This study evaluated the consistency between two quantitative fit test devices with different methods of ambient aerosol counting. Three types of respirators (N95, half mask, and full facepiece) were worn by 50 participants (male, n = 25; female, n = 25), PortaCount (Pro+ 8038) and MT (05U) were connected to one probe to one mask, and fit factors (FFs) were measured simultaneously with the original and modified protocols. As a result of comparing MT FFs with PortaCount FFs as references and by applying for the pass/fail criteria (FF = 100), the consistency between the two devices for half masks and full facepieces was very high. N95 was somewhat weaker than the two type of respirators in the consistency; however, the correlation between the two devices was very strong (p < 0.0001). The results showed that an FF of 100 as measured by PortaCount was likely to be measured as 75 by the MT. Therefore, when performing the fit test for N95 using the MT and pass level of FF 100, a certain level of adjustment is necessary, whether end-user or putting a scaling factor by manufacturer.

In 2017, the Korean government launched an unprecedentedly large-scaled latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) screening project which covered more than a million individuals in congregate settings. A total of 1,047,689 participants of source population (n = 2,336,157) underwent LTBI testing from 2017 to 2018. The overall LTBI test uptake rate during this project was 44.8%. Workers in daycare centers (83.5%) and kindergartens (78.9%) showed high participation rate. A total of 1,012,206 individuals with valid results of interferongamma release assay (IGRA) were selected to constitute the IGRA cohort. Most of the enrolled participants in the IGRA cohort were in their working age. Approximately, threequarters of total enrolled population were female. Investigating the LTBI prevalence, stages of LTBI care cascade, natural history of LTBI, efficacy of LTBI treatment and cost-effectiveness of LTBI screening are feasible within this IGRA cohort.

In 2017, the Korean government launched an unprecedentedly large-scaled latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) screening project which covered more than a million individuals in congregate settings. A total of 1,047,689 participants of source population (n = 2,336,157) underwent LTBI testing from 2017 to 2018. The overall LTBI test uptake rate during this project was 44.8%. Workers in daycare centers (83.5%) and kindergartens (78.9%) showed high participation rate. A total of 1,012,206 individuals with valid results of interferongamma release assay (IGRA) were selected to constitute the IGRA cohort. Most of the enrolled participants in the IGRA cohort were in their working age. Approximately, threequarters of total enrolled population were female. Investigating the LTBI prevalence, stages of LTBI care cascade, natural history of LTBI, efficacy of LTBI treatment and cost-effectiveness of LTBI screening are feasible within this IGRA cohort.

Eosinophilic myenteric ganglionitis is a disorder characterized by infiltration of the Auerbach myenteric plexus by eosinophils. As a cause of chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIPO), eosinophilic myenteric ganglionitis has been rarely reported and the majority of the reported cases in the literature were children. We experienced a case of eosinophilic myenteric ganglionitis associated with CIPO in a 53-year-old female patient. Histologic examination of the resected descending colon showed moderate eosinophilic infiltrates with hypogangliosis in the myenteric plexus. Immunohistochemical study revealed increased number of CD4-positive lymphocytes and stronger but scantier glial fibillary acid protein expression in the inflamed myenteric plexus.
CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; Child ; Colon, Descending ; Eosinophils* ; Female ; Ganglion Cysts* ; Humans ; Intestinal Pseudo-Obstruction ; Middle Aged ; Myenteric Plexus

OBJECTIVE: Seoul City has implemented the Safe Pharmacy in 2013. This study aimed to ascertain the success factors of the smoking cessation service of the Safe Pharmacy. METHODS: The data for the smoking cessation registration cards were obtained from the pharmacies which participated in 2014 Safe Pharmacy. The sample included 289 smokers in 6 districts who participated at least one sessions of smoking cessation service. the service included both behavioral intervention and nicotine replacement therapy. In order to identify the effectiveness of the smoking cessation service, logistic regression analysis was used. The dependent variable was the success of quitting smoking at the 4th week. The independent variables included age, sex, employment, chronic disease, district, smoking amount, registration path, supporters for quitting smoking and number of service sessions. RESULTS: Fifty eight point eight percent of the sample successfully quit smoking at the 4th week. Unemployment, higher smoking amount, and less service sessions were negatively related to the success of quitting smoking. There were differences in the success rate across districts. Age, sex, chronic disease, registration path, and anti-smoking supporters were not related to the success rate. CONCLUSION: Pharmacy can be an effective community resource for smoking cessation. Factors that could increase the effectiveness of smoking cessation service of the Safe Pharmacy and possible ways to enhance the participation of pharmacies in smoking cessation services were also discussed.
Chronic Disease ; Employment ; Logistic Models ; Nicotine ; Pharmaceutical Services ; Pharmacies ; Pharmacy* ; Seoul ; Smoke* ; Smoking Cessation* ; Smoking* ; Unemployment

BACKGROUND: There is subjective disagreement regarding nuclear clearing in papillary thyroid carcinoma. In this study, using digital instruments, we were able to quantify many ambiguous pathologic features and use numeric data to express our findings. METHODS: We examined 30 papillary thyroid carcinomas. For each case, we selected representative cancer cells showing clear nuclei and surrounding non-neoplastic follicular epithelial cells and evaluated objective values of green light intensity (GLI) for quantitative analysis of nuclear clearing in papillary thyroid carcinoma. RESULTS: From 16,274 GLI values from 600 cancer cell nuclei and 13,752 GLI values from 596 non-neoplastic follicular epithelial nuclei, we found a high correlation of 94.9% between GLI and clear nuclei. GLI between the cancer group showing clear nuclei and non-neoplastic follicular epithelia was statistically significant. The overall average level of GLI in the cancer group was over two times higher than the non-neoplastic group despite a wide range of GLI. On a polygonal line graph, there was a fluctuating unique difference between both the cancer and non-neoplastic groups in each patient, which was comparable to the microscopic findings. CONCLUSIONS: Nuclear GLI could be a useful factor for discriminating between carcinoma cells showing clear nuclei and non-neoplastic follicular epithelia in papillary thyroid carcinoma.
Carcinoma, Papillary* ; Cell Nucleus ; Epithelial Cells ; Humans ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms*

PURPOSE: This study was done to determine whether muscle strength training programs have an impact on improving symptoms of urinary incontinence (UI) and physical function among elderly women with UI who reside in long-term care facilities. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was conducted. Participants had to be over 65 years, score over 15 score on the mini-mental state examination, and be able to walk alone or with an assistant. Seventy residents were randomly allocated to either the training group (n=35) or control group (n=35). The program consisted of 50 minutes, twice a week for 8 weeks, and included Kegel's exercise, Thera-band training and indoor walking. Main outcomes were UI symptoms, peak vaginal pressure and physical functions measured with timed up and go test (TUG), one leg standing test (OLST), activities of daily living (ADL) and grip strength. Changes in outcome measurements were calculated from baseline to 4 weeks and to 8 weeks using repeated measures ANOVA. RESULTS: There were significant differences in peak vaginal pressure (p<.001), TUG (p<.001), OLST (p=.012) and grip strength (p<.001) in the interaction between groups and time. CONCLUSION: Future studies are suggested to confirm the effect of muscle strength training in long-term care facilities where elderly women with UI reside.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Hand Strength ; Humans ; Long-Term Care ; Muscle Strength/*physiology ; Resistance Training ; Urinary Incontinence/pathology/*therapy ; Vagina/physiology ; Walking

OBJECTIVES: To design a cloud computing-based Healthcare Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Platform (HSP) for delivering healthcare information services with low cost, high clinical value, and high usability. METHODS: We analyzed the architecture requirements of an HSP, including the interface, business services, cloud SaaS, quality attributes, privacy and security, and multi-lingual capacity. For cloud-based SaaS services, we focused on Clinical Decision Service (CDS) content services, basic functional services, and mobile services. Microsoft's Azure cloud computing for Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) was used. RESULTS: The functional and software views of an HSP were designed in a layered architecture. External systems can be interfaced with the HSP using SOAP and REST/JSON. The multi-tenancy model of the HSP was designed as a shared database, with a separate schema for each tenant through a single application, although healthcare data can be physically located on a cloud or in a hospital, depending on regulations. The CDS services were categorized into rule-based services for medications, alert registration services, and knowledge services. CONCLUSIONS: We expect that cloud-based HSPs will allow small and mid-sized hospitals, in addition to large-sized hospitals, to adopt information infrastructures and health information technology with low system operation and maintenance costs.
Commerce ; Computer Systems ; Decision Support Systems, Clinical ; Delivery of Health Care* ; Electronic Health Records ; Information Services ; Medical Informatics ; Medical Order Entry Systems ; Privacy ; Soaps ; Social Control, Formal

BACKGROUND: Previously, cutaneous lymphomas were classified according to either the European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) or the World Health Organization (WHO) classification paradigms. The aim of this study was to determine the relative frequency of Korean cutaneous lymphoma according to the new WHO-EORTC classification system. METHODS: A total of 517 patients were recruited during a recent 5 year-period (2006-2010) from 21 institutes and classified according to the WHO-EORTC criteria. RESULTS: The patients included 298 males and 219 females, and the mean age at diagnosis was 49 years. The lesions preferentially affected the trunk area (40.2%). The most frequent subtypes in order of decreasing prevalence were mycosis fungoides (22.2%), peripheral T-cell lymphoma (17.2%), CD30+ T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder (13.7%), and extranodal natural killer/T (NK/T) cell lymphoma, nasal type (12.0%). Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma accounted for 11.2% of cases, half of which were secondary cutaneous involvement; other types of B-cell lymphoma accounted for less than 1% of cases. CONCLUSIONS: In comparison with data from Western countries, this study revealed relatively lower rates of mycosis fungoides and B-cell lymphoma in Korean patients, as well as higher rates of subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma and NK/T cell lymphoma.
Academies and Institutes ; Classification* ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Lymphoma* ; Lymphoma, B-Cell ; Lymphoma, T-Cell ; Lymphoma, T-Cell, Peripheral ; Lymphoproliferative Disorders ; Male ; Mycosis Fungoides ; Prevalence ; T-Lymphocytes ; World Health Organization

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate continuously on how a short-term family psychoeducation program for schizophrenia would change the emotional stress and the knowledge of the family members. METHODS: Subjects were the family members who participated in the short-term family psychoeducation program for schizophrenia. The participants were asked to fill out self-reporting forms for 3 times-before commencing the 6-week family education, immediately after completing the program, and 3 months after completing the program respectively. RESULTS: A total of 46 subjects participated, and 20 of them responded to all questionnaires. Three months after the completion of psychoeducation, depression and anxiety subscale score among the General Health Questionnaire-28 decreased by 2.60 (p=0.04) and 2.20 (p=0.04) respectively. In caregiver burden criterion, the score decreased by 9.45 (p=0.04) in 3 months after completing the education. In knowledge about schizophrenia test, the score increased by 2.60 score (p<0.001), and this result was maintained after 3 months. CONCLUSION: It was found that a short-term family education program for schizophrenia was effective not only in improving the knowledge on the disease but also in reducing anxiety and depression, and this effect was maintained immediately after the psychoeducation and so was it as time passed as well.
Anxiety ; Caregivers ; Depression ; Education ; Humans ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Schizophrenia* ; Stress, Psychological