• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.35-48
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• 2023

Objectives We aimed to analyze changes in growth indicators before and after Korean medicine treatment in patients treated at the pediatric department of a hospital. Methods We analyzed the medical records of children and adolescents under 18 years of age who underwent growth assessment between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2022. Results A total of 21 patients were selected for this study. After treatment, there was a significant increase in the height percentile, whereas bone age-chronological age (BA-CA) and predicted adult height (PAH) did not show significant changes. No major adverse reactions were observed during the treatment. Growth reassessment was conducted twice for 10 participants. When comparing the growth indicators between the assessment sessions, the height percentile showed an increasing trend between the initial and the first growth reassessment. However, there were no significant differences between BA-CA and PAH across the different assessment periods. Conclusions There is a need to establish evidence for the efficacy and safety of continuous Korean medicine growth treatment through the long-term observation of growth indicators in patients undergoing treatment for two or more periods, as well as observational studies on liver and renal function indicators.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.333-342
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• 2016

Background: The use of therapeutic materials based on new health technology has increased in recent years in the field of medicine, raising concerns for medical practitioners regarding increased spending on the new therapeutic materials amid the rapid population ageing and increase of chronic diseases in Korea. While therapeutic materials have significant importance in the health care system, they have not been given appropriate attention in the academic world of Korea. The purpose of this study is to identify factors that affect the growth of expenditure on therapeutic materials and to derive implications for an effective management considering the diversity of therapeutic materials. Methods: Using the claims data of the National Health Insurance Services, specific utilization patterns of groups of therapeutic materials in the middle classification level of Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service from 2007 to 2014 were analyzed. Four categories (J5083: drug eluting coronary stent, D0302: nonmetallic anchor, K6014: gauze, K6023: gauze) that exhibit unique patterns with respect to price and volume were selected. Then, decomposition analysis was performed to identify the largest contributor to the spending growth by dividing the products into existing, new, and abandoned products for the period between 2010 and 2013. Results: The effect of new products had larger impact on spending growth than the effect of core items in drug eluting coronary stent (J5083) and nonmetallic anchor (D0302). In addition, existing products in general included items priced relatively lower when compared with another item manufactured by the same company. In the gauze category, however, existing products had the largest impact on expenditure and the effect of volume was greater than that in other categories. Conclusion: This study provides evidence that appropriate management measures classified by the characteristics of therapeutic materials are required for therapeutic materials pricing and reassessment in Korea.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.231-235
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• 2013

To obtain basic data for the better use of Cordyceps pruinosa we reassessed the effect of different medium, culture method, pH, and carbon and nitrogen sources on the mycelial growth properties of four C. pruinosa isolates. The growth of mycelia differed among the four isolates depending on medium type and cultivation days. Among the tested 8 kinds of solid media, the four isolates grew well on PDA and MMMA(mushroom minimal medium agar). While, among the tested 8 kinds of liquid media, all the isolates grew well in SDYM(Sabourand's dextrose yeast extract medium). The isolates also grew well in the SDYM with pH from 4.0 to 9.5 without any inhibition. One isolate could best grow at pH 8 to 9.5. Regarding the ability of utilizing carbon source, the difference of mycelia growth among the isolates was the most with xylose. Regarding nitrogen source, three isolates could utilize urea which is new fact in this species. These results provide new points on the growth properties of the fungal mycelium which has not been explored before. Overall, this reassessed study concluded that it is necessary to check in advance the growth properties of mycelium when a new isolate of C. pruinosa is expected to be used for application.