• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.23-34
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• 2022

Purpose : This study examined the effects of pain, neck dysfunction, psychosocial level, headache impact test (HIT), postural alignment, and trapezius muscle tone of the complex exercise program using dynamic taping in patients with tension headache and chronic neck pain with forward head posture. Methods : The design of this is a randomized controlled trial (RCT). Thirty-four patients with chronic neck pain were screened using a randomized assignment program and assigned to experimental group (n=17) and control group (n=17). Both groups underwent a complex exercise program. In addition, the experimental group dynamic taping was applied to the upper trapezius muscle. All interventions were applied three times per week for four weeks. The visual analogue scale (VAS), the neck disability index (NDI), short form-12 health survey questionnaire (SF-12), Headache impact test-6 (HIT-6), Craniovertebral angle (CVA), Cranial rotation angle (CRA), upper trapezius muscle tone were compared to evaluate the effect on intervention. Results : Both groups showed significant differences before and after the intervention in VAS, NDI, SF-12, HIT-6, and CVA, CRA (p<.05). In addition, significant differences in NDI and upper trapezius muscle tone were observed between the experimental group and control group (p<.05). Conclusion : A complex exercise program using dynamic taping for patients with tension headache and chronic neck pain with forward head posture are effective method with clinical significance in improving the function and reducing upper trapezius muscle tone.

• Clinical Endoscopy
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.335-341
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• 2024

Background/Aims: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has affected the worldwide practice of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Here we designed a modified N95 respirator with a channel for endoscope insertion and evaluated its efficacy in upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Methods: Thirty patients scheduled for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy were randomized into the modified N95 (n=15) or control (n=15) group. The mask was placed on the patient after anesthesia administration and particles were counted every minute before (baseline) and during the procedure by a TSI AeroTrak particle counter (9306-04; TSI Inc.) and categorized by size (0.3, 0.5, 1, 3, 5, and 10 ㎛). Differences in particle counts between time points were recorded. Results: During the procedure, the modified N95 group displayed significantly smaller overall particle sizes than the control group (median [interquartile range], 231 [54-385] vs. 579 [213-1,379]×10³/m³; p=0.056). However, the intervention group had a significant decrease in 0.3-㎛ particles (68 [-25 to 185] vs. 242 [72-588] ×10³/m³; p=0.045). No adverse events occurred in either group. The device did not cause any inconvenience to the endoscopists or patients. Conclusions: This modified N95 respirator reduced the number of particles, especially 0.3-㎛ particles, generated during upper gastrointestinal endoscopy.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.326-336
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of heparin and 0.9% normal saline solution flushing for maintaining patency of non­tunneled central venous catheters in patients with surgery. Methods: A randomized controlled clinical trial was performed. Fifty­eight patients were prospectively enrolled and fifty-four patients were completed the study. The heparin group consisted of 30 patients given 100u/ml diluted heparin flushing and the normal saline group consisted of 24 patients with 0.9% sodium chloride flushing. Results: There was no significantly difference in occlusion between the heparin group and the normal saline group in non­tunneled central venous catheters' occlusion. Also there was no difference between these two groups in catheter­related infections. Conclusion: Flushing with 0.9% normal saline is as effective as flushing with heparin solution in maintaining the patency of non­tunneled central venous catheters. In this study, however, the duration of central line use was short and the infection occurrence was little. Further studies are warranted with a larger sample size at multiple centers.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.107-119
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• 2017

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of moxibustion for primary dysmenorrhea (PD). Methods: We searched 10 electronic databases (CNKI, WANFANG, VIP, AMED, CiNii, Embase, PubMed, Cochrane, OASIS, Korea Traditional Knowledge Portal) to identify eligible studies published before November 2016. We included randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) using moxibustion for primary dysmenorrhea. The methodological quality of each RCT was assessed by the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Results: Ten RCT studies were eligible in our review. The overall risk of bias was evaluated as unclear. The meta-analysis of 4 trials indicated that favorable results for the use of moxibustion. Conclusions: This systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials suggests that moxibustion can achieve good efficacy for PD patients. However, because of studies included analysis was biased due to unclear risk of bias and unreliable study design, future high-quality RCT studies are needed to determine the association moxibustion with PD.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.99-111
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• 2011

Objectives : The aim of this study is to estimate traditional Korean medicine (TKM) practitioners' awareness and attitudes about acupuncture clinical study toward evidence based medicine (EBM). Methods : We conducted two surveys before and after the workshop. First survey, about the awareness and attitudes toward EBM was carried out with questionnaire. Second survey, about their changes in the attitudes toward EBM after the workshop was carried out with on-line questionnaire. Results : 70.0 % of respondents shows interest in the trends of clinical research. In contrast, 26.0 % of respondents used to search papers by themselves. 30.3 % of respondents reported that they apply the result of researches to their practice. 41.0 % of respondents thought that case study is needed for their practice, whereas 29.5 % responded that randomized controlled trial is most important. In the second survey, the attitudes toward EBM were changes positive. fair number of respondents usually get information from data regardless of EBM for their practice, but 23.5 % of respondents refer to the journals. Conclusions : The awareness and needs for education on the attendees toward EBM is quite high, and the effect of education is possibly influential. We expect the improvement on the refresher and the extension of education course for practitioners, and undergraduate curriculum.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.118-122
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• 2020

Background: Compared with conventional closed therapy, acupotomy has the advantages of lower cost, convenient application, and better single and long-term effects. The aim of this study was to explore the clinical effect of acupotomy in the treatment of Tarsal Tunnel syndrome. Methods: There were 80 patients enrolled into the study who were randomly assigned to either the acupotomy or closed therapy group, with 40 patients in each group. The acupotomy group was treated once every 6 days, on 3 occasions for the duration of treatment, and the closed therapy group was treated twice a week, for 3 weeks as the course of treatment. The effects of treatment were analyzed and evaluated according to the standard of curative effect. Results: The "cure rate" of the number of patients in the acupotomy group whose symptoms had completely disappeared (13 patient out of 39) was higher than the closed therapy group (1 patient out of 39), and this difference was significant (p < 0.01). The number of patients in the acupotomy group who did not benefit from the therapy (5 patients) was significantly lower than the closed therapy group (15 patients; p < 0.05). The total number of patients in the acupotomy group who benefitted from the therapy (34 patients) resulted in an effective rate of 87.18%, which was higher than the closed therapy group (24 patients; 61.53%). The difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Acupotomy is effective in the treatment of Tarsal Tunnel syndrome, was superior to traditional closed therapy, and is worthy of clinical application.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.337-349
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• 2016

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare and analyze the peri-implant tissue conditions and prospective clinical outcomes associated with 2 types of hydroxyapatite (HA)-coated implants: (1) fully HA-coated implants and (2) partially HA-coated implants with resorbable blast medium on the coronal portion of the threads. Methods: Forty-four partially edentulous patients were randomly assigned to undergo the placement of 62 HA-coated implants, and were classified as the control group (partially HA-coated, n=30) and the test group (fully HA-coated, n=32). All patients had chronic periodontitis with moderate crestal bone loss around the edentulous area. The stability and clinical outcomes of the implants were evaluated using the primary and secondary implant stability quotient (ISQ), as well as radiographic, mobility, and peri-implant soft tissue assessments around the implants. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test and the Mann-Whitney test were used to evaluate differences between and within the 2 groups, with P values <0.05 considered to indicate statistical significance. Results: The fully HA-coated implants displayed good retention of crestal bone, and insignificant differences were found in annual marginal bone loss between the 2 types of HA-coated implants (P>0.05). No significant differences were found in the survival rate (group I, 100%; group II, 100%) or the success rate (group I, 93.3%; group II, 93.8%). The fully HA-coated implants also did not significantly increase the risk of peri-implantitis (P>0.05). Conclusions: The fully HA-coated implants did not lead to an increased risk of peri-implantitis and showed good retention of the crestal bone, as well as good survival and success rates. Our study suggests that fully HA-coated implants could become a reliable treatment alternative for edentulous posterior sites and are capable of providing good retention of the crestal bone.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.1255-1259
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• 2016

Background: Oral physiotherapy or mouth exercise is considered to be an adjunct but mandatory treatment modality for oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF). This study planned to evaluate the clinical efficacy of a newly designed mouth exercising device (MED) in OSMF patients receiving local ointment, intra-lesional drugs and surgical treatment. Materials and Methods: A total of 231 OSMF patients were selected and treated with basic regime including topical corticosteroids, oral antioxidants and the icecream-stick exercise regime and allotted randomly to two equal groups A and B. Group-A patients were additionally given MED. Subgroups A1 and B1 patients with an inter-incisal distance (IID) 20-35mm were not given any additional therapy; subgroup A2 and B2 patients (IID 20-35mm) were treated additionally with intra-lesional injections. Subgroups A3 and B3 with IID<20mm were managed surgically. IID was measured at baseline and at 6 months recall. The change in IID measurements was calculated and statistically analyzed using 2-way ANOVA and Tukeys multiple post hoc analysis. Results: Average improvement in IID after six months of recall visits was observed to be 8.4 mm in subgroup-A1 (n-53) compared to 5.5 mm in B1(n-50) (p<0.01). The IID improvement in subgroup-A2 was found to be 9.3mm (n-46) compared to 5.1 mm in B2 (n-48) (p<0.01). In the surgery group, mouth opening improvement was observed to be 9.6 mm in subgroup A3 (n-18) compared to 4.8 mm for B3 (n-16) (p<0.01). Conclusions: Use of the MED appears to be effective for increasing oral opening in OMSF patients in conjunction with local, injection and/or surgical treatment.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.415-425
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• 2016

Purpose: The present study investigated the impact of 2 different suture techniques, the conventional crossed mattress suture (X suture) and the novel hidden X suture, for alveolar ridge preservation (ARP) with an open healing approach. Methods: This study was a prospective randomized controlled clinical trial. Fourteen patients requiring extraction of the maxillary or mandibular posterior teeth were enrolled and allocated into 2 groups. After extraction, demineralized bovine bone matrix mixed with 10% collagen (DBBM-C) was grafted and the socket was covered by porcine collagen membrane in a double-layer fashion. No attempt to obtain primary closure was made. The hidden X suture and conventional X suture techniques were performed in the test and control groups, respectively. Cone-beam computed tomographic (CBCT) images were taken immediately after the graft procedure and before implant surgery 4 months later. Additionally, the change in the mucogingival junction (MGJ) position was measured and was compared after extraction, after suturing, and 4 months after the operation. Results: All sites healed without any complications. Clinical evaluations showed that the MGJ line shifted to the lingual side immediately after the application of the X suture by $1.56{\pm}0.90mm$ in the control group, while the application of the hidden X suture rather pushed the MGJ line slightly to the buccal side by $0.25{\pm}0.66mm$. It was demonstrated that the amount of keratinized tissue (KT) preserved on the buccal side was significantly greater in the hidden X suture group 4 months after the procedure (P<0.05). Radiographic analysis showed that the hidden X suture had a significant effect in preserving horizontal width and minimizing vertical reduction in comparison to X suture (P<0.05). Conclusions: Our study provided clinical and radiographic verification of the efficacy of the hidden X suture in preserving the width of KT and the dimensions of the alveolar ridge after ARP.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.47-60
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• 2019

Objectives This study reviewed recent clinical research trends regarding the effectiveness of herbal medicine treatments for knee osteoarthritis. Methods We reviewed 4 different online databases (PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure [CNKI], National Digital Science Library [NDSL], Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System [OASIS]) from January 1, 2015 to August 31, 2019. Results Thirty-two randomized controlled trial papers were selected in this review. Most of them were conducted during 12 weeks, used Western Ontario and Mcmaster Universities Arthritis Index. In 22 of the papers, the effectiveness in the intervention groups was significantly higher than that in the control groups statistically (p<0.05). 5 studies reported intervention group was not inferior to the control group. Conclusions Most of studies showed herbal medicine treatments were statistically effective to knee osteoarthritis. More scientific and systematic clinical studies should be actively conducted in the future, and the results of this study could be used as basic data in the future clinical studies on herbal medicine treatment for knee osteoarthritis.