• 한국노년학
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.855-869
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• 2010

The purpose of this study is to identify how to efficiently integrate long-term care facilities into geriatric hospitals. We conducted a survey on the current operations of facilities and medical services of 2009 of 192 long-term facilities and 168 geriatric hospitals in Korea between October and November. Technical statistics and chi-square test were conducted on the collected data using the SPSS 13.0/Win program. There was a difference between the two facility types in terms of the co-payment levels of the food services. Both types selected the budget deficit as their major management problem. Ease of access and the surrounding environment were critical factors used to select the location of both types of facilities. Facility users benefited from the discounted co-payments of both facility types. However, facility users wanted more frequent visits and support from their family members during their stay at the facilities. It was discovered that users in the long-term care facilities stayed longer, that is until they died, compared to their counterparts in geriatric hospitals. The two types of facilities provided their services totally separately to users. Users of the two types of facilities are poorly supported and cared for by their families. This study suggests that setting reasonable service fees, paying caretakers, introducing an integrated facility, strengthening facility assessment standards, introducing the family doctor system, and introducing the handling of long-term care insurance by geriatric hospitals would allow the integration between long- term care facilities and geriatric hospitals to be beneficial.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2005

Objectives: This study attempts to analyze the length of hospital stay and expenses of frequent disease admitted in a Vaterans Hospital. Methods: Data was collected from January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2003 from the Claim records of 9,640 patients in a Vaterans Hospital. Results: The results were as follows: 1. In age & sex distribution, there was male 70.9%, female 29.1%, and 35.8% of them is 70 age group. Frequency by insurance program was Health insurance 78.1%, Medical aid 14.2%, no insurance 4.1%, others 3.6%. Distribution of each department was internal medicine 28.3%, orthopedic surgery 21.3%, surgery 16.6%, neurosurgey 7.1%, pediatrics 5.9%. Also, in the veterans group, male to female patient ratio was 99.3% male to 0.7% female, them over 70 years old was 51.6%, and them which live in daejeon was 43.5%. 2. In frequency of disease, there was gastroenteritis 4.8%, pneumonia 3.8%, cartaract 3.7%, cerebral infarct 3.2%, hyperplasia of prostate 3.0%. In frequency of korean standard classification of diseases, there was injury and poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes 17.1%, diseases of digestive system 16.1%, diseases of musculoskeletal system and connective tissue 13.9%, diseases of respiratory system 9.4%, diseases of genitourinary system 8.6%. Also, in veterans group, frequency of them was diseases of musculoskeletal system and connective tissue 19.4%, diseases of digestive system 16.8%, injury and poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes 15.7%, diseases of genitourinary system 9.7%, diseases of circuatory system 8.2%. 3. Average length of hospital stay was 29.0 days for total patients, 51.8 days for the veterans group, 15.7 days for the non-veterans one. Average total expenses was 3,669,579 won, the veterans group 7,263,877 won, the non-veterans one 1,560,333 won. The ratio of insurer to insuree was 55.2 : 44.8, the ratio of amount paid by patient in the veterans group 61.7%, in the non-veterans one 33.0%. 4. In items of medical expenses, fee for hospital accommodation was 34.7%, fee for medication 13.2%(injection 7.8%, drug 5.4%), fee for service 48.6%(physical therapy 26.3%, operation 9.7%, laboratory examination 5.2%, radiological examination 3.1%, etc), others 3.4%. In them for the veterans group, fee for physical therapy was 35.3%, fee for hospital accommodation 35.2%, fee for injection 6.2%, fee for operation 5.9%, for the non-veterans one, fee for hospital accommodation 35.7%, fee for operation 16.4%, fee for injection 11.4%, fee for laboratory examination 8.3%. 5. In the comparison of the frequency by Korean standard classification of diseases and distance between the hospital and home, the region under 21.5Km was more frequent in symptoms, signs an abnormal clinical and laboratory findings 56.0%, injury and poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes 55.6%, diseases of the eye and adnexa 52.9%, the one over 21.5Km was more frequent in neoplasms 57.4%, diseases of musculoskeletal system and connective tissue 55.9%, diseases of genitourinary system 53.5%.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.220-225
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• 1988

This study was carried out to investigate the effect on the system of crop rotation of sesame(Sesamum indicum L). The results of infected plant percentage and yield of sesame wilting disease, fluctuation of density of Fusarium oxysporum and Actinomycetes, and their pathogenicity test on Fusarium spp isolated from sesame cultural soil were investigated. Density of F. oxysporum was the highest in a sesame continuous cropping soil but that of Actinomycetes was the lowest in that soil. And that of F. oxysporum and Actinomycetes according to investigation date was the highest at June. 30 and July. 30, respectively. Their pathogenicity of F. oxysporum and F. solani isolated from sesame cultural soil to sesame, peanut and green gram were recognized to all isolates except one isolate among F. oxysporum 8 isolates and one isolate to sesame, 2 isolates to peanut and all isolates to green gram among F. solani 4 isolates. F. oxysporum density and infected plant of wilting disease were increased as a result of replanted cultivation of sesame, and yield of that was prominantly reduced. Relation between density of F. oxysporum in cultural soil and infected plant percentage showed positive correlation and yield index highly negative. There was little difference between sesame-upland rice and sesame-peanut in the system of crop rotation.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.128-135
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• 2015

Purpose: As the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) began to cover home oxygen therapy (HOT) services from 2006, it is expected that the new services have contributed to overall positive outcome of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We examined whether the usage of HOT has helped slow down the progression of COPD. Methods: We examined hospital claim data (N=10,798) of COPD inpatients who were treated in 2007~2012. We performed ${\chi}^2$ tests to analyze the differences in the changes to respiratory impairment grades. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors that are associated with the use of HOT. Finally, a generalized linear mixed model was used to examine association between the HOT treatment and changes to respiratory impairment grades. Results: A total of 2,490 patients had grade 1 respiratory impairment, and patients with grades 2 or 3 totaled 8,308. The OR for use of HOT was lower in grade 3 patients than others (OR: 0.33, 95% CI: 0.30~0.37). The maintenance/mitigation in all grades, those who used HOT had a higher OR than non-users (OR: 1.41, 95% CI: 1.23~1.61). Conclusion: HOT was effective in maintaining or mitigating the respiratory impairment in COPD patients.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.365-368
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• 2002

Background: Coronary artery bypass grafting(CABG) imposes large amount of medical costs, which are greatly affected by the surgical approach, quality of perioperative care and associated co-morbidities. Recently, off-pump CABG(OPCAB) has been introduced and performed with increasing frequency. To evaluate the efficacy of OPCAB in view of financial impact, we analyzed the costs and medical resources of OPCAB and compared with conventional CABG. Material and Method: From January 1998 to July 1999, 184 patients underwent CABG operation; 111 patients with OPCAB(group I) and 73 patients with conventional CABG(group II). We prospectively collected clinical data including risk factors and retrospectively reviewed the hospital resources. Result: Preoperative parameters including risk factors, postoperative mortality, morbidity and length of hospital stay were not different between the two groups, Duration of stay in the intensive care unit(ICU) (51.3 vs 128.3 hours, p<0.01) and ventilator, support time(14.9 vs 56.2 hours, p<0.01) were significantly shorter in the OPCAB group. Total hospital coats were 17,220,000 add 21,250,000(Korean Won) in group I and II, respectively(p<0.01). There were significant differences in operation fee, costs for operative materials, transfusion and diagnostic radiology between two groups. In group I, all the resources except diagnostic radiology were significantly decreased compared with group II. Conclusion: OPCAB has a beneficial effect on hospital charge and resource utilization. Shorter duration of the ICU stay and ventilatory support time may reduce the total hospital costs.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.747-753
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• 2019

Cognitive decline is characterized by reduced long-/short-term memory and attention span, and increased depression and anxiety. Such decline is associated with various degenerative brain disorders, especially Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD). The increases in elderly populations suffering from cognitive decline create social problems and impose economic burdens, and also pose safety threats; all of these problems have been extensively researched over the past several decades. Possible causes of cognitive decline include metabolic and hormone imbalance, infection, medication abuse, and neuronal changes associated with aging. However, no treatment for cognitive decline is available. In neurodegenerative diseases, changes in the gut microbiota and gut metabolites can alter molecular expression and neurobehavioral symptoms. Changes in the gut microbiota affect memory loss in AD via the downregulation of NMDA receptor expression and increased glutamate levels. Furthermore, the use of probiotics resulted in neurological improvement in an AD model. PD and gut microbiota dysbiosis are linked directly. This interrelationship affected the development of constipation, a secondary symptom in PD. In a PD model, the administration of probiotics prevented neuron death by increasing butyrate levels. Dysfunction of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) has been identified in AD and PD. Increased BBB permeability is also associated with gut microbiota dysbiosis, which led to the destruction of microtubules via systemic inflammation. Notably, metabolites of the gut microbiota may trigger either the development or attenuation of neurodegenerative disease. Here, we discuss the correlation between cognitive decline and the gut microbiota.

• KIPS Transactions on Computer and Communication Systems
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.171-180
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• 2023

The three major sleep disorders in Korea are snoring, sleep apnea, and insomnia. Lack of sleep is the root of all diseases. Some of the most serious potential problems associated with sleep deprivation are cardiovascular problems, cognitive impairment, obesity, diabetes, colitis, prostate cancer, etc. To solve these problems, the Korean government provided low-cost national health insurance benefits for polysomnography tests in July 2018. However, insomnia patients still have problems getting treated in terms of time, space, and economic perspectives. Therefore, it would be better for insomnia patients to be allowed to test at home. The measuring device can measure six biosignals (eye movement, tossing and turning, body temperature, oxygen saturation, heart rate, and audio). A gyroscope sensor (MPU9250, InvenSense, USA) was used for eye movement, tossing, and turning. The input range of the sensor was in 258°/sec to 460°/sec, and the data range was in the input range. Body temperature, oxygen saturation range, and heart rate were measured by a sensor (MAX30102, Analog Devices, USA). The body temperature was measured in 30 ℃ to 45 ℃, and the oxygen saturation range was 0% for the unused state and 20 % to 90 % for the used state. The heart rate measurement range was in 40 bpm to 180 bpm. The measurement of audio signal was performed by an audio sensor (AMM2742-T-R, PUIaudio, USA). The was -42 dB ±1 dB frequency range was 20 Hz to 20 kHz. The measured data was successfully received in wireless network conditions. The system configuration was consisted of a PC and a mobile app for bio-signal measurement and data collection. The measured data was collected by mobile phones and desktops. The data collected can be used as preliminary data to determine the stage of sleep and perform the screening function for sleep induction and sleep disturbances. In the future, this convenient sleep measurement device could be beneficial for treating insomnia.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.154-163
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• 2017

This study aims to investigate the utilization status of dental services by foreign children living in Seoul and their level of satisfaction with the treatments. We developed a structured questionnaire with 35 questions, which comprised 14 questions (demographic characteristics) and 21 questions (oral hygiene and dental experience of the child). In this study, the distribution of nationality of 391 participants differed from the actual statistics in Korea. It consisted of high percentage of participants from African countries (23.6%), as well as North American countries (24.1%). In addition, the education status of most parents was above the level of college graduate. Despite the relatively high socioeconomic status of the participants, they showed minimal dental health knowledge regarding the aspect of oral hygiene. Utilization of dental health services and the types of dental clinics visited by them were similar before and after coming to Korea. The participants showed overall satisfaction with the care, but many of them expressed the need for improvement with regard to treatment fee and communication. In conclusion, foreign children living in Seoul require appropriate dental health education and governmental support to promote regular dental check-ups, to improve their overall oral health, and prevent the incidence of dental caries.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.11 no.10
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• pp.3839-3845
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• 2010

In this study, the patterns of people who get dental services from unqualified dental practitioners were identified by using "2006 National Dental Health Investigation". There were 4,543 people in total and the group was divided into two groups - those who had experience of receiving dental services from unqualified practitioners and of those who had not. The most pattern model was CHAID. It was patterned that 39% of those who are more than 68 years would experience such unqualified dental service, and it was found that 3% of those who are less than 33 years experienced such a service. It was found that 45% of those who are 55 or 68 years and woman would experience such unqualified dental service, and 32% of those who are 55 or 68 years and man experienced such a service. With the increase in health awareness, the burden of medical bills is also rising. However, cases of unqualified dental treatments that could cause extremely dangerous symptoms are also rising recently. Therefore it is most important to anticipate those groups who are most exposed to unqualified dental services, and educate them with appropriate information and publicise about the danger.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.119-128
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• 2017

This study estimated the optimal nursing workforce and financial costs of providing comprehensive nursing services at hospitals under the national health insurance system. Data on registered nurses, nursing aids, medical institutions, and number of patients were obtained from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. The optimal size of the nursing workforce was calculated using the workload model. A bottom-up approach was used to estimate the annual total financial cost of comprehensive nursing services. The number of registered nurses and nursing aids would need to be increased by 81.75% and 83.23%, respectively, in order to fully apply comprehensive nursing care on a national scale. The additional financial costs for comprehensive nursing services at all hospitals was estimated to be as much as 110.39% of the current cost. For the comprehensive nursing service, nurses with a career and newcomers need to be retained at their hospitals, and the validity of the nurse-patient ratio should be continuously checked. The financial shock to the national health insurance system could be minimized by gradually extending the system to all hospitals.