• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.124-134
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• 2020

Here we review the evolutionary history of radiation therapy technology through the festschrift of articles in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Korean Society of Medical Physics (KSMP). Radiation therapy technology used in clinical practice has evolved over a long period of time. Various areas of science, such as medical physics, mechanical engineering, and computer engineering, have contributed to the continual development of new devices and techniques. The scope of this review was restricted to two areas; i.e., output energy production and functional development, because it is not possible to include all development processes of this technology due to space limitations. The former includes the technological transition process from the initial technique applied to the first model to the latest technique currently used in a variety of machines. The latter has had a direct effect on treatment outcomes and safety, which changed the paradigm of radiation therapy, leading to new guidelines on dose prescriptions, innovation of dose verification tools, new measurement methods and calculation systems for radiation doses, changes in the criteria for errors, and medical law changes in all countries. Various complex developments are covered in this review. To the best of our knowledge, there have been few reviews on this topic and we consider it very meaningful to provide a review in the festschrift in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the KSMP.

• Journal of Medicine and Life Science
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.125-129
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• 2022

Patients with nephrotic syndrome (NS) are generally known to be at greater risk for thrombosis, with arterial thrombosis-related complications being relatively rare compared to venous thrombosis-related complications. This report describes a 46-year-old male with historically proven minimal change disease (MCD) complicated by acute aortoiliac thrombosis. He had been diagnosed with MCD 8 months previously and was treated successfully with steroids. He was prescribed a second course of high-dose steroids (prednisolone 1 mg/kg/day) due to a relapse of MCD at the outpatient clinic 8 days before the emergency department visit. The patient presented with severe pain in both lower limbs and was diagnosed with aortoiliac thrombosis that developed during high-dose steroid treatment. He subsequently underwent surgical thromboembolectomy. Hypoalbuminemia has the strongest association with the risk of thromboembolism. According to international clinical practice guidelines, anticoagulant therapy is recommended when serum albumin is ≤2-2.5 g/dL. However, as serum albumin levels may be relatively high in the early phase of NS, as in this case report, an individualized anticoagulation strategy for each patient should be considered, regardless of serum albumin levels.

• Journal of Korean Society for Quality Management
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.211-224
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• 2018

Purpose: It can easily be understood that more rules and regulations need to be imposed on the medical device industry due to its impact on public health and hygiene. Domestic medical device manufacturers are thus required to comply with the requirements specified in the good manufacturing practice (GMP) system, and it is essential to abide by the international standards as well to sustain their global competitiveness. The main purpose of this study is to review the guidelines of the medical device GMP system in Korea and propose future directions for further enhancement of the GMP system. Methods: Specific requirements prescribed in international standards, such as ISO 9001:2015, ISO 13485:2016, ISO 14971:2012, and ISO 14155:2011, are analyzed and compared with the domestic GMP system. Results: It has been observed that the generic international standard related to quality management system, ISO 9001:2015, lays out the foundations for the development of quality management system relevant to medical device industry, ISO 13485:2003, with which the domestic GMP system is fully compatible. Further, several important aspects of risk management and clinical trials of medical devices are also recognized and included in the domestic medical device GMP system. Conclusion: Even though specific requirements of individual ISO standards are slightly different from each other, their overall structure and framework may contribute to the development and enhancement of globally competitive GMP system of the domestic medical device industry.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.103-111
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• 2014

This study aims to determine the effect of a trained dedicated dietitian on clinical outcomes among Lebanese hemodialysis (HD) patients: and thus demonstrate a viable developing country model. This paper describes the study protocol and baseline data. The study was a multicenter randomized controlled trial with parallel-group design involving 12 HD units: assigned to cluster A (n = 6) or B (n = 6). A total of 570 patients met the inclusion criteria. Patients in cluster A were randomly assigned as per dialysis shift to the following: Dedicated Dietitian (DD) (n = 133) and Existing Practice (EP) (n = 138) protocols. Cluster B patients (n = 299) received Trained Hospital Dietitian (THD) protocol. Dietitians of the DD and THD groups were trained by the research team on Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative nutrition guidelines. DD protocol included: individualized nutrition education for 2 hours/month/HD patient for 6 months focusing on renal osteodystrophy and using the Trans-theoretical theory for behavioral change. EP protocol included nutrition education given to patients by hospital dietitians who were blinded to the study. The THD protocol included nutrition education to patients given by hospital dietitian as per the training received but within hospital responsibilities, with no set educational protocol or tools. Baseline data revealed that 40% of patients were hyperphosphatemics (> 5.5 mg/dl) with low dietary adherence and knowledge of dietary P restriction in addition to inadequate daily protein intake ($58.86%{\pm}33.87%$ of needs) yet adequate dietary P intake ($795.52{\pm}366.94$ mg/day). Quality of life (QOL) ranged from 48-75% of full health. Baseline differences between the 3 groups revealed significant differences in serum P, malnutrition status, adherence to diet and P chelators and in 2 factors of the QOL: physical and social functioning. The data show room for improvement in the nutritional status of the patients. The NEMO trial may be able to demonstrate a better nutritional management of HD patients.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.31-42
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• 2015

Purpose: This study was done to develop evidence-based nursing practice guidelines to prevent complications related to indwelling urinary catheterization (IUC) in patients in Korea. Methods: A guideline adaptation process was conducted according to the guideline adaptation manual which consists of three main phases, and 9 modules with a total of 24 steps. Results: The newly developed IUC guideline consisted of an introduction, urinary catheterization, summary of recommendations, recommendations, references, and appendices. There were 110 recommendations in 8 sections including assessment, equipment, catheter insertion, catheter maintenance, catheter change, catheter removal, management of complications, and education/consultation. For the grade of recommendations, there were 6.4% for A, 22.7% for B, 67.3% for C. Conclusion: The IUC guideline was developed based on evidence and therefore it is recommended that this guideline be disseminated and utilized by nurses nationwide to improve the quality of care for patients with IUC and decrease complications related to IUC and that it be revised regularly.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.24 no.10
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• pp.175-182
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• 2019

The study was conducted to verify the effect of basic life support training on the skill ability of police officers. The subjects of this study were 10 experimental group and 10 comparative group with voluntary consent after explaining the theory and significance of the training experiment at the police station located in K. The education program used in this study consists of theoretical education and practical training, and the theoretical education is 60 minutes and the practical training is 30 minutes. The measurement tool for basic resuscitation performance was measured based on the 'CPR and ECG Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care' presented by the American Heart Association. The results are as follows. The experimental group showed higher performance skills than the traditional control group in field confirmation performance skills, primary evaluation performance skills (A, B, C, medical evaluation), and BLS performance skills (heart compression, artificial respiration, medical evaluation) which are the basic resuscitation performance skills. In conclusion, this study confirmed that the theory and practice education program is more effective in improving the clinical performance of police officers than the traditional lectures and practice education, so it is possible to apply this simulation education program to the cardiac arrest patient emergency treatment.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2019

Purpose: This study was done to develop a evidence-based guideline for pain assessment and management in Korea by adapting previously developed pain guidelines. Methods: The guideline adaptation process was conducted using 24 steps according to the guideline adaptation manual developed by Hospital Nurses Association in 2012. Results: The newly developed pain management guideline consisted of 9 domains and 234 recommendations. The number of recommendations in each domain was: 13 general instruction items, 51 pain assessments, 14 pain interventions, 66 pharmacological interventions for acute pain, 41 pharmacological interventions for chronic cancer pain, 35 pharmacological interventions for chronic noncancer pain, 21 non-pharmacological interventions, 2 documentations, 10 nursing education items, for pain. Conclusion: The findings suggest that the new pain management guideline can be used to address pain in hospital settings.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.95-103
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• 2022

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to provide multifaceted interventions for nurses and to confirm changes in their knowledge, perception, and actual practice on the adequate storage, conditions, and transportation of culture specimens. Methods: A one-group pretest-posttest experimental design was conducted with 41 nurses in two general wards of a tertiary acute care hospital in Seoul. Multifaceted interventions including education, feedback, posting guidelines and reminders, and improvement in specimen management accessibility were provided from May 2019 to January 2020. Outcomes were measured before and after the interventions. Knowledge and perception of the nurses were evaluated using self-reported questionnaires and actual practice by observation. Results: After the interventions, the average knowledge score on transportation time was significantly increased (Z= -4.89, p< .001). However, the knowledge score on storage methods was not significantly increased. The perception score was significantly increased (t= -3.19, p= .003). The proportion of specimen storage times, places, and conditions managed properly was significantly increased from 43.0% (46/107) to 77.1% (84/109) (p< .001). The average transportation time of blood samples to the laboratory significantly decreased from 3 hours 36 minutes (± 1 hour 52 minutes) to 3 hours 1 minute (± 1 hour 41 minutes) (t= 2.51, p= .013). The percentage of blood culture specimens arriving within 2 hours was increased significantly from 22.9% to 39.2% (χ²= 6.90, p= .009). Conclusion: The interventions were effective. However, some specimens remained in the ward longer than expected after the interventions. This requires further interventions.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.383-406
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• 2015

Objectives: People with tension-type headache generally take pain relievers, but long term dependency causes problems as well as side effects. The present study aimed to provide clinical evidence of herbal medicine for tension-type headache by systematic review of randomized controlled trials on the effect of herbal medicine for tension-type headache. Methods: Randomized or quasi-randomized controlled trials that verified effects of herbal medicine intervention on patients with tension-type headache were included in the study. A literature search of English, Japanese, Chinese, Korean databases was performed. The selected literature were assessed by Jadad scale and Risk of Bias. Results: Herein, 40 reports were selected from a total of 157. Meta-analyses of 2 trials indicated that the effective rate was significantly higher in the herbal medicine treatment group, as compared to the placebo control (risk ratio: 1.49, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.23 to 1.80, p<0.0001, I²=0%). Four trials that compared herbal medicine with routine care with routine care only group showed a significantly higher effective rate of benefits for herbal medicine with routine care, as compared to routine care only (RR: 1.57, 95% CI: 1.18 to 2.10, p=0.002, I²=0%). Conclusions: The effective rate was significantly higher than control and adverse events were less in the treatment group. Pattern analysis (辨證) indicated that the studies on wind-fire pattern (風火證) were highest. Yougeun-bang (柔筋方) in prescription and Paeoniae Radix Alba (白芍藥) in medicinal herbs were most used. This finding could be widely utilized in future clinical practice and form the basis for the development of clinical practice guidelines in advance.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.209-226
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• 2018

Purpose: This purpose of this study was to develop evidence-based practice guideline for isolation in health care settings to prevent transmission of infectious diseases utilizing guideline adaption process. Methods: The process of guideline adaptation was performed according to the Korean hospital nurses association's guideline adaptation manual which consisted of three main phases, 9 modules, and 24 steps. Results: The adapted isolation guideline consisted of introduction, overview of isolation guideline, summary of recommendations, recommendations, references, and appendices. The guideline includes 224 recommendations in 4 sections which are organizational administration, standard precautions, transmission-based precautions, and education/counselling. Conclusion: The adapted isolation guideline is recommended to be disseminated and utilized by nurses and clinicians nationwide to improve the isolation practices for infected or colonized patients with communicable diseases and to decrease the transmission of infections in the healthcare settings.