• Korean Journal of Audiology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.146-151
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• 2021

Background and Objectives: The relationship between hearing aid (HA) use and improvement in cognitive function is not fully known. This study aimed to determine whether HAs could recover temporal resolution or hearing in noise functions. Materials and Methods: We designed a prospective study with two groups: HA users and controls. Patients older than 45 years, with a pure tone average threshold of worse than 40 dB and a speech discrimination score better than 60% in both ears were eligible. Central auditory processing tests and hearing in noise tests (HINTs) were evaluated at the beginning of the study and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after the use of a monaural HA in the HA group compared to the control group. The changes in the evaluation parameters were statistically analyzed using the linear mixed model. Results: A total of 26 participants (13 in the HA and 13 in the control group) were included in this study. The frequency (p<0.01) and duration test (p=0.02) scores showed significant improvements in the HA group after 1 year, while the HINT scores showed no significant change. Conclusions: After using an HA for one year, patients performed better on temporal resolution tests. No improvement was documented with regard to hearing in noise.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.453-462
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• 2022

Objectives: The purpose of this clinical case study was to report the effect of Korean medicine treatment on a stroke patient with cognitive impairment, dysuria, and gait disturbance. Methods: The patient was treated with Korean medicine, including herbal medicine, acupuncture, moxibustion, and cupping. We administered the Korean version of the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE-K) Global Deterioration Scale (GDS) and Manual Muscle Test (MMT) and investigated the frequency of nocturia to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment and improvement in symptoms. Results: After Korean medicine treatment, the patient's symptoms were significantly improved. according to the MMSE-K, frequency of nocturia, and MMT results. Conclusions: This clinical case study suggests that Korean medicine treatment, including Wuchasinkihwan-gagam could be an effective treatment for stroke patients with symptoms of cognitive impairment, dysuria, and gait disturbance.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.182-189
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• 2022

To evaluate the effectiveness of electroacupuncture treatment for primary dysmenorrhea (PD), a literature review of a randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was performed where electroacupuncture was used as a treatment intervention in patients diagnosed with PD. Relevant clinical studies (N = 226) were retrieved from multiple databases according to the study inclusion/exclusion criteria, and interventions and outcomes were analyzed. As a result of the review, there were 6 RCTs which met the criteria. In all 4 studies that measured pain indicators (visual analog scales), electroacupuncture showed significantly positive changes. In addition, positive changes were observed in most indicators (MMDQ, PGF2a, PGE2, 6-keto PGF1, TXB2, clinical efficacy score, uterine arterial blood flow parameters, and blood viscosity). 2 studies showed that electroacupuncture had a stronger therapeutic effect than NSAIDs. No major side effects were reported. Electroacupuncture may be an effective and safe treatment for PD however, further RCTs are required.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.74-83
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• 2022

Objective: There is a growing movement to introduce Patient-Reported Outcome (PRO) to clinical settings. This study aimed to investigate the routine use of PRO in tertiary hospital clinical settings. Methods: From January 2016 to December 2018, the usage status of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) submitted to the electronic medical record of a tertiary hospital clinical setting was investigated. Descriptive analysis was conducted to investigate the usage status of PROMs by 42 departments. Also, the most frequently used PROMs by departments, the purpose of measurement, the use rate of verified PROMs were investigated. Results: The PROMs accounted for 66% (98) of the 148 Instruments. Of the 98 PROMs, 64% (63) were using a validation Korean version of PROMs. Only about 1% of total outpatient visits applied PROMs, and among them, it was frequently used in urology (13%), orthopedics (8%), and otolaryngology (5%). The use rate of the validated PROMs was found to be 64%. Conclusions: The use of PROMs in domestic clinical settings was found to be very limited and frequently used only in specific departments. It is essential to use a PROMs that has been validated according to guidelines, as the use of validated PROMs will provide beneficial information to health professionals and also for the patient health improvement by objectively measuring the patient's health status.

• The Journal of Churna Manual Medicine for Spine and Nerves
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.73-80
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• 2022

Objectives This study aimed to report the effects of giant cell tumor treatment to a patient who had cervical and lumbar pain and hypoesthesia of the limbs after total spondylectomy with Korean medicine. Methods A 67-year-old female patient with cervical and lumbar pain and hypoesthesia of the limbs after total spondylectomy was treated with herbal medicine (Cheongpa-jeon, Yukkongbaro-hwa), acupuncture, pharmacopuncture, and physical therapy for 36 days. The effects were evaluated using a numerical rating scale (NRS), Neck Disability Index (NDI), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and EuroQoL-5D (EQ-5D). Results After treatment, changes were observed in the patient's pain and hypoesthesia. NRS, NDI, ODI, and EQ-5D scores decreased. Conclusions This case study suggests that Korean medicine treatment may be effective for symptomatic treatment in patients with giant cell tumor following total spondylectomy.

• Journal of Audiology & Otology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.76-82
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• 2019

Background and Objectives: Noise levels and room acoustic parameters at a tertiary referral hospital, Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) in Korea, are investigated. Materials and Methods: Through a questionnaire, acoustically problematic rooms are identified. Noise levels in emergency rooms (ERs) and intensive care units (ICUs) are measured over about three days. Acoustically critical and problematic rooms in the otolaryngology department are measured including examination rooms, operating rooms, nurse stations, receptions, and patient rooms. Results: The A-weighted equivalent noise level, L_Aeq, ranges from 54 to 56 dBA, which is at least 10 dB lower than the noise levels of 65 to 73 dBA measured in American ERs. In an ICU, the noise level for the first night was 66 dBA, which came down to 56 dBA for the next day. The noise levels during three different ear surgeries vary from 57 to 62 dBA, depending on the use of surgical drills and suctions. The noise levels in a patient room is found to be 47 dBA, while the nurse stations and the receptions have high noise levels up to 64 dBA. The reverberation times in an operation room, examination room, and single patient room are found to be below 0.6 s. Conclusions: At SNUH, the nurse stations and receptions were found to be quite noisy. The ERs were quieter than in the previous studies. The measured reverberation times seemed low enough but some other nurse stations and examination rooms were not satisfactory according to the questionnaire.

• Korean Medical Education Review
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.45-54
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• 2023

We investigated the work-life balance of clinical professors in charge of patient care, research, and education at medical schools and the demand for work-life balance support according to position (professor, associate professor, or assistant professor). In total, 163 clinical professors completed the consent form and participated in the study. They filled out an online survey consisting of questions about essential characteristics, a work-life balance test, stress, burnout, work-life satisfaction, and work-life balance support needs. We analyzed the results by analysis of variance and cross-tabulation using IBM SPSS ver. 23.0. Differences were found in work-life balance, stress, burnout, and satisfaction with life and work by position. The requirements for support for work-life balance also varied by professional status. Professors had a higher balance between life and work than associate professors or assistant professors. The specific requirements for work-life balance support were also slightly different for each position. Overall, there was a high demand for work process simplification and efficiency for work support, flexible working hours and sabbatical years for family and leisure, and career management consulting and training support for growth. Assistant professors and associate professors had a lower level of work-life balance than professors, as well as higher levels of stress and burnout. Professors' job satisfaction was also higher than that of the other groups. Based on the results of this study, we hope that a healthy work environment can be established through work-life balance support suitable for clinical professors' positions.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.35-43
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• 2022

This paper studies how to improve the identification rate of laryngeal disability speech data by convolutional neural network (CNN) and machine learning ensemble learning methods. In general, the number of laryngeal dysfunction speech data is small, so even if identifiers are constructed by statistical methods, the phenomenon caused by overfitting depending on the training method can lead to a decrease the identification rate when exposed to external data. In this work, we try to combine results derived from CNN models and machine learning models with various accuracy in a multi-voting manner to ensure improved classification efficiency compared to the original trained models. The Pusan National University Hospital (PNUH) dataset was used to train and validate algorithms. The dataset contains normal voice and voice data of benign and malignant tumors. In the experiment, an attempt was made to distinguish between normal and benign tumors and malignant tumors. As a result of the experiment, the random forest method was found to be the best ensemble method and showed an identification rate of 85%.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.279-302
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• 2009

Purpose: The aim of this study was to review systemically clinical trials on the trends of studies for Complementary Alternative Medicine in the treatment of dysmenorrhea. Methods: Through medical websites, foreign clinical literatures about complementary and alternative medicines of dysmenorrhea were searched. And domestic clinical literatures about dysmenorrhea, complementary and alternative treatment and oriental medicine treatment were searched using internet websites or hand-searching in National digital library, National assembly library, KISS, RISS. And then they were assessed by the assessment standard of Jadad scale and Classifying Recommendations. Results: 1. 15 foreign literatures and 36 domestic literatures were selected. 2. 4 foreign and 4 domestic clinical literatures were enough to satisfy over 2 points in Jadad score and recommendation level in Classifying Recommendations. 3. Some clinical trials were rated low in Jadad score since it was not easy to set control groups and keep blinding in clinical trials. 4. Some clinical trials were rated low in Classifying Recommendations since they did not carry out enough study about stability, side effect and follow-ups. Conclusion: To put clinical trials to practical use of Complementary Alternative Medicine in the treatment of dysmenorrhea, scientific and objective-based studies should be needed.

• Korean Journal of Audiology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.76-82
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• 2019

Background and Objectives: Noise levels and room acoustic parameters at a tertiary referral hospital, Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) in Korea, are investigated. Materials and Methods: Through a questionnaire, acoustically problematic rooms are identified. Noise levels in emergency rooms (ERs) and intensive care units (ICUs) are measured over about three days. Acoustically critical and problematic rooms in the otolaryngology department are measured including examination rooms, operating rooms, nurse stations, receptions, and patient rooms. Results: The A-weighted equivalent noise level, L_Aeq, ranges from 54 to 56 dBA, which is at least 10 dB lower than the noise levels of 65 to 73 dBA measured in American ERs. In an ICU, the noise level for the first night was 66 dBA, which came down to 56 dBA for the next day. The noise levels during three different ear surgeries vary from 57 to 62 dBA, depending on the use of surgical drills and suctions. The noise levels in a patient room is found to be 47 dBA, while the nurse stations and the receptions have high noise levels up to 64 dBA. The reverberation times in an operation room, examination room, and single patient room are found to be below 0.6 s. Conclusions: At SNUH, the nurse stations and receptions were found to be quite noisy. The ERs were quieter than in the previous studies. The measured reverberation times seemed low enough but some other nurse stations and examination rooms were not satisfactory according to the questionnaire.