• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.260-265
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• 2014

Background: To evaluate the results of conventional radiofrequency thermorhizotomy (CRT) for trigeminal neuralgia (TN) in patients with failed medical management. Methods: Patients with Trigeminal neuralgia who were referred to us for 'limited intervention' during the time frame July-2011 to Jan-2013 were enrolled for this study. CRT was administered by the Sweet technique. Pain relief was evaluated by the principle investigator. Results: Eighteen patients were enrolled and completed a mean follow-up of 18.0 months. Pain relief was observed in 14 of 18 (77.8%) patients on the post-operative day, 14 of 18 (77.8%) at 1-month follow-up, 14 of 17 (82.4%) at 3-months follow-up, 12 of 15 (80%) at 6-months follow-up, 7 of 11 (63.6%) at 1-year follow-up and 2 of 6 (33.3%) 1.5 years of follow-up. Four patients required a repeat cycle of CRT; two at six months of follow-up and two at one year of follow-up. One patient was transferred for surgical intervention at six months of follow-up. Side-effects included facial hypoesthesia (n = 6); nausea/vomiting (n = 2), diminished corneal reflex (n = 13) and difficulty in chewing (n = 11). Severity of adverse effects gradually diminished and none of the patients who are beyond 6 months of follow-up have any functional limitation. Conclusions: CRT is an effective method of pain relief for patients with Trigeminal neuralgia. Successful outcome (excellent or good) can be expected in 66.7% of patients after first cycle of CRF. The incidence and severity of adverse effects is less and the procedure is better tolerated by the patients.

• Journal of Korean Society for Quality Management
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.78-91
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• 2004

The ISO 9000 Follow-up Management Practices (FMP) as an integrated area including training, QM systems, management commitment, customer focus, communication and related issues are examined. A sample of 191 small and medium-sized firms data from mail survey is analyzed by the SPSSWIN. A model of FMP including three factors (Systems, Training, and Customer Focus) is introduced. In this paper, a focus is laid on the comparison between ISO 9000:1994 vs. ISO 9000:2000 or 05 9000 certificates and between groups classified by the time length after certification, and on regression relationships between FMP level and business performance. The result shows that the difference of FMP level is significant between two versions and between groups. Quality level and system satisfaction are influenced significantly by the three factors.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.62 no.5
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• pp.567-576
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• 2019

Objective : Minimal data exist regarding non-operative management of suspected pseudarthrosis after pedicle subtraction osteotomy (PSO). This study reports radiographic and clinical outcomes of non-operative management for post-PSO pseudarthrosis at a minimum 5 years post-detection. Methods : Nineteen consecutive patients with implant breakage indicating probable pseudarthrosis after PSO surgery (13 women/six men; mean age at surgery, 58 years) without severe pain and disability were treated with non-operative management (mean follow-up, 5.8 years; range, 5-10 years). Non-operative management included medication, intermittent brace wearing and avoidance of excessive back strain. Radiographic and clinical outcomes analysis was performed. Results : Sagittal vertical axis (SVA), proximal junctional angle, thoracic kyphosis achieved by a PSO were maintained after detection of pseudarthrosis through ultimate follow-up. Lumbar lordosis and PSO angle decreased at final follow-up. There was no significant change in Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores and Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) total score, or subscales of pain, self-image, function, satisfaction and mental health between detection of pseudarthrosis and ultimate follow-up. SVA greater than 11 cm showed poorer ODI and SRS total score, as well as the pain, self-image, and function subscales (p<0.05). Conclusion : Non-operative management of implant failure of probable pseudarthrosis after PSO offers acceptable outcomes even at 5 years after detection of implant breakage, provided SVA is maintained. As SVA increased, outcome scores decreased in this patient population.

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.55-67
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• 2022

In this study, the village development promotion system was reorganized for Gimhae-si, and improvement plans and post-operation management plans were prepared through expert surveys. Through the Village Development Project, the landscape and environment of the village were improved, and the village and residents were positively changed. The Village Development Project laid the foundation for regional revitalization, giving the next generation hope for the sustainable development of the village. While maintaining the framework of the existing Rural Development Projects guidelines through case analysis of other regions, we operate educational programs for each stage by reflecting regional characteristics, and utilize and communicate with intermediate support organizations, systematically operate, and actively intervene by Eup·Myeon administration. In addition, as a follow-up management program, various follow-up management programs were being operated, such as support for capacity building such as consulting, as well as facility maintenance and support for village managers. As a result of the expert survey to review the adequacy of the improvement plan, the improvement plan derived from the overall average of 4.28 points and the standard deviation of 0 to 0.94 points for the process is judged to be appropriate. In particular, the item of 'self-reliance stage follow-up management' was very important as all experts responded with 5 points. By establishing the village development performance goals, we tried to check whether the qualitative/quantitative goals were achieved by year, and to secure quantified status data in response to changes such as resetting performance goals or adding new performance indicators. In this study, in order to improve the capacity to achieve regional development in response to the rural agreement, we prepared our own sustainable village development promotion system, governance establishment, and follow-up management plan. In addition, it is expected to be used as a reference material for the selection of new districts and the follow-up management of completed districts by establishing the village development goals.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.5309-5314
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• 2016

Background: Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer amongst women throughout the world. Currently, there are various follow-up strategies implemented in Iran, which are usually dependent on clinic policies and agreement among the resident oncologists. Purpose: A cost-effectiveness analysis was performed to assess the cost-effectiveness of intensive follow-up versus standard models for early breast cancer patients in Iran. Materials and methods: This cross sectional study was performed with 382 patients each in the intensive and standard groups. Costs were identified and measured from a payer perspective, including direct medical outlay. To assess the effectiveness of the two follow-up models we used a decision tree along with indicators of detection of recurrence and metastasis, calculating expected costs and effectiveness for both cases; in addition, incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were determined. Results: The results of decision tree showed expected case detection rates of 0.137 and 0.018 and expected costs of US$24,494.62 and US$6,859.27, respectively, for the intensive and standard follow-up models. Tornado diagrams revealed the highest sensitivity to cost increases using the intensive follow-up model with an ICER=US$148,196.2. Conclusion: Overall, the results showed that the intensive follow-up method is not cost-effective when compared to the standard model.

• Journal of Korean Society for Quality Management
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.59-78
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• 1994

In some observational studies, we have often random censoring model. However, the data available may be partially observable censored data consisting of the observed failure times and only those nonfailure times which are subject to follow up. In this paper, we present an extension of the problem of partially parametric estimation of the survival function to such partially observable censored data. The proposed estimator treats the observed failure times nonparametrically and uses a parametric model only for those nonfailure times which are subject to follow-up. We discuss the motivation and construction of the proposed estimator and investigate the limiting properties of the proposed estimator such as asymptotic normality. Also, when the assumed parametric model is exponential, the asymptotic variance of the estimator is obtained. Furthermore, an example is given to compare the proposed estimator with the modified Kaplan Meier(MKM) estimator. From the results, it is shown that the relative efficiency of the proposed estimator is higher than that of the MKM estimator in the follow-up study with increasing time.

• Journal of Korean Society of Disaster and Security
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.81-91
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• 2021

The reasonable decision making procedure for conducting follow-up management of water-friendly riverfront have been proposed in the national streams when the use of the level of usage for facility becomes degraded. It consists of two part usage: the selection of destination and the follow-up strategy with the alternatives. Considering the water-friendly riverfront grade derived from prior research, Grade IV and V were selected as candidates, and if the economic utility became low, it should be selected as candidates for the follow-up management. In addition, the basic plan for follow-up management was reviewed and alternatives suitable for the strategy could be derived considering the need for the operation of water-friendly riverfront in target site. The prior study on the follow-up decision making process of the water-friendly riverfront has not yet been confirmed, but since the life cycle of such facilities become almost expired, systematic procedures are needed to enable the use of administrative procedures for users' convenience and safety.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.39-54
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• 2019

Trade finance promotes export performance, and every small- and medium-sized export business has the right to use policy finance. The credit line is also stipulated by relevant laws and regulations. However, trade finance has repeatedly been misused, so these matters can lead to substantial financial loss and damage to the related financial institutions. The lack of expertise of K-SURE and the backwardness of banks represent even bigger problems in the follow-up management. The existing trade finance system should be improved in the following ways from the institutional and legal perspectives. Firstly, follow-up management of beneficiary companies should be reinforced and systematized through examining business tendencies, financial status, and other important factors. There is also a need for advancement of following up management. An effective and streamlined financing system must be established by abolishing the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation. This study presents improvements and their implications by looking into the main issues under the current trade finance system. This study is based on documentary research and practical cases.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.19
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• pp.8209-8213
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• 2014

Background: Cervical cancer is a common, preventable and manageable disease in women worldwide. Objectives: This study was conducted to determine the cost of follow-up for suspicious precancerous cervical lesions within a screening program using Pap smear or HPV DNA test through the decision tree. Materials and Methods: Patient follow-up processes were determined using standard guidelines and consultation with specialists to design a decision tree model. Costs of treatment in both public and private sectors were identified according to the national tariffs in 2010 and determined based on decision tree and provided services (visits to specialists, colposcopy, and conization) with two modalities: Pap smear and HPV DNA test. The number of patients and the mean cost of treatment in each sector were calculated. The prevalence of lesions and HPV were obtained from literature to estimate the cost of treatment for each woman in the population. Results: Follow-up costs were determined using seven processes for Pap smear and 11 processes for HPV DNA test. The total cost of using Pap smear and HPV DNA process for each woman in the population was 36.1$ and 174$ respectively. Conclusions: The follow-up process for patients with suspicious cervical lesions needs to be included in the existing screening program. HPV DNA test is currently more expensive than Pap smear, it is suggested that we manage precancerous cervical lesions with this latter test.

• The Korean Journal of Applied Statistics
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.639-647
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• 2008

This study used the characteristics of the knowledge discovery and data mining algorithms to develop tailored hypertension follow up management model - hypertension care predictive model and hypertension care compliance segmentation model - for hypertension management using the Korea National Health Insurance Corporation database(the insureds’ screening and health care benefit data). This study validated the predictive power of data mining algorithms by comparing the performance of logistic regression, decision tree, and ensemble technique. On the basis of internal and external validation, it was found that the model performance of logistic regression method was the best among the above three techniques on hypertension care predictive model and hypertension care compliance segmentation model was developed by Decision tree analysis. This study produced several factors affecting the outbreak of hypertension using screening. It is considered to be a contributing factor towards the nation’s building of a Hypertension follow up Management System in the near future by bringing forth representative results on the rise and care of hypertension.