• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.90-97
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• 2001

The reason for exploring dreams is to understand the of patient's conflicts and unconscious motivation. Even if the therapeutic value of dreams is considerably faded these days, I can not deny that dreams are still very useful. From the beginning of human history, dreams have been an appealing subject for many people. In the past, dreams chiefly had the value of prophetic meaning, and in our tradition attention was paid to dreams in terms of good and bad dichotomy. Freud's discovery of the Unconscious and technical development of its exploration is reinforced by dream interpretation. In contemporary terms, although dreams are not the royal road to the Unconscious, they surely present a short-cut. I suggest that dreams as a treasure island of the Unconscious have a useful therapeutic value, and that stressing the importance of dreams is by no means anachronistic. I believe that practical sessions without dreams are like a river without bridges.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.263-305
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• 2009

Is it lawful to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment applied to a patient in a terminal condition or permanent unconscious condition? In Korea, there are no such laws or regulations which control affairs related to the withholding or withdrawal life-support treatment and active euthanasia as the Natural Death Act or the Death with Dignity Act in the U. S. A. And in addition there has had no precedent of Supreme Court. Recently Supreme Court has pronounced a historical judgment on a terminal care case. The court allowed the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment from a patient in a permanent unconscious state. Fundamentally the court judged that the continuation of that medical treatment would infringe dignity and value of a patient as a human being. And the court required some legal grounds to consider such withdrawal or withholding of medical care lawful. The legal grounds are as follow. First, the patient is in a incurable and irreversible condition and already entered a stage of death. Second, the patient executed a directive, in advance, directing the withholding or withdrawal of life-support treatment in a incurable and irreversible condition or in a terminal condition. Otherwise, at least, the patient's will would be presumed through his/her character, view of value, philosophy, religious faith and career etc. I regard if a patient is in a incurable and irreversible condition or in a terminal condition, the medical contract between a patient and a doctor would be terminated because of the actual impossibility of achievement of it's purpose. So I think the discontinuation of life-sustaining care would be legally allowed without depending on the patient's own will.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.345-354
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• 1995

Blenderized diets are not recommended because of difficulties in providing a constant content of nutrients, phoblems with viscosity and osmolarity, time needed for preparation, and increased risk of contamination. To determine the possibility of substituting commercial formulas for blenderized diets, 27 unconscious patients were randomized into two different groups : blenderized diet group(n=11) and commercial formula group(n=16). Blenderized diets were composed of food sources such as rice, milk, egg, juices and others, and its energy percentage of protein, fat, and carbohydrate was 15%, 30%, and 55%, respetively. Commercial enteral formulas provided 1 kcal/ml and the energy percentage of protein, fat and carbohydrate was 25%, 20% and 55% in greenbia(G) and 20%, 20%, and 60% in Greenbia-DM(GD), repectively. In commercial formula group, five patients with diarrhea, constipation, and high blood glucose level received GD, and the other eleven patients received G. All patients received their lipuid diet for 4 weeks through 16 French rubber nasogastric tube by bolus feeding 6 times daily. The patients in commercial formula group had a similar mean daily calorie intake to the patient in blenderized diet group, 32-34kcal/kg/d and 30-35kcal/kg/d, respectively. Patients given commercial formula gained an averge of 1.7kg in weight but those given blenderized diet lost an average of 2.6kg. There was a trend toward an increase in percent ideal body weight in commercial formula group(94$\pm$5 vs 99$\pm$6%). However, blenderized diet group showed a trend toward a decrease in percent ideal body weight(106$\pm$5 vs $101\pm$6%). The initial levels of total lymphocyte counts, serum albumin and tranferrin were below the normal rante, The mean daily protein intake was significanlty higher for commercial formula group(2.0-2.1g/kg/d) than for blenderized diet group(1.1-1.3g/kg/d). Patient fed cormmercial formula for 4 weeks showed a trend toward an increase in serum albumin(8.1%) and a significant increase in serum transferrin(32.1%) without increasing the levels of blood glucose. GOT, GPT, blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine. In the blenderized diet group, however, no significant improvement were obseved in the concentration of serum albumin and transferin, compared to initial value. There was a trend toward a decrese in the level of hemoglobin and hematocrit in blenderized deit group but no significnat change in commercial formulas goups. All patients tolerated both diets well and no significant complications were encountered. The results indicate that the commercial enteral formulas tested in this study can be an effective substitution for blenderized diet in unconscious tube-fed patients.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.457-463
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• 2001

In the unconscious patient with general muscle rigidity, the natural teeth can be luxated and then bite wounds may be occurred around lip, owing to the pathologic involuntary self-biting habit. If the forceful biting is generated continuously, the teeth may be avulsed and aspirated into the aerodigestive tract with the infection of biting wound. For the prevention of pulmonary aspiration of the teeth and wound infection, the biting teeth should be cared before the fact. The authors treated the teeth as endodontic drainage with removal of the crown or iodoform gauze drainage into the socket with extraction of the teeth. The prognosis was more favorable without biting wounds.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.77-107
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• 2008

In Republic of Chaina (Taiwan), Natural Death Act named "Anning Huauhe Yiliao Tiaoli" which means palliative and hospice care act was enacted in year of 2000. And enforced in the same year. Many scholars say that Taiwan's Act took Many U.S.A.'s acts such as 'Federal Patient Self-Determination Act 1990', 'California Natural Death Act 1976' and 'Washington Natural Death Act 1979' for a model. Taiwan's Act adopts a few outstanding systems - 'advance declarations' including 'living will' and 'durable power of attorney for health care', 'family-determination system' for a patient who is in a persistent unconscious state. This paper disusses this Act. 'The content is as follow: 1. A background of legislation. 2. The purpose of legislation. 3. The concept of terms. 4. Patient's self-determination. 5. Subrogated determination by family. 6. Keeping documents. 7. Punitive provision. 8. The relationship with euthanasia. 9. Controversial issues.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.106-113
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• 2015

In psychodynamic therapy, trauma related symptoms are considered as an attempt to overcome the traumatic experiences. Therefore, psychodynamic psychotherapy regards the symptom not as a patient's defect but as an adaptive reaction. In contrast to other therapies, psychodynamic theory places heavy emphasis on the understanding and resolution of the patient's symptoms. In addition, transference is a distinctive feature of this theory, which plays a significant role of reflecting the realistic evaluation on the therapist's characteristics, and in guaranteeing the therapeutic alliance. The psychodynamic therapist inducts meaning from the patient's unconscious mind. The therapist's task is to help the patient to better understand defense mechanisms guide their management of experiences and reactions, and facilitate a better understanding of their personal experiences.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.147-154
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• 2012

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to understand family members' experience of deciding to withdraw life-sustaining treatments for terminally-ill patients in an unconscious state. Methods: Data were collected by performing an in-depth interview with eight terminally-ill patients' family members who decided to withdraw life-sustaining treatments. Colaizzi's phenomenological method was used for data analysis. Results: Questions were classified into 12 groups and finally into five categories. The five categories were about family members' frustration with patient's condition, emotional preparation for the patient's death upon medical professionals' recommendation, patient's wishes, exhaustion due to caring and past experiences related to life-sustaining treatment. Conclusion: Using the five categories, hospice and palliative professionals could better understand family members' decision making experience of withdrawing life-sustaining treatments for terminally-ill patients. Based on that, the family members could be provided with appropriate counseling and care, which in turn could improve hospice and palliative care intervention.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.158-163
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• 2001

Clinical symptoms of acute stroke include loss of consciousness, aphasia, dysphagia, hemiplegia, without urination or defecation, headache, dizziness, chest discomfort, etc. As methods of oriental medical treatment at acute stroke state, acupuncture, fumigating, emetic, sternutatory therapy etc. were known. We treated a 69-year-old female patient who was unconscious after acute stroke with acupuncture and herbal medicine. Also, we chose Croton seed (Crotonis Fructus) Tansy (Artemisiae Argi Folium)-hwan for treatment and fumed it on the patient's nose once a day. After 7 days of treatment with fumigating therapy, we observed improvement in consciousness on the Glasgow coma scale, and other symptoms (aphasia, dysphagia, hemiplegia, without urination or defecation)

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.1049-1053
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• 1995

Although neoplastic involvement of the pericardium is frequently present postmortem, cardiac manifestations before death are uncommon, and cardiac tamponade as the initial presentation of cancer is rare. We are presenting a metastatic pericardial tumor with cardiac tamponade of unknown primary neoplasm. The patient brought to hospital in a state of unconscious. The chest x-ray film showed cardiomegaly with a globular heart shape and right pleural effusion. We underwent an anterior thoracotomy and pericardial window was created. The histopathologic finding of pericardium, pleural and pericardial effusion show a metastatic adenocarcinoma. The patient subsequently received adjuvent radiotherapy and chemotherapy, but he expired on the postoperative 132 day.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.48-52
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• 2020

Composite skull defects in patients with severe head injuries are very challenging to manage. The dilemma when deciding whether to perform a definitive reconstruction is how long to wait for physiological recovery before an intervention complicates the situation. The inability of such patients to tolerate prolonged anesthetic exposure is a driving factor for performing the minimal intervention necessary to facilitate recovery. Herein, we present a case involving the successful immediate reconstructive treatment of a severely head-injured adolescent with a composite scalp defect secondary to trauma. A 14-year-old boy sustained a severe head injury from a motor vehicle accident with a composite scalp defect in the right fronto-parietal region. The frontal lobe was exposed, and the right eye was crushed and devitalized. The patient was deeply unconscious for 3 days, without any significant improvements before reconstructive surgery was proposed due to fear of possible meningitis resulting from the exposure of brain structures. We successfully managed the patient with a fronto-parieto-occipital flap, after which the patient promptly recovered consciousness.