Objective: This study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an individually tailored program based on self-measurement of blood glucose on health behavior and HbA1c in diabetes and pre-diabetes patients. Methods: The program consisted of seven sessions for 12 weeks which were carried out every two weeks. Almost all sessions were progressed on untact method except for the first and last session. The 71 subjects were assessed for their knowledge of diabetes, health behavior, the experience of self-measurement of blood glucose, body mass Index (BMI) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) at before and after the program. They were also evaluated on their degree of utilization of blood glucose measurements after the program. Results: Each mean score on their knowledge of diabetes, health behavior and the experience of self-measurement of blood glucose was significantly increased from 14.77, 25.50, and 2.70 to 15.41, 28.40, and 4.81, respectively. Each mean score on both BMI and HbA1c (n=53) was significantly decreased from 24.47kg/m2 and 7.27% to 24.01kg/m2 and 6.67%, respectively. The post-HbA1c had a significant negative correlation(r=-0.415) with the degree of utilization of blood glucose measurements. The degree of utilization of blood glucose measurements had a significant positive correlation(r=0.581) with post-health behavior. Conclusions The program shows effectiveness in improving HbA1c in Type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes patients. The post-HbA1c might be related to the degree of utilization of blood glucose measurements which might be related to the health behavior.

Purpose: Trocar-site burns occurring during laparoscopic surgery have been reported in various cases, and several efforts to reduce them are underway. This study aimed to analyze the effect of capacitive coupling on trocar site by observing electrical and histological changes for electrical skin burn injury. Methods: To measure the electrical changes relating to capacitive coupling, the temperature, current, voltage, and impedance around the trocar were measured when an open circuit and a closed circuit were formed using insulation intact instruments and repeated after insulation failure. After the experiment, the tissue around the trocar was collected, and microscopic examination was performed. Results: When open circuits were formed with the intact insulation, the impedance was significantly reduced compared to the cases of closed circuits (142.0 Ω vs. 109.3 Ω, p = 0.040). When the power was 30 W and there was insulation failure, no significant difference was measured between the open circuit and the closed circuit (147.7 Ω vs. 130.7 Ω, p = 0.103). Collagen hyalinization, nuclear fragmentation, and coagulation necrosis suggesting burns were observed in the skin biopsy at the trocar insertion site. Conclusion This study demonstrated that even with a plastic trocar and electrosurgical instruments that have intact insulation, if an open circuit is formed, capacitive coupling increases, and trocar-site burn can occur. When using electrocautery, careful manipulation must be taken to avoid creating an open circuit to prevent capacitive coupling related to electrical skin burn.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to identify the factors related to re-visit intentions of patients who had visited the 10 oral health care centers for the disabled currently operating in Korea. Methods: A self-developed questionnaire (29 items) was distributed among 1,000 randomly selected patients and their guardians who had visited one of the 10 oral health care centers for the disabled, with a consent. Consequently, 874 questionnaires were collected and analysed for statistics using SPSS 25.0. Results: The patients traveled a long distance to visit the oral health care centers because of their specialization for the disabled. With the level of satisfaction with dentist services, dental hygienist services, and facilities increasing, the re-visit intention proportionally rose. Conclusions This study presents basic data that provides information on the operation of 10 oral health care centers for the disabled. It is imperative to develop a more structured questionnaire, and conduct an annual survey of the disabled visiting the centers.

Background: In Korea, the length of stay and medical expenses incurred by medical aid patients are increasing at a rate faster than the national health insurance. Therefore, there is a need to create a management strategy for each type of hospitalization to manage the length of stay of medical aid patients. Methods: The study used data from the 2019 National Health Insurance Claims. We analyzed the factors that affect the length of stay for 186,576 medical aid patients who were hospitalized for more than 31 days, with a focus on the type of hospitalization in long-term care hospitals. Results: The study found a significant correlation between gender, age, medical aid type, chronic disease ratio, long-term care hospital patient classification, and hospitalization type variables as factors that affect the length of hospital stay. The analysis of the differences in the length of stay for each type of hospitalization showed that the average length of stay is 291.4 days for type 1, 192.9 days for type 2, and 157.0 days for type 3, and that the difference is significant (p<0.0001). When type 3 was 0, type 1 significantly increased by 99.4 days, and type 2 by 36.6 days (p<0.0001). Conclusion A model that can comprehensively view factors, such as provider factors and institutional factors, needs to be designed.In addition, to reduce long stays for medical aid patients, a mechanism to establish an early discharge plan should be prepared and concerns about underutilization should be simultaneously addressed.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to identify the factors related to re-visit intentions of patients who had visited the 10 oral health care centers for the disabled currently operating in Korea. Methods: A self-developed questionnaire (29 items) was distributed among 1,000 randomly selected patients and their guardians who had visited one of the 10 oral health care centers for the disabled, with a consent. Consequently, 874 questionnaires were collected and analysed for statistics using SPSS 25.0. Results: The patients traveled a long distance to visit the oral health care centers because of their specialization for the disabled. With the level of satisfaction with dentist services, dental hygienist services, and facilities increasing, the re-visit intention proportionally rose. Conclusions This study presents basic data that provides information on the operation of 10 oral health care centers for the disabled. It is imperative to develop a more structured questionnaire, and conduct an annual survey of the disabled visiting the centers.

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the effect of fine dust concentrations in the air on the incidence of viral respiratory infections in the Republic of Korea.METHODS: A time series analysis using R statistics was performed to determine the relationship between weekly concentrations of fine dust in the air and the incidences of acute respiratory tract infections caused by the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), adenovirus (HAdV), rhinovirus (HRV), human metapneumovirus (HMPV), human coronavirus (HCoV), human bocavirus (HBoV), human parainfluenza virus (HPIV), and influenza virus (IFV), from the beginning of 2016 to the end of 2017. Correlations between various meteorological factors and the amount of fine dust were analyzed using the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. To analyze the relationship between viral infections and fine dust, a quasi-poisson analysis was performed.RESULTS: The incidence of the HAdV was proportional to fine dust and air temperature. The IFV was proportional to fine dust and relative humidity and was inversely proportional to temperature. The HMPV was proportional to fine dust, wind speed, and inversely proportional to relative humidity. The HCoV was proportional to micro dust, relative humidity, and inversely proportional to temperature. Both the HBoV and HPIV were directly proportional to fine dust, temperature, wind speed, and inversely proportional to relative humidity. The RSV was inversely proportional to fine dust, temperature, wind speed. A lag effect was observed for the influenza virus, in that its incidence increased 2–3 weeks later on the cumulative lag model.CONCLUSION: As the weekly average concentration of fine dust increases, the incidence of HAdV, HMPV, HCoV, HBoV, HPIV, and influenza increase.
Adenoviridae ; Air Pollution ; Coronavirus ; Dust ; Human bocavirus ; Humans ; Humidity ; Incidence ; Influenza, Human ; Metapneumovirus ; Meteorological Concepts ; Orthomyxoviridae ; Paramyxoviridae Infections ; Particulate Matter ; Republic of Korea ; Respiration Disorders ; Respiratory Syncytial Viruses ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; Rhinovirus ; Wind

No abstract available.
Adult ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use ; Bacterial Proteins/chemistry/genetics/metabolism ; Brucella melitensis/classification/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Brucellosis/*diagnosis/drug therapy/microbiology ; Doxycycline/therapeutic use ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Phylogeny ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Republic of Korea ; Rifampin/therapeutic use ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Spondylitis/diagnostic imaging

BACKGROUND: Given emerging evidence of the association between stress and disease, practitioners need a tool for measuring stress. Several instruments exist to measure perceived stress; however, none of them are applicable for population surveys because stress conceptualization can differ by population. The aim of this study was to develop and validate the Perceived Stress Inventory (PSI) and its short version for use in population surveys and clinical practice in Korea. METHODS: From a pool of perceived stress items collected from three widely used instruments, 20 items were selected for the new measurement tool. Nine of these items were selected for the short version. We evaluated the validity of the items using exploratory factor analysis of the preliminary data. To evaluate the convergent validity of the PSI, 387 healthy people were recruited and stratified on the basis of age and sex. Confirmatory analyses and examination of structural stability were also carried out. To evaluate discriminatory validity, the PSI score of a group with depressive symptoms was compared with that of a healthy group. A similar comparison was also done for persons with anxious mood. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analysis supported a three-factor construct (tension, depression, and anger) for the PSI. Reliability values were satisfactory, ranging from 0.67 to 0.87. Convergent validity was confirmed through correlation with the Perceived Stress Scale, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. People with depressive or anxious mood had higher scores than the healthy group on the total PSI, all three dimensions, and the short version. CONCLUSION: The long and short versions of the PSI are valid and reliable tools for measuring perceived stress. These instruments offer benefits for stress research using population-based surveys.
Anxiety ; Depression ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Factor Analysis, Statistical ; Humans ; Korea

Pulmonary embolism (PE) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a serious medical problem causing considerable morbidity and mortality. Risk factors of thrombosis are surgery, trauma, pregnancy, tumor, oral contraceptive as well as genetic risk factors though genetic risk factors were found in about 5% to 10% of cases. Yasmin, a combined oral contraceptive containing ethinylestradiol 30 microg and drospirenon 3 mg was launched in the United Kingdom in 2002. We had experienced a patient, 24-year-old young woman with left inguinal pain on ambulation, and edema of left leg four months after taking Yasmin. We performed chest pulmonary angiography computed tomography (CT) and lower extremity venogram CT. She was diagnosed to PE in both lower lobes and DVT below the level of left external iliac vein, and treated by low molecular weight heparin and warfarin. We report this case with brief review of literatures.
Androstenes ; Angiography ; Edema ; Ethinyl Estradiol ; Female ; Great Britain ; Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight ; Humans ; Iliac Vein ; Leg ; Lower Extremity ; Pregnancy ; Pulmonary Embolism ; Risk Factors ; Thorax ; Thrombosis ; Venous Thrombosis ; Walking ; Warfarin

PURPOSE: This study was to evaluate the effect of the solution temperature on the mechanical properties of dualcure resin cements. MATERIALS AND METHODS: For the study, five dual-cure resin cements were chosen and light cured. To evaluate the effect of temperature on the specimens, the light-cured specimens were immersed in deionized water at three different temperatures (4, 37 and 60degrees C) for 7 days. The control specimens were aged in a 37degrees C dry and dark chamber for 24 hours. The mechanical properties of the light-cured specimens were evaluated using the Vickers hardness test, three-point bending test, and compression test, respectively. Both flexural and compressive properties were evaluated using a universal testing machine. The data were analyzed using a two way ANOVA with Tukey test to perform multiple comparisons (alpha=0.05). RESULTS: After immersion, the specimens showed significantly different microhardness, flexural, and compressive properties compared to the control case regardless of solution temperatures. Depending on the resin brand, the microhardness difference between the top and bottom surfaces ranged approximately 3.3-12.2%. Among the specimens, BisCem and Calibra showed the highest and lowest decrease of flexural strength, respectively. Also, Calibra and Multilink Automix showed the highest and lowest decrease of compressive strength, respectively compared to the control case. CONCLUSION: The examined dual-cure resin cements had compatible flexural and compressive properties with most methacrylate-based composite resins and the underlying dentin regardless of solution temperature. However, the effect of the solution temperature on the mechanical properties was not consistent and depended more on the resin brand.
Aged ; Androsterone ; Collodion ; Composite Resins ; Compressive Strength ; Dentin ; Hardness Tests ; Humans ; Immersion ; Light ; Resin Cements ; Water