• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.35-46
• /
• 2018

Objectives: The aim of this trial is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Yukwool-tang (Liuyu-tang) for the treatment of major depression in women by comparing the Yukwool-tang (Liuyu-tang)-treated group with the placebo-treated group and assessing the association of various biological factors related to depression through various outcome measures. Methods: This study is a single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-design clinical trial. The subjects to be selected are women between the ages of 19 and 65, and the registered subjects are to be randomly assigned to treatment with Yukwool-tang or the placebo control. The Yukwool-tang group will take 1 bottle of Yukwool-tang (30 mg) for 8 weeks, 3 times a day, before meals. The control group will take the placebo in the same way. The primary outcome to be examined will be the change between the total score after 8 weeks and the total score before the start of the study of the K-HDRS score. Secondary outcomes are assessed by the change in total score after 12 weeks of K-HDRS, K-HDRS remission rate, K-HDRS improvement rate, BDI-K, PITD, KSCL-95, ISI, STAI-K, EQ-5D, VAS, Emotional Stimulation Test, BDNF test, inflammatory cytokine and tumor necrosis factor test, intestinal microbiome test, dietary report and Beck's hopelessness scale. Results: This protocol has been approved by the IRB of Dunsan Korean Medicine Hospital of Daejeon University and is registered in the CRIS, and it is made public in advance to ensure transparency of the research process and conduct ethical clinical trials. Conclusions: Based on this protocol, when the trial is completed, its data can be used to access the validity and safety of Yukwool-tang for major depression in women, and it is also expected to be helpful in the study of the correlation between future treatment of Korean medicine for depression and related biological factors, and quality of life.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.831-842
• /
• 1997

The purpose of the study was to test the reliability and validity of the Korean version of Task Self-Efficacy Scale for activities of dally living (ADL). The Task Self-Efficacy Scale was developed by Roberts(1996) for low-intensity exercise study with older people to predict their performance of ADL. The scale was translated and back translated by bilingual persons, and then was modified to resolve variations in the translations. The Korean version of Self-Efficacy Scale for ADL was then administered to 193 elderly people including 95 hospitalized patients and 98 outpatients or healthy people. Face to face interview was used to fill out the structured questionnaire, and each interview took approximately 30 minutes. The subjects for the study were 80 women and 112 men with an age range of 65 to 95 years(M=71 years) of whom 82.6% classified themselves as moderate or quite active Most subjects(80.2%) had an education level of elementary school or less. The Self-Efficacy Scale for ADL is measured on a 0 to 10 VAS, assessing three areas of ADL : self care activities, household tasks, and motor tasks. The higher the score is, the higher person's confidence in performing ADL. Psychometric testing revealed that the scale was found to be internally consistent, showing a Cronbach's alpha of .97 The scale was significantly correlated with subjects' level of activity and subjective assessment of their health status. Moderate correlation with health-related hardiness scale also supported the validity. Factor analysis was performed to confirm whether the scale represents the three sub-areas as suggested in the literature. The results of the factor analysis led to a three factor solution according to Kaiser's criterion, but the items were not strongly and cleanly loaded for the third factor. This can be explained in that, among the three sub-ADL areas of the self-efficacy scale, the areas of self care activities and household tasks seem to have similar levels of difficulty in performance with not enough differences for the self-efficacy scale to distinguish between the two areas. Therefore, one factor solution was suggested since ADL can be seen as a unit of activities at similar level of difficulty in performance. One factor solution explained 68.1% of variance of the 19-item scale and all items were correlated over .6 with the factor, showing that the selected factor solution fits the model. The results indicated that the Korean version of Task Self-Efficacy Scale for ADL was reliable and valid in producing useful information to evaluate the effects of various interventions toward promoting health and quality of life for elderly people.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.47-55
• /
• 2017

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of further acupuncture research as an effective alternative and safe treatment for abdominal pain control in patients with pancreatitis. Methods and Results : This study is an open-label, assessment-blind, parallel designed pilot clinical trial. Thirty participants will be assigned to the acupuncture group(n=15) and usual care group(n=15). All patients will receive the conventional standard-of-care(SOC) therapy, but only the experimental group will receive acupuncture therapy six times a week, and the duration of acupuncture therapy will be held up to 12 weeks or until the pains are to be resolved. For the conventional SOC therapy, painkiller will be given. In treatment group, the subjects will receive the identical SOC therapy in combination with electroacupuncture therapy on twelve acupuncture points(LI4, PC6, SP6, GB39, ST36, ST37), and auricular acupuncture therapy on five auricular acupuncture points(Sympathetic, Shen Men, Abdomen, Pancreas gall, and Spleen). The primary outcome will be measured using the visual analogue scale(VAS), and the secondary outcome will be measured using the painkiller demand, quality of life index and severity of pancreatitis by abdominal computed tomography(CT). Assessments will be made at baseline and at week 1, 4, 8 and 12. Results of abdominal CT will be evaluated at baseline and at week 12. Conclusions : The result of this trial will provide a basis for the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture treatment for abdominal pain in patients with pancreatitis.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.123-142
• /
• 2010

Objectives : The knee pain is the main reason of getting acupuncture treatment. In order to have confidence in the results of a study, it is necessary to establish that questionnaire is both valid and reliable in questionnaire related study. The aim of this study was to review the instruments that are currently in sue for assessing the knee joint. Methods : A literature study was performed to choose appropriate scales for assessment for pain and the function of the knee. Theoretically based scales were selected for review. Therefore, 18 scales for knee and 9 scale for pain were reviewed. the status of scales involved in knee treatment of acupuncture throughout several countries was evaluated. Results & Conclusion : Lysholm Knee Scoring Scale, Cincinnati knee rating system(CKRS) are adequate for ligament injury in knee. International Knee Documentation Committee scoring system(IKDC) may become a publication requirement for journals in view of the international standing of the committee. The available outcome measure for use in osteoarthritis are Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index(WOMAC), Lequesne Functional Severity Index(LFI) and Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score(KOOS), and in rheumatoid arthritis are McMaster-Toronto Arthritis patient function preference questionnaire(MACTAR), Quality of Life-Rheumatoid Arthritis Scale(QoL-RA Scale). Visual analog scale(VAS), verbal rating scale(VRS) are commonly used for the standard pain scale. For long term follow-up study The Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36(SF-36), Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales(AIMS), Health Assessment Questionnaire(HAQ) should be included. Each measurement has its own composition and characteristics. Their validity, reliability, responsiveness and practical characteristics were already evaluated. We found 20 domestic and 28 overseas papers about knee treatment using acupuncture assessed with knee scales.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
• /
• v.27 no.3
• /
• pp.61-70
• /
• 2017

Objectives The purpose of this review is to analyse the trend in papers related with Korean Medicine Treatment after musculoskeletal disorder surgery. Methods We reviewed Korean Medicine papers by searching Korean web databases 'Korea Traditional Knowledge Portal', 'Scientific and Technological Information Integration Service (NDSL)', 'Academic Research Information Service (RISS)', 'Korea Medical Informati on Portal (OASIS)'. We classified the papers by the year of publishment, the title of journals, the type of study, surgery region, chief complain after surgery, main treatment, periods after surgery, assessment for outcomes. Results 1. Korean Medicine treatment after musculoskeletal disorder surgery has received more attention than in the past and there are attempts to do various studies besides the case reports. 2. 41 research papers were divided in to 3 original articles, 3 review articles, 35 case reports. But almost presented a low level of evidence. 3. Pain was the most common symptom after the musculoskeletal disorder surgery. Pain should be the primary goal of Korean rehabilitation treatment after musculoskeletal disorder surgery. 4. Assessment tools for outcome were concentrated in questionnaries, VAS and NRS. In order to evaluate better, it is necessary to evaluate the overall condition of the patient such as the quality of life evaluation and patient satisfaction. Conclusions In this study, we expect that the development and clinical application of Korean rehabilitation treatment program after musculoskeletal disorder surgery will be actively pursued.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
• /
• v.10 no.3
• /
• pp.145-153
• /
• 2007

Purpose: This study was to analyze the research trend centering on the theses to hospice released in Korea. Methods: The researcher collected the academic degrees and theses published on the book of the academic society from 1991 to 2004, and examined 110 domestic papers of hospice. Results: 1) The number of articles increased 3 years after 1997, 52 (47%) theses were published in $2000{\sim}2002$. 97 (88%) articles were quantitative studies, and 13 (12%) were qualitative studies. 2) As for the subject, the results were: patients with end stage 44 (40%), nurse 18 (16%), hospice care system, facilities, and literature review 12 (10%). 3) As for main concepts of correlational studies 15 (13%), the results were: quality of life, activities of volunteers, suffering experience of nurse, and so on. 4) The subjects and contents of survey, the results were: pain control and need for nursing care in patients, need for spiritual and physical care in family, and so on. 5) The treatment of experimental research, the results were: hospice nursing, educational program, informational support, spiritual nursing, supportive nursing intervention, home hospice care, information services for control of cancer pain, and so on. 6) In the theme of the qualitative studies, the results were: experience of dying patients, perceive of hospice care and death, experience of family of terminal ill patients, meaning of dying in Korean. 7) In the instrument in studies, the results were: MQOL, EQOL, QOL, NIC, Need Scale, Spiritual Well-being Scale, Spiritual Perspective Scale, Coping for Grief Scale, K-CPAT, VAS, BPI, Depression Scale, Strait-anxiety Scale, Care-giver Burden Inventory, Burnout Inventory, Mental quality. Conclusion: More research needs to be encouraged in experimental and qualitative research fields. Researches should be conducted for the establishment of the basis of practical and theoretical framework and hospice polices.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
• /
• v.43 no.6
• /
• pp.1105-1121
• /
• 2022

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to explore the effectiveness and safety of frequently used clinical herbal medicines (Yijung-tang [Lizhong-tang, LJT], Pyeongwi-san [Pingwei-san, PWS], and Shihosogan-tang [Chaihu Shugan-tang, SST]) in patients with functional dyspepsia (FD) when administered according to herbal medicine and Korean medicine pattern identification. The results of this study will be used to standardize the diagnostic instrument used in Korean medicine and to investigate biomarkers of Korean medicine pattern identification. Methods: This study will be a randomized, assessor-blind, 3-arm, parallel, open-label, multi-center clinical trial. A total of 300 FD participants will be recruited from 3 Korean medical hospitals and assigned to the LJT (n=100), PWS (n=100), and SST (n=100) groups according to FD pattern identification. The patients will take the medication for 8 weeks, 3 times a day, before or between meals. The primary outcome will be total dyspepsia symptom (TDS) and the secondary outcomes will be adequate relief (AR) for dyspepsia, overall treatment effect (OTE), visual analogue scale (VAS), functional dyspepsia-related quality of life (FD-QoL), gastrointestinal symptom score (GIS), and pattern identification questionnaires. For the exploratory outcomes, we will analyze blood and fecal metabolome profiles, microbiota from fecal and saliva samples, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), and results of Korean medicine diagnosis device measurements (heart rate variability, and tongue, pulse, and abdominal diagnosis). Conclusions: The results of this study will prove objectivity for Korean medicine pattern identifications, and the effectiveness and safety of herbal medicines for the population with FD.