• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.219-229
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• 2003

Background : The management of thoracic empyema and complicated parapneumonic effusion requires adequate antibiotics use and prompt drainage of infected pleural space. Tube thoracostomy for loculated empyema has low success rate and is also an invasive procedure with potential morbidity. Complications include hemothorax, perforation of intra-abdominal or intra-thoracic organs, diaphragmatic laceration, empyema, pulmonary edema, and Horner's syndrome. Given the potential morbidity of traditional chest tube insertion, use of the image-guided pigtail catheter drainage(PCD) of empyema has been employed. We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of patients with empyema or complicated parapneumonic effusion to determine the efficacy of percutaneous pigtail catheter drainage. Materials and Methods : 45 patients with complicated parapneumonic effusions or empyema were treated at Gil medical center from January 1998 to June, 1999. All were initially given PCD procedure and the following data were collected: clinical symptoms at the time of diagnosis, alcohol and smoking history, the characteristics of pleural effusion, radiologic findings (at the time of catheter insertion, removal and 1 month after catheter removal), the amount of effusion drained for initial 24 hours, the time from catheter insertion to removal and the use of surgical approach. Results : Male gender was more frequent (42 men vs. 3 women), the mean age of the study population was 52(range: 21~74) years. Empyema was found in 23 patients, complicated parapneumonic effusion in 22 patients. Four patients(three, parapneumonic effusion and one, with empyema) with PCD only treated, were cast off. Among the available patients, 36(80%) patients were treated with PCD only or PCD with urokinase. Among the 23 patients with empyema, surgical approach was required in five patients(27.1%, one required decortication, four open thoracostomy), one patient, treated with surgical procedure, died of sepsis. There was no significant difference of the duration of catheter insertion, the duration of hospital admission after catheter insertion and the mean amount of effusion drained for initial 24 hours between the patients with only PCD treated and the patients treated with PCD and urokinase. The duration of catheter insertion($9.4{\pm}5.25days$ vs. $19.2{\pm}9.42days$, p<0.05) and the duration of hospital admission after catheter insertion($15.9{\pm}10.45days$ vs. $38.6{\pm}11.46days$, p<0.01) of the patients with only PCD treated were more longer than those of the patients treated with surgical procedure after PCD. They were same between the patients treated with urokinase after PCD and the patients treated with surgical procedure after PCD($11.1{\pm}7.35days$ vs. $19.2{\pm}9.42days$, p<0.05, $17.5{\pm}9.17days$ vs. $38.6{\pm}11.46days$, p<0.01). In 16 patients(44.4%) with only PCD treated or PCD and urokinase treated, the amount of effusion at the time of catheter removal was decreased more than 75% and in 17 patients(47.2%) effusion decreased 50~75%. .In one patient effusion decreased 25~50%, in two patients effusion decreased less than 25%. One month after catheter removal, in 35 patients(97.2%, four patients were cast off), the amount of pleural effusion was successfully decreased more than 50%. There were no complications related to pigtail catheter insertion. Conclusion : In this study, PCD seemed to be an early efficacious procedure in treating the patients with complicated parapneumonic effusion or empyema without any serious procedure related complication.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2005

Objectives: This study attempts to analyze the length of hospital stay and expenses of frequent disease admitted in a Vaterans Hospital. Methods: Data was collected from January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2003 from the Claim records of 9,640 patients in a Vaterans Hospital. Results: The results were as follows: 1. In age & sex distribution, there was male 70.9%, female 29.1%, and 35.8% of them is 70 age group. Frequency by insurance program was Health insurance 78.1%, Medical aid 14.2%, no insurance 4.1%, others 3.6%. Distribution of each department was internal medicine 28.3%, orthopedic surgery 21.3%, surgery 16.6%, neurosurgey 7.1%, pediatrics 5.9%. Also, in the veterans group, male to female patient ratio was 99.3% male to 0.7% female, them over 70 years old was 51.6%, and them which live in daejeon was 43.5%. 2. In frequency of disease, there was gastroenteritis 4.8%, pneumonia 3.8%, cartaract 3.7%, cerebral infarct 3.2%, hyperplasia of prostate 3.0%. In frequency of korean standard classification of diseases, there was injury and poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes 17.1%, diseases of digestive system 16.1%, diseases of musculoskeletal system and connective tissue 13.9%, diseases of respiratory system 9.4%, diseases of genitourinary system 8.6%. Also, in veterans group, frequency of them was diseases of musculoskeletal system and connective tissue 19.4%, diseases of digestive system 16.8%, injury and poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes 15.7%, diseases of genitourinary system 9.7%, diseases of circuatory system 8.2%. 3. Average length of hospital stay was 29.0 days for total patients, 51.8 days for the veterans group, 15.7 days for the non-veterans one. Average total expenses was 3,669,579 won, the veterans group 7,263,877 won, the non-veterans one 1,560,333 won. The ratio of insurer to insuree was 55.2 : 44.8, the ratio of amount paid by patient in the veterans group 61.7%, in the non-veterans one 33.0%. 4. In items of medical expenses, fee for hospital accommodation was 34.7%, fee for medication 13.2%(injection 7.8%, drug 5.4%), fee for service 48.6%(physical therapy 26.3%, operation 9.7%, laboratory examination 5.2%, radiological examination 3.1%, etc), others 3.4%. In them for the veterans group, fee for physical therapy was 35.3%, fee for hospital accommodation 35.2%, fee for injection 6.2%, fee for operation 5.9%, for the non-veterans one, fee for hospital accommodation 35.7%, fee for operation 16.4%, fee for injection 11.4%, fee for laboratory examination 8.3%. 5. In the comparison of the frequency by Korean standard classification of diseases and distance between the hospital and home, the region under 21.5Km was more frequent in symptoms, signs an abnormal clinical and laboratory findings 56.0%, injury and poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes 55.6%, diseases of the eye and adnexa 52.9%, the one over 21.5Km was more frequent in neoplasms 57.4%, diseases of musculoskeletal system and connective tissue 55.9%, diseases of genitourinary system 53.5%.