• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.86 no.3
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• pp.151-157
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• 2023

The introduction of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) for the management of asthma has led to a decrease in acute exacerbation of asthma. However, there are concerns regarding the safety of long-term ICS use, particularly pneumonia. Growing evidence indicates that ICS use is associated with an increased risk of pneumonia in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, whereas the risk in patients with asthma remains unclear. This review discusses the effect of ICS on pneumonia among patients with asthma to update the existing literature. Asthma is associated with an increased risk of pneumonia. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain this association, including that asthma impairs the clearance of bacteria owing to chronic inflammation. Therefore, controlling airway inflammation with ICS may prevent the occurrence of pneumonia in asthma. In addition, two meta-analyses investigating randomized control trials showed that ICS use was associated with a protective effect against pneumonia in asthma.

• Proceedings of the Korea Information Processing Society Conference
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.722-725
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• 2008

복합질환(complex disease)의 원인과 작용 모델을 찾기 위해 여러 가지 통계적인 방법들과 기계 학습(machine learning)의 방법 등이 사용되고 있다. 소수 SNP의 작용모델을 찾는 방법은 많이 알려져 있지만 다수 SNP의 작용 모델을 효과적으로 찾는 방법은 거의 연구되어 있지 않다. 본 연구에서는 원인 SNP들의 작용을 부울 식(boolean expression)으로 나타내고, 유전 알고리즘(genetic algorithm)을 이용하여 예측 정확도가 높은 부울 식을 구성하였으며 실제 자료와 생성된 자료에 대하여 제안한 모델의 성능을 측정하였다.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.72 no.6
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• pp.467-474
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• 2012

Background: The objective of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the Korean version of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease assessment test (CAT) and Dyspnea-12 Questionnaire for patients with bronchiectasis or tuberculous destroyed lung. Methods: For 62 bronchiectasis patients and 37 tuberculous destroyed lung patients, 3 questionnaires including St. George's Respiratory Questionnaires (SGRQ), CAT, and Dyspnea-12 were obtained, in addition to spirometric measurements. To assess the validity of CAT and Dyspnea-12, correlation with SGRQ was evaluated. To assess the reliability of CAT and Dyspnea-12, Cronbach's ${\alpha}$ coefficient was calculated. Results: The mean ages of the patients were $60.7{\pm}8.3$ years in bronchiectasis and $64.4{\pm}9.3$ years in tuberculous destroyed lung. 46.8% and 54.1% were male, respectively. The SGRQ score was correlated with the score of the Korean version of CAT (r=0.72, p<0.0001) and Dyspnea-12 (r=0.67, p<0.0001) in bronchiectasis patients. The SGRQ score was correlated with the score of CAT (r=0.86, p<0.0001) and Dyspnea-12 (r=0.80, p<0.0001) in tuberculous destroyed lung patients. The Cronbach's ${\alpha}$ coefficient for the CAT and Dyspnea-12 were 0.84 and 0.90 in bronchiectasis, and 0.88 and 0.94 in tuberculous destroyed lung, respectively. Conclusion: We found that Korean version of CAT and Dyspnea-12 are valid and reliable in patients with tuberculous destroyed lung and bronchiectasis.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.112-125
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• 2010

Objectives The purpose of this study is to find the relationships between the allergy and weakness in children in Seong-Dong district. Methods 802 day care centers children were participated for survey on allergic disease, risk factors, and weakness. From the result, we analyzed the relationships between the aforementioned factors. Results 1. 802 children were participated for the survey. We eliminated survey answers with unclear answers, and selected 792 survey sheets as our final subject of study. The age of majority of subjects(720 children) were between one to six years old, and the others were under the age of one and over seven. 2. The prevalence rate of asthma in a lifetime was 6.69%, allergic rhinitis was 14.87%, atopic dermatitis was 28.82%, allergic conjunctivitis was 6.29%, food allergies was 9.58%, and drug allergies was 1.4%. In 2009, the prevalence rate of allergies during treatments is 6.69% for asthma, 13.41% for allergic rhinitis, 13.64% for atopic dermatitis, 4.13% for allergic conjunctivitis, 5.23% for food allergies, 0.96% for drug allergies. 3. The significant risk factors were types of dwelling, pet with fur, dirty environments without vacuum cleaners, the numbers of times bed covers were washed, frequency of air ventilation, changes in body after moving, family history. 4. The distribution of the number of children with weakness within the five visceras were respiratory weakness, digestive weakness, psychoneurologic weakness, neuromotor weakness, and urogenital weakness in the order of most to the least. More specifically, children who only has respiratory weakness were the majority, while children who have respiratory and digestive weaknesses, children who have respiratory, digestive, and psychoneurologic weaknesses, children who have respiratory and psychoneurologic were followed. 5. With the exception of children with urogenital weakness, Most of the children with respiratory weakness, digestive weakness, psychoneurologic weakness, and neuromotor weakness had been treated for allergies in 2009, while children who were diagnosed with allergic diseases at least once in their lifetime most likely had weak respiratory, digestive or psychoneurologic systems. Conclusions The results of this study showed that there was a correlation between children with weak viscera and children with allergic diseases. However, further research would be necessary.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.70 no.5
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• pp.416-422
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• 2011

Background: Inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) are the most essential medication for asthma control. Many reports suggest that the usage of ICSs improves not only the control of asthma symptoms but also prevents exacerbation. We investigated whether increases in ICS prescriptions are associated with decreases in asthma exacerbation in the clinical practice setting. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the database of adult asthma patients who had visited a tertiary referral hospital, the Asan Medical Center between January 2000 and December 2009. The number of emergency department (ED) visits, admissions, intensive care unit (ICU) care, deaths, and ICS prescriptions were analyzed to evaluate the time trend of asthma exacerbation as a function of the ICS prescription rate during the ten years. Results: The numbers of ED visits, admissions, and episodes of ICU care decreased during the ten years (p<0.001, p=0.033, p=0.001, respectively) while the number of ICS prescriptions increased (p<0.001). We found a correlation between the number of ICS prescriptions and the number of ED visits, admissions, or ICU care. For these outcomes, the correlation coefficients were r=-0.952, p<0.001; r=-0.673, p=0.033; r=-0.948, p<0.001, respectively. Conclusion: The number of ICS prescriptions increased during the past ten years while the number of asthma exacerbations decreased. Our results also showed a negative correlation between the ICS prescription rate and asthma exacerbation in the clinical practice setting. In other words, an increase in ICS prescription may be a major cause of a decrease in asthma exacerbations.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.83 no.3
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• pp.228-233
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• 2020

Background: The Bronchiectasis Health Questionnaire (BHQ) is a simple and repeatable, self-reporting health status questionnaire for bronchiectasis. We have translated the original version of the BHQ into Korean using a standardized methodology. The purpose of this study was to assess the validity of the Korean version of the BHQ (K-BHQ) with Korean patients. Methods: Stable state patients with bronchiectasis from two academic hospitals were enrolled in this study. The validity was assessed by investigating the relationship between the K-BHQ scores and the Korean version of the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Assessment Test (K-CAT) scores. We also investigated the relationship between the K-BHQ scores and other variables of the modified Medical Research Council's (mMRC) dyspnea scale, lung function, and exacerbations. Results: A total of 126 patients with bronchiectasis were enrolled. The mean age was 64.3 (standard deviation [SD], 9.7). Women comprised 53.2% of the patients. The mean forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁) was 60% of the predicted value (SD, 18.9%); the mean K-CAT score was 17.6 (SD, 9.1). The K-BHQ scores correlated strongly with the K-CAT scores (r=-0.656, p<0.001). There was significant correlation between the K-BHQ scores and the mMRC dyspnea scale (ρ=-0.409, p<0.001), FEV₁ (r=0.406, p<0.001), and number of exacerbations requiring hospitalization (ρ=-0.303, p=0.001). Conclusion: The K-BHQ is valid for assessing the health-related quality of life or health status of Korean bronchiectasis patients.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.81 no.1
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• pp.42-48
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• 2018

Background: The diffusing capacity of the lung is influenced by multiple factors such as age, sex, height, weight, ethnicity and smoking status. Although a prediction equation for the diffusing capacity of Korea was proposed in the mid-1980s, this equation is not used currently. The aim of this study was to develop a new prediction equation for the diffusing capacity for Koreans. Methods: Using the data of the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a total of 140 nonsmokers with normal chest X-rays were enrolled in this study. Results: Using linear regression analysis, a new predicting equation for diffusing capacity was developed. For men, the following new equations were developed: carbon monoxide diffusing capacity (DLco)=-10.4433-0.1434${\times}$age (year)+0.2482${\times}$heights (cm); DLco/alveolar volume (VA)=6.01507-0.02374${\times}$age (year)-0.00233${\times}$heights (cm). For women the prediction equations were described as followed: DLco=-12.8895-0.0532${\times}$age (year)+0.2145${\times}$heights (cm) and DLco/VA=7.69516-0.02219${\times}$age (year)-0.01377${\times}$heights (cm). All equations were internally validated by k-fold cross validation method. Conclusion: In this study, we developed new prediction equations for the diffusing capacity of the lungs of Koreans. A further study is needed to validate the new predicting equation for diffusing capacity.

• The Journal of Korean Society for School & Community Health Education
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.65-87
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• 2011

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to perform basic study on environmental and respiratory diseases in Ulsan and vicinities. Also, this study evaluated the actual state of environmental disease and health education at middle and high schools in Ulsan and surroundings. Methods: For this study, we conducted a survey on the health of the general public, environmental effects, and investigated the characteristics of environmental disease, health and hygiene education, etc. The populations of this study were middle and high school students in Ulsan, Korea. This study investigated the knowledge of environmental disease and health education at schools in Ulsan and vicinities from November 2009 to December 2009. All statistical calculations were performed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows, and gained the following results by implementing Frequency Analysis, Cross-tabulation Analysis and ANOVA. Results: As more and more environmental diseases are increased, the interest of the people has been increasing on this. The incidence rates of asthma and atopy were represented the top 25% of the country in Korea. The source of heavy metal, PAHs and VOCs in Ulsan includes the Petrochemical Complex at Nam-gu and Ulju-gun, the Nonferrous Metal Industrial Complex at Onsan-eup, Ulju-gun, and the Heavy Industrial Complex at Dong-gu and Buk-gu. Especially, there are a number of fossil fuel combustion facilities such as waste incineration plants and boilers at Nam-gu and the Onsan Industrial Complex. It may help greatly to investigate the characteristics of environmental pollutants such as environmental air pollutant and indoor contaminant to better manage the local student's health. Conclusions: It has been revealed that the hazardous chemicals and environmental contaminants are main substances of cause for asthma, atopy, dermatitis, and allergy disease. Therefore, through with collecting basic data such as environmental disease of inhabitants, health education, conscious and knowledgeable level in parents of students and students, We have to exert to improve knowledge and prevention with health life in school through development of health education program systematically for preventing of environmental disease.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.788-798
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• 2009

Objective : This study was undertaken to investigate effects of Opuntia ficus-indica (OP)extract on an asthma murine model. Methods : The total number of cells and eosinophils in BALF and the infiltration of inflammatory cells into lung tissues were determined by hematoxylin and eosin staining. Results : The number of OVA-induced total cells and eosinophils, a phenomenon of asthma, were decreased by treatment of the animals with OP extract (200 mg/kg) (respectively, p < 0.001 and p<0.01). Furthermore, we showed that OP extract reduced the increased immune cell infiltration induced by ovalbumin (p < 0.01). The levels of interleukin (IL)-4 in BAL fluid were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, because the eosinophilia is associated with a T helper (Th) 2 response including IL-4. The level of OVA-induced IL-4 was decreased by OP extract in BAL fluid (p < 0.05). We investigated whether OP extract reduced nitrite (NO) production on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 sells, because asthma is an inflammatory disease. The level of LPS-induced NO production was decreased by OP extract (50, 100 and 200 mg/ml) on RAW 264.7 cells (respectively, p < 0.05, p<0.01 and p<0.05). Conclusions : Our results indicate that OP extract has an inhibitory effect on lung eosinophilia of asthma and suggest that OP extract is a therapeutic candidate in the treatment of inflammatory disease, including asthma.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.233-241
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• 2022

Objectives: Asthma is a chronic disease, and the demand for herbal medicines in this field has increased in recent years. The new findings highlight the role of the gut-lung axis in the pathophysiology of asthma. Hence, this study will evaluate the safety and efficacy of Glasthma syrup, an herbal formula based on Persian medicine, in improving asthma and regulating intestinal permeability. The formula consists of five herbal ingredients that have anti-inflammatory effects on the respiratory tract, also known as gut tonics. Methods: The study will be conducted as a placebo-controlled, triple-blind, randomized trial. It will consist of a 4-week intervention followed by a 4-week follow-up period. The target sample size is 20 patients with moderate asthma aged 18 to 60 years. Eligible participants will be randomly assigned to either the experimental group or the control group in equal numbers. Patients in the experimental group will take Glasthma syrup (7.5 mL, twice a day), while patients in the control group will take a matching placebo. Both groups will receive a 4-week combination of a long-acting beta2 agonist and a leukotriene modulator as standard of care. Inhaled corticosteroids can be used as rescue medication as needed. Results: The primary outcomes are asthma symptom scale, lung function, and intestinal permeability. Secondary outcomes include quality of life, symptom recurrence rates, and blood tests. A safety assessment will also be conducted during the trial. Conclusion: In this trial, the effects of Glasthma syrup in patients with moderate asthma will be examined. The study will also assess the effects of the formulation on the gut-lung axis by simultaneously monitoring the gut permeability index, asthma symptoms, and lung function.