This erratum is being published to correct of Table 4.

Urinary retention is a common complication after abdominal surgery. Urinary retention causes infection and damage to the urinary system, prolonging hospital stays and increasing health care costs in the end. Because medical personnel tend to regard urinary retention as not being a serious problem, it is hard to find any method which decrease the postoperative urinary retention. There are few papers reporting the incidence and the factors which influence the postoperative urinary retention. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the incidence of postoperative urinary retention and to identify the factors which affect the postoperative urinary retention. We retrospectively reviewed 296 patients out of 338, who had been undergone laparotomy under spinal or general endotracheal anesthesia during a three month period from January to March 1998. We reviewed nursing, anesthetic and operative records. Among the 296 patients, male were 189(63.9%) and female were 107(36.1%). Postoperative urinary retention occurred in 71 patients(24%). The incidence rate was higher in female patients than in male (M : F=18% : 35%). Factors that in fluence the incidence of postoperative urinary retention were sex, duration of operation, the amount of fluid given the patient, preoperative history of dysuria, and preoperative insertion of a urinary catheter. Among those factors, preoperative urinary catheter insertion is the most effective preventive measure in lowering the incidence of postoperative urinary retention (Spearman correlation coefficient, r=-.462). Shortening the operation time and sparing the fluid which is infused during operation are important in preventing postoperative urinary retention. Preoperative urinary catheter insertion may be helpful in lowering urinary retention in those patients who have a possibility of postoperative urinary retention.
Anesthesia ; Dysuria ; Female ; Health Care Costs ; Humans ; Incidence ; Laparotomy* ; Length of Stay ; Male ; Nursing ; Retrospective Studies ; Urinary Catheters ; Urinary Retention*

Recently elevated plasma homocysteine concentration is considered an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis and thrombosis with coronary artery disease. Folate and vitamin B12 are cofactors and closely related with metabolism of homocysteine. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the correlation between homocysteine and folate and vitamin B12 in patients with ischemic heart disease. Twenty-six patients, in whom coronary angiographic finding revealed more than 50% of stenosis at least in one coronary vessel were enrolled as the patient group, and thirty subjects, in whom angiographic finding revealed in not significant stenosis, but complained of chest pain, were selected as the control group. Fasting venous blood was obtained and measured the concentration of plasma total homocysteine, folate and vitamin B12 by high performance liquid chromatography and fluorescence detection method. We examined the correlation between homocysteine and folate and/or vitamin B12 in the control group and the patient group, respectively. Compared with the control group, the patient group had relatively higher plasma total homocysteine concentration (10.7 +/- 4.2 vs 9.6 +/- 3.5 umol/L), but showed no significant difference. Folate and vitamin B12 concentration are low in the patient group, but showed no significant difference between patient and control group. Plasma total homocysteine concentration showed negative correlation with folate and vitamin B12 in both the control group and the patient group, and showed significantly negative correlation in patient group {r = -0.550 (p<0.01) vs r = -0.609 (p<0.01)}. We knew that the plasma total homocysteine concentration were relatively elevated in patient group compared with the control group. Because plasma total homocysteine concentrations are closely negative correlated with folate and vitamin B12 in the patient group, folate and vitamin B12 supplement can lower the mortality and morbidity of ischemic heart disease.
Atherosclerosis ; Chest Pain ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Stenosis* ; Coronary Vessels ; Fasting ; Fluorescence ; Folic Acid* ; Homocysteine* ; Humans ; Metabolism ; Mortality ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Plasma* ; Risk Factors ; Thrombosis ; Vitamin B 12* ; Vitamins*

No abstract available.
Child ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Immunization* ; Child Health

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to review the relationship between physical activity and cardiovascular outcomes in the Korean elderly. METHODS: Experimental studies were located using PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Cochrane, RISS, KISS, and KoreaMed. The selected studies for analysis were 20 articles of cardiovascular outcomes (total cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), blood pressure, and pulse rate) from 515 articles. RESULTS: One-group pretest-posttest design was the most common. The main physical activity was an aerobic exercise. Five of 14 studies reported a significant improvement of total cholesterol. Four of 14 studies found relationship between exercise and triglyceride. Eight of 12 studies reported a significant improvement of HDL, whereas 3 of 9 studies reported a significant improvement of LDL. In over 60% of selected studies, reported significant improvement of blood pressure. CONCLUSION: Based on the review, it suggests that regular physical activity of the elderly may improve cardiovascular outcomes.
Aged* ; Blood Pressure ; Cardiology ; Cholesterol ; Exercise ; Humans ; Lipoproteins ; Motor Activity* ; Triglycerides

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to review the effects of physical activity on musculoskeletal outcomes in older Koreans. METHODS: Experimental studies were retrieved from the search engines (PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Cochrane, RISS, KISS, and KoreaMed). The selected studies for analysis were 27 articles of musculoskeletal outcomes (gait, muscle strength, flexibility, balance, grip strength, endurance, body fat, and weight) from 515 articles. RESULTS: The most common type of physical activity was a resistance exercise. There were significant improvements in gait (71.4%), muscle strength (86.7%), flexibility (63.6%), balance (72.2%), grip strength (71.4%), endurance (71.4%), body fat (57.1%), and weight (28.6%). The activity programs that apply over 150 minutes a week showed greater improvement of 69.5% than 65.0% from those did not meet the guidelines totally. CONCLUSION: Based on the review, we conclude that regular physical activity in the elderly may improve the musculoskeletal outcomes. To be more effective programs, it is necessary to meet the guidelines of 150 minutes a week or 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activities on 5 days per week for the elderly.
Adipose Tissue ; Adult* ; Aged ; Gait ; Hand Strength ; Humans ; Motor Activity* ; Muscle Strength ; Musculoskeletal System ; Pliability ; Search Engine

No abstract available.
Bone Marrow* ; Necrosis* ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma*

PURPOSE: In this study a cognitive enhancement group training program of 10 sessions was provided for community-dwelling elders and the effects on cognitive function, depression and quality of life were tested. METHODS: A quasi-experimental study using a nonequivalent control group, pre-post design was used. The participants were 87 elders whose cognitive function was within the normal range. Of these elders, 45 were assigned to the experimental group and 42 to the control group. The intervention was conducted once a week for 10 weeks. Chi-square test, t-test, paired t-test, Wilcoxon rank sum test and Wilcoxon signed rank test were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: After the program, the cognitive function (t=-2.85, p=.006), depression (z=2.82, p=.005) and quality of life (t=2.79, p=.007) of the experimental group was significantly better than those of the control group. Especially, immediate recall (z=2.45, p=.014) and concentration (z=2.58, p=.010) in the subcategory of cognitive function were significantly better than that of the control group. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that the cognitive enhancement group training program was effective in enhancing the cognitive function, depression and quality of life for elders and could therefore be considered as a positive program for emotional and cognitive support for community-dwelling elders.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cognition Disorders/*therapy ; Cognitive Therapy ; Depression ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Memory, Short-Term ; *Program Evaluation ; Quality of Life ; Recognition (Psychology)

The elevation of plasma total homocysteine(tHcy) is now established as a risk factro for cardiovascular disease. It is also well known that plasma levels of folate and vitamin B/sub 12/ influences homocysteine metabolism as cofactors. Recently, the effects of health-related lifestyle factors, such as smoking, alcohol drinking coffee consumption, regular exercise, and etc, on plasma tHcy have been determined. The Hordalane Homocysteine Study revealed that smoking and coffee consumption are major deter minants of plasma tHcy as well as folate levels; however, the influence of alcohol intake is still controversial. In Koreans, the effects of lifestyle factors of plasma tHcy have not yet been determined. Thus, we investigated the relationships of various lifestyle determinants with plasma tHcy, folate, and vitamin B/sub 12/ levels and the erythrocyte folate concentrations in Korean adults (99 males and 96 fermales). Plasma tHcy levels were significantly hight in male subjects. On the contrary, plasma levels of folate and vitamin B/sub 12/ and erythrocyte folate concentration of the females were significantly higher than those of the males. Among the five lifestyle factors determined in the study, regular exercise significantly affects plasma tHcy levels only in the females, Contrary to the expectation, there were on significant differences in plasma tHcy levels between alcohol drinkers and non-alcohol drinkers as well as smokers and non-smokers. And also, plasma tHcy leverls were not different between coffee consumers and non-coffee consumer and between green tea consumers and non-green tea consumers. Although alcohol intake did not influence plasma tHcy levels, the duration, frequency, and amount of alcohol drinking showed significant negative relationships with plasma folate levers. These results indicate the regular exercise and alcohol intake might influence plasma levels of tHcy and folate in Koreans, although the results were not reveled in both sexes.
Adult* ; Alcohol Drinking ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Coffee ; Erythrocytes ; Female ; Folic Acid* ; Homocysteine* ; Humans ; Life Style* ; Male ; Metabolism ; Plasma ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Tea ; Vitamin B 12 ; Vitamins*

BACKGROUND: There is significant inter-laboratory variation in the ABO antibody (Ab) titer levels of blood samples because a standardized method has not yet been developed. The aim of this study was to identify the best conditions for the preparation of the red blood cell (RBC) suspensions so as to aid the development of a standard ABO Ab titration method. METHODS: Serum samples from apparently healthy adults and RBCs from three different sources (residual EDTA blood from healthy adults, donor blood in citrate-phosphate-dextrose-adenine-1 [CPDA-1], and a commercially available RBC reagent) were used for Ab titrations. We measured the titers for each blood group under various conditions, including the time period of storage (days), the ratio of serum to RBC volume, and the RBC sources. The techniques for room temperature incubation and the indirect antiglobulin test were used for the tube and the gel card test. RESULTS: A storage period of 6 to 7 days significantly affected the Ab titers. Samples with 3% RBCs in a 1:1 serum to RBC volume ratio had significantly lower Ab titers than those with 2% RBCs in a 1:1 ratio or those with 3% RBCs in a 2:1 ratio. There were no significant differences in the Ab titers of RBCs from different sources. CONCLUSIONS: To reduce inter-laboratory variations in ABO Ab titrations, using RBC suspension within five days of storage and applying ratio of serum to RBC volume to 2:1 with 3% RBC in the tube test will be helpful when using home-made RBC suspension.
ABO Blood-Group System ; Adult ; Coombs Test ; Edetic Acid ; Erythrocytes* ; Humans ; Suspensions* ; Tissue Donors