background: the purpose of our study was to assess resident and fellow patient care competency related to chest port catheter insertion after implementation of an educational program and completion of a certification checklist. furthermore, we aimed to measure the impact of this intervention on early infection rates. methods: baseline early infection rates as defined by the cdc were obtained in...

BACKGROUND Survey response rates among physicians are declining, and determining an appropriate level of compensation to motivate participation poses a major challenge. OBJECTIVE To estimate the effect of permitting intensive care physicians to select their preferred level of compensation for completing a short Web-based survey on physician (1) response rate, (2) survey completion rate, (3) t...

This prospective, multicenter, single-arm, open-label Phase III study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Privigen(®) (10% liquid human intravenous immunoglobulin [IVIG], stabilized with L-proline) in patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP). Patients received one induction dose of Privigen (2 g/kg body weight [bw]) and up to seven maintenance doses (1 g/k...

UNLABELLED Some patients receiving pegylated interferon and ribavirin treatment for chronic hepatitis C are forced to discontinue the treatment due to psychiatric disorders. We performed a retrospective study to evaluate whether pre-treatment psychiatric examinations could increase successful completion rates for this treatment. METHODS A total of 535 patients who started pegylated interferon...

PURPOSE The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical factors affecting on the cure rate by invasive and open surgery for gastric cancer and to establish a subgroup of patients who can be applied by the early recovery after surgery program through this retrospective analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this retrospective study, we analyzed 425 patients who underwent gastric cancer surger...

We reviewed our experience with resection of recurrent lung cancer to evaluate the benefit and risk of the procedure. From December 1994 to December 2003, 29 consecutive patients underwent pulmonary resections for recurrent lung cancer. The mean duration from the first resection to second surgery was 25.4+/-15.1 months for the definite 2nd primary lung cancer (n=20) and 8.9+/-5.7 months for met...

BACKGROUND eHealth interventions are effective for weight control and have the potential for broad reach. Little is known about the use of interactive voice response (IVR) technology for self-monitoring in weight control interventions, particularly among populations disproportionately affected by obesity. OBJECTIVE This analysis sought to examine patterns and predictors of IVR self-monitoring...

OBJECTIVE Completion thyroidectomy is recommended in patients who have been diagnosed with differentiated thyroid cancer on histopathological evaluation, if their first operation was a conservative approach. The critical issue is when to do the second operation. MATERIAL AND METHODS The medical records of 66 patients who underwent completion thyroidectomy for the treatment of differentiated t...

BACKGROUND Diabetes is a disease with high social burdens and is expected to increase gradually. A long-term management is essential for the treatment of diabetes, requiring patient self-cares. Diabetes education is important for such self-cares, but it does not sufficiently take place. In addition, little studies have been conducted on the barriers to the completion of diabetes education. This...

crystallization of aluminum fluoride at atmospheric pressure has been considered. structure, size and shape of crystals formed during the crystallization process have been investigated. by applying the direct analysis method for the existed aluminum in solution, the aluminum fluoride nucleation process has been detected as a concentration valley at the outset of crystallization process. the lin...