• Journal of Korean Traditional Oncology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.11-24
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• 2023

Objectives: To report the improvement of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy and pantalgia with integrative cancer treatment on adverse effects of chemotherapy in a breast cancer patient. Methods: A 63-year-old female patient who has been diagnosed with breast cancer got treated for 103 days with integrative cancer treatment including acupuncture, moxibustion, herbal medicine, physiotherapies, hand and foot bath to decrease side effects of chemotherapy. The patient was also treated Western immunotherapies like Thymosin, Viscum album. Paclitaxel, Carboplatin, Doxorubicin, Cyclophosphamide was applied and chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy(CIPN), pantalgia and nausea occured. The efficacy of treatment was measured by a numeric rating scale(NRS) of symptoms, National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Event(NCI-CTCAE) and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group(ECOG) Performance Status Scale. Results: The NRS scroes for CIPN, pantalgia, nausea were improved. There was no adverse effects of 3 or higher assessed by the NCI-CTCAE. The ECOG grade improved from grade 2 to 1. Conclusions: This study suggests that integrative cancer treatment could improve CIPN, pantalgia after chemotherapy in breast cancer.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.107-117
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• 2024

The objective of this study is to report the clinical effects of applying an integrated rehabilitation protocol to four patients with traumatic cervical spinal cord injuries. The treatments applied included acupuncture, cupping and moxibustion, chuna manual therapy, functional electrical stimulation, and other physical therapies. The evaluation methods included American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale, functional independence measure (FIM), modified Barthel index (MBI), numeric rating scale (NRS) and other scales. All patients presented marked improvements in FIM, MBI, NRS and other scales, along with increased muscle strength in the manual muscle test. The application of our protocol resulted in clear clinical benefits and enhanced the recovery and quality of life for the patients in this study.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.23-33
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• 2015

Objectives : This study was designed to assess the general distribution and clinical effectiveness of Korean medical treatment on lumbar disc herniation. Methods : This is an observational study. 72 patients admitted to Daejeon Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine with a diagnosis of herniated intervertebral disc(HIVD) by lumbar-CT of lumbar-MRI were observed from July, 2014 to April, 2015. They were analyzed according to sex, age, the period of disease, causal factors, symptoms on admission, admission day, disc herniation type and treatment efficacy. All patients received a combination of treatments during hospitalization, including acupuncture, Chuna, herbal medicines and physical therapy. A zero to ten numerating rating scale(NRS) assessing pain, Oswestry disability index(ODI) and EuroQol-5 dimension(EQ-5D) was used before and after treatments. Results : Average admission duration was $28.00{\pm}12.85$ days in lumbar disc patients. For lumbar patients, lower back pain NRS decreased from $5.89{\pm}2.00$ to $3.42{\pm}1.87$(p<0.001) and radiating pain from $5.96{\pm}2.12$ to $3.38{\pm}1.83$(p<0.001). ODI decreased from $46.69{\pm}19.25$ to $35.69{\pm}16.67$(p<0.001), and EQ-5D index increased from $0.63{\pm}0.26$ to $0.71{\pm}0.20$(p<0.05) after treatment in lumbar disc patients. Conclusions : Korean medical combination treatment might be effective in reducing pain and improving quality of life for patients with lumbar disc herniation. This study further confirmed the efficacy of Korean medical treatment on HIVD.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.216-222
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• 2014

Purpose: This study was performed to identify the symptoms and care needs of home-based cancer patients in Korea and to add to the scarce literature on this topic. Methods: Data were collected from patients who subscribed to home-based cancer care services in Jinju. Assessments were performed by nurses at the local public health center. The Edmonton Symptom Assessment System with a numeric rating scale (NRS) was used to identify symptoms, and a four-point Likert scale was used to assess psychological, social, and spiritual needs. Results: Cross-sectional data were collected in October 2013. A total of 209 patients participated and their median age was 65 years (range, 17~89 years). Most patients were diagnosed in the early stage of cancer (n=188); only 19 patients were diagnosed in the advanced stage. More than half the patients lived alone (n=115, 55.0%) and took care of themselves (n=128, 61.2%). Anorexia and fatigue were the most common symptoms (median NRS, 5 and 4, respectively). Patients needed economic support the most, whereas spiritual care was least needed (n=138 [67.3%] vs. n=128 [62.1%], respectively). Conclusion: Patients who signed up for home-based cancer care services in Jinju are struggling with a financial issue and physical symptoms. A customized approach is needed to improve the quality of the home-based care services.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.88-97
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• 2018

This study was designed to prove the effect of the Daoyin exercise therapy combined with complex korean medicine treatment on pain and function improvement of low back pain patients. A retrospective observational study. 30 low back pain patients, checked numeric rating scale(NRS) over 5, were treated with the Daoyin exercise therapy combined with complex korean medicine treatment. NRS, roland & morris disability questionnaire(RMDQ), range of motion(ROM), isokinetic muscle strength, and euroqol five demension questionnaire(EQ-5D) were checked to evaluate patients. The Daoyin exercise therapy combined with complex korean medicine treatment reduced NRS $5.67{\pm}1.40$ to $3.73{\pm}1.72$, improved RMDQ $10.33{\pm}4.91$ to $8.17{\pm}5.40$, strengthened lumbar muscle's peak torque and improved EQ-5D $0.56{\pm}0.20$ to $0.63{\pm}0.15$ and euroqol visual analogue scale(EQVAS) $46.80{\pm}19.95$ to $57.50{\pm}19.93$ but had no effect on ROM. NRS decreased significantly as the number of trials increased. No one had serious adverse reactions. As described above, the Daoyin exercise therapy combined with complex korean medicine treatment can help reducing low back pain, improving lumbar function, strengthening lumbar muscle power and stamina and improving quality of life of low back pain patients.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.331-334
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• 2016

Purpose: Advanced cancer may accompany cold sweat as paraneoplastic symptom. Few studies have been performed on the efficacy of non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) in advanced cancer patients who sweated without fever. Methods: To select study participants, medical records were retrospectively reviewed for patients who satisfied the following criteria: 1) incurable, advanced solid cancer; 2) Cold sweating of 4 or higher on the numeric rating scale (NRS) 4; 3) No evidence of infection or hypoglycemia; 4) No newly started opioid or anti-hormonal agents within one month; 5) NSAID prescription for the management of cold sweating and 6) Documented NRS information before and after NSAID administration. Results: A total of 13 patients were selected after excluding four patients due to lack of NRS information or fever. The mean age was 59 years old (range: 50~71), and nine patients (69%) were male. Bile duct cancer was the most common primary tumor followed by pancreatic cancer, gastric cancer and prostate cancer. The mean NRS of cold sweating dropped from baseline 6.5 (min-max: 4~10) to 1.9 at the follow-up assessment (min-max: 0~5). The mean follow-up period was 9.1 days (range: 2~30 days) from NSAID treatment to assessment. Conclusion: NSAID was effective medication for management of sweating without fever in patients with advanced cancer.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.193-199
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• 2018

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate electric moxibustion on patients with back pain caused by road traffic accidents. Methods: This was a retrospective study (n = 112) comparing treatment with Korean medicine combined with electric moxibustion (n = 56), and Korean medicine alone (n = 56). Patient gender, age, Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and EuroQol-5 Dimension (EQ-5D) was recorded for each group at the time of hospital admission. Mean NRS measured weekly, mean ODI and EQ-5D scores were measured 2 weeks post-treatment, and evaluated by paired sample t test. using the Statistical Program for Social Science v. 25.0 for Windows. An independent, two-sample t test was used to test for a significant difference in the decrement of NRS, ODI and increment EQ-5D scores between groups. Results: NRS scores decreased in both groups after 1 week of treatment (electric moxibustion, from $5.13{\pm}0.79$ to $3.86{\pm}0.67$; Korean medicine alone, from $5.18{\pm}0.92$ to $4.30{\pm}0.94$; both p < 0.001). There was a significantly greater reduction in NRS score in the electric moxibustion group ($1.27{\pm}0.59$) than in the Korean medicine alone group ($0.88{\pm}0.61$; p = 0.001). After 2 weeks of treatment, EQ-5D scores increased significantly in the moxibustion group ($0.19{\pm}0.12$) compared with the Korean medicine alone group ($0.13{\pm}0.20$; p = 0.043). After 2 weeks of treatment, NRS and ODI scores decreased in both groups. EQ-5D increased in both groups. Conclusion: We suggest that electric moxibustion treatment may be effective for reducing early-stage back pain in patients with road traffic accident injuries.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.17-27
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• 2015

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to evaluate the correlation between HbA1c and pain intensity in diabetic peripheral neuropathy patients, and to compare the difference between two groups divided by the risk of complications. Methods : The participants were 46 men and women suffering from neuropathic pain diagnosed with diabetes mellitus who visited the Hospital of Traditional Korean Medicine, Semyung University from June, 2014 to August, 2015. Age, duration of diabetes mellitus, numeric rating scale(NRS), and Michigan neuropathy screening instrument(MNSI) were used as evaluation tools. Results : 1. In all 46 cases, there were no significant correlations between HbA1c and age, duration of diabetes mellitus, NRS, MNSIQ, or MNSIE. 2. Among 23 cases with a high risk of complications (more than 7.0 % of HbA1c, group A), there were no significant correlations between HbA1c and age, duration of diabetes mellitus, NRS, MNSIQ, or MNSIE. 3. Among 23 cases with a low risk of complications(less than 7.0 % of HbA1c, group B), there were no significant correlations between HbA1c and age, duration of diabetes mellitus, NRS, MNSIQ, or MNSIE. 4. Means of duration of diabetes mellitus, NRS, MNSIQ, and MNSIE were higher in group A than group B, but there were no significant correlations in statistics. Conclusions : This study could not find statistically significant correlations between pain intensity and HbA1c in diabetic peripheral neuropathy patients, so more studies are required in the future.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.187-197
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• 2020

Objectives: This case report aims to report the clinical effectiveness of the combination treatment of Korean medicine on a post-laparoscopic myomectomy patient's lower urinary symptoms (LUTS). Methods: The patient who diagnosed with uterine myoma had Laparoscopic myomectomy. After the operation, the patient complained of dysuria, nocturia, frequent urination, urgent urination and urinary retention. The patient received combination treatment of Korean medicine during 14 days of hospitalization. The treatment included Ohrim-san, acupuncture, moxibustion, and pharmacoacupuncture. The effects were evaluated through the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS), Frequency-Volume chart, and 5-Level version of EuroQol-Five Dimension (EQ-5D-5L). Results: After the treatment, the clinical symptoms such as dysuria, nocturia, frequent urination, urgent urination, urinary retention were improved. Also, the quality of life was enhanced. Conclusions: This case report shows that the combination treatment of Korean Medicine with Ohrim-san may be effective for treating lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) after laparoscopic myomectomy.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.42 no.7
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• pp.1009-1018
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• 2012

Purpose: This study was done to evaluate effectiveness of home healthcare services (HHCS) specialized for elders who received spinal surgeries. Methods: A non-equivalent control group pre-post test quasi-experimental study was performed. HHCS was developed based on the Rice model of dynamic self-determination for self-care. For data collection, a control group (n=23) and an experimental group (n=23) were selected by matching age, BMI, pain, general characteristics and type of spine surgery. Measurement tools to evaluate uncertainty and knowledge were developed by the authors. The Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) and Japanese Orthopedic Association Back Pain Evaluation Questionnaire (JOABPEQ) were used to evaluate pain levels. Muscular strength in the legs was measured using a digital muscle tester and tape ruler. Questionnaires were used to evaluate disability in performing ADL and psychological distress levels. Results: The experimental group showed significant decrease in uncertainty (p=.028), increased knowledge (p=.038), and partially decreased pain (p=.003-.331). Partial muscle strength increased significantly (p=.021-.644). Disability in performing ADL and psychological distress in the experimental group decreased significantly compared to control group (p=.002, p=.004). Conclusion: Results indicate HHCS is an efficient home care nursing program for these elders. Further experimental studies with larger samples are required to confirm effects of HHCS.