• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.438-448
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• 2008

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify nursing activities and to analyze patient outcomes related to indwelling urinary catheterization. Method: A review was done of 628 medical records from five units for patients admitted between January 1 and June 30, 2006. Twelve nurses who worked in the same units were interviewed. Results: In the interviews, nurses reported considering several non-invasive interventions prior to catheterization but there were no medical records of this activity. Results from the in-depth interviews showed that infection control activities such as urinary bag management were conducted but again there were no medical records. Seventy-five percent of the catheters were removed without prescription. In the medical records there were no notes for approximately 15%, on the time of first voiding and 80%, on volume of first voiding after removal of catheter. There was a significant difference in hospitalization days between the group catheterized for 5 days or less and the group catheterized for 6 days or more. Conclusion: Results indicate a need to close the gap between recorded and described activities and between current and best evidence based practice. Further study is needed to develop a standard recording system and guidelines related indwelling catheterization to decrease the gaps identified in this research.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.117-124
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• 2011

Objectives : Bell's palsy is the most common acute facial paralysis but its causes still unclear. At present, one of the most widely accepted cause is viral infections, and generally socioeconomic factors influence the viral infections. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship of incidence of facial palsy with socioeconomic factors. Methods : Seventeen patients with a acute facial palsy, who volunteered and completed all of the assessment measures participated. Using data on 17 participants, we examined the independent contribution of education, income, and occupation to a risk factor of severe facial palsy. Severity of global facial impairment was assessed by the facial disability index (FDI), the house-brackmann facial nerve grading system, WHO quality of life - bref (WHOQOL-BREF) and visual analogue scale (VAS) about discomfort of life. Results : There was no correlation between severity of facial palsy and gender, marriage, education, or occupation. Age greater than 60 years (p<0.05), and low monthly income(p<0.05), poor self-rated health was associated with greater severity of idiopathic facial paralysis. Conclusions : The number of subjects with facial palsy in our study (n-17) was small, and therefore generalization to larger patient populations might be unwarranted. But according to the outcome, we suggest that socioeconomic factors, especially low monthly income influence severity of bell's palsy.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.121-124
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• 2014

A 7-year-old, intact female Jindo dog was presented for assessment of weight-bearing lameness of the right hindlimb. On physical examination, crepitus and pain was noted in the right coxofemoral joint upon extension. Radiographs revealed a craniodorsal luxation of the right coxofemoral joint and degenerative joint disease (DJD) of both coxofemoral joints. Total hip replacement (THR) was performed for the right coxofemoral joint. Intraoperatively, dorsal acetabular rim (DAR) deficiency was noted, which can be related to a high risk for acetabular cup implant dislocation. Deficiency of the dorsal acetabular rim realigned with the acetabular cup using universal locking plate (ULP) and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) bone cement. After surgery, the patient had an uneventful course and a successful outcome. The ROM and thigh girth were dramatically improved. There were no complications associated with prosthesis implants. Hip luxation with dorsal acetabular rim deficiency in a dog was successfully repaired with THR and dorsal acetabular rim augmentation using ULP and PMMA bone cement. This technique should be considered when conventional THR is precluded by dorsal acetabular rim deficiency.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.343-349
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• 2012

Objective : Pedicle-based dynamic stabilization systems, in which semi-rigid rods or cords are used to restrict or control spinal segmental motion, aim to reduce or eliminate the drawbacks associated with rigid fusion. In this study, we analyzed the two-year clinical outcomes of patients treated with the NFlex (Synthes Spine, Inc.), a pedicle-based dynamic stabilization system. Methods : Five sites participated in a retrospective study of 72 consecutive patients who underwent NFlex stabilization. Of these 72 patients, 65 were available for 2-year follow-up. Patients were included based on the presence of degenerative disc disease (29 patients), degenerative spondylolisthesis (16 patients), lumbar stenosis (9 patients), adjacent segment degeneration (6 patients), and degenerative lumbar scoliosis (5 patients). The clinical outcome measures at each assessment were Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) to measure back pain, and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) to measure functional status. Radiographic assessments included evidence of instrumentation failure or screw loosening. Results : Sixty-five patients (26 men and 39 women) with a mean age of 54.5 years were included. Mean follow-up was 25.6 months. The mean VAS score improved from 8.1 preoperatively to 3.8 postoperatively, representing a 53% improvement, and the ODI score from 44.5 to 21.8, representing a 51% improvement. Improvements in pain and disability scores were statistically significant. Three implant-related complications were observed. Conclusion : Posterior pedicle-based dynamic stabilization using the NFlex system seems effective in improving pain and functional scores, with sustained clinical improvement after two years. With appropriate patient selection, it may be considered an effective alternative to rigid fusion.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.146-155
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• 2015

Purpose: The aim of this descriptive study was to explore the relationship between non-technical skills (NTSs) and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) performance of nurses' teams in simulated cardiac arrest in the hospital. Methods: The sample was 28 teams of nurses in one university hospital located in Seoul. A high fidelity simulator was used to enact simulated cardiac arrest. The nurse teams were scored by raters using both the CPR performance checklist and the NTSs checklist. Specifically the CPR performance checklist included critical actions; time elapsed to initiation of critical actions, and quality of cardiac compression. The NTSs checklist was comprised of leadership, communication, mutual performance monitoring, maintenance of guideline, and task management. Data were collected directly from manikin and video recordings. Results: There was a significant difference between the medians of the NTSs and CPR performance (Mann Whitney U=43.5, p=.014). In five subcategories, communication (p=.026), mutual performance monitoring (p=.005), and maintenance of guideline (p=.003) differed significantly with CPR performance in medians. Leadership (p=.053) and task management (p=.080) were not significantly different with CPR performance. Conclusion: The findings indicate that NTSs of teams in addition to technical skills of individual rescuers affect the outcome of CPR. NTSs development and assessment should be considered an integral part of resuscitation training.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.238-245
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• 2014

Purpose: Gastric cancer often occurs in the elderly but is uncommon in young individuals. Whether young patients have different clinical behaviors and outcomes from those of older patients remain unclear. Materials and Methods: We identified 1,366 cases of newly diagnosed noncardia gastric adenocarcinoma from the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Cancer Registry between 2000 and 2010. We then compared the clinicopathological features and survival among the different age groups. Results: The male : female ratio differed significantly between the younger and older patient groups (0.84 in age <50 years vs. 1.52>60 years, P<0.01). More younger patients were Hispanic (54% patients <40 years vs. 19% patients ${\geq}70$ years, P<0.0001), while more older patients were Caucasian (49% patients ${\geq}70$ years vs. 15% patients <40 years; P<0.0001). The diffuse/mixed histological type was more prevalent in younger patients (70% patients <40 years vs. 27% patients ${\geq}70$ years; P<0.0001), whereas the intestinal type was more frequent in older patients (71% in patients ${\geq}70$ years vs. 30% in patients <40 years; P<0.0001). Poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma was more common in the younger patients (80% in patients <40 years vs. 60% in patients ${\geq}70$ years; P=0.016). Survival rates at 1, 2, and 5 years gradually declined with increasing age (overall P=0.0002). Conclusions: Young patients with gastric cancer had more aggressive disease but higher overall survival rates than older patients. Younger Hispanic patients and older Caucasian patients were more likely to be diagnosed with gastric cancer. These differences may be due to biological predisposition and/or environmental exposure.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.233-240
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• 2020

Background: Cross-culturally adapted questionnaires may not be comparable to their original version. Objects: To examine concurrent validity of two health-related quality of life (HRQOL) instruments for the Korean versions of EuroQOL-5 Dimension (EQ-5D) and the abbreviated version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) instrument. Methods: A total of 139 cancer survivors from two rehabilitation institutes was recruited. All participants were registered for palliative rehabilitation care. Both instruments were concurrently administered by health care providers following the second bout of the rehabilitation cares. Rasch partial credit model and Spearman's correlation analysis were used to investigate: 1) dimensionality, 2) hierarchical item difficulty, and 3) concurrent validity using correlations between two instruments. Results: For the WHOQOL-BREF, all items except negative feeling, pain, dependence of medical aid, were found to be acceptable, while all items of EQ-5D were acceptable. There was an evidence of negative correlations between EQ-5D and 4 domains of WHOQOL-BREF. Two correlations were strong (EQ-5D vs. physical health domain, ρ = -0.610, 95% CI = -0.716 to -0.475) and moderate (EQ-5D vs. psychosocial domain, ρ = -0.402, 95% CI = -0.546 to -0.236). Other two correlations were weak (EQ-5D vs. social relationship and environmental domains, ρ = -0.242, 95% CI = -0.401 to -0.075 and ρ = -0.364, 95% CI = -0.514 to -0.207, respectively). Item difficulty calibrations of the two measurements were ranged from -0.84 to 0.86 for the EQ-5D and -1.07 to 1.06 for the WHOQOL-BREF. Conclusion: The study provides some supports for the concurrent validity of the two Korean versions of HRQOL instrument, with evidences of weak to strong correlations between the EQ-5D and four domains of the WHOQOL-BREF applied to various cancer survivors. Additionally, the cancer survivors appeared to have more of a tendency to view the EQ-5D items as being slightly more challenging than the WHOQOL-BREF items.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.57-62
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• 2014

Background Achieving symmetry is a key goal in breast reconstruction. Anatomically shaped tabbed expanders are a new tool in the armamentarium of the breast reconstruction surgeon. Suture tabs allow for full control over the expander position and thus inframammary fold position, and, in theory, tabbed expanders mitigate many factors responsible for poor symmetry. The impact of a tabbed expander on breast symmetry, however, has not been formally reported. This study aims to evaluate breast symmetry following expander-implant reconstruction using tabbed and non-tabbed tissue expanders. Methods A chart review was performed of 188 consecutive expander-implant reconstructions that met the inclusion criteria of adequate follow-up data and postoperative photographs. Demographic, oncologic, postoperative complication, and photographic data was obtained for each patient. The photographic data was scored using a 4-point scale assessing breast symmetry by three blinded, independent reviewers. Results Of the 188 patients, 74 underwent reconstruction with tabbed expanders and 114 with non-tabbed expanders. The tabbed cohort had significantly higher symmetry scores than the non-tabbed cohort ($2.82/4{\pm}0.86$ vs. $2.55/4{\pm}0.92$, P=0.034). Conclusions The use of tabbed tissue expanders improves breast symmetry in tissue expander-implant-based breast reconstruction. Fixation of the expander to the chest wall allows for more precise control over its location and counteracts the day-to-day translational forces that may influence the shape and location of the expander pocket, mitigating many factors responsible for breast asymmetry.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.264-270
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• 2014

Background The technique of delayed-immediate breast reconstruction includes immediate insertion of a tissue expander, post-mastectomy radiation, followed by reconstruction. The aesthetic benefits of delayed-immediate reconstruction compared to delayed reconstruction are postulated but remain unproven. The purpose of this study was to compare aesthetic outcomes in patients following delayed and delayed-immediate autologous breast reconstruction. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed of all patients who underwent delayed or delayed-immediate autologous breast reconstruction by the senior author from 2005 to 2011. Postoperative photographs were used to evaluate aesthetic outcomes: skin quality, scar formation, superior pole contour, inferior pole contour, and overall aesthetic outcome. Ten non-biased reviewers assessed outcomes using a 5-point Likert scale. Fisher's Exact and Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney tests were used for comparative analysis. Results Patient age and body mass index were similar between delayed (n=20) and delayed-immediate (n=20) cohorts (P>0.05). Skin and scar quality was rated significantly higher in the delayed-immediate cohort (3.74 vs. 3.05, P<0.001 and 3.41 vs. 2.79, P<0.001; respectively). Assessment of contour-related parameters, superior pole and inferior pole, found significantly improved outcomes in the delayed-immediate cohort (3.67 vs. 2.96, P<0.001 and 3.84 vs. 3.06, P<0.001; respectively). Delayed-immediate breast reconstruction had a significantly higher overall score compared to delayed breast reconstructions (3.84 vs. 2.94, P<0.001). Smoking and the time interval from radiation to reconstruction were found to affect aesthetic outcomes (P<0.05). Conclusions Preservation of native mastectomy skin may allow for improved skin/scar quality, breast contour, and overall aesthetic outcomes following a delayed-immediate reconstructive algorithm as compared to delayed breast reconstruction.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.242-249
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• 2016

Background: We evaluated early and long-term results after heart transplantation (HTPL). Methods: One hundred five consecutive patients (male:female=80:25) who underwent HTPL between 1994 and 2013 were enrolled. Based on the changes in immunosuppressive regimen, the study patients were divided into two groups. Early and long-term clinical outcomes were evaluated and compared between the patients who underwent HTPL before (group E, n=41) and after July 2009 (group L, n=64). The group L patients were older (p<0.001), had higher incidence of hypertension (p=0.001) and chronic kidney disease (p<0.001), and more frequently needed preoperative mechanical ventilation (p=0.027) and mechanical circulatory support (p=0.014) than the group E patients. Results: Overall operative mortality was 3.8%, and postoperative morbidities included acute kidney injury (n=31), respiratory complications (n=16), reoperation for bleeding (n=15) and wound complications (n=10). There were no significant differences in early results except acute kidney injury between group E and group L patients. Overall survival rates at 1, 5, and 10 years were 83.8%, 67.7%, and 54.9%, respectively, with no significant difference between the two patient groups. Rejection-free rates at 1 and 5 years were 63.0% and 59.7%, respectively; rates were significantly higher in group L than in group E (p<0.001). Conclusion: Despite increased preoperative comorbidities, group L patients showed similar early and long-term outcomes and significantly higher rejection-free rates when compared with group E patients.