• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.64 no.6
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• pp.995-1003
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• 2021

Objective : People are living longer and the elderly population continues to increase. The incidence of degenerative spinal diseases (DSDs) in the elderly population is quite high. Therefore, we are facing more cases of DSD and offering more surgical solutions in geriatric patients. Understanding the significance and association of frailty and central sarcopenia as risk factors for spinal surgery in elderly patients will be helpful in improving surgical outcomes. We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of prospectively collected data to assess the impact of preoperative central sarcopenia, frailty, and comorbidity on surgical outcome in elderly patients with DSD. Methods : We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients who underwent elective spinal surgery performed from January 1, 2019 to September 30, 2020 at our hospital. We included patients aged 65 and over who underwent surgery on the thoracic or lumbar spine and were diagnosed as DSD. Central sarcopenia was measured by the 50th percentile of psoas : L4 vertebral index (PLVI) using the cross-sectional area of the psoas muscle. We used the Korean version of the fatigue, resistance, ambulation, illnesses, and loss of weight (K-FRAIL) scale to measure frailty. Comorbidity was confirmed and scored using the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). As a tool for measuring surgical outcome, we used the Clavien-Dindo (CD) classification for postoperative complications and the length of stay (LOS). Results : This study included 85 patients (35 males and 50 females). The mean age was 74.05±6.47 years. Using the K-FRAIL scale, four patients were scored as robust, 44 patients were pre-frail and 37 patients were frail. The mean PLVI was 0.61±0.19. According to the CD classification, 50 patients were classified as grade 1, 19 as grade 2, and four as grade 4. The mean LOS was 12.35±8.17 days. Multivariate stepwise regression analysis showed that postoperative complication was significantly associated with surgical invasiveness and K-FRAIL scale. LOS was significantly associated with surgical invasiveness and CCI. K-FRAIL scale showed a significant correlation with CCI and PLVI. Conclusion : The present study demonstrates that frailty, comorbidity, and surgical invasiveness are important risk factors for postoperative complications and LOS in elderly patients with DSD. Preoperative recognition of these factors may be useful for perioperative optimization, risk stratification, and patient counseling.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.791-797
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• 2011

Purpose: Angiosarcoma is a rare and aggressive malignant soft tissue tumor. Due to a lack of the established optimal treatment modalities, however, an extensive resection followed by an early detection has been reported to be the best treatment of choice. We analyzed the clinical course of six patients, hence attempted to contribute to making a treatment plan for patients with angiosarcoma. Methods: Six patients who have been surgically treated between 2005 and 2010 are included. Through a retrospective analysis of the medical records, we evaluated the pattern of disease detection, a past history, time span between the detection and the primary surgery, surgical treatment modalities, time span between the primary surgery and the recurrence/metastasis, the sites of metastasis and the secondary treatment modalities. Results: The mean age of patients was 70.5 years; all male; and the sites were the scalp. Four patients underwent the reconstruction using a local flap with a skin graft and two patients using a free flap. The mean period elapsed until the primary operation since the identification was 7.3 months and until a recurrence or a metastasis occurred following the primary operation was 12 months. Four patients had pulmonary metastasis. As a secondary therapy, four patients underwent the radiotherapy and one was treated with the chemotherapy. At the present, five patients died and one undergoes a monitoring of the clinical course. Conclusion: It would be mandatory to shorten the length of hospital stay and to return patients to their daily lives as the earliest as possible using relatively simpler surgical methods, thus attempting to give them opportunity to resume their previous normal life.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.85 no.1
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• pp.74-79
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• 2022

Background: The effect of underlying chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during a pandemic is controversial. The purpose of this study was to examine the prognosis of COVID-19 according to the underlying COPD. Methods: COVID-19 patients were assessed using nationwide health insurance data. Comorbidities were evaluated using the modified Charlson Comorbidity Index (mCCI) which excluded COPD from conventional CCI scores. Baseline characteristics were assessed. Univariable and multiple logistic and linear regression analyses were performed to determine effects of variables on clinical outcomes. Ages, sex, mCCI, socioeconomic status, and underlying COPD were selected as variables. Results: COPD patients showed older age (71.3±11.6 years vs. 47.7±19.1 years, p<0.001), higher mCCI (2.6±1.9 vs. 0.8±1.3, p<0.001), and higher mortality (22.9% vs. 3.2%, p<0.001) than non-COPD patients. The intensive care unit admission rate and hospital length of stay were not significantly different between the two groups. All variables were associated with mortality in univariate analysis. However, underlying COPD was not associated with mortality unlike other variables in the adjusted analysis. Older age (odds ratio [OR], 1.12; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11-1.14; p<0.001), male sex (OR, 2.29; 95% CI, 1.67-3.12; p<0.001), higher mCCI (OR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.20-1.41; p<0.001), and medical aid insurance (OR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.03-2.32; p=0.035) were associated with mortality. Conclusion: Underlying COPD is not associated with a poor prognosis of COVID-19.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.183-198
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to investigate the status of clinical nutrition services provided at tertiary hospitals and general hospitals in Korea. In total, 157 questionnaires were distributed to the departments of nutrition at hospitals on September 2013. The results of this study are as follows. The median number of beds was 607 and average length of stay was 8 days. 63.1% of dietitians had over 5 years of career experience. Nutritional screening rate was 97% in tertiary hospitals but only 67.2% in general hospitals (P<0.001). The rate of equipment with computerized nutritional screening system was 100% in tertiary hospitals but 71.9% in general hospitals (P<0.001). Hospitals with the best regarding nutritional care were hospitals accredited by JCI (Joint Commission International). On the other hand, hospitals not accredited by the JCI but KOIHA (Korea Institute for Healthcare Accreditation) showed the lowest performance rate of nutritional care. Nutrition support teams (NSTs) were established in all tertiary hospitals but in only 73% of general hospitals (P<0.001). The rate of actively operating NSTs was 89% in tertiary hospitals but only 62% in general hospitals (P<0.001). There is a need to provide proper standardized clinical nutrition services as a primary treatment and we observed large variations in the quality of nutritional service between hospitals. Therefore, local solutions are needed to implement nutritional programs and policies for improved service and care.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.255-262
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• 2017

Background: Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has been suggested as a less invasive treatment for high-risk patients with aortic valve disease. I n this study, we compared the outcomes of conventional surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR) and TAVR in elderly patients aged over 80. Methods: A total of 108 patients aged 80 years or older who underwent isolated AVR (n=35) or TAVR (n=73) from 2010 through 2015 at Asan Medical Center were identified. Early and late clinical outcomes, including echocardiographic findings, were evaluated in both groups. The mean follow-up duration was $766.4{\pm}528.7days$ in the AVR group and $755.2{\pm}546.6days$ in the TAVR group, and the average timing of the last follow-up echocardiography was at $492.6{\pm}512.5days$ in the AVR group and $515.7{\pm}526.8days$ in the TAVR group. Results: The overall early mortality was 2.8% (0 of 35, 0% in the AVR group vs. 3 of 73, 4.1% in the TAVR group). Permanent pacemaker insertion was significantly more common in the TAVR group (p=0.010). Renal failure requiring dialysis and new-onset atrial fibrillation was more frequent and the length of hospital stay was longer in the AVR group; however, this difference did not reach statistical significance. In the TAVR group, 14 patients (19.2%) were rehospitalized due to cardiac problems, and 13 patients (17.8%) had developed significant paravalvular leakage by the time of the last follow-up echocardiography. Conclusion: TAVR could be a good alternative to conventional surgical AVR in elderly patients. However, TAVR has several shortcomings, such as frequent significant paravalvular leakage or readmission, which should be considered in decision-making.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.190-202
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• 2000

Background : The objectives of this study were to examine patients' satisfaction with the DRG based payment method and its association with their awareness of the method, to examine patient reported changes in doctors' caring attitude, level of their out-of-pocket payments, providers' acceptance of patients' request for additional services after the program, and to examine changes in service utilization recorded in medical records. Method : One hundred-four patients who had cesarean sections before and after the demonstration program at two hospitals located in Seoul participated in the study. Patients were surveyed before discharges when their charges were finalized. Their medical records were reviewed as well to collect data for service utilization during hospital stays. The association between patients' satisfaction with the payment method and their awareness of the method was analyzed by ${\chi}^2$-test, and the significance of changes in providers' acceptance of patients' request for additional services and service utilization after the program were examined by ${\chi}^2$-test and t-test, respectively. Results : A large proportion of patients did not know of the DRG based payment method at the time of survey and a significantly larger proportion of patients who came to the hospitals with the knowledge satisfied with the method. About the same proportion of patients reported improvement and deterioration in doctors' caring attitude compare to the previous hospitalizations and a similar result was found concerning out-of-pocket payments. Providers' acceptance of patients' request for medication, PCA and painless delivery decreased significantly after the program whereas the acceptance for additional hospital days and laboratory and radiology tests did not. Length of stay, the numbers of days on antibiotics and antianemic medication, and the number of blood tests decreased significantly after the program, however, decreases in the rate of antianemic medication and the number of urine analyses were not statistically significant. Re-operation, in-hospital death, and complications were not observed before and after the program. Conclusion : The study findings indicated a need for better patient education and publicity about the newly introduced payment method to improve their satisfaction with the system. Other study findings concerning service utilization and quality of care indicators were consistent with the government funded evaluation studies.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.8-15
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• 2020

Background: We aimed to investigate the associations of critical care provided in a cardiac surgical intensive care unit (CSICU) staffed by an attending intensivist with improvements in intensive care unit (ICU) quality and reductions in postoperative complications. Methods: Patients who underwent elective isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) between January 2007 and December 2012 (the control group) were propensity-matched (1:1) to CABG patients between January 2013 and June 2018 (the intensivist group). Results: Using propensity score matching, 302 patients were extracted from each group. The proportion of patients with at least 1 postoperative complication was significantly lower in the intensivist group than in the control group (17.2% vs. 28.5%, p=0.001). In the intensivist group, the duration of mechanical ventilation (6.4±13.7 hours vs. 13.7±49.3 hours, p=0.013) and length of ICU stay (28.7±33.9 hours vs. 41.7±90.4 hours, p=0.018) were significantly shorter than in the control group. The proportions of patients with prolonged mechanical ventilation (2.3% vs. 7.6%, p=0.006), delirium (1.3% vs. 6.3%, p=0.003) and acute kidney injury (1.3% vs. 5.3%, p=0.012) were significantly lower in the intensivist group than in the control group. Conclusion: A transition from an open ICU model with trainee coverage to a closed ICU model with attending intensivist coverage can be expected to yield improvements in CSICU quality and reductions in postoperative complications.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.128-133
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• 2010

Purpose: All-terrain vehicle (ATV)-related injuries have increased since the introduction of ATVs to Korea. The purpose of this study is to compare patients with ATV-related injuries (PATV) to patients with motorcycle (MC)-related injuries (PMC). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical records of PATV and PMC who visited an emergency center in 2008. The cases of PMC were 164, and those of PATV were 52. Results: While PMC are seen evenly in the first half year and the second half year, PATV are seen mainly the first half year (from March to June: 73%). For PMC the most frequent injury mechanism was collision with another vehicle, while for PATV, it was side overturn/roll over. The injury severity score (ISS), the revised trauma score (RTS), the trauma score and the injury severity score (TRISS) were $5.6{\pm}5.6$, $7.7{\pm}0.7$, $5.0{\pm}2.1$ for PMC and $7.1{\pm}7.5$, $7.7{\pm}1.1$, $5.5{\pm}1.5$ for PATV, respectively. The most common injury sites were the lower extremities for PMC and the face for PATV. The rates of admission, surgery and the length of hospital stay were similar between PMC and PATV. Conclusion: This study shows that the risk of ATV accidents is similar to that of MC accidents. We recommend that the same safety standards and regulations that are applied to MCs should be used for ATVs. Safe and enjoyable paths have to be sought for drivers of ATVs.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.48-67
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• 2006

The aim of the study was to examine levels of satisfaction with health care in North Korea and to identify factors associated with it using a convenience sample of North Korean refugees in China. Data from the 2004 Survey of Health Seeking Behavior of North Korean Households conducted by the Center for Refugee and Disaster Response, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health were used. The study subjects were 273 North Korean refugees whose length of stay in China was less than 3 months. Factor analysis was used to extract factor dimensions from the 12 satisfaction items. Bivariate (t test and ANOVA) and multiple regression analyses were used in examining factors associated with satisfaction with health care use in North Korea Overall, satisfaction level was low ($2.36{\pm}0.36$, score range: 1-5). Of the three-factor dimensions, physician skills scored the highest $(2.93{\pm}0.36)$, followed by drug availability $(2.51{\pm}0.07)$ and general cleanliness $(1.66{\pm}0.55)$. In the multiple regression analysis, having a usual source of care was significantly associated with patient satisfaction. Respondents who identified primary care (section) doctors as their usual source of care tended to be less satisfied than those with the city or county hospital as their usual source of care. County residents tended to report a lower degree of satisfaction with general cleanliness than city residents. Among socioeconomic characteristics, the number of household assets positively predicted satisfaction with drug availability. North Korean residents appear to be dissatisfied with their medical care. It may reflect some inadequacies in the North's universal health care system to meet the healthcare needs of its people.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.335-342
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• 2009

Forty-two percent of the patients with renal failure that requires continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) have been reported to have severe malnutrition, and preexisting malnutrition is a statistically significant and independent predictor of negative hospital outcomes. We performed this study to evaluate the appropriateness of the calorie and protein provided for the critically ill patients who require CRRT. One hundred forty-nine patients who received CRRT were enrolled. The demographic data, the length of the ICU stay and the mortality were recorded. The calorie/protein intake and the blood urea nitrogen (BUN), albumin and creatinine levels were used as nutritional parameters. The mean daily calorie intake during CRRT was 16.1${\pm}$7.4 kcal/kg, which was 64% of the recommended intake. Only 10% of the patients received the recommended caloric intake and the ratio of the enteral and parenteral calories was 26%/74%. The mean protein intake was 0.58${\pm}$0.34 g/kg, which was 38% of the recommended intake. The calorie and protein intakes at the termination of CRRT were significantly increased compared to the initial day of treatment, but they stayed under the recommended intake. The BUN, creatinine and albumin levels were significantly increased in the survival group (odds ratio for albumin: 2.73; creatinine: 2.43). A strategy to increase the nutrition provision is needed to improve the nutritional statuses and clinical outcomes of the critically ill patients who require CRRT.