• Journal of Haehwa Medicine
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.41-45
• /
• 2006

Aims: This overview summarizes the existing evidence on acupuncture for cancer-related pain. Methods: Literature searches were conducted in 7 databases. All clinical studies of acupuncture, electroacupuncture, ear acupuncture and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) in cancer patients with the main outcome measure of pain were included. Results: Of the 8 studies included, one high quality randomized clinical trial (RCT) of ear acupuncture showed statistically significant pain relief in comparison with placebo ear acupuncture. All the other studies were either non-blinded (n = 2) or uncontrolled clinical trials (n = 5). Most investigations suffered from methodological flaws such as inadequate study design, poor reporting of results, small sample size and overestimation of the results. Conclusions: The current evidence does not support the use of acupuncture as an adjunctive analgesic method for cancer patients. Only one high quality RCT showed promising results thus warranting further investigation into this under-researched area.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
• /
• v.30 no.5
• /
• pp.117-123
• /
• 2013

Objectives : The purpose is to review large-scale clinical researches, the acupuncture randomized trials(ART) and the acupuncture in routine care(ARC), concerning efficacy and effectiveness of acupuncture performed in Germany. Methods and Results : We have reviewed the studies that were searched by keyword 'acupuncture' as the title and'Witt CM' as one of the main authors in PubMed. Sixteen clinical reports focused on the ART and ARC studies were analyzed among all thirty six were searched. Six studies were related with the ART and eight were focused on the ARC, and other two were on both. Finally, across all researches except osteoarthritis of knee trials in the ART, compared the acupuncture group with the control were significantly improved. On the other hand, ARC showed that additional acupuncture plus routine care was more effective than routine care alone and the response to treatment of the non-randomized group did not differ the one of the randomized acupuncture group. Conclusions : The results may suggest that acupuncture treatment has obvious clinical effectiveness. These results are expected to inspire domestic research and clinical applications in Korea, and more rigorous research on the efficacy of acupuncture should be guaranteed.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.1-6
• /
• 2011

We are aim to evaluate antimicrobial effects of the extract of Galla rhois (GR) on the health status and performance of growing and finishing pigs. This study was conducted on the growing and finishing pigs (n = 200) for 130 days in a swine husbandry. The animals were divided with two groups; GR treated group (n = 100) and commercial diet feeding group (n = 100). GR treated animals had provided with commercial diet adding the extract of GR as 0.2%. During the study period, we compared clinical signs, weight increase rate, diet consumption amount, fecal scores, gross findings, necropsy findings, histopathological findings between the treated group and non treated group. After necropsy, bacteria isolation and PCR analysis were conducted with the clinical samples. As the results of this long-term clinical trial, GR showed the antimicrobial effects on respiratory disease and diarrhea. We were identified that GR had the anti-bacterial and anti-viral effects.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
• /
• v.47 no.1
• /
• pp.11-20
• /
• 2017

Objective: This randomized controlled trial aimed to compare the stability of mandibular arch orthodontic treatment outcomes between passive self-ligating and conventional systems during 6 months of retention. Methods: Forty-seven orthodontic patients with mild to moderate crowding malocclusions not requiring extraction were recruited based on inclusion criteria. Patients (mean age $21.58{\pm}2.94years$) were randomized into two groups to receive either passive self-ligating ($Damon^{(R)}$ 3MX, n = 23) or conventional system (Gemini MBT, n = 24) orthodontic treatment. Direct measurements of the final sample comprising 20 study models per group were performed using a digital caliper at the debonding stage, and 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after debonding. Paired t-test, independent t-test, and non-parametric test were used for statistical analysis. Results: A significant increase (p < 0.01) in incisor irregularity was observed in both self-ligating and conventional system groups. A significant reduction (p < 0.01) in second interpremolar width was observed in both groups. Mandibular arch length decreased significantly (p = 0.001) in the conventional system group but not in the self-ligating system group. A similar pattern of stability was observed for intercanine width, first interpremolar width, intermolar width, and arch depth throughout the 6-month retention period after debonding. Comparison of incisor irregularity and arch dimension changes between self-ligating system and conventional system groups during the 6 months were non-significant. Conclusions: The stability of treatment outcomes for mild to moderate crowding malocclusions was similar between the self-ligating system and conventional system during the first 6 months of retention.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
• /
• v.48 no.6
• /
• pp.356-362
• /
• 2022

Objectives: A single-blinded randomized controlled trial was designed to compare and evaluate the effectiveness of the periotome and piezotome as aids for atraumatic extraction and its sequalae. Materials and Methods: The study sample comprised 48 teeth, equally allotted to the piezotome or periotome groups by random allocation, in participants aged 19-62 years. All samples in both groups had either complete tooth structure or intact roots without crowns and had mobility ≤grade II. Clinical parameters of operative duration, presence or absence of gingival laceration, reported operative and postoperative pain, and intake of analgesics following extraction were recorded. IBM SPSS software package version 22 was used for data entry and analysis. Results: The mean operation time was significantly (P≤0.05) longer in the piezotome group than in the periotome group. However, fewer gingival lacerations were observed with use of a piezotome than with a periotome, although no significant difference was observed. The piezotome group reported significantly (P≤0.05) higher visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores during the procedure and non-significantly higher scores thereafter until the third postoperative day. In the piezotome group, the dosage of analgesic was higher, although the periotome group had a higher percentage of participants who used analgesics postoperatively; however, these differences were not statistically significant. Conclusion: The present clinical trial favors the use of periotome over piezotome for atraumatic extraction due to shorter operating time, lower postoperative VAS pain scores, and lower dosage of analgesics despite the superior ability of the piezotome to prevent gingival laceration.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.83-93
• /
• 2017

Objectives : This study's aim is to investigate clinical studies of cold hypersensitivity of hands and feet (CHHF) published in Korea and to explore the direct of future research. Methods : We searched clinical studies of CHHF using the database, such as DBpia(http://www.dbpia.co.kr/), NDSL(www.ndsl.kr), OASIS(http://oasis.kiom.re.kr), and RISS(www.riss.kr). The search words were 'cold hypersensitivity(冷症)' and 'syncope(厥證)'. Inclusion criteria were randomized controlled trials (RCTs), non RCTs, Before and after clinical study (B&A) about CHHF. Selection journals and data extraction were conducted by HS Lee and SH Sun independently. Results : Total twenty-one articles were selected finally. RCTs, non-RCTs, and B&A were 3, 12, and 6, respectively. The topics for CHHF were classified into three categories: effect of treatment (n=2) characteristics (n=11), and diagnosis (n=8). Conclusions : This results showed that RCT about CHHF and treatment effect of cold hypersensitivity of hands and feet were small in number. Further systemic and larger studies about CHHF will be needed.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.326-336
• /
• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of heparin and 0.9% normal saline solution flushing for maintaining patency of non­tunneled central venous catheters in patients with surgery. Methods: A randomized controlled clinical trial was performed. Fifty­eight patients were prospectively enrolled and fifty-four patients were completed the study. The heparin group consisted of 30 patients given 100u/ml diluted heparin flushing and the normal saline group consisted of 24 patients with 0.9% sodium chloride flushing. Results: There was no significantly difference in occlusion between the heparin group and the normal saline group in non­tunneled central venous catheters' occlusion. Also there was no difference between these two groups in catheter­related infections. Conclusion: Flushing with 0.9% normal saline is as effective as flushing with heparin solution in maintaining the patency of non­tunneled central venous catheters. In this study, however, the duration of central line use was short and the infection occurrence was little. Further studies are warranted with a larger sample size at multiple centers.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.14-22
• /
• 2010

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate any clinical research regarding asthma published by the Korean Oriental Medical Society and its sub-societies for future rigorous clinical research. Methods: Every article relevant to asthma was initially obtained from journals in the Korean Oriental Medical Society and its sub-societies by electronic search at journal web sites or manual search. Journals were limited to those registered by the Korea Research Foundation. From initial findings, two independent reviewers selected clinical articles and these articles were further analyzed separately into predefined criteria according to prospective and retrospective studies. For prospective studies, quality assessment was also conducted. Results: From 99 articles initially obtained, 19 were finally analyzed. 14 were prospective whereas 5 were retrospective. Among the prospective articles, there were no randomized controlled trials and the non-randomized studies had no control groups, with several problems of quality regarding pre-calculated study size and unbiased assessment. None of the retrospective studies described asthma diagnosis objectively and outcome measures were either non-relevant to asthma or non-validated. Conclusions: Well-designed randomized controlled studies for asthma are needed and more rigorous non-randomized controlled studies should be conducted.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
• /
• v.16 no.4
• /
• pp.267-275
• /
• 2014

Purpose: The practice of enteral nutrition with gastric residual volumes (GRVs) as a clinical indicator is poorly standardized in intensive care units. This study aims to summarize the results from studies that evaluated the clinical outcomes related to the GRVs. Methods: This systematic review study analyzed 11 studies consisting of four randomized controlled trials, one non-randomized controlled trial, and six observational studies. Results: No consistent relationship between GRV thresholds and clinical outcomes was observed. Higher GRVs were not consistently correlated with clinical outcomes such as higher gastrointestinal complications, aspiration pneumonia, or mortality. Higher GRVs significantly generate complications more often. Findings show that a single GRV more than 200 mL or two consecutive GRVs more than 150 mL should raise concern about negative consequences. Conclusion: Critical care nurses need to monitor GRVs closely during their practice of enteral nutrition. For critically ill patients receiving enteral nutrition, a GRV threshold of 200 ml would be a desirable limit to provide safe and adequate nutrition with a conservative approach.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
• /
• v.34 no.4
• /
• pp.251-264
• /
• 2017

Objectives : To identify the prevalence and types of spin in randomised controlled trials(RCTs) of obesity with statistically non-significant results for primary outcomes to provide adequate reporting directions. Methods : Spin is specific reporting strategy that could lead the readers to misinterpret the results of RCTs. RCTs on obesity with statistically non-significant primary outcomes published from July 2015 to June 2016 were retrieved from PubMed. All included RCTs were classified into 3 intervention categories. The identification and classification of spin in the included articles was performed by two independent researchers. Results : Among 46 RCTs with statistically non-significant primary outcomes, 32 studies were assessed as having at least one spin in title, abstract or main text. Of these, 9 articles were on complementary and alternative medicine, 7 on western medicine and 16 on dietary supplement and exercise. The frequency of spin among the types of interventions was similar. The most common type of spin was 'focusing on statistical significance within-group comparison' in results section of abstract and main text, and 'focusing only on treatment effectiveness with no consideration of statistical significance' in conclusion section of abstract and main text. Studies where random sequence generation was appropriately done was less likely to have spin. Conclusions : As a majority of obesity RCTs have spin, researchers should pay more attention to adequately interpreting and reporting statistically non-significant results.