• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.23
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• pp.10307-10311
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• 2015

Background: The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology is one of the main classification systems for thyroid nodules. It expects that 7% of all fine needle aspiration biopsies will be reported as atypia or follicular lesions of undetermined significance, and 5-15% of these undetermined nodules are malignant. Our study is a retrospective analysis of variables that may be associated with outcome in patients with indeterminate thyroid nodules. Materials and Methods: Patients who underwent thyroidectomy in our institution between 2010 and 2014 were retrieved from the institutional records database. Patient demographics and medical histories were recorded. All ultrasonography reports were examined for nodule features and biochemical blood levels, hormone levels and complete blood counts were recorded. Results: A total of 103 patient cytopathology reports were regarded as belonging to the undetermined category. Some 35% of patients had malignant nodules. Median preoperative red cell distribution width (RDW) level was 13.6 inthe benign group, while it was 14.3 in patients with malignancy, demonstrating a significant correlation (p=0.003). Only calcification presence was significantly different between benign and malignant groups on ultrasonography (p=0.034). Conclusions: Ultrasonography is one of the primary tools for this matter. RDW levels may become another promising tool to predict malignancy.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.117-125
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• 2016

Implementation of patient feedback is considered as a critical part of effective and efficient management. This study is a retrospective survey after to ensure the medical convergence analysis of contents on customer dissatisfaction using medical services. The data were collected from dissatisfaction 319 case at a affiliated hospital. The result indicate that a repeat visit than the initial visit, outpatients were more dissatisfied than the inpatients. The type of dissatisfaction were more dissatisfied of the in communication and explanation of medical service, nursing service and procedure of administrative services. In the classification of disease the percentages of dissatisfaction in the digestive system and neoplasm were high in both groups(p<0.05). Based on the study to improve the quality of medical service. Prevent the recurrence of dissatisfaction and to establish a customer-oriented business strategy. Characterized by dissatisfaction factors and contents of each patient and should be structured to specific disease types of services through continuous medical convergence research.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences
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• v.35 no.4B
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• pp.630-636
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• 2010

Ocular inspection in oriental medicine, which identifies sickness by patient's skin color, is usually applied by doctor's subjective judgment. In order to reduce the subjectiveness of diagnosis, we propose a method of objective and quantitative analysis for ocular inspection. The most issued features for ocular inspection are how to identify the color of patients' face in various situations, and how to link the relation between color and sickness. For resolving these two issues, the color system of CIE Lab is adopted for analyzing and classifying the color characteristics. The classification of color features is verified by experiments on groups of patients and non-patients. The results of experiments showed that the proposed method can provide an objective means for ocular inspection using patient's skin color.

• Journal of Korean Foot and Ankle Society
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.28-33
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• 2013

Purpose: In previous study, the frequency of osteoarthritis and discomfort were high in ankle fracture-dislocation but detail results about ankle fracture-dislocation has rarely been investigated. In this study, we retrospectively analyze the outcome of the operative treatment of ankle fracture with dislocation for over-2 years follow up. Materials and Methods: There were 47 cases of ankle fracture-dislocation in our hospital from March 2007 to May 2010. We investigated 20 patients who underwent operation and were possible for over-2 years follow up. The result was estimated with the direction of dislocation, fracture type, the time of bone union and post-traumatic osteoarthritis with plain radiologic images. In clinical assessment, we statistically evaluated the function and pain through AOFAS score and Olerud & Molander scoring system. Results: By Lauge-Hansen classification, there were 13 cases(65%) of pronation-external rotation and 6 cases(30%) of supination-external rotation, 1 case(5%) of supination-adduction. AOFAS score was 85.5, and Olerud & Molander score was "excellent" in 8 cases, "good" in 5 cases, "fair" in 3 cases and "poor" in 4 cases. Postoperative complications in 4 cases revealed post-traumatic arthritis. All kinds of lateral dislocation of ankle fracture was 15 cases and the most common. Of these, all 3 cases, anterolateral dislocation showed post-traumatic osteoarthritis. Conclusion: In ankle fracture-dislocation, post-traumatic osteoarthritis occurred in 4 of 20 patient(20%). Especially, the possibility of post-traumatic osteoarthritis was more in cases of anterolateral or lateral dislocation. So, it must be needed that deliberate examination, for example, preoperative MRI and sufficient explanation to patient. Also, we have to follow up the patients carefully.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.23-32
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• 2024

This study selected in-depth discharge damage survey data and analyzed 92,364 patients whose main diagnosis was S00-T98 (damage, addiction, and specific other results due to external factors) based on the Korean Standard Classification of Diseases and Deaths (KCD-7th) among patients discharged from the hospital after inpatient treatment from January 2016 to December 2018. As a result of analyzing the general characteristics of injured and traumatic patients, the incidence rate of men was higher in gender, and the incidence rate of women increased as the year increased. As a result of analyzing the characteristics of injury and trauma patients other than injury, the injury intention had a high rate of unintentional damage, the damage place was the highest on the road/road, and it showed a decreasing trend as the year increased, and it showed an increasing trend in the residential area. It can be used as basic data for the establishment of a related system to prevent damage as a result of subsang.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.37-47
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• 2024

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the effect of adjusted out-of-pocket maximum rules in the 'differential co-payment ceiling', which means having a higher burden of co-payment, that expanded to the entire ceiling level in long-stay admission patients in long-term care hospitals(LTCH). Methodology: We used health insurance claim data between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022 received from the National Health Insurance Service. The study populations were inpatients in long-term care hospitals more than 1 days during the study period. We performed the difference in characteristics of the LTCH patient of the differential and general ceiling by the chi-square test. We estimated the change of the population, cost, and co-payments per person under the assumption of restructuring. Finding: Based on adjusted out-of-pocket maximum rules in 2023, it was expected that the number of benefits decreases at the high-income level while increasing at the low-income level. The burden of health expenditure after reimbursement of co-payment ceiling, is expected to increase by 65.1% in the highest medical necessity, whereas the low medical necessity would decreases compared to 2022. Practical Implications: The results demonstrate that the current out-of-pocket maximum rules do not reflect the needs of medical necessity. This study suggested the need to reflect the medical necessity in LTCH on the out-of-pocket maximum rules in the future.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.67 no.5
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• pp.493-509
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• 2024

In neurointensive care units (NICUs), particularly in cases involving traumatic brain injury (TBI), swift and accurate decision-making is critical because of rapidly changing patient conditions and the risk of secondary brain injury. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in NICU can enhance clinical decision support and provide valuable assistance in these complex scenarios. This article aims to provide a comprehensive review of the current status and future prospects of AI utilization in the NICU, along with the challenges that must be overcome to realize this. Presently, the primary application of AI in NICU is outcome prediction through the analysis of preadmission and high-resolution data during admission. Recent applications include augmented neuromonitoring via signal quality control and real-time event prediction. In addition, AI can integrate data gathered from various measures and support minimally invasive neuromonitoring to increase patient safety. However, despite the recent surge in AI adoption within the NICU, the majority of AI applications have been limited to simple classification tasks, thus leaving the true potential of AI largely untapped. Emerging AI technologies, such as generalist medical AI and digital twins, harbor immense potential for enhancing advanced neurocritical care through broader AI applications. If challenges such as acquiring high-quality data and ethical issues are overcome, these new AI technologies can be clinically utilized in the actual NICU environment. Emphasizing the need for continuous research and development to maximize the potential of AI in the NICU, we anticipate that this will further enhance the efficiency and accuracy of TBI treatment within the NICU.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.29-36
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• 2017

Objectives: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). People with AIDS are much more vulnerable to infections, including opportunistic infections and tumors, than people with a healthy immune system. The objective of this study was to correlate oral lesions associated with HIV/AIDS and immunosuppression levels by measuring clusters of differentiation 4 (CD4) cell counts among patients living in the middle western regions of Ghana. Materials and Methods: A total of 120 patients who visited the HIV clinic at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and the Regional Hospital Sunyani of Ghana were consecutively enrolled in this prospective and cross-sectional study. Referred patients' baseline CD4 counts were obtained from medical records and each patient received an initial physician assessment. Intraoral diagnoses were based on the classification and diagnostic criteria of the EEC Clearinghouse, 1993. After the initial assessment, extra- and intraoral tissues from each enrolled patient were examined. Data analyses were carried out using simple proportions, frequencies and chi-square tests of significance. Results: Our study included 120 patients, and was comprised of 42 (35.0%) males and 78 (65.0%) females, ranging in age from 21 to 67 years with sex-specific mean ages of 39.31 years (males) and 39.28 years (females). Patient CD4 count values ranged from 3 to 985 cells/mL with a mean baseline CD4 count of 291.29 cells/mL for males and 325.92 cells/mL for females. The mean baseline CD4 count for the entire sample was 313.80 cells/mL. Of the 120 patients we examined, 99 (82.5%) were observed to have at least one HIV-associated intraoral lesion while 21 (17.5%) had no intraoral lesions. Oral candidiasis, periodontitis, melanotic hyperpigmentation, gingivitis and xerostomia were the most common oral lesions. Conclusion: From a total of nine oral lesions, six lesions that included oral candidiasis, periodontitis, melanotic hyperpigmentation, gingivitis, xerostomia and oral hairy leukoplakia were significantly correlated with declining CD4 counts.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.589-603
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• 1992

This study investigated a process to estimate the need for nursing staff on the basis of a patient elassification system and the required care needs and activities. The investigation was carried out in the following four steps. Step 1. Patients were classified according to the amount of nursing care need on each shift as class I (mildly ill), class II (mederately ill), class III (acutely ill), and class IV (critically ill). Step 2. Measurement of the direct nursing care hours needed for each patient class, and measurement of indirect nursing care hourse and personal time of the nursing staff. Step 3. Calculation of he total nursing workload in a nursing unit. Step 4. Estimation of the nursing staff needed. The investigation was carried out from July 17th to 30th, during 24hours every other day. The subjects were the patients and the nursing staff on two units of Seoul National University Hospital, Korea. Some of the results from the investigation are as follows : 1) Distribution of patient classification On the neuro surgical (N.S.), the distribution was class I, 22 patient, 3, class II, 27 patients, class III, 26 patients, and class IV, 25 patients, For the orthopedic surgical unit(0.5.), it was class I, 43 patients, class II, 43 patients, class III, patients, and class IV, 3 patients. 2) Direct nursing care hours per day On the N.S. unit, 3.2 hours of direct nursing care were needed for class I, 3.9 hours for class II, 5.1 hours of class III, and 6.2 hours for class IV patients, while 2.0 hours for class I, 2.5 hours for class II, 3.5 hours for class III, 5.0 hours class IV patients were needed on the 0.5. units. 3) Analysis of direct nursing care activities Activities were classified into assessment and observation(47%), medication(38.7%), communiontion(5.1%), exercise(2.4%), elimination and irrigation(1.3%), treatmemt(1.1%), hygiene(0.8%), nutrition(0.8%), and hot and cold compress(0.1%). 4) Average hours of indirect nursing care per day. On the N.S. unit 4.2 hours, and on the O.S. unit, 3.5 hours of RN indirect care was needed. 5) The average personal time used by the of nursing staff was 17 minutes for both RNs and nursing assistants in the N.S. unit, and 32 minutes for both RNs and nursing assistants in the O.S. unit. 6) Estimation of nursing staff needed on two specialized units of a university hospital For the N.S. nursing unit of 43 beds, 31 nursing staff would be indicated. For the 0.5. nursing unit of the same number of beds, 19 nursing staff would be indicated.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.153-169
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• 1996

This study was designed to identify, describe and classify orientations of cancer patient's family members to death and to identify factors related to their attitudes on death. Death to the male is understood as a comprehensive system and believed to be highly subjective experience. Therefore attitude on death is affected by personalities. As an attempt to measure the subjective meaning toward death, the unstructured Q-methodology was used. Korean Death Orientation Questonaire prepared by Kim was used. Item-reliability and Sorting-reliability were tested. Forty five cancer patients' family members hospitalized in one university medical center in Seoul were sampled. Sorting the 65 Q-itmes according to the level of personal agreement ; A forced normal distribution into the 11 levels, were carried out by the 45 P-samples. The demographic data and information related to death orientation of the P-sample was collected through face to face in depth interviews. Data was gathered from August 30 till September 22, 1995. The Z-scores of the Q-items were computed and principal component factor analysis was carried out by PC-QUANL Program. Three unique types of the death orientation were identified and labeled. Type I consists of twenty P-samples. Life and death was accepted as people's destiny, They firmly believed the existence of life after life. They kept aloof from death and their concern was facing the and of the life with dignity, They were in favor of organ donation. Type II consists of Nine P-Samples. They considered that death was the end of everything and did not believed the life after life. They were very concerned about the present life. Type III consists of Sixteen P-samples. They regarded the death as a natural phenomena. And they considered that the man is just a traveller and is bound to head for the next life which is believed to be free of agony, pain or darkness. They neither feared death nor its process. Their conserns were on the activities to prepare themselves for the eternal-life after death. Thus, it was concluded that there were three distinctiven type of attitudes on death among cancer patient family members, and their death attitudes were affected by demographic and socio-cultural factors such as sex, education, and religion.