Analysis of Herbal Medicine Prescriptions for Patients in An Academic Korean Medical Hospital: A Cross Sectional Study of Electronic Medical Records (2010-2013) / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To obtain fundamental information for the standardization of herbal medicine in Korea.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We analyzed the herbal medicine prescription data of patients at the Pusan National University Korean Medicine Hospital from March 2010 to February 2013. We used the Dongui-Bogam (Dong Yi Bao Jian) to classify prescribed herbal medicines.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The study revealed that the most frequently prescribed herbal medicine was 'Liuwei Dihuang Pill (LWDHP, )' which was used for invigorating 'Shen (Kidndy)-yin'. 'LWDHP' was most frequently prescribed to male patients aged 50-59, 60-69, 70-79 and 80-89 years, and 'Xionggui Tiaoxue Decoction (XGTXD, )' was most frequently prescribed to female patients aged 30-39 and 40-49 years. According to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes, 'Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue' showed the highest prevalence. 'LWDHP' and 'XGTXD' was the most frequently prescribed in categories 5 and 3, respectively. Based on the percentage of prescriptions for each sex, 'Ziyin Jianghuo Decoction ()' was prescribed to mainly male patients, and 'XGTXD' with 'Guima Geban Decoction ()' were prescribed to mainly female patients.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>This study analysis successfully determined the frequency of a variety of herbal medicines, and many restorative herbal medicines were identified and frequently administered.</p>

A comparison of palonosetron and dexamethasone for postoperative nausea and vomiting in orthopedic patients receiving patient-controlled epidural analgesia / 대한마취과학회지

BACKGROUND: Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is one of the major concerns after anesthesia and surgery, and it may be more frequent in orthopedic patients receiving patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA). The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of palonosetron and dexamethasone on the prevention of PONV in patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty and receiving PCEA. METHODS: Patients scheduled for total hip or knee arthroplasty under spinal anesthesia/PCEA were randomly allocated to receive either intravenous palonosetron (0.075 mg, n = 50) or dexamethasone (5 mg, n = 50). Treatments were administered intravenously to the patients 30 min before the beginning of surgery. The total incidence of PONV and incidence in each time period, severity of nausea, need for rescue anti-emetics, pain score, and adverse effects during the first 48 h postoperatively were evaluated. RESULTS: The total incidence of PONV was lower in the palonosetron group compared with the dexamethasone group (18.4% vs. 36.7%, P = 0.042), but there were no statistically significant differences in incidence between the groups at all time points. No significant intergroup differences were observed in the severity of nausea, use of rescue anti-emetics, pain score, and adverse effects. CONCLUSIONS: Although there were no significant differences in the incidence of PONV between the treatment groups at all time points, intravenous palonosetron reduced the total incidence of PONV in orthopedic patients receiving PCEA compared with dexamethasone.

Efficacy and Safety of Paliperidone Extended Release in Schizophrenia Patients Requiring a Switch in Antipsychotic Medication by Switching Previous Antipsychotics to Paliperidone Extended Release / 대한정신약물학회지

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy, safety, and tolerability of paliperidone extended release (ER) in patients with schizophrenia by switching previous antipsychotics to paliperidone ER. METHODS: An open-label, 24 weeks, prospective, non-comparative, multi-center study evaluated total 387 patients with schizophrenia requiring a switch in antipsychotic medication due to suboptimal efficacy, intolerability, and non-compliance. Patients were switched to flexible-dose trial of paliperidone ER (3-12 mg/day). Efficacy was measured by Krawiecka Scale, Clinical Global Impression-Schizophrenia-Severity (CGI-SCH-S), Clinical Global Impression-Schizophrenia-Improvement (CGI-SCH-I), sleep visual analog scale (VAS), and Personal and Social Performance Scale (PSP). Safety assessments included adverse events (AEs), evaluation of extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) using the Drug Induced Extrapyramidal Symptoms Scale (DIEPSS), and laboratory tests. RESULTS: Data from a total of 321 subjects who took the paliperidone ER and had at least one follow-up assessment without a major protocol violation were analyzed. Switching to paliperidone ER led to a significant improvement in the Krawiecka, CGI-SCH-S, CGI-SCH-I, PSP, and DIEPSS scales. However, serum prolactin levels and metabolic parameters including body weight and waist circumference were significantly increased. Insomnia was the most common adverse event. CONCLUSION: This study suggested that patients with schizophrenia who showed insufficient response or intolerance to other previous antipsychotics can be switched to paliperidone ER, with efficacy, safety, and tolerability.

Psychoanalysis is Science or Literature? / 신경정신의학

Psychoanalysis can be considered as the condominium between the medicine and the literature, or the natural science and the human science, because it nowadays seems to be a kind of the 3rd alternative medicine. Psychoanalysis is obviously psychological therapeutic methodology for the various psychogenic mental conditions through the psychological approaches, nevertheless it has been ignored to many clinicians for the reason of the unscientific theoretical basis. But now we know that some neurologists and psychoanalysts have been cooperative to explore the so-called neurodynamics and neuro-mechanisms for the psychological phenomena in the analytic situations. Why not psychoanalysis is a science? And what is science? We are sure that our psychic world can not be easily confirmed by scientific methodology, but I think that theory without practice is empty, and practice without theory is blind. Therefore I believe that contemporary many neuro-psychoanalytic researches will show us some clues to psychoanalytic theory and techniques, but there shall be many limitations. More deeply we explore the human psyche, more we can not assure that.

Four Years Reviewer Evaluation Reports of "Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association" / 신경정신의학

Four Years Reports of "Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association" during 2001 to 2005 were evaluated by 18 Editorial Board of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association. We investigated the articles to specific fields and rejection rate etc. by different section chiefs. Although several problems concerning review time duration and rejection guideline issues indicated but generally all reviewer processes proved relatively clear and concise criteria. Through these objective and systematic evaluation processes, "Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association" will develop a good journal.

Four Years Reviewer Evaluation Reports of "Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association" / 신경정신의학

Four Years Reports of "Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association" during 2001 to 2005 were evaluated by 18 Editorial Board of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association. We investigated the articles to specific fields and rejection rate etc. by different section chiefs. Although several problems concerning review time duration and rejection guideline issues indicated but generally all reviewer processes proved relatively clear and concise criteria. Through these objective and systematic evaluation processes, "Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association" will develop a good journal.

Patome: Database of Patented Bio-sequences

We have built a database server called Patome which contains the annotation information for patented bio-sequences from the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO). The aims of the Patome are to annotate Korean patent bio-sequences and to provide information on patent relationship of public database entries. The patent sequences were annotated with Reference Sequence (RefSeq) or NCBI's nr database. The raw patent data and the annotated data were stored in the database. Annotation information can be used to determine whether a particular RefSeq ID or NCBI's nr ID is related to Korean patent. Patome infrastructure consists of three components-the database itself, a sequence data loader, and an online database query interface. The database can be queried using submission number, organism, title, applicant name, or accession number. Patome can be accessed at http://www.patome.net. The information will be updated every two months.

A Case of Pulmonary Endometriosis Resected by Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery / 결핵

Catamenial hemoptysis is a rare condition caused by thoracic endometriosis that presents as tracheobronchial or pulmonary endometriosis. While hormonal treatment may cause virilization and sterility, due to the antiestrogenic effect, its surgical removal via thoracotomy is a particularly invasive procedure and is not recommended as the first choice treatment in young woman. Successful surgical removal by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) has recently been reported, and may be indicated for young patients who at some stage would like to become pregnant. Herein, a case of a 25-year-old unmarried woman with catamenial hemoptysis, cured by VATS, is reported.

Diagnosis and Psychotherapy of Depressive Disorders

Depressive disorders are very common and serious illness in many psychiatric practices. We are accustomed to normal depression in everyday life, but the pathologically depressive conditions are regarded as a seriously urgent illness by the majority of psychiatrists because of the high risk of suicidal or self-destructive behaviors. Diagnosis of depressive disorders is not a hard task with the exception of the cases of masked depression and secondary depression. Nonetheless we have experienced many unpredictable psychiatric accidents during the course of treatment for the depressives. Generally speaking, major depression shows a good response to antideressants, but a chronic course is the rule in dysthymic condition, and consequently we need psychothereutic intervention. Although psychiatry today is biologically-oriented, the necessity for psychotherapy is now accepted in practice. Bio-psycho-social model in modern psychiatry helps to understand the depressives with the multi-modal therapeutic approaches. Presumably I think we have to practice psychotherapy for the depressives at all times even when the biological cause of depression is clear. Depression is like a mixture of psycholological and biological phenomena.

Comparative Effects of Isoflurane and Enflurane on Respiratory Mechanics with Methacholine-induced Bronchoconstriction in Cats / 대한마취과학회지

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to compare the effects of isoflurane and enflurane on respiratory resistance using flow-interruption technique. METHODS: Twenty one cats were divided into 3 groups according to the agents administered; Control(control), Isoflurane(1 MAC of isoflurane) and Enflurane(1 MAC of enflurane) groups. Tracheal pressure was measured at 2 cm beyond the distal end of the tube. After measuring the baseline value, methacholine chloride(25 microgram/kg/min) was infused to induce bronchoconstriction which was continued throughout the experiment. Anesthetics were administered for each group 15 minutes after methacholine infusion (control value) via low pressure inlet of the ventilator. Measurements were made every 15 minutes. Intermittent mandatory ventilation was applied with Servo 900C ventilator. Inspiratory flow rate and tidal volume were fixed throughout the experiment for each subject. Pressure, volume and flow were monitored with Bicore CP100 pulmonary monitor. The data were transferred to a personal computer and analyzed by a processing software. Respiratory system, airway and tissue resistances, and dynamic and static compliances were calculated. RESULTS: Methacholine infusion increased both airway and tissue resistances. Fifteen minutes after administering inhalation anesthetics(M30), airway resistances for isoflurane and enflurane decreased to 50.8+/-4.7% and 62.5+/-4.9% of the control value(p<0.05). And the values of tissue resistances for isoflurane and enflurane decreased to 54.7+/-6.2% and 68.0+/-4.4% of the control value respectively (p<0.05). There were significant differences between the isoflurane and enflurane in the values of airway and tissue resistances at M30(p<0.05). But there were no significant differences between the two agents in the values of airway and tissue resistances at M45. CONCLUSION: For isoflurane and enflurane, both airway and tissue resistances are reduced. Isoflurane is more potent than enflurane in reversing methacholine-induced bronchoconstriction in this animal model.

Changes of Arterial Carbon Dioxide Tension Do Not Affect Respiratory System Mechanics in Enflurane Anesthetized Cats / 대한마취과학회지

BACKGROUND: Bronchoconstriction is known to be induced by hypocarbia or hypercarbia. But the above effect has not been studied during general anesthesia. This study was proposed to investigate the effects of hypocarbia and hypercarbia on the respiratory system mechanics in 0.5 MAC enflurane anesthetized cats. METHODS: Six cats, weighing 3.0~3.6 kg were used. Pentobarbital sodium was intraperitonially injected to induce anesthesia and endotracheal intubation was followed. The anesthesia was maintained by 0.5 MAC enflurane, oxygen, and air (FiO2; 0.5). Intermittent mandatory ventilation was applied with Siemens Servo 900C ventilator. The inspiratory flow rate and tidal volume were fixed througout the experiment. Only the respiratory rate was adjusted to achieve normocarbia(PaCO2; 31~38 mmHg), hypercarbia(PaCO2; 38~45 mmHg) and hypocarbia(PaCO2; 24~31 mmHg), which were done not in the order. We used the flow-interruption technique to measure respiratory mechanics. The course of changes in the pressure along with the prefixed flow rate and volume were monitored and recorded with Bicore CP100 pulmonary monitor. The data were transfered to a PC and analyzed by Anadat processing software. Total respiratory system, airway and tissue viscoelastic resistances, and dynamic and static compliances were calculated for normocarbia, hypercarbia and hypocarbia. RESULTS: There are no significant differences of resistances and compliances of respiratory system among hypocarbia, normocarbia and hypercarbia. CONCLUSIONS: The changes in PaCO2 do not influence significantly the resistances and compliances measured by the flow interruption technique used in the study.

Effects of Varying Concentrations of Enflurane on Respiratory System Mechanics in Cats / 대한마취과학회지

BACKGROUND: Flow interruption technique has been used to measure respiratory system mechanics, and its prominent advantage is to partitionate the respiratory system resistance into airway and tissue component. In this study, we investigated the effects of varing concentrations of enflurane on respiratory system mechanics using flow interruption technique. METHODS: Six cats, weighing 3.0~3.6 kg were used. Pentobarbital sodium was injected intraperitonially and endotracheal intubation was followed. Intermittent mandatory ventilation was applied with Siemens Servo 900C ventilator. The inspiratory flow rate, tidal volume, and respiratory rate were fixed, and normocarbia (PaCO2; 30~35 mmHg) was maintained throughout the experiment. The changes in the pressure and volume were recorded with Bicore CP100 pulmonary monitor at control, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 MAC of enflurane. The data were transfered to a PC and analyzed by Anadat processing software. Respiratory system, airway and tissue viscoelastic resistances, and dynamic and static compliances were calculated. RESULTS: Respiratory system resistances decreased up to 1 MAC of enflurane compared to the control value (p<0.05), but there were no significant differences in the values of resistance among 1, 1.5, 2 MAC of enflurane. There were no significant differences in tissue viscoelastic resistances, and dynamic and static compliances with varying concentrations of enflurane. CONCLUSIONS: Enflurane significantly reduces the respiratory system resistance mainly by decreasing airway resistance. Tissue viscoelastic resistance and respiratory system compliances are not influenced by changes in concentration of enflurane.

A case of chronic gastric volvulus associated with evantration of the diaphragm

No abstract available.

A study on the sources of the aesthetic pleasure in Dong Ju Youn's poems / 신경정신의학

No abstract available.

A Case of Congenital Isolated Unilateral Absence of It. Pulmonary Artery

Unilateral adsence of a pulmonary artery is frequently undiagnosed. Unless this entity is recognized, a patient with a potentially curable lesion may become inoperable. The importance of considering unilateral absence of a pulmonary artery in the diffirential diagnosis of cyanotic congenital heart disease and pulmonary hypertension has become clear. We exeperienced a case of congenital isolated unilateral absence of it. pulmonary artery confirmed by clinical features, lung scan, echocardiogram and angiogram.