Abstract
Objective : This study was performed to investigate the prevalence of otolaryngology and respiratory diseases and characteristics of the outpatients who had visited Chuncheon oriental medical hospital which located in Gangwon province with the diseases. Methods : We analyzed data from 627 patients, who had visited to the Department of ophthalmology & otolaryngology & dermatology of Chuncheon oriental medical hospital from November 1st, 2007 to May 31th, 2010. The data were analyzed and demonstrated by age, gender, season, period between the onset of disease and the first examination, times of treatment, and treatment methods. Results : The results of this study are summarized as follows. 1. Among the 627 outpatients, male patients outnumbered female patients, and the most frequent age group was 0-10 year-old group(24.9%) and it is followed by 31-40 and 41-50 year-old groups. The majority of outpatients, 79.7% of them were from Chuncheon, and Hongcheon and Gapyeong residents were respectively 4.7% and 3.8% of the patients. 2. The shares of outpatients by department were 47.4% in Rhinology disease, 29.8% in respiratory disease, 14.5% in Otology disease, and 8.3% in Laryngology disease. The seasons with the most frequent prevalence by department were spring and winter for otology group, autumn and spring for rhinology group, summer and spring for laryngology group, and winter and spring for respiratory disease group. Overall, most outpatients had visited the hospital for 1-5 times or 6-10 times. Acupuncture and herbal medicine were the most frequent treatment methods that these patients received. 3. The most prevalent diseases were rhinitis, common cold, tinnitus, and sinusitis. The most frequently visited age groups for tinnitus and hearing loss were 41-50 and 51-60 year-old groups, and for rhinitis and sinusitis 0-10 and 11-20 year-old groups. Irritation in larynx was almost evenly prevalent among 31-40, 41-50 and 51-60 age groups. Regarding the period between the onset of disease and the first medical examination, outpatients with tinnitus, rhinitis, sinusitis, and irritation in larynx came to the hospital after one year since the onset and outpatients with common cold first visited the hospital within one week since the onset of disease. Conclusions : This study shows that the most frequent diseases were rhinitis, common cold, sinusitis, tinnitus, and cough. In order to do better treatment for these diseases in the future, there is a need to investigate long-term, multifaceted studies, connected studies with other hospital in Gangwon province.