• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.353-362
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• 2014

Objectives : The purpose of the study is to investigate the xerostomia in the chronic severe psychiatric patients in Korea because there were few reports on xerostomia in the psychiatric patients. Methods : The subjects were 61 psychiatric patients in the mental hospital by convenience cluster sampling. A self-reported symptom questionnaire was filled out by the three researchers on the basis of medical records by the informed consent. The stimulated salivary flow rate of the patients was measured by saliva sampling. Results : The subjects consisted of 45.9% of male and 54.1% of female. High school graduation accounted for 40.0% and 20.0% did not attend the school. The majority of the patients were medicaid recipients. Schizophrenia accounted for 86.9% and most patients were long term care recipients. A total of 68.9% of the patients suffered from salivary dysfunction. The medication in schizophrenia seemed to decrease the stimulated salivary flow rate and made the patients difficult in chewing and swallowing due to xerostomia and low saliva secretion(p<0.05). Conclusions : Medication in schizophrenic patients caused the salivary dysfunction. So the collaboration between the psychiatry doctors and dental hygienists is very important to improve the salivary secretion in the schizophrenic patients. The continuous and long term care of the xerostomia will help the patients maintain the good oral hygiene.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.116-124
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• 2018

Background: We aimed to investigate the prevalence of unrecognized depression in patients with chronic pain, but with no history of psychiatric diseases. Methods: Patients with chronic pain who did not have a history of psychiatric disease were selected for this study. The Beck Depression Index (BDI) was used to evaluate depression. Participants' socio-demographic characteristics and pain-related characteristics were also recorded. Results: The study included 94 consecutive patients with chronic pain (28 men and 66 women). Based on the BDI scores, 33/94 (35.1%) patients with chronic pain had comorbid depression. The prevalence of depression was significantly higher in our cohort than it was in the general population (P < 0.001). The standardized incidence ratio, adjusted for age and sex, was 2.77 in men and 2.60 in women. Patients who were unmarried (odds ratio [OR] = 3.714, P = 0.044), and who had subjective sleep disturbance (OR = 8.885, P < 0.001), were more likely to have moderate to severe depression. Patients with high education levels (OR = 0.244, P = 0.016), and who were economically active (OR = 0.284, P = 0.023), were less likely to have moderate to severe depression. Conclusions: Our results indicate that unrecognized depression in patients with chronic pain is common. Therefore, pain physicians should actively seek to identify these problems rather than relying on the patient to volunteer such information.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.139-144
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• 2008

Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that mainly affects children and young adults. Its cause remains unknown. The incidence of pediatric Crohn's disease is increasing, so it is important for clinicians to be aware of the presentation of this disease in the pediatric population. The majority of patients complain of abdominal pain (72%), with only 25% presenting with the 'classical triad' of abdominal pain, weight loss, and diarrhea. Many children with Crohn's disease present in a 'non-classical' manner, with vague complaints such as lethargy or anorexia, which may be associated with only mild abdominal discomfort. Other symptoms include fever, nausea, vomiting, growth retardation, malnutrition, delayed puberty, psychiatric symptoms, arthropathy, and erythema nodosum. Severe constipation and abdominal distension are uncommon symptoms at diagnosis. We report a case of pediatric Crohn's disease, which was diagnosed after the patient presented with severe constipation and abdominal distension.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Rural Health Nursing
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.40-48
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• 2006

Purpose: This study was done to identify the experience of stress and burn-out in caregivers of patients with senile dementia. Method: To evaluate the degree of stress and burn-out in caregivers of patients with senile dementia, 64 caregivers and matched to 64 patients with senile dementia at a Primary Health Care Post in South Kyung Sung Province were selected. The study was carried out from March 6 to March 30, 2001. Data on the degree of dementia in the patients was measured by the MMSE-K (Mini-Mental State Examination-Korea) and caregiver characteristics such as, sex, age, marital status, educational level, job, socioeconomic status, religion, number in family, relationship with patient, duration of care, and chronic disease in caregiver were collected by direct interview with a questionnaire. Results: Of 64 patients with senile dementia, 15.6% were classified as mild dementia (MMSE score 20-24) and 84.4%, as severe dementia. There were no significant characteristics of caregivers associated with the degree of stress and burn-out experience. The degree of burn-out in these caregivers of patients with severe dementia (mean value 94.3) was significantly higher than the 81.4 for those caring for patients with mild dementia (p<0.05). However, the degree of stress was not significantly related with the degree of dementia. The proportion experiencing severe burn-out (above score 4) was 54.7% in the physical domain, 90.6% in the emotional domain, and 73.4% in psychiatric domain, respectively. Conclusion: The above findings suggest that the degree of stress and burn-out experienced by caregivers of patients with senile dementia are high. Also the degree of burn-out experienced by in caregivers of patients with severe dementia was higher than for those caring for patients with mild dementia.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.28 no.2 s.50
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• pp.398-405
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• 1995

We experienced a case of occupational lead poisoning employed in a secondary lead smelting plant for 12 years. The patient was 39-year-old male and had been felt dizziness, recent memory impairment and intermittent severe abdominal pain for 2 years. On admission, blood lead level was $92.9{\mu}g/dl$, urinary lead level was $19.9{\mu}g/l$ and zinc protoporphyrin level was $226.0{\mu}g/dl$. On the blood test, hemoglobin was 10.6g/dl and showed normocytic normochromic anemia. There were no abnormal findings in the biochemical and hormonal tests. Decrease of I.Q. and use of words in speaking were found in the psychiatric and psychologic examinations. We observed the finding of motor polyneuropathy in the nerve conduction velocity test. Computed tomographic finding showed calcification lesions in the basal ganglia, dentate nuclei, caudate nuclei, and especially characteristic multiple calcifications were located in the subcortical white matter.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.58-65
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• 2001

Objectives : It is well known that pharmacologic and behavioral therapies of panic disorder show remarkable acute treatment outcome, however the course of panic disorder in clinical settings is often chronic and relapsing. The purpose of this study is to investigate the treatment outcome of panic disorder and the factors related to good treatment outcome by prospective follow-up study after 6 month in clinical settings. Methods : Twenty nine patients were diagnosed to have panic disorder by SCID(Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R), among the patients who had visited the psychiatric out-patients clinic of the Asan Medical Center for the first time. We determined the initial clinical and demoraphic features of each patient and reevaluated them after 6 months, investigating the treatment outcome by anxiety, phobia, impairment scales. We looked into the rate of the patients who showed good treatment outcome and determined the factors that had relation with good treatment outcome among demographic and clinical features. Results : Nineteen out of 29 patients could be followed after 6 months. Among them, 10 patients 52.6%) on the impairment scale and phobia scale each, and 8 patients(42.1 %) on the anxiety scale showed good treatment outcome. 8 patients(42.1 %) showed good treatment outcome on the all three scales. High score in initial phobia scale had significant relation with good treatment outcome. Short duration of illness did not have significant relation with good treatment outcome however there was a trend(p=0.07). Conclusion : About half(42.1 %) of the panic disorder patients showed good treatment outcome on all three scales. Severe initial phobic symptom and short duration of illness were expected to have relation with good treatment outcome.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.161-167
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• 2012

Burning mouth syndrome(BMS) is defined as chronic, painful burning sensation in the oral mucosa. Treatments for BMS include medication and psychiatric interventions. Capsaicin, alpha-lipoic acid, and topical and systemic clonazepam showed more effective in reducing the symptoms of BMS in the previous studies. The purpose of this study is to evaluate of the therapeutic efficacy of systemic clonazepam in BMS and to elucidate the relationships between such a efficacy and various clinical features, including age, pain intensity, pain duration, previous dental history and condition of oral mucosa. A retrospective clinical records audit was performed of patients diagnosed with BMS between January 2011 and August 2012. Patients were prescribed 0.5 mg clonazepam two times daily. Pain was assessed by patients on an 11-point numeric rating scale (NRS; 0 to 10) before and 1-2 weeks after systemic administration of clonazepam. The efficacy of clonazepam was evaluated in terms of patient's age, initial pain intensity, pain duration, presence or absence of precipitating event, condition of the tongue, presence or absence of denture. A total of 50 patients (46 women, 4 men) were included in this study. The patients were divided into two or three groups according to above clinical features. The amount of mean NRS reduction in patients with severe initial pain was $3.33{\pm}2.74$, whereas that in patients with mild initial pain was $1.64{\pm}1.54$. The amount of mean NRS reduction in oldest patients was $3.53{\pm}1.94$ (${\geq}$70yrs), and those in another younger patients were $2.88{\pm}1.80$(< 60yrs) and $1.54{\pm}2.86$(60yrs ${\leq}$ age < 70yrs), respectively. It was concluded that the older patients and the patients with higher intensity of initial pain tend to show better efficacy of clonazepam. However, There were no statistically significant differences according to pain duration, presence or absence of precipitating events, tongue fissuring, and wearing dentures.