Background: As the demands of pharmacist's role and quality performance have increased, the verification of pharmacist's ability has been required. In this study, we aimed to select appropriate items for assessment of pharmacist's knowledge, attitude and performance. Methods: Based on the pharmacist job analysis, we selected duties and tasks in consideration of applying pharmacy practical examination through brainstorming of internal researchers and group discussion with experts. Survey was conducted to evaluate the tasks according to the criteria detailed below: Realistic, Understandable, Measurable, Behavioral and Achievable (RUMBA). The subjects included professors at colleges of pharmacy and instructors of institutional or community pharmacy settings. Results: Nine duties including 41 tasks were drawn for the survey through primary internal researchers. Of the 90 respondents, 95.6% were professors or preceptors who was engaged in practical training, and 62.2% had more than five years of practical experience. As a result of survey and discussion with expert panel, selected seven duties were selected as followings: 'Patient (customer) reception', 'Drug preparation and distribution', 'Patient care', 'Administration', 'Patient counseling', 'Non-prescription medication counseling', and 'Provision of drug information'. The final 20 tasks from seven duties were chosen to assess skills that a pharmacist should be able to perform. Conclusion: This is the first study to select the items that can be included in pharmacist practical examination in the future, based on the RUMBA criteria. As a next step, it is necessary to study how to implement these items.

Background: Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute febrile, systemic vasculitis as a leading cause of acquired heart disease in children. Intravenous immunoglobulin G (IVIG) and aspirin are the standard initial therapy in the treatment of acute KD. The purpose of this study was to investigate drug utilization in children with KD, and to compare "IVIG + high-dose aspirin" and "IVIG + moderate-dose aspirin" in preventing cardiac complications. Methods: We analyzed pediatric patient sample data compiled by the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service from 2010 to 2015. We identified patients with KD using the KCD-6 code of M30.3. We excluded patients in chronic phase or ${\geq}1$0 years. We also excluded patients who were diagnosed KD in November or December. Drug utilization pattern were assessed in acute KD patients and 30-day and 60-day cardiac complications were investigated between "IVIG + high-dose aspirin" group and "IVIG + moderate-dose aspirin" group. Results: In acute phase, IVIG was administered to 95.8% patients, and 57.1% patients were prescribed moderate-dose aspirin and 25% patients were with high-dose aspirin. Steroid use was rapidly increased from 4.0% in 2010 to 11.3% in 2015. Both 30-day and 60-day cardiac complications occurred less in "IVIG + high-dose aspirin" group compared to "IVIG + moderate-dose aspirin" group, but not statistically significant (0.9% vs 1.8%, p=0.252 for 30-day complication rate; 1.5% vs 2.7%. p=0.073 for 60-day complication rate). Conclusion: We were not able to demonstrate which aspirin therapy is superior for preventing cardiac complications in acute KD patients and further research is warranted.

Background: Dementia is one of important social and economic healthcare issues in the aging age. Therefore, it signifies to analyze the relationship between chronic disease or cardiovascular drug use and the incidence of dementia to establish a basis for increasing or preventing the risk of dementia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between the prevalence of chronic diseases and the use of cardiovascular drugs in patients diagnosed with dementia. Methods: In this study, we used data from sample of elderly patients from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. We analyzed by logistic regression analysis with age, gender, and medication as covariates. KCD-7 was used to diagnosis of the disease, and drugs were analyzed using ATC codes and Korean standardized drug classification codes. Results: A total of 1,276,331 patients were analyzed in the sample of the elderly population, of which 532,075 (41.7%) were male and 744,256 (58.3%) were female. The patients have the higher risk of dementia in the older, women, and lower socioeconomically status. Cerebral infarction and ischemic heart disease increases risk of dementia. Patients taking statins, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) or angiotensin II receptor antagonists (ARB) showed low incidence of dementia. Conclusion: This study has been shown that ACEI, ARB, and statin drugs may associate with lower incidence of Alzheimer's and other dementia except vascular dementia.

Background: L-asparaginase (L-ASP) is a critical agent for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoma, which is associated with serious toxicities including hypersensitivity, pancreatitis and thrombosis. Methods: To evaluate the toxicity of L-ASP in real clinical settings, we included the patients with L-ASP adverse drug reactions (ADRs) reported in a regional pharmacovigilance center of Seoul St. Mary's hospital from January 2014 to December 2015. Results: A total of 83 cases of L-ASP related ADRs were reported in 54 patients. Of these 83 cases, 65 cases (78.3%, 65/83) were spontaneously reported and 18 cases (21.7%, 18/83) were detected by further medical records review. Of the patients with ADRs, pediatric patients accounted for 83.3% of the cases (45/54) and median age was 9 years. The most common clinical manifestations of ADRs were hematology manifestations (31.3%, 26/83), followed by hepatobiliary manifestations (18.1%, 15/83). Thirty-four serious ADRs were reported in 19 patients. The sserious ADR group showed significantly longer hospitalization and higher rate of discontinuation of L-ASP than the non-serious ADR group (p = 0.005, 0.03). The most common clinical manifestations of serious ADRs were hepatobiliary manifestations (41.2%, 14/34). In total, 8 cases (9.6%, 8/83) of unlabeled ADRs were identified. They were serious ADRs. Conclusion: We identified unlabeled serious ADRs of L-ASP. Also, correlations were observed between serious ADRs and length of hospitalization, discontinuation rate respectively. Further investigations and developed spontaneous ADR reporting systems are needed to evaluate these correlations.

Background: Recently, a fixed combination of grazoprevir and elbasvir (GE) has been introduced to the arsenal of chemotherapeutics to fight against this virus. The study aimed to provide information on the efficacy and safety of GE for the treatment of HCV infection by performing a meta-analysis of literature data. Methods: PubMed and EMBASE database searches were conducted. Among the literature retrieved, pivotal Phase III clinical studies were analyzed. Statistical analysis of the data was performed by RevMan. Results: Four pivotal Phase III clinical studies compared the efficacy and safety of GE. When HCV patients were treated with GE for 12 weeks, the sustained virologic response, defined as the viral RNA level below the lower limit of quantification at 12 weeks after the cessation of therapy (SVR12), was 94.7%. The clinical advantage of GE involves its use by patients with cirrhosis and/or renal failure without dose adjustment. If the genotype (GT) of the causative virus was GT1a with NS5A polymorphism or GT4 with resistance to peginterferon/ribavirin, treatment with GE plus ribavirin for 16 weeks resulted in a better outcome compared to treatment with GE alone for 12 weeks. Adverse events reported during the four clinical studies were 71.09% in the GE arms and it was 76.61% in the non-GE arms, with the most frequent events being mild central nervous system symptoms. Conclusion: GE was generally safe and effective for the treatment of HCV infection. However, since HCV mutates very rapidly and becomes resistant to antiviral agents, long-term monitoring should be mandatory.

Background: There is recent evidence that insulin resistance is responsible for increasing the risk of developing cognitive dysfunction. To systematically review the influence of intranasal insulin treatment on the cognitive function in Alzheimer's disease patients. Methods: Randomized controlled trials comparing the cognitive effects of intranasal insulin therapy in Alzheimer's disease patients with controlled interventions were retrieved from Pubmed, Medline, Embase and Cochrane library. Meta-analysis was conducted on the cognitive measurements with a subgroup analysis by dose, gender and apolipoprotein E allele 4 (ApoE ${\varepsilon}4$) status. Results: Seven randomized controlled trials were eligible for inclusion. Intranasal insulin had a positive influence on the cognitive function as compared to placebo without a statistical significance (standardized mean difference; SMD = 0.109; 95% confidence interval; CI -0.04 to 0.26; P=0.14). In subgroup analysis, a 20 IU dose of intranasal insulin induced a significant improvement in cognitive function (SMD = 0.14; 95% CI 0.05 to 0.24; P=0.004), but 40 IU did not show this effect (SMD = -0.01; 95% CI -0.11 to 0.09; P=0.82). ApoE ${\varepsilon}4$ positive patients showed a significant decline in cognitive function as compared to ApoE ${\varepsilon}4$ positive patients in the control group (SMD = -0.213; 95% CI -0.38 to -0.04; P=0.015). Such an effect was not apparent in ApoE ${\varepsilon}4$ negative patients. Gender had no influence on the cognitive outcomes. Conclusion: The results indicate that intranasal insulin may have beneficial effect in improving the cognitive function in Alzheimer's disease patients.

Objective: The study purpose was to develop a drug information leaflet for the elderly and to evaluate it with performance-based user-testing. Methods: We performed a stratified randomized controlled trial. We recruited 62 elderly patients with age of 65 or above who were taking antidiabetic medications at the point of participating and excluded those who suffered illiteracy. We randomly allocated them into the intervention group with a leaflet for the elderly and the control group with a leaflet for the general public. Main outcome measures were to 'be able to find information' and to 'be able to understand information.' We measured outcome variables by employing performance-based user-testing and analyzed data to find any differences between two groups with t-tests, chi-squared tests or Fisher's exact tests accordingly. Results: More participants in the intervention group understood how to store their medications than those in the control group (intervention group 93% vs. control group 70%; p=0.02). There were no significant differences in other information items between two groups. Mostly 'being able to understand information' was lower than 'being able to find information.' The gaps between two outcome variables were about 10% in the intervention group and about 18% in the control group. The lowest understanding was observed in information relating to drug names and their potential adverse events. Conclusion: Without providing personalized drug information, it might be hard for the elderly to improve their drug knowledge even with leaflets that were developed specifically for the elderly.

Objective: Because of communication difficulties, the hearing-impaired face many disadvantages throughout their lives. One of those is limited access to health care services, particularly medication service. Though they suffer from problems related to taking medication properly, there have been few studies on their actual condition of medication use in Korea. This study is to investigate any obstacles to properly taking medications and, therefore, to suggest preliminary evidence for policy measures to improve safe medication use among the hearing-impaired. Methods: Study participants consisted of hearing-impaired individuals living in Seoul. We also interviewed two sign language interpreters in order to illuminate health care state of the hearing-impaired. In-depth interview for each study participant was recorded and was translated into a written script for analysis. Results: Study participants were comprised of four women (66.6%) and two men (33.3%). There were one participants in 20's, two participants in 30's, one 40's, and two 50's. Sign language interpreters were all women. One was in her 30's and the other was in her 40's. Communication difficulties have been found to be key barrier to use medication safely. A negative image of pharmacists also hinders safe medication usage, lowering access to local pharmacy and leading discretional self-medication. This article provides pharmacists with solutions to promote adherence in this population. Conclusion: The hearing-impaired had limited access to medication-related information as well as using services in a hospital and local pharmacy due to their disability. Institutional improvement for safe medication usage among the hearing-impaired is necessary.

Objectives: A significant concern has been raised about the emerging resistance that is largely caused by the excessive or inappropriate use of antibacterial agents for viral respiratory infections. This study investigated the trend of respiratory tract infections (RTIs) and the use of antibiotics. Methods: Utilizing the national level health insurance claims data from 2005 to 2008, we examined encounter days, antibiotic use, and the prescription rate for respiratory tract infections including upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs), lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs), and otitis media in outpatient settings. The antibiotic use was measured as defined daily dose per 1,000 patients per day (DDD/1,000 patients/day). Results: The visit for URTI increased from 141,693,465 in 2005 to 120,717,966 in 2008 and the visit for LRTI decreased from 61,778,718 to 66,930,122. For RTIs, prescription rates of antibiotics decreased from 65.2% to 58.5% for URTIs and 76.9% to 68.3% for LRTIs from 2005 to 2008. The antibiotic use decreased to 20.85 DDD/1,000 patients/day after a significant increase of 22.01 DDD/1,000 patients/day in 2006. Among antibiotics, J01CR had the highest use- 7.93 DDD/1,000 patients/day followed by J01DC of 3.71 DDD/1,000 patients/day and J01FA of 3.2 DDD/1,000 patients/day. One notable trend is that J01FA presented a continuous increase in antibiotic use from 2.3 in 2005 to 3.26 DDD/1,000 patients/day in 2008. Conclusion: The use of antibiotics had poor compliance to guidelines for RTIs. Despite decrease in the use of antibiotics, prescription rates for URTIs were still about 50% indicating that the delayed prescribing antibiotics (or wait-and-see) were not observed.

A 74-year-old man suffering from cryptogenic organizing pneumonia (OP) visited our department with arthralgia accompanied with partial swellings of proximal interphalangeal and metacarpophalangeal joints with morning stiffness. A diagnose of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was made. It was thought that OP was associated with RA. We initiated a treatment with salazosulfapyridine and loxoprofen for RA. Although this treatment was effective, it was discontinued due to the development of drug eruption. As an alternative, the patient was treated with prednisolone (PSL) and clarithromycin (CAM). This treatment demonstrated being effective for OP and RA, to a certain extent; however, the RA activity was not completely suppressed. In order to suppress the RA activity further, tacrolimus (TAC) was successfully added with increasing the dosage of CAM that is assumed to raise blood TAC concentrations. The present case shows that treatment with PSL, CAM and TAC may be effective in some cases of RA.