• Journal of Korean Critical Care Nursing
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.14-23
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) bundle. Methods: This was a retrospective study that was carried out between June 2010 and October 2015. In this study, 3,224 intubated patients were included. The VAP bundle which was applied to Group 1 patients (n=470) included head-of-bed elevation to 30 degrees, cuff pressure monitorization, prophylaxis of peptic ulcer, and prophylaxis of deep vein thrombosis. The VAP bundle for Group 2 patients (n=1,914) included all the elements of the VAP bundle for Group 1 patients and one additional element which was oral care with 0.12% chlorhexidine. The VAP bundle for Group 3 patients (n=870) added sedative interruption and assessment of readiness to extubate to the VAP bundle for Group 2. Results: The numbers and incidences of VAP were significantly different among the three groups. Moreover, there were significant differences among groups in ICU length of stay and mortality. Conclusion: Three different VAP prevention bundles made different effects in patient outcomes.

• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.37-43
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• 2017

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is of one the most common general surgical operations performed today. Concomitant choledocholithiasis occurs in roughly 10-20% of patients with symptomatic gallstones. Laparoscopic bile duct exploration (LBDE) offers a single-stage minimally-invasive solution to the management of choledocholithiasis. LBDE may be performed either via the transcystic route or via laparoscopic choledochotomy. A number of strategies to improve success are available to the surgeon to help in the problem of complicated choledocholithiasis, these range from simple maneuvers to the use of laser or mechanical lithotriptors. With the advances in laparoscopic surgery, it is also possible to handle complex surgical conditions such as Mirizzi syndrome or recurrent pyogenic cholangitis laparoscopically, even though these have yet to be accepted as standard of care. Following laparoscopic choledochotomy, options for closure include: primary closure, closure over a T-tube, and closure over an endobiliary stent. T-tube placement has been associated with increased operating time and hospital length of stay compared to primary closure, with no significant differences in morbidity. Based on the available literature, LBDE appears comparable to ERCP with regards to procedural efficacy and morbidity. LBDE remains relevant to the general surgeon and is best viewed as being complementary to endoscopic therapy in the management of choledocholithiasis.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.13-18
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• 2019

Comorbidity isthe simultaneous presence of two chronic diseases or conditions in a patient. As part of a larger research study, the aims of this study were to explore comorbid conditions in intensive care unit (ICU) patients and to compare the comorbidity across different demographic groups, and to determine what comorbid health problems coexisted in the patients with hospital-acquired pressure injury (HAPI). The average number of comorbid conditions was 6.4 with range from 0-20 in the ICU patients. African American patients had significantly more comorbid health problems than other race/ethnicity groups. Asian and Hispanic female patients showed higher comorbidity than male patients across age. The patients with HAPIs had significantly more comorbid health problems than the patients without HAPIs -- the average numbers were almost two-fold. We found comorbid health problems that existed with HAPI in ICU patients. 'Other diseases of lung' and 'Disorders of fluid, electrolyte, and acid-base balance' were most frequently coexisting health problems in the ICU patients with HAPI. Exploratory plots are helpful to discover patterns or hypotheses relevant to clinical management in critical care. Inclusion of patients' comorbid health problems to ICU HAPI risk assessment may be helpful. Identification of patients at a high risk for the development of HAPI and the early preventative interventions can help reduce length of stay as well as costly complications.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.62 no.6
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• pp.199-205
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• 2019

Although Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) has been generally susceptible to macrolides, the emergence of macrolide-resistant MPP (MRMP) has made its treatment challenging. MRMP rapidly spread after the 2000s, especially in East Asia. MRMP is more common in children and adolescents than in adults, which is likely related to the frequent use of macrolides for treating M. pneumoniae infections in children. MRMP is unlikely to be related to clinical, laboratory, or radiological severity, although it likely prolongs the persistence of symptoms and the length of hospital stay. Thereby, it causes an increased burden of the disease and poor quality of life for the patient as well as a societal socioeconomic burden. To date, the only alternative treatments for MRMP are secondary antimicrobials such as tetracyclines (TCs) or fluoroquinolones (FQs) or systemic corticosteroids; however, the former are contraindicated in children because of concerns about potential adverse events (i.e., tooth discoloration or tendinopathy). A few guidelines recommended TCs or FQs as the second-line drug of choice for treating MRMP. However, there have been no evidence-based guidelines. Furthermore, safety issues have not yet been resolved. Therefore, this article aimed to review the benefits and risks of therapeutic alternatives for treating MRMP in children and review the recommendations of international or regional guidelines and specific considerations for their practical application.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.44-54
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• 2014

In spite of effective curative therapy, morbidity and mortality remain high for hospitalized patients with tuberculosis(TB) in Korea. The purpose of this study was to identify patient and hospital characteristics associated with hospital care outcome. Using annual patient survey data produced by Korea Institute for Health and Social Affair, we identified 8,562 hospital discharge with primary diagnosis of TB. Logistic regression analyses were performed on a model that included age, gender, residence area, insurance status, hospital admission source, length of stay, hospital ownership and class of hospital as the explanatory variables and outcome of treatments as the dependent variable. The results show that negative outcome was associated with the patients older than 65 years, medical aid beneficiary, admission through emergency department, and the patients admitted to public owned hospitals. On the other hand, the patients who were admitted to teaching hospitals were associated with positive outcome. To improve hospital treatment outcome of TB patients, more vigorous strategies should be implemented targeting the older and poor population in regard to social support as well as the clinical management and prevention.

• Korean Journal of Artificial Intelligence
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.29-35
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• 2021

In this paper, we analyzed the factors of adoption and implemented a predictive model to activate the adoption of animals. Recently, animal shelters are saturated due to the abandonment and loss of companion animals. To address this, we need to find a way to encourage adoption. In this paper, a study was conducted using two data from an open data portal provided by Austin, Texas. First, a correlation analysis was conducted to identify the attributes that affect the result value, and it was found that Animal Type Intake, Intake Type, and Age upon Outcome influence the Outcome Type with correlation coefficients of 0.4, 0.26, and -0.2, respectively. For these attributes, the analysis was conducted using Multiclass Logistic Regression. As a result, dogs had a higher probability of Adoption than cats, and animals subjected to euthanasia were more likely to adopt. In the case of Public Assist and Stray, it was found that the Missing rate was high. Also, the length of stay for cats increased to 12.5 years of age, while dogs generally adopted smoothly at all ages. These results showed an overall accuracy of 62.7% and an average accuracy of 91.7%, showing a fairly reliable result. Therefore, it seems that it can be used to develop a plan to promote the adoption of animals according to various factors. Also, it can be expanded to various services by interlocking with the webserver.

• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.136-145
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• 2005

Purpose: To investigate the degree and relationship of the quality of life(QOL) and family burden in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation recipients(HSCTr) at admission and discharge to isolation unit. Method: Data were obtained by interviewing from 60 HSCTr and 50 of their primary caregivers' and were analyzed by SAS program. Result: The degree of quality of life in pre and post HSCTr was significantly lower in the group who had physical discomfort compared with those who had no physical discomfort. The mean score of quality of life in pre HSCTr was significantly lower compared with in post HSCTr. Objective burden of family was higher than subjective one. Conclusion: QOL in HSCTr showed lower in the group of who had medical history, physical discomfort, no hope for cure and more than 5 weeks of length of stay. On the basis of these results, it is necessary to develop nursing intervention and to apply nursing care for improving their quality of life.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.122-127
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• 1994

A retrospective study of 737 consecutive patients surviving the first 24 hours who underwent valve replacement surgery from July 1980 to June 1993 was undertaken to determine the prevalence, variables that could be used to predict outcome and results of therapy for postoperative acute renal failure[ARF]. Twenty-one patients[2.8 %] developed acute renal failure. Positive risk factors noted in the development of postoperative renal failure included age, New York Heart Association class III & IV, endocarditis and elevated preoperative concentration of serum creatinine. The duration of cardiopulmonary bypass, aortic cross-clamping and the total duration of the operation also closely correlated with the incidence of ARF. The mortality rate for established ARF was 38.1% and ARF was associated with a significant increase in the length of hospitalization, ventilator support and intensive care unit stay. The incidence and mortality rate of oliguric renal failure was 38.1% and 85.7%. The highest mortality rate was associated with two or more postoperative complications and serum creatinine value exceeded 5 mg/dl. We concluded that therapy should be aimed at prevention of oliguric renal failure, or at least its conversion to nonoliguric renal failure, and early institution of renal replacement therapy with intensive support probably gives the best chance for survival.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.53-66
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• 2020

This study is aimed at investigated and compared the differences in the affect of hospital specialization according to hospital size using claims data of the Health Insurance and Review Assessment National Inpatient Sample in 2018 for diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue. To this end, we used multivariate hierarchical linear models(a.k.a., multi-level models) using two-tier data from 106,599 patients discharged after diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue from 734 hospitals. Multivariate results indicate that patients who were discharged with diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue from specialized hospitals with 200 beds or less stayed shorter and paid less inpatient charge than those who were discharged from less specialized hospitals. But for hospitals with 201-300 beds, no positive impact relationship was found between hospital specialization and operational performance. This finding may be limited evidence that the affect of a hospital's specialization strategy may vary depending on the size of the hospital. We discussed several managerial and health policy implications below.

• Journal of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.56-65
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• 2024

Purpose: This study aimed to explore the association between demographic characteristics, hospitalization-related characteristics, and the severity of long-term hospitalization in a high-level general hospital, and to analyze the factors influencing decisions of all patients. Methods: General and clinical characteristics of the participants were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. Differences in these characteristics, contingent upon whether a power source was requested, were analyzed using independent t-Test and Chi-squared tests. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the factors related to the presence or absence of power requests. Results: The factors impacting the decision to refer a dependent variable include medical treatment (neurosurgery) (B=2.118, SE=0.960, p-value=.027, OR=8.314, 95% CI=1.267-54.551), infection isolation (CRE) (B=1.336, SE=0.666, p-value=.045, OR=3.804, 95% CI=1.032-14.021), and the utilization of tertiary antibiotics (B=3.076, SE=1.362, p-value= .024, OR=21.663, 95% CI=1.502-312.530). Conclusion: This study found a significant association between medical treatment (neurosurgery), infection isolation (CRE), and the use of tertiary antibiotics as dependent variables. These findings indicate that continuous monitoring can contribute to a reduction in long-term financial burdens.