Purpose: Rapid changes have occurred in the educational environment of colleges since the outbreak of COVID-19. This study was conducted to determine the factors influencing college life adaptation for nursing students. Methods: The participants included 124 nursing students. A self-administered online questionnaire, available from March 30 to April 10, 2022, was used for data collection. The online questionnaires included COVID-19 stress, interpersonal relations, information literacy, and college life adaptation. Statistical analysis was performed using t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple regression analysis. Results: The average score for adapting to college life was 3.32±0.58. Significant differences in college life adaptation were found based on the number of exercise days per week (F=3.62, p=.015), regular daily routine (t=-3.41, p<.001), amount of sleep (t=-3.61, p<.001), sleep quality (t=-3.90, p<.001), and diagnostic self evaluation (F=19.55, p<.001). Factors that influenced college life adaptation included interpersonal relations (β=.36, p<.001), diagnostic self evaluation (good) (β=.48, p<.001), diagnostic self evaluation (fair) (β=.38, p=.005), and COVID-19 stress (β=-.11, p=.027), which explained 38.0% of the college life adaptation. Conclusion Development of a program that integrates interpersonal relations, diagnostic self- evaluation, and COVID-19 stress for nursing students is recommended to improve college life adaptation.

A 36-year-old man, who had undergone thoracoscopic anterior spinal fusion using the plate system and posterior screw fusion three months previously, presented to our hospital with left flank pain and fever. Computed tomography indicated the presence of a psoas muscle abscess. However, after two days of percutaneous catheter drainage, a mycotic abdominal aortic pseudoaneurysm was detected via computed tomography. We performed in situ revascularization using a prosthetic graft with omental wrapping. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was identified on blood and pus culture, and systemic vancomycin was administered for one month. Although the abscess recurred, it was successfully treated with percutaneous catheter drainage and systemic vancomycin administration for three months, without the need for instrumentation removal. The patient remained asymptomatic throughout two years of follow-up.
Abscess ; Adult ; Aneurysm, False* ; Aneurysm, Infected ; Catheters ; Drainage ; Fever ; Flank Pain ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus ; Psoas Abscess* ; Psoas Muscles ; Spinal Fusion* ; Suppuration ; Transplants ; Vancomycin

BACKGROUND: Retrospective study was carried out on patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax with the aim of determining if conventional thoracoscopic wedge resection is superior to modified transaxillary minithoracotomy with thoracoscopy in the surgical treatment. MATERIALS AND METHOD: 160 patients, aged 14 to 35 years with primary spontaneous pneumothorax were involved in this study. Patients were assigned to two groups by surgical technique; Conventional thoracoscopic wedge resection (group A; n=80) and modified transaxillary minithoracotomy with thoracoscopy (group B; n=80). Apical pleural abrasion & talc poudrage were performed in all cases. This study evaluated the following factors: duration of operation, days of analgesics used after operation, number of no air leak on the first postoperative day, duration of indwelling chest tube, hospital stay, postoperative complications, chronic chest pain (during follow-up) and resumption of normal activity. Relapses (ipsilateral recurrence after discharge) during follow-up periods were evaluated. RESULT: No significant differences were found in any of the factors studied in either group. CONCLUSION: Conventional thoracoscopic wedge resection and modified transaxillary minithoracotomy with thoracoscopy offer similar results in the surgical treatment of primary spontaneous pneumothorax. The rate of complication is low and the level of pain is acceptable without long-term sequele. Therefore, modified transaxillary minithoracotomy with thoracoscopy method appears as a valuable alternative surgical technique.
Analgesics ; Chest Pain ; Chest Tubes ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Pneumothorax* ; Postoperative Complications ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Talc ; Thoracoscopy* ; Thoracotomy

Streptococcus constellatus (S. constellatus) is a commensal microorganism belonging to the "Streptococcus milleri" group, but may cause infections in different locations in immunocompromised patients. The infection of S. constellatus has high mortality and morbidity due to its tendency to cause abscesses in infected patients, which require immediate surgical drainage for effective treatment. We report on a 72-year-old woman with end stage renal disease, who suffered from dyspnea and general weakness that had developed over 7 days. Chest CT showed loculated pleural effusion. S. constellatus was cultured from exudative pleural effusions and confirmed by an analysis of 16S rRNA sequence. The patient was treated with drainage of pleural effusion and piperacillin/tazobactam for 5 weeks.
Abscess ; Aged ; Drainage ; Dyspnea ; Empyema ; Female ; Humans ; Immunocompromised Host ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Pleural Effusion ; Streptococcus ; Streptococcus constellatus ; Streptococcus milleri Group ; Thorax

The aim of this study was to evaluate the legal features of sexual offenders with mental disorders without paraphilia. Patients admitted to Korea Forensic Hospital from 1994 to 2012 (n = 193) were reviewed for diagnosis, crime, legal responsibility, readmission (number of admissions), hospitalizations, criminal record, and education level. Psychotic subjects were often declared not guilty because of insanity and avoided legal responsibility, but had long admission periods and fewer criminal records. Mentally retarded subjects also had long admission periods and fewer criminal records, but commited more sexual offenses against victims aged 13 and younger. The substance abuse group had extensive criminal records, shorter admission periods, and frequent admissions. Subjects with personality disorders and others committed relatively more violent crime with injuries, rather than simple sexual offenses. Treatment and social concerns suitable to each diagnosis are required to address sexual offenses associated with diverse legal characteristics.
Aged ; Crime ; Criminals ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Korea ; Mental Disorders ; Mentally Disabled Persons ; Paraphilic Disorders ; Personality Disorders ; Substance-Related Disorders

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop a Korean version of the self-reported thyroid-specific quality of life (QoL) questionnaire for thyroid cancer patients (KT-QoL), and to evaluate its reliability and validity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two hundred seventy-two patients who underwent thyroidectomy from January to December 2010 were recruited in this study. The original version of the thyroid QoL was translated into Korean and evaluated for its reliability and validity. Using the developed KT-QoL, the postoperative QoL was evaluated until postoperative 1 year. RESULTS: At the preoperative baseline, the item internal consistency (IIC) ranged from −0.19 to 0.76, with low IIC values for items 2, 17, and 27. Item discriminant validity ranged from 86% to 97%. These values were similar at the postoperative periods. The internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's α) was high for all dimensions, ranging from 0.90 to 0.95. The test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient) was acceptable (0.74-0.82). The external validity examined by the correlation between the item 1j (voice changes) of KT-QoL and the voice handicap index-30 ranged from 0.51 to 0.75. Patients' QoL scores decreased after surgery, which demonstrated the sensitivity of the questionnaire. The QoL scores in patients with lobectomy showed best QoL scores postoperatively and those with receiving radioactive iodine still showed decreased QoL scores along the postoperative periods. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that KT-QoL is a valid instrument for evaluating QoL of Korean patients with thyroid cancer.
Humans ; Iodine ; Postoperative Period ; Quality of Life ; Reproducibility of Results ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms* ; Thyroidectomy ; Voice

PURPOSE: Neurological outcome prediction is an important aspect of post-resuscitation care in cardiac arrest survivors. The appearance of high serum neuron specific enolase (NSE) is known to be associated with ischemic brain injury and poor neurological outcome. The application of therapeutic hypothermia to cardiac arrest survivors has been shown to improve neurological outcomes. As such, we investigated the predictive value of serial serum NSE levels in patients who were resuscitated from cardiac arrest. METHODS: This study included 123 cardiac arrest survivors who were treated by therapeutic hypothermia from January 2008 to June 2011. Blood samples used for evaluating NSE were collected at return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) at 6, 24 and 48 hours after initiation of therapeutic hypothermia. Neurological outcome was graded as 'good' or 'poor' at discharge and assessed according to the Cerebral Performance Category scale (CPC). A poor outcome was defined as a CPC value of 3-5. RESULTS: Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed NSE cut-off values of 53.9 microg/L (sensitivity 14.6%), 48.5 microg/L (sensitivity 30.6%), 80.0 microg/L (sensitivity 40.0%), and 52.7 microg/L (sensitivity 55.5%) for poor outcomes with a specificity of 100%, measured at ROSC of 6, 24 and 48 hours after initiation of therapeutic hypothermia, respectively. The poor outcome group showed significant change in NSE concentration over time (p=0.002), while the good outcome group did not. CONCLUSION: Detection of NSE at the cut-off value, 48 hr after initiation of therapeutic hypothermia was a specific but moderately sensitive marker of poor outcome at discharge. Single measurements of NSE should be cautiously interpreted, but NSE change over time was helpful in predicting the neurologic outcome.
Brain Injuries ; Dinucleoside Phosphates ; Heart Arrest ; Humans ; Hypothermia ; Hypothermia, Induced ; Neurons ; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase ; Prognosis ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Survivors

PURPOSE: Neurological outcome prediction is an important aspect of post-resuscitation care in cardiac arrest survivors. The appearance of high serum neuron specific enolase (NSE) is known to be associated with ischemic brain injury and poor neurological outcome. The application of therapeutic hypothermia to cardiac arrest survivors has been shown to improve neurological outcomes. As such, we investigated the predictive value of serial serum NSE levels in patients who were resuscitated from cardiac arrest. METHODS: This study included 123 cardiac arrest survivors who were treated by therapeutic hypothermia from January 2008 to June 2011. Blood samples used for evaluating NSE were collected at return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) at 6, 24 and 48 hours after initiation of therapeutic hypothermia. Neurological outcome was graded as 'good' or 'poor' at discharge and assessed according to the Cerebral Performance Category scale (CPC). A poor outcome was defined as a CPC value of 3-5. RESULTS: Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed NSE cut-off values of 53.9 microg/L (sensitivity 14.6%), 48.5 microg/L (sensitivity 30.6%), 80.0 microg/L (sensitivity 40.0%), and 52.7 microg/L (sensitivity 55.5%) for poor outcomes with a specificity of 100%, measured at ROSC of 6, 24 and 48 hours after initiation of therapeutic hypothermia, respectively. The poor outcome group showed significant change in NSE concentration over time (p=0.002), while the good outcome group did not. CONCLUSION: Detection of NSE at the cut-off value, 48 hr after initiation of therapeutic hypothermia was a specific but moderately sensitive marker of poor outcome at discharge. Single measurements of NSE should be cautiously interpreted, but NSE change over time was helpful in predicting the neurologic outcome.
Brain Injuries ; Dinucleoside Phosphates ; Heart Arrest ; Humans ; Hypothermia ; Hypothermia, Induced ; Neurons ; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase ; Prognosis ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Survivors

PURPOSE: Lawn trimmers are widely used to cut the weeds around graves in South Korea, but they can cause ocular injury. We investigate at the emergency room the incidence and the clinical features of ocular trauma induced by lawn trimmers. METHODS: The authors analyzed 106 patients who visited Konyang University Hospital's emergency room from March 1, 2007, to October 31, 2011, because of ocular trauma caused by a lawn trimmer. Patients were sorted into two groups, severe ocular injury and mild ocular injury. RESULTS: Over a 5-year period, 106 patients with ocular trauma caused by a lawn trimmer underwent clinical study. Most of the patient (103 patients) were males, and the average age of the patients was 51.75+/-11.66 years. The incidence of ocular trauma peaked in the sixth decade of life. Most injuries occurred between July and September. Severe ocular injury developed in 46.2% of all patients. As age increased, so did the severity of the ocular injury. The impacting object was a small stone in 43.4% of all patients. Nobody wore protective gear. The most common diagnosis were corneal abrasion, followed by intraocular foreign body, corneal laceration, and sclera laceration. Fifty-four patients were followed up, and thirty-six patients of them had severe injury. The most common complication was a traumatic cataract. CONCLUSION: Ocular trauma induced by a lawn trimmer is more severe than general ocular trauma. We suggest that everyone using a lawn trimmer should wear protective gear and follow safety guidelines.
Cataract ; Emergencies ; Eye Foreign Bodies ; Eye Injuries ; Foreign Bodies ; Humans ; Incidence ; Lacerations ; Male ; Republic of Korea ; Sclera

BACKGROUND: The cell-mediated immune reaction to tuberculosis infection involves a complex network of cytokines. The extent of inflammation, tissue damage and severity of the disease suggested to be determined by the balance between extent and duration of the proinflammatory cytokine response versus those of the suppressive cytokines. The systemic cytokine response in pathogenesis of tuberculosis can be assessed by measuring serum cytokine levels. METHOD: Serum interleukin-1 beta(IL-1 ), IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12(p40), tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-alpha), interferon-gamma(IFN-gamma) and transforming growth factor-beta(TGF-beta) levels were measured in 83 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, 10 patients with endobronchial tuberculosis before treatment and 20 healthy subjects by using a sandwich ELISA. In patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, they were divided into mild, moderate and far advanced group according to the severity by ATS guidelines. To compare with those of pretreatment levels, we measured serum IL-1beta, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12(p40), TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma and TGF-beta levels in 45 of 83 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis after 2 and 6 months of treatment. RESULTS: 1) In sera of patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis(n=83), IL-1beta, IL-6(p<0.05), TNF-alpha, and IFN-gamma were elevated and TGF-beta was decreased comparing to control. IL-2, IL-12(p40), IL-4 and IL-10 were similar between the patients with tuberculosis and control. 2) In endobronchial tuberculosis, IL-6 and TNF-alpha were elevated and TGF-beta was decreased comparing to control. IL-12(p40) seemed to be elevated comparing to pulmonary tuberculosis. 3) Far advanced tuberculosis showed markedly elevated IL-6 and IFN-gamma level(p<0.05). 4) The significant correlations were noted between IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-alpha and between IL-12, IL-2 and IL-4(p<0.01). 5) After 2 and 6 months of standard treatment, the level of IL-6 and IFN-gamma was significantly decreased(p<0.05). CONCLUSION: These results showed that an altered balance between cytokines is likely to be involved in the extent of inflammation, tissue damage and severity of the disease tuberculosis. But, it should be considered diversities of cytokine response according to type of tuberculosis and immunity in clinical application and interpreting future studies.
Cytokines ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Interleukin-1 ; Interleukin-10 ; Interleukin-12 ; Interleukin-2 ; Interleukin-4 ; Interleukin-6 ; Korea* ; Necrosis ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; Tuberculosis* ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha