• Asian Oncology Nursing
• /
• v.4 no.2
• /
• pp.135-142
• /
• 2004

Purpose: To examine informational needs of cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. Methods: A cross-sectional survey design was utilized. The sample was 198 cancer patients receiving chemotherapy for a diagnosis of stomach or lung cancer at a university hospital. A modified version of Toronto Informational Needs Questionnaire was applied. Results: Subjects reported highest informational needs in prognosis dimension, followed by the treatment dimension including side effects and alternative therapy. Information about medical tests and follow-up care after the treatment was also in great need. Dimensions of support for patients/family and sexuality were low in need. The degree of informational needs was negatively correlated with patient's age and number of children. Differences were found in informational needs according to the educational level employment status, and gender of the patients, while diagnosis and treatment options did not make differences in informational needs. Conclusion: Health care professionals need to perceive informational needs of cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, and to provide them with information especially in the area of prognosis and treatment. Informational intervention would be effective when it is given with consideration of patient's characteristics.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
• /
• v.29 no.4
• /
• pp.89-100
• /
• 2019

Objectives We are going to analyze patient's medical and Korean medicine use trends after lumbar surgery, and examine the percentage of use of Korean medicine after surgery and its relevance to the medical care outcome after lumbar surgery. Methods Using 3% patients' sample data of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, two groups were compared the treatment progress of the Korean Medicine treatment group and the untreated group after lumbar surgery by hierarchical logistic regression analysis. After hierarchical logistic regression analysis(including propensity scores), two groups were compared after lumbar surgery, the Korean Medicine treatment group within 50days and untreated group within 50days. Results Lumbar surgery was performed in 2750 patients in 2015. It was 3.72 that the risk(odds ratio) of finished treatment of patients treated without Korean Medicine, compared to patients with Korean Medicine. It was 0.12 that the risk of continuing treatment(odds ratio) of patients treated with Korean Medicine within 50 days, compared to patients treatment more than 50 days. Conclusions The ratio of Korean Medicine treatment after lumbar surgery was 14.8%. The group that did not have Korean Medicine showed a higher possibility of treatment termination than the group who did not. Among the groups treated with Korean Medicine, the early treatment group was more likely to end treatment than the late treatment group. Considering various situations in the medical environment, further studies such as prospective studies and long-term data analysis are considered to be necessary.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.112-123
• /
• 2013

Background: Under the risk of financial sustainability of National Health Insurance, Korean government attempted a series of regulations over pharmaceutical prices. The first price-cut was implemented to the hyperlipidemial treatments, and the prices of statins were reduced on 15th, April in 2009. The purposes of this study are 1) to investigate the impact of this price-cut on pharmaceutical expenditure, and 2) to identify the factors associated with drug-switch among statins. Methods: Using the national patients sample data, this study conducted time series analysis on the expenditures, prices, and volumes of statin drugs. To understand the factors associated with drug-switch, the multinomial logit model was analyzed at the patients level. Results: The results of time series analysis demonstrated that the price-cut of hyperlipidemic medicines did not lead to the reduced expenditure, suggesting the increased volume was the major cause. The multinomial logit analysis identified the switch of healthcare provider as the significant factor that was highly associated with drug-switch, implying the physicians' preference was the major motivation of drug-switch. Conclusion: Without control of utilization, price regulation itself could not reduce pharmaceutical expenditure. This suggests that the pharmaceutical regulations should be implemented on the basis of understanding of provider behaviors. The findings of this study will form the first step for further empirical studies.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.1-11
• /
• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the factors and the relative risk associated with admission of patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods: The sample included one hundred twenty-eight patients with type II DM. Seventy-seven patients who were admitted within six months of a hospitalization to one hospital from the first of February to the 31st of August 2014, were compared with fifty-one patients who regularly attended an outpatient clinic and had no hospitalizations. Results: Hospitalization probabilities among patients who had only diet and exercise or took oral diabetic medication were 0.03 (p=.004) and 0.21 (p=.007) times independently lower than the ones with insulin injection. The risks for hospitalization increases 6.33 times if there is absence of a spouse (p=.027) whereas the presence of a spouse seems to make hospitalization less likely. The risk among the ones having diabetic complications was 5.15 times higher than ones having no recognition of the complications (p=.040). For every one point increase in self-efficacy and every 1 mg/dL increase in high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, there was a 0.84 (p=.005) and a 0.96 (p=.036) decrease in hospitalization risk, respectively. Conclusion: Nurses should be sensitive to the risk groups of hospital admission among patients with DM including no spouse, insulin injection, diabetic complications, low self-efficacy, and low HDL cholesterol.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
• /
• v.30 no.3 s.80
• /
• pp.335-342
• /
• 2000

The authors observed the long term effects of chlorhexidine varnish treatment on microbial change of dental plaque in orthodontic patients with fixed appliances. The initial sample was 100 patients who were arranged to be treated with fixed orthodontic appliances. The final sample consisted of 21 patients who could be traced for 32 weeks after application of fixed orthodontic appliances. They were classified into the experimental group (12 patients) and the control group (9 patients). The experimental group was treated with chlorhexidine varnish once a week for 4 weeks before application of fixed orthodontic appliance. The control group was not treated with chlorhexidine varnish before application of fixed orthodontic appliance. The experimental group was treated once more after 20 weeks. The microbial changes of dental plaque were analysed by indirect immunofluorescence technique at pre-treatment, post-treatment 4, 8, 20, and 32 weeks. The results were as follows. 1. In the experimental group, streptococus mutans was significantly suppressed during experimental period. (p<0.01) But, in the control group, streptococcus mutans was significantly increased after placement of fixed orthodontic appliances during experiment period. (p<0.05) 2. Streptococcus sanguis, Streptococcus mitis, Actinomyces viscosus, md Actinomyces naeslundii did not show significant change between the experimental and the control group during experiment period. So, if we treat the orthodontic patients with chlorhexidine varnish before application of fixed appliances, we may suppress the major cariogenic bacteria, Streptococcus mutans, selectively for long period.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.35-43
• /
• 2021

Background: Migraine is a common neurological disorder that affects the quality of life and causes several health problems. Preventive migraine treatment can reduce migraine frequency, headache severity, and health care costs. This study aimed to estimate the utilization of migraine preventive therapy and associated factors in eligible patients. Methods: We studied 534 patients with migraine who were eligible for migraine preventive therapy using 2017 National Patient Sample (NPS) data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA). We estimated the migraine days by calculating the monthly average number of defined daily dose (DDD) of migraine-specific acute drug. Patients with a monthly average number of DDD of 4 or more were considered as subjects for preventive treatment. Chi-square test and multiple logistic regression analysis were used to determine the association between the preventive therapy and the influencing variables. Results: Less than half of the eligible patients for prophylaxis (n=234, 43.8%) were prescribed preventive therapy. Multiple logistic regression results show that migraine preventive therapy was influenced by age, the type of migraine, and some comorbidities. Patients over the age of 50 tend to receive less prophylactic treatment than under the age of 40. On the other hand, migraine patients with epilepsy or depression were more likely to receive preventive therapy. Sumatriptan was the most preferred medication for acute treatment, and propranolol was the most commonly prescribed drug for prevention. Conclusions: More than half of the patients who were candidates for migraine prophylaxis were not receiving suitable preventive treatment. Positive factors affecting the use of migraine prevention were the presence of comorbidities such as epilepsy and depression.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
• /
• v.49 no.3
• /
• pp.196-201
• /
• 2022

Objective: This prospective consecutive study investigated the variation in sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF) in multiple semen samples from patients with cancer. Methods: Eighty-one patients with various cancers underwent multiple semen collections on 3 consecutive days for sperm cryopreservation prior to cancer treatment. A commercial Halosperm kit was used to measure SDF. Within- and between-subject coefficients of variation were estimated via random-effects analysis of variance to assess the consistency of semen parameters and SDF. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were calculated to assess the magnitude of the between-subject component of variance relative to the total variance. Results: The volume of semen in the day-2 and day-3 samples was significantly lower compared with the day-1 sample. Most parameters showed high ICC values, suggesting that within-subject fluctuations were small relative to the between-subject variability. The highest ICC values were identified for the SDF (ICC, 0.68; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.45-0.84) and semen volume (ICC, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.45-0.84). Conclusion: Our findings showed that repeated ejaculates from patients with cancer had stable SDF levels.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
• /
• v.49 no.1
• /
• pp.13-20
• /
• 2023

Objectives: Ultra-wide implants may be used as a replacement if existing implants fail. This study was conducted to evaluate the factors influencing the prognosis and failure of ultra-wide implants. Patients and Methods: This study evaluated whether sex, age, site, diameter, length, additional surgery, implant stability (primary and secondary), and reason for ultra-wide implant placement affect the 5-year survival and success rates and marginal bone loss (MBL) of ultra-wide implants. Seventy-eight ultra-wide implants that were placed in 71 patients (39 males and 32 females) from 2008 to 2010 were studied. One-way ANOVA analysis was conducted to evaluate the statistical significance of MBL according to the patient's sex, implant site, and diameter. Independent sample t-tests were used to determine the statistical significance of MBL analysis which was used to determine the significance of the 5-year success and survival rates related to the variables. One-way ANOVA was conducted to evaluate the statistical significance of sex, implantation site, diameter, and MBL. Independent sample t-tests were used to evaluate the correlation between implantability and MBL for implantation reasons, while additional surgery, length, and Kaplan-Meier analysis were used to evaluate 5-year survival and success rates. Results: The mean age of patients was 54.2 years with a survival rate of 92.3% and a success rate of 83.3% over a mean 97.8-month period of observation. MBL averaged 0.2 mm after one year of prosthetic function loading and 0.54 mm at the time of final observation. Success rates correlated with primary stability (P=0.045), survival rates correlated with secondary stability (P=0.036), and MBL did not correlate with any variables. Conclusion: Ultra-wide implants can be used to achieve secure initial fixation in the maxillary and mandibular molar regions with poor bone quality or for alternative purposes in cases of previous implant failure.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.220-229
• /
• 2016

Background: The treatment goal for patients with chronic hepatitis B infection is to prevent progression of the disease to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Current therapies include standard and pegylated interferon-alfa and nucleoside/nucleotide analogues: lamivudine, adefovir, entecavir, telbivudine, clevudine, and tenofovir. This study aims to analyze changes in the prescribing patterns of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) medications in South Korea between 2013 and 2014. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using National Patients Sample data compiled by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service from 2013 and 2014. Patients with CHB were identified with Korean Standard Classification of Diseases code-6 (B18.0 and B18.1) and those who were maintaining active prescriptions with CHB medications covering the index date (December $1^{st}$, each year) were included. The utilization of antiviral therapy was investigated during 2013 and 2014. Results: A total of 4,204 and 4,552 patients in 2013 and 2014 respectively, were included in the analysis. The proportion of male patients was two of third and the patients 41-60 years old accounted for 60% of all analyzed patients. The most utilized drug was entecavir (55.1% in 2013 and 44.8% in 2014) and the second most utilized drug was tenofovir in both years (18.8% in 2013 and 29.0% in 2014). The percentage of combination therapy was 13.6% and 13.1% in 2013 and 2014, respectively. The proportion of tenofovir prescriptions was increased in 2014 compared with 2013. Conclusion: With the development of new drugs and the changes in clinical practice guidelines, the prescription pattern of the antiviral agents for patients with CHB has changed. The rate of utilization of tenofovir has increased.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.17 no.11
• /
• pp.4831-4836
• /
• 2016

The study aimed to find out to what degree suicidal thoughts and associated factors affect the suicide risk of advanced cancer patients. The frequency of suicidal thoughts among patients with cancer, especially in the advanced stages, is about 3 times greater than the adult average in South Korea. We recruited 457 participants with four types of cancers (colon, breast, cervical, and lung) using stratified sampling. Data collection was carried out through one-on-one interviews by trained nurses using a structured questionnaire. Advanced cancer patients with high, vs. low, levels of anxiety and pain had a higher suicide risk. In contrast, having one's spouse as the primary care provider was associated with a low suicide risk. Overall, the three factors of anxiety, pain, and the primary caregiver being one's spouse explained 17.2% of the variance in suicide risk. In conclusion, we derived influencing factors of suicide risk using a sample of patients with various types of advanced cancer. The results provide systematic baseline data for preparing nurse-led interventions to prevent suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts among advanced cancer patients.