• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.65 no.1
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• pp.130-137
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• 2022

Objective : COVID-19 has spread worldwide since the first case was reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Our institution is a regional trauma and emergency center in the northern Gyeonggi Province. The changing trend of patient care in the emergency room of this hospital likely reflects the overall trend of patients in the area. In the present study, whether changes in the surrounding social environment following the outbreak of COVID-19 changed the incidence of neurosurgical emergency patients and whether differences in practice existed were investigated. Methods : The overall trend was analyzed from January 2020 which is before the outbreak of COVID-19 to September 2020. To remove bias due to seasonal variation, the previous 2 year's records during the same period were reviewed and compared. Confirmed COVID-19 patients in the northern Gyeonggi Province were identified using data released by the government. And patients who came to the emergency department with head trauma and stroke were identified. Results : Based on the present study results, the total number of neurosurgery emergency patients decreased over the study period. In the trauma patient group, the number of patients not involved in traffic accidents significantly decreased compared with patients involved in traffic accidents. Among the stroke cases, the rate of ischemic stroke was lower than hemorrhagic stroke, although a statistically significant difference was not observed. Meanwhile, an increase in the risk of mortality associated with trauma or stroke cases was not observed during the COVID-19 outbreak compared with the same time period in the previous year. Conclusion : Due to the occurrence of COVID-19, non-essential activities have decreased and trauma cases not associated with traffic accidents appeared to decrease. Due to the decrease in overall activity, the number of stroke patients has also decreased. This trend is expected to continue even in the post-COVID-19 era, and accordingly, the results from the present study are relevant especially if the current situation continues.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.9-19
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• 2004

This study is performed to examine the relationship between air pollution exposure and mortality in Daejeon for the years of 1998 - 2001. Daily counts of death were analyzed by general additive Poisson model, with adjustment for effects of seasonal trend, air temperature, humidity, and day of the week as confounders in a nonparametric approach. Daily death counts were associated with CO(4 day before), $O_3$(current day), $PM_10$(4 day before), $NO_2$(6 day before), $SO_2$(2 day before). Increase of $31.07{\mu}g/m^3$(interquartile range) in $PM_10$ was associated with 2.0 % (95% CI = 0.5 % - 3.5 %)) increase in the daily number of death. This effect was greater in children(less than 15 aged) and elderly(more than 65 aged). We concluded that Daejeon had 2 - 4 % increase in mortality in association with IQR in air pollutants. Daily variations in air pollution within the range currently occurring in Daejeon might have an adverse effect on daily mortality. These findings also support the hypothesis that air pollution at levels below the current ambient air quality standards of Korea except PM10, is harmful to sensitive subjects, such as children or elderly.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.96-104
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• 2012

The objective of this study is to compare on the occupational injury rate and mortality rate of all workers and foreign workers. By doing so, this study seeks to find out the improvements necessary to secure the basic safety net for foreign workers, as well as to find out the legal and institutional measures in place to make timely political intervention and protect the health of foreign workers. The status of foreign workers in Korea, their employment trends by industries, and occupational accident types and scales of Korean and foreign workers were analyzed from 2005 to 2009. Each year, foreign workers' occupational injury rate was much lower than Korea's overall occupational injury rate. But when analyzed by industry, occupational injury rate (death rate per 10,000 workers) of manufacturing industry was about 2 to 5 times higher than the overall occupational injury rate in Korea. Also, construction industry showed 3 to 16 times higher rate than the rate of overall industries. Although the death rate per 10,000 workers showed a declining yearly trend, foreign workers' occupational injury rate has the tendency to increase gradually. In particular, occupational injury rates and death rates per 10,000 workers were considerably high in the manufacturing and construction industries.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.4301-4306
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• 2016

Background: Cancer is a burden on humanity and ranks as a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in China. Shanxi province has its unique cancer patterns and the burden is increasing. In this study, we aimed to assess the pattern of dietary habits and life-style in Shanxi, a high-risk area for upper gastrointestinal cancers in China and further evaluate the trends in cancer incidence and mortality based on registered data. Materials and Methods: Data on lifestyle, diet, physical activity were obtained from the household health survey at Zhongyang from 2013 to 2015. Cancer diagnoses were reported to Shanxi Center for Disease Control and Prevention (SCDCP). Population-based cancer incidence data and mortality data of 2012 were collected from the SCDCP. All incidence and death rates were expressed per 100,000 populations. Univariate analysis was performed using the Chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test. Results: Overall, deficiencies in fresh fruits and vegetable food, and intake of hot food, salted food, or pickled food are serious problems in Shanxi, especially in rural areas. Upper gastrointestinal cancers were the most commonly diagnosed cancers, and the incidence in rural areas is higher than those in urban areas. Cervical cancer is the most common cancer for females. Moreover, the agespecific incidence exhibited an increased trend before 40 years old. Consistent with the previous literature, our epidemiological investigation results suggest that lifestyle, nutrition deficient, and infections were major risk factors for upper gastrointestinal cancers or cervical cancer in Shanxi. Facing a serious situation, we further explored defensible recommendations for the general public in order to promote changes in environments that support healthful eating and physical activity habits, to reduce cancer risk. Conclusions: Our results present the current cancer trends in Shanxi and its related etiologic risk factors and provide a theoretical basis to guide public health efforts to prevent and control cancers in the province.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.15
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• pp.6327-6332
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• 2014

National cancer registration reports provide a huge potential for identifying patterns and trends of important policy, research, prevention and treatment significance. As summary reports written on an annual basis, the China Cancer Registry Annual Reports (CCRARs) fall short from fully addressing their potential. This paper attempts to explore part of the patterns and trends hidden behind published CCRARs. It extracted data for cancer incidence rates (IRs) and mortality rates (MRs) for 2004, 2006 and 2009 from relevant CCRARs and portrayed 4 kinds of indicators in line graphs. The study showed that: a) all of the line graphs of age-specific IRs and MRs characterized typical "growth curves or histogram"; b) graphs of IRs and MRs for males and urban areas had higher peaks than that for females and rural regions; c) most of the line graphs of IR/MR ratios comprised a starting peak, a secondary peak and a decreasing tail and the secondary peaks for females and urban areas were higher than those for males and rural areas; d) most of the urban versus rural IR ratios valued above one, but most the urban versus rural MR ratios, below one; e) the accumulative IRs and MRs showed a stable increasing trend from 2004 to 2009 for urban areas, but mixed for rural regions.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.630-637
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• 2000

Backgroud: There are well-known problems in the management of low weight neonates or infants with congenital heart defects. In the past, because of a perceived high risk of operations using cardiopulmonary bypass(CPB) in these patients, there was a tendency for staged palliation without the use of CPB. However, the recent trend has been toward early reparative surgery using CPB, with acceptable mortality and good long-term survival. Therefore we reviewed our results of the operations in infants weighing less than 3kg and considered the technical aspect of conducting the CPB including myocardial protection. Material and Method: Between Jan. 1995 and Jul. 1998, 28 infants weighing less than 3kg underwent open heart surgery for many cardiac anomalies with a mean body weight of 2.7kg(range; 1.9-3.0kg) and a mean age of 41days(range; 4-110days). Preoperative management in the intensive care unit was needed in 20 infants and preoperative ventilator support therapy in 11. Total correction was performed in 23 infants and the palliative procedure in 5. Total circulatory arrest was needed in 11 infants(39%). Result: There were seven hospital deaths(25%) caused by myocardial failure(n=3), surgical failure(n=2), multiorgan failure(n=1), and sudden death(n=1). The median duration of hospital stay and intensive care unit stay were 13days(range; 6-93days) and 6days(range; 2-77days) respectively. The follow-up was achieved in 21 patients and showed three cases of late mortality(15%) and a one-year survival rate of 62%. No neurologic complications such as clinical seizure and intracranial bleeding were noticed immediately after surgery and during follow-up. Conclusion: The early and late mortality rate of open heart surgery in our infants weighing less than 3 kg stood relatively high, but the improved outcomes are expected by means of the delicate conduct of cardiopulmonary bypass including myocardial protection as well as the adequate perioperative management. Also, the longer follow-up for the neurologic development and complications are needed in infants undergoing circulatory arrest and continuous low flow CPB.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.180-189
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• 2023

Objectives: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to a global shortage of medical resources; therefore, we investigated whether COVID-19 impacted the quality of non-COVID-19 hospital care in Korea by comparing hospital standardized mortality rates (HSMRs) before and during the pandemic. Methods: This retrospective cohort study analyzed Korean National Health Insurance discharge claim data obtained from January to June in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020. Patients' in-hospital deaths were classified according to the most responsible diagnosis categories. The HSMR is calculated as the ratio of expected deaths to actual deaths. The time trend in the overall HSMR was analyzed by region and hospital type. Results: The final analysis included 2 252 824 patients. In 2020, the HSMR increased nationwide (HSMR, 99.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 97.7 to 101.0) in comparison to 2019 (HSMR, 97.3; 95% CI, 95.8 to 98.8). In the COVID-19 pandemic zone, the HSMR increased significantly in 2020 (HSMR, 112.7; 95% CI, 107.0 to 118.7) compared to 2019 (HSMR, 101.7; 95% CI, 96.9 to 106.6). The HSMR in all general hospitals increased significantly in 2020 (HSMR, 106.4; 95% CI, 104.3 to 108.5) compared to 2019 (HSMR, 100.3; 95% CI, 98.4 to 102.2). Hospitals participating in the COVID-19 response had a lower HSMR (HSMR, 95.6; 95% CI, 93.9 to 97.4) than hospitals not participating in the COVID-19 response (HSMR, 124.3; 95% CI, 119.3 to 129.4). Conclusions: This study suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic may have negatively impacted the quality of care in hospitals, especially general hospitals with relatively few beds. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is necessary to prevent excessive workloads in hospitals and to properly employ and coordinate the workforce.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.191-199
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• 1999

Objectives: To examine the relationship between air pollution exposure and mortality in Seoul for the years of 1991-1995, Methods: Daily counts of death were analyzed by general additive Poisson model, with adjustment for effects of secular trend, seasonal factor, day of the week, heat wave, temperature, and humidity. Pollution variables were ozone, nitrogen dioxide, total suspended particles(TSP), and sulfur dioxide. Results: Daily death counts were associated with ozone(1 day before), nitrogen dioxide(1 day before), TSP(2 days before), sulfur dioxide(2 days before). The association with ozone was most statisfically significant and independent of other air pollutants. Increase of 100 ppb in ozone was associated with 0%(95% Cl= 2%-10%) increase in the daily number of death, This effect was greater in persons aged 65 and older. The relative risks of death from respiratory disease and cardiovascular disease were greater than for all-cause mortality in each pollutant. After ozone level exceeds 25 ppb, the dose-response relationship between mortality and ozone was almost linear. However, the effect of TSP, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide on mortality might be confounded with each other. Conclusion: Daily variations in air pollution within the range currently occurring in Seoul might have an adverse effect on daily mortality.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.259-268
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• 2019

Dengue virus is a typical mosquito-borne virus, and the half of the world's population is exposed to infection. Dengue virus causes relatively mild symptoms such as dengue fever. However, when not treated properly, it is known to cause severe symptoms such as dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome with a mortality rate of over 20%. Development of dengue virus detection technology is very important because it is reported that early diagnosis of dengue fever can lower the mortality rate to less than 1%. In this study, patent search related to dengue virus detection technology was conducted in Korea, USA, Europe, Japan, and China. The quantitative analysis of 69 validated patents from the searched patents was conducted by country, year, and patent holder. In addition, in-depth analysis was carried out by classifying into three categories: molecular diagnostics, immuno-diagnostics, and cell culture-based diagnostics from all validated patents. From these results, we analyzed the patent trend related to dengue virus detection and dengue fever diagnosis technology and discussed the features and limitations of molecular diagnostics and immuno-diagnostics at present level. Furthermore, we discussed the direction of technology development and future prospects to overcome limitations.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.189-197
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• 2017

Locally advanced prostate cancer (LAPC) is defined as histologically proven T3-4 prostatic adenocarcinoma. In this review, we define the individual roles of radiotherapy (RT), short-term (ST-) and long-term (LT-) androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), and their combination in multimodal therapy for LAPC. Despite limitations in comparing the clinical outcomes among published papers, in the present study, a trend of 10-year clinical outcomes was roughly estimated by calculating the average rates weighted by the cohort number. With RT alone, the following rates were estimated: 87% biochemical failure, 34% local failure (LF), 48% distant metastasis (DM), 38% overall survival (OS), and 27% disease-specific mortality (DSM). Those associated with ADT alone were 74% BCF, 54% OS, and 25% DSM, which appeared to be better than those of RT alone. The addition of ADT to RT produced a notable local and systemic effect, regardless of ST- or LT-ADT. The LF rate decreased from 34% with RT alone to 21% with ST-ADT and further to 15% with LT-ADT. The DM and DSM rates also showed a similar trend among RT alone, RT+ST-ADT, and RT+LT-ADT. The combination of RT+LT-ADT resulted in the best long-term clinical outcomes, indicating that both RT and ADT are important parts of multimodal therapy.