• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.45-63
• /
• 2014

Objectives The purpose of this study is to investigate the clinical characteristics in children and adolescents with peripheral facial palsy that was treated with Korean medicine. Methods The study was conducted based on 284 cases that consisted of 261 children (less than 19 years old) who visited the hospital of Korean medicine from August 2010 to August 2014. Then, this study was analyzed by reviewing the patients' charts. Results The incidence of facial palsy in pediatric patients was more common in boys than in girls and the mean age was 11.2 years. The prevalence of facial palsy was more common in winter and most were diagnosed with Bell's palsy. Recurrence was identified in 12.6% of the patients. The average age of the first attack was 9.5 years. It took about 3.2 years for recurrence to occur from the first onset. It took about 5 days to visit the hospital of Korean medicine from the onset. 81% of the patients came within 1 week from the onset. 50.7% of the cases did not receive any treatment before and 49.3% were previously treated at other hospitals. More than half of the patients (65.1%) received Korean medicine first. 54.6% of the patients were hospitalized and 45.4% received outpatient treatments in the hospital of Korean medicine. Outpatient treatments were administered about 11.5 times while hospitalized patients were treated for an average of 16.6 days. In general, hospitalized patients were treated more often than the outpatient group. An overall average duration of treatment was 70.6 days from the onset of facial palsy until the last day of treatment, and 53.0 days from the first day of treatment until the last day of treatment. 41.5% of the cases were treated only with Korean medicine and 49.0% were treated with a combination of Korean and Western medicine. The types of Korean medicine treatment used for facial palsy in descending order of frequency were acupuncture, Infra red, herbal medicine, SSP therapy, electro-acupuncture, carbone, hot pack, cupping, and moxibustion. The treatments that were most frequently used from Western medicines were steroid as monotherapy (61.7%) and a combination of steroids and antiviral therapy (37.6%). Conclusions This result showed that the risk of facial palsy recurrence among children is relatively high and that facial palsy requires a long-term treatment. It's helpful to explain about prognosis, treatment duration, and recurrence potential in children. Facial palsy in children is treated in various ways but more studies about the therapeutic effects of Korean medicine, Western medicine, and combination of Korean-Western medicine in children are needed.

• Child Health Nursing Research
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.375-384
• /
• 2017

Purpose: This study was done to identify the level of adjustment to hospital life, hospitalization recognition and hospital-related fear by school-aged children, and investigate the influence of hospitalization recognition and hospital-related fear on the hospital life of these children. Methods: Participants were 112 three to six grade students who were hospitalized from 3 to 7 days at one of two children's hospital. Date were collected from September 2015 to March 2016. Data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, multiple regression. Results: The mean score for adjustment to hospital life was $3.43{\pm}0.40$ of 5, for hospitalization recognition, $2.98{\pm}0.46$ of 4 and for hospital-related fear, $1.37{\pm}0.28$ of 3. Factors affecting adjustment to hospital life were hospital-related fear (${\beta}=-.28$, p=.002) and hospitalization recognition (${\beta}=.27$, p=.003). These factors explained 17% of the variance in adjustment to hospital life. Conclusion: Results indicate that adjustment to hospital life by school-aged children is not sufficient enough for them to cope with illnesses and hospitalization. Therefore, to improve adjustment to hospital life by school-aged children, nursing interventions that focus on increasing hospitalization recognition and decreasing hospital-related fear need to be developed.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.346-356
• /
• 2021

Purpose: Campylobacter species are currently the most common cause of bacterial gastroenteritis. In Lebanon, Campylobacter infection occurrence is underdiagnosed owing to the lack of specific culture and rapid test kits, particularly among children. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence, laboratory findings, and clinical characteristics of Campylobacter infection in hospitalized children with acute gastroenteritis in South Lebanon. Methods: We conducted a 6-month retrospective cohort study between January and June 2018, including 291 children aged between 1 month and 12 years, who were admitted to a tertiary healthcare center in South Lebanon. The medical files of the patients were reviewed to retrieve the required clinical information, including clinical and laboratory data. Results: The prevalence of campylobacteriosis agents in pediatric patients with acute gastroenteritis is 12.02%. Patients infected with Campylobacter had more severe acute gastroenteritis than Campylobacter-negative patients and often presented with high-grade fever, diarrhea episodes more than six times per day, diarrhea lasting for more than five days, and dehydration. Indeed, children with high-grade fever (≥38.5℃) were five times more likely to test positive for Campylobacter than those with low-grade fever. In addition, the results showed a higher Vesikari score for the majority of Campylobacter-positive patients with severe acute gastroenteritis compared to a moderate profile for Campylobacter-negative patients. Conclusion: The present study findings highlight that Campylobacter infection is frequent among children with acute gastroenteritis. Therefore, the detection of Campylobacter should be carried out for the diagnosis of human gastroenteritis in Lebanon, along with the detection of routine enteropathogens.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.20-32
• /
• 2023

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the etiology and risk factors of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) requiring hospitalization in Korean children during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: Clinical information of children admitted with CAP to Seoul National University Children's Hospital (SNUCH) between January 1, 2021, and February 28, 2022, was retrospectively collected and analyzed. In addition, the etiologic diagnosis and demographic data of children with CAP who were discharged at the other seven hospitals between January and February 2022 were collected. Pneumonia was diagnosed using strict criteria comprising clinical symptoms, physical examination findings, and chest radiographic findings. Results: Among 91 children hospitalized with CAP at SNUCH during the 14-month period, 68.4% were aged <5 years and 79.1% had underlying diseases. Among the 95 CAP cases, respiratory assistance was required in 70.5%, and the use of a ventilator was required in 20.0%. A total of five patients expired, all of whom were either immunocompromised or had underlying neurological diseases. Neurological diseases and immunosuppression were significantly correlated with respiratory assistance (P=0.003) and death (P=0.014). A total of 55% of the detected respiratory pathogens were viruses, the most common of which was rhinovirus at 35.9%. Among the 169 children hospitalized for CAP at the eight institutions, ≥1 respiratory virus was detected in 92.3%, among which respiratory syncytial virus (79.8%) was the most prevalent. Conclusions: Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Korean children were hospitalized with CAP caused by seasonal respiratory viral pathogens. Although atypical and pyogenic bacteria were not detected, continuous clinical monitoring and further prospective studies should be conducted.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.85-107
• /
• 2008

This study aims to describe levels and distribution of the continuity of primary care among children and adolescent patients who are 2-19 years old, and analyze the effects of it on the risk of hospitalization. Study population was 2-19 year old child and adolescent patients as of 2002, who had more than three ambulatory care visits in the years of 2002-3 and whose most frequent provider was the primary care practices (189,660 persons). Association of levels of primary care with the risk of hospitalization was evaluated using multiple event survival analysis. Outcome variables were whether the patient had hospitalized or not, and whether the patient had hospitalized due to ambulatory care-sensitive conditions or not. Multiple event survival analysis revealed statistically significant association of the levels of primary care with the risk of hospitalization. Hazard ratio was 1.34 [1.27-1.41] at the medium level of continuity and 1.47 [1.39-1.55] at the lower level where outcome variable was whether the patient had been hospitalized or not. Hazard ratios were 1.35 [1.21-1.50] at the medium level of continuity and 1.60 [1.44-1.78] at the lower level, where outcome variable was whether the patient been had hospitalized due to ambulatory care-sensitive conditions or not. This study produced some evidences on the benefits of continuity of care, which will in turn support the introduction of personal doctor registration program in the future.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.56 no.3
• /
• pp.212-220
• /
• 2023

Objectives: This study compared the epidemiological and clinical manifestations of patients hospitalized with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic at a tertiary care hospital in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. Methods: This retrospective observational study utilized data from all cases of laboratory-confirmed RSV infection at Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital from January 2016 to December 2021. Differences in the clinical presentation of RSV infection before (2016 to 2019) and during (2020 to 2021) the COVID-19 pandemic were analyzed and compared. Results: In total, 358 patients hospitalized with RSV infections were reported from January 2016 to December 2021. During the COVID-19 pandemic, only 74 cases of hospitalized RSV infection were reported. Compared to pre-pandemic levels, the clinical presentations of RSV infection showed statistically significant decreases in fever on admission (p=0.004), productive cough (p=0.004), sputum (p=0.003), nausea (p=0.03), cyanosis (p=0.004), pallor (p<0.001), diarrhea (p<0.001), and chest pain (p<0.001). Furthermore, vigilant measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including lockdowns, also interrupted the RSV season in Thailand from 2020 to 2021. Conclusions: The incidence of RSV infection was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand, which also changed the clinical presentation and seasonal pattern of RSV infection in children.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.61-69
• /
• 2022

Purpose: Studies in adults have shown an increasing incidence of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) in patients hospitalized with acute pancreatitis (AP). There is lack of epidemiological data on CDI and its impact on hospitalized pediatric patients with AP. Methods: We analyzed the National Inpatient Sample and Kids' Inpatient Database between the years 2003 and 2016 and included all patients (age <21 years) with a primary diagnosis of AP using specific International Classification of Diseases codes. We compared clinical outcomes between children with CDI and those without CDI. Our primary outcome was severe AP and secondary outcomes included length of stay and hospital charges. Results: A total of 123,240 hospitalizations related to AP were analyzed and CDI was noted in 0.6% of the hospital. The prevalence rate of CDI doubled from 0.4% (2003) to 0.8% (2016), p=0.03. AP patients with CDI had increased comorbidities, and also underwent more invasive surgical procedures, p<0.05. AP patients with CDI had a higher in-hospital mortality rate and increased prevalence of severe AP, p<0.001. Multivariate regression models showed that CDI was associated with 2.4 times (confidence interval [CI]: 1.91 to 3.01, p<0.001) increased odds of severe AP. CDI patients had 7.24 (CI: 6.81 to 7.67, p<0.001) additional hospital days while incurring $59,032 (CI: 54,050 to 64,014, p<0.001) additional hospitalization charges. Conclusion: CDI in pediatric patients with AP is associated with adverse clinical outcomes and increased healthcare resource utilization. Further studies are needed to elucidate this association to prevent the development of CDI and to improve outcomes.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.14 no.6
• /
• pp.295-307
• /
• 2016

The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of credibility of health information (CHI) source and e health literacy (eHL) on health information orientation (HIO) of parents of hospitalized children. Convenience sampling method of 109 parent whose children were admitted in a children's hospital in D city was used. The hierarchial regression model with general characteristics and characteristics of children for step 1 and eHL and CHI for step 2 against HIO was statistically significant (F=8.22, p<.001). And this model could explain 40% of HIO ($R^2$=.40). Especially, eHL (${\beta}$=.54, p<.001) and CHI (${\beta}$=.21, p=.008), subjective health perception (${\beta}$=.19, p=.016), and age (${\beta}$=-0.15, p=.048) were identified the influencing factors on HIO. Based on these findings, to foster the HIO of parents of inpatient children, credible health information should be given to these population and a approach with eHL enhancement should be considered. And further research that is to explore the way to enhance the eHL should be carried out to suggest the practical application

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.234-243
• /
• 2003

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the factors influencing nursing needs of mothers caring for children suffering from acute diseases and being treated in hospital. Method: The data were collected, using a nursing needs, social support, burden, and stress questionnaire. Data collection was done from July 10, to October 20, 2001 in the pediatric department of a general hospital. The data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics. Result: The results of this study are as follows. There were statistically significant differences in nursing needs according to differences in age, education level, marital status, religion, family income and relationship with spouse. The relationship between the nursing needs of the mother and anxiety (r=.758, p <.01), social support (r=-.659, p<.01), stress (r=.324, p <.01) were the most significant variables. The stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that anxiety, social support and stress define nursing needs at 57.5%, 4.3% and 1.1% respectively. Conclusion: Consideration needs to be given to anxiety, social support and stress when developing nursing intervention programs for mothers whose children are hospitalized with acute diseases.

• The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.684-692
• /
• 2013

Purpose: This study attempted to discover the effects of distraction on the hospitalized children's fear of the hospital and needle-related pain. Methods: The experimental group was given visual stimulation using a character from the injection room entrance. In addition, the video recording of 'bambarabam' was provided for visual and auditory stimulation to distract the children. The research tools included the hospital-related fear scale, Faces Pain Rating Scale (Wong & Baker, 1988) and Procedure Behaviour Check List (Lebaron&Zeltzer, 1984). For statistical analysis, the SPSS 19.0 program was used on the collected data for $X^2$-test and Mann-Whitney U test. Results: The experimental group showed significantly less fear ofthe hospital compared to the control group (U=151.50, p=.024). The experimental group showed significantly lower pain on both Faces Pain Rating Scale (U=167.50, p=.043) and the Procedure Behaviour Check List (U=106.00, p=.001) compared to the control group. Conclusion: These results suggest that distraction was effective in reducing the child's fear of the hospital and injection pain.