• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• 제47권5호
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• pp.451-457
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• 2014

Background: The balance of the risks and the benefits of cardiac surgery in the elderly remains a major concern. We evaluated the early and mid-term clinical results of patients aged over 75 years who underwent major cardiovascular surgery. Methods: Two hundred and fifty-one consecutive patients, who underwent cardiac surgery at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital between July 2003 and June 2011, were included in this study (mean age, $78.7{\pm}3.4$ years; male:female=130:121). Elective surgery was performed in 112 patients, urgent in 90, and emergency in 49. Results: Early mortality was 12.7% (32/251). Follow-up completion was 100%, and the mean follow-up duration was $2.8{\pm}2.2$ years. Late mortality was 24.2% (53/219). There were 283 readmissions in a total of 109 patients after discharge. However, the reason for readmission was related more to non-cardiac factors (71.3%) than to cardiac factors. The overall survival estimates were 79.2% at the 1-year follow-up and 58.4% at the 5-year follow-up. Patients who underwent elective surgery had a lower early mortality rate (elective, 4.5%; urgent, 13.3%; emergency, 30.6%) and better overall survival rate than those that underwent urgent or emergency surgery (p<0.001). Conclusion: The timing of cardiac surgery was found to be an independent risk factor for early and late mortality. Thus, earlier referral and intervention may improve operative results. Further, comprehensive coordinated postoperative care is needed for other comorbid problems in aged patients.

• Obstetrics & gynecology science
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• 제61권6호
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• pp.675-683
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• 2018

Objective This study aimed to evaluate patient-reported satisfaction following robot-assisted hysterectomy due to benign uterine disease, and to identify the factors associated. Methods We used a questionnaire to evaluate patients' satisfaction with robot-assisted hysterectomy. The questions concerned overall patient-reported satisfaction and specific factors affecting satisfaction, including postoperative pain, return to daily life, the hospital experience, wounds, cost, the doctor-patient relationship, whether expectations were met, and whether detailed information was provided. We also collected data from patient records, such as uterine weight, rate of pelvic adhesion, operation time, rate of transfusion, delayed discharge, and readmission. One hundred patients who underwent robot-assisted hysterectomy participated in the study. Seventy-three fully completed questionnaires were returned. Results The majority of patients (95.9%) were satisfied with robot-assisted hysterectomy. The doctor-patient relationship, whether expectations were met, the hospital experience, wounds, and whether detailed information was provided were statistically significant factors influencing patients' overall satisfaction. Payment of fees and clinical and surgical outcomes did not significantly influence patients' overall satisfaction. Conclusion Our findings show that most patients reported high levels of satisfaction following robot-assisted hysterectomy, regardless of cost or clinical and surgical outcomes. Therefore, if gynecologists consider robot-assisted hysterectomy suitable for patients they need not hesitate based on potential costs; they should feel confident in recommending the procedure to patients.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• 제23권2호
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• pp.253-263
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• 2023

Purpose: Although chylous ascites is a frequent complication of radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer, proper diagnostic criteria and optimal treatment strategies have not been established. This study aimed to identify the clinical features of chylous ascites and evaluate the treatment outcomes. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data of patients who underwent radical gastrectomy between 2013 and 2019. Diagnosis was made when milky fluid or elevated triglyceride levels (≥100 mg/dL) appeared in the drains without a preceding infection. The clinical features, risk factors, and treatment outcomes were assessed according to the initial treatment modalities for fasting and non-fasting groups. Results: Among the 7,388 patients who underwent radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer, 156 (2.1%) experienced chylous ascites. The median length of hospital stay was longer in patients with chylous ascites than in those without (median [interquartile range]: 8.0 [6.0-12.0] vs. 6.0 [5.0-8.0], P<0.001). Low body mass index (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]=0.9; P<0.001), advanced gastric cancer (aOR=1.51, P=0.024), open surgery (reference: laparoscopic surgery; aOR=1.87, P=0.003), and extent of surgical resection (reference: subtotal gastrectomy, total gastrectomy, aOR=1.5, P=0.029; proximal gastrectomy, aOR=2.93, P=0.002) were associated with the occurrence of chylous ascites. The fasting group (n=12) was hospitalized for a longer period than the non-fasting group (n=144) (15.0 [12.5-19.5] vs. 8.0 [6.0-10.0], P<0.001). There was no difference in grade III complication rate (16.7% vs. 4.2%, P=0.117) or readmission rate (16.7% vs. 11.1%, P=0.632) between the groups. Conclusions: A fat-controlled diet and medication without fasting provided adequate initial treatment for chylous ascites after radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권13호
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• pp.5389-5393
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• 2014

Background: A clinical pathway (CP) can standardize and improve perioperative care for a number of interventions. In hepatic surgery, however, pertinent evidence is very limited. This study was conducted to implement a CP for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients undergoing hepatectomy, and to evaluate its effects on hospital costs, length of hospital stay (LOHS) and early clinical outcomes. Materials and Methods: Medical records for HCC patients undergoing hepatectomy were retrospectively reviewed before implementation of a CP (the non-CP group) from March 2012 to August 2012. This information was compared with the data collected prospectively from patients after implementation of the CP (the CP group) between September 2012 and April 2013. Hospital costs, LOHS and early clinical outcomes were evaluated and compared between groups. Results: There were no significant differences in terms of patient clinical characteristics between the two groups. For clinical outcome measures, no significant differences were found in postoperative complications, mortality and readmission rate. The hospital costs were significantly reduced from 24,844 RMB in the non-CP group to 19,761 RMB in the CP group (p<0.01). In addition, patients of the CP group also had shorter LOHS compared with the non-CP group (8.3 versus 12.3 days, p<0.001). Conclusions: The CP proved to be an effective approach to minimize hospital costs and LOHS with hepatectomy for HCC without compromising patient care.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• 제19권2호
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• pp.113-125
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• 1985

Electrophysiological difference of the central and peripheral area of the sinoatrial node in the rabbit was studied by glass microelectrode technique. Effects of $K^+,\;Na^+,\;Cs^+,$ adrenaline and ouabain on the action potential of the two areas were investigated, and transient hyperpolarization ($K^+-induced$ hyperpolarization) which developed following readmission of potassium after having pre-treated with $K^+-free$ Tyrode solution for 10 minutes was analyzed. The results obtained were as follows ; 1) The frequency of the spontaneous action potential recorded in the periphery of the SA node was faster than the central area. Reduction by $Cs^+$ and increase by O mM $K^+$, $10^{-6}M$ adrenaline and $10^{-6}M$ ouabain in the frequency of action potential were noticed more prominently in the peripheral than the central area. On the contrary, the frequency in the central area was more decreased than the Peripheral area by 13 mH $K^+$ and 1 mM $Co^{2+}$. 2) The amplitude of the K+_induced hyperpolarization was very small in the central area but large in the peripheral area. Transient hyperpolarization was abolished by ouabain and low sodium, and decreased by cooling the tissue $(17^{\circ}C)$. 3) By changing the concentration of $Ca^{2+}$ in the perfusate, the amplitude and the rate of transient hyperpolarization were increased in the high $Ca^{2+}$ concentration. It could be concluded that the central area of the SA node is less susceptible to the inhibition of Na-Pump and more susceptible to Ca-blocker and high concentration of $K^+$. The Na-Pump activity of the central area measured by means of transient hyperpolarization is found to be much less active than that of the peripheral area.

• 가정간호학회지
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• 제8권1호
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• pp.38-49
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• 2001

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the self care focused home nursing' care outcomes of parturient women following Cesarean sections, The subjects included 56 parturient women following a cesarean section, and they were randomly assigned to an experimental group or a control group, The experimental group included women who were discharged early from the hospital. 4-5 days after having a cesarean section. Home nursing care for the experimental group consisted of stitch removal. wound care and education for parturient women. Home nursing care was provided for 2-3 days after early discharge. The outcomes of self care focused home nursing care were measured by self-care competency. Data collection was done by a self-reported questionnaire and by a telephone interview 2-3 days after discharge from the hospital(control) or after home care (experimental) from December, 20, 1998 to June, 10, 1999. The questionnaire consisted of 25 items on 9 self-care domains. Data was analyzed by a t-test. and as $x^2$-test. The study results were as follows: 1. The general characteristics of both groups were similar except for the total number of pregnancies, and whether or not they wanted the pregnancy at this time. 2. The self-care competency scores for the experimental group receiving self care focused home nursing care were higher than the scores for the control group(t=2.361. $p{\le}.05$). 3. There was no significant difference in the rate of OPD visiting, readmission, or emergency room use between the two groups. We concluded that self care focused home nursing care is effective in promoting the self-care competency of parturient women following Cesarean sections. It is suggested that further study is needed with a larger sample to be able to generalize these results.

• 가정간호학회지
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• 제18권1호
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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 Gastric Cancer
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• 제21권1호
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• pp.63-73
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• 2021

Purpose: This study aimed to compare the surgical outcomes of total laparoscopic total gastrectomy without mesentery division (LTG without MD) and conventional total laparoscopic total gastrectomy (CLTG), as well as evaluate the appropriate method for esophagojejunostomy (EJ) reconstruction after total laparoscopic total gastrectomy (TLTG). Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from 301 consecutive patients who underwent TLTG for upper or middle third gastric cancer between January 2016 and May 2019. After propensity score matching, 95 patients who underwent LTG without MD and 95 who underwent CLTG were assessed. Data on clinical characteristics and surgical outcomes, including operation time, length of postoperative hospital stay, pathological findings, and postoperative complications were analyzed. Results: The LTG without MD group showed a shorter time to first flatus (3.26±0.80 vs. 3.62±0.81 days, P=0.003) and a shorter time to soft diet (2.80±2.09 vs. 3.52±2.20 days, P=0.002). The total EJ-related complications in the LTG without MD group were comparable to those in the CLTG group (9.47% vs. 3.16%, P=0.083). EJ-related leakage (6.32% vs. 3.16%, P=0.317) and EJ-related stricture (3.16% vs. 1.05%, P=0.317) rates were not significantly different between the LTG without MD and CLTG groups. No significant differences were found between the two groups in terms of other early surgical outcomes such as early complications, late complications, hospital stay, and readmission rate. Conclusions: LTG without MD is a safe surgical treatment for upper or middle third gastric cancer. LTG without MD may be an alternative procedure for EJ anastomosis during TLTG.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• 제22권4호
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• pp.395-407
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• 2022

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between clinical and laboratory parameters and complication status to predict which patients can be safely discharged from the hospital on the third postoperative day (POD). Materials and Methods: Data from a prospectively maintained database of 2,110 consecutive patients with gastric adenocarcinoma who underwent curative surgery were reviewed. The third POD vital signs, laboratory data, and details of the course after surgery were collected. Patients with grade II or higher complications after the third POD were considered unsuitable for early discharge. The performance metrics were calculated for all algorithm parameters. The proposed algorithm was tested using a validation dataset of consecutive patients from the same center. Results: Of 1,438 patients in the study cohort, 142 (9.9%) were considered unsuitable for early discharge. C-reactive protein level, body temperature, pulse rate, and neutrophil count had good performance metrics and were determined to be independent prognostic factors. An algorithm consisting of these 4 parameters had a negative predictive value (NPV) of 95.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 94.2-97.3), sensitivity of 80.3% (95% CI, 72.8-86.5), and specificity of 51.1% (95% CI, 48.3-53.8). Only 28 (1.9%) patients in the study cohort were classified as false negatives. In the validation dataset, the NPV was 93.7%, sensitivity was 66%, and 3.3% (17/512) of patients were classified as false negatives. Conclusions: Simple clinical and laboratory parameters obtained on the third POD can be used when making decisions regarding the safe early discharge of patients who underwent gastrectomy.

• 한국의료질향상학회지
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• 제10권2호
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• pp.176-189
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• 2003

Background : Gastric cancer is the most common malignant tumor in Korea. Surgical operation is one of the major treatment modalities for gastric cancer patients. Therefore, gastrectomy is one of the most common procedures in General Surgery. There were variation in length of hospital stay and medical treatment for gastrectomy between three surgeons at Asan Medical Center. Clinical pathways have received considerable attention as a tool for reducing the medical practice variation, increasing the efficiency of care process, and improving the quality of care. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a clinical pathway for gastrectomy in gastric cancer patients. Methods : The clinical pathway for gastrectomy was developed and implemented by a multidisciplinary group in Asan Medical Center. A computerized clinical pathway program was developed and revised after a pilot test. A total of 145 patients underwent gastrectomy by three surgeons at Asan Medical Center. We compared the length of hospital stay, patient satisfaction, and the unplanned readmission rate between the pre-pathway group (n=67) and the post-pathway group (n=78). We also investigated the degree of satisfaction among the physicians and nurses who were main end-users of the clinical pathway. Results : The clinical pathway was applied to all target patients. The average length of hospital stay was shortened from 12.7days to 10.6days (p<0.01). The degree of patient satisfaction with the care process changed from 90.3% to 89.2% after the implementation of the clinical pathway, but the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.761). Unplanned readmission rate was 2.9% in the pre-pathway group and 0% in the post-pathway group. More than 90% of physicians and nurses answered that the clinical pathway had been a useful tool in their medical practice. Conclusions : The findings of the study demonstrated that implementation of the clinical pathway for gastrectomy produced substantial reduction in the length of hospital stay while improving the quality of patient outcomes. The computerized clinical pathway program can be used as one of the powerful patient management tools for reducing the practice variations and increasing the efficiency of care process in Korean hospital settings.