Limited outbreaks of measles, in which nosocomial transmission can play an important role, may occur after countries have declared elimination. Timely and opportunistic vaccination may help prevent such outbreaks; high-quality surveillance is critical for their detection.

The aim of this study was to examine the experience of violence in relation to burnout and job satisfaction in Korean nurses in the emergency medical centre setting. Participants were 236 nurses in the emergency medical centre setting of three metropolitan areas in Korea. Measures included a general characteristics form, characteristics related to experiences of violence, the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. Data were collected from June 2013 to February 2014. In the prediction model, 33.4% of burnout was explained and 35.7% for job satisfaction. The greatest influence on burnout was handling violence, followed by verbal abuse. The greatest influence on job satisfaction was physical threat, followed by handling violence. The study shows that burnout and job satisfaction of Korean nurses in the emergency medical centre setting are related to experiences of violence such as verbal abuse, physical threat and physical violence, as well as handling violence.

SUMMARY:In this study, we have described the clinical characteristics of vaccine-modified measles to assess the performance of an expanded case definition in a school outbreak that occurred in 2010. The sensitivity, specificity, and the positive and negative predictive values were evaluated. Among 74 cases of vaccine-modified measles, 47 (64z) met the original case definition. Fever and rash were observed in 73z (54/74); fever was the most common (96z, 71/74) presenting symptom, and rash was noted in 77z (57/74) of the cases. The original case definition showed an overall sensitivity of 63.5z and a specificity of 100.0z. The expanded case definition combining fever and rash showed a higher sensitivity (72.9z) but a lower specificity (88.2z) than the original. The presence of fever and one or more of cough, coryza, or conjunctivitis scored the highest sensitivity among the combinations of signs and symptoms (77.0z), but scored the lowest specificity (52.9z). The expanded case definition was sensitive in identifying suspected cases of vaccine-modified measles. We suggest using this expanded definition for outbreak investigation in a closed community, and consider further discussions on expanding the case definition of measles for routine surveillance in South Korea.

In 2005, human coronavirus HKU1 (HCoV-HKU1) was isolated and identified from a 71-year-old man with pneumonia in Hong Kong. To identify and classify genotypes of HCoV-HKU1 in Korea, a sensitive, specific, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was developed and analyzed the sequences of HCoV-HKU1 isolated in Korea. A total of 1,985 respiratory specimens taken from patients with acute respiratory illness were tested for HCoV-HKU1 from January 2007 to May 2008. The major clinical symptoms associated with HCoV-HKU1 infection were examined statistically and sequence variations of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), spike, and nucleocapsid genes were also analyzed. Fifty cases (2.5%) HCoV-HKU1 were identified by real-time PCR and viral loads ranged from 6.7 × 10(4) to 1.6 × 10(9)  copies/ml. The clinical symptoms of HCoV-HKU1 infection included rhinorrhea (72%), cough (64%), nasal congestion (56%), fever (32%), sputum (30%), sore throat (18%), chills (16%), postnasal discharge (14%), and tonsillar hypertrophy (10%). There was a seasonal distribution of HCoV-HKU1 infection, peaking in winter and spring. Both genotypes A and B were detected but no recombination between them was found. This is the first report on the identification and genotyping of HCoV-HKU1 as a causative agent of acute respiratory illness in Korea. The data suggest that at least two genotypes, A and B, of HCoV-HKU1 with scattered silent mutations were circulating in Korea from 2007 to 2008.

The safety and efficacy of lose-dose propofol for sedation were investigated on 90 consenting patients who had undergone surgical procedures with local anesthesia. After being premedicated with intravenous midazolam 0.05 mg.kg(-1), all patients were randomly divided into two groups and received intravenously either a loading dose of propofol 0.8 mg.kg(-1) followed by a continuous infusion of propofol 30 microg.kg(-1)min(-1) (propofol group) or an equivalent volume of saline (placebo group) during operation. Study groups were compared with respect to the level of sedation, hemodynamic variables, oxygen saturation, and the incidence of intraoperative side effects. In addition, the discharge time and the satisfaction of both patients and surgeons with this sedative technique were assessed. Propofol reduced patients' discomfort and lowered their arterial pressure and heart rate during the infiltration of local anesthetics. It also promoted an adequate level of sedation without clinically significant oxygen desaturation in the intraoperative period. Surgeons and patients in the propofol group showed a higher level of satisfaction than those in the placebo group. There was no significant difference between the two groups with regard to the incidence of adverse effects and the discharge time. In conclusion, it was found that the use of low-dose propofol infusion was a safe and effective sedative technique for local anesthesia.

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