary data for alleviating nurses' job stress and support health promotion behaviors. Further, the study reviews the mediating effects of positive psychological capital and nursing work environment in relation to job stress and health promotion behaviors among nurses in a regional general hospital. METHODS: A study survey was conducted from June 9 to 16, 2017. The subjects were current nurses working at a regional general hospital in D city. Analysis of a survey questionnaire from 147 participants was conducted. RESULTS: Upon reviewing the mediating effects of positive psychological capital and nursing work environment in relation with health promotion behaviors and job stress, it was found that positive psychological capital (Z=−4.78, p < .001) and nursing work environment (Z=−4.17, p < .001) were significant mediators. CONCLUSION As demonstrated through the results of this research, it is necessary to build programs to strengthen individual positive psychological capital and increase the practice of health promotion behaviors among nurses. It is also evident that a systematic approach is needed to improve the nursing work environment.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the long-term therapeutic efficacy and durability of lamivudine in Korean children with chronic hepatitis B. METHODS: A total of 48 children (31 male and 17 female; age, 1~18 years, mean, 8 years) with chronic hepatitis B who received lamivudine for at least six months from March 1999 to September 2004 were followed for a mean period of 29 months (8~66 months) at Department of Pediatrics, Kyungpook National University Hospital in Korea. Response to treatment was defined as the normalization of ALT and HBV DNA levels, and HBeAg seroconversion after the initiation of treatment. RESULTS: Twenty nine (60%) among the 48 children treated with lamivudine responded and nine (19%) children lost HBsAg during therapy. ALT and HBV DNA level had normalized in 94% one year after the initiation of treatment. Kaplan-Meier estimates of cumulative HBeAg seroconversion rates over the years were 13% (0.5 year), 34% (1 year), 50% (1.5 years), 68% (2 years), 79% (2.5 years) and 90% at 3 years respectively. Above all, among the 22 children treated before the age of seven, loss of HBsAg occurred in eight (36%), which showed superior rate of HBsAg loss (p=0.002 vs age >7). CONCLUSION: Long-term treatment of lamivudine improved the rate of HBeAg seroconversion in Korean children with chronic hepatitis B. After three years' observation, most of treated children have sustained HBeAg clearance. We believe that lamivudine should be tried as the first therapeutic option for children with chronic hepatitis B in immune clearance phase.
Child* ; DNA ; Female ; Gyeongsangbuk-do ; Hepatitis B e Antigens ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Hepatitis B, Chronic* ; Hepatitis, Chronic* ; Humans ; Korea ; Lamivudine* ; Male ; Pediatrics

PURPOSE: Present study has been undertaken to determine the distribution of various renal diseases causing asymptomatic hematuria in children and to evaluate the benefit of doing renal biopsy in these children. METHODS: Study population consisted of 146 children with asymptomatic primary hematuria who had been admitted to the pediatric department of Kyungpook National University Hospital for the past 4 years from 1999 to 2002. In 122 out of 146 cases, renal biopsy was performed percutaneously and in 24 out of 146 cases, diagnosed as idiopathic hypercalciuria, oral calcium loading test was performed. RESULTS: The age(mean+/-SD) at onset or discovery of hematuria of the 146 children included in this study was 8.0+/-3.2 years and the proportion of boys and girls was 54.8% and 45.2%, respectively. In 76 out of 146 cases(52%), asymptomatic hematuria was first diagnosed by school urinalysis screening. The proportion of histopathologic findings based on 122 biopsies was as follows : Thin Glomerular Basement Membrane(TGBM) 73 cases(50%); IgA nephropathy 20 cases(14%); Alport syndrome 6 cases(4%); Membranous Glomerulonephropathy(MGN) 4 cases(3%); Membranoproliferative Glomerulonephritis(MPGN) 2 cases(1%); IgA nephropathy with TGBM 3 cases(2%); "normal" glomeruli 14 cases(10%). Twenty four cases (16%) were diagnosed as idiopathic hypercalciuria. During follow-up periods, 15% of 146 cases became hematuria-free and renal function did not deteriorate in any cases. CONCLUSION: Unless hematuric children manifest poor prognostic indicators for renal survival, we would recommend long term regular follow-up prior to a renal biopsy.
Biopsy ; Calcium ; Child* ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Glomerulonephritis, IGA ; Gyeongsangbuk-do ; Hematuria* ; Humans ; Hypercalciuria ; Mass Screening ; Nephritis, Hereditary ; Urinalysis

Eosinophilic gastroenteritis is an unusual disease characterized by eosinophilic infiltration of gastrointestinal tract, peripheral eosinophilia, and gastrointestinal symptoms. There are mucosal, muscular, and subserosal types, of which the subserosal type is the rarest. We experienced a 32-year old male patient with the subserosal type of eosinophilic gastroe-nteritis, who was presented with abdominal distension. The ascitic fluid revealed increased eosinophil count. With oral prednisolone, diarrhea and ascites rapidly disappeared and eosinophils in peripheral blood returned to normal. We report this case with a review of relevant literature.
Adult ; Ascites* ; Ascitic Fluid ; Diarrhea ; Eosinophilia ; Eosinophils* ; Gastroenteritis* ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Humans ; Male ; Prednisolone

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinicopathologic features, treatment outcomes, and prognostic factors of gastric cancer based on 14 years' experience in a single medical center, and to compare treatment outcomes with a previous study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively studied 2,327 patients who were operated on for gastric cancer between 1993 and 2006 at Korea University Hospital. RESULTS: The resection rate was 92.8% and curative resection was achieved for 1,960 (90.8%) patients. The 5-year survival rate was 70.0% for all patients undergoing resection and 79.2% for patients undergoing curative resection. The 5-year survival rate was 1.5% for unresected cases. Age, tumor size, location of the tumor, gross tumor type, depth of tumor invasion, lymph node involvement, distant metastasis, tumor stage, combined resection, complications, histology, and type of operation each had prognostic significance on univariate analysis. On multivariate analysis, lymph node involvement, depth of invasion, venous invasion, and age were independent prognostic factors. CONCLUSION: The 5-year survival rate for patients who underwent curative resection was 79.2%. Depth of invasion, lymph node involvement, venous invasion, and age were independent prognostic factors. The fact that tumor stage is the most important prognostic factor after curative resection, increases the importance of early detection.
Humans ; Korea ; Lymph Nodes ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Survival Rate

PURPOSE: Tumor size has been reported to be one of the prognostic factors in the preoperative setting and 8 cm has been confirmed as a cut-off value for large gastric tumors with respect to postoperative complications. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinicopathologic features and the prognosis in patients with tumors larger than 8 cm in diameter. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively studied 2,260 patients with gastric cancer who underwent a gastrectomy from 1983 to 2001 at the Department of Surgery, Korea University College of Medicine. For a comparative analysis we divided the cases into the large and the small groups according to tumor size. The clinicopathological factors associated with large gastric tumors were analyzed by using univariate and multivariate analyses. To determine which variables were independent prognostic factors for overall survival, we applied the Cox proportional hazards model and we used P<0.05 as the cutoff value for statistical significance. RESULTS: Univariate and multivariate analyses disclosed that tumor location (P<0.001), resection type (P<0.001), curability (P<0.001), depth of invasion (P<0.001), number of metastatic lymph nodes (P<0.001), differentiation (P<0.001) and combined resection (P<0.001) were significantly different between the two groups. The independent factors for survival identified by using the Cox proportional hazards model for large gastric tumors were nodal status (P<0.001), curative resection (P<0.001), depth of invasion (P=0.010), type of resection (P=0.018) and age (P=0.033). CONCLUSION: Large gastric tumors showed more aggressive local findings than their smaller counterparts. In patients with large gastric tumors, a curative resection was the most important factor for the prognosis. Therefore, we suggest that every effort should be made to do a curative gastrectomy and an accurate preoperative examination.
Gastrectomy ; Humans ; Korea ; Lymph Nodes ; Multivariate Analysis ; Postoperative Complications ; Prognosis ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms

Objective: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the skin that is diagnosed by clinical characteristics including itchiness, eczema, dry skin, etc. High levels of indoor air pollutants may exacerbate atopic diseases, along with various allergic respiratory diseases, especially for those who spend most of their lives indoors. This study was conducted to evaluate the main components responsible for the aggravation of AD symptoms. Methods: A total of 31 patients with AD aged 6 months and 6 years old were enrolled. The measurement of air quality included particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM2.5), temperature, relative humidity, and CO2 in their homes. The symptom severity of AD was assessed by the daily record of symptom scores and the degree of skin hydration. Results: The skin hydration level at the most severe area selected by the patient’s caregiver was decreased by median 1.7% (interquartile range [IQR], 0.4%–3.0%) or median 15% (IQR, 5.3%–24%) with a unit increase of indoor PM2.5 (P=0.0133) or room temperature (P=0.0034). CO2 also showed a potentially negative association with the change of skin hydration level but it was not statistically significant. Conclusion Our study showed that indoor PM2.5 and temperature could impact the aggravation of skin hydration in children. Therefore, further studies including a large number of cases and interventions are necessary.

Background: Various implants are used to treat intertrochanteric fractures. However, the optimal implant to stabilize intertrochanteric femoral fractures is still a matter of debate. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the midterm outcomes of patients treated using compression hip nails (CHNs). Methods: Between March 2013 and April 2018, 164 patients with intertrochanteric femoral fractures who were treated with internal fixation using CHNs were enrolled in this study. The mean age of the patients was 79.6 years. We retrospectively collected and estimated information such as reduction state, implant position, operation time, blood loss, hospital stay, time to achieve union, clinical scores (Harris hip score [HHS] and EuroQol five-dimensional [EQ-5D]), intraoperative complications (such as lag jamming and drill bit breakage), failure of fixation, avascular necrosis, and surgical site infection. Results: The mean follow-up period was 39.69 months. Eight percent of the patients required an open reduction. The mean operation time was 131 minutes, the mean blood loss was 221.19 mL, the mean hospital stay was 20.66 days, and the average time to union was 18 weeks. Intraoperative complications included 8 cases of breakage of the drill bit while making distal holes. The failure rate was 3.7% and revision surgery was performed in 6 cases (for cut-out in 5 and pull-out of the lag screw in 1). Asymptomatic venous thromboembolism occurred in 2 cases and hematoma requiring intervention occurred in 1 case. There were no other complications such as avascular necrosis, infection, and lateral irritation. At the 2-year follow-up, the averages of HHS and EQ-5D were 71.54 and 0.68, respectively. Conclusions Among the implants used to treat intertrochanteric femoral fractures, CHNs had a surgical failure of 3.7% and showed good radiologic and clinical results.

Objective: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the skin that is diagnosed by clinical characteristics including itchiness, eczema, dry skin, etc. High levels of indoor air pollutants may exacerbate atopic diseases, along with various allergic respiratory diseases, especially for those who spend most of their lives indoors. This study was conducted to evaluate the main components responsible for the aggravation of AD symptoms. Methods: A total of 31 patients with AD aged 6 months and 6 years old were enrolled. The measurement of air quality included particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM2.5), temperature, relative humidity, and CO2 in their homes. The symptom severity of AD was assessed by the daily record of symptom scores and the degree of skin hydration. Results: The skin hydration level at the most severe area selected by the patient’s caregiver was decreased by median 1.7% (interquartile range [IQR], 0.4%–3.0%) or median 15% (IQR, 5.3%–24%) with a unit increase of indoor PM2.5 (P=0.0133) or room temperature (P=0.0034). CO2 also showed a potentially negative association with the change of skin hydration level but it was not statistically significant. Conclusion Our study showed that indoor PM2.5 and temperature could impact the aggravation of skin hydration in children. Therefore, further studies including a large number of cases and interventions are necessary.