Critical Review III to Standardize the Textbooks of Fundamentals of Nursing: Nutrition, Urinary and Bowel Elimination Needs / 기본간호학회지

Purpose@#To identify the discrepancies in the textbook of fundamentals of nursing in nutrition and elimination needs in terms of number, range, definition and etc. @*Methods@#The 10 textbooks which are the most frequently used were selected and reviewed. After then compared it with the protocols of essential nursing skills of Korean Accreditation Board of Nursing Education and evidence-based clinical nursing practice guidelines of Korean Hospital Nurses’ Association. @*Results@#The most significant discrepancies in nutrition domain were criteria of obesity, confirmation of nasogastric tube placement. In elimination domain, there were several mixed or miss uses of French and number unit in catheter size. And appropriate catheter size for urinary catheterization and enema is different to books and guidelines. @*Conclusion@#In order to conduct an effective resource in education of nursing, textbooks need to be revised constantly and contain the recent researches and guidelines.

Relationship between Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma in High School Students in Korea / 소아알레르기및호흡기학회지

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine whether allergic rhinitis (AR) without asthma is associated with bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) and symptoms of asthma in Korean adolescents. METHODS: A questionnaire survey was conducted on 724 high school students (males 556; females, 168) from Seoul City. We also performed the lung function test, methacholine challenge test, skin prick test, and allergy-related blood biomarkers. This cross-sectional study was conducted in the subjects excluding current asthmatic patients. RESULTS: AR (+), BHR (+) patients tended to show a high prevalence of wheeze ever, a high diagnosis rate of asthma ever, low forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV(1)), low forced expiratory flow at the 25% and 75% of pulmonary volume (FEF(25-75%)) high total IgE and frequent sensitizaion to house dust mites compared with AR (-), BHR (-) patients. In atopy AR (+) group, wheeze ever and treatment of asthma during the last 12 months were significantly higher than atopy (-), AR (-) patients or atopy (+), AR (-) patients (P<0.05). In atopy (+), AR (+) patients, BHR and peripheral eosinophil percent were significantly higher than in other patients (P<0.05) and PC(20) was also significantly lower than in other patients (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: BHR in current AR was associated with FEV(1), FEF(25-75%), total IgE, and sensitization to house dust mites. Current AR was associated with symptoms of asthma, peripheral eosinophilia and BHR, regardless of atopy. This study showed a significant association between allergic rhinitis and asthma or BHR among Korean adolescents. This cross-sectional study supports the concept of 'one airway, one disease' between the AR and asthma.

Short-term Treatment with Angiotensin II Antagonist in Essential Hypertension:Effects of Losartan on Left Ventricular Diastolic Function, Left Ventricular Mass, and Aortic Stiffness

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Even short-term treatment with angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor in essential hypertension has been known to improve left ventricular (LV) diastolic function, LV hypertrophy (LVH), and aortic stiffness. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of angiotensin II receptor antagonist (Losartan) on LV diastolic function, LVH, and aortic stiffness in essential hypertension. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-three hypertensive patients who were aged over 50 years, previously untreated, and without cardiac, renal, neurologic disease, or diabetes, were studied. Before and 12 weeks after monotherapy with Losartan 50 mg q.d., (1) supine arterial blood pressure by sphygmomanometry, (2) interventricular septum and LV posterior wall thickness, and LV end-diastolic dimension by M-mode echocardiography, (3) mitral peak E and A wave velocity by doppler echocardiography, (4) pulse wave velocity (PWV) in the descending aorta from aortic arch to the bifurcation by doppler echocardiography, were done. RESULTS: Twelve weeks after treatment, systolic blood pressure was lowered from 168.2+/-3.5 mmHg to 142.9+/-2.9 mmHg (p0.05), compliance (from 1.31+/-0.04 to 1.34+/-0.12, p>0.05), and compliance index (from 0.16+/-0.01 to 0.15+/-0.01, p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Short-term treatment with Losartan decreases blood pressure, improves LV diastolic function and LVH, but not aortic stiffness.

Distribution of MIC Values of Various Antibiotics against Extended-spectrum Beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae / 감염

BACKGROUND: Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) confer resistance to extended-spectrum cephalosporin (e.g., cefotaxime, ceftazidime) and aztreonam. But the diversity of ESBLs results in various susceptibility profiles with different beta-lactams. To study the relative in vitro activities of various beta-lactams and non-beta-lactam antibiotics against the clinical isolates of ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae, we determined the MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) of various antimicrobials. METHODS: Fifty-seven isolates of K. pneumoniae which produced ESBL and 63 isolates which did not produce ESBL from 3 university hospitals in Korea were tested. The MIC values of antimicrobials were determined by agar dilution method and detection of ESBL production was performed by double disk synergy test. RESULTS: The MIC values of beta-lactams against K. pneumoniae which produced ESBLs exhibited heterogeneous susceptability profiles. In differentiation of ESBL production, MIC value of 8 ug/mL (breakpoint of intermediate resistance) of ceftazidime was more sensitive and more specific than that of cefotaxime or aztreonam. MIC50 values of gentamicin, amikacin and ciprofloxacin against K. pneumoniae that produced ESBL were significantly higher than those against Non-ESBL producing isolates (P<0.001), suggesting that ESBL producing isolates are multi-drug resistant. CONCLUSION: The level of resistance to various beta-lactams of K. pneumoniae which produced ESBL was heterogeneous. ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae showed higher resistance to aminoglycoside and quinolone antibiotics. Ceftazidime was the most appropriate antibiotic to differentiate ESBL production.