• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.573-580
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• 2014

Purpose: This study was conducted to analyze intubation survival rates according to characteristics and to identify the risk factors affecting deliberate self-extubation. Methods: Data were collected from patients' electronic medical reports from one hospital in B city. Participants were 450 patients with endotracheal intubation being treated in intensive care units. The collected data were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier estimation, Log rank test, and Cox's proportional hazards model. Results: Over 15 months thirty-two (7.1%) of the 450 intubation patients intentionally extubated themselves. The patients who had experienced high level of consciousness, agitation. use of sedative, application of restraints, and day and night shift had significantly lower intubation survival rates. Risk factors for deliberate self-extubation were age (60 years and over), unit (neurological intensive care), level of consciousness (higher), agitation, application of restraints, shift (night), and nurse-to-patient ratio (one nurse caring for two or more patients). Conclusion: Appropriate use of sedative drugs, effective treatment to reduce agitation, sufficient nurse-to-patient ratio, and no restraints for patients should be the focus to diminish the number of deliberate self-extubations.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.35-44
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• 2024

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to present basic data on installation location, functional connection, and arrangement to be considered when planning a neonatal intensive care unit in a certified tertiary general hospital. Method: Review the facility standards related to the neonatal intensive care unit, such as laws and guidelines, and select a Certified Tertiary General Hospital as a case hospital among the Neonatal Intensive Care Regional Centers designated by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to analyze the placement characteristics of major NICU components such as the location of the NICU installation, the connection of movement between adjacent facilities and functions, and the treatment room and accessory room. Results and Implications: NICU is a facility for critically ill babies among newborns and needs to consider more about infection and patient management compared to adult intensive care units, which not only install close to delivery-related facilities to enable immediate action after childbirth, but also divide the treatment room into open rooms and allow access to the attached rooms through dedicated corridors to minimize movement in the treatment room.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.78 no.3
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• pp.175-179
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• 2015

The intensive care unit (ICU) is the most common place to die. Also, ethical conflicts among stakeholders occur frequently in the ICU. Thus, ICU clinicians should be competent in all aspects for ethical decision-making. Major sources of conflicts are behavioral issues, such as verbal abuse or poor communication between physicians and nurses, and end-of-life care issues including a lack of respect for the patient's autonomy. The ethical conflicts are significantly associated with the job strain and burn-out syndrome of healthcare workers, and consequently, may threaten the quality of care. To improve the quality of care, handling ethical conflicts properly is emerging as a vital and more comprehensive area. The ICU physicians themselves need to be more sensitive to behavioral conflicts and enable shared decision making in end-of-life care. At the same time, the institutions and administrators should develop their processes to find and resolve common ethical problems in their ICUs.

• Journal of Korean Critical Care Nursing
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.41-49
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• 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to measure the noise levels in intensive care units (ICUs) and to analyze the causes of the noise and patient perceptions of the noise. Methods: Noise levels were recorded in adult ICUs for 24 h over a week from the patients' bedside with a sound level meter. Noise sources were categorized into three groups: medical equipment, health care providers, and the environment. Noises from the environment were recorded in an empty ICUs side room. Perceptions of the noise of 125 patients admitted to the ICUs were recorded using a questionnaire. Results: The mean level of noise in the ICUs was 58.5 dBA (range: 34.2-80.2 dBA). The causes of noise higher than 70 dBA were nebulizers and infusion/syringe pumps among medical equipment, and drawer slamming, phone ringing, and stripping packages of medical fluids among environmental noises. According to the questionnaire, 64.0% of the patients responded that the ICUs were noisy and that they suffered from sleep disturbance because of the noise. Conclusion: Noise is considerably high in ICUs and is an annoying factor for the patients. Most noise sources are adjustable, and we should try to reduce noise whenever possible to make the ICUs environment more pleasant.

• 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.

• Neonatal Medicine
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.53-57
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• 2018

Even with the increasing number of high risk infants, neonatal care in Korea has undergone development with improved survival rate. This rapid improvement in the outcomes brought care quality in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to the surface. Quality improvement (QI) involves safe, timely, effective, efficient, equitable, and patient-centered care. In this review, methods of QI are described with examples of NICU QI topics. Each NICU can voluntarily develop a QI project, but systematic supports are essential. As human and systemic resources in NICUs in Korea are insufficient, institutional and national supports are necessary to attain QI. Furthermore, collaborative neonatal network can provide a QI standard and evidence based-medicine, as well as QI research.

• Journal of Neurocritical Care
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.63-70
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• 2018

Management of mechanical ventilation is essential for patients with neuro-critical illnesses who may also have impairment of airways, lungs, respiratory muscles, and respiratory drive. However, balancing the approach to mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit (ICU) with the need to prevent additional lung and brain injury, is challenging to intensivists. Lung protective ventilation strategies should be modified and applied to neuro-critically ill patients to maintain normocapnia and proper positive end expiratory pressure in the setting of neurological closed monitoring. Understanding the various parameters and graphic waveforms of the mechanical ventilator can provide information about the respiratory target, including appropriate tidal volume, airway pressure, and synchrony between patient and ventilator, especially in patients with neurological dysfunction due to irregularity of spontaneous respiration. Several types of asynchrony occur during mechanical ventilation, including trigger, flow, and termination asynchrony. This review aims to present the basic interpretation of mechanical ventilator waveforms and utilization of waveforms in various clinical situations in the neuro-ICU.

• Journal of Korean Critical Care Nursing
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.36-44
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• 2020

Purpose : The person-centered care is essential for better patient outcome. This study was conducted to identify the factors affecting to the person-centered care among intensive care unit (ICU) nurses. Method : This study was cross sectional survey, and the participants included 107 ICU nurses who provided a written consent to participate in the study. Using a structured survey, nurse's compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and person-centered care among ICU nurses were assessed. The collected data were analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation test with SPSS 23.0 program. The factors affecting patient-centered care were analyzed using multiple regression. Results : According to the multiple regression analysis, education level, perceived caregivers need priority and compassion satisfaction were positive affecting factors to the person-centeredness of ICU nurses. Conclusion : In conclusion, the compassion satisfaction was an affecting factor to the person-centered care, however compassion fatigue didn't affect to the person-centered care among ICU nurses. Therefore, the strategy enhancing compassion satisfaction among ICU nurses will be needed to increase person centeredness.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.47-55
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• 2019

Purpose: This study tries to propose the dimensions and area related to patient bed and surroundings in ICU considering nurses' observation and medical care. Methods: Literature survey, 11 Case studies, some Interviews with nurses and measuring of medical equipments' dimension in ICU have been mobilized in order to deepen the ICU bed area standards. Results: 0.3m clearance between head wall and patient bed is necessary for emergency cases. The minimum distance at the foot of the bed should not be less than 0.9m for EMR cart and medical tray. The clear floor area of one bed and surroundings in open ward is $10.2m^2(3m{\times}3.4m)$. In a single-bed patient room, the minimum clear floor area is $16.0m^2(4m{\times}4m)$. Considering the control of cross infection in ICU, Single bed patient room is recommended. Implications: The result of this study can be applied to the design of ICU and legislation of ICU standard.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.509-519
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• 2012

Purpose: This retrospective study was designed to examine the frequency of unplanned extubation, and to identify the related factors of unplanned extubation in medical intensive care unit patients. Methods: Data were collected from medical records of patients who received intubation in a medical intensive care unit. One hundred eighteen patient charts were selected for the study. The Patient Severity Classification Scale and unplanned extubation risk factors were examined. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, $x^2$-test, Fisher's exact test and Mann-Whitney U test. Results: The incidence of unplanned extubation was 11 (9.32%) out of 118 patients who had undergone intubation. There were statistically significant differences between the unplanned extubation and work shift ($x^2$=61.52, p=.001), ventilation mode (p=.001), number of days of ventilator application (U=366.00, p=.038) and administration of sedatives (p=.025). Conclusion: Unplanned extubation is affected by the following variables: a) whether a nurse is in night shift, b) whether ventilation is mandatory, c) duration of ventilation use and d) administration of sedatives.