BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to identify predictive factors for preventive behaviors of falls in elderly inpatients. METHODS: Data on 200 elderly inpatients at one university hospital were collected. Descriptive analysis, independent t-test, analysis of variance, and stepwise multiple regression analysis were done to analyze the data. RESULTS: The high risk group, scoring higher than 5.0 in the degree of self-awareness of fall risk, scored low in knowledge about falls while subjects with activity limitations and not using hearing aids scored significantly high in the same area. Subjects with no training regarding falls and the high risk group scored low in fall efficacy while subjects with activity limitations and using hearing aids scored significantly high in the same area. The degree of self-awareness of fall risk, knowledge about falls, and fall efficacy were significant factors affecting fall prevention activities. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that self-awareness of the risk of falls, knowledge about falls, and fall efficacy are significant factors in preventing falls. These factors should be considered when developing nursing assessment tools and intervention programs for elderly inpatients.
Accidental Falls ; Aged ; Hearing Aids ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Nursing Assessment

Eleven patients underwent posterior sagittal anorectoplasty(PSARP) as a secondary procedure. Two of them had rectovaginal fistula and another two had rectocutaneous fistula. Six of the rest complained of frequent fecal soiling and the last one had severe anorectal stricture after perineal anoplasty. Five patients had lived with colostomy until the second operations were carried out. The ages at the time of the secondary PSARP were between 7 months and 29 years. Distal colostogram and MRI were taken to evaluate distal colon, position of the rectum and voluntary muscle. All patients had normal sacrum except one who had anorectal stricture. Seven patients, six with fecal incontinence and the other one with rectovaginal fistula had mislocated anorectums. Three patients, two with rectocutaneous fistula, the other one with anorectal stricture, had abdominal approach to obtain enough length of colon for pull-through procedure. With the posterior midsagittal approach, we could manage all the problems, rectovaginal fistulas, rectocutaneous fistulas, strictures and malpositioned rectums, without difficulty. No patients had serious complications except wound infection in one. All patients were satisfied with the results after redo-PSARPs even though normal continence has been achieved in only one patient. Seven patients who had continuous soiling or rectocutaneous fistula, needed no more diapers even though four of them showed fecal staining under stressful condition and the other three showed intermittent fecal leaking less than once a day. The rest three of the patients maintained their continence with support of drugs and/or enemas because of constipation. The PSARP is a popular procedure as a primary operation; however, our results suggested that this procedure also gave us a good opportunity for management of serious complication developed after primary anoplasties.
Colon ; Colostomy ; Constipation ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Enema ; Fecal Incontinence ; Fistula ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Rectovaginal Fistula ; Rectum ; Sacrum ; Soil ; Wound Infection

PURPOSE: To ascertain the factors associated with the proportion of death certificate only (DCO) cases contained in the Kwangju Cancer Registry (KCR) that are not as yet in the good range. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The distribution of DCO cases was analyzed by sex, age, cancer site, histological verification (HV) as well as the physician's death certificate status. RESULTS: All cases (n=4,243) in Kwangju diagnosed as having cancer between 1997 and 1998 were registered with the KCR. Death certificates (n=2,390) reporting cancer as the causes of death were collected from the National Statistics Office and reviewed with hospital data linkage and a total of 590 cases were registered as DCO. DCOs accounted for 12.2% (male 12.8%, female 11.5%) of all registrations in Kwangju, 1997~1998. The proportion of DCO cases was high in subjects under 15 (male13.5%,female 9.4%) as well as those 75 and over (male 20.3%, female 27.2%). For cancer sites, the proportion of DCO cases was high (over 10%) for liver, bronchus-lung, esophagus and pancreas and low (under 3%) for skin, bladder, uteri cervix and breast. The proportion of DCO cases was inversely associated with HV%. When the death certificate was issued by physician, the possibility of DCO decreased. CONCLUSION: The proportion of DCO is positively associated with increasing age and negatively associated with HV% and the issuance of a physician's death certificate. These findings suggest that further socio-cultural efforts are required to reduce the DCO proportion.
Breast ; Cause of Death ; Cervix Uteri ; Information Storage and Retrieval ; Death Certificates* ; Esophagus ; Female ; Gwangju* ; Humans ; Korea ; Liver ; Pancreas ; Skin ; Urinary Bladder ; Uterus

No abstract available.

One hundred eighty infants with oxygen therapy who were under 2,500gm birth weight or under 37 weeks of gestational age, were examined between January 1990 and November 1992. We performed clnical analysis and results were as follows. 1) Fifty six infants (31.1%) were diagnosed as retinopathy of prematurity. 2) The first examination was performed at 2.5 weeks of life on average, and the retinopathy of prematurity was diagnosed at 3.8 weeks on average. 3) The incidence of retinopathy of prematurity was highly associated with low birth weight (< or =1,890 gm), low gestational age ( < or =33.1 weeks), and high oxygen concentration with long duration (FiO2> or =0.4 over 1 week)(P<0.005). 4) Other associated risk factors were idiopathic respiratory distress syndrome, anemia, neonatal hypoxia and sepsis.
Anemia, Neonatal ; Anoxia ; Birth Weight ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant ; Infant, Low Birth Weight ; Infant, Newborn ; Oxygen ; Retinopathy of Prematurity* ; Risk Factors ; Sepsis

No abstract available.
Disabled Persons* ; Female ; Humans ; Menarche*

The medical curriculum is designed to provide a core of scientific knowledge and technical skills that ultimately enables a student to care for primary patients. In addition to specific knowledge, the school offers an environment in which students have the opportunity to acquire the habits of study, the sound attitud, and the sense of responsibility for patients that characterize the true physician. To achive these purposes, the clerkship of medical student is very important. We investigated current problems in clinical clerkship of Chonnam University Medical School, and the problems were as follow: (1) relatively short period of clinical training especially in main subjects, (2) lack of presonnels in charge of clinical training, (3) lack of objective test, (4) lack of clinical training in primary care hospital, (5) lack of opportunity of self learning. The methods to improve clinical training were to promote interests in clinical education of staffs, to prolong the duration of clinical clerkship, to select and educate the personnel in charge of clinical education, to do the objective tests, to do the elective tests, to do the elective course, to use of integrated course and problem oriented education, and to let the student care the patients under supervision.
Clinical Clerkship ; Curriculum ; Education ; Education, Medical ; Humans ; Jeollanam-do ; Learning ; Linear Energy Transfer ; Organization and Administration ; Primary Health Care ; Schools, Medical ; Students, Medical*

No abstract available.
Foreign Bodies* ; Granuloma, Foreign-Body* ; Lipectomy*

PURPOSE: Most students choose the same option to questions in course evaluation surveys. Identical answers to each question render the results unreliable. The purpose of this study was to analyze the trend of medical student' consistent responses to course evaluations. METHODS: The data of this study were the results of a course evaluation over 3 years (from 2006 to 2008) at the School of Medicine at A University. RESULTS: The proportion of students who replied with the same answers to each question was below 20%. This result was consistent in freshmen, sophomores, and junior students. Using a 5-point Likert scale, more than 40% of the students gave 5 points consistently. CONCLUSION: We conclude that student' responses to evaluations do not have a significant impact on the reliability of course evaluations at Medical School at A University. These results differ significantly from those of previous research. Hence, future studies are required to analyze course evaluations in medical schools using diverse aspects.
Humans ; Schools, Medical

We present a case of acquired tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF) which was found during induction of general anesthesia for clipping of aneurysm. The patient had been intubated with endotracheal tube for 10 days and then done tracheotomy for 45 days. Thereafter, TEF was confirmed by MRI and treated with fistula repair and tracheal fenestration. Acquired TEF can occur under the condition of prolonged tracheal intubation with high cuff pressure (>30 mmHg) and can also result from intratracheal neoplasm, mediastinitis, and other tracheal or esophageal damages. If unrecognized during anesthetic induction, TEF can cause gastric dilatation and rupture, pulmonary aspiration and respiratory failure. So early diagnosis and proper management is very important whenever TEF is suspected during anesthetic induction.
Anesthesia, General ; Aneurysm ; Early Diagnosis ; Fistula ; Gastric Dilatation ; Humans ; Intubation ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Mediastinitis ; Respiratory Insufficiency ; Rupture ; Tracheoesophageal Fistula* ; Tracheotomy