• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.181-187
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• 2008

Purpose: In order to establish efficient palliative treatment plans. It is important to estimate the survival time of a terminally ill cancer patient as accurate as possible. Proper estimation of life expectancy aids not only in improving the quality of life of the patient, it also promotes productive communication between the medical staff and the patient. The aim of this study is to determine the efficacy of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio as a predictor of survival time in terminally ill cancer patients. Methods: Between January 2004 and June 2007, 67 terminally ill cancer patients who were admitted or transferred for palliative care, were included. Patients were categorized into three groups by Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio. Demographic characteristics, clinical characteristics and blood samples were analyzed. Results: In univariate analysis, survival time of the highest Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio group (${\geq}12.5$) was significantly shorter than that of the others (hazard ratio (HR)=3.270, P=0.001). After adjustment for low performance status (ECOG score 4) and dyspnea, high Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio (${\geq}12.5$) was significantly and independently associated with short survival time (HR=2.907, P=0.007). Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio was also significantly increased before death (P=0.001). Conclusion: Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio can be useful in predicting life expectancy in terminally ill cancer patients.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.423-429
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• 2001

Prediction of the variation in annual biomass was conducted for the white croaker. Argyrosomus argentatus in Korean waters using leslie Matrix, based upon fishery data for the past 21 years and biological data, We used density-independent and density-dependent Leslie Matrix models. Similar parameters were estimated from two models except that the density-dependent model was influenced by the density effect variable, q(i,t), The eigenvalue of the white croaker population for the $1984\~1995$ period was estimated to be 0.8, indicating a declining pattern of the population. The survival rate of 0-th year class was calculated to be 0.00005. Based on the schedule of the age-specific survival rate and fecundity, the future biomass and catch was predicted for various levels of fishing mortalities (F), If F was set at 0.252/yr ($F_{35x}$) or 0.368/yr ($F_{0.1}$), the biomass and catch increased, and if F was set at 0.922 ($F_{current}$), the biomass and catch decreased, The fishing mortality at equilibrium was estimated to be 0.7/yr. Finally, the management strategy of the white croaker was discussed.

• Journal of Internet of Things and Convergence
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.7-14
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• 2020

This study analyzed the effect of the number of deaths of circulatory system diseases according to 12-day short-term exposure of carbon monoxide from January 2010 to December 2018, and predicted the future treatment cost of circulatory system diseases according to increased carbon monoxide concentration. Data were extracted from Air Korea of Korea Environment Corporation and Korea Statistical Office, and analyzed using Poisson regression analysis and ARIMA intervention model. For statistical processing, SPSS Ver. 21.0 program was used. The results of the study are as follows. First, as a result of analyzing the relationship between the impact of short-term carbon monoxide exposure on death of circulatory system diseases from the day to the previous 11 days, it was found that the previous 11 days had the highest impact. Second, with the increase in carbon monoxide concentration, the future circulatory system disease treatment cost was estimated at 10,123 billion won in 2019, higher than the observed value of 9,443 billion won at the end of December 2018. In addition, when summarized by month, it can be seen that the cost of treatment for circulatory diseases increases from January to December, reflecting seasonal fluctuations. Through such research, the future for a healthy life for all citizens can be realized by distributing various devices and equipment utilizing IoT to preemptively respond to the increase in air pollutants such as carbon monoxide.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.285-291
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• 2010

Background: Thoracic trauma is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. A rib fracture that is secondary to blunt thoracic trauma is an important indicator of the severity of the trauma. The purpose of study was to determine the morbidity and mortality rates and the management of rib fractures. Material and Method: We performed a retrospective study that involved all the blunt trauma patients with rib fractures, excluding those that were transferred to other hospital within 3 days, that were seen at our hospital between May 2002 and December 2008. Of the 474 admitted patients, 454 met the inclusion criteria. There were 356 male and 98 females, and their overall mean age was 53 years (range: 5~90 years). The outcome parameters included the mechanism of injury, the number of fractured ribs, the length of stay in the ICU, the Injury Severity Score (ISS), the length of the hospital stay, the pulmonary complications and the mortality. Result: The mechanism of trauma included traffic accidents in 189 (41.7%) cases, slipping down in 103 (22.7%) cases, falls in 85 (18.7%) cases, cultivator accidents in 30 (6.6%) cases, industrial accidents in 32 (7.0%) cases and assault in 15 (3.3%) cases. Intrathoracic injury was noted such as hemothorax in 269 (59.3%) cases, pneumothorax in 144 (31.7%) cases, pulmonary contusion in 95 (20.9%) cases, subcutaneous emphysema in 29 (6.4%) cases and great vessel injury in 5 (0.1%) cases. Conservative treatment was administered to most of the patients. Tube thoracostomy was administered in 234 (51.5%) cases, whereas thoracotomy was performed in 18 (4.0%) cases. The mean duration of thoracostomy was $5.2{\pm}6.2$ days. Most of the cases with rib fracture were treated in wards and their mean duration of hospital stay was $22.5{\pm}20$ days. The mean Injury Severity Score (ISS) was $14.8{\pm}10.9$ (range: 3~75). The mortality rate was calculated to be 4.8% (n=22). The main factors correlated with an adverse outcome were the number of ribs fractured, the duration of thoracostomy and pulmonary disease. Industrial insurance affected the length of hospitalization. Pulmonary contusion and the Injury Severity Score (ISS) affected the mortality. Conclusion: Rib fractures are a indicator of severe injury. Because of the complication and associated injuries, we believe these patients should be admitted for evaluation and treatment. Recent studies on the impact of rib fractures after blunt trauma have shown that patients as young as 40 years of age demonstrate increased morbidity and mortality with similar injuries as compared to that of older patients. The ISS and pulmonary contusion influenced the mortality rate. Patients with isolated rib fractures should be hospitalized if the number of fractured ribs is one or more.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.532-539
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• 1993

Background: Physician's estimates of patient survival often influence clinical decisions, especially those near the end of life. In addition. clinical decisions frequently reflect trade-offs between morbidity and length of survival. As a result, accurate estimates of survival can be extremely useful in clinical decision. When the episode of acute respiratory failure in chronic obstructive lung disease, evaluation of the severity of the condition and short term prognosis is difficulit based on the available clinical or paraclinical data at the time of admission. Method: In this study, we performed a retrospective study in Chung Ang University Hospital, 74 patients (51 males, 23 females), who were hospitalized with chronic obstructive lung disease with acute respiratory failure from 1980 to 1992. We evaluated these patients to determine lung prognostic factors at time of admission in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) that predict short term survival, and to determine the possible application of the Simplified Acute Phsiology Score (SAPS) to this population, All patients were treated with similar regimen during the hospitalization. Results: The results were as follows: 1) Hospital mortality was 34%(25/74 patients) and surival rate was 66%(49/74 patients) in COPD with acute respiratory failure. The prognosis of the older age was much poorer than those of the young age. 2) There was no difference in mortality according to the results of basal pulmonary test and arterial blood gas analysis. 3) The SAPS at admission was higher in those patients who expired(10.8) than the survived(6.5), and there was positive correlation between SAPS and mortality (r=0.91, p<0.05). 4) Prognostic factors in acute respiratory failure complicating COPD which were identifiable at time of admission to the ICU were as follows: cachexia, encephalopathy, serum creatinine and phosphate. Conclusion: In conclusion, the SAPS might have a good prognostic value for determination of short term survival among chronic obstructive lung disease with acute respiratory failure.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.63 no.1
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• pp.59-66
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• 2007

Background: Surgical lung biopsy is required to establish the etiology and stage of interstitial lung disease(ILD). and this procedure can be safe and meaningful for making clinical decisions. We wanted to determine the safety of surgical lung biopsy(SLB) in patients with interstitial lung disease(ILD). Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of 40 patients with suspected ILD and they underwent surgical lung biopsy from January 2001 to June 2006 at Chungnam University Hospital. We analyzed retrospectively according to their age, gender, pulmonary function, chest tube duration, the arterial blood gases, the procedural technique, and the requirement for supplemental oxygen and mechanical ventilation(MV) at the time of SLB. Results: The mean age of the patients was 56.4${\pm}$16.13 years(range: 21 to 77 years). Overall, the 30-day and 90-day mortality rates were 15% and 20%, respectively. The predictors of perioperative mortality were either the need for mechanical ventilation(MV) at the time of SLB or the need for supplemental oxygen prior to undergoing SLB. Among the 32 patients who were 90-day survivors, the proportion of those patients using the oxygen supplement was 28.1% (n=9). All 8 patients who were 90-day non-survivors used oxygen supplement (p=0.000). The use of the MV was 12.5% (n=4) in the 90-day survivors (n=32) and 62.5% (n=5) in the 90-day non-survivors (n=8); there was a significant difference between the 90-day survivors and non-survivors (p=0.000). Conclusion: Patients who require MV and supplemental oxygen are associated with an increased risk for death following SLB.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.65-74
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• 2013

The natural disaster occurrences and the loss of lives caused by the steep-slope failures in Korea were investigated in this study. The investigation includes the frequency rate of the steep-slope failures with respect to the characteristics of precipitation, underlying bedrock, and weathered soils. Analysis on the problems in the existing estimation methods of steep-slope failure was also undertaken, and a new model using unsaturated infinite slope stability was developed for the better slope failure estimation. The slope analyses by the newly developed model were performed considering unsaturated infinite slope, the gradient of slope, and hydro/mechanical properties of soils. Steep-slope failure estimation criterion is proposed based on the analysis results. In addition, the precipitation amount corresponding to warning stages against steep-slope failure is provided as an equation of Intensity-Duration criterion.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.595-601
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• 2018

Recently, as the fine dust level has risen rapidly, there is a great interest. Exposure to fine dust is associated with the development of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and has been reported to increase death rate. In addition, there exist damage to fine dusts continues at industrial sites. However, exposure to fine dust is inevitable in modern life. Therefore, predicting and minimizing exposure to fine dust is the most efficient way to reduce health and industrial damages. Existing fine dust prediction model is estimated as good, normal, poor, and very bad, depending on the concentration range of the fine dust rather than the concentration value. In this paper, we study and implement to predict the PM10 level by applying the Artificial neural network algorithm and the K-Nearest Neighbor algorithm, which are machine learning algorithms, using the actual weather and air quality data.

• The Journal of Korea Institute of Information, Electronics, and Communication Technology
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.28-34
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• 2010

In this paper, we proposes a emergency medical information system for predicting emergency situation by using the body's vital signs. Main research of existing emergency system has focused on body sensor networks. The problem of these studies have a delay of the emergency first aid since occurring of an emergency situation send a message of emergency situation to user. In the serious situation, patients of these problem can lead to death. To solve this problem, it need to the prediction of emergency situation for doing quickly the First Aid with identify signs of a pre-emergency situations until an emergency occurs. In this paper, the sensor network technology, the security technology, the internet information retrieval techniques, data mining technology, and medical information are studied for the convergence of medical information systems of the prediction of emergency situations.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.11 no.sup2
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• pp.50-58
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• 2008

Acute liver failure is a devastating disease in children. Most cases of acute liver failure in children are indeterminate; however, metabolic liver disease is one of the main causes in the pediatric age group. Though a major symptom of acute liver failure is hepatic encephalopathy, this is very difficult to diagnose, particularly in younger children. Liver transplantation has improved the chances of survival dramatically; however, it is not known which patients are ideal candidates for liver transplantation. Because patients may deteriorate rapidly, arranging care in a center with expertise will secure the best possible outcomes.