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This study aimed to investigate the concentrations of nonpersistent endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in human milk through a literature review and to affirm the association between EDCs and lifestyle factors based on the reviewed literature. We analyzed studies reporting EDC concentrations in breast milk from literature published on Google Scholar and PubMed between 2000 and 2022. In Korea, most EDC concentrations in breast milk were comparable to or lower than those in other countries. However, the concentrations of PFAS in breast milk, especially perfluorooctanoic acid, have shown an increasing trend compared to the past in Korea. Considering the potential risks of EDCs, breastfeeding mothers should take measures to minimize their exposure to these chemicals.
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Background@#The purpose of this study was to identify the differences in the importance of oral pathology learning objectives forinstructors and clinical dental hygienists and provide basic data that can guide learning objectives for acquiring practically necessary basic knowledge in the clinical field. @*Methods@#Through the first-stage expert meeting, 27 items with less than four points out of 129 learning objectives in 15 detailed areas were deleted, 12 additional opinions were reflected, 114 learning objectives were set, and a survey was conducted with 253 people. @*Results@#There were statistically significant differences in 92 items after examining the difference between professors and clinical dental hygienists. Among the areas of inflammation and repair, “Can explain the five symptoms of inflammation” had the highest with a score at 4.76 in the case of the professors. Among the areas of tooth damage, “Can explain abrasion” had the highest with a score at 4.61 in the case of the clinical dental hygienists. @*Conclusion@#I would like to propose the existing 15 detail areas and 129 learning objectives as 14 detail areas and 98 learning objectives and strengthen the job competency of dental hygienists in the future. First, you need to develop competencies that are highly relevant to your work. Second, it is necessary to develop related textbooks and educational materials based on revised learning objectives and competencies. Third, based on revised learning objectives, the dental hygienist national examination should be improved. Through these changes in education, the education of oral and maxillofacial disease subjects should strengthen job competencies among dental hygienists with learning objectives that can be applied to actual clinical practice based on basic knowledge rather than knowledge orientation. In addition, it is possible to improve the quality of dental hygiene studies.
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Background@#Stress as a cause of mental health problems is known to be more prevalent in women than in men and has a negative effect on several aspects of physical health, such as the composition of blood and saliva. This study investigated the relationship of perceived stress with blood cell counts, saliva flow rate, and saliva factors. @*Methods@#We recruited women in their 20s with a high prevalence of stress. Stress was evaluated using the Korean version of the perceived stress scale. Blood tests included white blood cell, hemoglobin, and platelet. We then examined the saliva flow rate and cariogenic bacteria level, acidity, occult blood, buffer capacity, leukocyte level, protein level, and ammonia level using rinse water with the SILL-HaⓇ saliva test system. @*Results@#In a total of 70 participants, the average age was 21.64 years old, the average perceived stress score was 16.96±4.32, and high levels of stress were reported by 80% of the participants (n=56). The high-stress group had lower hemoglobin levels. In addition, the high-stress group showed a lower saliva flow rate than the low-stress group, and there was a difference in the salivary acidity and buffer capacity. The total perceived stress score showed a positive correlation with acidity and negative correlation with buffer capacity and the hemoglobin level. @*Conclusion@#This study found that stress in female college students might affect the composition of blood and saliva. High levels of stress were positively correlated with the hemoglobin level, saliva flow rate, and acidity and negatively correlated with the buffer capacity.
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Sorafenib is the oldest first line systemic treatment in patients with advanced hepatocellularcarcinoma (HCC) and has been used exclusively for nearly 10 years. The superiority ofadministering a combination of atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (AteBeva) compared tosorafenib as first line systemic treatment for unresectable HCC was recently proven duringthe IMbrave150 Phase III randomized trial. While clinicians can expect improved responsesand treatment outcomes due to the good results of the IMbrave 150 trial, they must alsoconsider that atezolizumab can cause various immune-related adverse events (IrAEs). Basedon the above suggestions, we herein present a case of HCC with lymph node metastasiswho achieved complete remission following treatment with AteBeva and developed an IrAE(adrenal insufficiency). Further study of real-life data regarding combination therapy withAteBeva is needed to manage patients with advanced HCC.
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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission among non-close contacts is not infrequent. We evaluated the proportion and circumstances of individuals to whom SARS-CoV-2 was transmitted without close contact with the index patient in a nosocomial outbreak in a tertiary care hospital in Korea. From March 2020 to March 2021, there were 36 secondary cases from 14 SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals. Of the 36 secondary cases, 26 (72%) had been classified as close contact and the remaining 10 (28%) were classified as non-close contact. Of the 10 non-close contact, 4 had short conversations with both individuals masked, 4 shared a space without any conversation with both masked, and the remaining 2 entered the space after the index had left. At least one quarter of SARSCoV-2 transmissions occurred among non-close contacts. The definition of close contact for SARS-CoV-2 exposure based on the mode of droplet transmission should be revised to reflect the airborne nature of SARS-CoV-2 transmission.
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Sorafenib is the oldest first line systemic treatment in patients with advanced hepatocellularcarcinoma (HCC) and has been used exclusively for nearly 10 years. The superiority ofadministering a combination of atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (AteBeva) compared tosorafenib as first line systemic treatment for unresectable HCC was recently proven duringthe IMbrave150 Phase III randomized trial. While clinicians can expect improved responsesand treatment outcomes due to the good results of the IMbrave 150 trial, they must alsoconsider that atezolizumab can cause various immune-related adverse events (IrAEs). Basedon the above suggestions, we herein present a case of HCC with lymph node metastasiswho achieved complete remission following treatment with AteBeva and developed an IrAE(adrenal insufficiency). Further study of real-life data regarding combination therapy withAteBeva is needed to manage patients with advanced HCC.
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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission among non-close contacts is not infrequent. We evaluated the proportion and circumstances of individuals to whom SARS-CoV-2 was transmitted without close contact with the index patient in a nosocomial outbreak in a tertiary care hospital in Korea. From March 2020 to March 2021, there were 36 secondary cases from 14 SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals. Of the 36 secondary cases, 26 (72%) had been classified as close contact and the remaining 10 (28%) were classified as non-close contact. Of the 10 non-close contact, 4 had short conversations with both individuals masked, 4 shared a space without any conversation with both masked, and the remaining 2 entered the space after the index had left. At least one quarter of SARSCoV-2 transmissions occurred among non-close contacts. The definition of close contact for SARS-CoV-2 exposure based on the mode of droplet transmission should be revised to reflect the airborne nature of SARS-CoV-2 transmission.
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Background@#The objective of this study is to investigate the needs and importance of basic core competencies required for future society by dental hygienists’ viewpoints who are working in the clinical practices and to provide the fundamental data to develop the educational programs based on the competencies in the 21st century so as to enhance their working capability. @*Methods@#A total of 38 questionnaires were used in this study, 3 questionnaires on the general characteristics (age, service years, main job functions) and those in 11 sub-factors of basic core competencies including 4 questionnaires on creativity, 3 on collaboration, 3 on communication, 3 on interpersonal relationship, 3 on problem-solving, 4 on resource control, 4 on selfcontrol and development, 2 on vocational ethics, 3 on knowledge information utilization, 3 on global mind, and 3 on emotional intelligence. Self-reported survey was conducted in the dental hygienists who were working in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province and a total of 195 data were analyzed. @*Results@#Vocational ethics, communication, and collaboration showed the highest on both importance and needs with 4.49 points and 4.34; 4.41 and 4.28; and 4.39 and 4.22, respectively, while global mind showed the lowest with 3.51 and 3.59. Upon Importance-Performance Analysis, 7 items were defined to require maintain the status including vocational ethics, communication, collaboration, interpersonal relationship, self-control, emotional intelligence, and problem-solving while 4 items with lower priority were resource control and development, knowledge information utilization, creativity, and global mind. @*Conclusion@#Based on this study results that suggested the basic core competencies of dental hygienists in alignment with their jobs in the future society, competitive dental hygienists should be developed with the educational programs applied with these competencies.
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Purpose@#This study aimed to evaluate the level of professional ethics awareness and medical ethics competency in order to assess the potential need for ethics items to be included on the Korean Dental Hygienist Licensing Examination. @*Methods@#In total, 358 clinical dental hygienists and dental hygiene students completed a structured questionnaire to evaluate their level of ethical awareness and medical ethics competency. The sub-factors of medical ethics were classified into relationships with patients, medical and social relations, and individual specialized fields. @*Results@#Only 32.1% of participants indicated that they had taken a course on professional ethics in the university curriculum, but 95.2% of respondents considered professional ethics to be important. The overall score for medical ethics competency was average (3.37 out of 5). The score for relationships with patients was 3.75 points, followed by medical and social relations (3.19 points) and individual specialized fields (3.16 points). The level of professional ethics awareness was higher among participants who had taken a course on professional ethics than among those who had not done so or who did not remember whether they had done so. @*Conclusion@#Dental hygienists were aware of the importance of professional ethics, but their medical ethics competency was moderate. Therefore, medical ethics should be treated as a required subject in the university curriculum, and medical ethics competency evaluations should be strengthened by adding ethics items to the Korean Dental Hygienist Licensing Examination.
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Purpose@#This study aimed to evaluate the level of professional ethics awareness and medical ethics competency in order to assess the potential need for ethics items to be included on the Korean Dental Hygienist Licensing Examination. @*Methods@#In total, 358 clinical dental hygienists and dental hygiene students completed a structured questionnaire to evaluate their level of ethical awareness and medical ethics competency. The sub-factors of medical ethics were classified into relationships with patients, medical and social relations, and individual specialized fields. @*Results@#Only 32.1% of participants indicated that they had taken a course on professional ethics in the university curriculum, but 95.2% of respondents considered professional ethics to be important. The overall score for medical ethics competency was average (3.37 out of 5). The score for relationships with patients was 3.75 points, followed by medical and social relations (3.19 points) and individual specialized fields (3.16 points). The level of professional ethics awareness was higher among participants who had taken a course on professional ethics than among those who had not done so or who did not remember whether they had done so. @*Conclusion@#Dental hygienists were aware of the importance of professional ethics, but their medical ethics competency was moderate. Therefore, medical ethics should be treated as a required subject in the university curriculum, and medical ethics competency evaluations should be strengthened by adding ethics items to the Korean Dental Hygienist Licensing Examination.
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PURPOSE: The goal was to use electronic health records to identify factors and outcomes associated with falls among patients admitted to hematology units. METHODS: This retrospective case-control study included data from a tertiary university hospital. Analysis was done of records from 117 patients with a history of falls and 201 patients with no history of falls who were admitted to the hematology unit from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2014. Risk factors were analyzed using hierarchical logistic regression; patient outcomes were analyzed using multiple logistic regression, Cox proportional hazards regression, and multiple linear regression. RESULTS: Clinical factors such as self-care nursing (OR=4.47, CI=1.64~12.11), leukopenia (OR=6.03; CI=2.51~14.50), and hypoalbuminemia (OR=2.79, CI=1.31~5.96); treatment factors such as use of narcotics (OR=2.06, CI=1.01~4.19), antipsychotics (OR=3.05, CI=1.20~7.75), and steroids (OR=4.51, CI=1.92~10.58); and patient factors such as low education (OR=3.16, CI=1.44~6.94) were significant risk factors. Falls were also associated with increased length of hospital stay to 21.58 days (p < .001), and healthcare costs of 17,052,784 Won (p < .001). CONCLUSION: These findings can be a resource for fall prevention education and to help develop fall risk assessment tools for adults admitted to hematology units.
Subject(s)
Adult , Humans , Accidental Falls , Antipsychotic Agents , Case-Control Studies , Education , Electronic Health Records , Health Care Costs , Hematology , Hypoalbuminemia , Length of Stay , Leukopenia , Linear Models , Logistic Models , Narcotics , Nursing , Retrospective Studies , Risk Assessment , Risk Factors , Self Care , SteroidsABSTRACT
Purpose@#This study was conducted to investigate relationship between delirium, risk factors on delirium, and patient prognosis based on Donabedian’s structure–process–outcome model. @*Methods@#This study utilized a path analysis design. We extracted data from the electronic medical records containing delirium screening data. Each five hundred data in a delirium and a non-delirium group were randomly selected from electronic medical records of medical and surgical intensive care patients. Data were analyzed using SPSS 20 and AMOS 24. @*Results@#In the final model, admission via emergency department (Β=.06, p=.019), age over 65 years (Β=.11, p=.001), unconsciousness (Β=.18, p=.001), dependent activities (Β=.12, p=.001), abnormal vital signs (Β=.12, p=.001), pressure ulcer risk (Β=.12, p=.001), enteral nutrition (Β=.12, p=.001), and use of restraint (Β=.30, p=.001) directly affecting delirium accounted for 56.0% of delirium cases. Delirium had a direct effect on hospital mortality (Β=.06,p=.038), hospital length of stay (Β=5.06, p=.010), and discharge to another facility (not home) (Β=.12, p=.001), also risk factors on delirium indirectly affected patient prognosis through delirium. @*Conclusion@#The use of interventions to reduce delirium may improve patient prognosis. To improve the dependency activities and risk of pressure ulcers that directly affect delirium, early ambulation is encouraged, and treatment and nursing interventions to remove the ventilator and drainage tube quickly must be provided to minimize the application of restraint. Further, delirium can be prevented and patient prognosis improved through continuous intervention to stimulate cognitive awareness and monitoring of the onset of delirium. This study also discussed the effects of delirium intervention on the prognosis of patients with delirium and future research in this area.
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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Semantic memory remains more stable than episodic memory across the lifespan, which makes it potentially useful as a marker for distinguishing pathological aging from normal senescence. To obtain a better understanding of the transitional stage evolving into Alzheimer's dementia (AD), we focused on the amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) stage stratified based on β-amyloid (Aβ) pathology. METHODS: We analyzed the raw data from Korean version of the Boston Naming Test (K-BNT) and the Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT). For K-BNT, the frequencies of six error types and accuracy rates were evaluated. For a qualitative assessment of the COWAT, we computed the number of switching, number of clusters, and mean cluster size. RESULTS: The data from 217 participants were analyzed (53 normal controls, 66 with Aβ− aMCI, 56 with Aβ+ aMCI, and 42 disease controls). There were fewer semantically related errors and more semantically unrelated errors on the K-BNT in Aβ+ aMCI than in Aβ− aMCI, without a gross difference in the z score. We also found that Aβ+ aMCI showed a more prominent deficit in the number of clusters in the semantic fluency task [especially for animal names (living items)] than Aβ− aMCI. CONCLUSIONS: In spite of similar clinical manifestations, Aβ+ aMCI was more similar to AD than Aβ− aMCI in terms of semantic memory disruption. Semantic memory may serve as an early indicator of brain Aβ pathology. Therefore, semantic memory dysfunction deserves more consideration in clinical practice. Longitudinal research with the follow-up data is needed.
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Animals , Humans , Aging , Alzheimer Disease , Brain , Dementia , Follow-Up Studies , Memory , Memory, Episodic , Cognitive Dysfunction , Pathology , Semantics , Word Association TestsABSTRACT
PURPOSE: This study was conducted to investigate relationship between delirium, risk factors on delirium, and patient prognosis based on Donabedian's structure-process-outcome model.METHODS: This study utilized a path analysis design. We extracted data from the electronic medical records containing delirium screening data. Each five hundred data in a delirium and a non-delirium group were randomly selected from electronic medical records of medical and surgical intensive care patients. Data were analyzed using SPSS 20 and AMOS 24.RESULTS: In the final model, admission via emergency department (B=.06, p=.019), age over 65 years (B=.11, p=.001), unconsciousness (B=.18, p=.001), dependent activities (B=.12, p=.001), abnormal vital signs (B=.12, p=.001), pressure ulcer risk (B=.12, p=.001), enteral nutrition (B=.12, p=.001), and use of restraint (B=.30, p=.001) directly affecting delirium accounted for 56.0% of delirium cases. Delirium had a direct effect on hospital mortality (B=.06, p=.038), hospital length of stay (B=5.06, p=.010), and discharge to another facility (not home) (B=.12, p=.001), also risk factors on delirium indirectly affected patient prognosis through delirium.CONCLUSION: The use of interventions to reduce delirium may improve patient prognosis. To improve the dependency activities and risk of pressure ulcers that directly affect delirium, early ambulation is encouraged, and treatment and nursing interventions to remove the ventilator and drainage tube quickly must be provided to minimize the application of restraint. Further, delirium can be prevented and patient prognosis improved through continuous intervention to stimulate cognitive awareness and monitoring of the onset of delirium. This study also discussed the effects of delirium intervention on the prognosis of patients with delirium and future research in this area.
Subject(s)
Humans , Critical Care , Delirium , Drainage , Early Ambulation , Electronic Health Records , Emergency Service, Hospital , Enteral Nutrition , Hospital Mortality , Intensive Care Units , Length of Stay , Mass Screening , Nursing , Pressure Ulcer , Prognosis , Risk Factors , Unconsciousness , Ventilators, Mechanical , Vital SignsABSTRACT
No abstract available.
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Humans , B-Lymphocytes , Bone Marrow , Lymphoma, B-Cell , Lymphoma, T-Cell , T-LymphocytesABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: For phosphate control, patient education is essential due to the limited clearance of phosphate by dialysis. However, well-designed randomized controlled trials about dietary and phosphate binder education have been scarce. METHODS: We enrolled maintenance hemodialysis patients and randomized them into an education group (n = 48) or a control group (n = 22). We assessed the patients’ drug compliance and their knowledge about the phosphate binder using a questionnaire. RESULTS: The primary goal was to increase the number of patients who reached a calcium-phosphorus product of lower than 55. In the education group, 36 (75.0%) patients achieved the primary goal, as compared with 16 (72.7%) in the control group (P = 0.430). The education increased the proportion of patients who properly took the phosphate binder (22.9% vs. 3.5%, P = 0.087), but not to statistical significance. Education did not affect the amount of dietary phosphate intake per body weight (education vs. control: −1.18 ± 3.54 vs. −0.88 ± 2.04 mg/kg, P = 0.851). However, the dietary phosphate-to-protein ratio tended to be lower in the education group (−0.64 ± 2.04 vs. 0.65 ± 3.55, P = 0.193). The education on phosphate restriction affected neither the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment score (0.17 ± 4.58 vs. −0.86 ± 3.86, P = 0.363) nor the level of dietary protein intake (−0.03 ± 0.33 vs. −0.09 ± 0.18, P = 0.569). CONCLUSION: Education did not affect the calcium-phosphate product. Education on the proper timing of phosphate binder intake and the dietary phosphate-to-protein ratio showed marginal efficacy.
Subject(s)
Humans , Body Weight , Compliance , Dialysis , Diet , Dietary Proteins , Education , Hyperphosphatemia , Patient Education as Topic , Phosphates , Renal DialysisABSTRACT
The authors confirm that the author name and the title were incorrect in the last isuse of the journal.
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OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to contribute to the development of an oral health education program on organized professional toothbrushing by determining its effects on plaque control in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment. METHODS: The subjects in the experimental group participated in the professional toothbrushing and oral health education weekly for 4 weeks, and those in the control group participated in the same program without professional toothbrushing education. RESULTS: The difference in knowledge, attitude, and behaviors on oral health was higher among the experimental group who underwent professional toothbrushing and oral health education program than those in the control group. The effects of toothbrushing time on the plaque index were significantly lower in experimental group than those in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: It is suggested that adequate oral health and professional toothbrushing education program should be implemented to improve oral health.
Subject(s)
Humans , Education , Oral Health , ToothbrushingABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: This research was conducted to identify the effects of a mother's nationality on adolescent oral health using data from the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (2016). METHODS: This research matched adolescent health behavior online survey results using propensity score matching and identified the influence of a mother's nationality on her adolescent child's oral health. A total of 715 adolescents whose mothers' nationalities were identified as not Korean were selected as research participants, and 715 adolescents were selected from 62,349 individuals whose mothers' nationalities were identified as Korean as a comparison group to undergo propensity score matching. RESULTS: Having a non-Korean mother showed no influence on adolescents' subjective oral health. Socioeconomic characteristics, oral health behaviors, and experience visiting dental clinics were identified as affecting oral health. CONCLUSIONS: The relationship between the characteristics of a multi-cultural family and oral health shown in this research suggests that health and welfare services essential to protect the rights to health must be maintained. Moreover, the results suggest that health services that focus on socioeconomically disadvantaged multi-cultural families must be seriously considered.
Subject(s)
Adolescent , Humans , Adolescent Health , Dental Clinics , Ethnicity , Health Services , Korea , Mothers , Oral Health , Propensity Score , Risk-Taking , Vulnerable PopulationsABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a delirium prevention intervention for patients in neurology and neurosurgery intensive care units (ICUs). METHODS: This study was a quasi-experimental study. Participants were 87 patients. The experimental group was provided with nonpharmacologic and multicomponent delirium prevention interventions, consisting of regular delirium assessment, improvement in orientation, early therapeutic intervention, and environmental interventions. The control group was provided with routine intensive care. Data were analyzed using χ² test, Fisher's exact test, and t-test. RESULTS: Both groups were homogeneous. The incidence of delirium and length of hospitalization were significantly lower in the experimental group compared to the control group. ICU stay, mortality and unplanned extubation were lower in the experimental group compared to the control group, but there was no significant difference. CONCLUSION: Findings indicate that the delirium prevention intervention is effective in reducing incidence of delirium and length of hospitalization. Therefore, this intervention should be helpful in preventing delirium in neurology and neurosurgery ICUs and can be used as a guide in the prevention of delirium in neurological diseases's patients.