• 대한방사선기술학회지:방사선기술과학
• /
• 제47권2호
• /
• pp.97-105
• /
• 2024

The examination needle used in ultrasound biopsy is a medical device used to determine whether there is an abnormality in the tissue. Typically, stainless steel is the standard material used for such needles; however, this study wanted to identify a material that could better enhance sound compared to traditional stainless steel. In this study, six types of needle materials available with the biopsy gun were inserted into pork and ultrasound images according to the curved probe and linear probe were evaluated using ultrasound equipment. The findings revealed significant improvements in ultrasound acoustic enhancement with alternative materials compared to stainless steel (p<0.05). The results regarding the depth of each ultrasound image using the curved probe showed that tungsten and brass had high sound enhancement(p<0.05), while with the linear probe, sound enhancement was high in brass, pla, aluminum, and copper(p<0.05). Due to these results, the previously used stainless needle showed lower ultrasound acoustic enhancement than the five types of materials being compared. Consequently, the outcomes of this study provide valuable insights for the development of new needle technologies aimed at minimizing patient risks and improving diagnostic accuracy.

• 대한예방한의학회지
• /
• 제28권1호
• /
• pp.59-67
• /
• 2024

Objectives : This study aims to systematically examine the determinants of the intention to take herbal medicine among individuals with experience in Korean medicine. Methods : This study utilized the 3,245 respondents from the 2020 Korean Medicine Utilization and Herbal Medicine Consumption Survey who reported having used Korean medical services; the responses were selected through a complex sample analysis, and analytics techniques including frequency analysis, Rao-scott chisquare test, and logistic regression were used to analyze the responses. Results : The results of data analysis reveal that the intention to take herbal medicine in the future among these individuals was significantly influenced by factors such as enrollment in private health insurance, the facility environment of Korean medical institutions, and treatment outcomes. Conclusions : Therefore, it is imperative for Korean medical institutions to continuously try reasonable action strategies, including improving medical facilities/environments and building institutional mechanisms among medical staff and members to enhance the quality of Korean medical services. Additionally, the Ministry of Health and Welfare needs to make policy efforts to reduce patients' medical expenses, such as reducing the co-insurance rate in the pilot project of applying health insurance to herbal medicine.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
• /
• 제26권2호
• /
• pp.83-98
• /
• 2024

Purpose: This study investigated how interprofessional education (IPE) related to medication for undergraduate healthcare students, including nursing students, has been designed and conducted. Furthermore, the outcomes of these IPE programs were evaluated. Methods: A scoping review was performed to understand the content and methods of IPE on medication for undergraduate healthcare students, including nursing students. A literature search was done using PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Embase, Research Information Sharing Service, and Korean Nursing Database in English between January 2000 and December 2022. In total, 14 papers were selected and reviewed. Results: Eleven research studies were conducted on the implementation of one-time IPE on medication safety or errors. Among them, six studies focused on providing IPE to nursing students alongside medical and pharmacy students, while three studies targeted nursing and medical students, and two studies focused on nursing and pharmacy students. The most commonly employed educational method was simulation, which was utilized in 12 studies. All studies consistently reported a positive impact on attitudes toward IPE and effective communication. Additionally, five studies evaluating medication knowledge reported improvements in participants' understanding of drugs. Conclusion: The effects of IPE related to medication for undergraduate nursing students have been confirmed. It is necessary to introduce IPE in the field of pharmacology.

• Korean Circulation Journal
• /
• 제53권9호
• /
• pp.594-605
• /
• 2023

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the Asia-Pacific region, and mortality rates differ between countries in the region. Systems of care have been shown to play a major role in determining AMI outcomes, and this review aims to highlight pre-hospital and in-hospital system deficiencies and suggest possible improvements to enhance quality of care, focusing on Korea, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia as representative countries. Time to first medical contact can be shortened by improving patient awareness of AMI symptoms and the need to activate emergency medical services (EMS), as well as by developing robust, well-coordinated and centralized EMS systems. Additionally, performing and transmitting pre-hospital electrocardiograms, algorithmically identifying patients with high risk AMI and developing hospital networks that appropriately divert such patients to percutaneous coronary intervention-capable hospitals have been shown to be beneficial. Within the hospital environment, developing and following clinical practice guidelines ensures that treatment plans can be standardised, whilst integrated care pathways can aid in coordinating care within the healthcare institution and can guide care even after discharge. Prescription of guideline directed medical therapy for secondary prevention and patient compliance to medications can be further optimised. Finally, the authors advocate for the establishment of more regional, national and international AMI registries for the formal collection of data to facilitate audit and clinical improvement.

• 치위생과학회지
• /
• 제17권1호
• /
• pp.30-37
• /
• 2017

The purpose of this study was to reveal analyze the relationship between status of participation in an oral health care program and oral health outcomes among patients in Korea, and to evaluate the results to provide evidence regarding the feasibility of widespread implementation of the program. Patients were designated as either cooperative or non-cooperative with the oral health care program and were assigned to each group accordingly. Modified dental hygiene process (M-DHP) of the oral healthcare program was modified to form the dental hygiene process. The study included 48 patients at a dental clinic in Busan, Korea. Questionnaires were used to collect information on oral health behavior (OHB), clinical examination was used to record bleeding on probing (BOP) and O'Leary index, and phase microscopy was used to identify microorganisms. Differences between groups were evaluated using repeated measures ANOVA. Our results showed that the group cooperative with the oral health care program showed greater improvement in OHB, BOP, and O'Leary index than the non-cooperative group. Second, patient satisfaction with the M-DHP was very high, particularly for content and the friendly nature of the staff. The cooperative group showed greater improvement in oral health than the non-cooperative group for all metrics. Our results suggest that this low-coste program, if implemented, would be actively accepted and utilized in dental clinics.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• 제67권6호
• /
• pp.491-498
• /
• 2009

Severe sepsis and septic shock are major healthcare problems with high mortality, ranging from 20% to 60%, affecting millions of individuals around the world each year. The speed and appropriateness of therapy administered in the initial hours after severe sepsis develops have an important impact on the outcome. In 2004, an international guideline that the bedside clinician could use to improve the outcomes in severe cases of sepsis and septic shock was published. Several landmark studies recently demonstrated that therapeutic strategies may reduce mortality substantially. The "Surviving Sepsis Campaign guidelines for management of severe sepsis and septic shock: 2008", using a new evidence-based methodology system for assessing the quality of evidence and the strength of the recommendations, was updated. The revised version is based on an updated search into 2007. Evidenced-based recommendations regarding the acute management of sepsis and septic shock are the first step toward improving the outcomes of critically ill patients. We review the treatment guidelines of sepsis and septic shock.

• 한국의료질향상학회지
• /
• 제17권1호
• /
• pp.69-78
• /
• 2011

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to determine whether the published AMI report card could reduce in-patient mortality, 7-day after discharge mortality, and length of stay (LOS). Methods : Interrupted time-series intervention analysis was used to evaluate the impact of the report card for AMI care quality in November 2005 in terms of risk-adjusted in-patient mortality, risk-adjusted 7-day after discharge mortality, and DRGs case-mix LOS using the claim data of Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. Results : Public disclosure of AMI care quality decreased risk-adjusted in-patient mortality and DRGs case-mix LOS by 0.00050% per month and 0.042 days per month respectively, however there was no effect on risk-adjusted 7-day after discharge mortality. Patterns of effect of public disclosure on AMI outcomes were a fluctuating pattern on risk-adjusted mortalities and a pulse impact for 1 month on DRGs case-mix LOS. Conclusions : We found the public disclosure of AMI care quality had decreasing effects on risk-adjusted in-patient mortality and DRGs case-mix LOS, but the size of the effect was marginal.

• 한국전문물리치료학회지
• /
• 제16권1호
• /
• pp.34-41
• /
• 2009

The purpose of this study is to compare the outcomes of manual stretching treatment with those of motor development and positioning physical therapy (MDPPT) for congenital muscular torticollis (CMT). This study was designed to be randomized controlled trials and to evaluate the outcomes of 43 consecutive patients with CMT who were first seen when they were average 26 days old. Before treatments, the patients were unintentionallv classified into two clinical groups along with the treatment methods. Among the 43 patients, 22 were classified to the manual stretching group and 21 to the MDPPT group. By means of independent t-test on the result. the duration of treatment according to methods was not significantly different in two groups (p>.05). The duration of treatment in accordance with head tilt level was not significantly different in two groups (p>.05). There was change of mass diameter, between at the beginning day of treatment and after treatment in manual stretching group with a strong positive linear correlation (p=.000, r=.734), but slightly positive linear correlation in MDPPT group. The result of this study indicates that two therapeutic methods make little difference in effectiveness.

• 유통과학연구
• /
• 제19권11호
• /
• pp.37-48
• /
• 2021

Purpose: The importance of sustainability in the supply chain has steadily risen in recent decades as a result of the growing awareness on the social issues. The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between social sustainability practices and performance outcomes, as well as explore the mediating role of supply chain integration on that relationship. Research design, data and methodology: PLS-SEM model is developed to identify the impacts of sustainability on performance outcomes and the mediating role of supply chain integration. We received 285 responses from medium and large companies located in Vietnam, and after filtering, 206 responses were used for further analysis. Results: Our findings showed that sustainability impacts significantly on integration and performance in the supply chain. Moreover, the result indicates that supplier integration and internal integration mediate the relationship between social sustainability practices and supply chain performance, while customer integration mediation role was not found significant at all. Conclusions: Our results prove that social sustainability practices can link all the stakeholders and enhance collaboration. To maintain sustainable development, firms should embrace values of sustainability to improve the well-being, working condition, and healthcare of their employees as well as the advancement of local society.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
• /
• 제24권12호
• /
• pp.1249-1259
• /
• 2023

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) for osteoporosis screening. Materials and Methods: Eligible patients who had and had not undergone DXA screening were identified from among those aged 50 years or older at Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan. Age, sex, screening year (index year), and Charlson comorbidity index of the DXA and non-DXA groups were matched using inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) for propensity score analysis. For cost-effectiveness analysis, a societal perspective, 1-year cycle length, 20-year time horizon, and discount rate of 2% per year for both effectiveness and costs were adopted in the incremental cost-effectiveness (ICER) model. Results: The outcome analysis included 10337 patients (female:male, 63.8%:36.2%) who were screened for osteoporosis in southern Taiwan between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2021. The DXA group had significantly better outcomes than the non-DXA group in terms of fragility fractures (7.6% vs. 12.5%, P < 0.001) and mortality (0.6% vs. 4.3%, P < 0.001). The DXA screening strategy gained an ICER of US$ -2794 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) relative to the non-DXA at the willingness-to-pay threshold of US$ 33004 (Taiwan's per capita gross domestic product). The ICER after stratifying by ages of 50-59, 60-69, 70-79, and ≥ 80 years were US$ -17815, US$ -26862, US$ -28981, and US$ -34816 per QALY, respectively. Conclusion: Using DXA to screen adults aged 50 years or older for osteoporosis resulted in a reduced incidence of fragility fractures, lower mortality rate, and reduced total costs. Screening for osteoporosis is a cost-saving strategy and its effectiveness increases with age. However, caution is needed when generalizing these cost-effectiveness results to all older populations because the study population consisted mainly of women.