Prevalence of Sleep Disorder and Associated Factors in Family Practice / 가정의학회지

BACKGROUND: Sleep is an essential restorative physiologic phenomenon. Impaired sleep results in significant negative effect to the health. Symptoms like sleep initiation difficulty, frequent awakening, severe snoring have related to poor sleep quality. We studied frequency and compared the characteristics of common sleep disorders at family practice. METHODS: We surveyed patients over 18 years of age and their guardians who visited 16 familial practices for 6 days. We investigated sleep characteristics, frequency of sleep disorder and associated factors by questionnaires and analyzed by frequency analysis, Spearman's correlation coefficient, multiple logistic regression. RESULTS: We enrolled 1,117 participants. Older participants were more likely to report early sleep onset and off time, short sleep duration. Mean number of awakening during a typical night is 1.69. Female complained difficulties in initiation and maintenance of sleep more than male. A total of 32.5% had these insomnia symptoms and related to hypertension, stroke, stress, arthralgia, depression, urological disorder. 31.1% had excessive daytime sleepiness, related to stress, arthralgia, depression. Loud snoring and gasp for breath showed positive correlation between male, high BMI. Disrupted sleep over 3 times was related to old age, female, diabetes, hypertension, stroke, stress, arthralgia, depression. Restless leg syndrome were high in elderly, high BMI, stress, arthralgia and depression. CONCLUSION: About one in three who visit in primary medical practice have sleep disorder symptoms like insomnia, daytime fatigue, snoring. 3% of them have gasp for breath, 8% have restless leg syndrome.

Gastric Lymphangioma

A gastric lymphangioma is a rare benign lymphatic vascular tumor that contain chylous or serous material within dilated lymphatic cyst. Its pathogenesis is unknown and in most case is incidentally founded by radiological or endoscopic examination. On gastrofiberscopy a submucosal tumor with normal mucosa is found. Endoscopic ultrasonography has recently become an indispensable tool for differentiating these gastric submucosal tumors. Here a case of gastric lymphangioma is reported in a 71 years old woman who presented with intermittent vomiting and epigastric discomfort for six months. The patients underwent a wedge resection of the stomach, and was discharged with no complications, on the sixth post-operation day.

Correlation of liver dysfunction in Oriental medicine and liver disease in Western medicine

BACKGROUND: Among the outpatient clinic visitors who were diagnosed as "your liver is fragile or weak" by Oriental doctors, many patients asked Western medical doctors of the opinion about their status of liver. No study exists on the correlation of Oriental and Western medicine concerning liver disease. The authors have investigated to evaluate the correlation of liver disease which was diagnosed in Oriental and Western medicine. METHODS: From January to March 1997, 122 subjects had undergone health screening program in Oriental Western Integrated Health Promotion Center of Pundang CHA General Hospital. Liver dysfunction in Oriental medicine was diagnosed by on Oriental medical doctor in the Center. Cases were reviewed and compared with laboratory and abdominal ultrasonographic findings on chart record. RESULTS: Of the total 122 subjects, 15 were diagnosed as having normal liver and 107 as having liver dysfunction in Oriental medicine. Comparing these two groups, there was no statistical significant difference. No statistical significance was found between liver dysfunction in Oriental medicine and HBsAg, HBsAb, HBeAb, alcohol drinking. 43 subjects had findings of fatty liver on abdominal ultrasonography in which. 26(21.3%) were mild, 14(11.5%) moderate, and 3(2.5%) severe. There was no statistical significance between liver dysfunction in Oriental medicine and fatty liver. Among the abnormal findings on abdominal ultrasonography, 43(35.2%) were fatty liver, 3(2.5%) polyp of gallbladder, and 2(1.6%) were gallstone. There was no statistical significance between liver dysfunction in Oriental medicine and abdominal abnormalities on ultrasonography. 58 patients were diagnosed as having liver disease by laboratory test and sonographic finding among which 43(35.2%) were fatty liver, 7(5.7%) hepatitis, 3(2.5%) alcoholic liver dysfunction, 3(2.5%) polyp of gallbladder, and 2(1.6 %) were gallstone. There was no statistical significance between liver dysfunction in Oriental medicine and liver disease in Western medicine. CONCLUSIONS: The result suggests that the meaning of liver dysfunction in Oriental medicine is different in Western medicine.