A Study on Burden and Well-being of Primary Caregivers of Patients with a Stroke / 기본간호학회지

PURPOSES: The purposes of this study were to identify factors related to burden and well-being in primary caregivers of patients who have had a stroke and examine the correlation between burden and well-being of the caregivers. METHODS: Between April 2006 to June 2007 data were collected using self-report questionnaires and interviews with 85 primary caregivers of stroke patients in C University Hospital. Data were analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, Duncan test and Pearson's correlation with SPSSWIN 15.0. RESULTS: Factors related to burden of primary caregivers were sex and activities of daily living of the patients, and age, education level and satisfaction with income of the caregivers. The factors related to well-being of primary caregivers were sex of patients, and age and education level of caregivers as well as cohabitation with the patient. A negative correlation was found between burden and well-being of the caregivers (r= -.393, p<.001). CONCLUSION: These results indicate a need to develop a nursing intervention program for caregivers and education program for other family members to reduce caregiver burden. These programs should lead to improvements in the well-being of the caregiver.

Use of Cytochrome c Oxidase Subunit I (COI) Nucleotide Sequences for Identification of the Korean Luciliinae Fly Species (Diptera: Calliphoridae) in Forensic Investigations

Blowflies, especially species belonging to the subfamily Luciliinae, are the first insects to lay eggs on corpses in Korea. Fast and accurate species identification has been a key task for forensic entomologists. Because conventional morphologic identification methods have many limitations with respect to forensic practice, molecular methods have been proposed to identify fly species of forensic importance. To this end, the authors amplified and sequenced the full length of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene of the Luciliinae fly species collected in Korea. The results showed the COI sequences are instrumental in identifying Luciliinae fly species. However, when compared with previously reported data, considerable inconsistencies were noted. Hemipyrellia ligurriens data in this study differed significantly from two of the five pre-existing data. Two closely related species, Lucilia illustris and Lucilia caesar, showed an overlap of COI haplotypes due to four European sequences. The results suggest that more individuals from various geographic regions and additive nuclear DNA markers should be analyzed, and morphologic identification keys must be reconfirmed to overcome these inconsistencies.

A Decrease in Erythromycin Resistance Rate of Streptococcus pyogenes in 2004 in Jinju / 대한임상미생물학회지

BACKGROUND: The erythromycin (EM) resistance rates and emm genotypes of Streptococcus pyogenes could vary by geographical location and study period. The purpose of this study, involving a large number of children, was to determine EM resistance rate and its resistance mechanism of S. pyogenes, and to compare these results with those of previous studies performed at the same area. METHODS: Throat cultures were taken from 2,351 healthy children of four elementary schools from October through December, 2004 in Jinju. A total of 328 strains of S. pyogenes were isolated. Antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed by the agar dilution method against six antimicrobial agents. The phenotypes of EM resistance were evaluated by the double-disk diffusion test and the frequency of ermB and mefA genes was determined by polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Resistance rates of S. pyogenes to EM, clindamycin and tetracycline were 9.8%, 8.8% and 18.3%, respectively. Almost all isolates were susceptible to ofloxacin, levofloxacin and chloramphenicol. Constitutive resistance (CR) was observed in 87.5%, M phenotype in 9.4%, and inducible resistance only in 3.1%. The ermB and mefA genes were present in 90.6% and 9.4% of the isolates, respectively. CONCLUSION: The resistance rate to EM of S. pyogenes was 9.8% in 2004, which was a large drop from the 51% shown in 2002. CR with the ermB gene was predominant, suggesting that most of the EM resistant isolates have a high level of resistance.

A Study of the Effects of Follow-up Care for Stroke Survivors on Primary Caregivers' Quality of Life / 재활간호학회지

The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of follow-up care for stroke survivors on primary caregivers' quality of life. Quasi-experimental research was conducted in which an experimental group and a control group-each of 15 stroke survivors and their primary caregivers-were consecutively sampled. Data collected from July to September, 1999 by interview using a structured questionnaire with both the experimental and the control groups. After a month, the two groups were given the same questionnaire. The experimental group was also given a telephone follow-up every week for a month, as well as a home visit. The survey instruments used in this study were Saha and Cooper's Modified Barthel index (11 items) for checking the stroke survivors' level of activities of daily living, and a modified form of Jeong's Quality of life (18 items) for primary caregivers' QOL level. The obtained data were analyzed by percentage, t-test. chi-test. Kruscal-Wallis test, Spearman correlation coefficient by SAS/PC program. The results were as follows: 1. There was no significant difference in the stroke survivors' ADL level. though the level of the experimental group was higher than that of the control group. 2. There was a statistical difference in the before and after treatment of the primary caregivers' QOL level. In conclusion. the follow-up a care program had useful effect on the quality of life of primary caregivers.

Clinicopathologic and Epidemiologic Study of Childhood Nephrotic Syndrome in Daejeon

Cytologic findings from five cases with variable types of Hodgkin's disease were reviewed with special emphasis on the Reed-Sternberg (R-S) cells and their variants, Typical R-S and Hodgkin's cells were mono- or binucleated, and nuclei had rounded smooth con- tour. Acidophilic prominent nucleoli with perinucleolar halo were conspicuous. In comparison to typical Reed-Sternberg cells, L & H (lymphocytic and histiocytic) cells in the lymphocyte predominant type tended to show pop-corn like irregular nuclear contour and to lack the prominent nucleoli. Lacunar cells in the nodular sclerosis type had multilobated nuclei with prominent acidophilic nucleoli. There was no prominent perinucleolar halo in L & H and lacunar cells. In conjuction with the number of Reed-Sternberg cells and back ground findings observed on the smears, the characteristic features of R-S cells and their variants allowed to make typing of Hodgkin's disease.