• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2022

Purpose: In patients with acute drug overdose, identification of drugs ingested is crucial to make a precise diagnosis. In most cases, the diagnoses are made on the medical history and physical examination findings. This study was undertaken to determine the concordance of diagnosis made on the basis of patient history by comparing it with urine toxicology analysis. Methods: This was a retrospective study of drug intoxicated patients over 18 years old who presented to the emergency center from 2017 to 2019. Specimens from urine were tested using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-TMS). The test results were compared with information obtained from patients. Diagnostic concordances for drug detection in intoxicated patients were calculated. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between clinical characteristics and diagnostic discrepancy. Results: Totally, 370 patients were included in the analysis. Overall, 66 types of drugs were detected by UPLC-TMS. The drugs detected most frequently were zolpidem (104, 27.8%), citalopram (70, 18.7%), and paracetamol (66, 17.6%). The mean diagnostic concordance of patients was 52.7%. There were statistically significant diagnostic discrepancies in patients with underlying depression and patients intoxicated with multiple types of drugs. Conclusion: In ED patients with acute drug overdose, the diagnoses made on history alone were often inaccurate. It is essential to perform urine toxicology tests such as UPLC-TMS as a confirmatory instrument to improve accuracy in evaluating patients with drug intoxication.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.113-119
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• 2017

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the distribution of systemic diseases and medications in patients older than 65 years of age who visited the hospital for implant treatment, as well as to investigate basic information about surgical complications that may occur after insured implant treatment. Method: A total of 126 patients over 65 years of age were treated for implant surgery from October 1, 2013 to October 30, 2016. Electronic chart review was conducted to obtain medical records, which included sex, age, systemic diseases, medication(s) being taken, and control of the medications. Five patients were excluded due to lack of medical records giving information about systemic disease. Results: Of the 126 patients, 112 (88.9%) were taking medication due to systemic disease and 9 patients (7.1%) were not. The sex distribution was 71 women and 55 men and the highest proportion of patients were between 65 and 69 years old. The most common diseases were, from most to least frequent, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis. The drug groups that can cause major complications after dental treatment were classified as hemorrhagic, osteoporotic, and immunosuppressive agents, and were taken by 45 (35.7%), 22 (17.5%) and 4 (3.2%) patients, respectively. Conclusion: Given that 88.9% of the elderly patients who were eligible for insurance implant treatment had systemic disease, it is necessary to carefully evaluate patients' medical histories and their general conditions in order to prevent emergencies during implant surgery.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.299-306
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• 2006

This study was done to investigate the use of nutritional supplements (NS) in Korean elite soccer players using an anonymous questionnaire. NS were classified into health supplements, manufactured health food supplements, chinese medicines & tonic foods, and nutrient supplements. Information was sought on the type of NS and factors that might influence supplement use including selected demographic parameters and health related variables. The data were collected from 241 athletes (aged $24.6{\pm}3.8$ years) in 9 professional soccer club. The prevalence of NS use among the subjects was 81.3%. Health supplements were used most frequently and nutrient supplement drug was the second one. Among the health supplements, weight/muscle gainer and calorie replacement product were most frequently used. Vitamin supplements were most frequently used among all nutrient supplement drugs. Users of NS were higher age (p<0.05) duration of exercise (p<0.05), and income (p<0.05) than non-users. The married (p<0.05) and a member of K-league (p<0.01) tended to have higher prevalence of NS use. The main adviser of NS were family (55.3%) and oneself (39%) instead of coach or sports nutritionist. Although NS use, only 26.2% certainly check up nutritional information on their used NS. Among the subjects, 84.5% of them felt that NS use were improved athletic performance, and 86.5% of them will to keep on taking supplement. These data suggest that a large number of elite soccer players use NS and these players may require education about healthy nutritional supplement practice and on the proper use of nutritional supplements.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.197-208
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• 2015

Pharmaceutical companies over the world are exposed to risks of lessened sales and negative impact on corporate image due to circulation of counterfeit drugs, which eventually threatens safety of patients. thus, in order to eradicate distribution of counterfeit drugs, many countries are taking initiatives to legalize and set serialization through e-Pedigree, which is based on RFID technology or barcode system to track and trace distribution of drugs from point of manufacturing to usage. therefore, this study contemplates domestic and international management system of medical drugs and suggests application methods of e-Pedigree based on RFID technology that promotes safety of patients and distribution of drugs.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.269-277
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• 2013

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify the factors which affect risk perception and attitude on government risk management over medications containing asbestos among parents of elementary school students. Methods: This research design was cross-sectional study using self-administered questionnaire. The survey subjects were parents of elementary school students in Seoul, total of 1,051 subjects. The survey period was from June through July of 2011. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS 20.0. Results: The subjects perceived high risk regarding medications containing asbestos. About 83.6% of the subjects perceived that the result taking of medications containing asbestos was fatal, 82.8% felt that medications containing asbestos was a very serious social problem, 79.5% agreed that medications containing asbestos was a new type of threat. The risk perception for medications containing asbestos was related to political affiliation, attitudes of dealing medicines, main use of media, and personal communication credibility. Those who did not believe that the current government policy was correct and the government was working toward the public's benefit and not its own had the higher level of negative attitudes towards the government's risk management over the case of medications containing asbestos. Conclusion: In implementing government policy, all information should be efficiently and accurately communicated through a transparent implementation process. Also, the government must have plans for countermeasures in case of an emergency and respond efficiently in order to maintain their credibility. Moreover, this highlights the need for health authorities to exert more effort in increasing public education/awareness, especially those concerning drug and dug-taking behavior, in order to harness positive attitude and trust towards the government's policy. For a more effective risk communication, the media, health experts, government representatives, and related industries should work together.

• The Journal of the Korea institute of electronic communication sciences
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.989-998
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• 2023

As diseases are already increasing due to aging population and changes in eating habits, interest in digital healthcare is increasing. According to the 2020 Elderly Status Survey, 84% of South Koreans aged 65 and older suffer from at least one chronic disease, and the number and duration of drugs taken by the elderly are also increasing. Effective management that enhances compliance of chronic disease patients can prevent the onset of complications, thereby averting progression to severe illnesses. Thus, a proper medication-taking habit is crucial. This paper proposes a medication information retrieval system using OCR technology. By leveraging Google Cloud Vision API, the system detects and recognizes the names of medicines. Once recognized, the medication name is searched in a database to provide users with medication information and medication schedule management services. By providing accurate medication information through the search, it is possible to induce changes in medication methods and habits. By eliminating the inconvenience of direct input through OCR technology, we anticipate enhancing user convenience by promptly delivering information.

• Nutritional Sciences
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.223-234
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• 2004

The aim of this study was to investigate intake of health foods and supplements and its associated factors in middle and old-aged adults in order to contribute to health promotion of Korean population by providing a guide for proper use of health foods and supplements. About 69% of the subjects reported that they were currently taking health foods and supplements or had experiences of having them in the past, whereas 31.2 % reported they had never taken them. The most commonly used type of health foods and supplements was vitamin C as reported by 41.8% followed by others such as lactobacillus products, multi-vitamins, tonic medicine and cardiotonic drug, artificially processed Ginseng foods, vitamin B complex, enzyme supplement, calcium, aloe, apricot extract products, chitosan products, loyal honey, squalene, refined fish oil and iron products. The major reason for taking health foods and supplements was 'to protect the weak constitution' with 155 (42.1%) responses, and the motive for the intake was the suggestion from family-relatives with 235 (63.9%) responses, and the place of purchase was pharmacy with 140 (38.0%) responses, the average monthly expense was 20,000-40,000 won with 140 (26.2%) responses, and effects after the intake was 'so and so' with 180 (33.6%) responses as the highest. More health foods and supplements were consumed as age and education were statistically significantly increased (p<0.05). For health and lifestyle and the intake of health foods and supplements, perceived health status, the presence of illness, and the presence of health management were statistically significant (p<0.05). Male subjects than female subjects and the 30s than the 405 and 50s were appeared to have poorer dietary behaviors (p<0.05). For the health locus of control and the intake of health foods and supplements, the health locus of control score was 22.82 for consumers and 22.79 for non-consumers, showing no significant difference. Logistic regression analysis was performed to find out major factors that affect the intake of health foods and supplements, in which gender, education, smoking, perceived health status, the presence of illness, and health management were significant to the intake of health foods and supplements. It is shown that subjects with perception and attitude of 'health foods and supplements are useful in health maintenance and disease prevention' and 'the information and variety for health foods and supplements are great' have higher probability of taking health foods and supplements.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.58 no.2
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• pp.141-149
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• 2014

Background: Oriental lifestyle for treating diseases has been developed and well-accepted for a long time among Koreans. Sasang Constitution theory, originated from Korean traditional medicine, suggests that medication treatment should be differentiated by each patient's body classification (So-yang [SY], So-eum [SE], Tae-yang [TY], and Tae-eum [TE]), in contrary to western medicine's theory that medication should be applied equally by disease indication without such classification. However, the pharmacotherapeutic outcomes of these theories have not been compared to date. In this study, we aimed to compare the two theories by evaluating blood pressure (BP), which is lowered as a therapeutic outcome, among hypertensive patients taking angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) or calcium channel blockers (CCBs), two most commonly used antihypertensive classes in Korea. Methods: From April 2006 to June 2012, we retrospectively collected data on hypertensive patients with Sasang Constitution classification at Kyunghee University Hospital at Gangdong, one of the East-West collaborative medical centers in Korea. We collected information on age, gender, underlying diseases, antihypertensive drugs (ARB, CCB, ARB+CCB), and BP by reviewing the electronic medical records. We excluded patients with missing blood pressure at baseline or follow-up, or those who had a change in their antihypertensive drug class during follow-up. Results: We selected a total of 573 patients (SY: 165, SE: 158, TY: 0, TE: 250). Baseline BPs were on average 139.0/82.0 mmHg for SY, 137.8/78.5 mmHg for SE, and 138.7/79.2 mmHg for TE. In all three groups, CCBs were the most prescribed, followed by combination therapy with ARB+CCB, then ARBs. BP reduction after 1 month of initial medication was significantly different among the drug classes, but not in Sasang constitutional classification (ARB [SY: -12.4/-4.7, SE: -12.3/-2.5, TE: -8.6/-1.8], CCB [SY: -12.3/-5.4, SE: -13.0/-2.3, TE: -10.8/-6.0], ARB+CCB [SY: -15.6/-6.7, SE: -18.4/-8.1, TE: -20.2/-6.7], drug [$P{\leq}0.05$/P>0.05], constitutional type [P>0.05/P>0.05]). Conclusion: We observed significant differences in reduction of blood pressure by classes of drugs (ARB+CCB>CCB>ARB) but not by Sasang constitutional classification. Therefore, current approach of antihypertensive pharmacotherapy assisted by Western medicine is appropriate for treatment of hypertension. However, further larger scale or prospective studies are required in order to confirm these results.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2006

Recently, there has been prevailing of the combined utilization (CU) with herbs and prescribed drugs in medical therapies in the world. But the information about frequency, efficacy and safety of this CU has not well known in Korea, yet. This study aimed to identify the status of CU by Koreans, and to inquire which side effects of CU represent to those people. A self-completed questionnaire survey was performed through each health examination center in twenty general hospitals and one oriental hospital. Of the initial 2,100 health examinees, 1,851 were participated in this survey, resulting in a response rate of 88.1%. The proportion of CD was 26.3%. The most commonly mentioned reason of CD was 'to promote general health and well-being' (17l persons, 35.5%). The main route of taking CD was self-purchase at drugstore or at herbs market, followed by the prescription of (oriental)physicians. 33.0% (151 persons) of those who took the CD rated it as effective. 93 respondents (19.8%) were experienced several adverse effects including nausea, fatigue, and dizziness. The growing simultaneous use of herbal products and pharmaceutical drugs by Korean consumers may be continuously increased the risk of herb-drug interactions. The medical professionals should be provided with comprehensive and up-to-date information about potential benefits and risks of herbs and prescribed drugs. In the future studies it may be recommended to deal common cold, health promotion, indigestion, headache, and hypertension for the effect and safety of the CD by well-organized prospective study design.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.48-51
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• 2006

With well-being boom recently, the common people, but not experts, are increasingly taking in them directly by picking wild herbs. However, only experts can distinguish between edible vegetables and poisonous herbs from the wild herbs. Especially, it is not even easy for experts to distinguish them only by looking into buds in spring without flowers or fruit. So, sometimes many patients are being carried into the emergency room by the toxic symptom after taking by misunderstanding the poisonous herbs as edible vegetables. For herb intoxication as well as drug intoxication, what kinds of vegetables patients took in, and when and how much they took in them are important information for curing. Of course, in the case of intoxicating in the wild herbs, the patients can have a lot of symptoms and sings-hemodynamic alteration and abnormal neurologic sign as well as gastrointestinal symptoms-according to the kinds of herbs which they took in. Therefore, it is difficult to find the kinds of herbs which they took in through the specific symptoms. Recently we experienced a case with showing typical anticholinergic symptoms after ingestion of Scopolia japonica. As a result, the publicity activities about the wild plants needs because if the person without their previous knowledge take in the poisonous herbs, serious side effects can be produced..