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Association of Liver Dysfunction with Self-Medication History in Korean Healthy Male Adults (건강한 한국 성인남성의 자가약물복용력에 따른 간기능 장애 발생여부 조사)

  • Bae, Jong-Myon;Park, Byung-Joo;Lee, Moo-Song;Kim, Dong-Hyun;Shin, Myung-Hee;Ahn, Yoon-Ok
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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    • v.29 no.4 s.55
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    • pp.801-814
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    • 1996
  • Background: Korean people could abuse healthy foods as well as medications, which might cause serious side effects. The aim of this study was elucidating liver dysfunction due to the self-medications of hepatotonics, healthy foods and herb medications by nested case-control study. Methods: Study subjects were drawn from male members of Seoul Cohort Study who were recruited by self-administered structured questionnaire survey through mailing to the healthy men between the age of 40 and 59 years through the program of biennial health check-up offered by Korea Medical Insurance Corporation(KMIC). The liver dysfunction was defined as the level of serum AST and ALT above 40 IU/L and increased in more than one hunderd per-cent during the 2 year follow-up period. To estimate the odds ratio between self-medication and liver dysfunction after controlling for potential confounders, logistic regression was performed. Results: During the follow-up period, 30 members were identified to fit into case criteria and 2,625 members were selected as control. In logistic regression analyses, history of healthy foods intake, age under 45 years, obesity, and habit of regular exercise were significantly associated with liver dysfunction. The following factors exhibited no statistical significance: intake of hepatotonics, of herb medicine; history of disease in family, of operation, and of radiologic examination; smoking habits and drinking amounts. Conclusion: The significant association between the intake of healthy foods and the liver dysfunction illustrates that chronically optional overuse of healthy foods might bring to hazards to health. As the increasing trend of the size of purchasing healthy foods in Korea, pharmacoepidemiologic studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of the widely used healthy foods should be performed in the near future.

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Cardiac Intracoronary Stenting vs CABG: Prevention of Medical Accident (심장 스텐트 시술과 의료사고 예방)

  • Kim, Kyoung Reay;Park, Kook Yang
    • The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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    • v.18 no.2
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    • pp.163-194
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    • 2017
  • Coronary artery disease has increased in Korea as the country enters the aged society. It is well known that the incidence of coronary artery disease is related to aging, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and dietary habit. For effective treatment of significant coronary stenosis, close coordination between cardiac surgery and cardiology team is essential. Especially cardiologists' decision whether to do the stent placement or CABG is very important because the cardiologists usually start to consult the patients for their treatment. Recently, non-surgical interventions(that is stent placement) in cardiology field have dramatically increased as the national insurance system removed the limitation of the number of stents deployed. However, accidents are often caused by inappropriate use of stents, especially in patients with triple coronary disease or left main disease with heavy coronary calcifications. Another aspect of stent placement is to cope with an emergency case in the event of coronary rupture or pericardial tamponade during coronary interventions without cardiac surgeons. In the past two years, the Korea Consumer Agency (Consumer Dispute Coordination Committee) analyzed eight cases of medical dispute settlement. Only two hospitals were manned with both cardiologists and cardiac surgeons. Seven patients died of procedures of stenting and five patients died on the day of the procedure. Among the 8 cases, 5 cases showed 3 vessel disease and the rest of the cases had either severe calcification, complete occlusion or poor coronary antomies for stenting According to a 2017 national data registry of coronary stenting, less than 3 drug-eluting stents were implanted in 98% of all patients. In 2015, the number of stent procedures was 38,922, and approximately in 800 (2%) cases, more than four stents were used per patient. We emphasize that it is necessary to seriously consider the cost-benefit analysis between stent and CABG. The patient has the right to choose the right procedure by asking the liability of 'instruction explanation obligation'. He should be well informed of the pros and cons of both procedures to avoid overuse of stent. It can be solved by intimate discussion of individual cases with the cardiac surgeon and the patient. Unilateral dialogue with the patient, forceful restriction on the number of stenting, lack of surgeon's backup in difficult cases should all be avoided. It is also necessary to solve the problem not only at the hospital level, such as multidisciplinary integrated medical care, but also a nationwide solution such as expanding cardiac surgeons as essential personnel to public officials.

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$H_2$ Receptor Antagonists and Gastric Cancer in the Elderly: A Nested Case-Control Study (노인 인구에서 $H_2$ Receptor Antagonist와 위암과의 관련성: 코호트 내 환자-대조군 연구)

  • Kim, Yoon-I;Heo, Dae-Seog;Lee, Seung-Mi;Youn, Kyoung-Eun;Koo, Hye-Won;Bae, Jong-Myon;Park, Byoung-Joo
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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    • v.35 no.3
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    • pp.245-254
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    • 2002
  • Objective : To test if the intake of $H_2$ receptor antagonists ($H_2$-RAs) increases the risk of gastric cancer in the elderly. Methods : The source population for this study was drawn from the responders to a questionnaire survey administered to the Korea Elderly Pharmacoepidemiological Cohort (KEPEC), who were beneficiaries of the Korean Medical Insurance Corporation, were at least 65 years old, and residing in Busan in 1999. The information on $H_2$-RAs exposure was obtained from a drug prescription database compiled between inn. 1993 and Dec. 1994. The cases consisted of 76 gastric cancer patients, as confirmed from the KMIC claims data, the National Cancer Registry and the Busan Cancer Registry. The follow-up period was from Jan. 1993 to Dec. 1998. Cancer free controls were randomly selected by 1:4 individual matching, which took in to consideration the year of birth and gender. Information on confounders was collected by a mail questionnaire survey. The odds ratios, and their 95% confidence intervals, were calculated using a conditional logistic regression model. Results : After adjusting for a history of gastric ulcer symptoms, medication history, and body mass index, the adjusted OR (aOR) was 4.6 (95% CI=1.72-12.49). The odds ratio of long term use (more than 7 days) was 2.3 (95% CI=1.07-4.82). The odds ratio of short term use was 4.6 (95% CI=1.26-16.50). The odds ratio of parenteral use was 4.4 195% CI=1.16-17.05) and combination use between the oral and parenteral routes (aOR, 16.8; 95% CI=1.21-233.24) had the high risk of gastric cancer. The aOR of cimetidine was 1.7 (95% CI=1.04-2.95). The aOR of ranitidine was 2.0 (95% CI=1.21-3.40). The aOR of famotidine was 1.7 (95% CI=0.98-2.80). Conclusion : The intake of $H_2$-RAs might increase the risk of gastric cancer through achlorhydria in the elderly.

The Effect of Coffee Consumption on Serum Total Cholesterol Level in Healthy Middle-Aged Men (건강한 중년 남성에서 커피 음용 습관이 혈중 총 콜레스테롤 값에 미치는 영향)

  • Shin, Myung-Hee;Kim, Dong-Hyun;Bae, Jong-Myun;Lee, Hyung-Ki;Lee, Moo-Song;Noh, Joon-Yang;Ahn, Yoon-Ok
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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    • v.27 no.2 s.46
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    • pp.200-216
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    • 1994
  • In present study, the authors investigated the possible effect of coffee consumption on serum cholesterol level in 1017 men between the ages of 40 and 59 years, who were randomly selected from the members of Seoul Cohort Study. Serum total cholesterol data was collected with other serologic indices (e.g. systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, hight, weight, etc.) through the program of biennial health check-up offered by Korean Medical Insurance Corporation (KMIC). The amount of coffee consumption was assessed by a self-administered questionnaire through mailing. Other confounding factors, such as age, body mass index, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, and other dietary intake pattern were also determined by the questionnaire. The differences in means of serum total cholesterol in compared to non consumers were $-0.4{\pm}3.56mg/dl$ for those drinking less than 1 cup a day, $-0.6{\pm}3.60mg/dl$ for those drinking 1 cup a day, and $7.1{\pm}3.41mg/dl$ for those drinking more than 2 cups a day. Since smoking interacted the relationship between coffee consumption and serum total choleaterol, we re-analyzed those relationship in smokers and non-smokers separately Other atherogenic behaviors were well correlated with total cholesterol, so we adjusted the mean values of serum total cholesterol through multivariate model selection with age(r=0.12), total cigarette index (cigarette-years; r=0.10), Quetelet's index ($Kg/m^2$, r=0.16), daily calory expenditure (kcal/day, r=0.06), weekly meat and poultry consumption(g/week, r=0.05), weekly fish consumption (g/week, r=0.08), other caffeinated beverage intake (cups/week), and the amount of sugar and prim added to the coffee. Among those variables only age, Quetelet's index, fish consumption, and total cigarette index (in smokers) were remained in the models. After adjustment, the corresponing differences of total cholesterol in smokers were changed to $0.4{\pm}5.24mg/dl,\;-0.5{\pm}4.97mg/dl,\;and\;8.9{\pm}4.78mg/dl$, which were significantly different among themselves (P=0.011). In non-smokers, however, the differences were not statistically significant (P=0.76). Adjusted mean values of systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure were also determined to evaluate the direct effect of coffee to cardiovascular system, but their means were not significantly different by coffee consumption(p=0.18 for SBP, p=0.48 for DBP). Asuming instant coffee in the most popular type of coffee in Korea, the association observed in our study between coffee and serum total cholesterol, especially in smokers, is very interesting finding for the connection between coffee and serum total cholesterol, because only 'boiled coffee' tend to show significant lipid raising effect rather than to other types of coffee, like filtered or espresso, in most of the western countries. We concluded that people who drink coffee more than 2 cups a day have significantly higher serum total cholesterol level than those who never drink coffee, especially in smokers.

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Korean Clinical Imaging Guidelines for the Appropriate Use of Chest MRI (한국형 흉부 MRI 영상 진단 정당성 권고안)

  • Jiyoung Song;Bo Da Nam;Soon Ho Yoon;Jin Young Yoo;Yeon Joo Jeong;Chang Dong Yeo;Seong Yong Lim;Sung Yong Lee;Hyun Koo Kim;Byoung Hyuck Kim;Kwang Nam Jin;Hwan Seok Yong
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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    • v.82 no.3
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    • pp.562-574
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    • 2021
  • MRI has the advantages of having excellent soft-tissue contrast and providing functional information without any harmful ionizing radiation. Although previous technical limitations restricted the use of chest MRI, recent technological advances and expansion of insurance coverage are increasing the demand for chest MRI. Recognizing the need for guidelines on appropriate use of chest MRI in Korean clinical settings, the Korean Society of Radiology has composed a development committee, working committee, and advisory committee to develop Korean chest MRI justification guidelines. Five key questions were selected and recommendations have been made with the evidence-based clinical imaging guideline adaptation methodology. Recommendations are as follows. Chest MRI can be considered in the following circumstances: for patients with incidentally found anterior mediastinal masses to exclude non-neoplastic conditions, for pneumoconiosis patients with lung masses to differentiate progressive massive fibrosis from lung cancer, and when invasion of the chest wall, vertebrae, diaphragm, or major vessels by malignant pleural mesothelioma or non-small cell lung cancer is suspected. Chest MRI without contrast enhancement or with minimal dose low-risk contrast media can be considered for pregnant women with suspected pulmonary embolism. Lastly, chest MRI is recommended for patients with pancoast tumors planned for radical surgery.

A Comparative Study on the Pattern of Outpatient Department Utilization at a Tertiary Level Hospital before and after Implementation of the Patient Referral System (의료전달체계 실시 전후의 3차 진료기관 외래환자 이용양상 비교)

  • Lee, Kyeong-Soo;Kim, Chang-Yoon;Kang, Pock-Soo
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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    • v.25 no.1 s.37
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    • pp.88-100
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    • 1992
  • This study was conducted to assess the effects of implementation of the patient referral system started July 1st, 1989. A comparison on the pattern of outpatient services of the Departments of Internal Medicine, General Surgery, and Pediatrics at the Yeungnam University Hospital was conducted for each one year period before and after implementation of the patient referral system. The pre-implementation period was from July 1, 1988 to June 30, 1989 and the post-implementation period was from July 1, 1989 to June 30, 1990. The information used for this study was obtained from official forms, prepared by the Yeungnam University Hospital, and submitted to the Korean Medical Insurance Cooperatives. After implementation of the patient referral system, the number of outpatient cases in the Department of Internal Medicine decreased 36.1% from 9,669 cases to 6,181 cases a year. Cases in the Department of General Surgery decreased 23.7% from 1,864 cases to 1,422 cases a year. The number of cases in the Department of Pediatrics decreased 36.9% from 3,372 cases to 2,128 cases a year. After implementation of the patient referral system, the average age of cases in the Departments of Internal Medicine and General Surgery was 52.5 and 49.7 years old, respectively. This was a significant increase in comparison with the pre-implementation period. After implementation of patient referral system, the proportion of new outpatients in the Department of Internal Medicine decreased from 24.1% to 14.6%, the Department of General Surgery from 36.0% to 23.4%, and the Department of Pediatrics from 15.5% to 8.3%. The number of visits per case decreased significantly in the Department of Internal Medicine(from 1.74 to 1.61), but there was no significant change in the Departments of General Surgery and Pediatrics. The length of treatment per case increased significantly in all three departments(from 16.1 days to 19.3 days in the Department of Internal Medicine, from 12.0 days to 15.2 days in the Department General Surgery, and 8.9 days to 11.2 days in the Department of Pediatrics). The number of clinical tests per case increased significantly in the Department of Internal Medicine (from 2.2 to 2.5), in the Department of Pediatrics(from 0.8 to 1.1) and increased in the Department of General Surgery(from 6.4 to 6.6). The average medical cost per case decreased from 43,900 Won to 42,500 Won in the Department of Internal Medicine, while the cost increased from 75,900 Won to 78,500 Won in the Department of General Surgery and from 12,700 Won to 13,500 Won in the Department of Pediatrics. In case-mix, the chronic degenerative disease(i. e. hypertension, diabetes mellitus, angina pectoris, malignant neoplasm, and pulmonary tuberculosis) ranked higher and acute infectious diseases and simple cases(i. e. gastritis and duodenitis, haemorrhoids, anal fissure, carbuncle, acute URI, and bronchitis) ranked lower after implementation of the patient referral system compared to before implementation.

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Factors Related to Waiting and Staying Time for Patient Care in Emergency Care Center (응급의료센터 내원환자 진료시 소요시간과 관련된 요인)

  • Han, Nam Sook;Park, Jae Yong;Lee, Sam Beom;Do, Byung Soo;Kim, Seok Beom
    • Quality Improvement in Health Care
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    • v.7 no.2
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    • pp.138-155
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    • 2000
  • Background: Factors related to waiting and staying time for patient care in emergency care center (ECC) were examined during 1 month from Apr. 1 to Apr. 30, 1997 at an ECC of Yeungnam university hospital in Taegu metropolitan city, to obtain the baseline data on the strategy of effective management of emergency patients. Method: The study subjects consisted of the 1,742 patients who visited at ECC and the data were obtained from the medical records of ECC and direct surveys. Results: The mean interval between ECC admission time and initial care time by each ECC duty residents was 83.1 minutes for male patients and 84.9 minutes for female patients, and mean ECC staying time (time interval between admission and final disposition from ECC) was 718.0 minutes in men and 670.5 minutes in women. As the results, the mean staying time in ECC was higher in older age, and especially the both of initial care time and staying time were highest in patients of medical aid, and shortest in patients of worker's accident compensation insurance. The on admission or not, previously endotracheal-intubation state of patient. The ECC staying ti initial care time was much more delayed in patients of not having previous medical records and the ECC staying time was higher in referred patients from out-patient department, in transferred patients from the other hospitals and patients having previous records, and in patients partly used the order-communicating system. The factors associated with the initial care time were the numbers of ECC patients and the existence of any true emergent patients, being cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) statusme was much more longer in patients of drug intoxication, in CPR patients, in medical department patients, in transfused patients and in patients related to 3 or more departments. And according to the numbers of duty internships, the ECC staying time for four internships was more longer than for five internships and after admission ordering was done, also-more longer in status being of no available beds. As above mentioned results, the factors for the ECC staying time were thought to be statistically significant (P<0.01) according to the patient's age and the laboratory orders and the X-ray films checked. And also the factor for the ECC staying time were thought to be statistically significant (P<0.01) according to the status being of no available beds, the laboratory orders and/or the special laboratory orders, the X-ray films checked, final disposing department, transferred to other hospital or not, home medication or not, admission or not, the grades of beds, the year grades of residents, the causes of ECC visit, the being CPR status on admission or not, the surgical operation or not, being known personells in our hospital. Conclution: Authors concluded that the relieving method of long-staying time in ECC was being establishing the legally proved apparatus which could differentiate the true emergency or non-emergency patients, and that the methods of shortening ECC staying time were doing definitely necessary laboratory orders and managing beds more flexibly to admit for ECC patients and finally this methods were thought to be a method of unloading for ECC personnels and improving the quality of care in emergency patients.

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Reliability and validity study of a life style questionnaire for elderly people (노인 생활습관 설문서의 신뢰도 및 타당도 평가 연구)

  • Park, Byung-Joo;Kim, Dae-Sung;Koo, Hye-Won;Bae, Jong-Myon
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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    • v.31 no.1 s.60
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    • pp.49-58
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    • 1998
  • The study was done to determine the reliability and validity of a life style questionnaire for the elderly. The questionnaires were sent to 16,524 elderly people who were beneficiaries of Korean Medical Insurance Corporation in Pusan. Among the completed 9,139 questionnaires, 200 were randomly sampled and retested. finally, 110 duplicates were collected. Weighted kappa-value and Pearson correlation coefficients were estimated to measure the reliability. Validity coefficient was estimated by using reliability coefficient. In self-self responses, reliability coefficients of the most of items were over 0.6 except some physical activity related item. Relatively high reliability was observed in smoking, alcohol related items and anthropometric items. In self-proxy responses, most of the physical activity related items were found to be less reliable than self-self responses. Smoking and alcohol related items were consistently reliable. Male showed higher validity in food related item than female. On the other hand, some of the physical activity related items and smoking and alcohol related items were less valid in male than female. With regard to bias of proxy respondents, offsprings tended to underestimate the frequency of house cleaning' and 'kitchen work' and overestimate the height of them. In conclusion, the life style questionnaire was found to be reliable in the most of items. But, some items related with physical activity were found to be somewhat less reliable. Sexual difference on the validity was identified in some items. With regard to bias of proxy respondents, offsprings tended to have bias in part of items of housework and anthropometry.

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Neurotechnologies and civil law issues (뇌신경과학 연구 및 기술에 대한 민사법적 대응)

  • SooJeong Kim
    • The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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    • v.24 no.2
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    • pp.147-196
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    • 2023
  • Advances in brain science have made it possible to stimulate the brain to treat brain disorder or to connect directly between the neuron activity and an external devices. Non-invasive neurotechnologies already exist, but invasive neurotechnologies can provide more precise stimulation or measure brainwaves more precisely. Nowadays deep brain stimulation (DBS) is recognized as an accepted treatment for Parkinson's disease and essential tremor. In addition DBS has shown a certain positive effect in patients with Alzheimer's disease and depression. Brain-computer interfaces (BCI) are in the clinical stage but help patients in vegetative state can communicate or support rehabilitation for nerve-damaged people. The issue is that the people who need these invasive neurotechnologies are those whose capacity to consent is impaired or who are unable to communicate due to disease or nerve damage, while DBS and BCI operations are highly invasive and require informed consent of patients. Especially in areas where neurotechnology is still in clinical trials, the risks are greater and the benefits are uncertain, so more explanation should be provided to let patients make an informed decision. If the patient is under guardianship, the guardian is able to substitute for the patient's consent, if necessary with the authorization of court. If the patient is not under guardianship and the patient's capacity to consent is impaired or he is unable to express the consent, korean healthcare institution tend to rely on the patient's near relative guardian(de facto guardian) to give consent. But the concept of a de facto guardian is not provided by our civil law system. In the long run, it would be more appropriate to provide that a patient's spouse or next of kin may be authorized to give consent for the patient, if he or she is neither under guardianship nor appointed enduring power of attorney. If the patient was not properly informed of the risks involved in the neurosurgery, he or she may be entitled to compensation of intangible damages. If there is a causal relation between the malpractice and the side effects, the patient may also be able to recover damages for those side effects. In addition, both BCI and DBS involve the implantation of electrodes or microchips in the brain, which are controlled by an external devices. Since implantable medical devices are subject to product liability laws, the patient may be able to sue the manufacturer for damages if the defect caused the adverse effects. Recently, Korea's medical device regulation mandated liability insurance system for implantable medical devices to strengthen consumer protection.

Drug Prescribing Patterns for the Treatment of Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Korea (우리나라에서의 천식 및 만성폐쇄성폐질환 치료제 처방 양상)

  • Jang, Jin Kyung;Kim, Hae Sook;Sohn, Hyun Soon;Park, Chanmi;Kim, Ju Sang;Jung, Bock Hyun;Ji, Eunhee;Cho, Jung Hwan;Shin, Hyun Taek
    • Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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    • v.24 no.1
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    • pp.26-32
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    • 2014
  • Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate drug prescription patterns for the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients in Korea. Methods: Ambulatory adult patients who were diagnosed and received treatment for the asthma (ICD-10 code J45) or COPD (ICD-10 code J44) from January 2009 to September 2011 in two independent secondary hospitals in Korea were enrolled in this study. Prescribed drug lists were generated based on the evidence-based guidelines and prescribed drug dosage forms were identified from the patient medical records and computerized drug prescription databases of the study centers. Results: Total numbers of asthma and COPD patient enrolled in this study were 2,432 and 2,615, respectively. Individual prescription-based accumulated numbers of patient were 12,021 for asthma and 16,584 for COPD. The most commonly prescribed three drugs were oral predisolone, oral formoterol and oral montelukast for asthma and oral formoterol, oral doxofylline and inhaled tiotropium for COPD. Frequencies of oral drugs were 83.4% and 63.3% while inhalers were 16.4% and 30.2%, for asthma and COPD, respectively. Conclusion: The oral treatment was prescribed more in asthma and COPD patients than inhalers. To enhance the compliance of evidence-based guidelines for these chronic airway diseases, more realistic and specific strategies to increase the use of inhalers recommended as primary treatment options for asthma and COPD would be required.