• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.1211-1222
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• 2021

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the opinions of experts on abdominal examinations in Korean Medicine included in the curriculum of the College of Korean Medicine. Methods: Among Korean doctors, 14 experts on abdominal examinations were interviewed; the experts included 9 professors of Korean internal medicine, 1 expert in diagnostics of Korean Medicine, 1 primary care Korean medicine doctor, and 3 executives of a (former) Korean association of the abdomen. The interview consisted of questions regarding recognition of the clinical importance of abdominal examinations, how to perform abdominal examinations, the most frequent abdominal examination findings encountered in clinical practice, and the definition of some of the abdominal examination findings. Results: Most interviewees recognized abdominal examinations as important and used them in clinical practice. Opinions on additions and corrections were collected regarding observation items, posture, method, and order during abdominal examinations. Abdominal examination findings that were common clinically were abdominal fullness (腹滿), epigastric stuffness (心下痞鞕), abdominal tenderness, epigastric fullness (心下滿), and rib distention (胸脇苦滿). The answers to the question related to the definitions of abdominal examination findings included consent and supplementary opinions regarding definitions of deficiency-excess, cold-heat, abdominal tenderness, tension of abdominal muscles, succession sounds, and borborygmus; these were mainly selected based on abdominal symptoms that are highly quantifiable. Conclusions: In the future, based on the results of this study, additional research related to the drafting of a standard abdominal examination in Korean medicine should be conducted to provide an opportunity to increase the reliability of Korean medicine diagnosis.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.940-948
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• 2016

Objectives: This exploratory trial evaluated the possibility of quantitatively measuring several aspects during the "abdominal examination" of traditional Korean medicine. The main results of this study will be used to develop a new diagnostic device for abdominal examinations. Methods: Fifteen healthy volunteers were recruited for this study. Three certified Korean medical doctors assessed the existence of pressure pain, the elasticity of the abdominal muscle, and the tonus at CV12 as gold standards. Then, 2 well-trained investigators measured the pressure pain threshold (PPT), the indentation depth of a bar, and repelling force by pressing CV12. Each investigator measured the above 3 variables 2 times at 1 min intervals using a modified digital algometer. Reliability and validity tests of the 3 variables were performed. Results: There were statistically significant coefficients of intraclass correlation on the 3 variables both between and within the investigators (P<0.001). Also, PPT and repelling force showed statistically significant high sensitivity and specificity in a ROC curve. However, the indentation depth of the bar presented relatively low sensitivity. Conclusions: This new diagnostic method using a modified digital algometer could be a useful tool for quantitative measurement in "abdominal examinations". However, future rigorous clinical studies with a large population will be needed for the verification of its usefulness.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.291-294
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• 2013

There are various origins for chronic abdominal pain. About 10-30% of patients with chronic abdominal pain have abdominal wall pain. Unfortunately, abdominal wall pain is not thought to be the first origin of chronic abdominal pain; therefore, patients usually undergo extensive examinations, including diagnostic laparoscopic surgery. Entrapment of abdominal cutaneous nerves at the muscular foramen of the rectus abdominis is a rare cause of abdominal wall pain. If abdominal wall pain is considered in earlier stage of chronic abdominal pain, unnecessary invasive procedures are not required and patients will reach symptom free condition as soon as the diagnosis is made. Here, we report a case of successful treatment of a patient with abdominal cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome by ultrasound guided injection therapy.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.219-224
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• 2013

Acute abdominal pain is a common complaint in childhood, and it can be caused by a wide range of underlying surgical and non-surgical conditions. The most common non-surgical condition is gastroenteritis, while the most common surgical condition is appendicitis. Abdominal pain in children varies with age, associated symptoms, and pain location. Although acute abdominal pain is usually benign and self-limiting, there are uncommon but life-threatening conditions that require urgent care. Meticulous history taking and physical examinations are essential to determine the cause of acute abdominal pain and to identify children with surgical conditions such as appendicitis.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.873-877
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• 2019

Background: In many patients with chronic abdominal pain after gastrectomy, an exact cause often cannot be identified, even after extensive examinations. This creates difficulties in establishing an effective treatment. Case summary: A 55-year-old man was admitted with chronic abdominal pain following gastrectomy performed to treat gastric cancer. Acupuncture and traditional herbal medicine were administered for 38 days, and the pain gradually improved during the hospitalization. The abdominal pain had not subsided completely at discharge, but it was reduced to a level where the patient had no inconvenience in his daily life. Conclusion: In this case, traditional Korean medicine appeared to be an effective therapeutic option for patients with chronic abdominal pain after gastrectomy.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.180-183
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• 2015

We report the case of a 14-year-old girl who visited the emergency room because of suprapubic discomfort and sudden acute urinary retention. She did not have any significant medical and surgical history, and her neurological examinations were all normal. Urinary catheterization led to the passage of 500 mL urine. Abdominal ultrasonography showed a hematocolpos that was compressing the urinary bladder. Gynecologic history taking revealed that the patient has not had menarche yet. Therefore, a cruciate incision was performed and her urination became normal. As the surgical outcome after adequate hymenotomy for imperforate hymen is usually good, the diagnosis of imperforate hymen is important. However, this condition is easily missed in the clinic because the first physician visited by the patient rarely takes a detailed gynecologic history or performs appropriate physical examinations. Although rare, imperforate hymen should be considered as a cause of acute urinary retention in the adolescence period. If an adolescent girl presents with abdominal pain and voiding dysfunction, a detailed gynecologic history and appropriate physical examinations of the genital introitus should be performed.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.273-279
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• 2013

The objective of this study is to find out a reason why prescriptions have different effects on each patient who has same symptoms or same abdominal examinations and further more to classify the formulas more efficiently. In applying 's prescriptions, it is known that conventional ways such as treatment in accordance with symptoms or abdominal examinations have many advantages and problems reversely. To make up for the problems, additional references like strength of constitutional resistance and location of disease, degree of income and outgo are designed. And the notion in Oriental Medicine embracing aspects mentioned above corresponds to triple energizer. Triple energizer's exuberance-debilitation is able to draw an inference from some factors like density of skin interstices, elasticity of abdomen, appetite, digestive power. According to Exuberance-Debilitation of Triple Energizer, can be divided into five steps: weak(弱)-moderately weak(中弱)-neither weak nor strong(中)-moderately strong(中强)-strong(强). prescriptions would be dealt with those 5 steps, and it would be highly effective and consequently side effects could be reduced. On the basis of this classification method upon formula group, the prescriptions of can be applied more accurately by setting a direction through strength of constitutional resistance and location of disease and combining with existing references like symptoms, palpation and abdominal examinations.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.181-183
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• 2004

Hepatic mass was aspirated under the guidance with ultrasound in 9-year old female maltese with signs of anorexia, hematochezia, vomiting, depression, and abdominal distension. Radiographic and abdominal ultrasonographic examinations were performed, which revealed enlarged tubular shaped uterine mass and solitary, small round hyperechoic hepatic mass dorsal to gall bladder as an incidental finding. Ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration was completed, but histologic confirmation should be made for definitive diagnosis by tissue core or wedge biopsy.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.208-211
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• 2021

Gallbladder injuries are rare in cases of blunt abdominal trauma and are usually associated with damage to other internal organs. If the physician does not suspect gallbladder injury and check imaging studies carefully, it may be difficult to distinguish a gallbladder injury from gallbladder stone, hematoma, or bleeding. Therefore, in order not to miss the diagnosis, the clinical findings and correlation should be confirmed. In the present case, a 60-year-old male presented to a local trauma center complaining of pain in the upper right quadrant and chest wall following a motor vehicle collision. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) showed a hepatic laceration and hematoma in the parenchyma in segments 4, 5, and 6 and active bleeding in the lumen of the gallbladder. Traumatic gallbladder injuries generally require surgery, but in this case, non-operative management was possible with cautious follow-up consisting of abdominal CT and angiography with repeated physical examinations and hemodynamic monitoring in the intensive care unit.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.137-146
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• 2009

Purpose: This study was performed to identify the socioeconomic factors, the health behavior factors and dietary pattern that have an influence on abdominal obesity, as measured by using the waist circumference in children and adolescents. Methods: This study used data collected from 1998, 2001, 2005 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Final sample included 3,596 subjects from 10 to 19 years old who had completed necessary health examinations, health behaviors survey, and nutrition survey. Results: 12 dietary patterns emerged from factor analysis with different factor loading. Logistic regression analysis of the factors that affect abdominal obesity showed that the education level, BMI(Body Mass Index) and dietary pattern, 'Kimchi' including Korean cabbage and radish affected the abdominal obesity in children and adolescents. Conclusions: Abdominal obesity is a risk factor for morbidity and mortality, and it is associated with chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Based on the findings, it is essential to modify dietary pattern for preventing abdominal obesity, which is a condition associated with the incidence of chronic disease in adults.