Multicenter Survey on the Economic Burden of Pediatric Allergic Rhinitis / 소아알레르기및호흡기학회지

PURPOSE: The prevalence of allergic rhinitis is rapidly increasing and results in relatively high socio-economic burden on their family and community. However, studies on the economic burden of pediatric allergic rhinitis in Korea are limited. Therefore, we conducted this study to investigate the impact of pediatric allergic rhinitis on economic burden. METHODS: Two hundred sixty two children with allergic rhinitis were enrolled in 6 secondary or tertiary medical centers in Seoul from July to September, 2008. We collected data of the economic burden of allergic rhinitis (direct medical costs, direct nonmedical costs, and indirect costs) by face to face questionnaire survey. We compared the economic burden according to the severity and the duration of allergic rhinitis. RESULTS: The mean age of subjects was 6.54 years, and male were 174 (66.4%). Direct medical costs (10,000 Korean Won/yr) were 177.75, and direct nonmedical costs were 57.92. Although, there was no statistical significance, direct medical costs showed increasing trends in severe allergic rhinitis.(P=0.053) In addition, direct medical costs were positively correlated with duration of allergic rhinitis.(R=0.195, P=0.002). About 17% of the parents who care the allergic rhinitis children experienced the work absence due to their child's illness. CONCLUSION: The economic burdens of allergic rhinitis were positively correlated with the severity and duration of illness. Particularly costs for alternative medicine including oriental medicine were related with severity and duration allergic rhinitis. Therefore, special efforts for education with evidence based treatment strategy are necessary to decrease the economic burden of allergic rhinitis.

Erratum: Multicenter Survey on the Economic Burden of Pediatric Allergic Rhinitis / 소아알레르기및호흡기학회지

The funding acknowledgment in this article was omitted as published.

Needs, Uses and Evaluation of Internet Health Information Among Students in a Provincial University / 대한의료정보학회지

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the needs, uses and evaluation of Internet health information among students in a provincial university. METHODS: Nine hundred and sixty one student from seven different classes of S University located in Chungnam province participated in this study from 2nd to 9th May, 2005. A self-reported questionnaire was used to collect data. Collected data were analyzed on SPSS 11.0. RESULTS: 58.2% of them have needed some health information before and 84.6% of them needed the health information offered by a University. 67.2% of them use the Internet more than any other resource to acquire Health Information. 90.9% of them used a search engines to get health information on the Internet. 57.6% of them have searched for Internet health information to get information about specific disease or medical problem. The most frequently searched topics were LASIK(laser in-situ Keratomileusis), diabetes, and contraception. 39.6% of them evaluated the Internet health information was reliable and 55.8% of them satisfied with the Internet health information. CONCLUSION: Universities and their in-campus health centers are needed to offer the trustworthy Internet health informtaion on their official homepages so that the student can refer to the reliable and qualified Internet health information.

The meaning of warning symptoms in the patients with dyspepsia / 대한내과학회지

BACKGROUND: We tried to assess whether the presence of warning symptoms and age could be useful indicators for performing endoscopy in patients who suffer from various organic gastrointestinal diseases. METHODS: Between May 2005 to August 2005, 827 subjects who visited the health care center were studied via questionnaires and performing upper endoscopy. The questionnaires evaluated the presence and pattern of dyspepsia and the warning symptoms. RESULTS: A total of 808 patients were enrolled. The mean age of patients was 44.6+/-8.9 years (mean+/-SD) with a male to female ratio of 1.2:1. 153 patients (18.9%) were diagnosed with confirmed organic diseases and 52 patients (6.4%) were diagnosed with definite organic diseases. The total number of organic diseases and definite organic diseases (gastroduodenal ulcer, reflux esophagitis and advanced gastric cancer) was statistically higher in the male population (p=0.001 in both). The relative risk of dyspepsia, the presence of warning symptoms and each warning symptom for the organic disease and definite organic diseases were not consistently higher for the males or females. The males over fifty years and the males over sixty years age had a relative risk of 2.046 (95% CI: 1.27~3.30) and 3.105 (95% CI: 1.39~6.95) for organic disease and 1.913 (95% CI: 0.97~3.77) and 5.333 (95% CI: 2.15~13.22) for definite organic disease, respectively. For the male patients over fifty or sixty years old with dyspepsia or warning symptoms, there were tendencies to increase the relative risk of definite organic disease rather than organic disease. CONCLUSIONS: The relative risk of organic diseases in the presence of warning symptoms in males of over fifty years or sixty years age was not sufficiently significant for differentiating organic diseases. Thus, warning symptoms, old age and presence of dyspepsia alone can not be used as a predictor to guide endoscopic examination.

Associations between Sympathetic Activity, Plasma Concentrations of Renin, Aldosterone, and Parathyroid Hormone, and the Degree of Intractability of Blood Pressure Control in modialysis Patients

This study was designed to examine how such factors as hemodialysis parameters, body mass index, renin and aldosterone concentrations, sympathetic nervous activity, and parathyroid hormone concentrations are associated with the control of hypertension in hemodialysis patients. Hemodialysis patients (n=114) were grouped into four categories. Group 1 had normal BP without antihypertensive medication. Group 2 needed one antihypertensive drug, Group 3 needed combination of two or three categories of antihypertensive drugs without minoxidil. Group 4 needed more than three categories of antihypertensive drugs including minoxidil. Parathyroid hormone, beta2-microglobulin, renin and aldosterone, epinephrine, norepinephrine, and hemodialysis parameters were measured. The fractional clearance of urea as Kt/V urea was significantly lower in Group 3 and Group 4 than in Group 2 (p<0.01). Concentrations of parathyroid hormone were significantly higher in Group 4 than the other groups (p<0.01). Pre-hemodialysis norepinephrine concentrations were significantly higher in Group 4 than the other groups (p<0.05). Traditional factors associated with hypertension did not seem to be relevant to the degree of hypertension in hemodialysis patients in the present study. In conclusion, poor Kt/V urea, elevated parathyroid hormone concentrations, and elevated concentrations of plasma norepinephrine seemed to be the factors that might be associated with control of hypertension in hemodialysis patients.

Evaluation of Computer Skills in Second Year Premedical Students for Medical Informatics Curriculum / 한국의학교육

PURPOSE: To establish a medical informatics curriculum for premedical students. METHODS: The author conducted a questionnaire survey on 202 second year premedical students from two medical schools, one in Seoul and one in Asan. The chi-square test was used to do a statistical analysis comparison of the results from these two school groups. In addition, the reliability test was used for the questionnaire' s reliability. RESULTS: The results of the survey show that computer skills in second year premedical students differ by gender. The results also indicate that differences exist between the two schools, as the curriculums of the freshman year differ between the schools. Moreover, it is observed that more than 60 percent of the subjects have difficulties dealing with complicated problems such as fixing or replacing hardware. CONCLUSION: The survey was conducted to assess the level of computer skills in premedical students at two medical schools. Through careful analysis of this survey, we were able to define the necessary level of computer skills required in premedical students in the Medical Informatics curriculum.

Curriculum Development for the Hospital Administration Related Workers: An example of one university hospitals / 대한의료정보학회지

This study was conducted to collect data on the educational needs for hospital administrations and related departments to redesign the existing hospital information management and administration programs for Bachelor and Master degree students of medical informatics in one university. We surveyed the web sites and admission brochures of all the educational facilities of hospital administration related workers in Korea. We also surveyed hospital workers in hospital administration departments at three university affiliated hospitals using a questionnaire developed by the author. The survey results showed that most hospital employees indicated a need to take very fundamental classes in their fields. In order to satisfy the needs of the students up to date, the department of medicine in one university developed a new medical informatics course specially designed for Bachelor and Master degree students in hospital administration. In addition, the Graduate School of Industrial Information Engineering of one university decided to offer basic as well as a specialized training courses for the graduate students who are hospital administrators.

Characteristics of Serum Prostate-Specific Antigen in Healthy Korean Men under 50 Years Old: Influence of Hepatic Function, Renal Function and Other Chemical Constituents of Blood on Serum Prostate-Specific Antigen / 대한비뇨기과학회지

PURPOSE: We investigated the characteristics of the distribution of the serum prostate- specific antigen (PSA) and evaluated the factors influencing the serum PSA levels in healthy men under 50 years old. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 5,701 healthy Korean men under 50 years old who visited the Health Promotion Center at our hospital for a routine health checkup were enrolled into a prospective study. All the men underwent a PSA determination using a Hybritech Tandem-R assay, anthropometric measurements, liver function tests, renal function tests, and other constituents. The risk factors associated with an increase in the serum PSA among these clinical parameters were investigated using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: Almost no change was observed in the median and 95th percentiles serum PSA value in men under 50 years old. Univariate logistic regression analysis indicated that the hematocrit, sodium, potassium, osmolarity, albumin, and globulin levels were the risk factors associated with an increase in the serum PSA. In the multivariate model used, the hematocrit, potassium and albumin levels were found to be independent predictors of an increase in the serum PSA, whereas the sodium, and globulin levels, and the osmolarity had no statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Age does not appear to influence the serum PSA levels of healthy Korean men under 50 years old. The results also suggest that the chemical constituents in young adults may exert an influence on the serum PSA levels.

Influence of Age, Rate of Obesity, Hepatic Function and Renal Function on Serum Prostate-Specific Antigen in Men Older than 50 Years / 대한비뇨기과학회지

PURPOSE: We investigated the influence of age, rate of obesity, hepatic function and renal function on serum prostate-specific antigen in healthy men older than 50 years. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 1999 to December 2000, 2,296 healthy Korean men older than 50 years who visited Health Promotion Center at our hospital for a routine health checkup were entered into a prospective study. All men underwent detailed clinical examinations, including serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) determination using Hybritech Tandem-R assay, anthropometric measurements, tests for liver disease, tests for renal function, and other constitutes. We determined the risk factors of the increase of serum PSA among these clinical parameters using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: The univariate logistic regression analysis indicated that age, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), hemoglobin, potassium, albumin, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) were the risk factors of the increase of serum PSA. In the multivariate model used, age, ALT, alkaline phosphatase, albumin, HDL and cholesterol were an independent predictors of the increase of serum PSA, whereas hemoglobin and potassium lost their statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the health status as well as may influence on serum PSA level of healthy men older than 50 years. Additional work is needed to determine and validate the clinical significance of these findings.

The Study to Detect Chlamydia Trachomatis by Polymerse Chain reaction in Vaginal Swabs at the Third Trimester of Pregnancy in Korean Women and in Nasal Cavity Swabs of Their Newborn Infants / 대한주산의학회잡지

No abstract available.

Design the Medical Related Web Database through Constructing Soonchunhyang University Hospital Homepage / 대한의료정보학회지

Thesedays, the computer network has become the most popular means of communicating and sharing of information. With the rapid growing of Internet usage, various kinds of medical-related Internet sites are appearing. Due to the popularity of World Wide Web, many hospitals and medical centers establish their own homepage. In Korea, the number of home pages about medicine and medical institutes is increasing. Although many medical-related sites in Korea are providing Internet services on WWW, the quality is still far behind from foreign countries. For constructing the homepage for each department in Soonchunhyang University Hospital Homepage, this paper first investigates the University Hospital's Internet Homepage. After rewiewing the homepage, the new homepage of Soonchunhyang University Hospital has een implemented. From the experience in implementing the homepage for Soonchunhyang University Hospital, this paper suggests the method to build and manage a homepage for other medical related sites.

Using Medical Health IC Card in Maternal-Child and School Health Care: Maternal-Child School Medical Health IC Card / 대한의료정보학회지

Medical Health IC card is a smart card built-in a microprocessor and a memory that stores individual health care information. The card is carried by the individual and presented to the medical doctor whin needed. Being connected with the existing networks, the card enables full automation of hospital management and formation of complete medical databases. Futhermore, the card links hospitals with nation-wide medical networks. The focus of this study is on what data should actually be stored in the card, and how the card to be used effectively in maternal-child and school health service. In this paper, existing literatures about prenatal care using medical health IC card were reviewed. and standardization efforts of medical IC card conducted by the ISO and Japanese Department of Health and Welfare were analyzed. This allowed us to pick the most suitable items based on the actual situation in Korea and how to systematically collect and record such data. As a result. we were able to present a standard that follows international standards and includes all additional information from maternal-child health care in major Korean hospitals, child health record published by the Korean pediatric society, and physical examinations done in elementary, middle and high schools in Korea. Also, The terminology of each item was standardized conforming to the Korean standard medical terminology.

A Method for the Application of Emergency Medical Information System in Health IC Card / 대한의료정보학회지

Recent developments in computer and communication technology were studied in relation to medical information network systems, using computers and IC cards, to solve problems in community health. Trial use of health IC card systems for personal health data management are already in existence in some countries. The health IC card system provides good quality information to the doctors, the hospital, the patients, and the insurance organizations. Emergency medical information card systems that take advantage of advanced information-related technologies such as computers and communication systems, in order to improve their emergency medical care systems may have many advantages. Emergency medical information card can provide a way to protect people during medical emergencies by providing physicians with their vital medical information during the critical seconds of emergency care if being unable to provide your vital medical information. Before introducing these systems, recognition that an important problems such as standardization of the data and code for the medical information systems, defining the access and usage rights by user profiles and the types of data for the security and data protection must be considered. We studied the emergency medical information card systems to clarify their purpose, analyse their present status, standardize the data and codes and define the access and usage rights and present the ideal system, in view of community health care requirements. Here the results of the research are examined, and there is a discussion of what is needed to use the emergency medical card system in the future.

On Study of the Standardization for Medical Information in Health IC Card / 대한의료정보학회지

Using IC cards with powerful information processing capabilities, high level of security, and multi media capabilities to create health IC cards has the following merits: comprehensive management of individual medical information, highly secure access to information that may be stored in separate location and/or institutes, increasing the compatability of difference used by various institutes. In this research ,we have categorized the information stored in the health IC card into the following main categories: basic personal information, emergency medical information, medical informatics, nursing information, welfare information. This was based on international ISO standards and specifics of Japan and south eastern Asia. These main categories are further divided into sub-categories and care was taken to ensure that the format of each sub-category is compatible with international standards while being suitable for Koran conditions of actual use. So, these categories conform to international standards and we will continue our efforts update the international standard to include additional categories needed in Korea and update the Korea standard to conform more closely with the international standards.

Construction and Evaluation of Soonchunhyang University Hospital"s Computer Information Network / 대한의료정보학회지

These days, the computer network has become the most popular and widely used source of information. There are two kinds of computer networks, the first one is multimedia internet world wide web site and the second one is text based commercial network (etc. Hitel, Chollian. Nownuri, Unitel). With the rapid development of internet, various kinds of medical-related sites are newly appearing on the internet. Even in Korea, several medical-related information sites are on service, however, there are very few compared with foreign sites. World wide web is popular, and creating the homepage for each hospital is becoming more important. In Korea, the number of homepage of about medicine and medical institutes, is increasing. For the construction of Soonchunhyang University Hospital's Computer Information Network, the authors first investigate Korean medical-related information sites available in internet and commercial network. After researching the authors then construct the Computer Information Network of Soonchunhyang University Hospital. This article is written with the intent of assisting those interested in creating and managing their own computer information network system by means of providing relevant data obtained during this process.