• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.26 no.2 s.42
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• pp.251-267
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• 1993

The relationship between lead related subject symptoms and lead exposure indices was studied in 435 male lead workers in thirteen lead using industries. 212 male office workers who were not exposed to lead occupationally were also studied as a control group. Fourteen lead related symptoms were selected. They were further subdivied into 4 sub-symptom groups such as 1) gastrointestinal, 2) neuromuscular and joint 3) constitutional, and 4) psychological symptoms. Symptom questionnaires were provided to the workers and filled up by themselves and reconfirmed by interviewer(doctor). The test used fer the evaluation of lead exposure were blood lead(PbB), zinc protoporphyrin in whole blood(ZPP), hemoglobin(Hb), hematocrit (Hct), delta-aminolevulinic acid in urine(DALA). The results obtained were as follows; 1. The higher prevalence rate in the sub-group of neuromuscular and joint symptoms was observed in occupationally lead exposed subjects than non-exposed subjects. Among the sub-groups, the most frequent symptom was 'numbness of finger, hands or feet', and the prevalence of the symptom of 'arthralgia', 'weakness of fingers, hands or feet' and 'myalgia' were higher in order. 2. While the symptom which showed the biggest difference of prevalence rate among the 14 symptoms between exposed and non-exposed subjects was 'numbness of fingers, hands or feet', the symptom which showed the highest prevalence rate was 'feeling tired generally' in exposed and non-exposed subjects, but no statistical difference of symptom prevalence were observed. 3. In total study population, PbB and ZPP had dose-response relationship with 4 symtoms of neuromuscular and joint symptoms ('numbness of finger, hands or feet', 'arthralgia', 'weakness of fingers, hands or feet' and 'myalgia') and one symptom of gastrointestinal group('intermittent pains in lower abdomen'). 4. In lead exposed workers, only neuromuscular and joint symptoms group showed dose-response relationship with PbB and ZPP, 5. In lead exposed workers, the prevalance rate of overall symptoms of lead workers with age below 39 years was higher than that of lead workers with age above 40. While neuromuscular and joint symptoms group had a dose-response relationship with PbB in former group, it had a dose-response relationship with ZPP in latter group. 6. Age adjusted odds ratios of symptoms of non-exposed with exposed and odds ratios of low exposed with high exposed workers showed the dose-response relationship of lead exposure with neuromuscular and joint symptoms group('numbness of fingers, hands or feet', 'arthralgia', 'weakness of fingers, hands or feet' and 'myalgia') and gastrointestinal symptoms group('intermittent pains in lower abdoman').

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.313-322
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify over time the changes of cancer symptom, depression and quality of life (QOL) among people who had stomach or colorectal cancer. Methods: Of the 74 participants recruited, 67 participated in the study. Participants were asked to complete three instruments at three different time. The instruments were the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory-Gastrointestinal Cancer Module, Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale, and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General. The questionnaires were administered before chemotherapy, toward the end of chemotherapy, and six months after the completion of adjuvant therapy. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and repeated measure ANOVA. Results: At the immediately after chemotherapy point, the most frequent symptom was lack of appetite, followed by fatigue and problem with remembering things. The mean score for depression was 8.27 with a prevalence of 31.3%. The mean score for quality of life was 61.88 out of 135. Repeated measures ANOVA showed a significant increase in cancer symptom (F=23.22, p<.001) and depression (F=35.29, p<.001) after chemotherapy. However, improvement was observed 6 months after the completion of chemotherapy. QOL (F=33.73, p<.001) also showed similar patterns as observed with cancer symptom and depression. Cancer symptom was the strongest predictor of QoL at pre-chemotherapy point. but depression was the strongest predictor at immediately after chemotherapy point. Conclusion: Chemotherapy is highly associated with cancer symptom, depression and QOL in patients with cancer. The nursing intervention is needed to relieve depression as well as cancer symptoms to improve QOL in patients undergoing chemotherapy from baseline to follow-up.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.2999-3001
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• 2015

Background: This study aimed to evaluate upper gastrointestinal polyps detected during esophago-gastroduodenoscopy tests. Materials and Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis on data regarding 55,987 upper gastrointestinal endoscopy tests performed at the endoscopy unit of Istanbul Education and Research Hospital between January 2006 and June 2012. Results: A total of 66 upper gastrointestinal polyps from 59 patients were analyzed. The most common clinical symptom was dyspepsia, observed in 41 cases (69.5%). The localizations of the polyps were as follows: 29 in the antrum (43.9%), 15 in the corpus (22.7%), 11 in the cardia (16.7%), 3 in the fundus (4.54%), 3 in the second portion of the duodenum (4.54%), 2 in the bulbus (3.03%) and 3 in the lower end of the esophagus (4.54%). Histopathological types of polyps included hyperplastic polyps (44) (66.7%), faveolar hyperplasia (8) (12.1%), fundic gland polyps (4) (6.06%), squamous cell polyps (4) (6.06%), hamartomatous polyps (3) (4.54%), and pyloric gland adenoma (3) (4.54%). Histopathological analysis of the gastric mucosa showed chronic atrophic gastritis in 30 cases (50.84%), HP infection in 33 cases (55.9%) and intestinal metaplasia in 19 cases (32.20%). In 3 cases with multiple polyps, adenocarcinoma was detected in hyperplastic polyps. Conclusions: Among polypoid lesions of the upper gastrointestinal tract, the most common histological type is hyperplastic polyps. Generally, HP infection is associated with chronic atrophic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia. The incidence of adenocarcinoma tends to be higher in patients with multiple hyperplastic polyps.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.177-185
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• 2020

This study investigated the clinical effect of Korean medicine treatments on two patients who experienced gastrointestinal symptoms with anxiety disorder. The patients were treated with herbal medicine (Yukgunja-tang, Banhabakchulchunma-tang) and acupuncture for 11 days and 26 days, respectively. The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS) scores on the day of hospital admission and after treatment were compared; both the BAI and GSRS scores decreased after treatment. Moreover, the grade of the gastrointestinal symptoms changed from severe to mild or none. Therefore, these cases are useful for describing Korean medicine treatments for anxiety disorders in patients who experience gastrointestinal symptoms. However, additional case reports and studies are be needed in the future to confirm these findings.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.230-237
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• 2015

Purpose: Various gastrointestinal factors may contribute to maladaptive behavior in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). To determine the association between maladaptive behavior in children with ASD and gastrointestinal symptoms such as severity, intestinal microbiota, inflammation, enterocyte damage, permeability and absorption of opioid peptides. Methods: This observational cross-sectional study compared children with ASD to healthy controls, aged 2-10 years. Maladaptive behavior was classified using the Approach Withdrawal Problems Composite subtest of the Pervasive Developmental Disorder Behavior Inventory. Dependent variables were gastrointestinal symptom severity index, fecal calprotectin, urinary D-lactate, urinary lactulose/mannitol excretion, urinary intestinal fatty acids binding protein (I-FABP) and urinary opioid peptide excretion. Results: We did not find a significant difference between children with ASD with severe or mild maladaptive behavior and control subjects for gastrointestinal symptoms, fecal calprotectin, urinary D-lactate, and lactulose/mannitol ratio. Urinary opioid peptide excretion was absent in all children. Children with ASD with severe maladaptive behavior showed significantly higher urinary I-FABP levels compared to those with mild maladaptive behavior (p=0.019) and controls (p=0.015). Conclusion: In our series, maladaptive behavior in ASD children was not associated with gastrointestinal symptoms, intestinal inflammation (no difference in calprotectin), microbiota (no difference in urinary D-lactate) and intestinal permeability (no difference in lactulose/manitol ratio). ASD children with severe maladaptive behavior have significantly more enterocyte damage (increased urinary I-FABP) than ASD children with mild maladaptive behavior and normal children.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.129-141
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• 2013

Objectives : Anorexia is the primary symptom impinging cancer patients' Quality of Life. It is usually accompanied by gastrointestinal symptoms(GI symptoms). Thus, to measure anorexia symptom precisely, assessing anorexia and GI symptoms together is recommended. This study was designed to analyze cancer-related anorexia assessment tools, extract GI symptoms included in these tools and investigate usefulness of instruments in clinical trials. Methods : Instruments were selected by searching PubMed, PROQOLID database. We analyzed instruments by number of items, assessment method, type of question, GI symptoms. Results : 9 instruments were selected to assess cancer-related anorexia symptom. Most tools adopt Likert scale as response scale and 'during past week' as recall period. Assessment method of all 9 instruments is the self-administration. Questions measuring anorexia are able to be sorted into 3 forms (frequency, severeness, distress of anorexia symptom). Among the GI symptoms, nausea is included in all 9 instruments. In clinical trials of cancer-related anorexia, Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale(ESAS) and Functional Assessment of Anorexia/Cachexia Therapy Questionnaire(FAACT) were selected as endpoint measure. Conclusions : The result showed that FAACT is the only specialized tool to assess cancer-related anorexia. To measure cancer-related anorexia precisely, the need to develop new instrument exists.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.128-133
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• 2015

We present a case of an 8-year-old boy with visceral autonomic neuropathy complicated by Guillain-Barre syndrome. In this pediatric patient, gastroparesis was the major symptom among the autonomic symptoms. Due to the gastroparesis, there was no progress with the oral diet, and nutrition was therefore supplied through a nasojejunal tube and gastrojejunal tube via Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG). After tube feeding for 9 months, the patient's gastrointestinal symptoms improved and his oral ingestion increased. The pediatric patient was maintained well without gastrointestinal symptoms for 3 months after removal of the PEG, had repeated vomiting episodes which lead to the suspicion of cyclic vomiting syndrome. Then he started treatment with low-dose amitriptyline, which resulted in improvement. Currently, the patient has been maintained well for 6 months without recurrence, and his present growth status is normal.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.649-658
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• 2010

This study was performed to develop a nutrition education program model for foreign worker patients. Questionnaire and interview were carried out for collecting quantitative and qualitative information from subjects, respectively. All subjects were foreign worker patients who could speak Korean, composed of 75 Chinese, 4 Mongolians and 1 American, aged from 22 to 73 years old. Among the subjects, 36 subjects had gastrointestinal disease(GD), 16 had coronary heart disease(CHD), 6 had diabetes, 6 had liver disease(LD) and the others had various different diseases. List of recommended and restricted foods for foreign workers to prevent GD and CHD were obtained from interviews with the subjects. A nutrition education program model for foreign worker patients having GD and CHD were developed, and small group education method was recommended. The contents of the program include cause and common symptom and basic nutrition care for the patients, choice of foods and cooking methods, behavioral modification, importance of medication and list of foods recommended and restricted for the patients.

• Journal of Korea Association of Health Promotion
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.46-54
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• 2005

The functional dyspepsia is a complex disease reaction that ocurs due to the presence of various factors and its pathophysiology has not been clearly verified until now. This disease is diagnosed after the organic diseases are ruled out. Therefore, the main treatments are limited down to compensating for revealed symptoms through exercising the supportive care. The international prevalence of the functional dyspepsia under the Rome I criterior is approximately 25%. For the cases of Koreans, there are very omnifarious symptoms in gastrointestinal disorders and the medical vocabularies which describe the diagnostic standard are not closely associated with the daily vocabularies, thus there would be a lot of restrictions to directly apply the Rome II criterior. However, the Korean Society of Gastrointestinal motility had decided to promote the use of the international standardized Rome II criterior in order for Korea to be comparable to the clinical studies from the other nations. There should be more extensive studies to differentiate the definitions of symptom descriptions from Korea to foreign countries. The extended researches concerning the pathophysiology are highly recommended which in return, would help enabling the reliable treatment techniques for this disease.

• Korean Journal of Bronchoesophagology
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.11-14
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• 2013

Gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a recurrent, long-term gastrointestinal condition characterised by the abnormal reflux of stomach contents into the esophagus. Heartburn is the most dominant symptom, which can be life long and can considerably reduce quality of life. The main goals of treatment are to alleviate symptoms and prevent relapses, esophageal stricture and adenocarcinoma. This paper presents a review comparing the effectiveness of omeprazole with Nissen fundoplication surgery for the treatment of GERD. Nissen fundoplication is more effective in controlling heartburn symptoms, healing esophagitis and preventing relapses than omeprazole. Quality of life, in terms of productivity and ability to work, is difficult to assess in the omeprazole group and, as a result, a comparison of this aspect is limited. Although fundoplication is expensive in the short term, it is more cost-effective than omeprazole. Nurses need to be aware of the effectiveness of omeprazole and fundoplication to provide patients with accurate information, which assists patients in decision making regarding treatment options.