• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.270-281
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• 2005

Purpose: The objective of this study was to understand the caring experience of families with terminal cancer patients. Method: This was designed to be an inductive and descriptive study. Forty-seven families with terminal cancer patients were interviewed in depth and collected data were examined through content analysis. Result: The main categories of difficulties found in this study were 'suffering of patient', 'emotional suffering of family', 'bereavement of patient', 'difficulties in coping', 'problems in treatment', 'incurable situation', 'family problems', 'relationship with other people', 'economic problems', 'spiritual problems', 'problems in the future', 'informing patients of their condition', 'preparing death', 'emotional unstability', 'meaninglessness', 'unkindness of medical teams', 'poor environment for treatment', 'difficulties in hospital environment' and 'economic burden'. Conclusion: The main point found from this result was that families taking care of terminal cancer patients are suffering emotionally from watching the patients' pains and had difficulties in coping with the patients' situation and treatment. In addition, they had negative experiences in medical teams' attitude and hospital environment. This result can be used as an important guide for nurses to assess families' needs in the terminal care setting.

• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.27-34
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• 2012

Purpose: This study was conducted to identify the impact of fatigue, pain, anxiety and depression on the quality of life (QOL) among breast cancer patients. Methods: This study was conducted from July 12th to July 20th, 2010. One hundred and fifty breast cancer patients were recruited from D city in Korea. The instruments used in this study were the fatigue, pain, anxiety, depression and the quality of life scales for patients with breast cancer. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficients and multiple regression with the SPSS/WIN 12.0 program. Results: The quality of life for cancer patients showed a significant relationship with fatigue, pain, anxiety and depression. The significant factors influencing quality of life were fatigue, pain, anxiety and depression that explained 65.6% of the variance. Conclusion: Patients with breast cancer experienced fatigue, pain, anxiety and depression which led to a negative effect on quality of life. The results suggest that intervention programs to reduce fatigue, pain, anxiety and depression could improve the quality of life for breast cancer patients.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2013

Purpose: The base deficit (BD) at admission in severely injured patients has been shown to predict the adequacy of resuscitation and outcome, but this relationship is not well established in the Korean experience. The purpose of this study was to define the association between arterial blood gas (ABG) values and the mortality for patients with severe blunt trauma at a developing trauma center in Korea. Methods: A retrospective review of 415 adult patients with severe blunt trauma was conducted using electronic medical records from Jan. 2010 to Dec. 2011. Results: A total of 256 patients had ABG drawn within 1 hour of arrival. Patients who expired displayed a higher lactate level (4.86 vs. 3.31, p<0.0001), a worse BD (-7.99 vs. -5.37, p=0.001), and a lower pH (7.31 vs. 7.34, p=0.011) at arrival compared with those who survived. A statistically significant association was also observed between BD and blood product usage (p=0.001). Conclusion: The base deficit at admission is a useful marker of mortality and outcome in severely injured patients with blunt trauma in Korea.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.17-25
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• 2019

Purpose: We investigated how prehospital, emergency room (ER), and delta shock indices (SI) correlate with outcomes including mortality in patients with polytrauma. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 1,275 patients who visited the emergency department from January 2015 to April 2018. A total of 628 patients were enrolled in the study. Patients were divided into survivor and non-survivor groups, and logistic regression analysis was used to investigate independent risk factors for death. Pearson coefficient analysis and chi-square test were used to examine the significant relationship between SI and clinical progression markers. Results: Of 628 enrolled patients, 608 survived and 27 died. Multivariate logistic regression analysis reveals "age" (p<0.001; OR, 1.068), "pre-hospital SI >0.9" (p<0.001; OR, 11.629), and "delta SI ${\geq}0.3$" (p<0.001; OR, 12.869) as independent risk factors for mortality. Prehospital and ER SIs showed a significant correlation with hospital and intensive care unit length of stay and transfusion amount. Higher prehospital and ER SIs (>0.9) were associated with poor clinical progression. Conclusions: SI and delta SI are significant predictors of mortality in patients with polytrauma. Moreover, both prehospital and ER SIs can be used as predictive markers of clinical progression in these patients.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.387-391
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• 2011

Background: The relationship between the degree of expression of matrix metalloproteinases or tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases and venous reflux remains to be investigated. Materials and Methods: Primary varicose vein tissues were obtained from 23 patients, 18 females and 5 males, aged from 19 to 73. Cephalic or basilic veins were obtained for the control group from 10 patients who underwent vascular access for maintenance hemodialysis. Two operative techniques (high ligation with stripping or endovenous laser coagulation) were used. The expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 and 13 and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-4 in the varicose vein group and control group was assessed semi-quantitatively by immunohistochemical slides stained with primary antibodies. Results: Twenty (87%) of the varicose vein group patients had greater or lesser saphenous vein diseases with reflux. The focal weak (+) stain for matrix metalloproteinases-2, and 13, and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-4 was dominant in the varicose vein group; the focal or diffuse strong stain (++ or +++) was prevalent in the control group. The differences were statistically significant (p<0.01). The degree of reflux and the duration of symptoms were not significantly related to the expression of MMP-13 (p=0.317 and p=0.654, respectively). Conclusion: Further study should be performed to investigate the relationship between the clinical characteristics related to venous hypertension or reflux and expression of MMPs and TIMP in varicose veins.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.95-105
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• 2017

Purpose: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis were conducted to synthesis research findings on relationships of quality of life with multi-dimensional correlates in Korean breast cancer patients. Methods: For the study purpose, 18 studies were selected through a systematic process of searching the literature. Results: Among the general characteristics, variables having a significant relationship with quality of life were age (ES=.19), marital status (ES=.15), education (ES=.19), economic status (ES=.16), job status (ES=.10), and religion (ES=.13). Among the disease characteristics, type of treatment (ES=.12), length of time since diagnosis (ES=.13), stage of disease (ES=.14), length of time since operation (ES=.10), frequency of treatment (ES=.19), wound site and pain (ES=.16) were shown to have a significant relationship with quality of life. Depression (ES=-.60), one of the psychological factor, was the variable most significantly related to quality of life. Conclusion: The findings indicate that the variables which strongly impact quality of life in breast cancer patients are depression and pain.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.68-77
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• 2016

Purpose: The present study was done to identify the relationship of cultural competence, self efficacy and job stress of nurses working on wards for foreign patients. Methods: The participants were 133 clinical nurses who agreed to participate in the study and were working on wards for foreign patients in three general hospitals in Seoul. A structured questionnaire that covered the three tested constructs was conducted between Dec. 15, 2014 and Jan. 15, 2015. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficients with SPSS/WIN 21.0 program. Results: Cultural competence was found to have a significant positive correlation with self efficacy (r=.464, p<.001) and self efficacy had a significant negative correlation with job stress (r=-.397, p<.001). Conclusion: The findings of the study suggest that programs designed to nourish cultural sensitivity and cultural skills need to be developed in order to promote cultural competence. The results also suggest that in these programs to improve self efficacy and reduce job stress should be considered.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.59 no.8
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• pp.341-345
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• 2016

Purpose: Venous angioma (VA) is the most common congenital abnormality of the intracranial vasculature. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between VA and epilepsy and to identify the characteristics of children with VA and epilepsy. Methods: The records of all patients aged less than 18 years who underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at Pusan National University Hospital were retrospectively reviewed. Patients with isolated VA and patients with normal MRI were compared in terms of the prevalence of epilepsy. Results: In total, 2,385 pediatric patients who underwent brain MRI were enrolled. Isolated VA was identified in 26 patients (VA group). Among the patients with normal MRI findings, 225 age- and sexmatched patients to the VA-group were assigned to the control group. Nine patients in the VA group (9 of 26, 34.6%) and 27 patients in the control group (26 of 225, 11.5%; P<0.001) had epilepsy. In the VA group, 20 patients (76.9%) had the VA in the cerebral hemispheres, and 6 patients (23.1%) had the VA in the brainstem and cerebellum. The latter showed a higher prevalence of epilepsy (5 of 6, 83.3%) than the former (4 of 20, 20.0%; P=0.004). Among the nine patients who had epilepsy with VA, patients whose VA involved the brainstem and cerebellum showed a significantly higher frequency of abnormal Electroencephalographic findings than patients whose VA involved the cerebral hemispheres (P=0.016). Conclusion: VA, especially in the brainstem and cerebellum, might be associated with epilepsy.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.62-68
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• 1997

Dysphagia generally has a good prognosis after stroke involving cerebral hemisphere or braibstem, but it could have serious consquence with dehydration leading to haemoconcentration, renal failure and aspiration leading to pneumonia. This preliminary report was written for main report. The main report will be written to give an objective guide post of management and treatment in stroke patient with dysphagia. The objective guide posts were follows as, 1. Close examination for relationship between dysphagia in stroke patients and other neurological deficits 2. Influence on the prognosis of dysphagia in stroke patients by the grade of dysphagia at admission time. 3. The realtionship between the site and size of brain damage and the grade and prognosis of dysphagia 4. The frequency and prognosis of dysphagia in stroke patients according to sex and age. 5. The rate and speed of recovery with dysphagia after stroke. 6. Frequency and process of complications, aspiration pneumonia, weight loss, sore, in stroke patient group with dysphagia.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.701-708
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• 2005

Purpose. This study examined the characteristics of fatigue and the relationship between fatigue and its related factors in Korean patients on hemodialysis. Methods. A cross-sectional correlational study was conducted with 104 patients on hemodialysis in Seoul, Korea. Finding. Of a total of 104 subjects, eighty-one ($77.9\%$) complained of fatigue. Fatigue severity was measured by the self-rating Visual Analogue Scale-Fatigue (VAS-F) with a mean score of 36.5 (SD = 17.49, range 2 - 81). The mean duration of fatigue was 3.8 hours (SD = 5.3, range 0 - 24). Depression was most significantly correlated with fatigue (beta = .43, p<.00), with interdialytic weight gain (beta = .25, p<.05) being the second most significant correlate. Conclusion. This study shows that nursing interventions for patients who experience fatigue while on hemodialysis should be focused on both psychological problems, such as depression, as well as on physiological problems, such as interdialytic weight gain.