• Archives of Plastic Surgery
• /
• v.41 no.4
• /
• pp.362-365
• /
• 2014

Background Many implants are being used for the reconstruction of orbital wall fractures. The effect of the choice of implant for the reconstruction of an orbital wall fracture on the surgical outcome is under debate. The purpose of this article is to compare the outcomes of orbital wall reconstruction of small orbital wall fractures on the basis of the implants used. Methods The authors conducted a retrospective study using electronic databases. Between March 2001 and December 2012, 461 patients with orbital wall fractures were included in this study. Among them, 431 patients in whom the fracture size was less than $300mm^2$ were analyzed. The fracture size was calculated using computed tomography scans of the orbit in the sagittal and coronal images. Cases in which the fracture size was less than $300mm^2$ were included in this study. Results One hundred and twenty-nine patients were treated with silastic sheets; 238 patients were treated with titanium meshes; and absorbable meshes were used in the case of 64 patients. Overall, 13 patients required revision, and the revision rate was 3.0%. The revision rate of the silastic sheet group was 5.4%. In the multivariable analysis, the revision rate of the group reconstructed with silastic sheets was highly statistically significant (P=0.043, odds ratio=3.65). However, other factors such as age, sex, fracture type, and fracture size were not significant. Conclusions Reconstruction of orbital wall fractures with silastic sheets may cause more complications than that with other materials such as titanium meshes and absorbable meshes.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.39-51
• /
• 2015

Objective : To synthesize and identify the studies that delineated the relationship between quality of life and other factors in stroke patients in South Korea. Method : Electronic databases were searched, including KISS, NDSL, National Assembly Library and KmBase. The search terms included stroke, quality of life and correlation, relationship. Only papers published in Korean were included. Results : Twelve studies, from 256 references screened, were included. All studies were non-experimental and correlational analysis. A correlation coefficient between Quality of Life and ADL .293~.622, Depression -.804~-.533, Cognition .090~.610, Quality of Sleep .107, Quality of Satisfaction .367, Fatigue -.260, MAL(Quality of Movement .208, Amount of Use .364), Family Support .824, Pain -.306, Motivation for Rehabilitation .51~.86, Balance .740, Self-efficacy .388 were analyzed respectively. Conclusion : The quality of life of stroke patients was influenced by multiple factors. Occupational therapists need to consider the functions of upper extremity and activities of daily living as well as depression, cognition, sleep, family support, pain, and self efficacy to improve quality of life of stroke patients.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.173-183
• /
• 2014

Purpose: This study examined the effects of exercise programs on the pain and quality of life in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Methods: Electronic bibliographic databases of KiSTi, KoreaMed, KISS and KERIS were searched to identify studies of randomized controlled trials and non-randomized controlled trials. As a result, 1213 publications identified and 16 studies met inclusion and exclusion criteria. All studies examined for quality assessment of studies using Cochrane's risk of bias. Results: The 16 studies were eligible for inclusion criteria, then the meta-analysis was conducted to examine effectiveness of exercise programs on pain and quality of life in patients with knee osteoarthritis. The meta- analysis based on the random effect model showed that the exercise program was beneficial in decreasing pain (effect size .69; 95% confidence interval 0.45~0.91). Also, the exercise programs have been shown to be effective in significantly improving the quality of life. However, it was not statistically significant due to severe deviations of studies (effect size 1.06; 95% confidence interval -0.34~2.46). Conclusion: Exercise programs had positive effects on pain relief and improvement of the quality of life in patients with knee osteoarthritis, although the quality of life was not statistically significant due to severe deviations of studies.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.41 no.3
• /
• pp.159-164
• /
• 2008

Objectives : The purpose of this systematic review was to investigate the association between dietary intake of citrus fruits and prostate cancer risk. Methods : Authors searched electronic databases and the reference lists of publications of diet and prostate cancer studies until August 2007. All of the epidemiological studies that obtained individual data on dietary intake of citrus fruits and presented risk estimates of the association between intake of citrus fruits and risk of prostate cancer were identified and included. Using general variance-based methods, study-specific odds ratios (OR)/ relative risk (RR) and associated confidence interval (CI)/ standard error (SE) for highest versus lowest intake of citrus fruits level were extracted from each paper. Results : Eleven articles including six case-control studies, one nested case-control study and four cohort studies, proved eligible. Overall summary OR using random effect model did not show an association in risk of prostate caner with intake of citrus fruits (summary OR=1.03, 95% CI=0.89-1.19) with large heterogeneity across studies that we were unable to explain ($I^2$=67.88%). The summary ORs in case-control studies and cohort studies were 1.10 (95% CI=0.97-1.22) and 1.05 (95% CI=0.96-1.14), respectively. Conclusions : Pooled results from observational studies did not show an association between intake of citrus fruits and the risk of prostate cancer, although results vary substantially across studies.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.33 no.3
• /
• pp.200-230
• /
• 2012

Objectives: Ginseng, Panax ginseng C. A., white ginseng, has been used for thousands of years in Traditional Korean Medicine. Red ginseng can be made by a steaming process of white ginseng changing a variety of ginsenosides and ingredients such as dencichine. This article reviews red ginseng for mechanisms for pharmacodynamics and toxicity based on the content of ginseng's active ingredients, ginsenoside changed by steaming. Methods: The following electronic databases were searched: PubMed, Science Direct and Chinese Scientific Journals full text database (CQVIP), and KSI (Korean Studies Information) from their respective inceptions to June 2012. Results: Compared with unsteamed ginseng, the content of ginsenosides Rg2, Rg3, Rg5, Rh1, Rh2 and Rk1 called red ginseng-specific ginsenosides increased after the steaming process. Different ginsenosides have shown a wide variety of effects such as lowering or raising blood sugar and blood pressure or stimulating or sedating the nervous system. Especially, the levels of Rg2, Rg3, Rg5, Rh1, Rh2 and Rk1 were increased by the steaming process, showing a variety of pharmacodynamics in biological systems. Also, various processing methods such as puffing and fermentation have been developed in processing crude ginseng or red ginseng, affecting the content of ginseng's ingredients. The safety issue could be the most critical, specifically, on changed ginseng's ingredients such as dencichine. The level of dencichine was significantly reduced in red ginseng by the steaming process. In addition, the possible toxicity for red ginseng was affected by cytochrome P450, a herbal-drug interaction. Conclusions: The variety of pharmacological and toxicological properties should be changed by steaming process of Panax ginseng C. A., white ginseng. Even if it is not sure whether the steaming process of white ginseng would be better pharmacologically, it is sure that steaming reduces the level of dencichine causing a lower toxicity to the nervous system.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.97-110
• /
• 2015

Objectives Plantar fasciitis is one of the most common causes of heel pain. Plantar fasciitis can be managed with acupuncture, but the evidence for its effectiveness is uncertain. The aim of this review was to assess the effectiveness of acupuncture for plantar fasciitis. Methods I searched specific Korean and foreign electronic databases (KCI, RISS, NDSL, OASIS, KTKP, National Assembly Library, KMbase, PubMed, The Cochrane Library and China National Knowledge Infrastructure). The key search terms were 'heel pain', 'plantar fasciitis' and 'acupuncture'. Twenty-seven trials were included; eleven case reports, fourteen randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and two non-randomized controlled trials (NRCTs). Results Twenty-seven studies reported that acupuncture treatment reduced plantar fasciitis pain. However, the evidence provided by the case reports was regarded as weak because the methodological quality was poor, and the placebo effect of acupuncture was not accounted for in the RCTs and NRCTs. Overall, the methodological quality of the RCTs and NRCTs was weak. Conclusions There is some evidence for the effectiveness of acupuncture for plantar fasciitis. However, in order to reinforce the evidence for acupuncture's effectiveness, additional placebo-controlled trials with well-designed methodologies are required.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.136-142
• /
• 2020

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease with systemic inflammatory arthritis. This meta-analysis was conducted to examine the association between occupational exposure to silica and the risk of developing RA among different workers. Methods: In this meta-analysis, we searched relevant published studies using major electronic databases including Scopus, PubMed, ISI Web of Science, and Google Scholar search engine up to October 2019, and the references of retrieved articles were also checked for further possible sources. A random-effects model was used to account for heterogeneity among the results of the studies using the pooled odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The Q-statistic and I² tests were calculated to assess heterogeneity between the studies. Results: The pooled calculation of OR indicated a significant association between occupational exposure to silica and risk of developing RA among different workers (OR = 2.59, 95% CI = 1.73 to 3.45). In addition, the pooled estimates of OR in smokers were statistically significant (OR = 2.49, 95% CI = 1.13 to 3.86). Conclusions: The findings of the present study reveal that occupational exposure to silica may be associated with increased risk of developing RA.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.34 no.4
• /
• pp.342-347
• /
• 2010

Ginseng is one of the most-widely used herbal remedies. This systematic review evaluates the current evidence for its use in the reducing blood pressure (BP) in patients with hypertension. Systematic searches of 12 electronic databases were conducted without language restrictions. All randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of ginseng as a treatment for hypertension were candidates for inclusion. Methodological quality was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias. Five RCTs met the inclusion criteria. The risk of bias was low in most of the trials. Four of the included RCTs compared the effectiveness of ginseng to placebo. The meta-analysis of these data failed to show a statistically significant acute effect on systolic BP (SBP) or diastolic BP (DBP). However, subgroup analyses showed beneficial effects of Korean red ginseng (KRG) on both SBP (n=54, mean difference [MD], -6.52; 95% confidence interval [CI], -9.99 to -3.04; p=0.0002) and DBP (n=54, MD, -5.21; 95% CI, -7.90 to -2.51; p=0.0001). Two RCTs tested the long-term effects of ginseng for BP for 24hours. One of these trials failed to show any benefits of KRG compared to no treatment, and the other failed to show superior effects of North American ginseng compared to placebo. Adverse events with ginseng were none in one trial or not assessed. Collectively, these RCTs provide limited evidence for the acute effectiveness of KRG in the treatment of high BP. The total number of RCTs included in the analysis and the total sample size were insufficient to draw definitive conclusions. More rigorous studies are warranted.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.55-73
• /
• 2020

Objectives : We investigated the effectiveness and safety of intranasal phototherapy for allergic rhinitis (AR). Methods : We searched 8 electronic databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library, CNKI, CiNii Articles, OASIS, NDSL, KISS, KMbase) to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that reported the use of intranasal phototherapy for AR from their inception until May 30, 2020. Two investigators independently searched, collected, and screened the RCTs. We performed data extraction and evaluation for risk of bias using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool. Results : This study included 12 RCTs; six studies compared intranasal and sham phototherapy, of which four studies reported a significant inter group difference and two studies reported a significant difference partially. No significant changes in symptoms were observed between the phototherapy and conventional therapy groups. The phototherapy and concurrent acupuncture treatment group showed a significantly higher effectiveness rate compared with the group that received only acupuncture. Both the phototherapy and laser acupuncture group showed significant improvement in the symptom severity scale scores. Six studies reported mild adverse effects, such as dryness and nasal pain in the intranasal phototherapy group; however, no severe adverse effects were reported. Conclusions : This study confirmed the safety and effectiveness of intranasal phototherapy for symptom relief and improved quality of life in patients with AR. However, further studies are needed on this topic in order to demonstrate it clearly.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
• /
• v.15 no.3
• /
• pp.73-79
• /
• 2008

Background : Treadmill training has been proposed as a useful adjunct to conventional physical therapy to restore ability to walk after stroke. The purpose of this study to inform clinical practise by evaluating the research evidence for the effectiveness of treadmill training after stroke. Methods : We searched to the effectiveness of any form of intervention for effect of treadmill training by Dankook University electronic library databases of Medline, Embase, Cinahl, Amed and PEDro combined with a hand search of papers published in relevant peer-reviewed journals. Any type of study relevant to the topic published in English during time period from 1980 to 2007 was included. Results : The literature search identified 35 studies. The included studies enrolled a total of 374 subjects. 1. Treadmill retraining without partial body weight support might be more effective than no treatment at improving gait velocity, get up and go time, gait endurance and step length symmetry. 2. Treadmill retraining with partial body weight support might be more effective than no treatment in improving step length symmetry, gait velocity, gait endurance and balance. 3. Treadmill retraining might be more effective with partial body weight support than without it at improving gait velocity and motor improvement as measured by The Stroke Rehabilitation Assessment of Movement(STREAM). 4. Treadmill retraining without partial body weight support may be no different from physiotherapy and increase gait velocity to conventional gait therapy. 5. Treadmill retraining with partial body weight support may be no different from physiotherapy for gait velocity, motor recovery and balance. Conclusion The review suggests that although treadmill training of gait, especially with partial body weight support, might Improve gait parameters and functional mobility, unless treadmill training is directed at Improving gait speed it might be no more effective than conventional physical therapy at improving gait parameters.