• Journal of Genetic Medicine
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.43-48
• /
• 2022

A prenatal chromosomal microarray (CMA) is generally recommended when a major anomaly is suspected on prenatal ultrasonography. As it can overcome the limitations of conventional karyotyping, it is expected that the number of prenatal CMA test requests will gradually increase. However, given the specificity of prenatal diagnosis, there are practical considerations compared to postnatal testing, such as the validation of prenatal specimens, maternal cell contamination, precautions when reporting variants of uncertain significance, and the need for comprehensive genetic counseling considering secondary findings. The purpose of this article is to provide necessary information to health care providers in consideration of these issues and to provide appropriate genetic counseling to patients.

• The Journal of the Korea institute of electronic communication sciences
• /
• v.7 no.5
• /
• pp.1213-1219
• /
• 2012

As Korea is expected to enter an aging society in near future, the number of patients who need a long-term prescribtion is expected to increase as well. In particular, Korea shows the highest in both the incident rate and the death rate among OECD member nations. The current situation requires more strict monitoring and management for patients' taking medicine, there are a few practical problems such as personnel expenses. Recently the concept of directly observed treatment (DOT) that is based on the IT technologies has been introduced. This paper, therefore, proposes a digital DOT system with a smart pillbox and drives key requirements for the smart pillbox that plays an important and essential role in the proposed digital DOT system.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
• /
• v.22 no.7 s.172
• /
• pp.185-190
• /
• 2005

The purpose of this study is to design electrical stimulation system fur stroke patients with pharyngeal dysfunction(dysphagia). Dysphagia is that the food has trouble in passing to the mouth from the stomach. Although we have many treatment methods for dysphagia, electrical stimulation system will be useful for stroke patients having dysphagia. Electrical stimulation system can be divided into body and electrodes. The body stimulation is composed to frequency counter, time control and current measurement part. These parts are to control the frequency, stimulating time and current intensity And they can be variable according to the patient's clinical assessment. The electrode plays a role to deliver the current from the system to the muscle. Also the position of the electrode can be variable according to the treatment method. We performed the clinical experiment with stroke patients who had swallowing disorder. The videofluoroscopy was used fur the observation. From the result of clinical experiment based on electrical stimulation, we expected that the dysfunction(in pharynx) level of the patient could be improved. However we could not have enough effectiveness of the treatment because of the number of patients, patient's adaptation and treatment period. We will design the optimized electrical stimulation system based on enough clinical experiment in the future.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Health Science
• /
• v.3 no.1
• /
• pp.290-298
• /
• 2015

Purpose. This study aimed to explore family caregivers' experiences with ventilator-dependent patients at home. Methods. The number of patients using mechanical ventilators at home is expected to increase and family caregivers must be able to care for them. However, few studies focus on the experiences of family caregivers. We conducted in-depth interviews with 11 family caregivers who cared for a ventilator-dependent patient at home in South Korea. Data were analyzed using phenomenological method of enquiry. Results. Statements generated from the interviews on the meaning of the family caregiver's experiences were organized into 27 themes, 5 theme clusters, and 2 categories. The theme clusters included endurance under the burden situation, role strain as a caregiver, separation from others, trying to find coping methods, and oriental ethnical customs. Family caregivers of patients using domestic mechanical ventilators need systematic education and emotional support to cope with the challenges of managing ventilator equipment and learning new ways of communicating with patients on the ventilators. Conclusion. These findings may contribute to family caregivers' knowledge and competence, thereby allowing them to better support their ventilator-dependent family members.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.16
• /
• pp.6657-6663
• /
• 2014

Background: The present study aimed to determine the prevalence and types of sexual problems of Turkish patients receiving gynecologic cancer treatment. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional convenience sample of 168 women completed the Index of Female Sexual Function (IFSF) and a Patient Identification Form in a hospital in Ankara, Turkey. Mean IFSF scores of the patients were low ($15.7{\pm}5.72$, out of a possible 45), indicating high rates of sexual problems. Results: Women frequently reported problems with dyspareunia (97.1%), vaginal dryness (97.6%), decreased sexual desire (91.1%), and difficulties of sexual arousal (92.9%) related with the cancer treatment process. They reported increased sexual problems following the period of treatment as compared to before treatment (p<0.05). Sexual dysfunction was associated with low educational and income levels, advanced age, TAH-BSO-LND surgery (total abdominal hysterectomy-bilateral salphingoopherectomylymph node dissection), experiencing side effects of chemotherapy, receiving chemotherapy in addition to surgery and radiotherapy (CT+RT+Surgery), and having a large number of chemotherapy cycles (p<0.05). Conclusions: Patients hoped for and expected counseling from healthcare professionals about their sexual functioning in relation to cancer treatments. Nurses and physicians can help to improve the overall quality of life for gynecologic cancer patients through sexual counseling.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
• /
• v.67 no.7
• /
• pp.892-897
• /
• 2018

Due to population aging, an increase in the number of patients with chronic illnesses, and an increase in the number of single-person households, monitoring of health status in everyday life without the need for a hospital has become very important. For this reason, researches on various health care devices have been attempted, among which wearable devices are attracting much attention. In this paper, we propose a new ring-type wearable device for next generation healthcare. On the inner side of the ring, a metal electrodes for GSR measurement and an optical sensor for measurement of pulse wave signals of two wavelengths of red and near-infrared light were mounted. In addition, it was equipped with an acceleration sensor, and information about the degree of motion could be obtained. In this paper, it is shown that a health monitoring device can be implemented in the form of a ring, and the measured signals can be used to calculate heart rate, oxygen saturation, sleep time and sleep efficiency. Through the advanced algorithm, it is expected that we can extract various health information, especially sleep related health information by using the ring device, and it is also expected that it can contribute to the implementation of wearable healthcare effectively.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.203-208
• /
• 2016

Background: In South Korea, the number of cases of dental treatment for the disabled is gradually increasing, primarily at regional dental clinics for the disabled. This study investigated pediatric patients at a treatment clinic for the disabled within a university hospital who received dental treatment under general anesthesia. This data could assist those that provide dental treatment for the disabled and guide future treatment directions and new policies. Methods: This study was a retrospective analysis of 263 cases in which patients received dental treatment under general anesthesia from January 2011 to May 2016. The variables examined were gender, age, reason for anesthesia, type of disability, time under anesthesia, duration of treatment, type of procedure, treatment details, and annual trends in the use of general anesthesia. Results: Among pediatric patients with disabilities who received dental treatment under general anesthesia, the most prevalent age group was 5-8 years old (124 patients, 47.1%), and the primary reason for administering anesthesia was dental anxiety or phobia. The mean time under anesthesia was $132.7{\pm}77.6min$, and the mean duration of treatment was $101.9{\pm}71.2min$. The most common type of treatment was restoration, accounting for 158 of the 380 treatments performed. Conclusions: Due to increasing demand, the number of cases of dental treatment performed under general anesthesia is expected to continue increasing, and it can be a useful method of treatment in patients with dental anxiety or phobia.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.585-595
• /
• 2003

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to suggest the projected manpower of hospice and palliative care nurses & APNs(advanced practice nurses)needed in the future. Method: Need model, ratio model and expert opinion were used for projecting the number of hospice and palliative care nurses & APNs. Result: 1. The number of Korean hospice facilities was 64 in 2002. The number of hospice nurses in 2001 was 194 and that of beds was 407. 2. The number of hospice target patients was estimated at a minimum of 16,415 to a maximum of 25,254 in 2002, 12,366 to 26,389 in 2005, and 14,057 to 30,000 in 2020. 3. The number of hospice and palliative nurses needed to meet the demands in 2002, 2005 and 2020 was estimated at a minimum of 1,136 to maximum of 1,748, 1,187 to 1,826, and 1,349 to 2,076, respectively. 4. The number of hospice & palliative care APNs needed to meet the demands in 2002, 2005 and 2020 was estimated at 232, 242, and 274, respectively. Conclusion: The legalization of hospice is expected to increase demands for hospice nurses and advanced practice hospice and palliative care nurses in the future.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.40 no.9
• /
• pp.607-612
• /
• 2007

Background: Surgical resection is a standard treatment for pulmonary metastases in patients with osteosarcoma, but the role of performing repeated resections is not clear. This study was designed to clarify the feasibility of performing a repeated pulmonary metastasectomy and the prognostic factors for pulmonary metastases in patients with osteosarcoma. Material and Method: Between January 1990 and July 2005, 62 patients with osteosarcoma were diagnosed with pulmonary metastases and 36 patients underwent pulmonary resection. We reviewed the patients retrospectively. Result: The total number of pulmonary metastasectomies was 62 in 30 patients. Among 36 patients, 18 had a second metastasectomy, 7 had a third metastasectomy, and one patient had a fourth metastasectomy. There was no distinctive difference between the first and second metastatectomy in terms of median survival time, and the 3-year and 5-year survival rate (first resection: 20.5 months, 32.0% and 29,4%; second resection: 11.3 months, 34.9% and 34.%). However, the median survival time (7.1 months) was shorter in patients with a third metastatectomy than in patients with one metastatectomy (p=0.01). In long-term survivors, the number of female patients, patients with a disease free time longer than 12 months, patients with a single metastasis and patients with anatomic resection was larger when compared to non-long term survivors, but showed no statistical significance. Conclusion: Repeated pulmonary metastasectomy is expected to prolong survival time in patients with osteosarcoma, and is expected to increase long-term survival in selected cases. Further studies with a large number of patients are necessary.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.244-252
• /
• 2001

Objective : Health insurers and policy makers are increasingly examining the hospital mortality rate as an indicator of hospital quality and performance. To be meaningful, a risk-adjustment of the death rates must be implemented. This study reviewed 5 severity measurement methods and applied them to the same data set to determine whether judgments regarding the severity-adjusted hospital mortality rates were sensitive to the specific severity measure. Methods : The medical records of 584 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery in 6 general hospitals during 1996 and 1997 were reviewed by trained nurses. The MedisGroups, Disease Staging, Computerized Severity Index, APACHE III and KDRG were used to quantify severity of the patients. The predictive probability of death was calculated for each patient in the sample from a multivariate logistic regression model including the severity score, age and sex to evaluate the hospitals' performance, the ratio of the observed number of deaths to the expected number for each hospital was calculated. Results : The overall in-hospital mortality rate was 7.0%, ranging from 2.7% to 15.7% depending on the particular hospital. After the severity adjustment, the mortality rates for each hospital showed little difference according to the severity measure. The 5 severity measurement methods varied in their statistical performance. All had a higher c statistic and $R^2$ than the model containing only age and sex. There was a little difference in the relative hospital performance evaluation by the severity measure. Conclusion : These results suggest that judgments regarding a hospital's performance based on severity adjusted mortality can be sensitive to the severity measurement method. Although the 5 severity measures regarding hospital performance concurred, more often than would be expected by chance, the assessment of an individual hospital mortality rates varied by the different severity measurement method used.