• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.119-132
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• 2019

Purpose: This study was conducted to collect and analyze real world data to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of comprehensive traditional Korean Medicine treatment on quality of life, anorexia and cachexia of cancer patients. Methods: We analyzed medical records of 62 cancer patients admitted to O-I Dang Korean Medicine Hospital from February 2018 to February 2019. The primary outcome was a change score in the Anorexia/Cachexia Subscale of Functional Assessment of Anorexia/Cachexia Therapy (FAACT). The secondary outcomes were Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G), Trial Outcome Index(TOI) of FAACT, 11 point Pain Intensity Numeric Rating Score (11 PI-NRS) and Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC) and adverse event. Results: Cachexia and quality of life in cancer patients assessed by FAACT, increased by $5.59{\pm}14.83$ (p=0.004) after treatment. PI-NRS was reduced by $2.10{\pm}1.81$ (p<0.001) and TOI and FACT-G total scores were increased by $5.17{\pm}11.70$ (p=0.001) and $3.59{\pm}10.94$ (p=0.012), respectively. These results were also clinically meaningful assessed via minimal clinically important difference (MCID). There was no severe adverse event. Conclusion: These findings suggest that comprehensive traditional Korean Medicine treatment might be effective and safe strategy for improving quality of life, anorexia, cachexia and pain of cancer patients. Further advanced studies with controlled group and more participants with rigorous design are needed to ensure these findings.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.265-275
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• 2021

This review investigated the effectiveness and safety of acupotomy treatment for scoliosis. There were 7 online databases used in the search from inception to March 17, 2021, for randomized controlled trials of the use of acupotomy in patients with scoliosis. The Cochrane risk-of-bias tool was used to assess the methodological quality of the studies included (n = 12). A quantitative synthesis of the randomized controlled trials was performed using RevMan Version 5.3. The effect sizes of studies were presented as mean differences for continuous outcomes and risk ratios for dichotomous outcomes, with a 95% confidence interval. As part of combined therapy, acupotomy was reported to significantly improve Cobb's angle compared with other treatments. Likewise, the Visual Analog Scale score, the Oswestry Disability Index score, and pulmonary function were also reported to be improved following acupotomy combination therapy. Although 5 studies mentioned the criteria for reporting adverse events, only 1 study reported adverse events. In conclusion, acupotomy may be an effective treatment for scoliosis. However, the small number, and heterogeneity of the included studies, as well as the poor methodological quality, indicate that higher-quality studies should be conducted to verify the effectiveness and safety of acupotomy treatment for scoliosis.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.71-80
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• 2021

Background: The options for stabilization appliance therapy for masticatory muscle pain include soft occlusal and hard stabilization appliances. A previous study suggested that hard stabilization appliance therapy was effective for patients with local myalgia who developed long facets on their occlusal appliances. The objective of this study was to identify patients in whom a soft occlusal appliance should be used to treat masticatory muscle pain by analyzing the type of muscle pain present and patient factors that influenced the effectiveness of this treatment. Methods: The study included 42 patients diagnosed with local myalgia or myofascial pain according to the Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders Diagnostic Decision Tree. The analysis of patient factors included variables believed to be associated with temporomandibular disorders. First, a temporary screening appliance was used for 2 weeks to assess each patient for bruxism during sleep. Soft appliance therapy was then started. For each patient, the effectiveness of the appliance was evaluated according to the intensity of tenderness during muscle palpation and the treatment satisfaction score at one month after starting treatment. Results: Data from 37 of the 42 patients were available for analysis. Twenty-five patients reported satisfaction with the appliance. In logistic regression analysis, the odds ratio for reduction of facet length was 1.998. Nineteen patients showed at least a 30% improvement in the visual analog scale score. The odds ratio for local myalgia was 18.148. Conclusion: Soft appliance therapy may be used in patients with local myalgia. Moreover, patients who develop short facets on the appliance surface are likely to be satisfied with soft appliance therapy. Soft appliance therapy may be appropriate for patients with local myalgia who develop short facets on their occlusal appliance.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.296-303
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• 2022

Background In recent years thread lift has become widespread; however, existing methods need to improve their long-term outcome, which requires considering topographic anatomy of face and neck, especially the ligamentous apparatus. This study aims to assess the effectiveness and safety of an innovative method of one-time three-step thread facelift, which provides an additional support to the ligamentous structures of the upper, middle, and lower thirds of the face and neck. Methods The study included 357 patients aged 32 to 67 years with various morphotypes of aging. The original method of thread lift was applied, and its effectiveness was followed up for to 2 years. The Wrinkle Severity Rating Score (WSRS) and Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale (GAIS) scores were used for assessment by investigators, independent observers, and patients. Statistical significance was determined using paired t-test and chi-square test. Results The mean WSRS score was 3.88 ± 0.88 before the thread lift, 1.93 ± 0.81 one month after the procedure, and 2.36 ± 0.85 after 2 years of follow-up. The mean GAIS was 4.80 ± 0.04 one month after thread lift, and 4.01 ± 0.04 after 2 years, while in the patients' assessment Global Satisfaction Scale was 4.86 ± 0.02 and 4.10 ± 0.02, respectively. There were no clinically significant complications throughout the observation period. Conclusion The new method of one-time three-step thread fixation of the soft tissues of the face and neck demonstrated a high degree of satisfaction by both experts and patients after 2 years of follow-up. It showed high efficacy and safety, including in the group of patients with pronounced age-related changes of the skin of face and neck.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.405-417
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• 2022

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory immune-mediated condition that has been identified as a potentially malignant oral disorder. Various therapies have been proposed for its management as alternative to corticosteroids. However, no definitive treatment has been identified that can result in complete remission or minimal recurrence. Hyaluronic acid has recently been used as an alternative therapy for the management of OLP. This study aimed to systematically review the effectiveness of Hyaluronic acid in the management of symptomatic OLP. Online electronic databases and manual searches were performed for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in English between January 2010 and April 2022. RCTs were identified that compared the efficacy of hyaluronic acid and other interventional therapies at baseline and during follow-up. The Cochrane Risk of Bias tool was used to assess the quality of the included studies. Visual analog scale (VAS) scores, Thongprasom sign scores, lesion size, degree of erythema, clinical severity, and disease severity were assessed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Seven studies were analyzed. Five studies reported a high risk of bias while the remaining two studies reported an unclear risk of bias. The overall quantitative assessment of size, symptoms, degree of erythema, and sign score in OLP lesions treated with HA was not statistically significant compared to that in the control group (P > 0.05). In addition, subgroup analysis comparing HA with placebo or corticosteroids did not yield statistically significant (P > 0.05) results. Qualitatively, both HA and tacrolimus resulted in an effective reduction in signs and symptoms. Clinical/disease severity index/scores were inconsistent. A high degree of heterogeneity was observed among the included studies. None of the included studies reported the side effects of HA. These findings suggest that corticosteroids, tacrolimus, placebo, and HA could be equally effective in OLP management. The clinical/disease severity index or score reduction cannot be determined with certainty. Thus, OLP can be treated with HA as an alternative therapy. Owing to limited clinical trials on HA, high heterogeneity, and high risk of bias in the included studies, definitive conclusions cannot be derived.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.248-254
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• 2022

Purpose: To analyze the data of trauma patients with undetected injuries at the time of initial resuscitation during the primary and secondary surveys. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 807 patients who were hospitalized at the National Trauma Center, Seoul, Korea from June 1, 2019 to June 30, 2021. Results: In trauma patients with an Injury Severity Score ≥16 accounted for 27.5% in the non-missed injury group (non-MIG), but this rate was considerably higher at 71.2% in MIG. The mean hospitalization longer in MIG (50.90±39.56) than in non-MIG (24.74±26.11). The proportion of patients with missed injuries detected through tertiary trauma survey (TTS) was 28 patients (23.5%) within 24 hours, 90 patients (75.6%) after 24 hours to before discharge. The majority of missed injuries were fractures (82.4%) and ligament tears (8.4%), which required consultation with the orthopedic department. The final diagnoses of missed injuries were confirmed by computed tomography (44.5%), magnetic resonance imaging (19.3%), X-ray (19.3%), bone scan (11.8%), and physical examination (5.0%). Conclusions: TTS is considered a useful process for detecting missed injuries that were not identified at the time of initial resuscitation in the primary and secondary surveys. In the future, to detect missed injuries quickly, it is necessary to develop a suitable TTS program for each trauma center. In addition, further research is needed to verify the effectiveness of the protocolized TTS and survey chart to improve the effectiveness of TTS.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.139-149
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• 2022

Objectives: This study was designed to investigate the clinical effectiveness of Ikgibohyeol-tang(Yìqìbǔxuè-tāng) granules and Deer antler granules on fatigue symptoms. Methods: This is a 39-patient case series from a retrospective chart review of outpatients who were treated with Ikgibohyeol-tang granules and Deer antler granules at a Kyung Hee University Korean Medicine Hospital (Seoul) between 1st, January 2015 to 1st, August 2021. We reviewed the patients who complained of fatigue and analyzed changes in the degree of discomfort with fatigue and accompanying symptoms and HRV (Heart Rate Variability) score before and after treatment. Results: After taking Ikgibohyeol-tang granules and Deer antler granules, the degree of discomfort with fatigue and accompanying symptoms decreased significantly compared to before taking them. After treatment, Autonomic nervous system activity, Stress resistance, Heart Stability increased, and Stress index, Degree of fatigue decreased significantly. Conclusions: This study showed subjective symptoms and objective indicator (HRV score) were improved by taking Ikgibohyeol-tang granules and Deer antler granules.

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.46 no.spc
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• pp.19-30
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• 2023

Recently, the government has provided support such as entering new markets, expanding sales channels, and supporting manpower, not just in the form of funding, to efficiently and effectively support limited national resources to improve corporate performance. In this study, we tried to find out the effect of government support for companies that have benefited from the Excellent Technology Research Center Project (ATC Project) and the World Class 300 project using propensity score matching. As a result of the analysis, the effect of government support for the ATC project became visible after the appointment period, while the effect of the World Class 300 project was insignificant. This means that when the size of the company is small, the effect of government support is more pronounced. This suggests that in order to maximize the effectiveness of government support, appropriate national policy interventions such as government innovation funding are needed when the size of the company is small. In this study, differences in the timing, performance indicators, and company size of policy support effects were found in the growth stage of a company from a mid- to long-term time series perspective, suggesting that support policies based on this need to be adjusted and redesigned.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.257-267
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• 2022

The employment effect of innovation-certified SMEs (venture certification, inno-biz certification and main-biz certification) and general SMEs was compared and analyzed. Through propensity score matching, general SMEs with similar tendencies to SMEs for each innovation certification were selected. The employment effect was approached from two perspectives: the absolute employment effect, the employment growth rate, and the relative employment effect, the sales-employment coefficient. As a result of the analysis, it was confirmed that venture certified SMEs and inno-biz certified SMEs, which are technology innovation-type certifications, have an advantage in absolute employment effect. In addition, it was concluded that innovation-certified SMEs have more room for employment than general SMEs by achieving sales growth that exceeds employment growth. Therefore, there is a possibility to enhance the employment effect of innovation-certified SMEs by strengthening employment-related incentives for innovation-certified SMEs.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.26-40
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• 2023

Objectives: This study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Bojungikgi-tang for lung cancer patients with anorexia. Methods: This was a single-arm, open-label, and single-center trial, and suitable participants took Bojungikgi-tang (Buzhongyiqi-tang in Chinese, Hochuekki-to in Japanese) three times a day before or between meals for six weeks (42 days). After registration of clinical trials (visit 2), they visited the hospital every three weeks (visits 3 and 4) and measured or tested the effectiveness or safety evaluation variables to analyze the results. The primary outcome was the anorexia/cachexia subscale (A/CS) of functional assessment of anorexia/cachexia therapy (FAACT) score. Results: Seventeen lung cancer patients were included in the intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis. Lung cancer patients had higher A/CS of FAACT scores after six weeks of Bojungikgi-tang administration compared to that at the baseline. This was not significant four lung cancer (p=0.1668). In the secondary outcomes, the visual analog scale (VAS) score of anorexia decreased significantly (p=0.0009), and the CD4/CD8 ratio (p=0.0396) and CD4 levels (p=0.0345) significantly increased after six weeks of treatment. No serious adverse events were reported with Bojungikgi-tang in lung cancer patients. Conclusions: Bojungikgi-tang can be an effective and safe treatment for anorexia in lung cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.