Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the oncofertility experiences of young women with breast cancer and elucidate their process of coping. Methods: Employing a grounded theory approach, in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 women aged 27~37 with breast cancer who experienced fertility challenges. Data analysis was conducted using the constant comparative method. Results: The core category identified was a journey to restore daily life with inevitable damage to fertility, and young women with breast cancer experienced three stages: the crisis stage, life restructuring stage, and daily life recovery stage. The causal conditions were chemotherapy and pregnancy planning. The contextual conditions were anxiety about embryo or oocyte cryopreservation, the need to make a decision quickly, and expectations for natural pregnancy. The central phenomenon of oncofertility in women with breast cancer was “choices for an uncertain future.” The action/interaction strategies included increasing immunity, weight control, having a strong mind, and finding knowledge related to breast cancer. The intervening conditions were support from health care providers and family support. The consequences were early onset of menopause and “desperate pregnancy.” Conclusion Nurses need to be interested in the decline in fertility of young women with breast cancer and play a role in understanding and actively helping them.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the oncofertility experiences of young women with breast cancer and elucidate their process of coping. Methods: Employing a grounded theory approach, in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 women aged 27~37 with breast cancer who experienced fertility challenges. Data analysis was conducted using the constant comparative method. Results: The core category identified was a journey to restore daily life with inevitable damage to fertility, and young women with breast cancer experienced three stages: the crisis stage, life restructuring stage, and daily life recovery stage. The causal conditions were chemotherapy and pregnancy planning. The contextual conditions were anxiety about embryo or oocyte cryopreservation, the need to make a decision quickly, and expectations for natural pregnancy. The central phenomenon of oncofertility in women with breast cancer was “choices for an uncertain future.” The action/interaction strategies included increasing immunity, weight control, having a strong mind, and finding knowledge related to breast cancer. The intervening conditions were support from health care providers and family support. The consequences were early onset of menopause and “desperate pregnancy.” Conclusion Nurses need to be interested in the decline in fertility of young women with breast cancer and play a role in understanding and actively helping them.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the oncofertility experiences of young women with breast cancer and elucidate their process of coping. Methods: Employing a grounded theory approach, in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 women aged 27~37 with breast cancer who experienced fertility challenges. Data analysis was conducted using the constant comparative method. Results: The core category identified was a journey to restore daily life with inevitable damage to fertility, and young women with breast cancer experienced three stages: the crisis stage, life restructuring stage, and daily life recovery stage. The causal conditions were chemotherapy and pregnancy planning. The contextual conditions were anxiety about embryo or oocyte cryopreservation, the need to make a decision quickly, and expectations for natural pregnancy. The central phenomenon of oncofertility in women with breast cancer was “choices for an uncertain future.” The action/interaction strategies included increasing immunity, weight control, having a strong mind, and finding knowledge related to breast cancer. The intervening conditions were support from health care providers and family support. The consequences were early onset of menopause and “desperate pregnancy.” Conclusion Nurses need to be interested in the decline in fertility of young women with breast cancer and play a role in understanding and actively helping them.

In addition to cellular damage, ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury induces substantial damage to the mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum. In this study, we sought to determine whether impaired mitochondrial function owing to IR could be restored by transplanting mitochondria into the heart under ex vivo IR states. Additionally, we aimed to provide preliminary results to inform therapeutic options for ischemic heart disease (IHD). Healthy mitochondria isolated from autologous gluteus maximus muscle were transplanted into the hearts of Sprague–Dawley rats damaged by IR using the Langendorff system, and the heart rate and oxygen consumption capacity of the mitochondria were measured to confirm whether heart function was restored. In addition, relative expression levels were measured to identify the genes related to IR injury. Mitochondrial oxygen consumption capacity was found to be lower in the IR group than in the group that underwent mitochondrial transplantation after IR injury (p < 0.05), and the control group showed a tendency toward increased oxygen consumption capacity compared with the IR group. Among the genes related to fatty acid metabolism, Cpt1b (p < 0.05) and Fads1 (p < 0.01) showed significant expression in the following order: IR group, IR + transplantation group, and control group. These results suggest that mitochondrial transplantation protects the heart from IR damage and may be feasible as a therapeutic option for IHD.

Background: Loss of companion animals can result in various psychological reactions, including complicated grief, depression, anxiety, and insomnia. However, research on the prevalence of patients requiring clinical intervention is limited. Moreover, research examining the relationship between childhood trauma and psychological symptoms after pet loss is lacking. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the rates of clinically significant psychological distress after pet loss and the impact of childhood trauma on adults who have experienced pet loss. Methods: An online survey was conducted with non-clinical adult participants who had experienced the loss of a companion animal. Psychiatric characteristics were evaluated using standardized assessments, including the Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG), the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). Childhood trauma was evaluated using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Results: In a sample of 137 individuals who had experienced pet loss, the percentages of those who exceeded the cutoff points were 55% for the ICG, 52% for the PHQ-9, 40% for the GAD-7, and 32% for the ISI. The group that reported childhood trauma exhibited significantly higher scores on the ICG (t = 2.16, P = 0.032), PHQ-9 (t = 3.05, P = 0.003), GAD-7 (t = 2.61, P = 0.010), and ISI (t = 2.11, P = 0.037) than in the group without childhood trauma.For participants who experienced pet loss for less than one year, there was no significant difference in the ICG between the trauma and non-trauma groups, as both had extremely high scores. However, the trauma group had a significantly higher PHQ-9 (t = 2.58,P = 0.012) than the non-trauma group. In contrast, for participants who experienced pet loss for more than one year, the trauma group had a significantly higher ICG (t = 2.22, P = 0.03) than the non-trauma group, while there was no significant difference in the PHQ-9. Additionally, the emotional abuse scores on the CTQ were most significantly correlated with the ICG scores even after controlling for depressive symptoms. Conclusion People who experienced pet loss had significant psychological symptoms, ranging from 32% to 55%. Childhood trauma experiences affect complicated grief, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, insomnia and prolonged grief disorder after pet loss. After pet loss, people with childhood trauma may require more psychological help than those without trauma.

Background: Skin diseases associated with Malassezia species include malassezia folliculitis, pityriasis versicolor, and seborrheic dermatitis. Although several treatment options are available for the treatment of pityriasis versicolor, there is a lack of research data on sulfur preparation, which is a time-honored therapeutic agent; furthermore, data comparing topical antifungal agent and sulfur preparation is not available. Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy and usefulness of a mixture of diflucortone valerate 1 mg/g and isoconazole nitrate 10 mg/g ointment (Travocort) and sodium thiosulfate solution 25% for pityriasis versicolor. Methods: A retrospective review was performed with 185 patients diagnosed with pityriasis versicolor who presented to the Department of Dermatology, Daegu Catholic University Medical Center between August 2002 and December 2021. Results: Of the 185 patients, 82 used Travocort while 103 used sodium thiosulfate solution. The average duration of the treatment was 19.3 days for Travocort and 28.8 days for sodium thiosulfate solution (p=0.001). The success rate of the treatment after 2 weeks was 65.8% for Travocort and 56.3% for sodium thiosulfate solution. Side effects occurred in 12.1% and 4.8% of the patients in the Travocort and sodium thiosulfate solution group, respectively. Conclusion Travocort had a faster healing rate than sodium thiosulfate solution. However, topical antifungal agents can cause side effects like localized cutaneous reaction. Furthermore, the glucocorticoid portion in combination therapy may induce various side effects with long-term use. Therefore, considering the side effects of Travocort, sodium thiosulfate solution can be used as a safe alternative when long-term treatment is required.

Objectives: Adolescent suicide is a serious national issue in Korea. Recently, life satisfaction has been recognized as a major factor related to this issue. The main purpose of this study was to identify the domains of life satisfaction that affect suicidal behavior in adolescence. Methods: Data were collected from eight middle schools in Incheon, Korea. A total of 1297 students answered questions regarding their demographic characteristics, happiness, self-related life satisfaction domains (appearance, leisure time, physical health, and mental health), depressive symptoms, and suicidal behavior. Results: In the Spearman correlation analysis, female sex, perceived socioeconomic status (SES), happiness, and all four self-related satisfaction scores showed significant correlations with depression and suicidality. Multivariate regression analysis suggested that suicidality was significantly affected by perceived SES, satisfaction with appearance, mental health satisfaction, and depression. Finally, depression was identified as a partial mediator of the association between mental health satisfaction and suicidality, and a complete mediator of the association between female sex and suicidality. Conclusion Perceived SES, satisfaction with appearance, and mental health satisfaction significantly affected students’ suicidality, with or without the effect of depression. Health authorities, educators, and family members must be aware of this to identify adolescents at suicide risk earlier.

Objectives: Adolescent suicide is a serious national issue in Korea. Recently, life satisfaction has been recognized as a major factor related to this issue. The main purpose of this study was to identify the domains of life satisfaction that affect suicidal behavior in adolescence. Methods: Data were collected from eight middle schools in Incheon, Korea. A total of 1297 students answered questions regarding their demographic characteristics, happiness, self-related life satisfaction domains (appearance, leisure time, physical health, and mental health), depressive symptoms, and suicidal behavior. Results: In the Spearman correlation analysis, female sex, perceived socioeconomic status (SES), happiness, and all four self-related satisfaction scores showed significant correlations with depression and suicidality. Multivariate regression analysis suggested that suicidality was significantly affected by perceived SES, satisfaction with appearance, mental health satisfaction, and depression. Finally, depression was identified as a partial mediator of the association between mental health satisfaction and suicidality, and a complete mediator of the association between female sex and suicidality. Conclusion Perceived SES, satisfaction with appearance, and mental health satisfaction significantly affected students’ suicidality, with or without the effect of depression. Health authorities, educators, and family members must be aware of this to identify adolescents at suicide risk earlier.

Fecal incontinence (FI) undoubtedly reduces quality of life and adversely affects the social life of the affected individual. FI has a higher prevalence with age and has an equivalent prevalence to urinary incontinence in patients with genitourinary disease, but is often not confirmed in these cases. A thorough investigation is needed to diagnose FI, with the common etiology of this condition in mind, and several questionnaires can be used to identify symptoms. The physical examination contains digital rectal examination carries out to identify the patient’s condition. Ultrasound, colonoscopy, and rectum pressure test can be performed. Patients educated in diet-related issues, bowel movements, and defecation mechanism. Nonoperative options such as diet control and Kegel exercise should be performed at first. Surgical treatment of FI is considered when conservative management and oral medications produce no improvement. Surgical options include less invasive procedures like bulking agent injections, and more involved approaches from sacral nerve stimulation to invasive direct sphincter repair and artificial bowel sphincter insertion. Good outcomes in FI cases have also recently been reported for barrier devices.