• Journal of Korean Dental Hygiene Science
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.51-58
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• 2020

Oral examination ensures early detection and treatment of oral diseases and improvement of quality of health-related life. This is imperative as it reduces individuals' dental medical expenses and social costs caused by diseases. However, as the low oral examination acceptance rate continues to be a problem, this study was conducted to identify the factors that influence the oral examination of an economically active population. In this study, 4,836 economically active individuals between the ages of 20 and 65 years were studied using data from the 7th National Health and Nutrition Survey in 2018. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the factors influencing demographic and sociological characteristics on oral examination after adjusting for complaints of mastication and speech discomfort. As a result of confirming the factors influencing the oral examination, increase in age tended to be inversely proportional to the oral examination. Income level, type of job, and job position were identified as factors that influenced oral examinations. Compared to the group with a high socioeconomic status, which is represented by a group with a high income level or a stable job type or job position, the group with low economic status was found to have a negative effect on oral examination. Oral management of vulnerable groups, who might not be considered while devising oral health management policies, should be promoted through the development and provision of oral health management policies that consider employment status and environment.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.1-10
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• 2021

Objectives We aimed to examine health-related economic analysis of available interventions on idiopathic short stature (ISS). Methods Eight studies were reviewed from English, Korean, and Chinese databases which were published up to December 24, 2020. Effectiveness, utility, and cost data were extracted from the studies and descriptive analysis of the individual studies was conducted Results Five studies were chosen. In the two economic evaluation studies, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of growth hormone (GH) treatment was presented by performing cost-effectiveness analysis based on the deterministic decision tree approach for the GH and untreated group. Final adult height and direct medical costs were analyzed as effectiveness and cost outcomes. In 1 review article, an ICER of GH was presented based on systematic review on the effects of the GH treatment. In the two clinical trials, the effectiveness and cost of the 12 months Oriental medicine combination treatment were presented in comparison with the GH treatment alone. There were no literatures that provided utility data of available intervention on ISS. Conclusions The results of this study will be used as basic data for the economic analysis of Oriental medicine treatment on ISS in the future.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.197-208
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• 2021

Objectives: The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the variables associated with length of stay (LOS), hospital costs, intensive care unit (ICU) use, and treatment outcomes in patients hospitalized for maxillofacial infections at a tertiary medical center in South Korea. Materials and Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted for patients admitted for treatment of maxillofacial infections at Dankook University Hospital from January 1, 2011 through September 30, 2020. A total of 390 patient charts were reviewed and included in the final statistical analyses. Results: Average LOS and hospital bill per patient of this study was 11.47 days, and ₩4,710,017.25 ($4,216.67), respectively. Of the 390 subjects, 97.3% were discharged routinely following complete recovery, 1.0% expired following treatment, and 0.8% were transferred to another hospital. In multivariate linear regression analyses to determine variables associated with LOS, admission year, infection side, Flynn score, deep neck infection, cardiovascular disease, admission C-reactive protein (CRP) and glucose levels, number and length of surgical interventions, tracheostomy, time elapsed from admission to first surgery, and length of ICU stay accounted for 85.8% of the variation. With regard to the total hospital bill, significantly associated variables were age, type of insurance, Flynn score, number of comorbidities, admission CRP, white blood cell, and glucose levels, admission temperature, peak temperature, surgical intervention, the length, type, and location of surgery, tracheostomy, time elapsed from admission to first surgery, and length of ICU use, which accounted for 90.4% of the variation. Age and ICU use were the only variables significantly associated with unfavorable discharge outcomes in multivariate logistic regression analysis. Conclusion: For successful and cost-effective management of maxillofacial infections, clinicians to be vigilant about the decision to admit patients with maxillofacial infections, perform appropriate surgery at an adequate time, and admit them to the ICU.

• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.213-224
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• 2020

Purpose: This study is a descriptive and secondary analytical study that uses panel data to identify the factors of medication adherence to improve life care of hypertensive patients. Methods: The subjects of this study were 2,484 patients who were taking medication after hypertension using Korea Medical Panel 2015 data (β-version 1.0). Data analysis was performed using Chi-Square, Scheffe's test, and logistic regression using SPSS/win 22.0. Results: The level of medication adherence in patients with hypertension was 94.2%. The factors of medication adherence were gender and age in Model I of demographic factors, and the presence of disability, smoking, and drinking in Model II. Model III, which added drug use factors, was identified as drinking, drug duration, side effects, drug satisfaction, and payment of drug costs. Conclusion: In order to improve life care for hypertension patients, education and interventions on the importance of take medication and side effects of medications and how to take them will be needed in the early stages of diagnosis.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.155-165
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• 2022

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is not completely reversible and requires long-term management with appropriate treatment. This study aimed to analyze trends in treatment regimens and medication costs for COPD patients using a national claims database. Methods: We conducted this analysis using National Patient Sample data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service covering the period from 2015 to 2018. We have constructed a dataset comprising COPD disease classification codes J43.x and J44.x (based on KCD-7 code, J43.0 was excluded) and compiled a list of drugs fitting current guidelines. To identify trends, we calculated frequency, ratio, and compound annual growth rate (CAGR) using the numbers of prescriptions and patients. Results: The number of COPD patients was 7,260 in 2018, slightly decreased from 2015. Most of these COPD patients were aged 60 or older and included a high proportion of males (72.2%; 2018). The number of patients prescribed inhaled medications increased gradually from 2015 to 2018 (9,227 (47.1%); 2015, 9,285 (51.5%); 2018), while the number of patients prescribed systemic beta-agonists and Xanthines has decreased since 2015 (CAGR -14.7; systemic beta-agonist, -5.8; Xanthines). The per capita cost of medication has increased by 0.4% (KRW 206,667; 2018, KRW 204,278; 2015) annually during the study period. Conclusion: This study showed that treatment with inhaled medications had continuously increased in accord with changing guidelines, but oral medications were still widely used. It is necessary to emphasize the importance of inhaled medications in treating COPD to reduce additional economic burden through appropriate medication use.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.13-25
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• 2022

Purpose : This study compared the cost-effectiveness ratio of physical therapy in health centers and home physical therapy, two physical therapy methods for home-bound stroke patients, and clarified the economic validity regarding the effect of home physical therapy. Methods : To measure and compare the cost and effectiveness of the two physical therapy methods for stroke patients, subjects were recruited based on in-hospital and home physical therapy. Among the entire data collected, 82 and 90 participants were selected for in-hospital and home physical therapy, respectively. To measure costs, regarding both in-hospital and home physical therapy, direct cost and indirect cost for patients, family, medical institutes, and the government were measured. In addition, activities of daily living were measured in both methods to measure their effectiveness. Through collected data, the cost-effectiveness and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were analyzed. Results : Based on the analysis of cost-effectiveness, home physical therapy showed lower cost-effectiveness than in-hospital physical therapy. Furthermore, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio also showed a difference, which implied home physical therapy could have high effectiveness compared to cost. Conclusion : Based on these results, home physical therapy could be considered as an alternativeto other methods of physical therapy, for home-bound stroke patients. In addition, the result of thisstudy contribute by providing evidence that home physical therapy offers economic benefits and canbe more effective in treating home-bound patients when policy decisions are made to establish a home physical therapy system.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.278-284
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• 2023

The synthetic B₂O₃-As₂O₃ glass ceramic are prepared to investigate the physical properties and the radiation shielding capabilities with the variation of concentration of the As₂O₃ with 10, 20, 30, and 40%, respectively. XRD analyses are performed on the fabricated glass-ceramic and depicted the improvement of crystallinity by adding As₂O₃. The radiation shielding properties are studied for the B₂O₃-As₂O₃ glass ceramic. The values of linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) are varied with the variation of incident photon gamma energy (23.1-103 keV). The LAC values enhanced from 12.19 cm^-1-37.75 cm^-1 by raising the As₂O₃ concentration from 10 to 40 mol% at low gamma energy (23.1 keV) for BAs10 and BAs40, respectively. Among the shielding parameters, the half-value layer, transmission factor, and radiation protection efficiency are estimated. Furthermore, the fabricated samples of glass ceramic have low manufacturing costs and good shielding features compared to the previous work. It can be concluded the B₂O₃-As₂O₃ glass ceramic is appropriate to apply in X-ray or low-energy gamma-ray shielding applications.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.73-77
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• 2022

Blood products (BPs) can only be obtained through blood donation and hence represent a finite resource. BPs should therefore be used conservatively. However, BPs are being used indiscriminately without evidence. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reasons for the use of BPs and their appropriateness. The investigation was carried out based on hemoglobin levels. Data were obtained from Nov 1, 2020, to Oct 31, 2021, from a hospital's OCS/EMR systems. The BPs were dispensed in 21,303 cases, and the number of hemoglobin levels >7.0 g/dL or higher among red blood cell drugs used by each treatment department was 1,173 (>7.0 g/dL). The misuse of blood transfusions is increasing social costs, with the adequacy of transfusion becoming increasingly important. Hence, each medical institution should review the transfusion guideline evaluation index, check the status of the release of BPs, and institute educational programs covering transfusion guidelines and continually evaluate their adequacy.

• Journal of Appropriate Technology
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.46-53
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• 2019

It should be supported by the ease and economic production in terms of appropriate technology to be widely used in the real applying fields. In particular, the diagnosis of diseases is one of the most difficult areas to apply to the developing countries compared to other fields because of the high costs of professional manpower, equipment, and medial reagents. In recent years, paper, which is one of the most common materials around, has been used to fabricate the disease diagnostic chips, particularly without any special facilities or the equipment. These new technologies lead the possibility of using point-of-care testing devices that can be manufactured quickly in the field by lowering the production cost. These paperbased technologies will contribute to solve many of the deadliest medical problems in developing countries and ultimately improve the quality of human life.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.154-168
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• 2023

Background: Legal regulations and fees have been established in Korea to provide visiting oral health care services to individuals with long-term care insurance (LTCI). However, beneficiaries of this service are very limited. Therefore, to improve the Korean system we propose a comparative analysis with the Japanese system. Methods: This study is a descriptive analysis based on secondary data, such as statistics, laws, and service record forms from Korea and Japan. The most recent institutional documents were obtained through a Google search. The variables investigated were financial resources of LTCI, co-payment structure, monthly limit of LTCI benefits, care levels of LTCI, service providers, service costs, contents of service, and the number of cases of service. Results: In both Korea and Japan, LTCI is financed through a combination of taxes and insurance premiums. However, the monthly limit for receiving LTCI services in Japan is about 2.4 times higher than in Korea. Visiting medical and dental treatment is also possible in Japan. Furthermore, nursing staff can provide daily oral health care services according to dental hygienists' instruction unlike Korea. Oral health care services in Korea are focused on oral hygiene and prevention of oral diseases, while Japan additionally provides oral function screening, patient education for oral health management, and training for nursing staff to enhance oral function, eating, and swallowing of the patients. Conclusion: We concluded that the possibility of visiting dental treatment, differences in monthly limit of LTCI benefits, oral function assessment and guidance, as well as collaboration with other healthcare professionals contributed to the difference in the frequency of utilization of visiting oral health care services between Korea and Japan.