• Advances in pediatric surgery
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.123-126
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• 2004

Intestinal obstruction secondary to intraabdominal adhesion is a well-known postoperative complication occurring after appendectomy. The aim of this study was to measure the incidence and clinical manifestations of mechanical intestinal obstruction after appendectomy for perforated appendicitis. We reviewed all of the children (age <16 years) who had been treated for appendicitis at Asan Medical Center between January 1996 and December 2001. Inclusion criterion included either gross or microscopic evidence of appendiceal perforation. Exclusion criteria were interval appendectomy, and patients immune compromised by chemotherapy. Associations of intestinal obstruction with age, sex, operation time, and use of peritoneal drains were analyzed. Four hundred and sixty two open appendectomies for appendicitis were performed at our department. One hundred and seventeen children were treated for perforated appendicitis (78 boys, 39 girls). The mean age was 8.9 years (range 1.5 to 14.8 years). There were no deaths. Eight patients were readmitted due to intestinal obstruction, but there was no readmission due to intestinal obstruction in patients with non-perforated appendicitis. The interval between appendectomy and intestinal obstruction varied from 12 days to 2 year 7 months. Four patients needed laparotomies. In three of four, only adhesiolysis was performed. One child needed small bowel resection combined with adhesiolysis. There was no significant association between age or sex and the development of intestinal obstruction. This was no association with operative time or use of peritoneal drain. Patients who required appendectomy for perforated appendicitis have a higher incidence of postoperative intestinal obstruction than those with nonperforated appendicitis. For the patients with perforated appendicitis, careful operative procedures as well as pre and postoperative managements are required to reduce adhesions and subsequent bowel obstruction.

• Korean Circulation Journal
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.78-90
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• 2024

Background and Objective: We aimed to investigate long-term clinical and echocardiographic outcomes, including tricuspid valve durability, annular growth, and left ventricular reverse remodeling, after modified cone reconstruction in patients with Ebstein's anomaly. Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of all pediatric patients who underwent modified cone reconstruction for Ebstein's anomaly at a single tertiary center between January 2005 and June 2021. Results: A total of 14 pediatric patients underwent modified cone reconstruction for Ebstein's anomaly; the median age was 5.8 years (range, 0.01-16.6). There were three patients (21.4%) with Carpentier type B, ten patients with Carpentier type C (71.4%), and one patient with Carpentier type D (7.1%). There was no early or late mortality, arrhythmia, or readmission for heart failure at a 10-year follow-up. There were no cases of more than mild tricuspid stenosis or more than moderate tricuspid regurgitation during the study period, except for one patient with severe tricuspid regurgitation who underwent reoperation. The z value for tricuspid valve annular size significantly decreased immediately after the operation (2.46 vs. -1.15, p<0.001). However, from 1 year to 7 years after surgery, the z values were maintained between -1 and +1. Left ventricular end-systolic volume, end-diastolic volume, and stroke volume increased after surgery and remained elevated until seven years postoperatively. Conclusions: Ebstein's anomaly in children can be repaired by modified cone reconstruction with low mortality and morbidity, good tricuspid valve durability, and annular growth relative to somatic growth.

• Annals of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.333-338
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• 2022

Backgrounds/Aims: Bile duct stones (BDS) can be managed either prior to laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) using endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) or with laparoscopic bile duct exploration (LBDE) at the time of LC. The latter is underutilised. The aim of this study was to use the dataset of the previously performed CholeS study to investigate LBDE hospital volumes, LBDE-to-LC rates, and LBDE outcomes. Methods: Data from 166 United Kingdom/Republic of Ireland hospitals were used to study the utilisation of LBDE in LC patients. Results: Of 8,820 LCs performed, 932 patients (10.6%) underwent preoperative ERCP and 256 patients (2.9%) underwent LBDE. Of the 256 patients who underwent LBDE, 73 patients (28.5%) had undergone prior ERCP and 112 patients (43.8%) had undergone prior magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography. Fifteen (9.0%) of the 166 included hospitals performed less than five LBDEs in the two-month study period. LBDEs were mainly performed by upper gastrointestinal surgeons (84.4%) and colorectal surgeons (10.0%). Eighty-seven percent of the LBDEs were performed by consultants and 13.0% were performed by trainees. The laparoscopic-to-open conversion rate was 12.5%. The median operation time was 111 minutes (range: 75-155 minutes). Median hospital stay was 6 days (range: 4-11 days) for emergency LBDEs and 1 day (range: 1-4 days) for elective LBDEs. Overall morbidity was 21.5%. Bile leak rate was 5.3%. Thirty-day readmission and mortality rates were 12.1% and 0.4%, respectively. Conclusions: The single-stage approach to managing BDS was underutilised. An additional prospective study with a longer study period is needed to verify this finding.

• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.40-49
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• 2008

Purpose: This descriptive study was to investigate the quality of life in patients with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) from June 1 to October 13, 2007. Method: The survey was conducted in 6 different university hospitals which located in Seoul and Jeollanam-do province using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-BMT Scale (FACT-BMT) version 4. We collected a total of 155 questionnaires and analyzed 149 among them. Results: The average score of quality of life was 2.53 out of 5. Physical well being score was highest among sub-domains, followed by emotional well-being, additional concerns, social/family well-being, and functional well-being. Study subjects worried that their conditions would get worse. However study subjects didn't regret having been received HSCT. Age, duration from HSCT, age at diagnosis, income, readmission, HSCT type, educational background, marital status, and the level of activities of daily living were related to quality of life. Conclusions: The findings of this study indicates that the HSCT survivor's quality of life issue is still important and have to be investigated repeatedly in the future. That is necessary for generalizing QOL outcomes for clinical use. We also suggest to develop interventions to improve QOL.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.376-386
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• 2001

I. Background The problem of discharging patients from hospital have been well documented in the literature over the last 20 years. They included poor communication between hospital and community, inadequate notice of discharge, over-reliance on informal support and lack of statutory support, inattention to patients needs before leaving hospital, and wasted or duplicated visits by community nurses. Most patients discharged from hospital are able to return home with little or no support, while others will require a 'package of care' to support them back to good health. Patient with complex care needs, including the frail elderly and those with mental health problems, may require continuing care in special housing, residential, or nursing homes. With this population,effective discharge arrangement is needed and the study on this problem is urgent in Korea because the Medical Reform Project is on suspension of success. II. Results of the Study: 1. Discharge service needs assessed on 360 elderly patients who were hospitalized during the survey period at four university hospitals. Patients want to know the information on disease management after discharge. Follow-up telephone service is the most frequently checked service. 2. Multidisciplinary Discharge Planning is recommended at the hospital level to reduce the readmission and decrease the length of stay. 3. Further research is needed to validate and test the assumption of the solution which is developed in this research.

• Journal of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.32-39
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• 2011

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate treatment types and the status of referral to home care services for patients with diabetic foot. Methods: A retrospective survey was conducted by reviewing medical records from January to December in 2008 at a university hospital. The subjects were 76 patients at the age of 20 years or older who were admitted, had home care services, or received outpatient care for diabetic foot. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: Among the total of 9,317 patients diagnosed with diabetes, 5.03% (n=469) had diabetic foot. Admission (81.6%) was the most frequently used treatment type followed by outpatient care only (7.9%) and hemodialysis only (10.5%). Of the 76 admission cases, 44.9% received post-discharge care at outpatient clinics, 20.5% had both outpatient and home care services, and 16.7% were transferred to other hospitals. Readmission rate after discharge was 15.6% for one year. Conclusion: This study suggests referral to home care services should be encouraged to provide effective follow-up care to patients with diabetic foot after discharge from a hospital.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.275-284
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• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the current state of home health nursing (HHN) for elders and to provide basic data on policy alternatives for establishing home medical care in the advanced general hospital. Methods: This study was conducted as a secondary data analysis, using electronic medical record (EMR) data of older patients who received HHN more than once from the S advanced general hospital between January 2016 and December 2018. Results: A total of 1,790 patients received HHN visits, with 22,477 visits being made. The mean age was 76.8±7.3 years old, 96.0% of elders had health insurance and 24.6% had orthopedics problems. Of the 1,168 people who visited emergency rooms, the most frequent symptom was pain (23.4%) and all patients visited the hospital at least once and at most 163 times outpatient care during HHN. Causative diseases were degenerative knee joint osteoarthritis (0.6%), surgery for right knee replacement (4.0%), and for dressings (9.7%) in the HHN service content analysis. Conclusion: The progress towards an aging society and the introduction of community care are expected to further enhance the need for HHN which should be able to provide comprehensive and continuous visiting health care services to the older patients. The results of this study are expected to help doctors solve problems not solved by HHN, reduce unnecessary emergency room or outpatient visits, and readmission, while at the same time contributing to the improvement of patient quality of life through efficient patient health care.

• Clinics in Orthopedic Surgery
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.398-406
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• 2018

Background: Hypoalbuminemia (serum albumin < 3.5 g/dL) is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA). However, costs associated with hypoalbuminemia remain unknown. This study investigated the effect of serum albumin on direct treatment costs, length of stay (LOS), and readmissions for primary and revision THA and TKA patients. Methods: All adult patients at a single institution undergoing primary or revision THA or TKA between January 2014 and December 2016 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were stratified by preoperative serum albumin level. The primary outcome was total direct costs at index hospitalization. Secondary outcomes included LOS and readmission within 30 days. Multivariable regressions were utilized to adjust for demographics and comorbidities. Results: Of 3,785 patients, 114 (3.0%) had hypoalbuminemia. After adjustment, hypoalbuminemia was associated with a 16.2% increase in costs (${\beta}=0.162$; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.112 to 0.213; p < 0.001), representing an average cost increase of $3,383 (95% CI, $2,281 to $4,485) relative to costs for serum albumin > 4.5 g/dL. The increased total costs were significantly higher in revision ($4,322, p = 0.034) than in primary ($3,446, p < 0.001) procedures. In adjusted regression, each 1.0 g/dL increase in serum albumin yielded a 6.6% reduction in costs (${\beta}=-0.066$; 95% CI, -0.090 to -0.042]; p < 0.001), for average savings of $1,282 (95% CI, $759 to $1,806) per unit albumin. Adjusted regressions demonstrated that a 1-point increase in serum albumin reduced readmissions by 53% (odds ratio, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.31-0.73; p = 0.001) and LOS by 0.6 days (${\beta}=-0.60$; 95% CI, -0.76 to -0.44; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Hypoalbuminemia is associated with increased total direct costs, LOS, and readmissions following primary and revision THA and TKA. Future efforts to predict and address total costs should take into consideration the patient's preoperative serum albumin levels.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.336-343
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• 2019

Background Sternal rigid plate fixation (RPF) has been adopted in recent years in high-risk cases to reduce complications associated with steel wire cerclage, the traditional approach to sternal closure. While sternal RPF has been associated with lower complication rates than wire cerclage, it has its own complication profile that requires evaluation, necessitating a critical examination from a national perspective. This study will report the outcomes and associated risk factors of sternal RPF using a national database. Methods Patients undergoing sternal RPF from 2005 to 2016 in the American College of Surgeons-National Surgical Quality Improvement Program were identified. Demographics, perioperative information, and complication rates were reviewed. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify risk factors for postoperative complications. Results There were 381 patient cases of RPF identified. The most common complications included bleeding (28.9%), mechanical ventilation >48 hours (16.5%), and reoperation/readmission (15.2%). Top risk factors for complications included dyspnea (odds ratio [OR], 2.672; P<0.001), nonelective procedure (OR, 2.164; P=0.010), congestive heart failure (OR, 2.152; P=0.048), open wound (OR, 1.977; P=0.024), and operating time (OR, 1.005; P<0.001). Conclusions Sternal RPF is associated with increased rates of three primary complications: blood loss requiring transfusion, ventilation >48 hours, and reoperation/readmission, each of which affected over 15% of the study population. Smokers remain at an increased risk for surgical site infection and sternal dehiscence despite RPF's purported benefit to minimize these outcomes. Complications of primary versus delayed sternal RPF are roughly equivalent, but individual patients may perform better with one versus the other based on identified risk factors.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.435-447
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• 2019

In order to prevent unnecessary re-admission, it is necessary to intensively manage the groups with high probability of re-admission. For this, it is necessary to develop a re-admission prediction model. Two - year discharge summary data of one university hospital were collected from 2016 to 2017 to develop a predictive model of re-admission. In this case, the re-admitted patients were defined as those who were discharged more than once during the study period. We conducted descriptive statistics and crosstab analysis to identify the characteristics of rehospitalized patients. The re-admission prediction model was developed using logistic regression, neural network, and decision tree. AUC (Area Under Curve) was used for model evaluation. The logistic regression model was selected as the final re-admission predictive model because the AUC was the best at 0.81. The main variables affecting the selected rehospitalization in the logistic regression model were Residental regions, Age, CCS, Charlson Index Score, Discharge Dept., Via ER, LOS, Operation, Sex, Total payment, and Insurance. The model developed in this study was limited to generalization because it was two years data of one hospital. It is necessary to develop a model that can collect and generalize long-term data from various hospitals in the future. Furthermore, it is necessary to develop a model that can predict the re-admission that was not planned.