• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.229-234
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• 2016

PURPOSE. The purpose of this study was to investigate the demographic patterns of maxillofacial prosthetic treatment to identify the characteristics and geographic distribution of patients with maxillofacial prosthetics in the capital region of Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS. This retrospective analytical multicenter study was performed by chart reviews. This study included patients who visited the department of prosthodontics at four university dental hospitals for maxillofacial prosthetic rehabilitation. Patients with facial and congenital defects or with insufficient medical data were excluded. The patients were classified into three categories based on the location of the defect. Patients' sex, age, and residential area were analyzed. Pearson's chi-square test with a significance level of 0.05 was used to analyze the variables. RESULTS. Among 540 patients with maxillofacial prosthetics, there were 284 (52.59%) male patients and 256 (47.41%) female patients. The number of the patients varied greatly by hospital. Most patients were older than 70, and the most common defect was a hard palate defect. Chi-square analysis did not identify any significant differences in sex, age, and distance to hospital for any defect group (P>.05). CONCLUSION. The results of this study indicated that there was imbalance in the distribution of patients with maxillofacial prosthetic among the hospitals in the capital region of Korea. Considerations on specialists and insurance policies for the improvement of maxillofacial prosthetics in Korea are required.

• Advances in pediatric surgery
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.122-132
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• 1995

Teratoma contains elements derived from all three embryonic germ layers and mature teratomas are entirely composed of mature differentiated tissues, while immature types always contain additional embryonic tissues of variable degree of immaturity, especially neuroepithelial elements. Twenty cases of teratoma in infancy and childhood were reviewed and the clinical features and pathologic findings including PCNA expression were studied. Sacrococcygeal teratomas were the most common type(45%), followed by retroperitoneal and ovarian teratomas. There was a predilection of females in a ratio of 4:1 and age distribution was most prevalent below the first year of age(45%). But in ovarian teratomas, the age at diagnosis was above 4 years of age in all cases. Serum alpha-fetoprotein levels were checked in 18 cases. In all mature teratomas and 1 of 5 immature teratomas, the levels were normal. But in 4 of 5 immature teratomas, the serum levels were elevated and progressively declined to normal range after mass excision. Radiologically, calcifications in tumor were found in 60.0% of teratomas and was higher in mature teratomas(69.2%) than immature teratomas(42.9%). Immunohistochemical staining for PCNA(proliferating cell nuclear antigen) was done in 16 cases and PCNA expression was higher in grade III immature teratomas than grade I and II. The operative modes were complete mass excisions. Five immature teratomas were treated with multiagent PEB(Bleomycin, Etoposide, Cisplatin) adjuvant chemotherapy, 3 tolerated well without significant complications, but in one case, severe bone marrow suppression was developed and died of sepsis. In conclusion, grade III immature teratoma showed higher PCNA expression than mature or lower grade immature teratoma, which suggests that chemotherapy after surgical excision may be effective modality for grade III immature teratoma. We think, however, multicenter study is necessary because of low incidence of immature teratoma.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.452-459
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to examine the correlation between general health condition and biopsychological traits of Sasang typology which determines the disease susceptibility and treatment responses. We had Korean Constitutional Multicenter Bank (KCMB) listed 1156 participants for measuring Sasang Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) and Body Mass Index (BMI) for biopsychological traits of each Sasang types as well as Short Form 12 (SF12) for general health status. All the analysis was performed with consideration of gender and age. We analyzed the differences in general health status between Sasang types and the correlation between general health status and biopsychological traits of Sasang typology. We also analyzed how much the selected SF12 subscales can be explained with biopsychosocial characteristics. There were no generaliszable differences among Sasang type groups in SF12, no significant correlation between biopsychological traits and SF12 Physical and Mental Component Summary. We found that there were significant correlations between SPQ-Behavior subscale and SF12 Vitality, and the regression model with SPQ-Behavior, SPQ-Emotionality, age and sex can predict 15.4% of the total variances in SF12 Vitality. We discussed the possibility that the Sasang typology is not a determinant of general health status but a moderator for the susceptibility and response. This study would contribute to the development of Sasang type-specific life nurturing program focusing on the psychological perspectives.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.775-791
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• 2010

Objectives : Woohwangchungsim-won has been used for acute diseases such as cerebrovascular disease (stroke), heart disease. The aim of this study was to determine the effects, significance & necessity of Woohwangchungsim-won in acute stages of these disease by reviewing Korean articles about Woohwangchungsim-won. Methods : Article searches were performed on 8 major Korean web article search engine from January 1980 to August 2010. There were no restrictions on the types of publication, including grey articles. Results : Forty-three articles were included. Twenty one were efficacy tests, thirteen were comparative efficacy tests, eight were toxicity tests, and one was new method development. Eighteen articles were multicenter studies and twenty five were single center studies. Thirty two articles were animal testing, only ten articles were clinical articles. Thirty seven articles presented the composition and quantity of Woohwangchungsim-won, but six did not. Conclusions : The results of Korean articles about Woohwangchungsim-won can not strongly support the effects, significance & necessity of Woohwangchungsim-won. More rigorous studies are required for determination of the effects of Woohwangchungsim-won.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.129-139
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• 2000

Clinical observation was made on 210 cases of CVA that were confirmed through brain CT, MRI scan and clinical observation. They were hospitalized in the oriental medical hospital of Kyungwon University from January to December in 1998. Objective : To evaluate the current status of cerebrovascular disease in Korea, we performed observation on stroke patients. Methods : We performed a retrospective study on 210 cases of stroke who had been admitted to the Dept. of Internal Medicine, College of Oriental Medicine, Kyungwon University from Jan. 1, 1998 to Dec. 31, 1998. Results : The incidence was highest in the patients with the age of above fifty. The frequency of strokes was similar between male and female cases. Ischemic stroke(70.0%) was more common than hemorrhagic stroke(20.5%), with transient ischemic attacks(9.5%) occuring less frequently. Middle cerebra! arterial territory was the most commonly involved site in ischemic strokes. Among intracerebral hemorrhages, putaminal hemorrhages were found in 69.8%, and was followed by IVH(9.3%), IVH with ICH(7.0%), subcortical hemorrhages (4.7%) and pontine hemorrhages(4.7%). The most ordinary preceding disease was hypertension. The next was diabetes mellitus. Most cases were given simultaneous treatment in both western and oriental medical methods. Conclusions : Generally it is thought that CVA occurs frequently in winter. But our observations reveal no such relationship. The predisposing factors of cerebral infarction were usually initiated during the time of resting and sleeping and those of cerebral hemorrhage chiefly during the time of exercising. I Patients whose condition of consciousness was bad at the time of admission tended to have a bad prognosis. This study suggests changing trends of stroke in Korea, and that a multicenter prospective study using stroke registry is required for confirmation.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.59-67
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• 2018

Purpose: to compare cut off points corrected for age and gender (COOP) with fixed cut off points (FCOP) for fasting plasma insulin and Homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) for the diagnosis of IR in obese children and adolescents and their correlation with dyslipidemia. Methods: A multicenter, cross-sectional study including 383 subjects aged 7 to 18 years, evaluating fasting blood glucose, plasma insulin, and lipid profile. Subjects with high insulin levels and/or HOMA-IR were considered as having IR, based on two defining criteria: FCOP or CCOP. The frequency of metabolic abnormalities, the presence of IR, and the presence of dyslipidemia in relation to FCOP or CCOP were analyzed using Fisher and Mann-Whitney exact tests. Results: Using HOMA-IR, IR was diagnosed in 155 (40.5%) and 215 (56.1%) patients and, using fasting insulin, 150 (39.2%) and 221 (57.7%), respectively applying FCOP and CCOP. The use of CCOP resulted in lower insulin and HOMA-IR values than FCOP. Dyslipidemia was not related to FCOP or CCOP. Blood glucose remained within normal limits in all patients with IR. There was no difference in the frequency of IR identified by plasma insulin or HOMA-IR, both for FCOP and CCOP. Conclusion: The CCOP of plasma insulin or of HOMA-IR detected more cases of IR as compared to the FCOP, but were not associated with the frequency of dyslipidemia. As blood glucose has almost no fluctuation in this age group, even in the presence of IR, fasting plasma insulin detected the same cases of IR that would be detected by HOMA-IR.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.146-153
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• 2020

Purpose: Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (A1ATD) in one of the most common genetic causes of liver disease in children. We aimed to analyze the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with A1ATD. Methods: This study included patients with A1ATD from five pediatric hepatology units. Demographics, clinical findings, genetics, and outcome of the patients were recorded (n=25). Results: Eight patients (32.0%) had homozygous PiZZ genotype while 17 (68.0%) had heterozygous genotype. Patients with PiZZ genotype had lower alpha-1 antitrypsin levels than patients with PiMZ genotype (37.6±7.7 mg/dL vs. 66.5±22.7 mg/dL, p=0.0001). Patients with PiZZ genotype were diagnosed earlier than patients with PiMZ genotype, but this was not significant (13±6.8 months vs. 23.7±30.1 months, p=0.192). Follow-up revealed the death of one patient (12.5%) with a homozygous mutation, and revealed that one patient had child A cirrhosis, five patients (62.5%) had chronic hepatitis, and one patient (12.5%) was asymptomatic. Nine of the 17 patients with a heterozygous mutation had chronic hepatitis (52.9%), two (11.7%) had child A cirrhosis, and six (35.2%) were asymptomatic. Overall, 18 (72%) of the 25 children had liver pathology in the long-term. Conclusion: Although prevalence is rare, patients with liver disorders should be checked for alpha-1 antitrypsin levels. Moreover, long-term follow-up is essential because most patients have a liver pathology.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.633-638
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• 2001

Objective : Stroke is the most frequent cause of death in Korea. Because it remains severe disablities disturbing normal life, it is important to carry out intervention preventing from progression of condition in patients with acute ischemic stroke within therapeutic time window. Thus early thrombolysis is beneficial for patients with acute ischemic stroke. However its therapeutic efficacy is not known in combination with oriental medical therapy. In this study, we investigated the safety and the clinical effect of continous intravenous urokinase therapy and oriental medical therapy. Methods : Twenty eight patients with acute onset of ischemic stroke no later than three days received continous infusion of urokinase and oriental medical therapy. We estimated the subjects's neurological deficit and functional status with National institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke Scale(NIHSS) and Europian Stroke Scale (ESS) prior to therapy, on day 3, 7, 14 after the starting urokinase therapy and on day at discharge. Results: After day 7, the scores of NIHSS and ESS were improved significantly. There are no differences in therapeutic effects of the interval between onset of stroke and initiation of therapy. Complication were noted in four(14%) patients, but these are not fatal complication and make no neurological deficiency. Conclusion : The results of these investment suggest that continuous intravenous urokinase with oriental medical therapy could be a safe and effective intervention to prevent from progression in acute ischemic stroke. But this findings should be confirmed in multicenter double blind controlled trial.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.63 no.4
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• pp.135-140
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• 2020

Background: Breastfeeding reportedly reduces the overall frequency of infections. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the most common respiratory pathogen in infants, involves recurrent wheezing and has a pathogenic mechanism related to airway structural damage. Purpose: This study aimed to investigate whether breastfeeding has a beneficial effect against RSV-induced respiratory infection compared to formula feeding among infants in Korea. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of infants under 1 year of age who were admitted with RSV infection between January 2016 and February 2018 at the department of pediatrics of 4 hospitals. We investigated the differences in clinical parameters such as cyanosis, chest retraction, combined infection, fever duration, oxygen use, oxygen therapy duration, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and corticosteroid treatment of exclusive breast milk feeding (BMF), artificial milk formula fed (AMF), and mixed feeding (MF) groups. Results: Among the 411 infants included in our study, 94, 161, and 156 were included in the BMF, MF, and AMF groups, respectively. The rates of oxygen therapy were significantly different among the BMF (4.3%), MF (8.1%), and AMF (13.5 %) groups (P=0.042). The odds ratios (ORs) for oxygen therapy was significantly higher in the AMF group than in the BMF group (adjusted OR, 3.807; 95% confidence interval, 1.22-11.90; P=0.021). The ICU admission rate of the BMF group (1.1%) was lower than that of the MF (3.5%) and AMF (4.5%) groups; however, the dissimilarity was not statistically significant (P=0.338). Conclusion: The severity of RSV infection requiring oxygen therapy was lower in the BMF than the AMF group. This protective role of human milk on RSV infection might decrease the need for oxygen therapy suggesting less airway damage.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.16-20
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• 2008

Objective : Rapid increase in aged population and westernization of lifestyle have modified epidemiological status of stroke. The purpose of this study is to analyze changing trends of stroke epidemiology in South Korea. Methods : We reviewed retrospectively medical records of 1,124 cases diagnosed as stroke among 54,534 patients who visited the Emergency Medical Center at our hospital from January 1994 to December 1996 (Group A). Also, we evaluated 1,705 cases diagnosed as stroke among 55,381 patients who visited to the same hospital from January 2003 to December 2005 (Group B). The variable features of stroke, such as age, sex, seasonal variation and distribution of stroke subtypes were studied by comparing group A with B. Results : In group A, hemorrhagic stroke (67.9%) was more prevalent than ischemic stroke (32.1%). However, group B showed that the ratio of hemorrhagic stroke (40.3%) to ischemic stroke (59.6%) has been reversed. The highest incidence of stroke was noted in their sixties and seventies of age in group B, which was older than that of group A. In group A, male ischemic stroke (IS) patients outnumbered female patients (1.26:1). Moreover, this gender disproportion became higher in group B (1.53:1). In group A, the number of male intracerebral hermorrhage (ICH) patients were similar to that of female patients (0.97:1). However, male ICH patients outnumbered female patients in group B (1.23:1). As for subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), female patients outnumbered male patients more than two-fold in both groups. Both groups showed that the occurrence of ischemic stroke was highest in summer, but that of hemorrhagic stroke was the highest in winter. Conclusion : This study showed the changing trends of stroke in its distribution of subtypes. Multicenter prospective study using stroke registry would be required for the determination of national epidemiologic trends.