• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.51-59
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• 2015

Purpose: Predicting life expectancy of terminally ill cancer patients is very important. In many studies, ferritin is detected at higher levels in the sera of cancer patients, and higher ferritin level correlates with aggressiveness of disease and poor outcomes of patients. This study evaluated a prognostic role of serum ferritin levels in terminally ill cancer patients. Methods: This study enrolled 65 terminally ill cancer patients from March through June 2012. We assessed routine laboratory findings including serum ferritin levels as well as demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients. To examine the association between serum ferritin levels and patient's characteristics, we used Spearman's correlation analysis, Wilcoxon's rank sum test or Kruskal-Wallis test, as appropriately. For multivariate analysis, Cox's proportional hazard regression model was used to evaluate significance of serum ferritin levels as a prognostic factor. Results: A negative correlation between serum ferritin levels and survival time was found. After adjusting for sex, age, performance status, creatinine levels and white blood cell counts, serum ferritin levels were significantly associated with survival time. Conclusion: Even at the very end of life of terminal cancer patients, serum ferritin levels were an independent prognostic factor for survival.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.175-182
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• 2013

Purpose: Spirituality is an important domain and is related with physical and psychological symptoms in terminal cancer patient. The aim of this study is to examine how patients' spirituality is associated with their physical and psychological symptoms as it has been explored by few studies. Methods: In this cross sectional study, 50 patients in the palliative ward of a tertiary hospital were interviewed. Spiritual well-being, depression, anxiety and pain is measured by Functional Assessment of Chronic-Illness Therapy-Spirituality (FACIT-Sp), hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) and the Korean version of the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI-K). The correlations between patients' spiritual well-being and anxiety, depression and pain were analysed. The association between spiritual well-being and age, gender, palliative performance scale (PPS), religion, mean pain intensity, anxiety, depression were assessed by univariate and multivariate regression analyses. Results: Spiritual well-being was negatively correlated with the mean pain intensity (r=-0.283, P<0.05), anxiety (r=-0.613, P<0.05) and depression (r=-0.526, P<0.05). In multivariate regression analysis, spiritual well-being showed negative association with anxiety (OR=-1.03, 95% CI=-1.657~-0.403, P=0.002) and positive association with the existence of religion (OR=9.193, 95% CI=4.158~14.229, P<0.001). Conclusion: In this study, patients' anxiety and existence of religion were significantly associated with spiritual well-being after adjusting age, gender, PPS, mean pain intensity, depression. Prospective studies are warranted.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.50-59
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• 2006

Purpose: The nonoperative outcome of elbow dislocations with associated radial head and coronoid fractures are often unsatisfactory because of chronic instability and stiffness from proloned immobilization, Therefore we managed these injuries with well programed surgical appproaches. Method: Ten patients with this injury were evaluated retrospectively from May 1998 to June 2004 after a minimum of 12 months. These injuries include elbow dislocation and associated fractures of both the radial head and the coronoid process. All ten patients were treated by one clinic operatively with similar scheduled surgical methods which started on the lateral side and terminated on the medial side of the elbow. Radial head and neck fractures were classified Mason types, as two and three types respectively with six and four cases and six cases were fixated. Coronoid process were fixated with screws anteroposterior directly or anchor suture in all cases, each type was classified one, two and three. where were three type one, four type two, and three type three were according to Regan and Morrey classification. Results: The outcome was three resulting in excellent, four good, two normaland and the remaining case was one poor according to the Mayo Elbow Performance score. At a terminal follow up, the range of motion of the elbow averaged flection contracture, $6^{\circ}(0{\sim}20^{\circ})$ and further flection, $129^{\circ}(115{\sim}140^{\circ})$. Two patients had complications requiring additional care. One, displaced coronoid process which was repaired with capsule and the other patient experienced, palsy of ulnar nerve and contracted elbow joint. Conclusions: Usage of early operation as the minimum injury of medial ligaments complex and the rigid fixation of fractures to prompt motion with our scheduled management for elbow dislocations with associated radial head and coracoid fractures provided excellent results.