• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.8 no.8
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• pp.176-187
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• 2008

As the radiological medical instruments have been competitively developed in recent years, its utilization for the patient treatment has been expanded. The medical examination using the radiation has been gradually increased, so that it is recognized as a significant factor of increasing the radiation exposure. In this study, the recognition about the radiation exposure was analyzed for 555 gynecologic patients in 8 secondary and tertiary medical centers in Gyeongbuk from November 17 to April 19, 2007. The results are followed. There was a significant difference on the recognition for the radiation by age and education (p<0.05), There was the significant difference in the recognition about the radiological instruments by age and occupation (p<0.05), and there was the significant difference in the information identification & analysis by age and occupation (p<0.05). As the result of analyzing a correlation of the radiation's harmfulness, recognition, psychological state and exposure prevention, there was the correlation of 0.572 between the harmfulness and recognition, the correlation of 0.740 between the harmfulness and the psychological state, and the correlation of 0.477 between the harmfulness and the exposure prevention. It was statistically very significant (p<0.01). But, there was no significance with the radiological instrument and information identification (p>0.05). As the result of the study, it could be known that the mental threat factor was more included than the physical threat from the position of gynecologic patients who were sensitive to the radiation. Accordingly, radiological technologist who manages the radiation needs to let the patient or its guardians recognize the degree of physical harmfulness exactly.

• 한국지구물리탐사학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.85-92
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• 2008

National Oceanographic Research Institute is carrying out an oceanographic survey for the entire sea areas around Korean Peninsula annually starting with the East Sea from 1996 by establishing a national oceanographic basic map survey plan for the sea areas under the jurisdiction of Korea, so this paper used the oceanographic geomagnetism data measured at the southern area of the Yellow Sea using 'Hae Yang 2000' in 1999, aiming at clarifying the cause of geomagnetic abnormality zone during the course of treating and analyzing the geomagnetic data. For treatment of magnetic data, we obtained electromagnetic force values and geomagnetic abnormality values around the investigated sea area through a process of searching and removal of bad data, correction of sensor positions, correction of magnetic field effects around the hull, correction of diurnal variation, normal correction, correction of cross point errors, etc. The electromagnetic force distribution around the investigated sea area was $49000\;{\sim}\;51600\;nT$, which is judged to be within the normal electromagnetic force intensity distribution range around the Yellow Sea. The isodynamic lines are distributed in Northeast-Southwest direction, and electromagnetic force values are increasing toward the northwest. The result of comparing the magnetic abnormality around the sea area among $124^{\circ}$ 49' 48" E, $35^{\circ}$ 10' 48" N $\sim$ $125^{\circ}$ 7' 48" E, and $35^{\circ}$ 33' 00" N sections with the elastic wave cross section and the result of modeling coincide well with the underground geological structure clarified from the existing elastic wave survey cross section. Therefore, it is judged that the distribution of magnetic force abnormality generally shows the effect pursuant to the distribution of the sedimentary basins in the Tertiary period and the bedrocks in the Cretaceous period which are well developed in the bottom of the sea.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.25-32
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• 2015

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the independent factors associated with the registration rate for the community-based post suicidal care program in the emergency department (ED). Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted between March and December 2013 at the academic ED at the tertiary urban hospital. During the study period, the pre-designed registry was recorded. The variables examined included the following: patients' demographic data (Sex, age, address, type of insurance, marital status, level of education, and history of previous psychiatric disease), suicide-related data (suicidal methods, combined drink of alcohol and number of previous attempts), and management-related data (disposition at ED, physician's training level, etc.). Univariated and multivariated logistic regression analyses were performed for identification of factors affecting the registration rate for the community-based post suicidal care program. Results: A total of 163 suicides were included during the study period. Of these, 33 (20.2%) patients were registered in the post-suicide care program. Factors including a patient's address (OR: 14.92, 95% CI: 3.606-61.711), immediate intervention by psychiatric healthcare center (OR: 5.05, CI: 1.688-15.134), admissions in hospital (OR: 3.69, CI: 1.286-10.605), and history of previous psychiatric disease (OR: 3.52, CI: 1.216-10.201) showed significant association with registration for the program. Conclusion: The community-based post-suicidal care program, which is available 24 hours a day, should be operated in each district in order to increase the registration rate. Emergency physicians should actively consider the inpatient treatment program for suicidal patients and strongly recommend registration to the program, particularly for patients without previous history of psychiatric disease.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.210-228
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• 2002

Background: The purpose of this research was to examine the fall incidence rate and its related factors of fall in inpatients. Methods: The data were collected from the 138 fall incident reports in one tertiary hospital in Seoul from April 1st 1999 to September 30th 2001. The Fall Incident Report Form was originally developed based on that of Massachusetts General Hospital revised in 1995. And this was modified for this survey by the collaborating work of QI team including researcher and department of nursing service of this particular hospital. The contents of Fall Incident Form were general characteristics of patient. factors related to fall. types and places of fall. circumstances, nursing interventions. and outcome. Results: 1) The incidence rate of fall was 0.08% of total discharged patients and 0.081 per 1000 patient-day. This incidence rate is much lower than that of several hospitals in USA. This finding might result from the different incidence report system of each hospital. 2) The characteristics of fall-prone patient were found as follows. They were mostly over 60 years old, in alert mental status, ambulatory with some assistance, and dependent on ambulatory device. The types of diseases related high incidence rate were cerebrovascular disease(3.2), hypertension(1.6), cardiovascular disease(1.4), diabetes(1.3) and liver disease(0.6). 3) The majority of fall events usually occurred m bed. bedside(walking or standing) and bathroom in patient room. Usually they were up on their own when they fell. And there were more falls of elderly occurred during night time than day or evening. 4) 63.8% of fall events resulted in physical injuries such as fracture and usually the patients had diagnostic procedures and some treatment(ex. suture) which caused additional cost to the patients and their families. 5) The found risk factors of fall were drugs(antihypertensive drug, diuretics) and environmental factors like too high bed height, long distance of bedside table and lamp switch, and slippery tile of bathroom floor. Conclusion: Considering these results, every medical and nursing staff should be aware of the risk factors of patients in hospital, and should intervene more actively the preventive managements, specially for the elderly patients during night. Therefore, it is recommended that the development of Fall Prevention Programs based on these results.

• The Korean Journal of Rehabilitation Nursing
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.137-151
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• 2003

The purpose of this study was to develop a multidisciplinary team approach program for stroke survivors, and to identify its effects on their rehabilitation. The team was composed of 7 members: a rehabilitation nurse, a physician, a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, a therapeutic recreational therapist, a nutritionist, and a researcher. A quasi-experimental study was performed with 36 subjects: 18 in the experimental group and 18 in the control group, using a noneqivalent control group pretest-posttest design. The experimental group participated 4 times in rehabilitation programsfocused on information and emotional support provided by the rehabilation team-and received telephone counseling from the researcher. The control group did not receive any treatment. The selection criteria for the subjects in this study were: (a) patients who were diagnosed as having had an ischemic stroke within the last year, (b) patients free of any communication disorder, (c) and those having a primary caregiver who could assist in filling out the form assessing the level of ADL. The data were collected from patients who had been discharged from a tertiary hospital, between October 1st, 1999 and September 30th, 2000. The data were analysed by $X^2$ test, Fisher's exact test, ANCOVA, Wilcoxon's rank sum test, and Wilcoxon's signed rank test using an SAS program. The results were as follows: 1. In terms of physical variables (blood pressure, grasp power, and ADL) 1) There was a significant difference in blood pressure between the two groups (systolic pressure P= .012, diastolic pressure P= .050). 2) There was also a significant difference in grasp power between the two groups (affected side : P= .012, unaffected side : P= .010). 3) There was no significant change in the level of ADL between the two groups. 2. In terms of psychosocial variables (depression, self-efficacy, self-esteem, and social activities) 1) There were no significant differences between the two groups. However, all four psychosocial variables showed a tendency to improve in the experimental group, while only two variables (depression and self-efficacy) showed a simalar tendency in the control group. 2) The level of social activities in the control group decreased significantly after a month (P= .050). 3. The level of life satisfaction improved in both groups, but no significant difference was found. Stroke has high recurrence rate and requires considerable follow-up care. The program used in this study was developed and designed for stimulting the rehabilitation process of stroke survivors. Through the program period of one month (meetings were held weekly), a positive effect was detected in physical variables, although the psychosocial variables did not improve significantly. In retrospect, a one month period may not be an adequate length of time to improve the psychosocial variables, as the stroke survivors were complicated cases, and most of them were elderly. Further research is therefore recommended by increasing the length of program, so that its effect can be more noticeable.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.67 no.3
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• pp.212-220
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• 2009

Background: Ventilator-associated pneumonia caused by multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii has been increasing and growing as a threat in intensive care units. Limited therapeutic options have forced clinicians to choose colistin with or without combination of other antibiotics. We tried to compare the effectiveness between colistin monotherapy and combination therapy based on in vitro synergistic tests. Methods: From January 2006 to December 2007 in medical ICU of a tertiary care hospital in Korea, We reviewed the medical records of patients treated with intravenous colistin due to ventilator-associated pneumonia caused by multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. Results: A total of 41 patients were analyzed. 22 patients had been treated with colistin monotherapy and 19 patients with colistin and combination antibiotics that were found to have in vitro synergistic effects. Baseline characteristics were similar in both groups but the mean duration of colistin administration was significantly longer in the combination group (19.1${\pm}$11.2 days vs. 12.3${\pm}$6.8 days, p=0.042). There were no significant differences in outcome variables between the two groups. Conclusion: Combination treatment based on the in vitro antimicrobial synergy test did not show better outcomes compared with colistin monotherapy in VAP caused by multi-drug resistant A. baumannii.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.73 no.1
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• pp.38-47
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• 2012

Background: The prevalence rate of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) is steadily decreasing in South Korea. However, PTB is a disease with relatively high mortality and morbidity rates throughout Korea. Although there are many studies and statistics about the risk factors of PTB mortality in many countries, there are only a limited number of domestic papers on this topic. The aim of this study is to determine predictive factors for mortality among in-hospital patients associated with PTB. Methods: From December 2006 to January 2011, we reviewed medical records of 2,122 adult patients diagnosed with tuberculosis at a single tertiary hospital in a suburban area. In this study period, 960 patients were diagnosed with PTB by positive Acid fast bacilli smear and/or mycobacterial culture of the respiratory specimen. We compared the groups of patients deceased and patients discharged alive with PTB. The number of dead patients was 82 (47 males, 35 females). Results: Mortality was significantly associated with increased values of white blood cells (WBC), blood urine nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, C-reactive protein (CRP), numbers of involved lung field, and length of hospitalization. Also, it was associated with the decreased values of hemoglobin, lymphocyte, sodium, albumin, and cholesterol. Furthermore, admission through the emergency department, initial intensive care unit admission, and drug resistant PTB affected mortality in PTB patients. Independent predictors associated with PTB mortality are BUN, initial intensive care unit care, and admission during treatment of tuberculosis. Conclusion: In our study, mortality of pulmonary tuberculosis was related with parameters associated with nutritional status, disease severity at the time of admission, and drug resistance.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.83 no.4
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• pp.276-282
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• 2020

Background: Flexible bronchoscopy is one of the essential procedures for the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary diseases. The purpose of this study was to identify the risk factors associated with the occurrence of hypoxia in adults undergoing flexible bronchoscopy under sedation. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 2,520 patients who underwent flexible bronchoscopy under sedation at our tertiary care university hospital in South Korea January 1, 2013-December 31, 2014. Hypoxia was defined as more than 5%-point reduction in the baseline percutaneous oxygen saturation (SpO₂) or SpO₂ <90% for >1 minute during the procedure. Results: The mean age was 64.7±13.5, and 565 patients developed hypoxia during the procedure. The mean sedation duration and midazolam dose for sedation were 31.1 minutes and 3.9 mg, respectively. The bivariate analysis showed that older age, a low forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁), use of endobronchial ultrasound, the duration of sedation, and the midazolam dose were associated with the occurrence of hypoxia during the procedure, while the multivariate analysis found that age >60 (odds ratio [OR], 1.32), a low FEV₁ (OR, 0.99), and a longer duration of sedation (>40 minutes; OR, 1.33) were significant risk factors. Conclusion: The findings suggest that patients older than age 60 and those with a low FEV₁ tend to develop hypoxia during the bronchoscopy under sedation. Also, longer duration of sedation (>40 minutes) was a significant risk factor for hypoxia.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.244-249
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• 2008

Konkuk University Hospital (KUH), which opened in September 2005, is currently categorized as a secondary hospital. Early on after its establishment, the surgical residents and nurses were relatively inexperienced in the treatment of stomach cancer. Therefore, the quality of surgery for stomach cancer at KUH may be different from that of the existing large-scale tertiary hospitals. The purpose of this study is first to investigate the clinicopathological characteristics of the gastric cancer patients at the KUH, and second to compare our morbidity & mortality rates with those of previous studies, and we also analyzed the risk factors of morbidity at the early stage of a training hospital. Materials and Methods: This study retrospectively collected the clinicopathological characteristics and the post-operative morbidity rates and mortality rates with using the electronic medical records of all the patients who went under a gastric cancer operation at KUH from September 2005 to April 2008. Results: The total number of gastric cancer patients who underwent operation was 201. The morbidity rate and death rate at KUH were 10.4% and 0.5%, respectively. The morbidity has increased with an older age. The other variables had no influence on morbidity. Conclusion: The morbidity rate, death rate and the clinicopathological characteristics of gastric cancer patients at KUH were similar to those of the previous reports. We found that age is the main factor affecting the morbidity rate after stomach cancer surgery. For further surgical qualification of stomach cancer surgery at KUH, it is necessary to collect the survival data of patients who undergo stomach cancer surgery.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.2857-2860
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• 2016

Background: Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection is one of the important causes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Thailand, involved in the pathogenesis and leading to a development of HCC with or without cirrhotic changes of the liver. This study was aimed to investigate the predictive factors for HCC among CHB patients in a tertiary care center in Thailand. Materials and Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of CHB patients with or without HCC during the period of January 2009 and December 2014 at Thammasat University Hospital, Pathumthani, Thailand. Data on clinical characteristics, biochemical tests and radiologic findings were collected from review of medical records. Results: A total of 266 patients were diagnosed with CHB in Thammasat university hospital during the study period. However, clinical information of only 164/266 CHB patients (98 males, 66 females with mean age of 49.4 years) could be completely retrieved in this study. The prevalence of HCC in CHB infection in this study was 38/164 (23.2%). CHB patients with HCC had a mean age older than those without HCC (59.5 vs 47 years, P-value = 0.01). Furthermore, history of upper GI bleeding, tattooing, blood transfusion, and chronic alcoholism were significantly more common in CHB patients with HCC than patients without HCC (13.2% vs 3.2% P-value 0.03, OR = 4.6, 95%CI = 1.2-18.1, 20% vs 3.9%, P-value = 0.01, OR= 6.1, 95% CI= 1.6-23.6, 20% vs 6.3%, P-value = 0.03, OR = 3.8, 95%CI =1.1-12.7, 62.2% vs 30.3%, P-value <0.0001, OR = 3.7, 95%CI= 1.7-8.1 respectively). Interestingly, more CHB patients with HCC had evidence of cirrhosis than those without HCC (78.9% vs 20.4%, P-value <0.0001, OR = 14.6, 95%CI = 5.8-36.7). In CHB patients with HCC, surgical therapy provided longer survival than radiofrequency ablation (RFA) (72 vs 46.5 months, P-value= 0.04). The mean survival time after HCC diagnosis was 17.2 months. Conclusions: HCC remains a major problem among patients with CHB infection in Thailand. Possible risk factors are male gender, history of upper GI bleeding, chronic alcoholism, tattooing, blood transfusion and evidence of cirrhosis. For early stage HCC patients, surgical treatment provided longer survival time than RFA. Most HCC patients presented with advanced disease and had a grave prognosis. Appropriate screening of CHB patients at risk for HCC might be an appropriate approach for early detection and improvement of long-term outcomes.