• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.39 no.6
• /
• pp.471-474
• /
• 2006

Objective : Neuroimaging data are of paramount importance in making correct diagnosis. We herein evaluate the clinical usefulness of image transfer using cellular phones to facilitate neurological diagnosis and decision-making. Methods : Selected images from CT, MRI scans, and plain films obtained from 50 neurosurgical patients were transferred by cellular phones. A cellular phone with a built-in 1,300,000-pixel digital camera was used to capture and send the images. A cellular phone with a 262,000 color thin-film transistor liquid crystal display was used to receive the images. Communication between both cellular phones was operated by the same wireless protocol and the same wireless internet service. We compared the concordance of diagnoses and treatment plans between a house staff who could review full-scale original films and a consultant who could only review transferred images. These finding were later analyzed by a third observer. Results : The mean time of complete transfer was $2{\sim}3\;minutes$. The quality of all images received was good enough to make precise diagnosis and to select treatment options. Transferred images were helpful in making correct diagnosis and decision making in 49/50 [98%] cases. Discordant result was caused in one patient by improper selection of images by the house staff. Conclusion : The cellular phone system was useful for image transfer and delivery patient's information, leading to earlier diagnosis and initiation of treatment. This usefulness was due to sufficient resolution of the built-in camera and the TFT-LCD, the user-friendly features of the devices, and their low cost.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.49-59
• /
• 2022

Purpose : The purpose of this study is to directly understand the health condition of residents of mental health sanatoriums nationwide, which has been difficult to ascertain in surveys conducted to date. The study presents specific measures for improving the health of these residents. Methods : A "physical examination questionnaire for residents of mental health sanatoriums" was developed to check the basic physical condition of residents, and 20 out of 59 mental health sanatoriums nationwide were randomly selected. Medical personnel visited the sanatoriums, interviewing and examining the residents in person. A total of 396 health surveys were completed. Results : Many of the residents were underweight but had abdominal obesity. It was confirmed that chronic diseases among the residents were not diagnosed early or were not properly managed. Among the subjective symptoms complained of by the residents, musculoskeletal symptoms were the most common. Oral examinations revealed a serious level of oral health problems among the residents, including dental caries and missing teeth. Basic physical examinations found health problems that required additional examination or medical treatment. Blood pressure abnormalities made up the highest percentage of the health problems. Conclusion : Regular health surveys are needed to determine the health condition of residents of mental health sanatoriums. Access to and quality of primary medical services within the sanatoriums need to be dramatically improved. A delivery system for severe diseases and emergency medical care in the sanatoriums should also be specifically presented. The residents should be notified upon admission and during their stay that they have the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of mental and physical health. The issue of health rights should be addressed within a larger framework of reorganizing management plans for people in the community - not only residents - with chronic mental illness.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.28 no.1 s.49
• /
• pp.207-223
• /
• 1995

A new medical delivery system which regulated outpatient department(OPD) use from tertiary care hospitals was adopted in 1989. Under the new system, patients using tertiary care hospital OPD without referral slip from clinics or hospitals could not get any insurance benefit for the services received from the tertiary care hospital. This study was conducted to evaluate the Patient Referral System(PRS) with respect to health care expenditures and utilization. Two data sets were used in this study. One was monthly data set(from January 1986 to December 1992) from the Annual Report of Korea Medical Insurance Corporation(KMIC). The other was monthly joint data set composed of personal data of which 10% were selected randomly with their utilization data of KMIC from January 1988 to December 1992. The data were analyzed by time-series intervention model of SAS-ETS. The results of this study were as follows: 1. There was no statistically significant changes in per capita expenditures following PRS. 2. Utilization episodes per capita was increased statistically significantly after implementation of PRS. The use of clinics and hospitals increased significantly, whereas in tertiary care hospitals the use decreased significantly immediately after implementation of PRS and increased afterwards. 3. Follow-up visits per episode were decreased statistically significantly after implementation of PRS. The decrease of follow-up visits per episode were remarkable in clinics and hospitals, whereas in tertiary care hospitals it was increased significantly after implementation of PRS. 4. There was no statistically significant changes in prescribing days per episode following PRS. Futhermore, clinics and hospitals showed a statistically significant decrease in prescribing days per episode, whereas in tertiary care hospital it showed statistically significant increase after implementation of PRS. 5. Except high income class, the use of tertiary care hospitals showed statistically significant decrease after implementation of PRS. The degree of decrease in the use of tertiary care hospitals was inversely proportional to income. These results suggest that the PRS policy was not efficient because per capita expenditures did not decrease, and was not effective because utilization episodes per capita, follow-up visits per episode. and prescribing days per episode were not predictable and failed to show proper utilization. It was somewhat positive that utilization episodes per capita were decreased temporarily in tertiary care hospitals. And PRS policy was not appropriate because utilization episodes per capita was different among income groups. In conclusion, the PRS should be revised for initial goal attainment of cost containment and proper health care utilization.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.46 no.3
• /
• pp.134-138
• /
• 2013

This road map aims to establish a stable and integrated healthcare system for the Korean Peninsula by improving health conditions and building a foundation for healthcare in North Korea through a series of effective healthcare programs. With a basic time frame extending from the present in stages towards unification, the roadmap is composed of four successive phases. The first and second phases, each expected to last five years, respectively, focus on disease treatment and nutritional treatment. These phases would thereby safeguard the health of the most vulnerable populations in North Korea, while fulfilling the basic health needs of other groups by modernizing existing medical facilities. Based on the gains of the first two phases, the third phase, for ten years, would prepare for unification of the Koreas by promoting the health of all the North Korean people and improving basic infrastructural elements such as health workforce capacity and medical institutions. The fourth phase, assuming that unification will take place, provides fundamental principles and directions for establishing an integrated healthcare system across the Korean Peninsula. We are hoping to increase the consistency of the program and overcome several existing concerns of the current program with this roadmap.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.602-611
• /
• 2013

We have investigated the influence of system composition and preparation conditions on the particle size of vitamin E acetate (VE)-loaded nanoemulsions prepared by PIC(phase inversion composition) emulsification. This method relies on the formation of very fine oil droplets when water is added to oil/surfactant mixture. The oil-to-emulsion ratio content was kept constant (5 wt.%) while the surfactant-to-oil ratio (%SOR) was varied from 50 to 200 %. Oil phase composition (vitamin E to medium chain ester ratio, %VOR) had an effect on particle size, with the smallest droplets being formed below 60 % of VOR. Food-grade non-ionic surfactants (Tween 80 and Span 80) were used as an emulsifier. The effect of f on the droplet size distribution has been studied. In our system, the droplet volume fraction, given by the oil volume fraction plus the surfactant volume fraction, was varied from 0.1 to 0.3. The droplet diameter remains less than 350 nm when O/S is fixed at 1:1. The droplet size increases gradually as the increasing the volume fraction. Particle size could also be reduced by increasing the temperature when water was added to oil/surfactant mixture. By optimizing system composition and homogenization conditions we were able to form VE-loaded nanoemulsions with small mean droplet diameters (d < 50 nm). The PIC emulsification method therefore has great potential for forming nanoemulsion-based delivery systems for food, personal care, and pharmaceutical applications.

• Journal of Oriental Medical Thermology
• /
• v.3 no.1
• /
• pp.27-35
• /
• 2004

Today, everybody lives in the stress. So 50% to 80% or 60% to 80% of the modern diseases are estimated what is caused by the stress. And one of the most important point of the stress is a too serious and continuos tension state. Therefore the best way to promotion, persistence, prevention and treatment of the modern man's health will be the relaxion from the tension state. The relax therapy as known as am effective method to the disease which as concerned with stress. that can be adapted to the treatment of anxiety-related diseases, insomnia, hypertension, tension headache, migraine, asthma, preparation of delivery, G-I disorders and menstrual disorders. Until now we guess the change of a relaxed state by the observation to the change of autonomic nervous system(ANS) and EEG. From the point of the ANS, sympathetic nervous system progresses slowly but parasympathetic nervous system increases the activity. In the EEG, both the alpha-wave concerned with the deep physical relaxed state and emotional stability and the theta-wave appeared in the state of meditation are increased. Current studies show that among the biochemical changes, especially serotinin like body hormone is increased by the feeling of the stability or the happiness. So, to see the change of the relaxed state in the image of the D.I.T.I., we used the deviational differences between the pre-relaxed state and the post-relaxed state of 70 people. As a result, the portional deviation of the face is decreased in the image of the D.I.T.I. So it can be thaught that we can determine the changes of the relaxed state by the D.I.T.I.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.18
• /
• pp.8259-8263
• /
• 2016

Background: Nano-therapy has the potential to revolutionize cancer therapy. Chrysin, a natural flavonoid, was recently recognized as having important biological roles in chemical defenses and nitrogen fixation, with anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects but the poor water solubility of flavonoids limitstheir bioavailability and biomedical applications. Objective: Chrysin loaded PLGA-PEG-PLGA was assessed for improvement of solubility, drug tolerance and adverse effects and accumulation in a gastric cancer cell line (AGS). Materials and Methods: Chrysin loaded PLGA-PEG copolymers were prepared using the double emulsion method (W/O/W). The morphology and size distributions of the prepared PLGA-PEG nanospheres were investigated by 1H NMR, FT-IR and SEM. The in vitro cytotoxicity of pure and nano-chrysin was tested by MTT assay and miR-34a was measured by real-time PCR. Results: 1H NMR, FT-IR and SEM confirmed the PLGA-PEG structure and chrysin loaded on nanoparticles. The MTT results for different concentrations of chrysin at different times for the treatment of AGS cell line showed IC50 values of 68.2, 56.2 and $42.3{\mu}M$ and 58.2, 44.2, $36.8{\mu}M$ after 24, 48, and 72 hours of treatment, respectively for chrysin itslef and chrysin-loaded nanoparticles. The results of real time PCR showed that expression of miR-34a was upregulated to a greater extent via nano chrysin rather than free chrysin. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates chrysin loaded PLGA-PEG promises a natural and efficient system for anticancer drug delivery to fight gastric cancer.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.70-79
• /
• 1999

This study attempts to encourage the development of a rehabilitation delivery system as a substitute service for hospitalization such as a community based intermediate facility or home health care. We need substitute services for hospitalization to curtail the length of stay for inpatients due to car accidents. It focused on developing an estimation for early discharge based on a detailed statement of treatment from medical records of 109 inpatients who were hospitalized at General Hospital in 1997. This study has three specific purposes: First, to find the mean length of stay and mean medical expenditure. Second, to estimate the mean of early discharge from the mean length of stay. Third, to analyize the income effect per bed from early discharge. In order to analyze the length of stay and medical expenditure of inpatients the author conducted a micro and macro-analysis with medical expenditure records. To estimate the early discharge we examined with a group of 4 experts decreases in the amount of treatment after surgery, in treatments, in tests, in drug methods. We also looked their vital signs, the start of ROM exercise, the time removel, a patient's visitations, and possible stable conditions. In addition to identifing the income effect due to an early discharge, the data was analyzed by an SPSS-PC for windows and Excell program with a regression analysis model. The research findings are as follows: First, the mean length of stay was 47.56 days, but the mean length of stay due to early discharge was 32.26 days. The estimation of early discharge days was shown to depend on the length of stay. The longer the length of stay, the longer the length before discharge. For example, if the patient stayed under 14 days the mean length of stay was 7.09 while an early discharge was 6.39, whereas if the mean length of stay was 155.73, the early discharge time was 107.43. The mean medical expenditure per day of car accident patients was found to be 169,085 Won, whereas the mean medical expenditure per day was shown to be in a negative linear form according to the length of stay. That is the mean expenditure for under 14 days of stay was 303,015 Won and the period of the hospitalization of 15 days to 29 days was 170,338 Won and those of 30 days to 59 days was 113,333 Won. The estimation of the income effect due to being discharged 16 days was around 2,350,000 Won with a regression analysis model. However, this does not show the real benefits from an early discharge, but only the income increasing amount without considering prime medical cost at a general hospital. Therefore, we need further analysis on cost containments and benefits incending turn over rates and medical prime costs. From these research findings, the following suggestions have been drawn, we need to develop strategies on a rehabilitation delivery system focused on consumers for the 21st century. Varions intermediate facilities and home health care should be developed in the community as a substitute for shortening the length of stay in hospitals. In home health care cases, patients who want rehabilitation services as a substitute for hospitalization in cooperation with private health insurance companies might be available immediately.

• Korean Journal of Family Social Work
• /
• no.61
• /
• pp.59-91
• /
• 2018

Using a Consensus Qualitative Research approach, this study aimed to identify the ageism and explore age-integration as a solution of age discrimination that occurs during the delivery of medical services by nine healthcare professionals who have experience in treating elderly patients. There were two-sided confession has shown by health care professionals about the Ageism. They reported that they don't discriminate by age. However, They also appealed an inconvenience due to the elderly. There were real Ageism in the Healthcare Professional site as a way of Unsuitable care, elderly alienation and dependence on caregivers, polarization of medical service and double discrimination against poor elderly. They found it difficult to offer age integrated health care as a means to mitigate or solve. However they have sought to break barriers to communication, provided a comfortable environment not only for senior citizens but also for all others, and have diversified institutional and service standards. To ensure the healthy life and proper medical service of the rapidly increasing elderly patients, we proposed to do critical review of the factors in the Korean medical system that accelerate the Ageism, reorganization of the health care system for the poor elderly, including the curriculum associated with age-integrating within the health care professional education system, raising the Geriatric Medical Service and the relating professionals and improvements in perception of the health care domains for the elderly and older adults.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.21
• /
• pp.9249-9258
• /
• 2014

Background: The encapsulation of curcumin (Cur) in polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) nanoparticles (Cur-NPs) was designed to improve its solubility and stability. Conjugation of the Cur-NPs with anti-P-glycoprotein (P-gp) antibody (Cur-NPs-APgp) may increase their targeting to P-gp, which is highly expressed in multidrugresistance (MDR) cancer cells. This study determined whether Cur-NPs-APgp could overcome MDR in a human cervical cancer model (KB-V1 cells) in vitro and in vivo. Materials and Methods: First, we determined the MDR-reversing property of Cur in P-gp-overexpressing KB-V1 cells in vitro and in vivo. Cur-NPs and Cur-NPs-APgp, in the range 150-180 nm, were constructed and subjected to an in vivo pharmacokinetic study compared with Cur. The in vitro and in vivo MDR-reversing properties of Cur-NPs and Cur-NPs-APgp were then investigated. Moreover, the stability of the NPs was determined in various solutions. Results: The combined treatment of paclitaxel (PTX) with Cur dramatically decreased cell viability and tumor growth compared to PTX treatment alone. After intravenous injection, Cur-NPs-APgp and Cur-NPs could be detected in the serum up to 60 and 120 min later, respectively, whereas Cur was not detected after 30 min. Pretreatment with Cur-NPs-APgp, but not with NPs or Cur-NPs, could enhance PTX sensitivity both in vitro and in vivo. The constructed NPs remained a consistent size, proving their stability in various solutions. Conclusions: Our functional Cur-NPs-APgp may be a suitable candidate for application in a drug delivery system for overcoming drug resistance. The further development of Cur-NPs-APgp may be beneficial to cancer patients by leading to its use as either as a MDR modulator or as an anticancer drug.