PURPOSE: This study was conducted to provide basic data for quality improvement among oncology advanced practice nurses (oncology APNs) through increasing job satisfaction by determining their job satisfaction level and analyzing the influencing factors. METHODS: The subjects were 114 certified oncology APNs working at general hospitals in metropolitan areas. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire from August 4 to October 29, 2018. The instruments were the Role Conflict Scale, Self-Efficacy Scale, Professional Self-Concept Scale, and the Level of Job Satisfaction. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, chi-square tests, ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation coefficients and multiple regression in SPSS version 23.0, IBM. RESULTS: Factors that significantly affected job satisfaction were number of years since being certified as an oncology APN (β=-.20, p=.031), oncology advanced practice (β=.38, p<.001), and professional self-concept (β=.44, p<.001). The explanatory power was 39.4%. CONCLUSION: These results showed that factors significantly affecting job satisfaction were number of years since being certified as an oncology APN, advanced practice in oncology, and professional self-concept. Job satisfaction was found to be higher when the number of years since being certified as an oncology APN was shorter and professional self-concept was higher.
Advanced Practice Nursing ; Hospitals, General ; Job Satisfaction ; Oncology Nursing ; Quality Improvement

OBJECTIVES: Studies investigating problematic internet use have increased rapidly and have been focused on its causes, psychopathology, prevalence, characteristics and so on. However, there are few studies concerning the correlation between problematic internet use and youth health risk behavior. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between problematic internet use and youth health risk behavior. METHODS: A community sample of 632 high school students in grades 10 and 11 was collected for the survey. The sample was assessed using the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System(YRBSS) and Young's Diagnostic Questionnaire of Internet Addiction(YDQ). The subjects were classified into two groups: normal and problematic internet use, and the problematic internet use group was further divided into at-risk use and addiction groups. RESULTS: There were 56 subjects(8.9%) in the internet addiction group and 56 subjects(8.9%) in the at-risk internet use group. The other 507 subjects were classified as normal. The subjects in the internet addiction group kissed more frequently and ate less fruit than those in the normal group. They also showed a relatively higher tendency to watch TV, ride in a car driven by a drunk driver and to carry a weapon than those in the normal group. There were no differences in health risk behaviors between the subjects in the internet addiction group and those in the at-risk internet use group, except for the possibility of riding in a car driven by a drunk driver. CONCLUSION: Unlike the normal group, there was very little difference in health risk behavior between the internet addiction group and the at-risk internet use group, which indicates that the addiction group and the at-risk internet use groups are homogenous. It is important to focus on the behavior of individuals in the at-risk group, and preventive measures should be taken in order to reduce the possibility of at-risk adolescents becoming addicted.
Adolescent ; Fruit ; Humans ; Internet* ; Prevalence ; Psychopathology ; Risk-Taking* ; Weapons ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: The present research was done to examine the fundamental significance and structure of conflict experience of nurses in hospital nursing organizations.METHODS: This qualitative research was conducted by analyzing data collected through in-depth interviews based on Colaizzi's (1978) method of analysis, one of the phenomenological methods of analysis.RESULTS: Statements from the 12 study participants demonstrate two key topics “accumulation of conflicts” and “manifestation of new conflicts” as well as seven sub-topics including “being forced to comply”, “Lack of respect and consideration”, “unsatisfactory conflict management by the leaders”, “continuous and overwhelming vicious cycle”, “prevalence of self-defensive egotism”, “difficult to accept differences”, and “incapable of responding to the structural changes of nursing workforce”.CONCLUSION: Resolving the dysfunctional conflicts in hospital nursing organizations requires not only improvement in the organizational culture of individuals and nursing organizations, but also legal and institutional measures in addition to new attempts to integrate education and research findings from relevant fields of studies.
Education ; Methods ; Nursing ; Organizational Culture ; Qualitative Research

BACKGROUND: Initial symptoms for esophageal perforation have not been clarified, but when there is no early diagnosis and proper treatment to follow immediately after the diagnosis, it is fatal for the patients. Therefore, this study attempted to discover the factors that influence the prognosis of esophageal perforation to contribute to the improvement of the treatment result. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The subjects of this study are 32 patients who came to the hospital with esophageal perforation from October, 1984 to June, 2000. This study examined the items for clinical observation such as patients' sex, age, cause of the perforation, perforation site, the time spent until the beginning of the treatment, symptoms caused by the perforation and its complication, and treatment methods. This study tried to find out the relationship between the survival of patients and each item. RESULT: There were 24 male and 8 female patients and their mean age was 49.7 +/- 16.4. For the causes of perforation, there were 14 cases(43%) of iatrogenic perforation, which ranked first, caused by the medical instrument operation and surgical damage. As for the perforation sites, thoracic esophagus was the most common site(26 cases of 81.2%) and chest pain was the most frequent symptom. The complication caused by esophageal perforation showed the highest cases in the order of mediastinitis, empyema, sepsis and peritonitis. After the treatment, there were 23 cases of survival and 9 cases of mortality. The total mortality rate was 28.1% and the main causes of mortality were sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS). As for the treatment, 8 cases(25.0%) treated the perforation successfully using conservative treatment only. As for the surgical treatment, there were 5 cases(15.6%) of cervical drainage, 7 cases (21.8%) of primary repair and 12 cases(37.5%) of esophageal reconstruction after performing an exclusion-diversion. There were 18 cases(56.2%) of complete treatment of esophageal perforation at its initial treatment and in 14 cases(43.8%) of treatment failure at its initial treatment, patients were completely cured in the next treatment stage or died during the treatment. The cases of perforation in thoracic esophagus, complication into severe mediastinitis or sepsis and the cases of failure at initial treatment showed a statistically significant mortality rate (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Based on the above results, it is thought that a proper choice for initial treatment choice depending on the perforation site and the prevention of serious complication such as mediastinitis or sepsis can shorten the treatment period for the patients with esophageal perforation and improve the convalescence.
Chest Pain ; Convalescence ; Diagnosis ; Drainage ; Early Diagnosis ; Empyema ; Esophageal Perforation* ; Esophagus ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Mediastinitis ; Mortality ; Peritonitis ; Prognosis ; Sepsis ; Treatment Failure

OBJECT: We measured the activity of telomerase in coal workers lung tissue and found a significant increase in telomerase activity compared to the control group. Pneumoconiosis has the characteristics of fibroblast proliferation and the accumulation of collagen,thus finally causing the pathologic changes,which lead to the irreversible and progressive fibrosis of the lungs. We hypothesized that this cellular proliferation causing irreversible fibrosis may induce some elongation of the life cycle in the chromosomes and lead to further cellular immortalization. METHOD: 8 postmortem(within 24 hours)pneumo-coniotic cases were examined and their telomerase activity was compared with that of the autopsied lungs of lung cancer patients and of accident victims without any respiratory diseases. Using the extracted ribo-nucleoprotein from pneumoconiotic nodules, telomeric repeat amplification assay (TRAP)was done. RESULT: The pneumoconiotic lungs showed strong telomerase activity, similar to that of the lung cancer patients, while the control group showed no such activity. CONCLUSION: Based on the results of this study, we found that coal dust-induced cellular proliferation affects telomerase-activity clinically.
Cell Proliferation ; Coal* ; Fibroblasts ; Fibrosis ; Humans ; Life Cycle Stages ; Lung Neoplasms ; Lung* ; Pneumoconiosis ; Telomerase*

Disfigurement of body contour, caused by excessive muscular hypertrophy, can seldom be effectively and safely corrected by lipectomy, liposuction or combined partial myomectomy. This study was conducted to obtain basic knowledge for the development of a safe and effective method of treating patients with excessive and unwelcome muscle hypertrophy. Accordingly, we developed a new experimental rat model, consisting of the peroneal nerve and its target muscles - the anterolateral crural muscle group. After severance of 1/4, 1/2, and 1/1 of the peroneal nerve, functional parameters based on gross movement and electrophysiologic data were monitored. Changes in the external circumference and weight of the anterolateral crural muscle were documented and compared with control sides. Histologic and histomorphometric parameters of the muscle were also documented. Average takeoff latency in 1/4 and 1/2 neurotomy groups was increased to 130% and 154% of the control at 3 months, and 156% and 149% of control at 6months, respectively. Similarly, average peak-to-peak compound action potentials were 72% and 59% of the control at 3months and 57% and 50% of control at 6months. No definite gait disturbances were evident in the partial neurotomy groups. Maximal circumferences of the anterolateral crural muscle group were significantly reduced to 86%, 71% and 66% of the control in the 1/4, 1/2 and 1/1 neurotomy groups at 3 months (p < 0.001), and to 74%, 68% and 64% of the control at 6 months, respectively (p < 0.001). The corresponding weights were 76%, 62%, and 50% of the control sides at 3 months, and 70%, 56%, and 48% at 6 months in 1/4, 1/2 and 1/1 neurotomy groups. Histograms drawn showing the number of muscle fibers per mm2 in cross-sections, showed a total number of 239 +/- 52 in the control group; the size of muscle fibers was mainly medium to large. The more extensive the neurotomy, the greater the was the number of small angulated muscle fibers, up to a total of 1,564 +/- 211. Although more research work and clinical trials are required, we believe that selective neurotomy has the potential of being an effective tool for reducing muscle bulk, and avoiding apparent muscular dysfunction and complications.
Animal ; Electromyography ; Hindlimb ; Hypertrophy ; Muscle, Skeletal/*innervation/*pathology/physiopathology ; Muscular Diseases/*surgery ; Peroneal Nerve/*surgery ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

BACKGROUND: The hemoglobin is a basic tool in diagnosing anemia. Not many studies compared hemoglobin between non-smokers and smokers in Korea and they did not differentiate hemoglobin between males and females. This study was conducted to show the difference of hemoglobin between non-smokers and smokers in male population and factors affecting hemoglobin. METHODS: We gathered 313 men who underwent periodic health examination from May to July 2001 in a general hospital. The relationship between cigarette smoking and hemoglobin concentration was examined by comparing the means of hemoglobin between two groups and through multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: The mean of hemoglobin was significantly higher in smokers than in non -smokers, especially in smokers with more than 1 pack per day. The factors that influence the hemoglobin level were age, the amount per day, and the total amount they smoked in the past (pack -year). Daily cigarette smoking seemed to cause a general upward shift of hemoglobin distribution curve, while age and pack - year on the opposite. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that hemoglobin cutoff values should be adjusted for smoke and one must consider the patient's age to compensate for masking effect of smoking and aging on detection of anemia.
Aging ; Anemia ; Female ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Masks ; Smoke ; Smoking

No abstract available.
Humans ; Meningitis* ; Peritoneal Dialysis, Continuous Ambulatory* ; Peritonitis*

PURPOSE: To report some early experiences of ultrasonography-guided mammotome biopsy for solid breast lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty seven solid breast lesions in 59 patients aged 25 -77 (mean, 44.5) years were biopsied under ultrasound-guidance using an 11 gauge mammotome. The size and depth of the lesions, diagnostic accuracy achieved, complications, and merits and demerits of the device were evaluated. RESULTS: The lesions ranged in size from 0.5 to 8 (mean, 1.6)cm, and at their center the mean depth was 1.4 cm. For every lesion at least seven biopsies were performed, and the mean weight of extracted tissue was 0.44 gm. The lesions were located mainly at the at 12 o'clock area and upper inner quadrant of the left breast (n=10 for each area); they were also found in other regions fo both breasts, including subareolar areas. The histopathologic diagnosis was malignant in 26 lesions and benign in 39, and in one case, atypical ductal hyperplasia was diagnosed. One lesion contained no tumor cells. Twenty-four malignant lesions were surgically excised, and in 21 invasive ductal/lobular carcinomas and one ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) (91.7%) the initial and subsequent diagnosis correlated. One lesion diagnosed as DCIS and one whose invasiveness could not be initially determined were confirmed as invasive ductal carcinomas (8.3%). Follow-up ultrasonography involved six benign lesions and showed that five of these had become smaller. The complications noted were severe pain in three patients and a moderate amount of bleeding in two, but in all cases good control was achieved by interrupting the procedure or applying compression. The merits of the mammotome biopsy compared with the conventional core biopsy technique are higher diagnostic accuracy due to the larger amount of tissue extracted by suction and the large caliber of the needle, multiple biopsies achieved by one needle insertion, and less possibility of severe complications such as pneumothorax. Drytapping was a demerit of the device. Very small lesions could be extracted completely, and this may be a merit for benign lesions and a demerit for malignant lesions. For the latter, clips could be used. CONCLUSION: Ultrasonography-guided mammotome biopsy is a very accurate and safe method for the diagnosis of various breast lesions.
Biopsy* ; Breast* ; Carcinoma, Ductal ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating ; Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Needles ; Pneumothorax ; Suction ; Ultrasonography

PURPOSE: To report a case of recurred iris cyst 11 years after treatment with endodiathermy, which was treated with laser photocoagulation and cystotomy followed by intraocular pressure elevation and underwent anterior chamber irrigation. CASE SUMMARY: A 46-year-old female presented to our department with decreased vision in her left eye that had persisted for several months. The patient had a history of surgical removal of an iris cyst with endodiathermy 11 years ago. Slit lamp examination showed an iris cyst adjacent to the nasal corneal limbus. The cyst was filled with turbid fluid. It distorted the pupil and threatened visual axis. Iris cystotomy (diameter larger than 500 microm) was done with diode laser photocoagulation and a neodymiumdoped yttrium aluminium garnet laser. At the same day, the patient's intraocular pressure elevated to 50 mm Hg in spite of maximal conservative treatment and went through anterior chamber irrigation. After six months, the iris cyst was adhered to corneal endothelium and disappeared. Visual acuity and intraocular pressure was within normal range. CONCLUSIONS: An iris cyst can recur after treatment with endodiathermy. Recurred iris cyst can be successfully treated with laser photocoagulation and cystotomy. However, turbid fluid inside the cyst may outflow to the anterior chamber and cause secondary ocular hypertension after treatment, so careful observation is needed.
Anterior Chamber ; Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; Cystotomy* ; Endothelium, Corneal ; Female ; Humans ; Intraocular Pressure ; Iris* ; Lasers, Semiconductor ; Light Coagulation* ; Limbus Corneae ; Middle Aged ; Ocular Hypertension ; Pupil ; Reference Values ; Visual Acuity ; Yttrium