General considerations for sample size estimation in animal study / 대한마취과학회지

The aim of this paper is to introduce basic concepts and methods for calculating sample size in animal studies. At the planning stage of clinical studies, the determination of the sample size is a very important process to show the validity, accuracy, and reliability of the study. However, not all studies require a sample size to be calculated. Before conducting the study, it is essential to determine whether the study objectives suggest a pilot and exploratory study, as well as the purpose of testing the hypothesis of interest. Since most animal experiments are pilot and exploratory studies, it would be more appropriate to review other considerations for conducting an experiment while maintaining scientific and qualitative levels rather than sample size estimation. Sample size is calculated in various situations in animal studies. Therefore, it can be estimated according to the situations and objectives through the methods of precision analysis, power analysis, and so on. In some cases, nonparametric methods can be employed if the assumptions of normality is not met or a small sample is available for the study.

Incidence of cervical, endometrial, and ovarian cancer in Korea during 1999–2015 / 부인종양

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the incidence and trends of cervical (C53), endometrial (C54.1), and ovarian cancer (C56) among Korean females between 1999 and 2015. METHODS: The incidence of the three major gynecological cancers between 1999 and 2015 was analyzed based on the data from the Korea Central Cancer Registry. The age-standardized rates (ASRs) and the annual percent changes (APCs) for each site were calculated. RESULTS: The absolute incidence rates of the three major gynecological cancers increased from 6,394 in 1999 to 8,288 in 2015. ASR for gynecologic cancer decreased from 23.7 per 100,000 in 1999 to 21.1 in 2015. This was mainly due to a definitive decrease in the incidence of cervical cancer, which recorded an APC of −3.7%. The trends of APC for gynecologic cancer were variable, being −1.36% between 1999 and 2006 and −0.11% between 2006 and 2015. A definitive but variable increase was noted for endometrial cancer, and the APC for this cancer was 7.4% between 1999 and 2009 and 3.5% between 2009 and 2015. The incidence of ovarian cancer gradually increased, with an APC of 1.8% between 1999 and 2015. CONCLUSION: Overall, ASRs and APCs for the three major gynecological cancers are decreasing, with a recent reduction in the width of the change. However, there has been a progressive increase in the incidence of endometrial and ovarian cancers.

Factors Influencing Performance of End-of-life Care by ICU Nurses / 정신간호학회지

PURPOSE: This study was a descriptive research to assess the level of and the relationship of related factors in the performance of end-of-life care by intensive care unit (ICU) nurses. METHODS: Participants were 238 ICU nurses from university and general hospitals. Data were collected, using structured questionnaires, and collected data were analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, Scheffé test, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple regression analysis with SPSS/WIN 22.0. RESULTS: There were significantly positive effects between performance of end-of-life care and end-of-life care attitudes. Performance end-of-life care was negatively associated with end-of-life care stress and obstacles. Factors that significantly influenced ICU nurses' performance of end-of-life were end-of-life care stress, medical team in obstacles related to end-of-life care, and end-of-life care attitudes, which explained about 53% of the variance in the performance of end-of-life care. CONCLUSION: Findings indicate that hospital organizations should carry out stress management and counseling programs in order to lower ICU nurses' end-of-life care stress, and to enhance end-of-life care attitudes. In addition, concern needs to be given to the medical team which was one of the obstacles to end-of-life care. It is also necessary to decrease the heavy workload and increase the communication with medical workers.