• 한국임상약학회지
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• 제29권4호
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• pp.231-237
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• 2019

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the status of split tablet prescription in South Korea. Methods: We conducted this analysis using 2016 National Patient Sample data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. We computed split tablet prescription rates by sex and age and determined which medicine and medical specialties had the highest split tablet prescribing rates. Results: The proportion of prescriptions that included split tablets was 15.6% (n=6,687,35). The proportion of prescriptions that included split tablets was higher for females (56.7%) than for males (43.3%), while that of prescriptions including split tablets versus total prescriptions for each sex was higher for males (16.4%) than for females (14.9%) (p<0.001). In the age group under 19 years, the proportion of prescriptions including split tablets (53.7%) was more than half of the total. The highest tablet splitting rate was found to be 89.9% for formoterol fumarate (40 ㎍), and pseudoephedrine hydrochloride (60 mg) had the highest number of prescriptions. Pediatrics (65.6%) was the medical field with the highest rate of split tablet prescription. Conclusion: Split tablets were most prescribed to pediatric patients. To minimize the use of split tablets, it is necessary to develop lower dose tablets and establish a policy that promotes prescription of these lower-dose tablets.

• Journal of Korean Medical Science
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• 제33권46호
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• pp.290.1-290.11
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• 2018

Background: The role of antidepressants (ADs) in bipolar disorder is long-standing controversial issue in psychiatry. Many clinicians have used ADs as a treatment for bipolar depression, and the selection of therapeutic agents is very diverse and inconsistent. This study aimed to examine recent AD prescription patterns for patients with bipolar disorder in Korea, using the nationwide, population-based data. Methods: This study utilized the Korean nationwide, whole population-based registry data of the year 2010, 2011, and 2013. All prescription data of the ADs, antipsychotics, and mood stabilizers of the sampled patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder (n = 2,022 [in 2010]; 2,038 [in 2011]; 2,626 [in 2013]) were analyzed for each year. Results: Annual prescription rate of ADs was 27.3%-33.6% in bipolar disorder, which was gradually increasing over the 3-year period. The combination pattern of ADs and antipsychotic drugs tended to increase over 3 years. The proportion of females and the prevalence of comorbid anxiety disorder were significantly higher in AD user group in all three years. Among individual ADs, escitalopram was prescribed most frequently, and fluoxetine and bupropion were prescribed to the next many patients. The mean duration of bipolar depressive episodes was 135.90-152.53 days, of which ADs were prescribed for 115.60-121.98 days. Conclusion: Our results show prescription rate of ADs in bipolar disorder was maintained at substantial level and increased in recent 3 years. More empirical data and evidence are needed to establish practical treatment consensuses.

• 한국임상약학회지
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• 제17권1호
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• pp.1-5
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• 2007

A computerized chemotherapy order system (CCOS) was developed to improve the accuracy and efficiency of prescriptions for pharmacy medication scheduling at a teaching hospital, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. We evaluated the system by comparing prescriptions before and after the implementation of the system and by analyzing the effects of the system on dosing accuracy (only against 5-FU), prescription change, overdoses above maximum limit and medication disposal in non computerized program group (control group) and CCOS group. In terms of dosing accuracy, prescription error rate (%) was significantly decreased in CCOS groups compared with the control group. The rate of prescription changes was also significantly decreased in CCOS groups. Regarding overdoses above maximum limit, we found that there was no prescription order exceeding the dosage limit in CCOS groups in contrast to significant overdoses in control group. In terms of medication disposal, there was no significant difference between 2 groups. We suggest that the computerized chemotherapy order system for chemotherapy may bean important and useful tool for minimizing prescribing errors in the hospitals.

• 한국임상약학회지
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• 제26권2호
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• pp.107-114
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• 2016

Background: Depression is the leading cause of lowering the quality of life of cancer patients and lung cancer is the most likely to cause depression. It is necessary to find out depression-related factors in lung cancer patients. Methods: The study was a retrospective cohort study using medical records, and was a non-equivalent comparison group design. It involved patients diagnosed of lung cancer at the Konkuk University Medical Center from January to December 2012. Between antidepressants prescription group and non prescription group, socio-demographic factors, clinical factors, treatment-related factors and other factors were analyzed statistically. Results: Antidepressant prescription group consisted of 23 people and non-prescription group of 206 people. Prescription rate of quetiapine was the highest 47.8% (11/23), followed by escitalopram (43.5%, 10/23), amitryptyline and trazodone (30.4%, 7/23). The prescription group was prescribed with an average of 1.9 antidepressants. Antidepressants were prescribed after average of 248 days from lung cancer diagnosis and prescription period per patient was average 177.5 days. According to the result of univariate logistic regression analysis between 2 groups, factors such as number of outpatient visit, number of admission, days of hospitalization, sleep disorder, and comorbidity were found to be statistically significant (p < 0.05). However, According multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that number of admission, days of hospitalization and sleep disorder were statistically significant (p < 0.05) excluding comorbidity. Conclusion: About 10% of lung cancer patients had received a prescription for antidepressants after lung cancer diagnosis. A sleep disorder, number of hospitalization and length of stay were identified as factors influencing the prescribing antidepressants.

• 보건의료산업학회지
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• 제14권1호
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• pp.93-102
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• 2020

Objectives: This study analyzed the prescription characteristics of medication for acute respiratory diseases before and after pay-for-performance to provide basic data on effective medical quality management policies. Methods: The research data were collected from the 2013-2014 sample cohort of the National Health Insurance Corporation, from Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Otorhinolaryngology, Family Medicine and General practitioner clinics (classification of disease codes: J00-J06, J20-J22, J40 outpatients). Results: The antibiotics prescription rates decreased from 43.9% in 2013 to 43.5% in 2014 when the major diagnosis was for upper respiratory infections and increased from 62.0% in 2013 to 62.5% in 2014 when the major diagnosis was for lower respiratory infections. Conclusions: There is a need to identify the correct antibiotic prescription method by expanding the current assessment standards. Such standards must include acute lower respiratory infections and minor diagnoses as the current evaluation techniques focus only on the major diagnosis of acute upper respiratory infections.

• 한국의료질향상학회지
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• 제18권1호
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• pp.71-78
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• 2012

Background : The objective of this study was to examine the effect of management system for the appropriate prophylactic use of antibiotics in surgical patients at a tertiary hospital from 2007 to 2010. Methods : We collected clinical data of three different surgical procedures(colectomy, heart surgery, hysterectomy) for three months of 2007 and 2010, respectively. The number of total cases was 245(137, 54, 54) in 2007, 240(133, 42, 65) in 2010. We measured the rate of use of inappropriate prophylactic antibiotics, administration within 1 hour prior to the incision and the antibiotics prescription days after surgery. To evaluate the effectiveness of the management system, the results of the two groups(Group1=2007, Group2=2010) were compared by t-test, chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. Result : The rate of Aminoglycoside uses decreased drastically from 11.4% to 0.8%(P<.001). The selection of 3rd/4th Cephalosporin dropped from 11.8% to 5.8%(P=.020). The combination of antibiotics decreased from 27.8% to 11.7%(P<.001). The antibiotic prescription rate on discharge declined from 11.8% to 2.5%(P<.001) and the number of antibiotics prescription days after surgery was shortened from 4.2 days to 2.3 days(P<.001). No significant difference in the rate of administration within 1 hour between two groups was found. Through 3-year management, 5 out of 6 measures were significantly improved(except the administration within 1 hour). The rate of surgical site infection decreased from 2.4% to 1.3%(P=.504). Conclusion : The findings demonstrate that the management system for the prophylactic use of antibiotics in surgical patients was effective in decreasing the rate of surgical site infection during 3 years.

• 보건행정학회지
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• 제24권2호
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• pp.120-127
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• 2014

Background: Since December 2010, online computerized prospective drug utilization review (pDUR) has been implemented in Korea. pDUR involves the review of each prescription before the medication is dispensed to the individual patient. The pDUR is performed electronically by Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA), which is a Korean governmental agency, and then HIRA provides medical institutions and pharmacies with information that can be helpful to them in preventing potential drug problems such as drug/drug interactions or ingredient duplication. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the Korean pDUR implementation on the proportion of drug-drug interactions (DDIs) using claims data from HIRA. Methods: A before-after comparison of the prevalence of DDIs between prescription was conducted, using HIRA administrative claims data of medical institution from January 2010 to December 2011. The analysis unit was the prescription issued and pairs before and after. The main outcome measures were the proportion of DDIs within- (control group) or between- physician encounters. To examine the difference, a paired t-test was applied. Results: We found that DDIs proportion between prescription decreased significantly (t=3.04, p=0.0026) after the implementation of pDUR, whereas there is no significant reduction within prescription (t=1.15, p=0.2518). With respect to the prevalence of DDIs between drug groups, the most dramatic reduction was occurred between 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors and anti-fungal agents. Conclusion: It seems effective that giving a direct feedback to prescribers by a prospective DUR. Further research is needed to assess the impact of DUR to final outcomes such as hospitalization.

• 생물정신의학
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• 제28권2호
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• pp.50-57
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• 2021

Objectives Clozapine is the most effective atypical antipsychotic agent for the treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS), however, only 40%-70% of TRS patients respond to clozapine. Moreover, TRS encompasses various symptom dimensions. Therefore, augmentation with other medications for clozapine is frequently applied. However, the prescription pattern of clozapine and combined medications in Korea is yet to be examined. This study aims to investigate the maintenance treatment pattern of clozapine and augmentation agents in one Korean tertiary hospital. Methods The patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders under clozapine maintenance, defined as one-year clozapine continuation, were subjected for analysis. Medication data at one-year time-point after clozapine initiation was extracted and analyzed. Results Among total 2897 patients having clozapine prescription experience from January 2000 to December 2018, 1011 patients were on clozapine maintenance. The mean age of clozapine initiation was 30.2 ± 11.3 years, and the maintenance dose of clozapine was 217.8 ± 124.3 mg/day. Combination rate of antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, and antidepressants were 43.5%, 25.3%, 38.6%, respectively. Most frequently prescribed drugs in each category were aripiprazole, valproate, and sertraline. Olanzapine equivalent dose of combined antipsychotics was 10.4 ± 7.7 mg/day. Male patients were prescribed higher dose of combined antipsychotics and higher rate of antidepressants. Female patients had later onset of clozapine prescription. Patients with two or more combined antipsychotics were prescribed higher dose of clozapine and higher rate of antidepressants compared to patients with one combined antipsychotic. Conclusions Taken together, among the patients taking clozapine, a substantial rate of patients were under polypharmacy. The present findings based on the real-world prescription pattern could provide the valuable clinical information on the treatment of TRS-related conditions.

• 정신신체의학
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• 제28권2호
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• pp.116-125
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• 2020

연구목적 자살시도로 응급실에 내원한 환자들 중 음독이 가장 높은 빈도를 보이고 있다. 본 연구에서는 음독 의약품에 따른 자살 시도자들의 특성을 분석하여 향후 임상 진료 현장에서 도움이 될 제언과 자살 예방 정책을 마련하는데 기초자료를 제공하고자 하였다. 방 법 2011년부터 2019년까지 서울 소재 1개 종합 병원 응급실에 음독 자살 시도 후 내원한 환자 574명의 의무기록을 후향적으로 검토하였다. 의무기록을 통해 인구통계학적 정보 및 자살 과거력, 정신건강의학과 과거력, 정신질환 외 기저질환력, 음독 약물의 종류 및 양, 획득 경로, 단일 혹은 혼합 음독여부 등에 대해서 조사 후 카이제곱 검정 및 독립표본 t-검정을 사용하여 통계 분석하였다. 유의한 결과에 대해서는 위험률 산출을 위해 오즈비를 구하였다. 결 과 일반의약품 음독군이 전문의약품 음독군에 비해 연령은 유의하게 낮았으며 국민건강보험 외 비율은 낮고 배우자가 있는 비율은 유의하게 높았다. 전문의약품 음독군은 일반의약품 음독군에 비해 비자발적 응급실 내원, 정신질환력 및 정신질환 외 기저질환력에서 높은 비율을 보였다. 전문의약품 중 벤조디아제핀 음독군은 비음독군에 비해 본인 처방 비율이 높은 반면 졸피뎀 음독군은 타인처방 비율이 높았다. 벤조디아제핀, 졸피뎀, 항우울제 단독 음독군이 복합 음독군에 비해 유의하게 정신질환력이 없는 비율이 높았다. 결 론 일반의약품 판매 규제에 대한 가이드라인이 필요할 것이며 임상 현장에서 자살 고위험군의 특성을 유념한 면담이 필요하다. 또한 자살 위험성이 높은 환자들에게 전문의약품 처방 시 추적 관찰 기간 및 처방 기간, 포장 방식에 대한 적극적인 고려가 필요할 것으로 보인다.

• 약학회지
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• 제55권5호
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• pp.432-439
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• 2011

The effects of characteristics of community pharmacists on consultation time for prescription (RX) and nonprescription drugs (nRX) were investigated. A crosssectional descriptive design was established with a self-administered anonymous mail survey. Response rate was 52%. Significant pharmacists' factors related to having less than 3 minutes consultation for RX were one's dispensing duties exceeding 50%, low satisfaction with one's own level of consultation, working at the pharmacies nearby clinics, or shorter duration of consultation time for nRX. Consultation promoting conditions should be built up for the provision of sufficient consultation.