• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.91-104
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• 2018

Objectives The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of Acupotomy on the pain reduction and functional improvement of patients with Acute low back pain. Methods We studied 60 patients with Acute low back pain with Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) 5 or higher in admission and had admitted to Department of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation of Daejeon University from March 1, 2017 to October 31, 2017. 30 patients had received Acupotomy combined Korean Medicine treatment(such as acupuncture, moxabustion, herbal medicine, etc) and the other 30 had received Korean Medicine treatment only. The analysis was conducted as a retrospective study which analyzes the patient's medical records. Statistical analysis was performed using the IBM SPSS Statistics 24 program. We used NRS to evaluate pain reduction, used Range of Motion (ROM) and Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) to evaluate function improvement, and used EuroQol-5 Dimension (EQ-5D) and EuroQoL-Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS) to assess quality of life. Finally, a five-point Likert scale was used to assess treatment satisfaction. Results The analysis revealed that patients who were treated with Acupotomy showed statistically significant NRS reduction, improvement of ROM and RMDQ, improvement of EQ-5D and EQ-VAS and satisfaction compared to those who just recevied Korean Medicine treatment. Conclusions In conclusion, we found that the Acupotomy showed a positive effect on pain resolving, functional rehabilitation and quality of life in patients with Acute low back pain.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.267-274
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• 2020

Background: General anesthesia (GA) has been considered the anesthetic technique which most frequent leads to phantom limb pain (PLP) after a limb amputation. However, these prior reports were limited by small sample sizes. The aims of this study were to evaluate the incidence of PLP according to the various anesthetic techniques used for limb amputation and also to compare the occurrence of PLP according to amputation etiology using the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service for large-scale demographic information. Methods: The claims of patients who underwent limb amputation were reviewed by analyzing the codes used to classify standardized medical behaviors. The patients were categorized into three groups-GA, neuraxial anesthesia (NA), and peripheral nerve block (PNB)-in accordance with the anesthetic technique. The recorded diagnosis was confirmed using the diagnostic codes for PLP registered within one year after the limb amputation. Results: Finally, 7,613 individuals were analyzed. According to the recorded diagnoses, 362 patients (4.8%) developed PLP after amputation. Among the 2,992 patients exposed to GA, 191 (6.4%) were diagnosed with PLP, whereas 121 (4.3%) of the 2,840 patients anesthetized with NA, and 50 (2.8%) of the 1,781 patients anesthetized under PNB developed PLP. The relative risks were 0.67 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.53-0.84; P < 0.001) for NA and 0.43 (95% CI, 0.32-0.59; P < 0.001) for PNB. Conclusions: In this retrospective cohort study, using large-scale population-based databases, the incidence rates of PLP after limb amputations were, in the order of frequency, GA, NA, and PNB.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.186-190
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• 2007

Purpose: Plate systems have been used for osteosynthesis of cranial and oromaxillofacial fracture. However, there is no consensus on the need for routine removal of plate and the question about indications of removal. Therefore, we present the retrospective study to clarify the indications and consensus of removal. Methods: The medical records of patients who were treated with rigid internal fixation using plates after craniofacial trauma were reviewed. Study variables included age, gender, type of fracture, type of plate, seniority of the operator, causes of removal, and time between insertion and removal. All results amendable to statistics were analyzed using SPSS 10.0 to determine which set of variables might affect the fate of the plates. Results: For a period of 10 years (March 1, 1994 through July 31, 2004), total of 41 plates(6.7%) were removed among 609 plates inserted into 419 patients; 27 plates were removed from 15 patients for infection, which is the most common cause of removal accounting for 65.8%. Mean time between insertion and removal is 35.2 months and mean age is 41.4 years. Most plates were removed from combined fracture(14.92%) and facial fracture(8.47%) and these were statistically significant. The age, gender, seniority of the operator and other variables were not statistically associated with plate removal. Conclusion: This retrospective study shows that routine removal does not appear to be clinically indicated due to respectively low removal rate and that the commonest indications for removal were infection.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.365-372
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• 2021

Objectives: Mandibular fractures vary significantly with respect to epidemiological and demographic parameters among populations. To date, no study has evaluated these aspects of mandibular fractures in Nuh, Mewat, Haryana, India. To retrospectively analyze the incidence, age and sex distributions, etiology, anatomic distribution, occlusal status, treatment modality provided, and their correlation in patients who suffered isolated mandibular fractures. Materials and Methods: The records of maxillofacial injury patients who reported to the Department of Dentistry, SHKM Government Medical College from January 2013 to December 2019, were retrieved from our database, and necessary information was collected. The data collected were analyzed statistically using IBM SPSS ver. 21. Results: Totals of 146 patients and 211 fractures were analyzed. There were 127 males and 19 females with an age range of 3-70 years (mean age, 26 years). Road traffic accident (RTA) was the most common cause of fracture (64.4%), followed by fall (19.9%), assault (15.1%), and sports injury (0.7%). Of all patients, 42.5% had bilateral fractures, 31.5% had left side fracture, 21.2% had right side fracture, 3.4% sustained midline symphyseal fracture, and 1.4% had symphyseal fracture along one side of the mandible. Site distribution was as follows: parasymphysis (34.6%), angle (23.7%), condyle (20.4%), body (12.8%), symphysis (4.3%), ramus 2.4%, and dentoalveolar 1.9%. The most common facture combination was angle with parasymphysis (17.8%). Occlusion was disrupted in 69.2% patients. Closed reduction was the predominant treatment modality. Conclusion: The data obtained from retrospective analyses of maxillofacial trauma increase the understanding of variables and their outcomes among populations. The results of the present study are comparable to those of the literature in some aspects and different in others.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.262-267
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• 2021

Objective: Progesterone application for luteal phase support is a well-established concept in in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment. Water-soluble subcutaneous progesterone injections have shown pregnancy rates equivalent to those observed in patients receiving vaginal administration in randomized controlled trials. Our study aimed to investigate whether the results from those pivotal trials could be reproduced in daily clinical practice in an unselected patient population. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study in non-standardized daily clinical practice, we compared 273 IVF cycles from 195 women undergoing IVF at our center for luteal phase support with vaginal administration of 200 mg of micronized progesterone three times daily or subcutaneous injection of 25 mg of progesterone per day. Results: Various patient characteristics including age, weight, height, number of oocytes, and body mass index were similar between both groups. We observed no significant differences in the clinical pregnancy rate (CPR) per treatment cycle between the subcutaneous (39.9%) and vaginal group (36.5%) (p=0.630). Covariate analysis showed significant correlations of the number of transferred embryos and the total dosage of stimulation medication with the CPR. However, after adjustment of the CPR for these covariates using a regression model, no significant difference was observed between the two groups (odds ratio, 0.956; 95% confidence interval, 0.512-1.786; p=0.888). Conclusion: In agreement with randomized controlled trials in study populations with strict selection criteria, our study determined that subcutaneous progesterone was equally effective as vaginally applied progesterone in daily clinical practice in an unselected patient population.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.390-395
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• 2021

Background: Health-care providers typically undergo shift work and are subjected to increased stress. Night shift work may induce disturbed sleep cycles and circadian rhythm. The objective of this study was to explore if night shift workers (NSWs) show an increased risk of abnormal thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 574 employees without thyroid disease and abnormal TSH at baseline who underwent annual check-ups between 2007 and 2016 in a medical center. NSWs were defined as those with working time schedules other than daytime hours. We calculated the incidence rate and estimated the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for incident abnormal TSH and subclinical hypothyroidism compared with non-NSWs using a Cox regression model. Results: A total of 56 incident abnormal TSH cases and 39 subclinical hypothyroidism cases in NSWs were identified during 3000 person-years of follow-up. In models adjusted for age, sex, obesity, and working departments, we found no increased relative risk for incident abnormal TSH (HR: 0.72, 95% confidence interval: 0.33-1.60) or subclinical hypothyroidism (HR: 0.52, 95% confidence interval: 0.19-1.45) when comparing NSWs to non-NSWs; nor were incidence rates significantly different among exclusively medical employees after excluding administrative staff. Conclusion: In this hospital-based nine-year follow-up retrospective cohort study, NSWs were not associated with increased relative risk of incident abnormal TSH and subclinical hypothyroidism, in contrast to previous cross-sectional studies.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.563-571
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• 2021

Objectives: This pilot study aimed to confirm the possibility of applying our design to the main study, a retrospective medical record analysis of the diseases which have most frequently been treated with collaborations of Korean and Western medicine, and to identify what corrections and statistical models are needed to conduct the main study. Methods: Data were collected from a case report form developed for patients who received treatment in the medical institutions. Appropriate statistical techniques, like Propensity Score (PS) and Generalized Estimation Equation (GEE) models, were used to compare the indicators of collaboration and non-collaboration groups for patients in comparable diseases. Results: Using PS matching for each M and S disease group, the indicators were compared by balancing the collaboration and non-collaboration group, and the GEE models compared indicators between groups in each disease over follow-up. Through this process we identified two limitations, insufficient samples and a large deviation of the follow-up period. Conclusion: This pilot study confirmed that the study design and case report form are applicable. The main study will be conducted by collecting sufficient samples and reflecting deviation of follow-up period.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.227-232
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• 2021

Background: The purpose of this study was to statistically analyze the treatment effect and patient satisfaction of traditional Korean medicine, including acupotomy treatment of cervical herniated intervertebral disc. Methods: This was a retrospective study of 22 patients who received traditional Korean medicine including acupotomy treatment amongst all patients diagnosed with cervical herniated intervertebral discs at the Korean Medicine hospital in Daejeon, Korean, from January 01, 2020 to April 30, 2021. The clinical data from patient medical records were statistically analyzed. Results: The Numeric Rating Scale, the European Quality of Life 5 Dimensions, and the European Quality of Life Visual Analogue Scale questionnaire scores were each compared before and after traditional Korean medicine treatment, including acupotomy, showed significantly improved scores after treatment (p < 0.001). Out of a total of 22 patients, 11 rated the treatment "very satisfactory" (50%), 5 "satisfactory" (22.7%), 5 "indifferent" (22.7%), 1 "unsatisfactory" (4.5%), and 0 "very unsatisfactory" (0%). Of the total 22 patients, 17 patients (77.3%) were willing to have further treatment, and 5 patients (22.7%) were not willing. Conclusion: Traditional Korean medicine treatment including acupotomy was an effective treatment for cervical herniated intervertebral discs. To determine the effect of an individual application (e.g., acupotomy) of traditional Korean medicine treatment for cervical herniated intervertebral disc, a prospective, controlled study is needed.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.185-192
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• 2019

Purpose: Implant wall thickness and the height of the implant-abutment interface are known as factors that affect the distribution of stress on the marginal bone around the implant. The goal of this study was to evaluate the long-term effects of supracrestal implant placement and implant wall thickness on maintenance of the marginal bone level. Methods: In this retrospective study, 101 patients with a single implant were divided into the following 4 groups according to the thickness of the implant wall and the initial implant placement level immediately after surgery: 0.75 mm wall thickness, epicrestal position; 0.95 mm wall thickness, epicrestal position; 0.75 mm wall thickness, supracrestal position; 0.95 mm wall thickness, supracrestal position. The marginal bone level change was assessed 1 day after implant placement, immediately after functional loading, and 1 to 5 years after prosthesis delivery. To compare the marginal bone level change, repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to evaluate the statistical significance of differences within groups and between groups over time. Pearson correlation coefficients were also calculated to analyze the correlation between implant placement level and bone loss. Results: Statistically significant differences in bone loss among the 4 groups (P<0.01) and within each group over time (P<0.01) were observed. There was no significant difference between the groups with a wall thickness of 0.75 mm and 0.95 mm. In a multiple comparison, the groups with a supracrestal placement level showed greater bone loss than the epicrestal placement groups. In addition, a significant correlation between implant placement level and marginal bone loss was observed. Conclusions: The degree of bone resorption was significantly higher for implants with a supracrestal placement compared to those with an epicrestal placement.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.27-34
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• 2019

Purpose: The prevalence of supernumerary teeth has been reported to be between 0.1% and 3.8%. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, clinical significance, and associated pathologies of fourth molars based on a retrospective study and a literature review. Materials and Methods: A 5-year retrospective prevalence study was conducted at the Department of Oral Diagnosis and Dentomaxillofacial Radiology of Okayama University Hospital, Okayama, Japan. The study involved extracting data from the digital records of patients from January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2017. The sampling frame included all patients who had panoramic radiographs, cone-beam computed tomography (CT), and multislice CT images during the period under review. Results: A total of 26,721 cases were reviewed and 87 fourth molars were identified. The prevalence of fourth molars in the 5-year study at Okayama was calculated as 0.32%. The mean age of patients with a fourth molar was 30.43 years, and the male-to-female ratio was 1:0.98. The vast majority of cases were in the maxilla (92%) and had normal shapes(89.7%); furthermore, 82.8% of cases were unerupted. Conclusion: The prevalence of fourth molars in the study population was found to be 0.32%, and fourth molars occurred with approximately equal frequency in males and females. Fourth molars were more common in the maxilla and were predominantly unerupted and small.