• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.188-195
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• 2012

Purpose: An increase in the demand for specialized Trauma Centers led to a government-driven campaign, that began in 2009. Our hospital was selected as one of the Trauma Centers, and we reviewed data on trauma patients in order to correlate the mortality at a regional Trauma Center with its contributing factors, such as the severity of the injury, the means of arrival, and the time duration before arrival at our center. Methods: Data on the patients who visited our Trauma Center from January 2010 to November 2011 were retrospectively reviewed using electronic medical records. The patients who had revised trauma scores (RTSs) less than 7 or injury severity scores (ISSs) greater than 15 were included. The patients were categorized as survivors and non-survivors, and the means of arrival as transferred or visited directly. Time durations before arrival of less than one hour were also taken intoconsideration. Results: Two hundred(200) patients were enrolled, and the mortality rate was 36.5%. The most common cause of the accident was an automobile accident, and the most common cause of death was brain injury. The RTSs and the ISSs were significantly different in the non-survivor and the survivor groups. The mortality rate of the patients who were transferred was not statistically different from that of patients who visited directly. However, a time duration before arrival of less than one hour was statistically meaningful. Conclusion: The prognosis of the trauma patients were correlated with the severity of the trauma as can be expected, but the time between the incidence of accident and the arrival at hospital and whether the presence of transfer to trauma center were not statistically significant to the prognosis.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.95-100
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• 2014

Purpose: Nasal bone fractures are the most common childhood facial bone fractures, with an incidence of about 39%. While taking a nasal bone x-ray is a common modality used in the emergency department, reports have expressed concerns with its low sensitivity and low specificity. Our study was aimed at comparing accuracy of physical and x-ray examination with that of facial bone computed tomography (CT). Methods: Electronic medical records (EMR) were retrospectively reviewed for patients under the age of 15 who visited our emergency department from January 2010 to December 2011with a chief complaint of nasal pain due to trauma and who had also undergone a nasal bone x-ray and facial bone CT. Patients who had not taken facial bone CT, who had been transferred, and who did not have EMR were excluded. We divided the patients into 2 groups, those who had nasal bone fractures and those without a fracture on their facial bone CT. We analyzed other parameters such as age, sex, and type of fracture to find statistical differences between the two groups. Results: A total of 209 patients were included. The patients with nasal bone fractures on their facial bone CT were older, and their traumas were more violent. Ten patients who had apparent nasal bone fractures on their facial bone CT had no definite signs of a fracture on their plain x-ray. Conclusion: Though facial bone CT is an effective modality in detecting nasal bone fractures, in evaluating younger patients suspected of having nasal bone fractures, prudent use of facial bone CT is needed to reduce unnecessary exposure to radiation.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.5-10
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• 2020

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate celiac plexus neurolysis (CPN) for the treatment of cancerous upper abdominal pain in a tertiary university hospital in Korea. Methods: At the tertiary university hospital in Korea, electronic medical records of cancer patients who underwent CPN and died in the hospital from November 2009 to June 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. Results: The total number of subjects was 51. The 17 patients were from the Department of Gastroenterology (33.0%), followed by 11 patients from the Department of Hemato-oncology (21.6%), 11 patients from the Department of Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (21.6%), 9 patients from the Department of General Surgery (17.6%). The diagnosis was pancreatic cancer in 15 patients (29.4%), stomach cancer in 8 patients (15.7%), hepatobiliary cancer in 20 patients (39.2%), colon cancer in 1 patient (2.0%), esophageal cancer in 2 patient (3.9%) and intra-abdominal metastasis in 5 patients (9.8%). The mean survival time after the surgery was 66.4±55.0 days. The pain intensity before and 1 week after the procedure significantly decreased, but the amounts of opioids consumed before and 1 week after the procedure were not statistically significant. Side effects occurred after the procedure including temporary localized pain in 24 patients (47.0%), hypotension in 12 (23.5%), and diarrhea in 6 (11.8%). Conclusion: CPN is an effective and safe procedure for reducing upper abdominal pain caused by cancer, and it is necessary to perform CPN within the appropriate time by establishing a system of interdepartmental cooperation.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.198-206
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• 2020

Purpose: The rapid response team is a patient safety system that detects symptoms and signs of deteriorating inpatients and provides intervention and treatment. This study analyzed the factors influencing the activation time of the team. Methods: This is a descriptive correlation study that analyzed the electronic medical records of patients activated by the rapid response team. The collection period was from January 2014 to December 2017. We analyzed 278 pieces of data activated by the rapid response team for patients aged 16 years or older at C University S Hospital in Seoul. We employed the SPSS 23.0 program for data analysis. Results: The reasons for activation of the rapid response team were oxygen saturation of less than 90.0%, other causes, and change in consciousness. The most common diagnosis of activated patients was respiratory failure (32.4%). The average activation time was 153.43±286.05 min. The activation time was shortest during convulsions (13.29±7.32 min). For patients with a history of kidney disease (B=0.58, p=.008), in case of surgery (B=0.55, p<.001), if the first symptom is mediated by the physician (B=0.53, p=.007) the active time is often extended. On the other hand, activation time is reduced when consciousness changes (B=-0.51, p=.002), especially when oxygen saturation is below 90.0% (B=-0.64, p<.001). Conclusion: Based on the results of the study, it is expected that patients deteriorating in the general ward would be recognized early, which will help in the effective activation of the rapid response team.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.207-216
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• 2020

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the motor subtypes of delirium in patients in a Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU), and identify the factors related to the characteristics of patients according to the motor subtypes of delirium. Methods: Data were collected in the SICU of a tertiary hospital in ^⁎ city from October 2018 to June 2019. Delirium was detected using the Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU (CAM-ICU) and motor subtypes of delirium were measured with the Delirium Motor Subtype Scale (DMSS)-4. Patients' characteristics were obtained by using the electronic medical records. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Results: Among 1,112 patients, 172 patients showed delirium (15.5%). After excluding dementia patients and patients refusing to participate in the study, 126 patients included in the final analysis. Delirium patients were classified as hyperactive delirium (32.5%), hypoactive delirium (42.9%), mixed delirium (11.9%), and non-motor subtype delirium (12.7%). Conclusion: The study results suggest that hypoactive delirium is the most prevalent motor subtype of delirium in SICU. More application of ventilators, more administration of sedatives, more use of catheters, and higher nursing severity were reported for hypoactive delirium cases than hyperactive ones. Therefore, it is necessary to assess early the motor subtypes of delirium using structured tools and develop appropriate nursing interventions suitable for each subtype of delirium.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.42-48
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• 2013

Background: Patients diagnosed with cancer tend to have multiple risk factors for drug related problems such as old age, comorbid conditions, self-medication, additional medications for supportive therapy, and the cancer treatment itself. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate notable polypharmacy and related problems in oncology patients during hospitalization or following clinic visit. Method: The electronic medical records of patients who were discharged from oncology division at Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) from June $1^{st}$ to June $30^{th}$, 2011 were retrospectively reviewed. Results: A total of 334 discharged patients were included in this study. Among them, 221 patients had pre-admission medications. Forty percent of the patients, including 60.3% of elderly patients (over 65 years of age) were prescribed more than 5 kinds of medications. Twenty percent of the patients were prescribed to take medications more than 7 times a day. Medication duplications were observed in 2.4% of patients. In 10.5% of the reviewed patients, 47 cases of potential drug-drug interaction including 3 cases of contraindication and 17 cases of major clinical implication according to Micromedex were detected. Medication changes were made in 88% of patients during hospitalization and in 94.7% of patients at their first visit after discharge. Antidiarrheal agent (loperamide) was prescribed along with laxatives in 18.5% of the prescriptions and inadequate instructions on how to take it were observed in 63% of the prescriptions. Conclusion: This study identified the prevalence of polypharmacy and related problems in cancer patients, which presents the need for an active role of pharmacists in pharmaceutical care in oncology wards.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.244-249
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• 2008

Konkuk University Hospital (KUH), which opened in September 2005, is currently categorized as a secondary hospital. Early on after its establishment, the surgical residents and nurses were relatively inexperienced in the treatment of stomach cancer. Therefore, the quality of surgery for stomach cancer at KUH may be different from that of the existing large-scale tertiary hospitals. The purpose of this study is first to investigate the clinicopathological characteristics of the gastric cancer patients at the KUH, and second to compare our morbidity & mortality rates with those of previous studies, and we also analyzed the risk factors of morbidity at the early stage of a training hospital. Materials and Methods: This study retrospectively collected the clinicopathological characteristics and the post-operative morbidity rates and mortality rates with using the electronic medical records of all the patients who went under a gastric cancer operation at KUH from September 2005 to April 2008. Results: The total number of gastric cancer patients who underwent operation was 201. The morbidity rate and death rate at KUH were 10.4% and 0.5%, respectively. The morbidity has increased with an older age. The other variables had no influence on morbidity. Conclusion: The morbidity rate, death rate and the clinicopathological characteristics of gastric cancer patients at KUH were similar to those of the previous reports. We found that age is the main factor affecting the morbidity rate after stomach cancer surgery. For further surgical qualification of stomach cancer surgery at KUH, it is necessary to collect the survival data of patients who undergo stomach cancer surgery.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.89-100
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• 2019

Background: Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is associated with high morbidity and mortality, particularly among immunocompromised patients, such as lung transplant recipients. Voriconazole, the first-line therapy for IA, shows a non-linear pharmacokinetic profile and has a narrow therapeutic range. Careful and appropriate administration is necessary, primarily because it is used for critically ill patients; however, the clinical usefulness of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) has not been sufficiently verified. Therefore, in this study, we validated the safety and efficacy of voriconazole TDM in lung transplant recipients receiving only voriconazole for IA treatment. Methods: The electronic medical records of lung transplant recipients (${\geq}19$ years of age) administered only voriconazole for > 7 days for treatment of IA from June 1, 2013 to May 31, 2018 were analyzed retrospectively. Results: Among the 54 patients, 27 each were allocated to TDM and non-TDM groups, respectively. There were no significant differences in patient characteristics between the two groups except for ICU-hospitalization status. Of the TDM group patients, 81.5% needed adjustment of voriconazole dosage because the levels were out of target range. Comparison of two groups showed that treatment response was higher throughout treatment and switching rates of second-line agents were significantly lower in the TDM group, but it was insufficient to confirm safety improvements through voriconazole TDM. Conclusions: Considering that the treatment response tended to be higher and the rates of switching to second-line antifungal agents were lower in the TDM group, voriconazole TDM may increase the therapeutic effect on IA in lung transplant patients.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.166-172
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• 2019

Background: Hypercalcemia is an important metabolic emergency condition in cancer patients. Bisphosphonate is the treatment of choice for hypercalcemia, whereas calcitonin and hydration with furosemide are recommended for acute supportive therapy. However, data regarding real-world treatment patterns and outcomes of pharmacological treatments are limited. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the treatment patterns and clinical outcomes of hypercalcemia treatment in solid tumor patients. Methods: Electronic medical records of 123 adults with solid cancers and albumin-corrected calcium levels >10.5 mg/dL or ionized calcium levels >1.35 mmol/L were reviewed. We retrospectively analyzed the pharmacological treatment and recovery rate according to the severity of hypercalcemia. Results: A total of 177 cases were identified, of which 49 were not treated and 30 were treated with hydration only. In moderate-to-severe cases, 86.5% received pharmacological treatment. Thirty-four cases (19.2%) were treated with bisphosphonate alone and 58 cases (32.8%) were treated with bisphosphonate and calcitonin. In mild hypercalcemia cases, the recovery rate was higher for those receiving hydration only or pharmacological treatment (79.7%) than for those receiving no treatment (61.4%, p = 0.041). Most moderate-to-severe cases were treated with medication and of those treated, 56.3% recovered. The recovery rate was lower in those treated with bisphosphonate alone (38.2%) than in those who underwent calcitonin combination treatment (73.7%, p = 0.001). Conclusions: Bisphosphonate combined with calcitonin was found to be more effective than bisphosphonate alone for the treatment of moderate-to-severe hypercalcemia. Considering the current shortage of calcitonin, further efforts are required to ensure its stable supply.

• Journal of Neurocritical Care
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.110-118
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• 2018

Background: The role of clinical pharmacists in medication therapy to improve clinical and economic outcomes has been reported in the literature. This study was conducted to analyze the changes in details of medication interventions before and after the introduction of clinical pharmacists into the care of neurocritical care unit (NCU) patients, and to evaluate the economic effects of clinical pharmacists by calculating the avoidance cost. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted reviewing the electronic medical records from June 2013 to May 2014 (before), and from June 2016 to May 2017 (after). We calculated the number and rates of intervention, the acceptance rates of it, and also reviewed the list of interventions. We calculated avoidance cost if there was no intervention. Results: The monthly mean number of interventions increased from 8.0 (${\pm}5.7$) to 31.7 (${\pm}12.8$) (P<0.001) and the frequency of intervention also increased from 0.8% to 1.6% (P=0.003). The most frequently provided pharmacist intervention was nutritional support before introduction of clinical pharmacists and discussions on the medication plan after. The number of classified interventions was 14 before introduction of clinical pharmacist services and 33 after. The calculated cost avoidance associated with a clinical pharmacists' integration was 77,990,615 won per year. Conclusion: Introduction of clinicals pharmacist into the NCU was associated with increased intervention rates and expanded types of clinical interventions. The cost avoidance achieved by the pharmacists' interventions can be further explored to evaluate if similar expansions of pharmacists' services achieve similar results in other settings.