An Analysis of John Bowlby’s Mourning Stages in Family Art Therapy as a Way to Help the Family Mourning Process / 한국호스피스완화의료학회지

Purpose@#Pediatric palliative care is a rapidly developing multidisciplinary approach that supports children with life-limiting conditions and their families. However, there is limited evidence on how to effectively support bereaved parents and siblings. The purpose of this study is to explore the therapeutic impact of art therapy for bereaved families, in accordance with John Bowlby’s four-stage theory of mourning. @*Methods@#This single-case study employed the consensual qualitative research method. Art therapy records of bereaved families were reviewed individually, and records from one case were selected. Verbal statements made during the art therapy sessions and photocopies of the artworks were analyzed to understand the mourning process of the family. @*Results@#A total of 113 statements and 12 artworks from 19 art therapy sessions were analyzed. As the art therapy progressed, each family member exhibited a pattern of engaging in more positive and healthy conversations in daily life, demonstrating the final stage of mourning: reorganization and recovery. The family dynamics also revealed that they reconstructed their inner world and redefined the meaning of loss, which is the final stage of mourning. The art therapy provided a safe environment for the family, allowing them to fulfill their wishes and regain the strength needed for recovery. @*Conclusion@#This study suggests that art therapy supports bereaved families in alleviating their psychological difficulties, engaging in a healthy mourning process, and functioning as members of society. Further research is needed to better understand the effect of art therapy as a bereavement support tool in pediatric palliative care.

Factors associated with healthcare utilization for infant falls in South Korea: a cross-sectional online survey

Purpose@#Falls are a common cause of unintentional injuries in infants. This study was conducted to examine the patterns of healthcare utilization following infant falls in South Korea. @*Methods@#This cross-sectional descriptive study utilized an online survey designed to gather information regarding the general characteristics of parents and infants, fall-related variables, and healthcare use. @*Results@#The most serious falls identified by parents occurred at an average infant age of 6.97 months. Most fall incidents took place indoors (95.7%), and many occurred under the supervision of caregivers (68.0%). Following the fall, 36.4% of the participants used healthcare services. Logistic regression analysis revealed that healthcare use following an infant fall was significantly associated with being a firstborn child (odds ratio [OR]=5.32, 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.19-15.28) and falling from a caregiver's arms (OR=4.22; 95% CI, 1.45-13.68). @*Conclusion@#To prevent and decrease the frequency of infant falls, improvements are needed in both the domestic environment and parenting approaches.

Texture, Morphology, and Statistical Analysis to Differentiate Primary Brain Tumors on Two-Dimensional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scans Using Artificial Intelligence Techniques / 대한의료정보학회지

Objectives@#A primary brain tumor starts to grow from brain cells, and it occurs as a result of errors in the DNA of normal cells. Therefore, this study was carried out to analyze the two-dimensional (2D) texture, morphology, and statistical features of brain tumors and to perform a classification using artificial intelligence (AI) techniques. @*Methods@#AI techniques can help radiologists to diagnose primary brain tumors without using any invasive measurement techniques. In this paper, we focused on deep learning (DL) and machine learning (ML) techniques for texture, morphological, and statistical feature classification of three tumor types (namely, glioma, meningioma, and pituitary). T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) 2D scans were used for analysis and classification (multiclass and binary). A total of 102 features were calculated for each tumor, and the 20 most significant features were selected using the three-step feature selection method, which included removing duplicate features, Pearson correlations, and recursive feature elimination. @*Results@#From the predicted results of multiclass and binary classification, a long short-term memory binary classification (glioma vs. meningioma) showed the best performance, with an average accuracy, recall, precision, F1-score, and kappa coefficient of 97.7%, 97.2%, 97.5%, 97.0%, and 94.7%, respectively. @*Conclusions@#The early diagnosis of primary brain tumors is very important because it can be the key to effective treatment. Therefore, this research presents a method for early diagnoses by effectively classifying three types of primary brain tumors.

Potentiation of the Anticancer Effects by Combining Docetaxel with Ku-0063794 against Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells / Journal of the Korean Cancer Association, 대한암학회지

Purpose@#mTORC1 and mTORC2 inhibition by Ku-0063794 could confer profound anticancer effects against cancer cells because it eliminates feedback activation of Akt. Herein, we aimed to determine anticancer effects of docetaxel and Ku-0063794, individually or in combination, against breast cancer cells, especially triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells. @*Materials and Methods@#MCF-7 breast cancer and MDA-MB-231 TNBC cell lines for in vitro studies and mouse xenograft model for in vivo studies were used to investigate the effect of docetaxel, Ku-0063794, or their combination. @*Results@#In the in vitro experiments, combination therapy synergistically reduced cell viability and induced higher apoptotic cell death in breast cancer cells than the individual monotherapies (p < 0.05). Western blot analysis and flow cytometric analysis showed that the combination therapy induced higher apoptotic cell death than the individual monotherapies (p < 0.05). In the in vivo experiment, docetaxel and Ku-0063794 combination therapy reduced the growth of MDA-MB-231 cells xenografted in the nude mice better than in the individual monotherapies (p < 0.05). Immunohistochemistry showed that the combination therapy induced the highest expression of cleaved caspase-3 and the lowest expression of Bcl-xL in the MDA-MB-231 cells xenografted in the nude mice (p < 0.05). Western blot analysis and immunofluorescence, incorporating both in vitro and in vivo experiments, consistently validated that unlike individual monotherapies, docetaxel and Ku-0063794 combination therapy significantly inhibited epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and autophagy (p < 0.05). @*Conclusion@#These data suggest that docetaxel and Ku-0063794 combination therapy has higher anticancer activities over individual monotherapies against MDA-MB-231 TNBC cells through a greater inhibition of autophagy and EMT.

Assessment of Sleep Quality of Infants and Their Mothers Using Actigraphy

Objectives@#The purpose of this study was to explore and evaluate the characteristics and quality of infant and maternal sleep (total sleep time, sleep efficiency, and wakefulness after sleep onset) using an actigraph. @*Methods@#The characteristics and quality of sleep were assessed in 22 dyads of mothers and infants aged 3–12 months. The quality of infant and mother sleep was collected using an actigraph for 12 consecutive days; this was repeated three times at 4-week intervals, and characteristics of infant sleep were measured using the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire-Revised. @*Results@#Bedsharing with infants at 7–12 months of age was higher (12.5%) than with those at 3–6 months of age (50.0%). Regarding the sleeping position, half of the infants aged 3–6 months adopted the lateral (25.0%) and prone (25.0%) positions, and the remaining half (50.0%) aged 7–12 months adopted the lateral position. It was found that 45.5% of mothers of infants used breastfeeding and pacifiers to induce sleep in infants and to help their babies go back to sleep when they woke up. The total sleep time and sleep efficiency of infants and mothers were 434.68 minutes per day and 73.1% and 379.53 minutes per day and 82.8%, respectively, indicating that both infants and mothers had low sleep quality. @*Conclusions@#To safeguard infants’ sleep, it is necessary to provide appropriate information and education to parents and necessary interventions for resolving sleep problems and improving the quality of sleep for both infants and mothers.

Nurses’ Perceived Needs and Barriers Regarding Pediatric Palliative Care: A Mixed-Methods Study / 한국호스피스완화의료학회지

Purpose@#This study aimed to describe nurses’ perceived needs and barriers to pediatric palliative care (PPC). @*Methods@#Mixed methods with an embedded design were applied. An online survey was conducted for nurses who participated in the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium- Pediatric Palliative Care (ELNEC-PPC) train-the-trainer program, of whom 63 responded. Quantitative data were collected with a survey questionnaire developed through the Delphi method. The 47 items for needs and 15 items for barriers to PPC were analyzed with descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were collected through openended questions and analyzed with topic modeling techniques. @*Results@#The mean scores of most subdomains of the PPC needs were 3.5 or higher out of 4, and those of PPC barriers ranged from 3.22 to 3.56, indicating the items in the questionnaire developed in this study properly reflect each factor. The needs for PPC were divided into 4 categories: “children and adolescents,” “families,” “PPC management system,” and “community-based PPC.” Meanwhile, PPC barriers were divided into 3 categories: “healthcare delivery system,” “healthcare provider,” and “client.” The keywords derived from the topic modeling were perception, palliative, children, and education for necessities and lack, perception, medical care, professional care providers, service, and system for barriers to PPC. @*Conclusion@#In this study, by using mixed-methods, items of nurses’ perceived needs and barriers to PPC were identified, categorized, and weighted, and their meanings were explored. For the stable establishment of PPC, the priority should be given to improving perceptions of PPC, establishing an appropriate system, and training professional care providers.

A novel strategy to promote liver regeneration: utilization of secretome obtained from survivin-overexpressing adipose-derived stem cells

Purpose@#Survivin is a typical antiapoptotic protein. It is copiously expressed during human fetal development but is infrequently present in adult tissues. In this experiment, we researched the treatment effect of the secretome that adiposederived stem cells (ASCs) transfected with survivin. @*Methods@#First of all, we generated survivin-overexpressing ASCs transfected with a plasmid comprising a gene encoding survivin. The secreted substances released from survivin-overexpressing ASCs (survivin-secretome) were collected, and were determined their in vitro and in vivo therapeutic potential, especially in the model of liver impairment. @*Results@#In vitro, the survivin-secretome significantly increased cell viability and promoted the expression of proliferationrelated markers (proliferating cell nuclear antigen [PCNA], phospho-signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (p-STAT3), hepatocyte growth factor [HGF], vascular endothelial growth factor [VEGF]) and anti-apoptosis-related markers (myeloid cell leukemia-1 [Mcl-1] and survivin) (P < 0.05). In vivo using 70% hepatectomy mice, the survivin-secretome group exhibited the lowest serum levels of interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α (P < 0.05). The serum levels of liver transaminases (alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase) were also the lowest in the survivin-secretome group (P < 0.05). The survivin-secretome group also exhibited the highest liver regeneration on the 7th day after 70% partial hepatectomy (P < 0.05). In the subsequent liver specimen analysis, the specimens of survivin-secretome exhibited the highest expression of p-STAT3, HGF, VEGF, PCNA, and Mcl-1 and the lowest expression of bcl-2-like protein 4 (P < 0.05). @*Conclusion@#Taken together, secretome secreted by survivin-overexpressing ASCs could be an effective way to improve liver regeneration and repair for liver injury treatment.

Development and Application of Advance Care Planning Workbooks to Facilitate Communication with Children and Adolescent Patients: A Pilot Test / 한국호스피스완화의료학회지

Purpose@#This study presents the process of designing workbooks for advance care planning appropriate for the Korean cultural setting and describes actual case studies. @*Methods@#This study focused on single inductive case studies of the utilization of an advance care planning workbook and recruited individual participants. @*Results@#The workbook for adolescents contained six sessions and the workbook for children contained seven sessions. The workbook sessions led to four major discoveries: 1) considering the Korean cultural context, discussions on life and death must be held indirectly; 2) the role of the counselor as a supporter is crucial for the workbook to be effective; 3) the workbook must be accessible regardless of the seriousness of the illness; and 4) patients must be able to make their own choice between the workbook versions for children and adolescents. Six facilitating factors improved engagement: 1) the role of the counselor as a supporter; 2) building trust with the patient; 3) affirming freedom of expression on topics the patient wished to avoid talking about; 4) having discussions on what private information to keep secret and to whom the information can be disclosed; 5) discovering and regularly discussing relevant topics; and 6) regular communication and information-sharing with the patient’s medical service providers. Conclusion: It is necessary to build on actual case studies regarding workbooks for children and adolescents in order to expand the usage of these workbooks to all relevant medical institutions in Korea.

Development and Application of Advance Care Planning Workbooks to Facilitate Communication with Children and Adolescent Patients: A Pilot Test / 한국호스피스완화의료학회지

Purpose@#This study presents the process of designing workbooks for advance care planning appropriate for the Korean cultural setting and describes actual case studies. @*Methods@#This study focused on single inductive case studies of the utilization of an advance care planning workbook and recruited individual participants. @*Results@#The workbook for adolescents contained six sessions and the workbook for children contained seven sessions. The workbook sessions led to four major discoveries: 1) considering the Korean cultural context, discussions on life and death must be held indirectly; 2) the role of the counselor as a supporter is crucial for the workbook to be effective; 3) the workbook must be accessible regardless of the seriousness of the illness; and 4) patients must be able to make their own choice between the workbook versions for children and adolescents. Six facilitating factors improved engagement: 1) the role of the counselor as a supporter; 2) building trust with the patient; 3) affirming freedom of expression on topics the patient wished to avoid talking about; 4) having discussions on what private information to keep secret and to whom the information can be disclosed; 5) discovering and regularly discussing relevant topics; and 6) regular communication and information-sharing with the patient’s medical service providers. Conclusion: It is necessary to build on actual case studies regarding workbooks for children and adolescents in order to expand the usage of these workbooks to all relevant medical institutions in Korea.

Palliative Care Practitioners' Perception toward Pediatric Palliative Care in the Republic of Korea / 한국호스피스완화의료학회지

PURPOSE: This study was performed to investigate the current status of pediatric palliative care provision and how it is perceived by the palliative care experts. METHODS: A descriptive study was conducted with 61 hospice institutions. From September through October 2017, a questionnaire was completed by experts from the participating institutions. Data were analyzed using SPSS 21.0. RESULTS: Among 61 institutions, palliative care is currently provided for pediatric cancer patients by 11 institutions (18.0%), all of which are concentrated in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi and Gyengsang provinces; 85.2% of all do not plan to provide specialized pediatric palliative care in the future. According to the experts, the main barriers in providing pediatric palliative care were the insufficient number of trained specialists regardless of the delivery type. Experts said that it was appropriate to intervene when children were diagnosed with cancer that was less likely to be cured (33.7%) and to move to palliative care institutions when their conditions worsened (38.2%); and it was necessary to establish a specialized pediatric palliative care system, independent from the existing institutions for adult patients (73.8%). CONCLUSION: It is necessary to develop an education program to establish a nationwide pediatric palliative care centers. Pediatric palliative care intervention should be provided upon diagnosis rather than at the point of death. Patients should be transferred to palliative care institutions after intervention by their existing pediatric palliative care team at the hospital is started.

How to Implement Quality Pediatric Palliative Care Services in South Korea: Lessons from Other Countries / 한국호스피스완화의료학회지

PURPOSE: Pediatric palliative care (PPC) is emphasized as standard care for children with life-limiting conditions to improve the quality of life. In Korea, a government-funded pilot program was launched only in July 2018. Given that, this study examined various PPC delivery models in other countries to refine the PPC model in Korea. METHODS: Target countries were selected based on the level of PPC provided there: the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, and Singapore. Relevant literature, websites, and consultations from specialists were analyzed by the integrative review method. Literature search was conducted in PubMed, Google, and Google Scholar, focusing publications since 1990, and on-site visits were conducted to ensure reliability. Analysis was performed on each country's process to develop its PPC scheme, policy, funding model, target population, delivery system, and quality assurance. RESULTS: In the United Kingdom, community-based free-standing facilities work closely with primary care and exchange advice and referrals with specialized PPC consult teams of children's hospitals. In the United States, hospital-based specialized PPC consult teams set up networks with hospice agencies and home healthcare agencies and provide PPC by designating care coordinators. In Japan, palliative care is provided through several services such as palliative care for cancer patients, home care for technology-dependent patients, other support services for children with disabilities and/or chronic conditions. In Singapore, a home-based PPC association plays a pivotal role in providing PPC by taking advantage of geographic accessibility and cooperating with tertiary hospitals. CONCLUSION: It is warranted to identify unmet needs and establish an appropriate PPD model to provide need-based individualized care and optimize PPC in South Korea.

A Systematic Review of Interventions with Siblings of Pediatric Cancer Patients

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to review interventions available to nurses caring for siblings of children with cancer. METHODS: Searches of CINAHL, MEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, and RISS identified ten intervention studies published from January, 2000 to November, 2016. RESULTS: Ten studies on interventions for siblings of pediatric cancer patients were identified as follows: 4 included camps, 4 included support groups, and 2 provided individual interventions. Theoretical frameworks were mainly cognitive behavioral theory and most studies were led by psychologists and multidisciplinary teams. The purpose of the interventions was primarily enhancing psychosocial adjustment. Siblings' fear of disease, self-esteem, and social support were improved significantly after the interventions. Findings were inconsistent with regard to depression, anxiety, behavioral problems, post-traumatic stress, health-related quality of life, and siblings' perceptions of the illness. CONCLUSION: Study findings showed the potential for enhancing emotional and behavioral outcomes in siblings of children with cancer. However, the number of studies was very small, and several methodological limitations were identified. In the future, more randomized controlled trials with larger samples are needed to extend the evidence base. Moreover, future research should identify sibling's characteristics and circumstances most likely to bring benefits to the siblings.

Spontaneous Perforation of Common Bile Duct: Abscess Formation Presenting as a Choledochal Cyst

Spontaneous perforation of the bile duct without any traumatic or iatrogenic injury is extremely rare. We report a case of abscess formation related to spontaneous perforation of the common bile duct by a gallstone, mimicked a cholecochal cyst.