• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.121-131
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• 2022

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of the intervention of the nutrition support team (NST) on the nutritional status of critically ill patients. Methods: The medical records of 176 adult patients who were admitted to the intensive care unit and received enteral or parenteral nutrition for more than 7 days were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were classified into the NST and non-NST groups according to whether they were referred to the NST or not. The NST group was further classified into the compliance and non-compliance groups depending on their compliance with the NST recommendations. Results: The NST referral rate was 56.8%, and the rate of compliance with the NST recommendations was 47.0%. Significantly higher energy and protein were provided to the NST and the compliance groups than to the non-NST and the non-compliance groups. The proportion of patients who reached the target calories after the initiation of enteral nutrition was significantly higher in the NST and the compliance groups than in the non-NST and the non-compliance groups. The serum albumin and hemoglobin levels significantly decreased in every group, but the changes were significantly lower in the compliance group. The nutritional status at discharge from the intensive care unit compared to the status at admission was significantly worse in the NST, non-NST, and non-compliance groups. However, the status was maintained in the compliance group. The length of stay in the intensive care unit was significantly shorter in the compliance group. Conclusions: Compliance with the NST recommendations was found to provide more calories and protein and prevent the deterioration of the nutritional status of critically ill patients. Therefore, effective communication between medical staff and the NST from the early stages of admission to the intensive care unit is needed to improve referrals to the NST and compliance with the recommendations.

• Korean Journal of Hospice Care
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.28-48
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• 2002

The advances of medical technologies have not only prolonged human life span, but also extended suffering period for the patients with incurable medical diseases. Hospice movement was developed to help these patients keep dignity and lives peaceful at the end of their life. Since many patients prefer to spend the last moment of life at home with their family, hospice home care has become very popular worldwide. The purpose of this study for a promotion and development of hospice home care in Korea, and features basic research on medical profession's knowledge and attitudes to hospice home care. This study which was used for the research questionnaires developed by the researcher that were answered by 100 physicians and 127 nurses in a general hospital. Data were collected from April 22, 2002 to May 10, 2002. The SPSS was used to make a comparative analysis of the frequency, percentile, ANOVA, and x2-test. The results of the study were as follows; 1.The medical profession showed high level of knowledge of the definition and philosophy of hospice. However, the physician group of the examinees showed insufficient knowledge of the fact that hospice care includes bereavement care, while the nurse group's response to the same question showed a significant difference(x2=10.752, p=.001). 2.For whom the hospice home care is provided, 95.6% of the respondents showed very high level of knowledge as answering that the incurable terminal illness patients and their families are the beneficiaries of hospice care. The respondents counted nurses, volunteers, pastors, physicians and social workers, consecutively, as hospice care providers. More nurse were positive toward pastors than physicians in regarding as a hospice care provider by a significant difference(x2=11.634, p=.001). 3.For when to referral hospice home care to the patients, only 34.2% answered that patients with less than 6 months of survival time are advised to receive hospice care, reflecting very low level of knowledge. 23.0% of the physicians and 48.0% of the nurses answered that hospice care should be provided when death is imminent, making a significant difference between the two groups(x2=6.413, p=.000). 4.To promote hospice activities, 87.2% pointed out that it is crucial to make general people, including those engaging in the medical field, more aware of hospice. 79.7% answered that a national hospice management should be developed, marking a significant difference between the physician group and nurse group(x2=10.485, p=.001). 5.Advantages of hospice home care are 87.2% responded that patients can have better rest at home receiving hospice home care. Economical merit was brought forward as one of the advantages also, where there was a significant difference between the physicians group and nurse group(x2=7.009, p=.008). 6.The medical professions' attitude to hospice home care are 92.8% of the physicians answered that they would advise incurable terminally ill patients to be discharged from hospital, with 44.3% of them advising the patients to receive hospice home care after leaving the hospital. From the nurses' point of view, 20.9% of the terminally ill patients are being referred to hospice home care after discharge, which makes a significant difference from the physicians' response(x2=19.121, p=.001). 7. 30.6% of physicians have referred terminally ill patients to hospice home care, 75.9% of whom were satisfied with their decision. Those physicians who have never referred their patients to hospice home care either did not know how to do it(66.7%) or were afraid of losing trust by giving the patients an impression of giving up(27.3%). 94.9% of the physicians responded that they would refer their last stage patients to a doctor who is involving palliative care. 8.Only 36.2% of nurses have suggested to physicians that refer the terminally ill patients discharged from the hospital to hospice home care. Once suggested, 95.8% of the physicians have accepted the suggestion. Nurses were reluctant to suggest hospice home care to the physicians, as 48.8% of the nurses said they did not want to. From the result of this study the following conclusion can be drawn, the medical profession's awareness of general hospice care has been increased greatly compared to the results of the previously performed studies. However, this study result also shows that their knowledge of hospice home care is not good enough yet. There is a need for high recommended that medical education institute and develop regular courses on various types of hospice care. Medical field training courses for physicians and nurses will be very helpful as well. It is also important to train hospice experts such as palliative physicians and develop a national hospice management urgently in order to improve the hospice care in Korea.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.1455-1466
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• 2000

The purpose of this study was to develop the framework of community-based home care nursing delivery system, and to demonstrate and evaluate the efficiency of it. The study was carned out over a period of 3years from September 1996 to August 1999. The researchers developed Standards for operations, this was all aimed toward a home care recording system, and an assessment intervention algorithm for various diseases quality control and standardization. In the center, 185 patients enrolled, and of the enrollments cerebrovascular disorder and cancer were the most prevailment diseases. Also, a home care nursing activity classification was developed in six domains. Those domains were assessment, medication, treatment, education and consultation, emotional care, and referral or follow-up care. Ten sub-domains were divided according to the systematic needs. Among these nursing activities, treatment, assessment, and education and consultation were frequently performed. In sub-domain classification, skin integrity, respiration, circulation, and immobility related care were provided most frequently. The cost of home care nursing per visit was also suggested. The cost include direct and indirect nursing care, management, and transportation cost. Also, the researchers tried to overcome the limitations of hospital-based home care to provide more accessible, efficient, safe, and stable home care nursing. Therefore, clients were referred from other patients, families, public health care centers, industries, and even hospitals. As a result of this study, several limitations of operation were found. First, it was difficult to manage and communicate with doctor in the emergency situations. Second, there was too much time spent for transportation. This was because they are only five nurses, who cover all of the areas of Seoul and nearby cities. Third, preparation for special care of home care nurses was lacking. Fourth, criteria for the termination of care and the frequency of home visits were ambiguous. Finally, interconnection with home care machinery company was so yely needed. New paragraphs' strategies for solving these problems were suggested. This study will be the basis of community-based home care nursing, and the computerized information delivery system for home care nursing in Korea.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.149-154
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• 2016

Although an association of Kawasaki disease (KD) with infectious agents has been suggested, none have been proven to cause KD. In this case study, we present a case of KD with concurrent onset of influenza and Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) infections. A 27-month-old boy presented with prolonged fever, cough, and rhinorrhea. During the initial testing, influenza A infection was identified, and he was treated with oseltamivir. Despite the antiviral therapy, the fever persisted, and he had cervical lymph node enlargement, bilateral conjunctival injection, fissured red lips, strawberry tongue, and erythematous skin lesions on the Bacillus Calmette-$Gu{\acute{e}}rin$ vaccination site. Thus, the patient was diagnosed with KD and was treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG). The result of the initial antimycoplasma immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody testing and was positive, and an increased IgM titer from baseline was found in a repeat test. We reviewed the hypotheses on pathogens known to be associated with KD and the etiology of KD. Based on our findings, we suspect that symptoms of KD and coronary artery lesions can occur from various infections besides those caused by Mycoplasma species and influenza viruses.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.2495-2500
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• 2014

Background: Lung cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers and the most frequent cause of cancer-related death worldwide. In Iran, it ranks second and third as the cancer-causing death in men and women, respectively. We carried out this study to find out the demographic, clinical, and histological characteristics and risk factors of lung cancer in a referral tertiary center in Iran. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on cases of primary lung cancer based on the results of registered cancer reports of cytological and pathological specimens between March 2001 and March 2012. Demographic variables, clinical manifestations, histology and location of tumors were determined based on the data found in the medical records of each patient. Definite or probable etiologic factors were identified. Data analysis was performed with SPSS version 16 and a p-value ${\leq}0.05$ was considered as significant. Results: A total of 203 patients, with a mean age of 65.7 years (SD=11.2), with primary lung cancer were identified, 81.3% being men. Of the total, 110 cases (54.2%) were living in urban areas. In 53.2% of cases, the site of tumor was on the right side and in 72.9% of cases the lesion was centrally located. The histological types of lung cancer were squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in 107 cases (52.7%), adenocarcinoma (AC) in 30 cases (14.8%), and small cell carcinoma (SC) in 27 cases (13.3%). Significant correlations between the gender and residence, smoking, and the histological type and location (central or peripheral) of tumor were found. The percentage of smokers was 75.2% in men and 15.8% in women. Conclusions: Smoking was the most important risk factor and squamous cell carcinoma the most common histological type of lung cancer in our study. Male sex and being a smoker was associated with histological types of SCC while being nonsmoker had relationship with adenocarcinoma.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.70 no.5
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• pp.416-422
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• 2011

Background: Inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) are the most essential medication for asthma control. Many reports suggest that the usage of ICSs improves not only the control of asthma symptoms but also prevents exacerbation. We investigated whether increases in ICS prescriptions are associated with decreases in asthma exacerbation in the clinical practice setting. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the database of adult asthma patients who had visited a tertiary referral hospital, the Asan Medical Center between January 2000 and December 2009. The number of emergency department (ED) visits, admissions, intensive care unit (ICU) care, deaths, and ICS prescriptions were analyzed to evaluate the time trend of asthma exacerbation as a function of the ICS prescription rate during the ten years. Results: The numbers of ED visits, admissions, and episodes of ICU care decreased during the ten years (p<0.001, p=0.033, p=0.001, respectively) while the number of ICS prescriptions increased (p<0.001). We found a correlation between the number of ICS prescriptions and the number of ED visits, admissions, or ICU care. For these outcomes, the correlation coefficients were r=-0.952, p<0.001; r=-0.673, p=0.033; r=-0.948, p<0.001, respectively. Conclusion: The number of ICS prescriptions increased during the past ten years while the number of asthma exacerbations decreased. Our results also showed a negative correlation between the ICS prescription rate and asthma exacerbation in the clinical practice setting. In other words, an increase in ICS prescription may be a major cause of a decrease in asthma exacerbations.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.75 no.2
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• pp.52-58
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• 2013

Background: More than half of cases for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) occur in elderly patients with a median age at diagnosis of 70 years. The aim of our study was to examine the clinical features and prognostic factors contributing to mortality in elderly patients with advanced NSCLC. Methods: Following a retrospective review of clinical data, 122 patients aged 70 years and over with a histopathological diagnosis of locally advanced (stage IIIB, n=32) and metastatic (stage IV, n=90) NSCLC between 2005 and 2011 were enrolled. Results: The median age was 76 years (interquartile range, [IQR], 72-80 years), and 85 (70%) patients were male. Fifty-seven (46%) patients had never smoked, and 17 (19%) were in a malnourished state with a body mass index (BMI) of <$18.5kg/m^2$. The initial treatments included chemotherapy (40%) and radiotherapy (7%), but 57% of the patients received supportive care only. The 1-year survival rate was 32%, and the 3-year survival rate was 4%, with a median survival duration of 6.2 months (IQR, 2.5-15.3 months). Male gender (hazard ratio [HR], 2.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3-3.9; p=0.005), low BMI (HR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.3-3.9; p=0.004), and supportive care only (HR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.2-2.9; p=0.007) were independent predictors of shorter survival based on a Cox proportional hazards model. Conclusion: Elderly patients with advanced NSCLC had a poor prognosis, particularly male patients, those with a low BMI, and those who received supportive care only.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.63-76
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• 1999

The main objective of this study was to develop a concept of service marketing promotion in nursing that is derived from the concepts of service marketing theory. This research was a descriptive study, at the factor isolation level. The principle of concept derivation suggested by Walker and Avant (1988) and the Hybrid model suggested by Schwarz-Barcott and Kim (1993) were employed as the research method. The data were collected from December, 1997 to April. 1998 at a large general hospital located in Seoul. The procedures of this study were as follows: First. at the theoretical phase: the meaning, attributes, and definition of service marketing promotion were identified through an extensive review of the literature. Second, at the empirical phase: fieldwork was done to identify the promotional activities and events in nursing. Top nurse managers from 4 units (Director of Nursing, Head nurses of inpatient nursing unit, outpatient nursing unit. and home care nursing unit) were interviewed and the content of the interview was analyzed to identify the meaning and attributes of promotion in nursing. Other methods such as brochures and other audio-visual materials which were relevant to nursing promotion were used to supplement the interviews. Finally, the results of the theoretical and empirical analyses were intergrated to develop a concept of service marketing in nursing practice. A final definition of service marketing promotion in nursing was identified as follows. 1. Promotion as a marketing function in nursing service is concerned with communication to target markets on all information related to nursing service in order to satisfy the objectives of both a nursing service organization and the target markets. 2. The goals of nursing service promotion include: 1) increasing visibility of nursing services and delivering the information on nursing services, 2) affirming the value of nursing services, so it can contribute to formulation of reimbursement policy for nursing services. 3) advancing the general image of the nursing profession and nursing services. 4) achieving and attaining a desirable positioning for nurses among health care professionals. and 5) creating and stimulating the demand for nursing services. 3. In order to obtain these goals it is necessary to provide information on nursing services, to persuade target markets. to remind them about nursing services. and to establish a collaborative relationship with related departments. 4. The tools used to carry out the above functions of promotion in nursing are the providing nursing services, public relations and publicity. QA of nursing, advertising, and sales promotion. 5. The target markets of nursing service include the nursing customer markets. the internal markets, the influence markets. the recruitment markets. the supplier markets. and the nursing referral markets. In conclusion, the concept of promotion in other service marketing areas can be applied to the promotion of nursing service marketing. The promotion of nursing service is more than just effective communication in nursing service. it is the effective use of the concepts of service marketing promotion. Promotion of nursing service will contribute to create and expand nursing services.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.235-238
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• 2015

This study aimed to investigate the epidemiology of canine ophthalmic diseases in Seoul, Korea using data for new canine patients examined from January 2009 through December 2013 at an ophthalmic referral center (WooSung Animal Medical Center, Seoul). The study included 1253 dogs with an average age of 7.93 years (SD, 4.06). Shih Tzu (29.4%) was the most common breed, followed by Maltese, Yorkshire Terrier, Cocker Spaniel, and toy Poodle (P < 0.01). Lens diseases (28.3%) were the most common, followed by eyelid, corneal, retinal, and glaucomatous diseases (P < 0.01). Lens, eyelid, retinal, nasolacrimal, uveal, vitreous, and neuro-ophthalmic diseases more frequently showed a bilateral occurrence (P < 0.01) than a unilateral occurrence. In the Shih Tzu breed, corneal disease was the most frequent, followed by lens, eyelid, retinal, and glaucomatous diseases. The most frequent diseases in the Maltese breed were lens, eyelid, retinal, and corneal diseases. In the Yorkshire Terrier, Cocker Spaniel, and toy Poodle breeds, lens disease was the most common (P < 0.01). The most frequent ophthalmic patients belonged to small breeds such as Shih Tzu, Maltese, and Yorkshire Terrier. Moreover, the most common ophthalmic diseases were not traumatic diseases, but breed-inherited diseases such as lens diseases.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.35-41
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• 2011

Total implanted central venous port (TIAP, Chemoport) is widely used in oncology patients because it does not require external dressing and restricts patient activity. Chemoport only requires monthly flushes of heparinized saline to keep the patency of the catheter and probably less prone to infectious complications than tunneled catheter. Despite the extensive use of permanent central venous access in oncology patients, there are only few reports about clinical experience of the Groshong catheter. The purpose of this study is to compare the complication rate between the traditional open-ended (non-valved) chemoports and valved chemoports (Groshong catheter connected to TIAP). During 5 years (Jan 2006 to May 2010), 438 patients received chemoport insertion procedure in our interventional radiology department. Among them 30 patients was referred to our department for problematic chemoports. We compared the cause of problematic chemoports between two types of chemoports (valved, vs. non-valved). Valved chemoports had higher referral rates than non-valved chemoports. When there is a need to insert valved port, different method of insertion and maintenance procedure seems to be necessary. More than 20 ml of flusing with heparinized saline after blood sampling could be a good suggestion. Adequate care of chemoport is essential for long patency. Also following the guideline from the manufacturing company is necessary.