Depression and Cognitive Function of the Community-dwelling Elderly

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the depression and cognitive function of community-dwelling older adults. METHODS: 243 aged over 65 in Won-Ju in South Korea participated in this study. Data were collected from April to June 2013 through interviews. This study utilized the Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form, the Korean version of MMSE-DS (MMSE for Dementia Screening), and infirmity testing for basic health status. Descriptive statistics, χ2, t-test, ANOVA, Scheffé's test, and Pearson's correlation coefficient were used. RESULTS: 75.3% of the participants belonged to the depression group, and the prevalence of cognitive impairment was 17.3%. There were significant differences in depression and cognitive function according to gender, educational level, type of insurance, subjective health, frailty, and whether to be a client of home care service. The level of depression was significantly higher and the level of cognitive functions was significantly lower in older adults in home care services than in community-dwelling older adults. CONCLUSION: This study is meaningful in that it included older adults in home care services to provide information to develop effective prevention programs for improving cognitive functions. The results of this study can be used to develop future community prevention and intervention.

Comparison of Clinical Characteristics between Primary Closure of Common Bile Duct and T-tube Drainage after Choledochotomy / 한국간담췌외과학회지

BACKGROUND/AIMS: In the management of choledocholithiasis, T-tube drainage was the most common treatment modality after common bile duct (CBD) exploration. However, the T-tube drainage has several problems and risk of complications such as abdominal discomfort, long duration of drainage, or bile leakage. We evaluated the effectiveness of primary closure of CBD after choledochotomy and the possibility of substitution for T-tube drainage. METHODS: Seventy six patients with choledocholithiasis who had undergone CBD exploration were enrolled in this study from January 1999 to March 2001. 20 patients among them had undergone primary closure of CBD with preoperative endoscopic nasobiliary drainage (ENBD) or percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) in situ after exploration (primary closure group), 56 patients had undergone T-tube drainage (T-tube group). We compared the clinical characteristics and outcome between two groups. RESULTS: There was no difference in postoperative complication (19.6% vs. 20%), the mean amount of biliary drainage (326 ml/day vs. 320 ml/day) and the duration of hospitalization (11.6 day vs. 9.2 days) between the both groups. The duration of biliary drainage was significantly longer in the T-tube group (45.3 days) than in the primary closure group (9.2 days; p<0.01). The rate of remnant stone was higher in the T-tube group (32.1%) than the primary closure group (20%), there was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The primary closure of CBD with the preoperative biliary drainage was relatively safe and resulted in no difference of clinical outcome. Furthermore, this method induced going back early to normal life. These result suggest that the primary closure of CBD may be a feasible technique after choledochotomy when the patients are selected by specialized indications.

Effect of Intracavitary Injection of Urokinase in the Experimentally Induced Early Pyogenic Liver Abscess of the Rabbit

This study was carried out to assess the effects of intracavitary injection of urokinase in the early liver abscess (ELA) of the rabbits. ELAs were induced on 25 in 47 New Zealand rabbits, which were divided into two groups, with 15 in group A, and 10 in group B. Urokinase was injected into the ELA of group A, and normal physiologic saline into those of group B. One and a half hours after the injections, the rabbits were sacrificed and evaluated by pathologists for the degree of fibrosis of the ELA wall, and fibrinolysis in the ELA itself. Statistical analyses were performed between the two groups. The following ELA sizes for each group were obtained: Group A, 4.3 X 2.9-10.1 X 7.2 mm (mean 7.1 X 4.1 mm); Group B, 4.6 X 2.7-15.0 X 9.7 mm (mean 8.5 X 4.57 mm). Eleven (73%) in group A showed grade II fibrosis of ELA wall, and 8 (80%) in group B showed grade III fibrosis of ELA wall (p=0.002). On pathological analysis, 5 (46%) in group A showed grade II fibrin, and 8 (80%) in group B showed grade III fibrin, of the ELA (p=0.09). In conclusion, injection of urokinase, into the ELAs, can reduce the degree of fibrosis of abscess walls.