• Journal of Rhinology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.99-102
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• 2018

Lateral pharyngoplasty is a surgical option for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Here, we present a case involving a 40-year-old healthy man who underwent surgery, including lateral pharyngoplasty and robotic tongue base resection, for OSA. There were no intraoperative or immediate postoperative complications. However, on postoperative day 3, the patient presented with swelling in the temporal and buccal areas and was diagnosed with subcutaneous emphysema, later confirmed by computed tomography. The patient was carefully monitored under conservative care and discharged without complications. Although subcutaneous emphysema following tonsillectomy is a rare complication and usually resolves with conservative management, in certain cases, it might require surgical intervention. Lateral pharyngoplasty involves tonsillectomy and additional incision along the tonsillar fossa, which makes it susceptible to pharyngeal wall defects and, consequently, subcutaneous emphysema. Additionally, lateral pharyngoplasty and robotic tongue base resection cause pain and might thus contribute to the increase in intrapharyngeal pressure, which might aggravate subcutaneous emphysema. Lateral pharyngoplasty should be performed with meticulous dissection of the superior pharyngeal constrictor muscle. Healthcare providers should be aware of these complications and, upon suspicion of the same, place the patient under close observation to prevent life-threatening situations.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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• v.21 no.8
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• pp.79-86
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• 2021

Alzheimer's is a chronic progressive disease which exhibits varied symptoms and behavioural traits from person to person. The deterioration in cognitive abilities is more noticeable through their Activities and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living rather than biological markers. This information discussed in social media communities was collected and features were extracted by using the proposed fuzzy logic based algorithm to address the uncertainties and imprecision in the data reported. The data thus obtained is used to train machine learning models in order to predict the longevity of the patients. Models built on features extracted using the proposed algorithm performs better than models trained on full set of features. Important findings are discussed and Support Vector Regressor with RBF kernel is identified as the best performing model in predicting the longevity of Alzheimer's patients. The results would prove to be of high value for healthcare practitioners and palliative care providers to design interventions that can alleviate the trauma faced by patients and caregivers due to chronic diseases.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.84 no.1
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• pp.13-21
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• 2021

Several clinical trials are being conducted worldwide to investigate the protective effect of the bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine against death in healthcare providers who are working directly with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. Clinical studies suggested that certain live vaccines, particularly the BCG vaccine, could reduce the mortality due to other diseases caused by non-targeted pathogens, most probably through the nonspecific effects (heterologous effects). By the end of May 2020, the available information on the COVID-19 pandemic indicated the great effect of the BCG vaccine in reducing the number of COVID-19 death cases. The occurrence of death due to COVID-19 was found to be 21-fold lower in countries with a national BCG vaccination policy than in countries without such a policy, based on the medians of COVID-19 death case per 1 million of the population in these two groups of countries (p<0.001, Mann-Whitney test). Therefore, it can be concluded that the early establishment of a BCG vaccination policy in any country is a key element in reducing the number of COVID-19 and tuberculosis death cases.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.295-304
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• 2021

Clinical photography is an essential component of patient care in plastic surgery. The use of unsecured smartphone cameras, digital cameras, social media, instant messaging, and commercially available cloud-based storage devices threatens patients' data safety. This paper Identifies potential risks of clinical photography and heightens awareness of safe clinical photography. Specifically, we evaluated existing risk-mitigation strategies globally, comparing them to industry standards in similar settings, and formulated a framework for developing a risk-mitigation plan for avoiding data breaches by identifying the safest methods of picture taking, transfer to storage, retrieval, and use, both within and outside the organization. Since threats evolve constantly, the framework must evolve too. Based on a literature search of both PubMed and the web (via Google) with key phrases and child terms (for PubMed), the risks and consequences of data breaches in individual processes in clinical photography are identified. Current clinical-photography practices are described. Lastly, we evaluate current risk mitigation strategies for clinical photography by examining guidelines from professional organizations, governmental agencies, and non-healthcare industries. Combining lessons learned from the steps above into a comprehensive framework that could contribute to national/international guidelines on safe clinical photography, we provide recommendations for best practice guidelines. It is imperative that best practice guidelines for the simple, safe, and secure capture, transfer, storage, and retrieval of clinical photographs be co-developed through cooperative efforts between providers, hospital administrators, clinical informaticians, IT governance structures, and national professional organizations. This would significantly safeguard patient data security and provide the privacy that patients deserve and expect.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2021

Since the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-2019), the infection has spread worldwide due to the highly contagious nature of severe acute syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). To manage SARS-CoV-2, the development of diagnostic assays that can quickly and accurately identify the disease in patients is necessary. Currently, nucleic acid-based testing and serology-based testing are two widely used approaches. Of these, nucleic acid-based testing with quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (RT-qPCR) using nasopharyngeal (NP) and/or oropharyngeal (OP) swabs is considered to be the gold standard. Recently, the use of saliva samples has been considered as an alternative method of sample collection. Compared to the NP and OP swab methods, saliva specimens have several advantages. Saliva specimens are easier to collect. Self-collection of saliva specimens can reduce the risk of infection to healthcare providers and reduce sample collection time and cost. Until recently, the sensitivity and accuracy of the data obtained using saliva specimens for SARS-CoV-2 detection was controversial. However, recent clinical research has found that sensitive and reliable data can be obtained from saliva specimens using RT-qPCR, with approximately 81% to 95% correspondence with the data obtained from NP and OP swabs. These data suggest that self-collected saliva is an alternative option for the diagnosis of COVID-19.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.236-247
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• 2021

The purpose of the study was to investigate the influencing factors of autonomy preference on decision-making among chronic disease patients. Data were collected from 522 chronic disease patient and it was analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and multiple linear regression, using SPSS 26.0 ver. program. Significant factor influencing decision-making preference was health concern (β=-.17, p<.001), and factors influencing information-seeking preference were gender (β=-.20, p<.001) and number of questions during the treatment (β=.09, p=.030). Healthcare providers should take into account the characteristics of patients and establishment of a strategy to improve the quality of communication.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.42
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• pp.25.1-25.13
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• 2020

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes serious acute respiratory diseases including pneumonia and bronchitis with approximately 2.3% fatality occurrence. Main body: This study argues the main concepts that need to be considered for the gradual reopening of dental offices include treatment planning approaches, fundamental elements needed to prevent transmission of SARS-CoV-2 virus in dental healthcare settings, personal protection equipment (PPE) for dental health care providers, environmental measures, adjunctive measures, and rapid point of care tests in dental offices. Conclusion: This article seeks to provide an overview of existing scientific evidence to suggest a guideline for reopening dental offices.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.134-143
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• 2022

Purpose: The study aimed to understand the delirium experience of intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Methods: We performed a qualitative study using Colaizzi's phenomenological method. Eleven patients, who experienced delirium according to the Confusion Assessment Method for ICU, participated after transferring to general wards from the ICU. Individual in-depth semi-structured interviews ranging from 30 minutes to 2 hours in length were conducted between November 2018 and August 2019. Results: Nine themes and four theme clusters emerged. The four theme clusters were: 1) "Overwhelmed by fear," which describes the experience of a patient close to death and the feeling of difficulty in understanding disorganized thinking; 2) "Anxious about not understanding the situation," which means that patients' sense of time and space were disordered in the ICU; 3) "Being deserted," which indicates the feeling of being separated from others and yourself; and 4) "Resistance to protect my dignity," which indicates that the dignity and autonomy of an individual in the patient's position at the ICU, are ignored. Conclusion: Nursing interventions are needed that would enable patients to maintain orientation and self-esteem in the ICU. In addition, healthcare providers need to provide information about the unfamiliar environment in the ICU in advance.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.99-109
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• 2022

Purpose: More than 60% of patients with advanced cancer experience pain, and uncontrolled pain reduces the quality of life. Nurses are the closest healthcare providers to the patient and are suitable for managing cancer pain using pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions. This study aimed to identify factors affecting the performance of cancer pain management among nurses. Methods: This study was conducted among 155 participating nurses working at a tertiary hospital who had experience with cancer pain management. Data collection was performed between October 18, 2021 and October 25, 2021. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics, the independent-sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and hierarchical regression analysis. Results: There were 110 subjects (71.0%) who had no experience of cancer pain management education. The results of regression analysis indicated that barriers included medical staff, patients, and the hospital system for cancer pain management (𝛽=0.28, P<0.001). The performance of cancer pain management was also affected by experience of cancer pain management training (𝛽=0.22, P=0.007), and cancer pain management knowledge (𝛽=0.21, P=0.006). The explanatory power of the variable was 16.6%. Conclusion: It is crucial to assess system-related obstacles, as well as patients and medical staff, in order to improve nurses' cancer pain management performance. A systematic approach incorporating multidisciplinary interventions from interprofessional teams is required for effective pain management. Furthermore, pain management education is required both for cancer ward nurses and nurses in other wards.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.12-23
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• 2023

Purpose: This study was conducted to update the previous evidence-based nursing clinical practice guidelines for pressure injury. Methods: The guideline was revised in 22 steps based on the international standards. Results: The updated nursing practice guideline for pressure injury consisted of four domains and 494 recommendations. The numbers of recommendations in each domain was: 31 hospital policy, 64 assessment, 386 prevention and management, and 13 education. The recommended grade was 10.3% for A, 13.8% for B, and 75.9% for C. Of these, the major revision was done in 40 recommendations (8.1%). A total of 55 recommendations (11.0%) were newly added. 25 recommendations had minor revisions such as changes or additions for some words, and only one recommendation was deleted. Conclusion: The revised nursing practice guidelines for pressure injury are expected to serve as an evidence-based practice guideline for pressure injury in Korea. This guideline will provide healthcare providers, patients, and caregivers with information to help prevent and manage pressure injuries, leading to improving patient outcomes.