Serial testing of healthcare workers for latent tuberculosis infection and long-term follow up for development of active tuberculosis.

BACKGROUND: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at high risk of tuberculosis (TB) infection due to occupational exposure. It is important to diagnose TB infections in HCWs to prevent nosocomial transmission, particularly among immunocompromised patients. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to analyze the rate of tuberculin skin test (TST) conversion and to assess the incidence of active TB after the latent TB infection screenings in high-risk HCWs. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study involved 458 HCWs in TB-related departments between 2009 and 2013. All HCWs underwent a TST and a chest radiograph annually; an interferon-γ release assay (IGRA) was performed on the TST-converted subjects. TST-converted and IGRA-positive HCWs underwent treatment for latent TB infection. RESULTS: The TST conversion rate was 30.3% from 2009 to 2011 in two years, 7.4% from 2011 to 2012, and 17.4% from 2012 to 2013. Eleven subjects out of 42 TST converters (26%) were IGRA-positive; two of them developed into active pulmonary TB during the follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: There was significant discordance between TST conversion and IGRA results in high-risk HCWs, and active TB developed only in TST-converted and IGRA-positive HCWs. Therefore, the combined use of TST and IGRA for periodic monitoring of TB infections in high-risk HCWs may be useful.

Incontinence pad usage in medical welfare facilities in Korea.

PURPOSE: The prevalence of urinary incontinence and the usage of incontinence pads by elderly residents in Korean medical welfare facilities were investigated. METHODS: From a total of 1,832 facilities, 33 medical welfare facilities in the capital area were randomly selected; all nursing homes were excluded. All data were collected by questionnaires to investigate the residents' age and sex, the presence or absence of urinary incontinence, incontinence pad usage per month, and management methods for urinary incontinence. Surveys were also conducted from January 2010 to August 2010. RESULTS: A total number of residents in medical welfare facilities were 2,783, and all of them were selected for this study. Approximately, 65.3% of residents (1,816 individuals) had incontinence. The mean usage was 75 incontinence pads per month. Only 15.6% of residents received proper management for urinary incontinence, while the remaining 84.4% of residents did not have any experience in evaluating or managing their urinary symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of urinary incontinence in medical welfare facilities in Korea was about 65.3%. However, the management of urinary incontinence was insufficient. Urologists should make further efforts for the proper management of urinary incontinence in elders in these facilities.

Standardization of Korean nursing terminology.

Korean nursing terminology was standardized to improve sharing and exchange of nursing data and information. English nursing terms were collected from existing nursing terminology, journal articles, nursing records, text books, and nursing/medical dictionaries, translated into Korean and were tested for their validity. More than 9000 terms were standardized and published on a website for further feedback from the users. This study will contribute to communication within the nursing community and with other health care professionals.

[Effect of East-West Self-help Group program for rehabilitation of post stroke clients].

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of an East-West Self-help program for Rehabilitation of post-stroke patients. METHOD: A quasi-experimental design was used. The subjects were 75 post stroke clients(Exp. group: 38, Cont. group: 37). The subjects of the experimental group participated in the Self-help group program of six sessions, twice a week, during 6 weeks. The program consisted of health education of stroke, exercise, oriental nursing interventions, and therapeutic recreation. The obtained data were analyzed by using the repeated measure ANOVA of SPSS. RESULT: 1) The score of rehabilitation self-efficacy increased significantly in the experimental group as compared to the control group. 2) The score of BADL, IADL, amount of use & quality of movement of the affected U/E, and grip power increased significantly in the experimental group as compared to the control group. 3)The level of blood cholesterol decreased significantly in the experimental group as compared to the control group. CONCLUSION: Considering these research results, the program is effective in improving functional abilities and self-management ability. Therefore this program could be implemented as a community based self-help group program for post stroke clients.