• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.60 no.2
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• pp.50-54
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• 2017

Purpose: The aims of this study were to evaluate the safety and pharmacokinetics of levetiracetam (LEV) in neonates with seizures and to establish a population pharmacokinetics (PPK) model by using the software NONMEM. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 18 neonatal patients with seizures, who were treated with LEV, including 151 serum samples, was performed. The mean loading dose was 20 mg/kg, followed by a mean maintenance dose of 29 mg/kg/day. Results: Seventeen neonates (94%) had seizure cessation within 1 week and 16 (84%) remained seizure-free at 30 days under the LEV therapy. The mean serum concentration of LEV was $8.7{\mu}g/mL$. Eight samples (5%) were found above the therapeutic range. No serious adverse effects were detected. In the PPK analysis for Korean neonates, the half-life was 9.6 hours; clearance, 0.357 L/hr; and volume of distribution, 4.947 L, showing differences from those in adults. Conclusion: LEV is a safe and effective option for the treatment of neonatal seizures with careful therapeutic drug monitoring.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.1-19
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• 2007

Objectives: The purpose of the this study was to evaluate lifestyle intervention program for the treatment of the metabolic syndrome. Methods: Subjects of this study were 700 adults with metabolic syndrome who took health examinations in health promotion centers of Korea Association of Health Promotion between May 1 and June 30, 2006. Subjects were randomly assigned to an experimental group and a comparison group. Participants in the experimental group received intensive 3-month lifestyle modification intervention and participants in the comparison group received minimal information on lifestyle modification. Pre test and Post test were carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention program. Results: After the intensive intervention on lifestyle modification(healthy diet, physical activity, moderate drinking, stress management, and smoking cessation), the levels of blood pressure, waist circumference, fasting blood glucose and triglycerides were significantly reduced for those in experimental group(P<0.001). For those in comparison group, the levels of blood pressure(P<0.001), waist circumference(P<0.001), and triglycerides(P<0.01) were significantly reduced after the intervention. No change in the levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were observed in both groups. After 3-month intervention, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was reduced to 35.7% in experimental group and 48.5% in comparison group. Conclusion: This study has demonstrated the efficacy of therapeutic lifestyle intervention for the management of metabolic syndrome.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2022

Objective: The purpose of this study was to detect signals of Adverse Events (AEs) after varenicline treatment using spontaneous AEs reporting system in Korea. Methods: This study was conducted by Korea Institute of Drug Safety and Risk Management-Korea Adverse Event Reporting System Database (KIDS-KD) reported from January 2013 to December 2017 through Korea Adverse Event Reporting System. Signals of varenicline that satisfied the data-mining indices, proportional reporting ratio, reporting odds ratio and information component were defined. The detected signals were checked whether they included in drug labels in South Korea and United States of America (USA). Results: A total number of drug AE reports associated with all drugs in the KIDS-KD reported between January 2013 and December 2017 was 2,665,429. Among them, the number of AE reports associated with varenicline was 1,398. Eighteen meaningful signals of varenicline were detected that satisfied with the criteria of data-mining indices. Finally, two signals such as hypotonia, incorrected dose administered were not included in the drug labels. Conclusion: New AE signals of varenicline that were not listed on the drug labels in South Korea and USA were detected. However, further pharmacoepidemiological studies such as randomized controlled trial are needed to evaluate the causality of the signals of varenicline.

• Korean Parent-Child Health Journal
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.8-17
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze community-based health promotion program for school-aged children and program using forest. Methods: Seventeen health promotion programs focused on school-aged children from Community Health Plan were selected to analyze after assembling 227 of the 5th National Community Health Plans. The analysis duration was from 2012 July to November. Results: Among 17 programs, the health promotion program targeting school-aged children were included in 16 programs except one program focusing on community- orientated rehabilitation program. Eight health promotion programs using forest in 7 different areas were found. The majority of the community-based health promotion programs were focused mainly on smoking cessation, obesity, physical activity, nutrition, mental health programs. Furthermore, there was a limitation of programs utilizing forest as a health promotion resource and most of the programs using forest were located in Jeollanamdo and focusing mainly on atopy prevention and treatment. Conclusion: The importance of this study is that it analyzed nation-wide community health plan systematically, and analyze community-based health promotion program targeting school-aged and the program using forest. The results of the analysis can be used as baseline data for developing physical and mental health promotion programs using forest targeting school-aged children.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.600-604
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• 2003

Tooth impaction is defined as a cessation of the eruption of a tooth at the level of the oral mucosa or alveolar bone. Maxillary canines are the most frequently impacted teeth next to the third molar. Maxillary canine impaction is associated with congenital missing of lateral incisors, peg lateralis and genetic factors such as ectopic positioning of a tooth germ. The clinicians have an important role in early detection of tooth impaction for prevention of esthetic and functional problems. There are specific methods to treat impacted tooth for different conditions. In this case, an 11-year-old girl with a horizontally impacted maxillary right canine in a palatal position was treated through orthodontic traction along with surgical button attachment procedure. On regaining of eruption space, canine traction was performed. At the completion of treatment, the canine was positioned fairly within the arch with proper keratinized gingiva and complications such as root resorption were not observed.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.13
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• pp.5433-5438
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• 2015

Background: Systemic chemotherapy for patients with metastatic gastric cancer (MGC) is generally palliative, although some patients experience long-term survival after treatment. Thus, we identified clinical characteristics that are associated with long-term survival of patients with MGC after palliative chemotherapy. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 514 MGC patients who received systemic chemotherapy at our institution from 2001 to 2008. To identify clinical predictors of survival beyond 2 years, multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed, and 5-year survival rates were estimated among MGC patients following chemotherapy. Results: Among 514 patients, 96 (19%) and 16 (3%) survived beyond 2 and 5 years, respectively, and performance status of 0 or 1 (odds ratio [OR]=3.39; p=0.01), previous gastrectomy (OR=1.86; p=0.01), single metastatic site (OR=1.80; p=0.03), and normal alkaline phosphatase levels (OR=2.81; p<0.01) were identified as independent predictors of long-term survival. Of the 16 5-year survivors, six were alive at the end of the study and showed no evidence of disease despite cessation of chemotherapy. Conclusions: The present data demonstrate distinct clinical characteristics that are associated with long-term survival of MGC patients, and indicated that palliative chemotherapy can be curative in highly selected patients.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.14-21
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• 2015

Background: Colorectal cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related death, and inflammatory bowel disease is a risk factor for this malignancy. We previously reported colon cancer chemoprevention potential using American ginseng (AG) in a xenograft mice model. However, the nude mouse model is not a gut-specific colon carcinogenesis animal model. Methods: In this study, an experimental colitis and colitis-associated colorectal carcinogenesis mouse model, chemically induced by azoxymethane/dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) was established and the effects of oral AG were evaluated. The contents of representative ginseng saponins in the extract were determined. Results: AG significantly reduced experimental colitis measured by the disease activity index scores. This suppression of the experimental colitis was not only evident during DSS treatment, but also very obvious after the cessation of DSS, suggesting that the ginseng significantly promoted recovery from the colitis. Consistent with the anti-inflammation data, we showed that ginseng very significantly attenuated azoxymethane/DSS-induced colon carcinogenesis by reducing the colon tumor number and tumor load. The ginseng also effectively suppressed DSS-induced proinflammatory cytokines activation using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay array, in which 12 proinflammatory cytokine levels were assessed, and this effect was supported subsequently by real-time polymerase chain reaction data. Conclusion: AG, as a candidate of botanical-based colon cancer chemoprevention, should be further investigated for its potential clinical utility.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.785-789
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• 2016

A key drug for treatment of EGFR mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer is epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI). While the dosage of many general anti-tumor drugs is adjusted according to the patient body surface area, one uniform dose of most TKIs is recommended regardless of body size. In many cases, dose reduction or drug cessation is necessary due to adverse effects. Disease control, however, is frequently still effective, even after dose reduction. In this study, we retrospectively reviewed the characteristics of 26 patients at Fukuoka University Hospital between January 2004 and January 2015 in whom the EGFR-TKI dose was reduced with respect to progression free survival and overall survival. There were 10 and 16 patients in the gefitinib group and the erlotinib group, respectively. The median progression-free survival in the gefitinib group and the erlotinib group was 22.4 months and 14.1 months, respectively, and the median overall survival was 30.5 months and 32.4 months, respectively. After stratification of patients by body surface area, the overall median progression-free survival was significantly more prolonged in the low body surface area (<1.45 m2) group (25.6 months) compared to the high body surface area (>1.45 m2) group (9.7 months) (p=0.0131). These results indicate that low-dose EGFR-TKI may sufficiently control disease without side effects in lung cancer patients with a small body size.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.631-641
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• 2018

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to confirm the relationship between socioeconomic characteristics and the prevalence of periodontal disease, with a focus on employment status, in a representative sample of Korean adults aged 19-39 years. Methods: Data were obtained from 3,178 adults who completed the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, health-related questionnaires, and an oral examination. Socioeconomic, demographic, and oral health-related behavior data were adopted as independent variables. The chi-square test was used to assess differences in the distribution of socioeconomic status, oral health behavior, and nutrition factors according to employment status. Logistic regression analysis was performed to confirm the relationships between the prevalence of periodontitis and the related variables. Results: Significant differences in sex, educational level, income, marital status, smoking status, prevalence of periodontitis, number of dental check-ups in a year, and unmet dental care were confirmed according to employment status. The prevalence of periodontal disease was not significantly related to employment status. Conclusions: These results suggest a significant difference in periodontal disease according to socioeconomic factors in Korean adults. However, the prevalence of periodontal disease was not related to employment status. To prevent the progression of periodontal disease, attention should be paid to oral health, time available for dental treatment, smoking cessation, and use of floss.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.16-22
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• 2023

Background: Postoperative air leaks after pulmonary resection prolong the duration of chest drainage and the length of hospital stay. One of the many treatment options is bedside pleurodesis using various agents. This study evaluated the feasibility of an early intervention to stop postoperative air leaks with either autologous blood or a 50% glucose solution. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 323 patients who underwent bedside pleurodesis between January 2017 and March 2022. Sixty-four patients received autologous blood patch pleurodesis, and 36 were treated with a 50% glucose solution after pulmonary resection. The primary endpoints were the total postoperative tube indwelling time, post-pleurodesis tube indwelling time, and hospital stay. A propensity score-matched analysis was performed. Results: In the autologous blood patch pleurodesis and 50% glucose solution groups, the mean initiation timing of postoperative pleurodesis were 2.06±1.62 and 3.28±1.56 days, the mean duration of the tube indwelling time after surgery was 6.58±3.02 and 6.42±4.92 days, and the mean duration of the tube indwelling time after pleurodesis, it was 4.53±3.10 and 3.11±4.80 days, respectively. In addition, the total length of hospital stay was 9.11±5.42 and 7.83±4.75 days in the autologous blood patch pleurodesis and 50% glucose solution groups, respectively. Conclusion: Early postoperative air leak cessation with autologous blood patch pleurodesis or 50% glucose solution pleurodesis is a feasible procedure with acceptable outcomes that effectively shortens the hospital stay.