• 한국임상약학회지
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• 제30권4호
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• pp.264-269
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• 2020

Background: Inflammatory diseases can increase the prevalence of anemia. Recent studies confirmed that the prevalence of anemia is increased by atopic dermatitis (AD), a chronic inflammatory disease. Therefore, we aimed to elucidate the correlation between AD severity and prevalence of anemia. Methods: We used data of pediatric patients from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA-PPS-2016). We included pediatric patients (<18 years) with AD diagnosis who were prescribed medications for AD. We applied a propensity score method with inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) adjusting for differences in prevalence of confounders and performed IPTW logistic regression to evaluate associations between the anemia and severity of AD. Results: In total, 91,501 patients (mild AD: 47,054 patients; moderate-to-severe AD: 44,447 patients) <18 years who were prescribed drugs for AD were analyzed. Analysis of the probability of patients with mild AD and prevalence of anemia as a reference revealed an odds ratio (OR) of 1.159 (95% CI, 1.109-1.212; p<0.001) in moderate-to-severe AD patients, indicating a correlation between anemia prevalence and AD severity. Subgroup analysis according to gender, age group, and type of health insurance revealed there was an association between AD severity and anemia except in patients equal or older than 7 years. Conclusion: The prevalence of anemia increased with AD severity despite adjusting for confounding factors. Our results support the hypothesis that AD can cause anemia, and anemia prevalence could be increased in severe AD patients. Further studies are needed to establish a pathological basis.

• 한국임상약학회지
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• 제31권4호
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• pp.278-284
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• 2021

Background: Osteoporosis is a disease that affects the quality of life and imposes a high socioeconomic burden. Studies have reported that statins, a HMG CoA reductase inhibitor, have a positive or negative effect on osteoporosis. The purpose of this study was to analyze the correlation between statins and osteoporosis risk. Methods: We used the total patient sample data of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA-NPS-2018). We analyzed the prevalence of osteoporosis in adult patients of Korea who were diagnosed with dyslipidemia and were prescribed statins at the same time. The odds ratio (OR) according to the intensity and type of statin was used to confirming the prevalence. Results: Among the 1,138,899 patients included in the study, 143,895 patients used statins and 27,524 patients (19.13%) were diagnosed with osteoporosis in the statin group. The OR value of statin group was 0.96 (95% CI 0.94-0.98), confirming that the prevalence of osteoporosis decreased, and a significant decrease was seen in all statin intensity. Some of the moderate-intensity statins rather increased the prevalence of osteoporosis, but atorvastatin and rosuvastatin obtained positive results at both medium- and high-intensity doses, and lovastatin, a low-intensity statin, showed the greatest reduction in the prevalence of osteoporosis. Conclusion: We found that the prevalence of osteoporosis was reduced in the statin group, and there was a constant correlation regardless of gender or age. However, a large, prospective, double-blind and randomized study is needed for a long period of time to demonstrate the effectiveness of statins.

• 한국임상약학회지
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• 제33권1호
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• pp.8-21
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• 2023

Background: Gastrointestinal (GI) drugs are often co-prescribed with other medications to prevent GI complications. This study aimed to evaluate the prescribing pattern of potentially unnecessary GI drugs in patients with acute cystitis who were prescribed oral antibiotics and investigate the influencing factors affecting this. Methods: We identified female patients ≥20 years with acute cystitis who visited the outpatient clinic and were prescribed oral antibiotics between July and December by analyzing Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA)-National Patients Sample (NPS)-2019 data. Patients with no prior history of GI disorders within 180 days prior to acute cystitis, excluding or including the date of diagnosis of acute cystitis, were selected (Group A and B). Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the factors affecting the prescription of potentially unnecessary GI drugs. Results: A total of 1,544 in Group A and 552 patients in Group B were included for the final analysis. Potentially unnecessary GI drugs were prescribed in 1,176 patients in Group A (76.2%) and 231 patients in Group B (41.8%). Third generation cephalosporines and sulfonamides showed the lower odds ratio for prescribing GI drugs than penicillins. Prescribers from Urology clinics showed more than twice odds ratio for the prescription of GI drugs compared to prescribers from internal medicine clinics. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that potentially unnecessary GI drug prescriptions for patients with acute cystitis were high in South Korea. The positive risk factors affecting the prescription of unnecessary GIs were not patient-related factor but healthcare facility and prescriber-related factors.

• Journal of Evidence-Based Herbal Medicine
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• 제1권2호
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• pp.1-6
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• 2008

The internet is closely related to the lives of modern people in the 21st Century. Exchanging information with others over the internet in any place through is possible nowadays and such exchanging information has been developed at rapid speed also in the areas of medical care. The internet is an important and rapidly-evolving source of health-related information, and many patients with atopy dermatitis attempt to find information from the internet. This study was performed to investigate the current information available in atopy dermatitis on the internet in Korea. We chose three portal sites and two network communities to analyze the information in which the topic of 'atopy' could be found. Among the 2,024 web sites and 5,613 network communities, 98.2% of the web sites and 71.7% of the communities were related products or service advertisements, and some of them provided incorrect of exaggerated information. There were only 42 web sites and 75 available communities with genuine information, and most of these also presented unattested treatment methods, including alternative therapies. It is quite understandable that patients with atopy dermatitis want to seek information related to their disease and the internet has the potential to be a useful source of information. However, there are no regulations to control the accuracy and quality of information on the internet. We should take an active role in identifying the accuracy and evaluating the quality.

• 한국임상약학회지
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• 제27권3호
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• pp.136-142
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• 2017

Background: Dementia is one of important social and economic healthcare issues in the aging age. Therefore, it signifies to analyze the relationship between chronic disease or cardiovascular drug use and the incidence of dementia to establish a basis for increasing or preventing the risk of dementia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between the prevalence of chronic diseases and the use of cardiovascular drugs in patients diagnosed with dementia. Methods: In this study, we used data from sample of elderly patients from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. We analyzed by logistic regression analysis with age, gender, and medication as covariates. KCD-7 was used to diagnosis of the disease, and drugs were analyzed using ATC codes and Korean standardized drug classification codes. Results: A total of 1,276,331 patients were analyzed in the sample of the elderly population, of which 532,075 (41.7%) were male and 744,256 (58.3%) were female. The patients have the higher risk of dementia in the older, women, and lower socioeconomically status. Cerebral infarction and ischemic heart disease increases risk of dementia. Patients taking statins, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) or angiotensin II receptor antagonists (ARB) showed low incidence of dementia. Conclusion: This study has been shown that ACEI, ARB, and statin drugs may associate with lower incidence of Alzheimer's and other dementia except vascular dementia.

• 한국임상약학회지
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• 제29권2호
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• pp.109-114
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• 2019

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic inflammatory disease that manifests as joint damage or athletic disability via sustained inflammation of the synovial membrane. The risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is higher in RA patients. This study aimed at evaluating the association between CVD comorbidities and RA by comparing a pharmacotherapy group with a non-pharmacotherapy group. Methods: Patient sample data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA-NPS-2016) were used. Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) using the propensity score was used to minimize the differences in patient characteristics. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the risk of CVD comorbidities. Results: The analyses included 1,207,213 patients, of which 33,122 (2.8%) had RA. The odds ratios (OR) of CVD comorbidities were increased in RA patients; ischemic heart disease (IHD: OR 1.75; 95% CI 1.73, 1.77), cerebral infarction (CERI: OR 1.28; 95% CI 1.26, 1.30), hypertension (HTN: OR 1.44; 95% CI 1.43, 1.45), diabetes mellitus (DM: OR 2.04; 95% CI 2.03, 2.06), and dyslipidemia (DL: OR 3.49; 95% CI 3.47, 3.51). The ORs of IHD, CERI, HTN, and DM in the traditional DMARD and biologic treatment groups were decreased, compared with those in the non-pharmacotherapy group. Conclusions: Thus, CVD risk was higher in RA patients, considering age, sex, and socioeconomic status. Appropriate pharmacotherapy could decrease the risk of CVD comorbidities in RA patients.

• 한국임상약학회지
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• 제32권3호
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• pp.178-184
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• 2022

Background: Migraine is one of the leading causes of poor quality of life and disability, and migraine incidences in pediatrics are increasing. Proper medication is important for the preventive and acute treatment of migraine. This study aimed to identify the current status of prescribed medication in pediatric patients with migraine. Methods: We used data from a sample of pediatric patients from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA-PPS-2018) and analyzed the status of prescription drugs and frequency of visits to medical institutions with migraine diagnoses in pediatric patients. Results: A total of 12,228 pediatric patients diagnosed with migraine during 2018 were analyzed. Among these patients, 7,170 (58.64%) were girls and 9,510 (77.77%) were adolescents. Additionally, 9,157 patients (74.89%) received acute treatment, and 592 patients (4.84%) received combination therapy with analgesics and triptans. Acetaminophen for acute treatment and flunarizine for preventive treatment were the most commonly prescribed. In most children and adolescents, acute treatment drugs were prescribed for less than 14 days. Conclusion: Analgesics, such as acetaminophen or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, were prescribed frequently for acute treatment in pediatric patients with migraine. The drug prescription duration was within the recommended range, indicating a low risk of overdose. For preventive treatment, clinically studied medication for pediatric patients with migraine was used.

• 보건교육건강증진학회지
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• 제31권2호
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• pp.41-53
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• 2014

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the education contents on safe use of medications in healthcare textbooks for elementary, middle and high schools. Methods: We examined 6 textbooks for the $5^{th}$ grade, 4 textbooks for middle school, 3 textbooks for high school, and 5 education materials published by the Korea Food and Drug Administration, National Health Insurance Service, and Seoul City Government. To evaluate the contents in health textbooks, we developed the 30 evaluation items. Results: Middle school textbooks had the most educational contents followed by high school and elementary school textbooks. Public education materials for the teenagers included more educational contents than those for children. The education material published by National Health Insurance Service had the highest score and the rest of the books earned under 15. And there were no core contents in medication education. Conclusions: Medication education through health textbooks should be strengthened to raise the level of medication awareness, to use medications safely, to prevent the drug abuse and misuse, and to establish the responsible judgment of medication information in the mass media. The current contents were found to be insufficient to meet these goals of medication education.

• 약학회지
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• 제59권6호
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• pp.278-283
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• 2015

The computerized prospective Drug Utilization Review (DUR) program supported by the Korean government has provided alerts to physicians and pharmacists since December 2010. This study aims to propose and apply the tiering system in "drug combinations to avoid (DCA)" and "age-precaution" alerts based on severity to improve the compliance of users. To propose the severity and clinical importance of 647 DCA alerts and 140 age precautions, a Delphi evaluation survey was conducted. An expert panel comprising 5 clinical pharmacists and 5 physicians were participated in mail surveys. Based on the results of Delphi survey, DCA pairs were classified into 3 groups; group 1 (70.6%), 2 (26.9%), and 3 (2.8%). Drug-age precaution ingredients were also classified into three groups; group 1 (53.6%), group 2 (40.7%), and group 3 (5.7%). When this grouping was applied to claim data from 2011 to 2013, the majority of alerts had occurred in the groups of high severity. Presenting DUR alerts with severity level is expected to improve the compliance of clinicians. The implementation of tiering system in DUR criteria should be considered.

• 한국병원경영학회지
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• 제5권1호
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• pp.200-231
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• 2000

The price systems of the hospital drug services play key roles in the provision of quality services and the development of pharmacy service technologies. Under the premises, this study attempted to determine the costs of hospital drug service, to compare the costs calculated with the fees publicly fixed by the Government, and based on the results of the analysis, to propose directions for the improvement of the price systems. A Costing model for the study was developed based on the cost-fee relationship analysed of the Korean fee-for-service systems. Data on costs and workloads of the 25 hospitals were collected through survey forms designed for the costing' and analysis for the duration of 12 months of 1998. The results of the analysis show that a tremendous unbalance between cost and price levels of the drug services, and that overally the price level of the services is extremely low when compared to the costs of services. Based on these findings, this study suggests that unfairly high or low price level be corrected, and that service items newly developed and being practiced at tertiary hospitals, such as TDM and TPN consultation services, be compensated by fixing a proper level of price.