Journal of Korean medical science
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Apr 2016
Multicenter StudyA Multicenter Study Investigating Empathy and Burnout Characteristics in Medical Residents with Various Specialties.
We assessed empathy in medical residents, including factors modifying empathy and the relationship between empathy and burnout. Participants (n = 317 residents, response rate = 42%) from 4 university hospitals completed a socio-demographic questionnaire, the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (Health Professional version, Korean edition), and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Participants were classified by medical specialty: "people-oriented specialty" (POS group) or "technology-oriented specialty" (TOS group), with more women in the POS than in the TOS group, χ(2) = 14.12, P < 0.001. ⋯ Additionally, first year POS residents had higher DP scores than did first year TOS residents, t = 2.183, P = 0.031. We suggest that factors important for empathy are type of medical specialty, marriage, siblings, and children. Burnout state may be related to decreasing empathy.
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Occipital neuralgia is defined by the International Headache Society as paroxysmal shooting or stabbing pain in the dermatomes of the greater or lesser occipital nerve. Various treatment methods exist, from medical treatment to open surgical procedures. Local injection with corticosteroid can improve symptoms, though generally only temporarily. ⋯ Recently, a few reports have described positive results following peripheral nerve stimulation of the greater or lesser occipital nerve. Although this procedure is less invasive, the significance of the results is hampered by the small sample size and the lack of long-term data. Clinicians should always remember that destructive procedures carry grave risks: once an anatomic structure is destroyed, it cannot be easily recovered, if at all, and with any destructive procedure there is always the risk of the development of painful neuroma or causalgia, conditions that may be even harder to control than the original complaint.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Apr 2016
Case ReportsPhrenic Arterial Injury Presenting as Delayed Hemothorax Complicating Simple Rib Fracture.
Delayed hemothorax after blunt torso injury is rare, but might be associated with significant morbidity and mortality. We present a case of delayed hemothorax bleeding from phrenic artery injury in a 24-year-old woman. ⋯ Delayed hemothorax associated with phrenic artery bleeding, caused by a stab injury from a fractured rib segment, was treated successfully by a minimally invasive thoracoscopic surgery. Here, we have shown that fracture of a lower rib or ribs might be accompanied by delayed massive hemothorax that can be rapidly identified and promptly managed by thoracoscopic means.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Apr 2016
Observational StudyCharacteristics of Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease at the First Visit to a Pulmonary Medical Center in Korea: The KOrea COpd Subgroup Study Team Cohort.
The Korea Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorders Subgroup Study Team (Korea COPD Subgroup Study team, KOCOSS) is a multicenter observational study that includes 956 patients (mean age 69.9 ± 7.8 years) who were enrolled from 45 tertiary and university-affiliated hospitals from December 2011 to October 2014. The initial evaluation for all patients included pulmonary function tests (PFT), 6-minute walk distance (6MWD), COPD Assessment Test (CAT), modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) dyspnea scale, and the COPD-specific version of St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ-C). ⋯ The number of exacerbations during one year prior to the first visit was significantly lower in patients with early COPD (0.4 vs. 0.9/0.1 vs. 1.2), as were the CAT score (13.9 vs. 18.3/13.5 vs. 18.1), mMRC (1.4 vs. 2.0/1.3 vs.1.9), and SGRQ-C total score (30.4 vs. 42.9/29.1 vs. 42.6) compared to late-stage COPD (all P < 0.001). Common comorbidities among all patients were hypertension (323, 37.7%), diabetes mellitus (139, 14.8%), and depression (207, 23.6%). The data from patients with early COPD will provide important information towards early detection, proper initial management, and design of future studies.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Apr 2016
Body Composition, Sarcopenia, and Suicidal Ideation in Elderly Koreans: Hallym Aging Study.
This study was conducted to assess the relationship between body composition and suicidal ideation among the Korean elderly population (n = 302; ≥ 65 years) who participated in the Hallym Aging Study in 2010. Body composition was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and obesity was measured by the indices of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), and body fat percentage. Sarcopenia was defined as presence of both low muscle mass and low muscle function. ⋯ In the logistic regression analyses, there were no significant relationships for suicidal ideation according to body composition measures, including BMI, WC, WHR, WHtR, and body fat percentage in both sexes. After adjusting for age, smoking status, alcohol drinking, regular exercise, medical comorbidities, monthly income, education level, and presence of depressive symptoms, the odds ratio (OR) of suicidal ideation was higher in elderly men with sarcopenia compared to those without, whereas no significant relationships were observed in elderly women (OR 8.28, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.20-61.34 in men; OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.07-8.43 in women). Sarcopenia is closely associated with an increased risk of suicidal ideation in elderly men.