• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.205-212
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• 2018

Objectives: The main purpose of this study was to quantify the risk of mortality linked to various regimens of hypertonic peritoneal dialysis (PD) solution. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of patients using home-based PD was carried out. The prescribed regimen of glucose-based PD solution for all patients, determined on the basis of their individual conditions, was extracted from their medical chart records. The primary outcome was death. The treatment regimens were categorized into 3 groups according to the type of PD solution used: original PD (1.5% glucose), shuffle PD (1.5 and 2.5% glucose), and serialized PD (2.5 and 4.5% glucose). Multivariate analysis (using the Weibull model) was applied to comprehensively examine survival probabilities related to the explanatory variable, while adjusting for other potential confounders. Results: Of 300 consecutive patients, 38% died over a median follow-up time of 30 months (interquartile range: 15-46 months). Multivariate analysis showed that a treatment regimen with continued higher-strength PD solution (serialized PD) resulted in a lower survival rate than when the conventional strength solution was used (adjusted hazard ratio, 2.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.6 to 4.6, p<0.01). Five interrelated risk factors (age, length of time on PD, hemoglobin levels, albumin levels, and oliguria) were significant predictors contributing to the outcome. Conclusions: Frequent exposure to high levels of glucose PD solution significantly contributed to a 2-fold higher rate of death, especially when hypertonic glucose was prescribed continuously.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.708-716
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• 2018

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to conduct a clinical analysis of gastrointestinal cancer patients treated with Korean medical therapy. Methods: We analyzed a retrospective review of 226 gastrointestinal cancer patients treated in the cancer center of a Korean medicine hospital from February 2012 to August 2017. The patients' general characteristics, including the tumor, origin, stage of cancer, type of treatment, and chief complaint, were investigated before and after the treatment. Results: The largest proportion of tumor origins in total patients and inpatients was gastric cancer. Overall, 54.9% of the patients' tumors were stage IV. In total, 65.9% of patients visited the Oriental hospital for combination treatment with conventional medicine. The patients' chief complaints were abdominal discomfort, general weakness, and general cancer-related pain. Conclusions: This study presented the characteristics of patients with gastrointestinal cancer treated with Oriental medicine. Further advanced studies of Oriental medical cancer treatments are needed, based on the findings of this study.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.182-189
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• 2015

Purpose: We performed a quantitative and qualitative analysis in the Journal of the Korean Society of Traumatology (JKST) by Bibliometrics to know the trends of articles. Methods: We reviewed articles in the JKST retrospectively through 1988 to 2014. Articles were classified into original articles, case reports, review articles, and also it is further classified as topics and the information related to the Department of Medicine of corresponding author. Original article was classified prospective and retrospective studies. Results: 753 studies and average of 27.9 studies per year were posted on JKST. 576 original articles (76.5%) were posted. Retrospective studies around 449 studies (78%) were posted and there were about 35 descript studies and 541 analytic studies. The most common themes were related to abdominal trauma, 144 pieces, 95 pieces following damage to the chest and the 84 pieces of special order of trauma. Emergency department had the highest case whereas general surgery came to the second place. Conclusion: Recently, there has been reduced proportion of original article in JKST. It was not possible to evaluate the Korea Citation index journals due to the fact that it does not correspond to listed register Journal of National Foundation of Korea. There will be the need for the effort to improve the maintenance of the posted article number, as well as the qualitative development of the posted articles.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.173-178
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• 2005

Objective: The goal of this study is to provide the clinical data of patients with brainstem cavernous hemangiomas after treatment with microsurgery or radiosurgery after conducting a retrospective analysis of 21 patients at one institution. Methods: Twenty one patients with brainstem cavernous hemangiomas were treated at the authors' institution between 1995 and 2004 and clinical analysis was performed by retrospective review of medical records and neuroimaging examinations. Thirteen patients underwent microsurgical resection and radiosurgery was performed as an initial treatment in 9 patients. Results: Radical excision was achieved in 12 among 13 patients and transitory neurological deterioration or new neurological deficit developed during the immediate postoperative period in 7 (54%). The final outcomes at 5 - 70 months after surgery were improved in 11 patients (85%) and worsened in 2 patients (15%) compared with the preoperative state. Radiosurgery was performed in 9 patients. During the follow up period from 5 to 70 months there was neurological improvement in 3 patients, no significant change in 3 and deterioration in 3 patients. Two patients developed rebleeding at 5 months, 60 months respectively after radiosurgery. Conclusion: Microsurgery for symptomatic cavernous hemangioma of brainstem can be performed with acceptable morbidity. Fatal complication is rare with careful selection of the optimal operative approach in well selected patients. Radiosurgery is an effective alternative for the lesions which are not accessible by surgical approach, however, there is still a possibility of rebleeding over a long period after radiosurgical treatment and microsurgery should be considered as a treatment with priority for the majority of cases.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.455-462
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• 2014

Objective : To propose a new measure for effective monitoring of intraoperative somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP) and to validate the feasibility of this measure for evoked potentials (EP) and single trials with a retrospective data analysis study. Methods : The proposed new measure (hereafter, a slope-measure) was defined as the relative slope of the amplitude and latency at each EP peak compared to the baseline value, which is sensitive to the change in the amplitude and latency simultaneously. We used the slope-measure for EP and single trials and compared the significant change detection time with that of the conventional peak-to-peak method. When applied to single trials, each single trial signal was processed with optimal filters before using the slope-measure. In this retrospective data analysis, 7 patients who underwent cerebral aneurysm clipping surgery for unruptured aneurysm middle cerebral artery (MCA) bifurcation were included. Results : We found that this simple slope-measure has a detection time that is as early or earlier than that of the conventional method; furthermore, using the slope-measure in optimally filtered single trials provides warning signs earlier than that of the conventional method during MCA clipping surgery. Conclusion : Our results have confirmed the feasibility of the slope-measure for intraoperative SEP monitoring. This is a novel study that provides a useful measure for either EP or single trials in intraoperative SEP monitoring.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.41-52
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• 2016

Objectives: There are no studies which have investigated the health related quality of life(HRQOL) about stroke patients according to the medical care utilization behavior by longitudinal analysis. The purpose of this study is to analyze the quality of life(QOL) and quality adjusted life years(QALYs) of stroke patients of western and combined treatment group by longitudinal analysis. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted among 37 new patients who initiated diagnosis with stroke in 2009 from Korea Health Panel Data. We analyzed the HRQOL of stroke patients and calculated the QALYs after medical use initiation for up to 3 years according to the medical care utilization behavior. Results: Overall, the quality of life of stroke patients was lowered somewhat from 0.8431 to 0.7864 in 2009~2012. Western treatment group was appeared slightly declined in from 0.8527 to 0.8231 and combined treatment group was shown to be falling from 0.8173 to 0.6875. The QALYs of total patients were calculated 2.3654 and western treatment group were 2.4436, combined treatment group were 2.1542 during the 4 year period. The difference of QALYs between two groups was 0.2894 QALYs. Conclusions: Although there was a small difference in QALYs of the two groups, it is not certain that the difference is come from medical care utilization behavior. Further studies should be needed to confirm the relation of the medical care utilization behavior and quality of life by considering severity of the stroke.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.511-515
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• 2007

White-spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is a devastating, infectious virus affecting shrimp. Although sensitive techniques involving PCR have been developed to assist farmers in screening shrimp (brood stock) for WSSV prior to stocking ponds, such practices have not yet been applied in Korea. Despite the rationality of implementing screening, there has been some doubt as to whether the stocking of WSSV-PCR-negative fly epidemiologically decreases white-spot disease outbreaks. Here, we report a retrospective analysis of data from shrimp farms in the western coast of Korea where WSSV-PCR-negative brood stocks were used to stock rearing ponds. A total of 366 shrimp from Heuksan Island were sampled for WSSV with PCR. Of the tested shrimp, 7.2% (28 brood stocks) were identified as WSSV positive; only WSSV-PCR-negative shrimp were used for brood stocks. Total unit production (final shrimp production/ the area of the ponds) was higher, at 1.96, in ponds where WSSV-PCR-negative shrimp were used, as compared with 1.02 in other ponds in Korea in 2004. This retrospective analysis of WSSV in Korea may be useful to the shrimp aquaculture industry, suggesting a testable hypothesis that may contribute to the eventual control of WSSV outbreaks.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.266-276
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• 2016

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to retrospectively investigate the influence of potential risk indicators on the development of peri-implant disease. Methods: Overall, 103 patients referred for implant treatment from 2000 to 2012 were randomly enrolled. The study sample consisted of 421 conventional-length (>6 mm) non-turned titanium implants that were evaluated clinically and radiographically according to preestablished clinical and patient-related parameters by a single investigator. A non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test or Kruskal-Wallis rank test and a logistic regression model were used for the statistical analysis of the recorded data at the implant level. Results: The diagnosis of peri-implant mucositis and peri-implantitis was made for 173 (41.1%) and 19 (4.5%) implants, respectively. Age (${\geq}65$ years), patient adherence (professional hygiene recalls <2/year) and the presence of plaque were associated with higher peri-implant probing-depth values and bleeding-on-probing scores. The logistic regression analysis indicated that age (P=0.001), patient adherence (P=0.03), the absence of keratinized tissue (P=0.03), implants placed in pristine bone (P=0.04), and the presence of peri-implant soft-tissue recession (P=0.000) were strongly associated with the event of peri-implantitis. Conclusions: Within the limitations of this study, patients aged ${\geq}65$ years and non-adherent subjects were more prone to develop peri-implant disease. Therefore, early diagnosis and a systematic maintenance-care program are essential for maintaining peri-implant tissue health, especially in older patients.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.402-412
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• 2011

Purpose: To describe the emergence of the North Texas Korean American Nurses Society (NTKANS) and to examine its sociocultural contributions to Korean immigrant societies in the U.S. for the last half century. Methods: The study used retrospective historical analysis to explore the first North Texas Korean immigrant nurses' footsteps. Using Christy's historical research methodology, this study explored themes found in the NTKANS Minutes, the directories, and newspapers, and compared them with historical nursing contexts found in documents, immigrant nurse's pictures, and letters. Interviews with twenty first immigrant Korean nurses, the members, were also use d as main data. Results: Since its emergence in 1969, the NTKANS have contributed to local Korean societies through community medical services, financial supports to local Korean associations, local publications, and opening Korean school. In addition, the society has contributed to the other Korean immigrant nursing societies in the U.S. Conclusion: The sociocultural contributions NTKANS had made to Korean immigrant societies were not possible without its members' enormous efforts, personal struggles, and altruistic dedications. The trials and tribulations these immigrant nurses have overcome and the achievements they made for last half century would greatly inspire students and nurses in Korea who may seek international leadership and scholarship.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.298-305
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• 2010

Purpose: The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence, incidence, and risk factors for postoperative surgical site infections (SSIs) after craniotomy. Methods: This study was a retrospective case-control study of 103 patients who had craniotomies between March 2007 and December 2008. A retrospective review of prospectively collected databases of consecutive patients who underwent craniotomy was done. SSIs were defined by using the Centers for Disease Control criteria. Twenty-six cases (infection) and 77 controls (no infection) were matched for age, gender and time of surgery. Descriptive analysis, t-test, $\chi^2$-test and logistic regression analyses were used for data analysis. Results: The statistical difference between cases and controls was significant for hospital length of stay (>14 days), intensive care unit stay more than 15 days, Glasgrow Coma Scale (GCS) score (${\leq}7$ days), extra-ventricular drainage and coexistent infection. Risk factors were identified by logistic regression and included hospital length of stay of more than 14 days (odds ratio [OR]=23.39, 95% confidence interval [CI]=2.53-216.11) and GCS score (${\leq}7$ scores) (OR=4.71, 95% CI=1.64-13.50). Conclusion: The results of this study show that patients are at high risk for infection when they have a low level of consciousness or their length hospital stay is long term. Nurses have to take an active and continuous approach to infection control to help with patients having these risk factors.