Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing

Original Articles

Effects of Hand Acupuncture Therapy on Sleep Quality in Sleep Disrupted Adults: Verification by Polysomnography and Cerebral Blood Flow Test: Eun Hee Hwang; Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing 2007;37(7):1108-1118. Published online March 28, 2017; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4040/jkan.2007.37.7.1108

Abstract PDF: PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of hand acupuncture therapy on sleep quality by means of a sleep questionnaire, polysomnography and a cerebral blood flow test in 30~59 year old adults. METHODS: The study was a sham controlled design. Twenty-two adults were assigned to the pellet stimulating group (11) or sham group (11). The pellet stimulating group received hand acupuncture therapy using New Seoam Press Pellets number 1 for 4 weeks. On the other hand, the sham group used the same Adhesive tape in terms of shape, size and quality as New Seoam Press Pellets number 1 for 4 weeks. A Transcranial Doppler Ultrasonography and Carotid Duplex Ultrasonography examination were used for evaluating cerebral blood flow. Data was analyzed using the SPSS 12.0 version program with Chi2-test, Fisher's exact test and Mann Whitney U-test. RESULTS: In the pellet stimulating group, subjective sleep quality significantly improved more than that of the sham group. Among the sleep indices of the polysomnography, total sleep time and sleep latency of the sham group significantly improved. The cerebral blood flow test didn't show any differences. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that hand acupuncture therapy is effective for subjective sleep improvement only, not polysomnographical sleep indices and cerebral blood flow.

Prediction of Optimal Gluteal Intramuscular Needle Length by Skinfold Thickness Measurements in Korean Adults: Dong-Won Choi, Kyeong-Yae Sohng, Bum-Soo Kim; J Korean Acad Nurs 2010;40(6):844-851. Published online December 31, 2010; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4040/jkan.2010.40.6.844

Abstract PDF: Purpose
This study was conducted to assess optimal needle length for gluteal intramuscular injections (IM) via simple skinfold thickness (SFT).
Methods
For this study, 190 healthy adults were recruited and grouped into eight groups according to gender and body mass index (BMI) (kg/m²). The Korean Society for the Study of Obesity criteria defines a BMI under 20 as underweight, 20.1-22.9 as normal, 23-24.9 as overweight and over 25 as obese. For each participant, the SFT of dorsoguteal (DG) and ventrogluteal (VG) sites were measured using a caliper. Subcutaneous tissue thickness was acquired through ultrasonic images.
Results
For men in the overweight and obese groups at the DG site, for the obese group at the VG site, and for women in the normal weight, overweight and obese groups at both sites, the mean subcutaneous tissue thickness exceeded 1.84 cm, the minimal length for a 1 inch needle used for IM. At the DG site, optimal intramuscular needle length (OINL) was 1.4 times in women and 1.0 times in men compared to SFT. At the VG site, OINL was 1.3 times in women and 0.9 times in men compared to SFT.
Conclusion
The results of this study suggest that SFT is a reliable index to determine optimal needle length with minimal effort prior to IM.

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