• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.863-871
• /
• 2007

Objects : To gain better insights of East-west integrated treatment of ischemic stroke. We analyzed 89 patients with severe acute ischemic stroke who were admitted to the East-west integrated intensive care unit. Methods : Subjects enrollment was from the East-west integrated intensive care unit of Kyung Hee Medical Center from March 2006 to February 2007. Patients were admitted within 14 days after the onset of ischemic stroke. We assessed the subjects' general characteristics, risk factors, admitting routes and periods, diagnostic imaging, process of western treatment and Korean traditional treatment, complication and consequence. Results : The proportion of males was 50.6%, of females 49.4%, average age was male 66.0$\pm$10.3 and female 71.1$\pm$10.5. Average length of hospital stays was 19.5 days. Monthly admissions were highest in November and December. The admission route was through emergency room (61.8%) or ward (34.8%). Mean Glasgow coma scale score was 10.0$\pm$2.5, average time from symptom of onset to hospital admission was 2.3$\pm$2.2 days. Dominant ischemic vascular territory was middle cerebral artery (66.3%). Initial western treatment was argatroban (22.5%), urokinase (28.1%), and heparinization (38.2%). Distribution of Sasang constitution of So-yang to Tae-eum to So-eum was equal to 5.4 to 2.9 to 1.5. Major complications were observed in 40 (42.7%) patients. In hospital mortality was 12.4% (11 deaths), all of them caused by aggravation of neurological deficit and only 3 of them with major complications. There appears to be a significant positive relationship between length of hospital stay and occurrence of complications (P<0.05). After discharge from the ICU, 64 (71.9%) patients were improved, 11 (12.4%) patients had expired, and 14 (15.8%) patients were transferred. Conclusions : From this study, we suggest that patients with severe acute ischemic stroke should be treated with East-west integrated therapy for more favorable consequences and decreased mortality.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.56 no.3
• /
• pp.248-254
• /
• 2023

Objectives: Measuring the quality of care is paramount to inform policies for healthcare services. Nevertheless, little is known about the quality of primary care and acute care provided in Korea. This study investigated trends in the quality of primary care and acute care. Methods: Case-fatality rates and avoidable hospitalization rates were used as performance indicators to assess the quality of primary care and acute care. Admission data for the period 2008 to 2020 were extracted from the National Health Insurance Claims Database. Case-fatality rates and avoidable hospitalization rates were standardized by age and sex to adjust for patients' characteristics over time, and significant changes in the rates were identified by joinpoint regression. Results: The average annual percent change in age-/sex-standardized case-fatality rates for acute myocardial infarction was -2.3% (95% confidence interval, -4.6 to 0.0). For hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke, the age-/sex-standardized case-fatality rates were 21.8% and 5.9%, respectively in 2020; these rates decreased since 2008 (27.1 and 8.7%, respectively). The average annual percent change in age-/sex-standardized avoidable hospitalization rates ranged from -9.4% to -3.0%, with statistically significant changes between 2008 and 2020. In 2020, the avoidable hospitalization rates decreased considerably compared with the 2019 rate because of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Conclusions: The avoidable hospitalization rates and case-fatality rates decreased overall during the past decade, but they were relatively high compared with other countries. Strengthening primary care is an essential requirement to improve patient health outcomes in the rapidly aging Korean population.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.359-372
• /
• 2016

Background: The purpose of this study was to develop risk-adjustment models for acute stroke mortality that were based on data from Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) dataset and to evaluate the validity of these models for comparing hospital performance. Methods: We identified prognostic factors of acute stroke mortality through literature review. On the basis of the avaliable data, the following factors was included in risk adjustment models: age, sex, stroke subtype, stroke severity, and comorbid conditions. Survey data in 2014 was used for development and 2012 dataset was analysed for validation. Prediction models of acute stroke mortality by stroke type were developed using logistic regression. Model performance was evaluated using C-statistics, $R^2$ values, and Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit statistics. Results: We excluded some of the clinical factors such as mental status, vital sign, and lab finding from risk adjustment model because there is no avaliable data. The ischemic stroke model with age, sex, and stroke severity (categorical) showed good performance (C-statistic=0.881, Hosmer-Lemeshow test p=0.371). The hemorrhagic stroke model with age, sex, stroke subtype, and stroke severity (categorical) also showed good performance (C-statistic=0.867, Hosmer-Lemeshow test p=0.850). Conclusion: Among risk adjustment models we recommend the model including age, sex, stroke severity, and stroke subtype for HIRA assessment. However, this model may be inappropriate for comparing hospital performance due to several methodological weaknesses such as lack of clinical information, variations across hospitals in the coding of comorbidities, inability to discriminate between comorbidity and complication, missing of stroke severity, and small case number of hospitals. Therefore, further studies are needed to enhance the validity of the risk adjustment model of acute stroke mortality.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.347-366
• /
• 2012

The aim of this new statement is to provide comprehensive and timely evidence-based recommendations on stroke management for clinical practitioners. Many countries are already well engaged in developing and releasing their own clinical practice guidelines, whereas Korean Medicine (KM) is still beginning. It will take time and effort to develop evidence-based guidelines and recommendations of KM or other traditional medicine because they are weak in the area of scientific evidence. The clinical practice guideline of Korean medicine for stroke was formulated through extensive review of published literature and consensus meeting of Korean medicine specialists. This project was supported by a grant of the Oriental Medicine R&D Project, the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Referring to guidelines developed in other countries, the experts in the subject tried to organize and develop guidelines and recommendations adequate for domestic medical circumstances. In December, 2008, a multi-disciplinary team called the Evidence Based Clinical Practice Guidelines Development Group (EBCPGsDG) for Stroke was organized. The writing committee was comprised of experts in internal medicine, acupuncture, rehabilitation, and Sasang constitution. Outside specialists and associated panels were invited for consultation. The scope of the guideline encompasses acupuncture, moxibustion and herbal medicine (including Korean medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, Kampo medicine) as interventions for stroke patients. It includes statements about ischemic stroke (I63), stroke not specified as hemorrhage or infarction (I64), and sequelae of cerebrovascular disease (I69) according to the International Classification of Disease (ICD). The committee subdivided the description of herbal medications into acute stroke management, subacute stroke management, post-stroke management, and secondary prevention of stroke. Guidelines on the practice of acupuncture and moxibustion were described in order for acute stroke management, subacute stroke management, chronic stroke management, and post-stroke rehabilitation. Clinicians who are working in the field of stroke care can adopt this guideline for their practice.

• Physical Therapy Korea
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.52-59
• /
• 2011

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of the Stroke Rehabilitation Assessment of Movement (STREAM), the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and the Modified Barthel Index (MBI) in the acute stroke care setting. Twenty patients with their first stroke were evaluated using STREAM, BBS, and MBI initially and at 4 weeks. The data was analyzed using the independent t-test, paired t-test, and the Pearson product moment correlation analysis. The scores on the STREAM were strongly associated with the scores on both the BBS and MBI (with Pearson correlation coefficients ranging from .88 to .95), and there was significant improvement between the initial scores and those obtained four weeks later for STREAM, BBS, and MBI (p=.001, p=.001, p<.001). The results suggest that STREAM may be able to reflect functional recovery and to assess voluntary movement in patients who have suffered an acute stroke.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.67 no.4
• /
• pp.397-410
• /
• 2024

Endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) has been established as the standard of care in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) based on landmark randomized controlled trials. Nevertheless, while the strict eligibility of EVT for AIS patients restrict the wide application of EVT, a considerable population still undergoes off-label EVT. Besides, it is important to acknowledge that recanalization is not achieved in approximately 20% of procedures, and more than 50% of patients who undergo EVT still do not experience a favorable outcome. This article reviews the brief history of EVT trials and recent progressions in the treatment of AIS, with focusing on the expanding eligibility criteria, new target for EVT, and the evolution of EVT techniques.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.87-97
• /
• 2012

Purpose: This study was done to evaluate nursing guidelines for patients with acute stroke, developed by adapting the guidelines of Registered Nurses Association of Ontario, Canada to clinical settings on a large scale and evaluating the effectiveness as a research study. Method: The general characteristics of the 319 patients and the effectiveness of guideline application were evaluated in terms of structure, process, and outcome using questionnaires on the guidelines application with reference to the medical records of patients with acute stroke hospitalized on a ward of the stroke center of S General Hospital in Seoul. Results: Structures as a guidance system for assessment were consistent with the recommendations. With respect to the process of the guidelines, for items on nursing assessment, improved performance was found to be statistically significant. For outcomes of the guidelines, complications occurred in 8 patients (5.3%) prior to application of the guidelines and 11 patients (6.5%) after application of the guidelines, but this result was not statistically significant (p=.841). Conclusion: The results of the study indicate that for the effectiveness of the guidelines, accessibility to the guidelines and effectiveness of quality improvement need to be evaluated, in addition to complications of a stroke.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
• /
• v.3 no.4
• /
• pp.23-28
• /
• 2012

The aim of this study is to reveal the right approach and prognosis of cerebrovascular accident (CVA) by reviewing the various researches on CVAs. The reviews were done by BNBI PubMed, KMBase, RISS, and KoreaMed. Based on the articles, prevalence rate of CVA, prehospital CVA patients assessment and emergency care, and in-hospital care were analyzed. The most important scales are Cincinnati prehospital stroke scale(CPSS) and Los Angeles prehospital stroke screen(LAPSS). These two scales are the basic assessment tools for CVAs and it is necessary to perform the emergency care by way of these scales.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.38 no.3
• /
• pp.143-159
• /
• 2017

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the current status of and seek for measures to activate Korean medicine in stroke care. Methods: This is an e-mail survey targeting the members of Korean medical doctors registered at the association of Korean medicine. The project team of the society of stroke on Korean medicine for the development of clinical practice guideline for stroke has devised the items for the questionnaire. The survey was conducted for 15 days in November 2016. Results: The percentage of the respondents who have treated patients with stroke for the past month was 11.2% in the acute phase, 20.5% in the convalescent phase, and 32.4% in the chronic phase. Approximately 80% of the respondents answered they had a decrease in the number of patients compared to 10 years ago, regardless of the stroke phase. Most of the respondents were using Western medicine together with traditional Korean medicine for physical examination. Acupuncture and herbal medicine were the main therapeutic interventions. The two measures chosen by the most respondents to activate the Korean medicine usage for stroke care were the expansion of the insurance coverage (34.9%) and the generation of evidence on the effectiveness of traditional Korean medicine (25.1%) Conclusion: It is necessary to actively show the role of the Korean medicine through the establishment of the evidence on the effectiveness of Korean medicine and the promotion based on the evidence. In addition, optimal treatment methods should be derived based on the traditional knowledge and modern scientific research and the methods should be educated to every Korean medical clinics and hospitals so that they can be implemented in clinical practice. At the same time, the government should provide policy support to ensure that the optimal treatment can be timely and appropriately implemented.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.17 no.11
• /
• pp.349-355
• /
• 2019

The virtual reality training has been suggested as an intervention to improve physical function. But, the effects of virtual reality training focused on improving ADL in patients with acute stroke are unclear. Purpose of this study was to examine the effect of virtual reality training on hand function and activities of daily living (ADL) in patients with acute stroke. Sixteen patients with acute stroke were included in this study. The experimental group (VRA group) received 30 minutes of virtual reality training focused on ADL for each session, while the control group received 30 minutes of conventional virtual reality training. To examine the hand function and ADL of the subjects, the study used Jebsen-Tylor Hand Function Test (JTHFT) and Korean Modified Barthel Index (K-MBI), respectively. Both groups showed significant improvements in hand function of affected and unaffected sides, and in K-MBI total score before and after the intervention. The experimental group showed significantly greater improvements in the self-care domain of K-MBI after intervention than the control group. These findings suggest that the virtual reality training focused on ADL may have a better effect on self-care than conventional virtual reality training in patients with acute stroke.