Purpose: It is essential to ensure the readiness for practice among undergraduate nursing students since the purpose of such education is to cultivate competent nurses who deliver high-quality and safe nursing. Astin's theory of student involvement suggests that this is affected by their personal factors and learning environment. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study between November 16, 2020 and December 21, 2020 which examined personal factors and aspects of the clinical learning environment among senior nursing students (n = 838) enrolled across 54 nursing schools in Korea. The participants were asked to fill out a self-administered online survey, which assessed demographic characteristics, self-esteem, depression, work-life balance, clinical learning environment, anxiety during clinical practicum, and readiness for practice. Readiness for practice was measured using the Casey-Fink Readiness for practice survey. We used structural equational modeling to test our hypothetical model. Results: The nursing students' readiness for practice was significantly affected by their self-esteem, work-life balance satisfaction, and clinical learning environment. Anxiety during clinical practicum directly influenced their readiness for practice. Conclusion Increasing self-esteem and work-life balance satisfaction, and improving their clinical learning environment by providing sufficient educational and clinical support, could help facilitate the transition from nursing schools to real-world practice for nursing students.

Background: Avoiding causative allergens is important for controlling the clinical course of allergic diseases. Allergen sensitization is influenced by many factors including the environment and lifestyle. The socioeconomic development, climate, and lifestyle changes have increased the prevalence of allergic diseases worldwide. However, there is little information about changes in the trend of the common allergens over time. Objective: This study was aimed at identifying the trends of the common allergens in Korea over a 10-year period based on the results of the multiple allergosorbent test chemiluminescent assay (MAST-CLA). Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 5,760 patients aged ≥18 years who visited the Dermatology Department at a tertiary hospital over a period of 10 years. The serum total immunoglobulin (Ig) E and specific IgE levels to 41 allergens were determined using MAST-CLA, along with the clinical diagnosis, duration of illness, white blood cell count and eosinophil percentage. Results: Dermatophagoides farinae, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, and house dust were the most prevalent allergens during the 10 years period, but the percentage of higher class responses has decreased in recent years. The number of patients sensitized to house dust (p<0.001), dogs (p=0.005), and cats (p<0.001) increased while that of patients sensitized to cockroaches (p<0.001) and storage mites (p<0.001) decreased over time. There were no significant changes in the total number of sensitizing allergens over time. Conclusion The common allergens have changed over time. Based on the findings of this study, physicians and patients should consider changing their strategies for disease prevention and management.

PURPOSE: This study was to investigate the factors affecting smoking behavior in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. METHODS: The participants were 130 pulmonary tuberculosis patients at a national tuberculosis hospital. Using a descriptive survey design, data were collected from January to March in 2016 and were analyzed using binominal logistic regression. RESULTS: As a result of a correlation analysis of the data, depression had a significant positive correlation with smoking (r=.19, p=.030), stress (r=.54, p < .001), respectively. And depression had a significant negative correlation with smoking-related self-efficacy (r=−.20, p=.023). Smokingrelated self-efficacy, smoking (r=−.79, p < .001), and stress (r=−.23, p=.008) had a significant negative correlation with each other, respectively. The factors affecting the smoking behavior were smoking-related self-efficacy (OR=1.46, p < .001), sex (OR=67.36, p=.001), occupation (OR=17.51, p=.014), and depression (OR=1.16, p=.024). Those factors explained 84.7% (Negelkerke's R2=.847) of pulmonary tuberculosis patients' smoking behavior. CONCLUSION: Developing and applying a prevention eduction for reducing depression and enhancing smoking-related self-efficacy may become a venue toward good prognosis of the patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.
Depression ; Hospitals, Chronic Disease ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Occupations ; Prognosis ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Stress, Psychological ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary

The respiratory function is relevant to the craniofacial growth and orthodontic diagnosis. The size of the pharyngeal airway was measured in lateral cephalometric view in children visited Kyung Hee University Hospital from January 2015 to August 2017. A total of 74 healthy children (36 boys and 38 girls) aged 7 - 11 years (mean, 8.5 years) with a normodivergent facial pattern were divided into three groups according to anteroposterior jaw relation measuring A point-Nasion-B point (ANB) angle. Lateral cephalometric data were used to measure the airway dimensions. The dimensions of the middle airway were significantly lower, reducing the upper airway space, in large ANB angle group than in other children, suggesting that children with large ANB angle have narrower airway space than others.
Child ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Jaw ; Malocclusion

Thymic cysts are uncommon benign lesions in the anterior mediastinum. We here describe a 55-year-old male with spontaneous thymic cyst hemorrhage manifesting as a rapidly enlarging mediastinal mass that was resected completely with video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a spontaneous thymic cyst hemorrhage in Korea. In cases of rapidly enlarging mediastinal masses, spontaneous thymic cyst hemorrhage should be considered as a differential diagnosis.
Diagnosis, Differential ; Hemorrhage* ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Mediastinal Cyst* ; Mediastinum ; Middle Aged ; Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted

Tracheal hemangioma is a rare benign vascular tumor in adults. We reported a case of massive hemoptysis caused by a cavernous hemangioma in a 75-year-old man. This is the first report, to our knowledge, of a tracheal cavernous hemangioma that presented with massive hemoptysis. The lesion was removed with a CO2 laser under rigid laryngoscopy. Endovascular tumors, such as tracheobronchial hemangiomas, should be considered a diagnostic option in cases of massive hemoptysis without a significant underlying lung lesion.
Adult ; Aged ; Hemangioma* ; Hemangioma, Cavernous ; Hemoptysis* ; Humans ; Laryngoscopy ; Lasers, Gas ; Lung ; Trachea

PURPOSE: The objectives of this study were to assess the influence of family presence in the PACU (Post Anesthesia Care Unit) on anxiety, emergency delirium, pain and length of stay in the recovery room for elderly patients undergoing surgery for which general anesthesia has been used. METHODS: The study was a nonequivalent control group pre-post test design. Eighty elderly patients over 65 years who underwent surgery under general anesthesia were recruited. Forty were assigned to the experiment group, patients together with a family member and 40 to the control group, with no family member present. Patients' anxiety, emergency delirium, pain and length of time in the recovery room were evaluated at 10 minute and 30 minute after arrival in the PACU. RESULTS: Patients with family members in the PACU showed significantly decreased levels of anxiety at 10 and 30 minutes and significantly lower levels of emergency delirium and pain at 30 minutes. However there was no difference between the 2 groups for length of time in the recovery room. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that being with family members in the PACU after surgery under general anesthesia is effective for reducing elderly patients' anxiety, delirium and pain during time in the recovery room.
Aged* ; Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, General ; Anxiety* ; Delirium* ; Emergencies ; Evaluation Studies as Topic ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Postanesthesia Nursing ; Recovery Room*

Here, we report a case of pulmonary paragonimiasis that was improved with initial anti-tuberculosis (TB) therapy but confused with reactivated pulmonary TB. A 53-year-old Chinese female presented with a persistent productive cough with foul smelling phlegm and blood streaked sputum. Radiologic findings showed subpleural cavitary consolidation in the right upper lobe (RUL). Bronchoscopic and cytological examination showed no remarkable medical feature. She was diagnosed with smear-negative TB, and her radiologic findings improved after receiving a 6-month anti-TB therapy. The chest CT scans, however, obtained at 4 months after completion of anti-TB therapy showed a newly developed subpleural consolidation in the RUL. She refused pathologic confirmation and was re-treated with anti-TB medication. Nevertheless, her chest CT scans revealed newly developed cavitary nodules at 5 months after re-treatment. She underwent thoracoscopic wedge resection; the pathological examination reported that granuloma caused by Paragonimus westermani. Paragonimiasis should also be considered in patients assessed with smear-negative pulmonary TB.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Cough ; Delayed Diagnosis* ; Female ; Granuloma ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Paragonimiasis* ; Paragonimus westermani ; Smell ; Sputum ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Tuberculosis

BACKGROUND: We aimed to investigate the role of the physician in practice and the factors that influence the success rate of smoking cessation. METHODS: This study retrospectively analyzed 126 adult smokers who had visited the outpatient department of pulmonology, and received motivational interviewing with or without supplement drugs. The findings include continuous smoking abstinence rate, which was evaluated at 6, 12 and 24 weeks, and the factors associated with continuous abstinence for 6 months or longer. RESULTS: The patients with only motivational interviewing accounted for 57.9%, while the nicotine patch therapy was applied to 30.2%; and varenicline was prescribed to 11.9%. The smoking cessation success rates of at 6, 12, and 24 weeks were 55.6%, 47.6%, and 33.3%, respectively. However, even in the failure group at six months, tobacco consumption was decreased under 10 cigarettes per day in 42.1% (53/126). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, degree of Fagerstom Test for Nicotine Dependence (p=0.034; odds ratio, 3.607; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.102-1.807), the absence of smoking-related lung disease (p=0.008; odds ratio, 4.693; 95% CI, 1.497-14.707), and education level (p=0.001; odds ratio, 181.420; 95% CI, 8.414-3,911.502) were the predictors of successful smoking cessation. CONCLUSION: An improved continuous smoking abstinence rate can be obtained by motivational interviewing, regardless of the association with pharmacotherapy.
Adult ; Drug Therapy ; Education ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Lung Diseases ; Motivational Interviewing* ; Odds Ratio ; Outpatients ; Pulmonary Medicine ; Retrospective Studies ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Smoking Cessation* ; Tobacco Products ; Tobacco Use ; Tobacco Use Cessation Products ; Tobacco Use Disorder ; Varenicline

BACKGROUND: The sensitivities and specificities of interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) vary among different population studies, and the data on the routine use of IGRAs are limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-GIT) test in the diagnosis of active tuberculosis. METHODS: We conducted a prospective study, enrolling 77 patients with suspected pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), at a secondary care teaching hospital in Seoul. RESULTS: In total, 12 (15.6%) patients showed indeterminate results due to positive control failure on the QFT-GIT test. Indeterminate results were significantly associated with the elderly, history of the intensive care unit stay, lymphocytopenia, especially low CD4 count, increased C-reactive protein and decreased protein levels. Of the 77 patients, 44 (57.1%) were diagnosed with active pulmonary tuberculosis, and the percentage of false negative results of the QFT-GIT was 36.4% (vs. 31.8% with TST). In the TB group with >65 years old (n=12), the proportions of the indeterminate (33.3% vs. 3.1%) and the false negative results (58.3% vs. 25.0%) of the QFT-GIT were significantly higher than in the younger TB group (n=32). CONCLUSION: Indeterminate and false negative results of QFT-GIT test were not infrequent in tuberculosis, especially in the elderly. Care should be considered for the interpretation with the elderly, immunocompromised, chronic and severely diseased patients.
Aged ; C-Reactive Protein ; CD4 Lymphocyte Count ; Hospitals, Teaching ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Interferon-gamma Release Tests ; Lymphopenia ; Prospective Studies ; Secondary Care ; Tuberculin Test ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary