• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.209-221
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• 2021

Objectives : The aim of this study was to compare and analyze studies related to fire acupuncture (FA) published in South and North Korea. Methods : FA studies published in South Korea were searched through domestic and overseas databases (KISS, RISS, OASIS, and EMBASE). For North Korean studies, databases from the Information Center on North Korea and Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information were used. Among the searched literatures, clinical studies using FA as a treatment intervention were selected (i.e., randomized controlled trials, and case reports). Finally, information such as the disease for which FA was used, the characteristics of FA, and details of treatment methods for FA were extracted from the screened literatures and the results of South and North Korean studies were compared and analyzed. Results : This review included 28 South Korean studies and 9 North Korean studies. All studies in South Korea, except for the three articles that used traditional FA treatment, applied "warm needling"-like acupuncture (WA) in the form of heating the handle of the needle after inserting the needle into the skin, and most studies were conducted on diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Whereas in the North Korean studies, FA was applied to various diseases such as trigeminal neuralgia, skin diseases, and gastrointestinal diseases, and standardized FA tools were used. Conclusions : Studies on traditional FA treatment have rarely been reported in South Korea. The amount of information described in the FA studies in North Korea was limited. In this review, the characteristics of FA treatment tools in South and North Korean studies were mainly analyzed. In the future, FA studies from more diverse perspectives are needed.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.77-84
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• 2022

Objectives This study is designed to identify the effectiveness of herbal medicine for osteoporosis in rheumatoid arthritis. Methods We will investigate 10 databases, 4 Korean databases (KoreaMed, KMBASE, Koreanstudies Information Service System [KISS], ScienceOn) and 6 of abroad (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure [CNKI], WanFang, Citation Information by NII [CiNii]) without publication date, language limitation for clinical study of herbal medicine for osteoporosis in rheumatoid arthritis. Type, dose, duration, frequency of herb medicine will be analyzed. Results Randomized controlled trials about herbal medicine or herb extract for osteoporosis in rheumatoid arthritis should be included in the study. Cochrane's risk of bias tools will be used to assess quality of the study. Mean differences or standardized mean differences of 95% confidence intervals will calculated and data synthesis will be conducted using Review Manager (RevMan, ver.5.3; The Nordic Cochrane Centre, The Cochrane Collaboration, Copenhagen, Denmark). Conclusions It is expected to provide basic data for the active use of herb medicine by systematically synthesizing and analyzing the actual situation, effectiveness, and safety of herb medicine for osteoporosis in rheumatoid arthritis.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.1-17
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• 2021

Objectives The present study examined the recent domestic and international trends of non-surgical treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). Methods The studies on non-surgical treatment of LSS were investigated via searching Korean web databases and PubMed. As a result, 39 studies were analyzed according to the authors, the types of study, the relationship to surgical treatment and the method of treatment. Results The first authors' occupations were identified as 17 doctors, 12 Korean medicine doctors, six physiotherapists, three chiropractic doctors and one doctor of science. The most common type of study in Korea was the case report and most of the studies were retrospective. Overseas, there were many prospective or experimental studies including randomized controlled trials (RCT). In Korea, non-surgical treatment was performed independently of surgical treatment in most cases. Among non-surgical treatments, the most researched treatment was traditional Korean medicine (TKM), followed by injection therapy, exercise therapy, and physical therapy. Conclusions Through this review, we can determine the effectiveness of TKM and its research direction. TKM should be studied experimentally including RCT and it should be conducted not only on acupuncture, but also on other treatment methods such as acupotomy, chuna, and herbal medicine. It is also necessary to conduct studies on TKM before and after surgery to compare the effects of surgery and TKM together, as well the effects on non-surgical treatments.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.161-173
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• 2022

Objectives: This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture in patients with primary menstrual difficulties taking NSAIDs. Methods: 30 women with primary menstrual difficulties with NSAIDs were assigned to treatment groups (n=15) and control groups (n=15). On their first visit, both groups were provided with a menstrual diary and were required to record the intensity of pain and the dosage of painkillers during each menstrual cycle. The treatment group received two acupuncture treatments per cycle during two cycles, and the control group did not receive acupuncture. Pain strength during menstruation was evaluated using Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), and the total number of painkillers taken during menstruation and the average number of painkillers taken during a single dose was measured. Results: The treatment group had significant pain relief compared to the pre-test group and significant differences from the control group. In addition, there was a significant difference between the treatment group and the control group in the frequency of taking painkillers during the menstrual period and the dose in the test group was significantly lower than before treatment. Conclusions: This clinical trial showed that this acupuncture can help alleviate primary menstruation and reduce the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

• The Journal of Churna Manual Medicine for Spine and Nerves
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.17-25
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• 2022

Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of manual therapy for knee meniscus injuries. Methods We searched seven electronic databases (MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, CAJ, Wanfang, RISS, ScienceON, and OASIS) to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using the keywords "manual therapy OR chuna OR tuina" and "meniscus injury." Results Eleven RCTs were selected based on the inclusion criteria, and all studies were conducted in China. Five studies were meta-analyzed. The systematic review revealed a positive effect of manual therapy for knee meniscus injury. Low risk of selection, attrition, and reporting bias were demonstrated in all studies. Ten studies had a high risk of performance bias. Conclusions The systematic review reported favorable results using manual therapy for knee meniscus injury. However, this study has several limitations because of the high risk of bias. Further clinical studies and reviews with higher levels of evidence are warranted.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.20-35
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• 2023

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to review clinical studies and investigate the efficacy and safety of oriental medicine on memory in menopausal women. Methods: 'menopause', 'memory', 'oriental medicine' were searched on 4 online databases (Cochrane Library, Pubmed, CNKI, OASIS). Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated menopausal memory with oriental medicine treatment were included. The methodological quality of each RCT was assessed by using Cochrane risk of bias tool. Results: 8 RCTs were selected among 1067 articles. The overall risk of bias was evaluated as uncertain. 5 studies showed that oriental medicine alone was significant effective, but 1 long-term study with the same oriental medicine did not sustain the effect, and 2 studied were not statistically significant. Conclusions: Oriental medicine can be an effective option for improving memory in menopausal women. but considering the small number and quality of studies, inconsistent and insufficient evidence, further well-designed studies are needed to confirm the efficacy and safety of this treatment.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.181-212
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• 2023

Objectives: To examine the efficacy and safety of cupping therapy for insomnia disorder and provide clinical evidence that could contribute to further research. Methods: We searched randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that verified effects of cupping therapy for insomnia disorder from 11 domestic and foreign databases. Included studies were evaluated using Risk of Bias (RoB). Results: Nineteen RCTs were selected. Wet cupping was more frequently used than dry cupping. Moving cupping was mostly used among dry cupping methods. Dry cupping was mainly performed in Bladder Meridian on the back. Wet cupping was mainly performed on BL18, LR14, and BL15. The most common treatment period was 4 weeks. The average number of treatments per week was about 2.4 times for all types of cupping, about 3.2 times for dry cupping and about 1.9 times for wet cupping. All selected studies showed a significant sleep improvement compared to the control group. As a result of the meta-analysis, in terms of effective rate, SAS score, and SDS score, the wet cupping in combination with acupuncture was significantly more effective than acupuncture alone, although the quality of selected RCTs was low. Conclusions: Cupping therapy is effective for insomnia disorder. Based on results of this study, it is reasonable to use wet cupping two times per week on BL18, LR14, and BL15 or use moving cupping three times per week in Bladder Meridian on the back for 4 weeks to treat insomnia disorder.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.152-168
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• 2009

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine remedies suggested in the papers of ovarian cyst in Chinese Medicine Journals and to establish the further direction. Methods: The papers published between 1994 and 2009 in China Academic Journal were reviewed. Results: 1. It was on Bo-Ryu Enema that main focus of investigation was placed. A variety of randomized controlled trials and case series were found. As a result, a lot of proper manual arts and prescriptions were provided out of them. 2. Acupuncture is reported as significant in reducing the size of ovarian cyst and improving clinical symptoms, which covers electrical acupuncture, enlongated needle and moxibustion, burning acupuncture. 3. External application was verified as an effective therapy for the case of a combined treatment with oral medicine. 4. Modern medical equipments such as ultra short wave medical cure, TDP could improve the efficiency of traditional remedies like Bo-Ryu Enema, external application. Conclusion: It would be necessary to practically come up with a diversity of remedies besides oral decoction of medical ingredients, and establish standard of evidence of them.

• Korean Journal of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
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• v.62 no.2
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• pp.75-81
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• 2019

The objective of this study was to perform a systematic review of the literature for application of intranasal sodium citrate in the patients with olfactory dysfunction to help determine the sodium citrate treatments for this condition. Two authors independently searched the data base (Medline, Scopus, and the Cochrane database) for relevant studies from inception to January 2018. Included studies were randomized controlled studies published in English comparing topical sodium citrate application (treatment group) with saline (control group) in patients who had olfactory dysfunction. Outcomes of interest included the change of olfactory identification and threshold during 2 hours post-treatment. Three studies were enrolled in the meta-analysis. Compared with control group, treatment group did not increase posttreatment score of olfactory identification [standardized mean difference (SMD)=-0.03; 95% confidence interval (CI)=-0.29-0.24; I²=0%] and olfactory threshold (SMD=0.18; 95% CI=-0.09-0.45; I²=0%) significantly. In the degree of pre-post improvement of two outcomes, although treatment group statistically showed the significant improvement in olfactory threshold (SMD=0.30; 95% CI=0.05-0.55; I²=17%), the clinical significance of this outcome was meaningless. Similarly, there was no significant difference in olfactory identification between two groups (SMD=0.17; 95% CI=-0.11-0.45; I²=22%). Unlike the recent favorable results, our summated results presented the uselessness for the local application of sodium citrate in improving patient's olfactory function. However, we also had some limitation such as small sample size and inconsistent application methods. Therefore, larger trials and standardized methodology are needed to reach more stronger and exact results.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.255-261
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• 2023

Background: The surgical threshold for bicuspid aortic valve (BAV)-related aortopathy is a matter of debate due to its uncertain etiology and prognosis. This study investigated the prognosis of unrepaired BAV aortopathy in patients undergoing surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from 720 patients (age, 60.8±11.5 years; 246 women) who underwent SAVR for BAV disease without aortic repair between 2005 and 2020 at Asan Medical Center. The clinical endpoints were defined as occurrences of sudden death, aortic dissection or rupture, and elective aortic repair. To estimate postoperative changes in the dimensions of the unrepaired aorta, the individual annual aortic expansion rate was calculated. Multiple linear regression models were used to evaluate the risk of aortic expansion. Results: The mean ascending aortic diameter was 39.5±4.6 mm, and 299 patients (41.5%) had a baseline ascending aorta diameter >40 mm. During 70.0±68.3 months of follow-up, the mean annual aortic expansion rate was 0.39±1.96 mm/yr, no aortic dissection or rupture was observed, and sudden deaths were reported in 12 patients (0.34% per person-year). Linear regression analysis revealed no significant correlation between the baseline ascending aortic diameter and postoperative aortic expansion (R²=0.004, β=-0.84, p=0.082). Conclusion: In selected patients undergoing SAVR for a BAV (<55 mm), the risk of adverse aortic events was very low. As this observation contradicts current practice guidelines advocating for proactive aortic replacement in dilated ascending aortas measuring >45 mm, the study results need further validation by studies involving larger populations or randomized controlled trials.