• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.101-103
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• 2015

There are no standard consensus about treatment results and prognostic factors based on randomized trials for benign vocal fold lesion. Currently, voice therapy is the treatment of choice for vocal nodules, and laryngomicroscopic surgery is for vocal polyps. There are no strong evidences to support it, based on randomized controlled trials, But, it's just a consensus among laryngologist. Considering the pathophysiology of benign vocal cord lesions, cognitive behavioral therapy that corrects the patient's bad voice habits and improves their vocal hygiene could be most important factor for treatment outcomes.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.376-387
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• 2017

Purpose: This study was to systematically review the contents and effects of nurse-led transitional care programs for discharged patients from hospital to home. Methods: Randomized controlled trials published between 2005 and 2015 were searched in Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane(Central Register of Controlled Trials) and CINAHL. Data were analyzed using Cochrane Review Manager(Revman) software 5.3. Results: Nine studies were selected and analyzed. Patient assessment, education and discharge planning were included in pre-discharge phase. Referring, communication and care planning were performed by nurses in transition phase. Home and phone visits, monitoring and multidisciplinary advices were included in post-discharge phase. Various outcome measures such as hospital utilization(30 days readmission and emergency department visit), quality of life, and cost were used to identify effectiveness of nurse-led transitional care programs. 30 days readmission(OR=.73, 95% CI 0.54, 0.98; p=.03) and emergency department visit(OR=.67, 95% CI 0.50, 0.88; p=.005) were statistically significant in meta-analysis. However, participant blinding was not done in seven studies which put at the risk of performance bias. Conclusion: The results indicated that nurse-led transitional care program is effective in reducing unnecessary hospital utilization. Nevertheless, small sample size and risk at performance bias are the limitation of this study. Thus, we suggest that well-designed randomized controlled trials need to be conducted.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.81-92
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• 2017

Objectives: This review aims to report the efficacy and safety of electroacupuncture in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea. Methods: We searched for randomized controlled studies (RCTs) using electroacupuncture on primary dysmenorrhea up to Dec 2016. The following databases were searched : OASIS, PubMED, EMBASE, CENTRAL. The results of the studies were analyzed and the risk of bias was assessed. Results: Five studies were included in this review. In most studies, the effect of electroacupuncture at Sameumgyo (SP6) was better than that of electroacupuncture at Hyeonjong (GB39), nonacupoint and no intervention about Visual analog scale (VAS), Verbal rating scale (VRS) and Retrospective symptom scale (RSS). But there were no significant effects on Resistance Index (RI) and S/D ratio (the ratio between peak systolic to end-diastolic flow velocity in uterine arteries). Serous adverse events were not reported. Conclusions: This review shows that electroacupuncture is effective on primary dysmenorrhea with no serious adverse events.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.26-43
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• 2018

Objectives The purpose of this study was to analyze recent traditional Chinese medicine clinical studies for treatment of childhood obesity. Methods We analyzed 11 clinical studies from January, 2000 to March, 2018 about childhood obesity from the China Academic Journal (CAJ) and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). All selected studies were Randomized Controlled Trials and analyzed in order of publication year, demographic information, treatment method, evaluation methods, results, adverse reactions and relapse after treatment discontinuation. Results The main Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) treatment was the herbal decoctions, granules and pills. In most studies, the total efficacy of the treatment group was reported to be higher than that of the control group. Adverse reactions were found in small number of studies. Frequently used medical herbs were Crataegi Fructus (山?), Atractylodis Rhizoma (蒼朮), Citri Pericarpium (陳皮), Poria (茯?), and Nelumbinis Folium (荷葉). Also, Water-draining and swelling-dispersing medicinal (利水退腫藥), Qi-regulating medicinal (理氣藥), Resolving dampness with aroma medicinal (芳香化濕藥), Blood-activating and stasis-dispelling medicinal (活血祛瘀藥), Qi-tonifying medicinal (補氣藥), and Digestant medicinal (消食藥) were commonly used. Conclusions This study showed that traditional Chinese medicine, especially herbal medicine treatment can be effective and safe option for treating childhood obesity. These research results can be utilized in other clinical studies as well as in treatment of childhood obesity. Additional well-designed randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews are need to confirm the conclusion.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.927-933
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• 2011

This study aimed to evaluate the quality of herbal medicine-related RCT (Randomized controlled clinical trial) papers. 79 papers were searched from the domestic Hakjin paper list, and 16 papers of them were evaluated in terms of the Jadad Quality Assessment Scale and the adequacy of allocation concealment, and ethical validity. The evaluation results from Jadad Quality Assessment Scale showed that 15 papers showed high quality with the Jadad score of 3 points or higher, and none of the papers had a problem with randomization and double-blinding. The evaluation results from adequacy of allocation concealment showed that 3 of the papers were executed proper allocation concealment, and all of them had 5 points of Jadad score. IRB (Institutional Review Board) approval and written consent was investigated for the evaluation of ethical validity, and 12 papers had the IRB approval, and 14 papers had written consent. The papers published before 2005 were absent of IRB approval and written consent, and none of the papers had IRB approval number. From the above results, it is concluded that rigorous clinical research led high quality of research papers, and the ethical aspect of clinical researches are getting more important to protect the rights of research participants.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.79-87
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• 2020

The purpose of this review was to evaluate the effectiveness of electroacupuncture treatment for women with "primary obesity." Primary obesity is caused by an imbalance in energy intake and consumption due to abnormal eating and living habits in the absence of specific diseases causing the obesity. A literature review (up to December 2019) of randomized controlled trials (RCT) of electroacupuncture treatment for women with "primary obesity" was performed. Relevant clinical studies were retrieved from several databases, and interventions and results were analyzed. There were 6 RCT that fitted the inclusion criteria for this review. The intervention for the treatment group of the selected 6 RCT was electrical stimulation applied to acupoints. Interventions for the control groups included non-treatment, general acupuncture, and so on. Indicators for assessing treatment effects varied from study to study. Four out of 5 studies used body mass index (BMI) as an assessment tool and showed a significant decrease in BMI following electroacupuncture treatment. There were 4 studies using waist circumference as an indicator of abdominal obesity and these studies showed a significant decrease in waist circumference following electroacupuncture treatment. Electroacupuncture treatment used in primary obese women had a clinically significant effect, however, further RCT are needed.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.78-96
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• 2016

Objectives The purpose of this study is to provide clinical evidence of Korean medicine for febrile seizure by review of randomized controlled trials on the effect of TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) for febrile seizure. Methods We searched randomized controlled trials about TCM treatment of febrile seizure from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) (January 2008 to June 2016). The selected literatures were assessed by Jadad scale. Results 40 papers were selected from 160 studies. Analyses of selected studies indicated that the TCM treatment group has significantly higher cure rate for febrile seizure than first aid or western medicine group. The most commonly used herbs were Gardeniae Fructus (梔子), Uncariae Ramulus cum Uncis (鉤藤), Cornus Gazeliae (羚羊角), Margarita (珍珠), Scutellariae Radix (黃芩), Glycyrrhizae Radix (甘草). The most commonly used acupoints were GV26 (人中), LI4 (合谷), KI1 (湧泉), GV20 (百會). There were no serious adverse events reported from the TCM treatment group during the treatment period. Conclusions TCM has been shown as not only effective but also safe treatment on febrile seizure. This finding can be widely utilized in clinical practice and can form the basis for development of clinical practice guidelines in future.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.39-53
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• 2018

Objectives: The purpose of this review was to overview and evaluate the efficacy of electroacupunture for women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) Methods: Relevant randomized controlled studies (RCTs) were identified by database searches in PubMED, EMBASE, OASIS, and Google scholar, up to May 2018. Data were extracted regarding hyperandrogenism, obesity and hyperinsulinemia indices. The risk of bias was assessed. Results: Five RCTs were included for analysis. In one RCT, electroacupuncture group had significantly lower free testosterone and testosterone, compared to no treatment group. However, The other RCTs showed no significant difference between two groups. For LH/FSH, Ferriman Gallway score, anti-mullerian hormone, body mass index, weight and waist, and insulin, electroacupuncture group showed no significant difference, compared to physical exercise, no treatment, and sham acupuncture group. Conclusions: Only a limited number of RCTs have been reported. At present, there is insufficient evidence to support the use of electroacupuncture for treatment of PCOS.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.13-18
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• 2020

This review examined recently published (July 2014 to June 2017), randomized controlled trials (RCTs) which investigated the safety and effectiveness of combined Korean medicine/complementary alternative medicine (CAM) and Western medicine, to indicate the direction for integrative medical practice. The Korean Medicine Convergence Research Information Center evidence-based medicine database (KMCRIC EBM DB) was used to retrieve relevant RCTs indexed in the last 3 years. Study design, country, sample size, disease/condition with the Korean Standard Classification of Diseases code, interventions, direction of outcomes, and adverse events were extracted and summarized. A total of 93 RCTs were included in this review. Acupuncture/moxibustion was the most commonly used intervention (n = 47; 51%), and 19% (n = 18) of the studies treated musculoskeletal disorders, followed by circulatory disorders (n = 16; 17%), and mental and behavioral disorders (n = 9; 10%). Integrative treatment was reported as more effective than monotherapy in approximately 83% of these studies. Adverse events were poorly reported in most studies. This review suggests that integrative treatments are feasible, effective, and safe for various diseases/conditions, based on the evidence from recently published RCTs. Future studies on integrative healthcare are warranted.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.77-100
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• 2020

Objectives The purpose of this study is to investigate recent clinical studies on the effect of herbal medicine for pediatric tonsillitis in China, and to seek better methods to treat and study for pediatric tonsillitis in Republic of Korea. Methods We searched clinical studies from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) by search formula (SU='扁桃体炎'+'扁桃炎'+'扁桃腺炎'+'乳蛾'+'喉蛾'+'蚕蛾'+'石蛾'+'珠蛾'+'肉蛾'+'乳蛾風'+爛乳風'+'tonsillitis') and (SU='中樂'+'中医樂'+'本草'+'湯'+'丸'+'散'+'方'+'顆粒'+'膠囊'+'自擬'+'herb'+'herbal'+'decoction'+'remedy'+'Chinese medicine'+'Korean medicine'+'kampo'+'formula'+'herbal drug'+'Chinese drug'+'plant'+'Chinese prescription'+'traditional medicine'+'Medicine, East Asian Traditional'+'Herbal Medicine') in professional search from January 2016 to August 2020. We analyzed the literature focusing on the treatment methods and results. Results Among 1464 searched studies, 35 randomized controlled trials were selected and analyzed. In most studies, the effectiveness of oral administration of herbal medicine on pediatric tonsillitis was significant. Most commonly used herbs were Fructus Forsythiae (連翹), Radix Glycyrrhizae (甘草), Radix Scutellariae (黃芩), Herba Menthae (薄荷), Fructus Arctii (牛蒡子), Radix Scrophulariae (玄蔘), Radix Platycodi (桔梗), Flos Lonicerae (金銀花), Radix Isatidis (板藍根), Radix Bupleuri (柴胡), Fructus Gardeniae (梔子), Rhizoma Belamcandae (射干), Radix et Rhizoma Rhei (大黃), Gypsum Fibrosum (石膏). Conclusions By analyzing the improvement of indicators such as total effective rate, cured rate, symptom disappearance time and symptom score, we found that herbal medicine treatment can help improve pediatric tonsillitis. However, additional studies are needed to solidify these findings.