• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.22-31
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• 2019

Objective: For knee osteoarthritis (OA), there is a demand for alternative modalities in order to delay surgery and to avoid the side effects of medications. This study compared the effects of applying seaweed pack and mudpack for the treatment of knee OA. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Methods: Twenty-five patients with knee OA who satisfied the criteria were included. The patients were divided into two groups according to the treatment method: mudpack (n=12) and seaweed pack (n=13). The two groups were treated for 20 minutes, twice a day for five continuous days at the Ocean Healing Center at Wando Island, South Korea. Participants were assessed by clinical scores (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index, Hospital for Special Surgery Knee Score, Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score and 36-Item Short Form Health Survey) and lab results (erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, insulin-like growth factor-1 [IGF-1], tumor necrosis $factor-{\alpha}$ [$TNF-{\alpha}$]) during the follow-up period. Results: For the most part, clinical scores improved after therapy and maintained improvements for four weeks in both groups (p<0.05). In the seaweed group, $TNF-{\alpha}$ was significantly decreased at two weeks post-therapy (p<0.05). In both groups, IGF-1 was significantly increased immediately post-therapy (p<0.05). There were no statistically significant differences after therapy between the groups in clinical scores and labs. Conclusions: Seaweed packs and mudpacks had similar positive effects for knee OA. Additionally, the seaweed pack group showed decreased levels of $TNF-{\alpha}$ at two weeks post-treatment, which may explain the reduced inflammatory reaction. For rehabilitation therapy, use of seaweed packs may serve as an alternative modality for the treatment of knee OA.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.105-116
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• 2021

Objectives Lumbar herniated intervertebral disc (L-HIVD) is common disease in which Western-Korean collaborative treatment is performed in Korea. This study aimed to analyze Western-Korean collaborative treatment utilization of Korean patients with L-HIVD using Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service's Patients Sample Data. Methods This study used the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service-National Patient Sample (HIRA-NPS) in 2018. Claim data of L-HIVD patients were extracted. The claim data were rebuilt with the operational concept of 'episode of care' and divided into Korean medicine episode group (KM), Western medicine episode group (WM) and collaborative treatment episode group (CT). General characteristics, medical expenses and healthcare utilization were analyzed. In addition, the difference of average visit day and average medical expenses between non-collaborative group (KM plus WM) and CT were analyzed by the propensity score matching method. Results A Total of 64,333 patients and 365,745 claims were extracted. The number of episodes of WM, KM and CT was 69,383 (92.97%), 3,903 (5.23%), and 1,341 (1.80%) respectively. The frequency of collaborative treatment episode was higher in women and the age of 50s. The most frequently described treatment in CT was acupuncture therapy. As a result of the propensity score matching, the number of visit days and medical expenses in the collaborative treatment group was higher than in the non-collaborative group. Conclusions The analysis of healthcare utilization of Korean-Western collaborative treatment may be used as basic data for establishing medical policies and systematic collaborative treatment model in the future.

• Journal of Korean Traditional Oncology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2016

The incidence rate of cervical cancer in Korea is still higher than in other developed countries, notwithstanding the national mass screening program. Cervical cancer prognosis is good due to an effective treatment such as surgery or radiation therapy, concurrent chemotherapy in the early stage. However, it is still a poor prognosis when advanced stage or recurrent. Some studies said that combined oriental and western medicine can improve the survival, quality of life, immune function, and decrease side effects in cervical cancer. In the western medical part, clinical practice guideline was published in 2006, 2007 and 2010 in Korea. In China, oriental medicine clinical practice guideline have been published in 2014. But there is no Korean medicine clinical practice guideline. This study will introduce the methods of diagnosis and the medical therapeutics which is commonly utilized for cervical cancer in Korea, and existing Korean medicine clinical practice guideline for Disease Analysis and Treatment (辨證論治). This study will be a meaningful study to establish clinical practice guidelines of Korean Medicine for cervical cancer.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.145-153
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• 2019

Objectives: This case is significant as a rare observational record at the Korean medical practice field. This case reports progression of co-administration of Korean herbal medicines and conventional medicines for cough in patients with myocardial infarction relapse suspected of developing acute respiratory infection. Methods: First, the chest radiography, CBC count and urinalysis were performed to estimate patient's systematic condition. After the estimated diagnosis, the patient was treated with modified Dingchuan decoction, antibiotics, and complex syrup for cough. We used the Cough-Specific Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (CQLQ) to assess patient's respiratory symptoms. Results: Co-administration of Korean herbal medicines and conventional medicines resulted improving of cough and sputum symptoms. Laboratory analysis items and total score of CQLQ also showed significantly improved results. Adverse effects were not observed. Conclusions: In this case, we concluded that co-administration of Korean herbal medicine and conventional medicine may be an effective therapy for the treatment of cough in patients with myocardial relapse of developing acute respiratory infection.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.15-22
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• 2013

Objective: Evaluations of the in-vitro anti-bacterial activities of aqueous extracts of Acacia catechu (L.F.)Willd, Castanea sativa, Ephedra sinica stapf and Shilajita mumiyo against gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumonia) and gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) are reasonable since these ethnomedicinal plants have been used in Persian folk medicine for treating skin diseases, venereal diseases, respiratory problems and nervous disorders for ages. Methods: The well diffusion method (KB testing) with a concentration of $250{\mu}g/disc$ was used for evaluating the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC). Maximum synergistic effects of different combinations of components were also observed. Results: A particular combination of Acacia catechu (L.F.) Willd, Castanea sativa, Ephedra sinica stapf and shilajita mumiyo extracts possesses an outstanding anti-bacterial activity. It's inhibiting effect on microorganisms is significant when compared to the control group (P<0.05). Staphylococcus aureus was the most sensitive microorganism. The highest anti-bacterial activity against gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumonia) or gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Proteus mirabilis, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) was exerted by formula number 2 (table 1). Conclusion: The results reveal the presence of anti-bacterial activities of Acacia catechu, Castanea sativa husk, Ephedra sp. and Mumiyo against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Synergistic effects in a combined formula, especially in formula number 2 (ASLAN$^{(R)}$) can lead to potential sources of new antiseptic agents for treatment of acute or chronic skin ulcers. These results considering the significant anti-bacterial effect of the present formulation, support ethnopharmacological uses against diarrheal and venereal diseases and demonstrate use of these plants to treat infectious diseases.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.618-622
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• 2005

Articular cartilage is an important target for studying the arthritic diseases. To verify the therapeutic effects of bee venom herb-acupuncture in vivo, 3${\mu}$l of diluted solution of bee venom for herb-acupuncture were injected into articular cavity once a day during 3 months after making full-thickness defects in rat articular cartilage. Histological examination and immunohistochemistry indicated that the chondrocyte-like tissue was formed during the repair process of cartilage injury, and the expression of a cartilage-specific protein, collagen type II, were significantly activated. It means that the expression of the gene encoding type I collagen was down-regulated, whereas those of collagen type II were up-regulated. Histological examination by hematoxylin-eosin staining indicated that the cells regained their original round morphology. In addition, a homogeneous distribution of articular cartilage extracellular matrices was detected around the cells. These results suggested that bee venom herb-acupuncture was very effective on the recovery of articular chondrocyte phenotype.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.41-61
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• 2019

Objectives The purpose of this survey was to investigate the using experiences and attitudes of general public toward the East-West collaborative medical practices (EWCMP). Methods We selected objects in general public and structured questionnaires were administrated to both 295 offline participants and 795 online participants. The data was collected from 15 to 28 February 2016 and analyzed statistically by frequency, ${\chi}^2$ cross-over analysis with SPSS software. Results The total number of participants was 1,090 and 66.1% of them has heard but only 19.5% has ever used EWCMP. For participants who has used EWCMP, the decision to use it was made by themselves (53.2%), 44.0% of them was satisfied with EWCMP, 89.4% of them showed revisiting intention to EWCMP hospital, and 72.2% of them showed the intention to introduce EWCMP to others. And 52.3% of them were optimistic about the prospects of EWCMP, especially in the field of disease treatment (49.9%) and rehabilitation (20.6%). On the reasons for lack of development of EWCMP, 31.9% of them listed prejudices existing on both sides firstly (31.9%). Preferred type of EWCMP was to use both western and Korean medical treatment at the same weight (53.9%). To promote EWCMP, it is required to confirm the concept of collaborative medical practice to the medical professions and government authorities (29.5%). Conclusions Considering low proportion of utilization and positive attitude toward the EWCMP among general populations, it is need to introduce or advertise EWCMP to them.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.51-60
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• 2022

Objectives: Currently, Korea's medical services are divided into Western medicine and Korean medicine, and people who are not satisfied with the existing treatments are looking for complementary and alternative medicine(CAM). Therefore, this study attempted to confirm patients' perception of the ongoing collaborative treatment and integrated medical service that added CAM to collaborative treatment based on tertiary hospital users. So that we can confirm the expected advantage and disadvantage of integrated medical service system and the necessity of supporting medical expenses for it. Methods: The survey was conducted on 100 people who experienced tertiary hospital treatment and other 100 people who experienced both tertiary hospital treatment and Korean medicine treatment at the same period. The survey was conducted until the number of respondents in both group reached 100. The survey was conducted through e-mail and was conducted from September 27, 2021 to October 8, 2021. Results: For the advantages of collaborative treatment 'increased in psychological stability,' and for disadvantages 'longer time spent for treatment' were the most common. If integrated medical services are implemented in the future, expected advantages include 'consideration of various treatments.' and expected disadvantages include 'increased medical cost.' The needs to expand support for health insurance for integrated medical services were 75.5% among responders. Conclusions: We were able to find out the (expected) advantages and disadvantages of the collaborative medical care and the integrated medical system that medical users experienced or expected, also confirmed positive answers to the expansion of health insurance support for the integrated medical system.

• Journal of Korean Critical Care Nursing
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.75-85
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• 2018

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to examine the possible direction of critical care nursing research in the future by analyzing the trends of recent Korean studies. Method : Using a database search, we selected 263 articles on critical care nursing that were published in Korean journals between 2008 and 2017. Then, we conducted an integrative review of the contents of the selected articles and analyzed the English abstracts using the relevant packages and functions of the R program. Results : The number of studies concerning critical care nursing has increased over the 10-year period, and the specific topic of each study has diversified according to the time at which it was conducted. In terms of quality, the majority of the research was published in high-level academic journals. The key words regularly studied over the past decade were: knowledge, delirium, education, restraint, stress, and infection. Studies related to vancomycin-resistant enterococci infection, compliance, and standards have decreased, while studies related to death, communication, and safety have increased. Conclusion : Randomized controlled trials and protocol research for evidence-based critical care need to be conducted, as does research on family involvement. The key word analysis of unstructured text used in this study is a relatively new method; it is suggested that this method be applied to various critical care nursing research and develop it methodologically.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.621-629
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• 2012

This study aimed to examine the possibility of data from pulse diagnosis device to be used for diagnosis of Sasang constitution. Systematic searches of 5 major Korean medical database were conducted for articles published up to May 2012. Searching key word was "Sasang" or "Constitution". Studies dealt with correlation between Sasang constitution and the pulse wave data from pulse diagnosis machine were included. Totally 2886 studies are searched and 3 studies are added from references of evaluated articles. Among them, 12 studies were met our inclusion criteria (2 Xishu Mac, 2 Self-made pulse diagnosis machine, 8 3D-Mac). Three of the eight 3D-Mac studies intended to develop a formula of constitutional differential diagnosis, 2 studies compared variables by Sasang constitution in healthy group and 3 studies compared variables by Sasang constitution in healthy group and special disease group. They all reported some significant variables, however results are not consistent between studies. The accuracy of the formula of constitutional differential diagnosis using 3D-Mac pulse diagnosis devices is 46.0% by now. Improvements in measuring pulse are required to achieve more accurate result and be used for diagnosis of Sasang constitution. Compensating B.M.I. among Sasang constitutional groups and separating constitutional pulse factors from acquired characteristics are also needed in further study.