• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.39 no.3 s.117
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• pp.352-365
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• 2006

In order to evaluate the change of aquatic environment in the reclaimed Hwaong Reservoir, situated in the early stage after construction, this study was conducted to measure the change of precipitation, temperature, and salinity from June 2002 to January 2006. The range and mean of temperature was $-0.7{\sim}33.4^{\circ}C$ and $13.6^{\circ}C$, respectively. Temperature of upstream part rapidly changed during the transitional period; from spring to summer and from fall to winter. It showed abrupt decrease with high discharge from the streams temporarily. While, hypolimnetic temperature of upstream happened to be somewhat higher than that of surface or downstream. The range and mean of salinity was 0.3${\sim}$32.3 psu and 25.3 psu, respectively. Vertical difference of salinity was marked, and the change in the surface water was much higher than middle or bottom layers. It showed the marked difference at all stations, except for the bottom layer of upstream into which Namyang Stream flows, indicating that vertical gradient of salinity is strongly sustained in the reservoir. Salinity was changed markedly during the storm period (June${\sim}$October), and freshwater with low salinity was expanded from upstream to downstream along the surface layer. The surface of the reservoir was totally covered by the stream discharged water with a large amount of silt and low salinity during this period. The difference of temperature and salinity between the surface and bottom layer ranged $-10.6{\sim}9.7^{\circ}C$ and $-27.1{\sim}30.0$ psu, respectively. The big difference of salinity appeared with a large discharge of freshwater from the streams or large input of seawater through the gate. Salinity was negatively correlated with temperature, indicating the influence of monsoon storm events on the salinity under the whole watershed scale of this brackish reclaimed reservoir.

• Neonatal Medicine
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.53-63
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• 2010

Purpose : Extrauterine growth restriction (EUGR) in preterm infants is a major problem in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and it has been related to long-term growth deficit and neurodevelopmental issues. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of and risk factors for EUGR. Methods : The study subjects consisted of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants with a gestational age $\leq$32 weeks that were born at the Seoul National University Children's Hospital between November 2005 and April 2009. EUGR was defined as weight for gestation, lower than the 10th percentile on discharge. Results : The frequency of EUGR was 67% (n=111/166). By multiple logistic regression, the presence of small for gestational age (SGA) was the greatest predictor of EUGR, birth weight and daily weight gain during the first 28 days were independent predictors of EUGR. Risk factors for EUGR in non-SGA infants were evaluated because 56% (64/114) of non-SGA infants developed EUGR at discharge. Daily weight gain in the first 28 days was also decreased in EUGR group and independently predicted the risk of EUGR in the non-SGA group. Conclusion : EUGR was a common problem in the NICU. SGA was the most significant predictive factor of the EUGR. Half of the non-SGA infants also developed EUGR, revealing poor weight gain in the early days was as an important predictor. These results support the importance of early nutritional intervention for weight gain which have lagged behind other modern therapeutic interventions when the infant is clinically unstable.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.30 no.7
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• pp.663-669
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• 1997

This is a report on the clinical outcome and hemodynamic profile of the ATSwcardiac valve prosthesis, which is a recently introduced pyrolytic carbon bileaflet prosthesis. We retrospectively reviewed the early outcome of 100 consecutive patients who underwent isolated cardiac valve replacement with the ATS(w prosthesis from October 1994 through June 1996 at our hospital. All patients were evaluated with Doppler echocardiography before discharge from the hospital. The mean age of the patients was 48.6 years(range: 2 to 74). A tota of 124 prosthesis were implanted; 71 mitral, 46 aortic, and 7 tricuspid. The two most frequently used sizes were 27 mm(40.8%) and 29 mm(35.2%) in the mitral position, and 23 mm(30.4%) and 21 mm(28.3%) in the aortic position. There was no early or late death. The total follow-up period was 950 patient-months with 99% follow-up rate. Serious late morbidity occurred in three patients; reoperation in two patients for late rupture of Sinus of Valsava in one and for endocarditis with prosthetic dehiscence in the other, and intracranial hemorrhage due to hypertension in one patient. There has been no thromboembolic complication or structural valval deterioration. In the mitral position, the average values of peak and mean transprosthetic pressure gradients and valve area calculated from pressure half time were 6.9$\pm$2.8 mmHg, 2.6$\pm$ 1.5 mmHg, and 2.7 $\pm$0.8 cm2 respectively. In the aortic position, the peak and mean pressure gradients'were 26.4 $\pm$ 15.9 mmHg and 14.2 $\pm$ 7.9 mmHg. For the mitra prostheses larger than 25-mm size, there was no significant difference among prosthetic sizes in terms of transprosthetic gradients, whereas there was a significant negative correlation between the prosthesis size and the transprosthetic gradients for the aortic valves. The peak and mean Pressere pradients were 52.2 $\pm$ 17.6 tmHg and 26.9$\pm$ 7.4 mmHg across the 19-mm aortic Prostheses, and 27.1 $\pm$ 11.9 mmHg and 13.3$\pm$6.6 mmHg across the 21-mm size. Above results can lead to the conclusion that the early clinical outcome of the ATS valve prosthesis is quite satisfactory, And the hemodynamic characteristics are comparable, if not better, with other bileaflet prostheses.

• The Korean Nurse
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.48-65
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• 1990

The government has adopted a policy to introduce Home Health Care Program, and has established a three stage plan to implement it. The three stage plan is : First, to amend Article 54 (Nurses for Different Types of Services) of the Regulations for Implementing the Law of Medical Services; Second, to tryout the new system through pilot projects established in public hospitals and clinics; and third, to implement at all hospitals and equivalent medical institutions. In accordance with the plan, the Regulation has been amend and it was promulgated on January 9,1990, thus establishing a legal ground for implementing the policy. Subsequently, however, the Medical Association raised its objection to the policy, causing a delay in moving into the second stage of the plan. Under these circumstances, a study was conducted by collecting and evaluating the opinions of physicians, nurses, non-medical personnel and patients on the need and expected result from the home health care for the purpose of help facilitating the implementation of the new system. As a result of this study, it was revealed that: 1. Except the physicians, absolute majority of all other three groups - nurses, non-medical personnel and patients -gave positive answers to all 11 items related to the need for establishing a program for Home Health Care. Among the physicians, the opinions on the need for the new services were different depending on their field of specialty, and those who have been treating long term patients were more positive in supporting the new system. 2. The respondents in all four groups held very positive view for the effectiveness and the expected result of the program. The composite total of scores for all of 17 items, however, re-veals that the physicians were least positive for the- effectiveness of the new system. The people in all four groups held high expectation on the system on the ground that: it will help continued medical care after the discharge from hospitals; that it will alleviate physical and economic burden of patient's family; that it will offer nursing services at home for the patients who are suffering from chronic disease, for those early discharge from hospital, or those who are without family members to look after the patients at home. 3. Opinions were different between patients( who will receive services) and nurses (who will provide services) on the types of services home visiting nurses should offer. The patients wanted "education on how to take care patients at home", "making arrangement to be admitted into hospital when need arises", "IV injection", "checking blood pressure", and "administering medications." On the other hand, nurses believed that they can offer all 16 types of services except "Controlling pain of patients", 4. For the question of "what types of patients are suitable for Home Health Care Program; " the physicians, the nurses and non-medical personnel all gave high score on the cases of "patients of chronic disease", "patients of old age", "terminal cases", and the "patients who require long-term stay in hospital". 5. On the question of who should control Home Health Care Program, only physicians proposed that it should be done through hospitals, while remaining three groups recommended that it should be done through public institutions such as public health center. 6. On the question of home health care fee, the respondents in all four groups believed that the most desireable way is to charge a fixed amount of visiting fee plus treatment service fee and cost of material. 7. In the case when the Home Health Care Program is to be operated through hospitals, it is recommended that a new section be created in the out-patient department for an exclusive handling of the services, instead of assigning it to an existing section. 8. For the qualification of the nurses for-home visiting, the majority of respondents recommended that they should be "registered nurses who have had clinical experiences and who have attended training courses for home health care". 9. On the question of if the program should be implemented; 74.0% of physicians, 87.5% of non-medical personnel, and 93.0% of nurses surveyed expressed positive support. 10. Among the respondents, 74.5% of -physicians, 81.3% of non-medical personnel and 90.9% of nurses said that they would refer patients' to home health care. 11. To the question addressed to patients if they would take advantage of home health care; 82.7% said they would if the fee is applicable to the Health Insurance, and 86.9% said they would follow advises of physicians in case they were decided for early discharge from hospitals. 12. While 93.5% of nurses surveyed had heard about the Home Health Care Program, only 38.6% of physicians surveyed, 50.9% of non-medical personnel, and 35.7% of patients surveyed had heard about the program. In view of above findings, the following measures are deemed prerequisite for an effective implementation of Home Health Care Program. 1. The fee for home health care to be included in the public health insurance. 2. Clearly define the types and scope of services to be offered in the Home Health Care Program. 3. Develop special programs for training nurses who will be assigned to the Home Health Care Program. 4. Train those nurses by consigning them at hospitals and educational institutions. 5. Government conducts publicity campaign toward the public and the hospitals so that the hospitals support the program and patients take advantage of them. 6. Systematic and effective publicity and educational programs for home heath care must be developed and exercises for the people of medical professions in hospitals as well as patients and their families. 7. Establish and operate pilot projects for home health care, to evaluate and refine their programs.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.123-129
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• 1999

Initial electrochemical characteristics of $LiCoO_2$ electrode for lithium ion battery with various content of super s black as conductive material were evaluated through the charge/discharge with the potential range of 4.3V to 2.0V versus $Li^+/Li^+$. The rate of C/4 and C/2 by the 3 electrode test cell composed with an electrolytic solution of 1 mol/l $LiPF_6/EC+DEC(1:3\;by\; weight)$. Lithium was used as reference electrode. High impedance charge behavior was observed at early stage of charge. In the case of $3\%w/w$ of super s black as conductive material, the specific resistance of the high impedance releasing was $3.82\;{\Omega}\;{\cdot}\;g-LiCoCo_2$ at the current density of $0.5 mA/cm^2$, which corresponds 7 times of the specific resistance of electrode $(0.728 g-LiCoO_2)$. At second charge, the specific resistance of the high impedance releasing was 63 mn · g-Lico02, which corresponds 12eio of the specific resistance of electrode and only $1.7\%$ of that of the first charge. The first charge and discharge specific capacities at C/4 rate were 160-161 and $153\~155mAh/g-LiCoO_2$, respectively, to lead $95.4\~96.4\%$ of coulombic efficiencies and ca. $6 mAh/g-LiCoO_2$ of initial irreversible specific capacity. Specific resistance at the end of charge and rest showed low value at content of super s black between 2 and $7\%w/w$, which agreed with characteristics of irreversible specific capacity. Capacity densities were reduced by the increasing the content of conductive material. They were 447 and 431mAh/ml when 2 and $2.9\%w/w$ of super s black were used, respectively, at the rate of C/4.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.51-61
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• 2010

Surface particulate organic carbon (POC) concentration was measured in the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico on 9 cruises from November 1997 to August 2000 to investigate the seasonal and spatial variability related to synchronous remote sensing data (Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS), sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface height anomaly (SSHA), and sea surface wind (SSW)) and recorded river discharge data. Surface POC concentrations have higher values (>100 $mg/m^3$) on the inner shelf and near the Mississippi Delta, and decrease across the shelf and slope. The inter-annual variations of surface POC concentrations are relatively higher during 1997 and 1998 (El Nino) than during 1999 and 2000 (La Nina) in the study area. This phenomenon is directly related to the output of Mississippi River and other major rivers, which associated with global climate change such as ENSO events. Although highest river runoff into the northern Gulf of Mexico Coast occurs in early spring and lowest flow in late summer and fall, wide-range POC plumes are observed during the summer cruises and lower concentrations and narrow dispersion of POC during the spring and fall cruises. During the summer seasons, the river discharge remarkably decreases compared to the spring, but increasing temperature causes strong stratification of the water column and increasing buoyancy in near-surface waters. Low-density plumes containing higher POC concentrations extend out over the shelf and slope with spatial patterns and controlled by the Loop Current and eddies, which dominate offshore circulation. Although river discharge is normal or abnormal during the spring and fall seasons, increasing wind stress and decreasing temperature cause vertical mixing, with higher surface POC concentrations confined to the inner shelf.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.81-115
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• 1992

The problem addressed by this study was to determine the effect of nurse - patient agreement on the means to achieve nursing goals in the early postpartum period of primiparous mothers. It was hypothesized that the experimental treatment would result in hegher self-confidence and satisfaction in maternal role performance. This purpose was to contribute to the planning of nursing care to enhance self- confidence and satisfaction in maternal role performance and to the development of relevant nursing theory. Especially, the early postpartum period is crucial toward in recovery from childbirth and attainment of the maternal role. Maternal role attaintment is a complex social and cognitive process of stimulus -response accomplished by learning. Most women attain the maternal role sucessfully. But, some primiparous mothers experience difficultites in attainment of the maternal role due to lack of experience and knowledge. Self-confidence and satisfaction in maternal role performance are important factors in attainment and adjustment to the maternal role (Mercer, 1981a, 1981b ; Lederman, Weigarten, and Lederman, 1981 :Bobak and Jensen, 1985). Nursing is defined as behaviors of nurses add patients that attain nursing goals through action, reaction, interaction, and transaction. For attainment of nursing goals, active participating transactions must occur by agreement on the means to achieve those goals through nurse -patient mutual goal setting and establishment of their active relationships(King, 1981, Ha, 1977). Based on King's theory of goal attainment (1981), this stuy was planned as a non-equivalent control group, non -synchronized quasi -experimental design using agreement on the means to achieve nursing goals in early postpartum as the experimental treatment. The data were collected from July 20 to Sep. 1, 1991 by questionnaires with 60 primiparous mothers planing to breast feed after normal deliveries at W hospital in Pusan, Korea. The subjects were divided into a control group(conventional group) -those admitted from July 20 to Aug. 12, and an experimental group(agreement group) - those admitted from Aug. 13 to Sep. 1. The instument for agreement on the means to nursing goals in the early postpartum period included five steps - identification of disturbances of problems through action, reaction, and interaction with primiparous mothers : mutual early postpartal nursing goal setting : exploration of the means to achieve goals ; agreement on the means (self- care, ealry maternal -infant contact, performance of mothering behavior, and communicating about the infant's behavior and health condition) : implementation of the means. This instrument was developed on the basis of King's elements that lead to transactions in nurse-patient interactions. Lederman et al's (1981) scale for Confidence in ability to cope with tasks of motherhood and Lederman et al's(1981) scale for Mother's satisfaction with motherhood and infant care were used to measure self-confidence and satisfaction in maternal role performance ·with the subjects immediately after admission and on the day of discharge. Self-care performance in the experimental group was measured by self -evaluation tool developed by the investigator from the literature concerned. The tools to measure Pelf-confidence and satisfaction in maternal role performance, and the tool to measure self-evaluation of self-care performance were tested for internal reliability. Cronbach's Alphas were 0.94, 0.94, and 0.63. The data were analysed by using in S.P.S.S. computerized program and included percentage, x²-test, t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson Correlation Coefficient. The conclusions obtained from this study are summerized as follows : 1. The degree of self-confidence in maternal role performance of the total subjects group measured before the experimental treatment was above average with a mean score of 2.77(range 2.14-3.64). Out of 14 items, those with relatively high mean scores were ‘I would like to be a better mother than I am’(3.95), and ‘I have my doubts about whether I am a good mother’(2.87). Those with low mean scores were ‘I know that my baby wants most of the times’(2.28), ‘When the baby cries, I can tell what she /he wants’(2.37), and ‘I have confidence in my ability to care for the baby’(2;50). That is, the self - confidence of Primiparous mothers was considerably high in mothering, but rather low in activities concerning the infant care and understanding of the infant behavior. The degree of satisfaction in maternal role performance of the total subjects group measured before the experimental treatment was high with a mean score of 3.18(range 1.92-3.92). Out of 13 items, those with relatively high mean scores were ‘I am glad 1 had this baby now’(3.75), ‘I play with the baby between feedings when s/he is awake and quiet’(3.67), and ‘I enjoy being a mother’(3.27). Those with low mean scores were ‘I am upset about having too many responsibilities as a mother’(2.78), ‘It bothers me to get up for the baby at night’(2.82), and ‘I get annoyed if the baby frequently interrupts my activities’.(2.82), That is, the satisfaction of primiparous mothers was considerably high in mothering and infant care, but rather low in restraints in time or on the mother's self accomplishment and development. 2. Agreement on the means to achieve nursing goals in the early postpartum period included process of mutual goal setting, exploration of the means to achieve goals, and ahreement in concert means to achieve goals based on the mothers' condition, concerns, self-perception of the nurse - patient interactions. In the process of agreement, there was agreement that the means to achieve goals should be through trust and establishment of active relationships with the nurse through identification of problems according to planned nursing goals and active interaction, such as explanations, teaching, changing of opinions, acceptance or rejection of explanations, and proposing of questions. Therefore agreement on the means to achieve nursing goals in the early postpartum period appears to be an effective nursing intervention for primiparous mothers. 3. The degree of self- confidence in maternal role performance of the exprimental group was higher than that of the control group(t＝3.95, p＜0.01). Out of 14 items, those with higher score in the experimental group were ‘I would like to be a better mother than I am’(t＝1.93, p＜0.05), ‘I know that my baby wants most of the times’(t＝2.75, p＜0.01), ‘When the baby cries, 1 can tell what she/he wants’(t＝2.10, p＜0.05), ‘I have confidence in my ability to care for the baby’(t＝3.72, p＜0.01), ‘I trust my own judement in deciding how to care for the baby’(t＝1.96, p＜0.05), ‘I feel that I know my baby and what to do for him /her’(t＝2.44, p＜0.01), ‘I am concerned about being able to meet the baby's needs’(t＝2.87, p＜0.01), ‘I know what my baby likes and dislikes’(t＝3.26, p＜0.01), ‘I don't know to care for the baby as well as I should’(t＝2.07, p＜0.05), and ‘I am unsure about whether I give enough attention to the baby’(t＝3.04, p＜0.01), That is, the degree of self-confidence in mothering, activities concerning infant care, and understanding of infant behavior of the experimental group was higher than that of the control group. Therefore, the first hypothesis, that the degree of self-confidence in maternal role performance of the experimental group would be higher than that of the control group, was supported(t＝3.95, p＜0.01). 4. The degree of satisfaction in the maternal role performance of the exprimental group was higer than that or the control group(t＝2.31, p＜0.05). Out of 13 items, those with higher score in the experimental group were ‘I am glad I had this baby now’(t＝2.29, p＜0.05), ‘I enjoy taking care of the baby’(t＝2.4g, p＜0.01), ‘It is boring for me to care for the baby and do the same thing over and over’(t＝2.87, P＜0.01), ‘I am unhappy with the amount of time I have for activities other than childcare’(t＝2.51, p＜0.01), and ‘When bathing and diapering the baby, I would like to be doing something else’(t＝2.43, p＜0.01). That is, the degree of satisfaction in mothering, infant care, and restraints in time of on the mother's self accomplishment and development in the experimental group was higher than that of the control group. Therefore, the second hypothesis, that the degree of satisfaction in maternal role performance of the experimental group would be higher than that of the control group, was supported(t＝2.31, p＜0.05). 5. The third hypothesis, that the higher the degree of satisfaction in materenal role performance, the higher the degree of self-confidence in materenal role performance in the experimental group, was supported (r＝0.57, p＜0.01)

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.37 no.9
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• pp.768-773
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• 2004

Failure of mitral valve repair sometimes may be ascribed to severe or progressive alteration of the subvalvar apparatus. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of new chordae formation on mitral repair. Material and Method: From March 1997 to february 1999, 26 patients underwent mitral valve repairs with new chordae formation, we compared the symptoms and echocardiographic findings checked at preoperative state, and intraoperative period, discharge, and their last OPD visit. There were 45 male, and 11 female patients, and their mean age was 51.2$\pm$43.4 years. Etiology of the lesions was degenerative (18), rheumatic (6), infective (1) and ischemic (1). Chordal lesions were caused by rupture (18), elongation (6), and a combination of two causes (2). Associated lesions included atrial septal defect (2), tricuspid insufficiency (7), aortic insufficiency(4), and a combination of previous two factors (2). The number of mean artificial chordae was 3.6$\pm$1.6. Annuloplasty was per-formed in all cases. The CPB time was 182,1$\pm$63.7 minutes and the ACC time was 133.1$\pm$45.6 minutes. Aver-age follow up period was 49.2$\pm$7.1 months. Result: There was no early death. Early reoperation was performed in bud patients, one patient received mitral valve replacement because of an abnormality of annuloplasty and ano-ther received pericardiostomy due to postoperative pericardial effusion. During the follow up of 49.2$\pm$7.1 moths, there was no late mortality. Postoperative NYHA functional class checked at last OPD visit was class I in 22 patients (88%), class II in 2 (8%), and class III in 1 (4%). Regarding the late echocardiogram MR was absent in 20 patients (78%), 1 in 4 (15%), and II in 1 (4%). The postrepair mitral valve area was 2.2$\pm$0.35 $\textrm{cm}^2$ Conclusion: This study suggests that mitral valve repair using new chordae formation provides good early and mid term survivals and functional improvement. We think that the artificial chorda formation with polytetrafluoroethylene suture might be safe and effective technique for mitral valve repair.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.27-34
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• 2008

Purpose: Many recent studies have reported on the feasibility and usefulness of laparoscopy assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG) for treating early gastric cancer. On the other hand, there has been few reports about laparoscopy assisted total gastrectomy (LATG) because upper located gastric cancer is relatively rare and the surgical technique is more difficult than that for LADG, We now present our procedure and results of performing LATG for the gastric cancer located in the upper or middle portion of the stomach. Materials and Methods: From Jan 2005 to Sep 2007, 96 patients underwent LATG by four surgeons at the Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. Among them, 48 consecutive patients who were operated on by asingle surgeon were analyzed with respect to the clinicopathological features, the surgical results and the postoperative courses with using the prospectively collected laparoscopy surgery data. Results: There was no conversion to open surgery during LATG. For all the reconstructions, Roux-en Y esophago-jejunostomy and D1+beta lymphadenectomy were the standard procedures. The mean operation time was $212{\pm}67$ minutes. The mean total number of retrieved lymph nodes was $28.9{\pm}10.54$ (range: $12{\sim}64$) and all the patients had a clear proximal resection margin in their final pathologic reports. The mean time to passing gas, first oral feeding and discharge from the hospital was 2.98, 3.67 and 7.08 days, respectively. There were 5 surgical complications and 2 non-surgical complications for 5 (10.4%) patients, and there was no mortality. None of the patients needed operation because of complications and they recovered with conservative treatments. The mean operation time remained constant after 20 cases and so a learning curve was present. The morbidity rate was not different between the two periods, but the postoperative course was significantly better after the learning curve. Analysis of the factors contributing to the postoperative morbidity, with using logistic regression analysis, showed that the 8MI is the only contributing factor forpostoperative complications (P=0.029, HR=2.513, 95% CI=1.097-5.755). Conclusions: LATG with regional lymph node dissection for upper and middle early gastric cancer is considered to be a safe, feasible method that showed an excellent postoperative course and acceptable morbidity. BMI should be considered in the patient selection at the beginning period because of the impact of the BMI on the postoperative morbidity.

• Neonatal Medicine
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.224-231
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• 2010

Purpose: Hospital readmissions have recently increased due to early hospital discharge and increased trends in breast-feeding. Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia can lead to fatal permanent neurological sequelae without appropriate management. Early detection and intervention are critical. We evaluated the clinical features, risk factors, and brain MRI findings of Korean newborns with idiopathic nonhemolytic hyperbilirubinemia to determine the optimal management policy. Methods: A retrospective review of the medical records of 79 newborns with idiopathic nonhemolytic hyperbilirubinemia was performed at the NICU of the Kyungpook National University Hospital from January 2006 to September 2009. All patients were 35 or more weeks of gestation, and their peak level of serum total bilirubin was more than 20 mg/dL. Results: The mean gestational age was $38^{+3}{\pm}1^{+4}$ weeks, and the mean age on admission was 8.8$\pm$4.0 days. The mean body weight (3,105$\pm$479 g) was decreased by 2.8$\pm$6.4 percent compared to the mean birth weight (3,174$\pm$406 g). There were no statistically significant differences for the peak serum bilirubin level or the duration and effects of phototherapy between the patients with and without risk factors, which included: breastfeeding, cephalohematoma, subdural hemorrhage, and/or ABO incompatibility. Patients were grouped according to change of body weight. Group I consisted of patients that gained weight compared to birth weight, and group II of patients that lost weight compared to birth weight. There were significant differences in the peak serum total bilirubin level between the two groups. Thirty nine patients had brain MRI evaluation; 21 patients had bilateral symmetric signal intensity increases in the globus pallidus compared to adjacent corticospinal tract and putamen on T1-weighted images. Conclusion: Bilirubin encephalopathy is preventable with early screening and proper management. Parents require instruction on feeding practices and follow-up to prevent complications from idiopathic nonhemolytic hyperbilirubinemia.