• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.64-68
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• 2005

Purpose : Renal abscess is very rare in children and its diagnosis is difficult because symptoms are often nonspecific. In previous studies, on]y 15% to 25% of patients were reported to be diagnosed at the time of admission. Early diagnosis and treatment are important be cause mortality rate correlates positively with the time of diagnosis. The purpose of this study is to clarify the clinical features of children with renal abscess and to investigate the possible indicators of this disease for early diagnosis and Proper treatment. Methods : Twelve children diagnosed with renal abscess from Jan. 1996 to Jul. 2004 were included. The age of patients ranged from S months to 15 years. We retrospectively analyzed the demographics of patients, their symptoms, predisposing factors, diagnostic methods and causative organisms and the treatment modalities. Results : Fever was the most common manifestation, Five children(42%) had vesicoureteral reflux. Renal ultrasonography and computerized tornography were the most frequently used imaging tools to detect renal abscess. Gram negative bacteria were isolated in 7 patients and Staphylococcus aureus grew in 2 patients. All patients received intravenous antibiotics and 4 patients underwent aspiration or drainage of renal abscess. The average admission duration was 30 days. Conclusion : Renal abscess should be included in the differential diagnosis of prolonged fever in children, especially when flank pain is combined. For early diagnosis and a better prognosis, patients should be promptly investigated with ultrasonography or computerized tomography.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.125-132
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• 2003

Purpose : Lipoprotein(a) is a genetically determined risk factor for atherosclerotic vascular disease and is elevated in patients with renal disease. Especially the patients with nephrotic syndrome exhibit excessively high Lp(a) plasma concentrations. Also the patients with end-stage renal disease have elevated Lp(a) levels. But the mechanism underlying this elevation is unclear. Thus, in this study, by measuring the level of serum Lp(a) in common renal diseases in children, we hoped to see whether there would be a change in Lp(a) in renal diseases other than nephrotic syndrome. Then, we figured out its implications, and looked for the factors that affect the Lp(a) concentrations. Methods : A total of 75 patients(34 patients with hematuria of unknown etiology, 10 with hematuria and hypercalciuria, 8 with IgA nephropathy, 8 with poststreptococcal glomerulone phritis, 3 with $Henoch-Sch\"{o}nlein$ nephritis, 7 with urinary tract infection, and 5 with or- thostatic proteinuria) were studied. The control group included 20 patients without renal and liver disease. Serum Lp(a), total protein, and albumin levels, 24-hour urine protein and calcium excretions, creatinine clearance and the number of RBCs and WBCs in the urinary sediment were evaluated. Data analysis was peformed using the Student t-test and a P-value less than 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results : LP(a) was not correlated with 24-hour urine calcium and creatinine. Lp(a) level had a positive correlation with proteinuria and negative correlation with serum albumin and serum protein. Among the common renal diseases in children, Lp(a) was elevated only in orthostatic proteinuria (P<0.05). Conclusion : Lp(a) is correlated with proteinuria, serum protein, and serum albumin, but not with any kind of specific renal disease. Afterward, Lp(a) needs to be assessed in patients with orthostatic proteinuria and its possible role as a prognostic factor could be confirmed.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.12 no.11
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• pp.4985-4994
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of knowledge, health belief and sick role behavior, and the influencing factors on them among the patients with coronary artery disease. The study subjects were 168 patients diagnosed as having coronary artery disease at a university hospital during the period from July 1st, to August 31th, 2010. As a results, Based on the mean scores of knowledge about coronary artery disease according to the general characteristics, they were significantly higher in males than in females(p=0.033). The mean scores of health belief were significantly higher according to age decrease(p=0.043). The mean scores of sick role behaviors were significantly higher in females than in males(p=0.006), with their increasing tendency in the age range from 40's to 60's and decreasing tendency in the age over 70's(p=0.015), the group with religion were significantly higher than the one without(p=0.050). In terms of the mean scores of knowledge and sick role behaviors about coronary artery disease according to the related characteristics, there was a significant difference with the time period elapsed after diagnosed as coronary artery disease, frequency of admissions, perception about the disease, information gathering through mass com. but in terms of those of health belief, there was a not significant difference in all the variables. The significantly influencing factors on degree of knowledge by multivariate regression analysis included degree of perception about a disease, scores of sick role behavior, presence of coronary artery diseases in a family or friends, and the time period elapsed after diagnosed as having coronary artery disease. Those on health belief included age and scores of sick role behavior, and those on sick role behaviors included score of knowledge, perception about a disease, age, BMI, and religion. The results showed a significant difference with their general characteristics or coronary artery disease-related factors.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.165-173
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• 2016

Objectives : Since the awareness of autism spectrum disorders(ASD) is growing, as a result, it is increasing numbers of infants and toddlers being referred to specialized clinics for a differential diagnosis and the importance of early autism spectrum disorders detection is emphasized. This study is to know the difference between ASD and intellectual disability(ID) from comparison of the demographics, clinical characters and obstetric complications. Methods : The participants are 816 toddlers who visited the developmental delay clinic(DDC) in National Health Insurance Ilsan hospital. The number of toddlers diagnosed as ASD and ID was 324 and 492. 75 toddlers out of 114 who returned to DDC were diagnosed as ID at the first visit but 7 of them had changed diagnosis to ASD at the second visit. After compared ASD with ID from the first visit, we analyzed characters of toddlers who had the changed diagnosis to ASD at the second visit. Results : As a result, the comparison between ASD and ID at the first visit shows that the boys have higher ratio, lower obstetric complication and lower language assessment score in ASD. The toddlers who had the changed diagnosis at the second visit were all boys and they had more cases of family history of developmental delay and had lower score of receptive language developmental quotient. Conclusions : These findings suggest that sex, language characteristics and obstetric complication could be useful in the early detection of ASD.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.251-279
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• 2010

In 2009 the Ministry of Health and Society reported a new milestone in longevity among people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA): An individual was reported to be living and healthy after 24 years with HIV/AIDS. Today, PLWHA who receive treatment are more likely to die as a result of cancer or cardiovascular diseases than HIV/AIDS. However, in Korea the public association between HIV/AIDS and death remains strong and PLWHA live with the feeling of being discarded. While great advances have been made in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, understanding of life with HIV/AIDS is just beginning. This study describes the life experiences of PLWHA after being diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Phenomenological methods were used to analyze the transcripts of semi-structured interviews with six PLWHA. Time is a constant factor in the life experiences of PLWHA. After being diagnosed, participants were shocked, feeling as though the world was caving in and they were living with a time bomb. Compulsory disclosure left PLWHA with a feeling of disconnection from the world. Participants were fired from their jobs, resulting in poverty, isolation and a sense that they were simply waiting to die. However, health professionals informed participants that HIV/AIDS is a manageable illness. With time, PLWHA came to understand HIV/AIDS differently. In accepting their HIV infection, PLWHA created a new sense of meaning in their lives. To be honest to their loved ones and true to their own identity, PLWHA worked to "come out." The experience of coming out helped them to accept themselves as they were and understand their own strength. The most important influence on their treatment, and living with HIV/AIDS generally, was obtaining correct information about HIV/AIDS from health professionals. After accepting that they were living with HIV/AIDS, participants were able to look beyond themselves to support those around them, including family members, friends, and others who encouraged them to recognize and feel confident in their own identity.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.62-66
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• 2013

Purpose: I-131 is a radioisotope widely used for thyroid gland treatments. The physical half life is 8.01 and characterized by emitting beta and gamma rays which is used in clinical practice for the purpose of acquiring treatment and images. In order to reduce the recurrence rate after surgery in high-risk thyroid cancer patients, the remaining thyroid tissue is either removed or the I-131 is used for treatment during relapse. In cases of using a high dosage of radioactive iodine requiring hospitalization, the patient is administered dosage in the hospital isolation ward over a certain period of time preventing I-131 exposure to others. By checking the radiation amount emitted from patients before discharge, the patients are discharged after checking whether they meet the legal standards (50 uSv/h). After patients are discharged from the hospital, the contamination level is checked in many parts of the ward before the next patients are hospitalized and when necessary, decontamination operations are performed. It is expected that there is exposure to radiation when measuring the ward contamination level and dose check emitted from patients at the time of discharge whereby the radiation exposure by health workers that come from the patients in this process is the main factor. This study analyzed the correlation between discharge dose of patients and ward contamination level through a variety of factors such as renal functions, gender, age, dosage, etc.). Materials and Method: The study was conducted on 151 patients who received high-dosage radioactive iodine treatment at Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital during the period between 8/1/2011~5/31/2012 (Male: Female: 31:120, $47.5{\pm}11.9$, average dosage of $138{\pm}22.4$ mCi). As various factors expected to influence the patient discharge dose & ward contamination such as the beds, floors, bathroom floors, and washbasins, the patient renal function (GFR), age, gender, dosage, and the correlation between the expected Tg & Tg-Tb expected to reflect the remaining tissue in patients were analyzed. Results: In terms of the discharge dose and GFR, a low correlation was shown in the patient discharge dose as the GFR was higher (p < 0.0001). When comparing the group with a dosage of over 150mCi and the group with a lower dosage, the lower dosage group showed a significantly lower discharge dose ($24{\pm}10.4uSv/h$ vs $28.7{\pm}11.8uSv/h$, p<0.05). Age, gender, Tg, Tg-Tb did not show a significant relationship with discharge dose (p> 0.05). The contamination level in each spot of the treatment ward showed no significant relationship with GFR, Tg, Tg-Tb, age, gender, and dosage (p>0.05 ). Conclusion: This study says that discharge of the dose in the patient's body is low in GFR higher and Dosage 150mCi under lower. There was no case of contamination of the treatment ward, depending on the dose and renal association. This suggests that patients' lifestyles or be affected by a variety of other factors.