• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.311-323
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• 2021

Objective: The disabled are in a blind spot for obtaining information on drugs, and the pharmacies' counseling on drug use is centered on non-disabled people. Few studies have investigated the current statuses of drug use by type of disability. The purpose of this study is to understand the drug use by type of disability and by life cycle of visually impaired and hearing impaired in Korea. Methods: The study participants consisted of 16 people with visually impairments, 12 people with hearing impairments. One in-depth interview was conducted per participant, and each interview was recorded and documented. Results: Common barriers against safe medication and medical service uses across disability types are 'lack of consideration and service for the disabled, limited access to medical facilities due to disability, limited access to information regarding medication use, psychological anxiety about drug use and side effects, and inconvenience regarding COVID-19 epidemic. The specific factors were 'difficulties in identifying proper medicines and following prescribed dosages' in the case of visually impaired, and 'problems with sign language interpretation system' for the hearing impaired. Conclusion: Disabled people are hindered from using medicines properly due to various factors. Based on the content derived from this study, it is necessary to eliminate the inhibition factors and devise specific measures for the safety of each type of disorder such as developing a method for medication counseling considering disabilities and establishing communication support systems.

• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.272.2-273
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• 2002

The safety of blood and blood products is ensured by careful selection of donors. screening of donated blood and the use of validated viral inactivation and/or removal steps during the manufacture of blood products. Serologic screening procedures have substantially reduces the risk of transmission of blood-bone viruses. However, there are still residual risks despite these measures due to the inclusion of 'window period'donations. (omitted)

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.31 no.1 s.256
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• pp.21-28
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• 2007

The use of drug-eluting stents has dramatically reduced the incidence of restenosis however, much remains to be teamed about the performance of these stouts. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that the design of drug-eluting stents influences the efficacy of local drug delivery to the arterial wall and that this effect depends on both arterial geometry and the prevailing flow conditions. We performed computational simulations in which the coupled Navier-Stokes and advection-diffusion equations were solved to determine the flow field and drug concentration in the vicinity of model drug-eluting stouts It is found that the characteristics of flow phenomena can be influenced greatly by the ratio of stent diameter to vessel diameter. The presence of drug-eluting stent may have profound effect on wall shear stresses, recirculation sizes and drug distributions. The results show that recirculation zone is influenced by the imposed flow conditions and stent diameter. In pulsatile flow, the low wall shear stress and high drug concentration occur along the arterial wall during the decelerating flow conditions. These results could provide the guideline for future drug-eluting stent designs toward reducing restenosis by affecting local wall shear stress distributions associated with neointimal hyperplasia.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.79-88
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• 2019

Backgrounds: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) increased prevalence and economic burden. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate drug use pattern in IBD patients in a real world. Methods: National Health Insurance claim data from 2010 to 2014 were used in this population-based study. All IBD patients diagnosed during study period were enrolled. IBD medications included 5-aminosalicylic acid (ASA), glucocorticoid, immunomodulator and anti-tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ agent(anti TNF-${\alpha}$). Growth rate of IBD prevalence, prescribed drug classes, duration of drug therapy and medication cost were analyzed. Number and percentage of patients for categorical variables, and mean and median for continuous variables were presented. Results: Total numbers of patients were 131,158 and 57,286 during 5 years, and their annual growth rate were 3.2 and 5.7% for UC and CD. UC and CD were prevalent in the 40-50 (41.2%) and 20-30 age groups (36.0%). About 60% of IBD patients was prescribed any of medications. 5-ASA was the most frequently prescribed, followed by corticosteroid and immunomodulator. Anti TNF-${\alpha}$ use was the lowest, but 5 times higher than UC in CD. Combination therapies with different class of drugs were in 29% for UC and 62% for CD. Mean prescription days per patient per year were 306 and 378, and the median medication cost per patient per year was KRW 420,000 (USD 383) and KRW 830,000 (USD755), for UC and CD, respectively. Conclusions: Increasing prevalence of IBD requires further studies to contribute to achieve better clinical outcomes of drug therapy.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.120-129
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• 2015

Objectives: Drug utilization review program in Korea has provided 'drug combinations to avoid (DCA)' alerts to physicians and pharmacists to prevent potential adverse drug events or inappropriate drug use. Seven hundred and six DCA pairs have been announced officially by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) by March, 2015. Some DCA pairs could be grouped based on the drug interaction mechanism and its consequences. This study aimed to investigate the drug-drug interaction (DDI) pairs, which may be potential DCAs, generated by the drug class-drug class interaction method. Methods: Eleven additive/synergistic and one antagonistic drug class-drug class interaction groups were identified. By combining drugs of two interacting drug class groups, numerous DDI pairs were made. The status and severity of DDI pairs were examined using Lexicomp and Micromedex. Also, the DCA listing rate was calculated. Results: Among 258 DDI pairs generated by the drug class-drug class interaction method, only 142 pairs were identified as official DCA pairs by the MFDS. One hundred and four pairs were identified as potential DCA pairs to be listed. QT prolonging agents-QT prolonging agents, triptans-ergot alkaloids, tricyclic antidepressants-monoamine oxidase inhibitors, and dopamine agonists-dopamine antagonists were identified as drug class-drug class interaction groups which have less than 50 % DCA listing rate. Conclusion: To improve the clinicians' adaptability to DCA alerts, the list of DCA pairs needs to be continuously updated.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.89-96
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• 2001

Ziprasidone is equally effective as haloperidol in treating schizophrenia with fewer side effects and drug interactions. Ziprasidone is an atypical antipsychotic agent and works by blocking serotonin and dopamine receptors in the central nervous system, specifically 5-HT2A and D2 receptors. Low anticholinergic side-effects and low EPS would recommend the drug for use in the elderly. Ziprasidone inhibits reuptake of norepinephrine and serotonin at neurojunction sites in vitro, indicating a potential efficacy for depression and negative symptoms which often follow after exacerbation of schizophrenia. Patients with recent acute myocardial infarction and uncompensated heart failure are contraindicated to the drug due to a possibility of QT prolongation. Although ziprasidone is metabolized by cytochrome P450 3A4, there is no significant drug interaction with the drugs that induce or inhibit the isoenzyme. Ziprasidone is safe with coadministration of lithium and there has been no significant drug interaction reported with oral birth control pills.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.375-385
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• 2010

Conventional cancer chemotherapy is seriously limited by tumor cells exhibiting multidrug resistance (MDR), which is caused by changes in the levels or activity of membrane transporters that mediate energy-dependent drug efflux and of proteins that affect drug metabolism and/or drug action. Cancer scientists and oncologists have worked together for some time to understand anticancer drug resistance and develop pharmacological strategies to overcome such resistance. Much focus has been on the reversal of the MDR phenotype by inhibition of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) drug transporters. ABC transporters are a family of transporter proteins that mediate drug resistance and low drug bioavailability by pumping various drugs out of cells at the expense of ATP hydrolysis. Many inhibitors of MDR transporters have been identified, and though some are currently undergoing clinical trials, none are in clinical use. Herein, we briefly review the status of MDR in human cancer, explore the pathways of MDR in chemotherapy, and outline recent advances in the design and development of MDR modulators.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.78 no.3
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• pp.168-174
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• 2015

Drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) is still a major threat worldwide. However, recent scientific advances in diagnostic and therapeutic tools have improved the management of drug-resistant TB. The development of rapid molecular testing methods allows for the early detection of drug resistance and prompt initiation of an appropriate treatment. In addition, there has been growing supportive evidence for shorter treatment regimens in multidrug-resistant TB; and for the first time in over 50 years, new anti-TB drugs have been developed. The World Health Organization has recently revised their guidelines, primarily based on evidence from a meta-analysis of individual patient data (n=9,153) derived from 32 observational studies, and outlined the recommended combination and correct use of available anti-TB drugs. This review summarizes the updated guidelines with a focus on the medical management of drug-resistant TB.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.41-45
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• 2007

Pharmacogenomics is the study that examines how genetic variations affect the ways in which people respond to drugs. The ways people respond to drugs are complex traits that are influenced by many different genes. Pharmacogenomics intends to develop rational means of optimizing drug therapy, with respect to the patients' genotype, to maximize efficacy with minimal adverse drug reactions. Pharmacogenomics has the potential to revolutionize the practice of medicine, and promises to usher in an area of personalized medicine, in which drugs and drug combinations are optimized for each individual's unique genetic makeup. Indeed, pharmacogenomics is exploited as an essential step for target discovery and drug development in the pharmaceutical industry. The goal of the personalized medicine is to get the right dose of the right drug to the right patient at the right time. In this article, we will review the use of pharmacogenomics in drug discovery and development.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.56-65
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• 1998

Clinicians can use therapeutic drug monitoring(TDM) to optimise dosage decisions with psychotropic drugs, in order to maximize efficacy and prevent toxicity, especially when individuals are nonresponsive to treatment or vulnerable to adverse reactions with standard doses because age, disease states or drug interactions. Currently, therapeutic drug concentrations have been established for the TCA and lithium. There is also evidence for the usefulness of TDM with carbamazepine, valproic acid and some antipsychotic drugs. However for most psychotropic drugs this approach remains experimental. TDM-assisted psychiatric treatment is potentially useful and cost effective, particularly when applied by psychiatrists who are knowledgeable of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.