• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.129-135
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• 2007

Characters are the tool of writing language. In particular, Chinese characters were the tool of communicating, storing and intermediating information in Chinese traditional medicine, and exercised great influence on diseases, diagnoses, treatments and others. Stupid Words are used to avoid calling the name of an emperor or an elder. The Stupid Words, written in old literature, were mostly used to avoid calling the name of emperors in those days. At first, those were used to express respect, but with time, the rule began to be strict. Those who violate the rule were dismissed or expelled; what is worse, even their families were exterminated. Medical books were no exception to the rule. The history of Stupid Words is originated from primitive society. Those were begun to be used customarily, and were institutionalized over time. Although dynasties had been changed in large numbers in history, Stupid Words were not disappeared and had been used until feudalism rings down the curtain. In addition, the characteristics of Stupid Words became different as to each age, and exercised great influence on old literature. The Stupid Words in Chinese traditional medicine are shown in herbal names, authors' names, terminologies, symptomatological names and others. Through Stupid Words, the date of publication can be presumed, and pleonasms can be discriminated from lacunae, and it can be judged whether those works are true or not. On the other hand, those cause inconvenience philologically. The Stupid Words in old medical books became different semantically throughout the years, and so the original became difficult to be translated as well as its meaning cannot be communicated correctly. Eventually, time and effort are expended unnecessarily in some cases.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.1-8
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• 2007

Objectives : There are many causes that may affect efficacy of a drug but the time of administration for the Herbal Medicine is among the most important factors. Traditionally, administration of medicine was prohibited during the meal time along with food and the time of administration has been highly regarded in medical practitioners. The rules of administration time are stated in a book titled, "Materia Medica" but it lacked the details and index. Thus, the systemized administration rules for Herbal Medicine were prepared. Methods : The rules were drawn from both ancient teachings and the experiences from modern clinics. Ancient teachings about the administration are focused on treatment of a disease by utilizing biorhythm of the body in accordance of changes in Yin and Yang and Day and Night. Results : It means the medicine should be prepared and administered at the appropriate time of the day and this type of administration method is thought to be superior to the western method such as "once a day" or "twice a day in the morning and evening" that does not take consideration of cold, hot, warm and cool properties of the medicine. If the prescription is assigning appropriate medicine, administration time is an important method of maximizing drug efficacy. Conclusion : With the ancient teaching in mind, it was concluded that, the drug administration time must be determined with regard to properties of the drug and the condition of the patient.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.49-52
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• 2007

Objectives: Asari Herba comes from the dried perennial herbaceous plant, Asarum sieboldii $M_{IQ}$., A. heterotropides $F_R$. SCHMIDT var. mandshuricum($M_{AXIM}$) $K_{ITAG}$. and A sieboldii $M_{IQ}$ var. seoulense $N_{AKAI}$., family Aristolochiaceae. This medicine is pungent in flavor(味辛), warm in nature(性溫), mildly toxic and affects the lung, kidney, and heart meridians. It is able to repel wind dispel cold(祛風散寒), remove the obstruction of the nose(宣通鼻竅), relieve pain(止痛) and warm the lungs to remove the retention of fluids(溫肺化飮). In a clinic it is prescribed for exterior syndrome of wine-cold type(風寒表證) manifested as headache and general pain. It is indicated for headaches, toothaches, bisyndrome of wind-cold-dampness type(風寒濕痺), etc. For many generations medical books have warned doctors that the dosage of Asari Herba should not be excessive because the pungent flavor has the effect of dispersing exopathogens from superficies of the body. The principle, 'Asari Herba should not exceed Jeon(錢, Qian, 3.0 gram)' is still considered to be relevant. Methods : Extensive research of several ancient medical texts has lead to the following conclusion. Results : The statement 'Asari Herba should not exceed Jeon' is a dosage which is used to prepare single recipe and powder. Conclusion : The definition of Jeon is not 1 Jeon(3.0 gram), but 1 Jeonbi(錢匕, Qianbi, 1.0 gram), moreover, the usage, collection. and refinement process are not in accordance with the contents of the ancient medical texts. A deeper study of Asari Herba's dosage in the future is expected to have interesting results.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.58 no.2
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• pp.129-140
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• 2014

Background: As elderly population has been increasing, pharmacists need to possess special knowledge and skills to provide enhanced pharmaceutical care for senior patients. Purpose: This study aims to systematically review on (1) the certified geriatric pharmacists (CGP) system, (2) the curriculum related to geriatric pharmacy education, and (3) the CGP's performance in terms of clinical, economic and humanistic outcomes in the U.S. Method: The information related to CGP system and curriculum was obtained through the official websites of 'American Society of Consultant Pharmacists', 'Commission for Certification in Geriatric Pharmacy' and the selected pharmacy school samples. Articles about on the outcomes of pharmacist-provided cognitive services including Medication Therapy Management were searched through PubMed. Results: To gain the CGP credential, pharmacists need 2-year experience as pharmacist in advance and take the CGP examination. This certification must be renewed every 5 year. Most pharmacy schools provide geriatric-related curriculum through didactic or pharmacy practice classes for pharmacy students and certificate or dual degree in gerontology are given on completion. Most previous outcomes research reported that pharmacists have played a role in yielding favorable results regarding clinical, economic and humanistic outcomes for nursing facilities, hospitals and community pharmacy settings. Conclusion: Considering the organized CGP certification system and concrete educational courses established the basis for pharmacists to exert their ability for senior patients of the U.S., it is suggested to build a geriatric pharmacist credential model for pharmacists to provide the increasing elderly patients with the requisite safe and effective pharmacy care in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.272-281
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• 2014

Objective: The provision of pharmaceutical care service in compliance with good pharmacy practice (GPP) standards is important, but there is lack of studies to investigate the barriers that significantly hinder community pharmacies in Korea from adhering to the standards. This study was aimed to identify the major barriers to provision of pharmaceutical care service in compliance with the proposed pharmacy practice standards which have been developed based on the GPP standards recommended jointly by WHO and FIP. Methods: Questionnaires reviewed by the expert committee were posted for 32 days on the website which is most frequently accessed by community pharmacists. The respondents completed them by checking the scores (Max=5, Min=1) for major barriers to provision of pharmaceutical care service focusing on patient information management and drug use review process in prescription fillings. The answered scores were automatically collected using online data processing. Mean differences between scored data were assessed by ANOVA. Results: Total 321 pharmacists participated in the survey. Results indicated that 'difficulty of diagnosis identification' (m=3.92, SD=1.21), 'lack of time' (m=3.48, SD=1.22) and 'lack of updated clinical information' (m=3.17, SD=1.10) were the major barriers to provision of pharmaceutical care service in patient information management. The main barriers to drug utilization review were 'lack of time' (m=3.32, SD=1.21), 'lack of updated clinical information' (m=3.11, SD=1.17), and 'negative feedbacks or refusals from prescribers' (m=3.00, SD=1.38). There were significant differences among the groups by location, employed number of pharmacists and acceptability to the proposed GPP standards. Conclusion: Difficulties in managing patient clinical information and lack of time were found to be the major barriers in providing pharmaceutical care services in community pharmacies in Korea. Further research is recommended to determine ways to reduce these barriers in order to provide quality pharmaceutical care service that is in compliance with the internationally recognized GPP guidelines.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.59-67
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• 1998

The stability of cytarabine (manufactured by two pharmaceutical companies) in intravenous admixture and in plastic syringe was investigated. The admixures containing cytarabine 0.35, 8.6, and 17.1 mg/ml in $0.9\%\;NaCl\;or\;5\%$ D5W were placed in PVC bags or glass bottles, and the reconstituted cytarabine (50 mg/ml) was placed in plastic syringe. One ml aliquots were withdrawn immediately after each preparation and stored at $4^{\circ}C\;or\;24^{\circ}C$ for 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 14 days unprotected from light. Each sample was tested for pH and visually inspected for precipitation and change in color. Cytarabine concentrations were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography. Neither precipitation nor change in color was noted, and there were no change in pH during 14 days of testing. The changes in cytarabine concentrations were less than $10\%$. In conclusion, cytarabine in IV admixture or plastic syringe was stable for at least 14 days at $4^{\circ}C\;and\;24^{\circ}C.$(Kor. J. Clin. Pharm. 1998; 8(1): 59-67)

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.9
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• pp.4427-4430
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• 2012

Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer death among women in Malaysia. Despite the campaigns undertaken to raise the awareness of the public regarding breast cancer, breast cancer screening rates are still low in the country. The community pharmacist, as one of the most accessible healthcare practitioners, could play a role in the provision of breast cancer health promotion services to the community. However, there are no documented data regarding the community pharmacists' involvement in breast cancer related health promotion activities. Hence, this study was conducted to examine self-reported knowledge, practice and perception of community pharmacists on provision of breast cancer health promotion services and to investigate the barriers that limit their involvement. This cross-sectional survey conducted between May to September 2010, included a sample of 35 community pharmacists working in the districts of Hulu Langat and Sepang in state of Selangor. A 22-item validated questionnaire that included both closed and Lickert scale questions was used to interview those pharmacists who gave their informed consent to participate in the study. The data was analysed using SPSS. Only 11.3% of the community pharmacists answered all the questions on the knowledge section correctly. The mean overall knowledge of the community pharmacists on risk factors of breast cancer and screening recommendations is 56%. None of the respondents was currently involved in breast cancer health promotion activities. Lack of time (80%), lack of breast cancer educational materials (77.1%) and lack of training (62.9%) were the top three mentioned barriers. Despite these barriers, 94.3% (33) of the community pharmacists agreed that they should be involved in breast cancer health promotion activities. Hence, there is need to equip community pharmacists with necessary training and knowledge to enable them to contribute their share towards prevention and screening of breast cancer.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.193-198
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• 2014

Objective: This study was conducted to compare the adherence, clinical and economical utility of fixed-dose combination tablets of sitagliptin/metformin with concomitant administration of sitagliptin and metformin in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods: Adherence was measured as the medication possession ratio (MPR) of ${\geq}80%$, and MPR was calculated as the number of total prescription days divided by the total treatment period. Hemoglobin $A_{1C}$ ($HbA_{1c}$) differences between baseline and predetermined periods were analyzed. Proportions of patients who achieved $HbA_{1c}$ less than 6.5% for three or more consecutive times were compared. To evaluate cost-effectiveness, prices of sitagliptin, metformin and sitagliptin/metformin tablets were investigated. Results: More than 90% of patients showed adherence in both groups (92.0% in fixed-dose combination group vs 95.9% in concomitant administration group), and there was no statistically significant difference (P = 0.113). Proportion of patients with HbA1c less than 6.5% for three or more consecutive times tended to be somewhat higher in fixed dose combination group than in concomitant administration group without a statistically significant difference (32.6% vs. 28.0%, P = 0.344). Total price of metformin and sitagliptin was cheaper up to 222 KRW in the case of fixed-dose combination tablets compared to the case of concomitant administration. Conclusion: The sitagliptin/metformin fixed-dose combination tablet had a similar patient adherence and was not significantly different in efficacy to the concomitant administration of each component. In terms of drug prices, fixed-dose combination tablets were cheaper than concomitant administration of each tablet.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.243-249
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• 2020

Background: Despite the increased use of direct-acting oral anticoagulants, warfarin is still recommended as first-line therapy in patients with mechanical valves or moderate to severe mitral stenosis. Anticoagulation management services (AMSs) are warranted for patients receiving warfarin therapy due to the complexity of warfarin dosing and large interpatient variability. To overcome limited health care resources, we developed a messenger app-based chatbot that provides information to patients taking warfarin. Methods: We developed "WafarinTalk" as an add-on to the open-source messenger app KakaoTalk. We developed the prototype chatbot after building a database containing seven categories: 1) dosage and indications, 2) drug-drug interactions, 3) drug-food interactions, 4) drug-diet supplement interactions, 5) monitoring, 6) adverse events, and 7) precautions. We then surveyed 30 pharmacists and 10 patients on chatbot reliability and on participant satisfaction. Results: We found that 80% of the pharmacists agreed on the consistency of chatbot responses and 44% agreed on the appropriateness of chatbot. Furthermore, 47% of pharmacists said that they were willing to recommend the chatbot to patients. Of the seven categories, information on drug-food interaction was the most useful; 90% of patients said they were satisfied with the chatbot and 100% of patients said they were willing to use it when they were unable to see a pharmacist. We updated the prototype chatbot with feedback from the survey. Conclusion: This study showed that warfarin-related information could be provided to patients through a messenger application-based chatbot.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.44-48
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• 1999

The bioequivalence of two aceclofenac tablets was evaluated in 14 normal volunteers (age $21\sim29$ yrs) following oral administration. The test product was 'Apental tablet' made by Asia Pharmaceutical Co. and the reference was 'Airtal tablet' made by Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co. After one tablet containing 100 mg aceclofenac was administered, blood was taken at predetermined time intervals and the concentration of the drug in plasma was quantitated with an HPLC method. AUC, $C_{max}\;and\;T_{max}$ were calculated and statistically analyzed for the bioequivalence of the two products. The results showed that the differences in AUC, $C_{max}\;and\;T_{max}$ between two products were $4.23\%,\;2.15\%\;and\;0\%$, respectively. The powers for AUC,$\;C_{max}\;and\;T_{max}\;were\;>90\%,\;>90\%\;and\;85.8\%$, respectively. Confidence intervals were within $\pm20\%$ for three parameters. All of these parameters met the criteria of KFDA for bioequivalence, indicating that 'Apental tablet' is bioequivalent to "Airtal tablet".(Kor. J. Clin. Pharm. 1999; 9(1): 44-48)