The Effect of Family Member's Attendance on Relief of Patient's Discomfort during Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

BACKGROUND: Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy is a very important and highly sensitive method to detect gastroduodenal lesions. But the investigation and diagnosis of gastrointestinal diseases might be delayed by discomfort, pain and anxiety in patients during endoscopy. This study was performed to evaluate the effect of family member's attendance on relief of discomfort in patients and to identify the predictors for pain and discomfort during upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. METHODS: From July to August 2005, 147 clients who underwent gastrointestinal endoscopy were enrolled in this study. The subjects were randomly grouped into family-attended (n=70) group and non-family-attended group (n=77). The patients recorded their pain and discomfort during endoscopy by Visual-Analogue Scale (VAS) score. And also the client's demographic characteristics and endoscopy related factors (procedure duration, previous endoscopy experience, biopsy, endoscopist etc.) were evaluated. We studied the relationship between the various characteristics and discomfort during endoscopy. RESULTS: There were no significant differences of clients' demographic characteristics and endoscopy related factors between the two groups. There was a significant difference of VAS scores between the family-attended group (3.51+/-1.90) and non-family-attended group (4.35+/-2.10) (P= 0.012). Oxygen saturation and pulse rate during the procedure were lower in the family-attended group than in the non-attended group. Recipients' demographic characteristics and various factors related with the procedure (waiting time, biopsy, and previous experience, etc) were not associated with the degree of discomfort. CONCLUSION: Family member's attendance decreased pain and discomfort during endoscopy. The recipients' demographic characteristics and factors related to the procedure had no influence on the degree of discomfort during endoscopy. In conclusion, attendance of a family member should be considered during endoscopy in order to decrease pain and discomfort during the procedure.

C-reactive Protein, Obesity, and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in 7 Years-old Korean Children

Background: C-reactive protein (CRP) is a nonspecific, but sensitive marker of systemic immune response. Many studies have suggested that CRP levels are associated with obesity and cardiovascular risk factors not only in adults, but also in children. We assessed the inter-relationships between CRP, obesity, and cardiovascular risk factors in Korean children aged 7 years old. Methods: A total of 126 children (40 overweight and 86 normal weight children) were recruited from seven elementary schools in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do. Physical examinations including various obesity parameters were done. Fasting and post-prandial venous blood was withdrawn for the chemistry. The hsCRP was measured by the Nephelometry. Results: The hsCRP was associated with body weight, body fat (%), body mass index (BMI), waist circumferences, hip circumferences and waist/hip ratio (P<0.05). From the lowest to the highest quartile groups of hsCRP, mean fasting insulin levels (2.7+/-3.1micronIU/mL, 2.6+/-2.1micronIU/mL, 3.4+/-3.7micronIU/mL, and 4.2+/-3.6micronIU/mL, respectively)(P<0.05) and HOMA-IR levels (0.60+/-0.70, 0.59+/-0.49, 0.74+/-0.84, and 0.95+/-0.83, respectively)(P<0.05) increased. Serum lipid profiles were not associated with the hsCRP levels. Conclusion: In children aged 7 years old, the hsCRP was significantly associated with obesity and cardiovascular risk factors.

Relationship between Physical Activity, Dietary Habits and Overweight of 7-year-old Korean Children

Background: Recently, the prevalence of childhood obesity has increased dramatically, but the cause still remains incompletely understood. The goal of this study was to present a direction for treatment and prevention of childhood obesity on the basis of the data of physical activity energy expenditure, inactive time and dietary habits of Korean children. Methods: A total of 56 children were selected from 8 elementary schools in Seoul and Gwacheon-city. Children's physical activity pattern and dietary habits were obtained by questionnaire. The children wore accelerometer on their wrists from Friday to Tuesday over the whole weekend. Then, we calculated the activity energy expenditure using the activity counts recorded on the accelerometer. Results: Neither the physical activity energy expenditure (kcal/kg) nor the activity pattern showed a significant difference between the normal weight group and the overweight group. The overweight children spent more time watching TV and using the computer. The overweight group did not have breakfast and ate much more and faster in terms of dietary habit. Conclusion: This study suggests that bad habituations in diet and increase of inactivity time can play more important role than physical activity in causing overweight in 7-year-old children.