• Korean Journal of Radiology
• /
• v.24 no.12
• /
• pp.1284-1292
• /
• 2023

Objective: We investigated the impacts of computed tomography (CT) added to ultrasound (US) for preoperative evaluation of patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) on staging, surgical extent, and postsurgical survival. Materials and Methods: Consecutive patients who underwent surgery for PTC between January 2015 and December 2015 were retrospectively identified. Of them, 584 had undergone preoperative additional thyroid CT imaging (CT + US group), and 859 had not (US group). Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) and propensity score matching (PSM) were used to adjust for 14 variables and balance the two groups. Changes in nodal staging and surgical extent caused by CT were recorded. The recurrence-free survival and distant metastasis-free survival after surgery were compared between the two groups. Results: In the CT + US group, discordant nodal staging results between CT and US were observed in 94 of 584 patients (16.1%). Of them, CT accurately diagnosed nodal staging in 54 patients (57.4%), while the US provided incorrect nodal staging. Ten patients (1.7%) had a change in the extent of surgery based on CT findings. Postsurgical recurrence developed in 3.6% (31 of 859) of the CT + US group and 2.9% (17 of 584) of the US group during the median follow-up of 59 months. After adjustment using IPTW (580 vs. 861 patients), the CT + US group showed significantly higher recurrence-free survival rates than the US group (hazard ratio [HR], 0.52 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 0.29-0.96]; P = 0.037). PSM analysis (535 patients in each group) showed similar HR without statistical significance (HR, 0.60 [95% CI, 0.31-1.17]; P = 0.134). For distant metastasis-free survival, HRs after IPTW and PSM were 0.75 (95% CI, 0.17-3.36; P = 0.71) and 0.87 (95% CI, 0.20-3.80; P = 0.851), respectively. Conclusion: The addition of CT imaging for preoperative evaluation changed nodal staging and surgical extent and might improve recurrence-free survival in patients with PTC.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
• /
• v.85 no.1
• /
• pp.184-196
• /
• 2024

Purpose We investigated potentially promising imaging findings and their combinations in the evaluation of cognitive decline. Materials and Methods This retrospective study included 138 patients with subjective cognitive impairments, who underwent brain MRI. We classified the same group of patients into Alzheimer's disease (AD) and non-AD groups, based on the neuropsychiatric evaluation. We analyzed imaging findings, including white matter hyperintensity (WMH) and cerebral microbleeds (CMBs), using the Kruskal-Wallis test for group comparison, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis for assessing the diagnostic performance of imaging findings. Results CMBs in the lobar or deep locations demonstrated higher prevalence in the patients with AD compared to those in the non-AD group. The presence of lobar CMBs combined with periventricular WMH (area under the ROC curve [AUC] = 0.702 [95% confidence interval: 0.599-0.806], p < 0.001) showed the highest performance in differentiation of AD from non-AD group. Conclusion Combinations of imaging findings can serve as useful additive diagnostic tools in the assessment of cognitive decline.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.91-96
• /
• 2007

Purpose : This study was performed to evaluate a new rapid diagnostic kit (BIOLINE $RSV^{TM}$; Standard Diagnostics Inc., Yongin, Korea), a lateral-flow immunoassay, in the detection of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) from the nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPA) of children with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) in comparison with other diagnostic methods. Methods : Three hundred and nineteen NPAs were selected from a large pool of NPAs that had been obtained from children with LRTIs. All specimens had already been tested for RSV by culture and immunofluorescent (IF) test, and had been kept frozen. Tests with BIOLINE $RSV^{TM}$ were performed at least twice. All who conducted the experiments or interpreted the test results were blinded to the results of both culture and IF tests. Results : One hundred seven (97.3%) of 110 specimens that were positive for RSV by both culture and IF test, 29 (87.9%) of 33 that were positive by IF test only, 20 (76.9%) of 26 that were positive by culture only, and 140 (93.3%) of 150 that were negative by both methods were negative for RSV by BIOLINE $RSV^{TM}$. By combining the above results, the following 5 diagnostic values of BIOLINE $RSV^{TM}$ were determined in comparison with viral culture or IF test; sensitivity, 92.3% (156/169, 95% confidence interval [CI], 87.1-97.5%); specificity, 93.3% (140/150, 95% CI, 88.4-98.2%); positive predictive value, 94.0% (156/166, 95% CI, 89.5-98.5%); negative predictive value, 91.5% (140/143, 95% CI, 86.0-97.0%); and agreement, 95.9% (306/319, 95% CI, 92.1-99.7%), respectively. Conclusion : This study revealed that BIOLINE $RSV^{TM}$ demonstrated good sensitivity and specificity for the detection of RSV antigen from NPAs of children with LRTIs. Because of simple methods and quick results, this test may be useful for the diagnosis of RSV infection during the epidemic periods.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
• /
• v.32 no.5
• /
• pp.403-413
• /
• 1998

Purpose: We investigated reproducibility of the quantification of left ventricular volume and ejection fraction, and grading of myocardial wall motion and systolic thickening when we used gated myocardial SPECT and Cedars quantification software. Materials and Methods: We performed gated myocardial SPECT in 33 consecutive patients twice in the same position after Tc-99m-MIBI SPECT We used 16 frames per cycle for the gating of sequential Tc-99m-MIBI SPECT. After reconstruction, we used Cedars quantitative gated SPECT and calculated ventricular volume and ejection fraction (EF). Wall motion was graded using 5 point score. Wall thickening was graded using 4 point score. Coefficient of variation for re-examination of volume and fraction were calculated. Kappa values (k-value) for assessing reproducibility of wall motion or wall thickening were calculated. Results: Enddiastolic volumes (EDV) ranged from 58 ml to 248 ml (122 ml +/- 42 ml), endsystolic volumes (ESV) from 20 ml to 174 ml (65 ml +/- 39 ml), and EF from 20% to 65% (51% +/- 14%). Geometric mean of standard deviations of 33 patients was 5.0 ml for EDV, 3.9 ml for ESV and 1.9% for EF. Their average differences were not different from zero (p>0.05). k-value for wall motion using 2 consecutive images was 0.76 (confidence interval: 0.71-0.81). k-value was 0.87 (confidence interval: 0.83-0.90) for assessment of wall thickening. Conclusion: We concluded that quantification of functional indices, assessment of wall motion and wall thickening using gated Tc-99m-MIBI SPECT was reproducible and we could use this method for the evaluation of short-acting drug effect.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
• /
• v.30 no.1_2
• /
• pp.73-81
• /
• 2018

Purpose : The aims of this study were to compare and assess the effectiveness of Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy(VMAT) using jaw tracking(JT) and fixed jaw(FJ) in radiation therapy of multiple brain metastasis. Methode and material : Among the patients with Multiple Brain Metastasis treated with jaw tracking, 10 patients with more than 6 tumors and with the size of radiation field $14{\times}14cm^2$ or more were included. Each Treatment plans with jaw tracking(JT) and fixed jaw(FJ) was established with Eclipse (Ver. 13.6 Varian, USA). Gamma Index (3 mm, 3 % confidence interval - 95 %) and maximum dose difference were measured with an electronic portal imaging device(EPID). The $D_{max}$ and $D_{mean}$ of Organ At Risk(OAR) were assessed and compared, and the Conformity Index(CI) and Homogeneity Index(HI) were evaluated. Result : Evaluating jaw tracking(JT) and fixed jaw(FJ) outcomes, in all cases, Gamma Index met the permissible standard of 3 mm, 3 % confidence intervals of 95 %. The maximum dose difference value from the areas with leaf end transmission was measured at a maximum of 98.4 % and an average of 43.6 % in clockwise(CW), and 67.9 % and 41.0 % for each in Counter-Clockwise(CCW). With jaw tracking, the maximum value of $D_{max}$ for each normal organ in OAR decreased in 15.36 %~74.59 % with the average value decreasing in 2.84 %~39.80 %. The maximum value of $D_{mean}$ in OAR decreased in 27.90 %~65.23 %, with the average value decreasing in 7.70 %~41.71 %. No change has been found in Conformity Index and Homogeneity Index values. Conclusion : When Jaw tracking is used in treating patients with multiple brain metastasis with VMAT, the unnecessary exposure due to leakage and transmission of radiation in unspecified areas was reduced, without affecting the dose distribution of the planning target volume(PTV), and the availability of radiation therapy with lower doses in normal organs is expected.

• Journal of Christian Education in Korea
• /
• v.72
• /
• pp.245-271
• /
• 2022

The purpose of this study is to develop a nursing clinical practice education model that applies case-based learning and co-teaching to nursing students, and to secure the validity of the developed model. To verify the validity of the nursing clinical practice education model, it was applied to the subject of 'Health Response and Nursing VI (Perception/ Cognition) Practice' in the 2nd semester of 2021 at J University in Jeonju, and the instructor's response to the model was evaluated. Surveys and focus group interviews were conducted on confidence in clinical practice and teaching and learning models. After deriving the case-based learning stage and co-teaching elements through a review of precedent literature and case studies, an initial model was devised after expert review, and the devised model was reviewed for internal validity by nursing education experts, and then modified and supplemented. As a result of the learner response evaluation conducted after applying the model to the clinical practice subject for external validation verification, the confidence in clinical performance was 4.22 points and the satisfaction with the teaching-learning model was 4.68 points. Summarizing the results of the focus group interview, the importance of prior learning and the learning of selected cases based on actual cases, learning terminology and professional knowledge, eliminated fear of the practice field, felt familiar, and learned various cases. He said that he was able to think critically through the time to organize the knowledge learned in the practice field. In addition, through co-teaching, it was found that field leaders and advisors taught the theoretical and practical aspects at the same time through examples, thereby experiencing practical education closer to practice. It is expected that the nursing clinical practice education model developed through this study, applying case-based learning and co-teaching, will be an effective teaching and learning model that can reduce the gap between theory and practice and improve the clinical performance of nursing students.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.63-82
• /
• 2016

Individuals gather information online to resolve problems in their daily lives and make various decisions about the purchase of products or services. With the revolutionary development of information technology, Web 2.0 has allowed more people to easily generate and use online reviews such that the volume of information is rapidly increasing, and the usefulness and significance of analyzing the unstructured data have also increased. This paper presents an analysis on the lexical features of expert product reviews to determine their influence on consumers' purchasing decisions. The focus was on how unstructured data can be organized and used in diverse contexts through text mining. In addition, diverse lexical features of expert reviews of contents provided by a third-party review site were extracted and defined. Expert reviews are defined as evaluations by people who have expert knowledge about specific products or services in newspapers or magazines; this type of review is also called a critic review. Consumers who purchased products before the widespread use of the Internet were able to access expert reviews through newspapers or magazines; thus, they were not able to access many of them. Recently, however, major media also now provide online services so that people can more easily and affordably access expert reviews compared to the past. The reason why diverse reviews from experts in several fields are important is that there is an information asymmetry where some information is not shared among consumers and sellers. The information asymmetry can be resolved with information provided by third parties with expertise to consumers. Then, consumers can read expert reviews and make purchasing decisions by considering the abundant information on products or services. Therefore, expert reviews play an important role in consumers' purchasing decisions and the performance of companies across diverse industries. If the influence of qualitative data such as reviews or assessment after the purchase of products can be separately identified from the quantitative data resources, such as the actual quality of products or price, it is possible to identify which aspects of product reviews hamper or promote product sales. Previous studies have focused on the characteristics of the experts themselves, such as the expertise and credibility of sources regarding expert reviews; however, these studies did not suggest the influence of the linguistic features of experts' product reviews on consumers' overall evaluation. However, this study focused on experts' recommendations and evaluations to reveal the lexical features of expert reviews and whether such features influence consumers' overall evaluations and purchasing decisions. Real expert product reviews were analyzed based on the suggested methodology, and five lexical features of expert reviews were ultimately determined. Specifically, the "review depth" (i.e., degree of detail of the expert's product analysis), and "lack of assurance" (i.e., degree of confidence that the expert has in the evaluation) have statistically significant effects on consumers' product evaluations. In contrast, the "positive polarity" (i.e., the degree of positivity of an expert's evaluations) has an insignificant effect, while the "negative polarity" (i.e., the degree of negativity of an expert's evaluations) has a significant negative effect on consumers' product evaluations. Finally, the "social orientation" (i.e., the degree of how many social expressions experts include in their reviews) does not have a significant effect on consumers' product evaluations. In summary, the lexical properties of the product reviews were defined according to each relevant factor. Then, the influence of each linguistic factor of expert reviews on the consumers' final evaluations was tested. In addition, a test was performed on whether each linguistic factor influencing consumers' product evaluations differs depending on the lexical features. The results of these analyses should provide guidelines on how individuals process massive volumes of unstructured data depending on lexical features in various contexts and how companies can use this mechanism from their perspective. This paper provides several theoretical and practical contributions, such as the proposal of a new methodology and its application to real data.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.227-248
• /
• 1990

The study was conceived in relation to a concern over the growing gap between the needs of chronic patients and the availability of care from the current health care system in Korea. Patients with agonizing chronic pain, discomfort, despair and disability are left with helplessly unprepared families with little help from the acute care oriented health care system after discharge from hospital. There is a great need for the development of an alternative means of quality care that is economically feasible and culturally adaptible to our society. Thus, the study was designed to demonstrate the effectiveness of home heath care as an alternative to bridge the existing gap between the patients' needs and the current practice of health care. The study specifically purports to test the effects of home care on health expenditure, readmission, job retention, compliance to health care regime, general conditions, complications, and self-care knowledge and practices. The study was guided by the operations research method advocated by the Primary Health Care Operations Research Institute(PRICOR) which constitutes 3 stages of research : namely, problem analysis solution development, and solution validation. The first step in the operations research was field preparation to develop the necessary consensus and cooperation. This was done through the formation of a consulting body at the hospital and a steering committee among the researchers. For the stage of problem analysis, the Annual Report of Seoul National University Hospital and the patients records for last 5 years were reviewed and selective patient interviews were conducted to find out the magnitude of chronic health problems and areas of unmect health care needs to finally decide on the kinds of health problems to study. On the basis of problem analysis, the solution development stage was devoted to home care program development asa solution alternative. Assessment tools, teaching guidelines and care protocols were developed and tested for their validity. The final stage was the stage of experimentation and evaluation. Patients with liver diseases, hemiplegic and diabetic conditions were selected as study samples. Discharge evaluation, follow up home care, measurement and evaluation were carried out according to the protocols of care and measurement plan for each patient for the period of 6 months after discharge. The study was carried out for the period from Jan. 1987 to Dec. 1989. The following are the results of the study presented according to the hypotheses set forth for the study ; 1. Total expenditures for the period of study were not reduced for the experimental group, however, since the cost per hospital visit is about 4 times as great as the cost per home visit, the effect of cost saving by home care will become a reality as home care replaces part of the hospital visits. 2. The effect on the rate of readmission and job retention was found to be statistically nonsignificant though the number of readmission was less among the experimental group receiving home care. 3. The effect on compliance to the health care regime was found to be statistically significant at the 5% level for hepatopathic and diabetic patients. 4. Education on diet, rest and excise, and medication through home care had an effect on improved liver function test scores, prevention of complications and self - care knowledge in hepatopathic patients at a statistically significant level. 5. In hemiplegic patient, home care had an effect on increased grasping power at a significant level. However. there was no significant difference between the experimental and control groups in the level of compliane, prevention of complications or in self-care practices. 6. In diabetic patients, there was no difference between the experimental and control groups in scores of laboratory tests, appearance of complications, and self-care knowledge or self -care practices. The above findings indicate that a home care program instituted for such short term as 6 months period could not totally demonstrate its effectiveness at a statistically significant level by quantitative analysis however, what was shown in part in this analysis, and in the continuous consultation sought by those who had been in the experimental group, is that home health care has a great potential in retarding or preventing pathological progress, facilitating rehabilitative and productive life, and improving quality of life by adding comfort, confidence and strength to patients and their families. For the further studies of this kind with chronic patients it is recommended that a sample of newly diagnosed patients be followed up for a longer period of time with more frequent observations to demonstrate a more dear- cut picture of the effectiveness of home care.

• The Korean Nurse
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.59-71
• /
• 1990

Although the usefulness and importance of clinical application of nursing diagnosis are well recognized by the academic circle, it is not yet generally practiced. In order to provide data for establishing a policy for clinical nursing diagnosis; a study was made at a seminar, sponsored by the Department of nursing, Severance Hospital, with participation of 190 nurses from 33 hospitals. The objective of the study was to find out; 1) if the nurses agree with the academic community in recognizing the benefits and problems of clinical application of nursing diagnosis; 2) how the nurses evaluate their ability to carry out nursing diagnosis; and 3) if educational programs would help enhance ability of nursing diagnosis among nurses. The summary of findings by the study is as follows; 1. While all nurses responded positively on the question of benefits improving science and quality of nursing, thus elevating credibility and position of nurses, some expressed concern on the practicality of the system in setting up nursing objectiveness, confirming the nursing problems and utilizing patient information. For the 20 questions and the scale of 1~5, the lowest average score was 3.223 and the highest 4.066. 2. The study attempted to find out the opinion of the nurses on the problems that 'would make difficult to adopt the nursing diagnosis in clinics. The result of the study indicates the nurses believe the major problems are the fact that the subject of nursing diagnosis are not well defined and that the form sheets do not match with the ones that are currently being used. However, comparing it with the result of the previous study on the same question (inadequate manpower and insufficienf time allocated for the job were two major problems pointed out then.), it can be said that the opinion of the nurses studied this time was much more positive and it suggests that they believe the system can be adopted without increasing manpower and only by giving additional training and by adjusting the format of nursing record sheets. It suggests that the future for adopting a clinical nursing diagnosis is very bright. 3. As the most urgent problem to be solved for adopting clinical nursing diagnosis, 38. 5% responded that it was "education of nurses, "and 34.2% responded that it was "staffing adequate number of nurses". 4. For the 10 questions asked for self-evaluation of ability to adopt the system, with the scale of 1~5, average score was lower than 3. This indicate that they evaluate their ability to adopt the system is low. 5. The results of study taken before and after the educational programs for clinical nursing diagnosis were compared with overall score in order to determine if such program would cause changes in the response to the effect of clinical application of nursing diagnosis, and it was found that there was statistically significant changes suggesting that the education contributed to positive change in the response. 6. The results of study taken before and after the educational programs for clinical nursing diagnosis were compared with overall score in order to determine how the proble~ ms for adopting nursing system would be effected by such educational programs, and it was found that those problems be not soived with a short course of training. 7. The results of study taken before and after the educational programs for clinical nursing diagnosis were compared with overall score in order to determine if such programs would bring changes in the self-evaluation of nurses on the ability of nursing diagno sis, and it was found that program improve score of self-evaluation their ability of the nursing diagnosis. As seen in the above reports, it was found that the nu'rses are very positive about the clinical nursing diagnosis, that educational program for the clinical nursing diagnosis helps nurses for positively changing their attitude for ,the nursing diagnosis, for their self-confidence on their ability to perform nursing diagnosis. With improved know-how and self"confictence of nurses gained through educational and .training programs, the future of clinical application of nursing diagnosis is very bright.diagnosis is very bright.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
• /
• v.6 no.3
• /
• pp.532-543
• /
• 1999

This study was conducted to provide the basic data necessary for the improvement of the teaching method for basic nursing practice as well as the effectiveness of the practice by examining the students' competency in cleansing enema after doing the self study instead of the traditional education. To examine the competency in cleansing enema after the self study, this study is an one group pretest-posttest design that subjects did the enema practice through the self study. The subjects were 89 sophomore students at Y University. College of Nursing. In basic nursing lab practice class, cleansing enema self study module was given to the students which was developed by the researcher based on the literature review and asked them to finish doing the pre study and checking the self study evaluation criteria after reading the goal, learning activities and theoretical guideline. After watching the video tape, students practiced the process in the module by themselves. For the competency in cleansing enema. repeated autonomous practices were done during the open lab other than the regular class. Whenever the practice was done, the frequency and time were measure and documented. When the student felt confident through repeated practices, the competency was evaluated by the researcher and two assistants based on the evaluation criteria. And the process was repeated till the student could perform all the items on evaluation criteria completely. The data were collected for 42 days from Oct. 15 to Nov. 26 in 1996. Collected data were analyzed by frequency, percentage, Pearson correlation coefficient and variance analysis. The results are summarized as follows : 1. 43.2% of the students were favorable to nursing and 63.6% like lecture, but 71.6% like practice. So they were more interested in practice than in lecture. 2. 62.3% of the students scored high in written test, 97.8% scored high in practice. So the practice score was better. 3. The frequency of repeated practice to pass the test ranged from 1 to 4 and the average is 2.2. 4. The average time needed in preparation and the performance was nearly the same regardless of the frequency. It took 5 to 38 minutes for those who passed the test after practicing once and the average was 16 minutes. 5 to 60 minutes were taken for those who practiced twice to pass the test and the average was 21 minutes. Those who passed the test after three practices needed 8 to 30 minutes and the average was 15 minutes, which was similar to the time that the students who passed the test for the first trial. Only one student passed the test after 4 practices and it took 10 minutes. 5. 64% of the students agreed that the context and the content of the module were appropriate for the self study and 68.2% were satisfied. And 71.9% said that the module helped them to practice the enema self study 6. Though only 42% of the students were satisfied with the video. 50.6% said that it was helpful for the self study. 7. 52.3% of the students were satisfied with the self study method, and 86.6% obtained self-confidence when performing the enema. 8. The lower the student's practice score was, the more practices were needed for them to pass the test(r=-.213, P<.05). As a result, for performing the enema practice competently, two or more practice opportunities were needed to be given. And it is possible to obtain the less complex nursing skills through the self study, when enough learning resources and assistance such as learning guidance or video tapes are provided. Based on this study. I want to suggest that. 1. There must be college policy that can support the new method instead of the traditional learning method for the students to attain the proficiency in basic nursing skills. 2. The assistant materials should be developed as soon as possible to promote the self study of basic nursing skills.