• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.336-351
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• 2022

Background: Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) is a rare genetic disorder. To improve the health deterioration of PWS, investigating optimal treatment options for PWS is required. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of pharmacotherapies compared with supportive care or placebos in patients with PWS. Methods: PubMed and EMBASE databases were used to search for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the efficacy of pharmacotherapy in PWS patients. Only RCTs that evaluating the efficacy of pharmacotherapy in PWS patients were retrieved. Results: A total of 26 studies were included to evaluate body composition, hormones, glucose levels and hyperphagia behavioral status. Pharmacological treatment group showed a significant decrease of body fat (mean difference (MD): -6.32, 95% confidence interval (CI): -10.58 to -2.06, p=0.004), a significant increase of lean body mass (LBM) (MD: 1.86, 95% CI: 1.43 to 2.30, p<0.00001) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) levels (MD: 241.62, 95% CI: 68.59 to 414.64, p=0.006) compared with the control group. Nevertheless, based on other outcomes evaluated by the current systematic review, pharmacological options showed different efficacy in treating PWS. Conclusion: Pharmacological therapies were effective to decrease significantly in body fat and increase significantly on LBM and IGF-1 levels in patients with PWS. However, still, individualized therapies should be considered in real-world practice in PWS treatment.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.23.1-23.20
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• 2020

Sepsis is conceptually defined as life-threatening organ dysfunction that is caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. Although there has been significant advancement in recent decades in defining and understanding sepsis pathology, clinical management of sepsis is challenging due to difficulties in diagnosis, a lack of reliable prognostic biomarkers, and treatment options that are largely limited to antibiotic therapy and fundamental supportive measures. The lack of reliable diagnostic and prognostic tests makes it difficult to triage patients who are in need of more urgent care. Furthermore, while the acute inpatient treatment of sepsis warrants ongoing attention and investigation, efforts must also be directed toward longer term survival and outcomes. Sepsis survivors experience incomplete recovery, with long-term health impairments that may require both cognitive and physical treatment and rehabilitation. This review summarizes recent advances in sepsis prognosis research and discusses progress made in elucidating the underlying causes of prolonged health deficits experienced by patients surviving the early phases of sepsis.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.194-205
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• 2022

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the long-term outcomes after peri-implantitis treatment and the factors affecting these outcomes. Methods: This study included 92 implants in 45 patients who had been treated for peri-implantitis. Clinical data on the characteristics of patients and their implants were collected retrospectively. The change in the marginal bone level was calculated by comparing the baseline and the most recently obtained (≥3 years after treatment) radiographs. The primary outcome variable was progression of the disease after the treatment at the implant level, which was defined as further bone loss of >1.0 mm or implant removal. A 2-level binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify the effects of possible factors on the primary outcome. Results: The mean age of the patients was 58.7 years (range, 22-79 years). Progression of peri-implantitis was observed in 64.4% of patients and 63.0% of implants during an observation period of 6.4±2.7 years (mean±standard deviation). Multivariable regression analysis revealed that full compliance to recall visits (P=0.019), smoking (P=0.023), placement of 4 or more implants (P=0.022), and marginal bone loss ≥4 mm at baseline (P=0.027) significantly influenced the treatment outcome. Conclusions: The long-term results of peri-implantitis treatment can be improved by full compliance on the part of patients, whereas it is impaired by smoking, placement of multiple implants, and severe bone loss at baseline. Encouraging patients to stop smoking and to receive supportive care is recommended before treatment.

• The Korean Journal of Rehabilitation Nursing
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.257-270
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• 1999

The purpose of this study is to investigate factors related to the intent of using home nursing of chronic disease patients who got out of a university hospital. For the purpose, the study selected 153 patients who were hospitalized and left K university hospital with diagnoses of cancer, hypertension, diabetes and cerebral vascular accident and ordered to be discharged and performed interviews with them and surveys on their medical records to obtain the following results. For this study a direct-interview survey and medical record review was conducted from June 28 to Aug. 30, 1998. The frequency and mean values were computed to find the characteristics of the study subjects, and $X^2$-test, t-test, factor analysis and multiple logistic regession analysis were applied for the analysis of the data. The following results were obtained. 1) When characteristics of the subjects were examined, men and women occupied for 58.8% and 41.2%, respectively. The subjects were 41.3 years old in aver age and had the monthly aver age earning of 0.99 million won or below, which was the most out of the total subjects at 34.6%. Among the total, 87.6% resided in cities and 12.4 in counties. The most left the hospital with diagnosis of cancer at 51.6%, followed by hyper tension at 24.2%, diabetes at 13.7% and cerebral vascular accident at 7.2%. 2) 93.5% of the selected patients had the intent of using home nursing and 6.5%, didn't. Among those patients having the intent, 85.6% had the intent of paying for home nursing and 14.4%, didn't. The subjects expected that the nursing would be paid 9,143 won in aver age and 47.7% of them preferred national authorities as the main servers. 86.3% of the subjects thought that home nursing business had the main advantage of making it possible to learn nursing methods at home and thereby contributing to improving the ability of patients and their facilities to solve health problems. 3) Relations between the intent of use and characteristics of the subjects such as demography-related social, home environment, disease and physical function characteristics did not show statistically significant differences among one another. Compared to those who had no intent of using home nursing, the group having the intent had more cases of male patients, the age of 39 or below, residence in cities, 5 family member s or more, no existence of home nursing servers, leaving the hospital from a non-hospitalized building, disease development for five months or below, hospitalization for ten days or more, non-hospitalization with in the recent one month, two times or over of hospitalization, leaving the hospital with no demand of special treatment, operation underwent, poor results of treatment, leaving the hospital with demand of rehabilitation services, physical disablement and high evaluation point of daily life. 4) Among those patients having the intent of using home nursing, 47.6% demanded technical nursing and 55.9%, supportive nursing. As technical nursing,' inject into a blood vessel ' and 'treat pustule and teach basic prevention methods occupied for 57.4%, respectively, topping the list. Among demands of supportive nursing, 'observe patients 'status and refer them to hospitals or community resources as available, if necessary' was the most with percent age point of 59.5. Regarding the intent of paying for home nursing, 39.2% of those patients wishing to use the nursing responded paying for technical services and 20.2, supportive services. In detail, 70.0% wanted to pay for a service stated as 'inject into a blood vessel', highest among the former services and 30.7%, a service referred to as 'teaching exercises needed to make the body of patients move', highest among the latter. When this was analyzed in terms of a relation between the need(the need for home nursing) and the demand(the intent of paying for home nursing), The rate of the need to the demand was found two or three times higher in technical nursing(0.82) than in supportive nursing(0.35). In aspects of tech ical nursing, muscle injection(1.26, the 1st rank) was highest in the rate while among aspects of supportive nursing, a service referred to as 'teach exercises needed for making patients move their bodies normally'(0.58, the 1st rank). 5) factors I(satisfaction with hospital services), II(recognition of disease state), III(economy) and IV(period of disease) occupied for 34.4, 13.8, 11.9 and 9.2 percents, respectively among factors related to the intent by the subjects of using home nursing, totaled 59.3%. In conclusion, most of chronic disease patients have the intent of using hospital-based home nursing and satisfaction with hospital services is a factor affecting the intent most. Thus a post-management system is needed to continue providing health management to those patients after they leave the hospital. Further, supportive services should be provided in order that those who are satisfied with hospital services return to their community and live their in dependent lives. Based on these results, the researcher would make the following recommendation. 1) Because home nursing becomes more and more needed due to a sharp increase in chronic disease patients and elderly people, related rules and regulations should be made and implemented. 2) Hospital nurses specializing in home nursing should be cultivated.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.215-227
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• 2010

Objectives : Jeon-Jeung(癲證) is one of negative symptoms from schizophrenia in Western medecine, which causes flattening of affect, emotional bluntness, and avolition. Compared with positive symptoms of schizophrenia, there is no established treatments that have been proved to be effective for negative symptoms, and since negative symptoms are chronically processed, they finally lead to devastate the mental health. Since Jeon-Jeung(癲證) is usually in set in adolescent period and tends to become chronic through life time, it is important to start getting treatments in early stage by being distinguished from other diseases, such as anxiety disorder. A patient in this case was affective blunting, general weakness, and delusion when sixteen years old. However, he refused to get Western medicine treatment and wanted oriental medicine treatment. Methods : The patient in this case had been suffered from severe stress from his family since he was young and had kept having irregular and unhealthy eating habits. Therefore, he diagnosed stagnant qi transforming into fire(氣鬱化火), heart blood deficiency(心血虛), and spleen-stomach deficiency cold(脾胃虛寒) and since then he had received several treatments including herbal treatment, acupumcture treatment, supportive therapy, and family therapy. These treatments were successful and reduced the level of symptoms. After discharged from the hospital, he had continued receiving outpatient treatment with his family for 8 months and his progress had been still observed after the discharge. Results : The symptoms of patient had been almost reduced and eliminated after he received 29days of admission treatment and the patient got better and better and now lives a normal life 8 months outpatient treatment. Conclusions : This result suggests that our oriental medical treatments and family treatments was effective on schizophrenia.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.1045-1054
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• 2000

As cost pressures have escalated, policy makers, politicians, health care providers and families have tried to devise ways to reduce health care costs. While originally developed to enhance patient control and to provide better care at the end of life, hospice care has recently received significant attention as a mean of reducing health care costs. As a program providing care for patients who are dying at their homes, hospice has expanded slowly since the opening of the first hospice in Korea in 1963. Therefore, a variety of services that responds to the needs and concerns of many dying people and their families is limited The purpose of this study was to determine the potential cost savings at the end of life among patients who used home hospice compared with the patients who received institutional care in Korea. This study used a retrospective, descriptive design. The sample for this study included 46 patients who died of lung cancer: 25 patients who received home hospice care and 21 patients who received institutional care. Data on patient characteristics, kinds and frequencies of provided treatment and nursing services, and hospice and hospital charges during the last month before death were collected. Cost of care was measured by the average cost per patient per day in the last month of life. The results of the study indicated that there were significant differences in average cost of care between home hospice sample and institutional care sample (t=9.956, p<.001; home hospice sample: M=18,102 won, institutional care sample: M=317,578 won). The cost of the home hospice sample was approximately 6% of the cost of institutional care. The majority of the home hospice nursing services were education (35.7%) and supportive counseling (25.2%), followed by medication management (13.6%), assessment (12.1%), basic nursing (7.2%), treatment (5.5%) and others. In institutional care sample, basic nursing and treatment were more emphasized than education or supportive counseling among the nursing services provided. The results of this study showed the potential for hospice to reduce costs and implications for policymakers and clinicians to incorporate hospice program into the formal health care delivery system in Korea.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.5735-5739
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• 2012

Background: Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is an insidious tumor with poor prognosis, arising from mesothelial surfaces such as pleura, peritoneum and pericardium. We here aimed to evaluate the demographic, clinical, and radiological features of patients with MM followed in our center as well as their survival. Methods: The study included 228 patients (131 male, 97 female) who were followed up in our institution between 1993 and 2010 with the diagnosis of MM. Results: The mean age was 59.1 years in men and 58.7 years in women and the sex ratio was 1.4:1 in favor of males. Environmental asbestos exposure was present in 86% of the patients for a mean duration of $40{\pm}20$ years (range: 3-70). Pleural effusion and thoracic/abdominal pain were the most common presenting signs and symptoms (70.2% and 57.8%, respectively). One hundred-thirteen (66%) patients were treated with platinum-based combination chemotherapy (PBCT) plus supportive care (SC) and 67 (34%) patients received SC alone. The median follow-up time was 10.0 months. The median overall survival was significantly improved with PBCT plus SC compared to SC alone (11.4 vs. 5.1 months; p=0.005). The 6, 12, 18, and 24-month survival rates were significantly improved with PBCT plus SC compared to SC alone (72%, 43%, 19%, and 2% vs. 49%, 31%, 11%, and 1%). Conclusion: The survival of patients with MM improved in patients treated with PBCT. The survival advantage continued 12- and 24-month after the initial time of combination chemotherapy.

• Psychiatry investigation
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• v.15 no.11
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• pp.1071-1078
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• 2018

Objective We developed easily accessible imagery-based treatment program for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to workplace accidents and investigated the effects of the program on various PTSD related symptoms. Methods The program was based on an online platform and consisted of eight 15-min sessions that included script-guided imagery and supportive music. Thirty-five patients with workplace-related PTSD participated in this program 4 days per week for 4 weeks. Its effects were examined using self-report questionnaires before and after the take-home online treatment sessions. Results After completing the 4-week treatment program, patients showed significant improvements in depressed mood (t=3.642, p=0.001) based on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), anxiety (t=3.198, p=0.003) based on the Generalized Anxiety Disorder seven-item (GAD-7) scale, and PTSD symptoms (t=5.363, p<0.001) based on the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Check List (PCL). In particular, patients with adverse childhood experiences exhibited a greater degree of relief related to anxiety and PTSD symptoms than those without adverse childhood experiences. Conclusion The present results demonstrated that the relatively short online imagery-based treatment program developed for this study had beneficial effects for patients with workplace-related PTSD.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.59-72
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• 2024

Purpose: This cross-sectional study aimed to identify factors influencing the intention for continual fertility treatments among women undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART). Methods: A total of 197 women were recruited through convenience sample from fertility hospitals in Gyeonggi-do and Busan, South Korea. Data were collected using a self-report questionnaire incorporating measures of uncertainty; Depression Anxiety Stress Scales; Fatigue Severity Scale; Coping Scale for Infertility-Women; spousal support; treatment environment; and intention for continual fertility treatment. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, t-tests, and logistic regression analysis were conducted using IBM SPSS 26.0. Results: As many as 70.6% of the participants expressed an intention for continual fertility treatments. Logistic regression analysis revealed that factors such as uncertainty (odds ratio [OR] = 0.44, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.20~0.95), active coping (OR = 4.04, 95% CI 1.11~14.71), treatment environment (OR = 2.77, 95% CI 1.26~6.07), and the duration of marriage (OR = 2.61, 95% CI 1.24~5.49) were significantly related with this intention. Conclusion: These findings underscore the significance of uncertainty management, having proactive coping strategies, having supportive treatment environments, and considering the duration of marriage concerning women's intention for continual fertility treatment in the context of ART. The implications of these results extend to the development of nursing intervention programs aimed at providing crucial support for women undergoing ART and seeking to continue their infertility treatment.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.11.1-11.16
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• 2024

Background: Canine parvoviral enteritis (CPE) is a fatal disease worldwide. The treatment of CPE is based mainly on supportive and symptomatic treatment. Antiviral addition to the treatment may result in a higher survival. Objectives: This study evaluated the effects of antiviral treatments with a standardized treatment (ST) on the clinical and inflammatory response of dogs with naturally occurring CPE. Methods: Twenty-eight dogs with CPE caused by canine parvovirus type 2 were divided randomly into treatment groups. The ST group received fluid, antibiotic, antiemetic, and deworming treatments. The antiviral treatment groups received the same ST with an additional antiviral drug, recombinant feline interferon omega (rFeIFN-ω), oseltamivir (OSEL) or famciclovir (FAM). Results: Compared to the healthy control, the tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, interferon (IFN)-α, IFN-γ, haptoglobin, and C-reactive protein values were high (p < 0.05) on day zero. At presentation, mild lymphopenia, neutropenia, and a high neutrophil to lymphocyte (LYM) ratio (NLR) were also observed. Adding rFeIFN-ω to the ST produced the best improvement in the clinical score with a decreased NLR, while leucocytes remained low and inflammatory markers stayed high on day three. The survival rates of the groups were 85.7% in ST+IFN, 71.4% in ST+OSEL, 71.4% in ST+FAM, and 57.1% in ST groups on day seven. Conclusions: Antiviral drugs may be valuable in treating CPE to improve the clinical signs and survival. In addition, the decrease in NLR in favor of LYM may be an indicator of the early prognosis before the improvement of leukocytes, cytokines, and acute phase proteins in CPE.