Predictors of In-Hospital Mortality in Korean Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction / 전남의대학술지

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a fatal cardiovascular disease, and mortality is relatively high; therefore, integrated assessment is necessary for its management. There are several risk predictive models, but treatment trends have changed due to newly introduced medications and the universal use of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The author aimed to find out predictive factors of in-hospital mortality in Korean patients with AMI. A group of 13,104 patients with AMI enrolled in the Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry-National Institute of Health (KAMIR-NIH) registry were divided into two groups. One was a derivation group for evaluating mortality prediction; the other was a validation group for the application of risk prediction. In-hospital mortality was 4.2% (n=552). With hierarchical and stepwise multivariate analyses, nine factors were shown to predict in-hospital mortality for Korean patients with AMI. These were 1) being over 65 years of age, 2) high Killip class over II, 3) hyperglycemia over 180 mg/dl, 4) tachycardia over 100/min, 5) serum creatinine over 1.5 mg/dl, 6) atypical chest pain, 7) low systolic blood pressure under 90 mmHg, 8) low Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) flow (TIMI 0-II) before PCI and 9) low TIMI flow (TIMI 0-II) after PCI. The validation group showed a predictive power of 88.3%. Old age, high Killip class, hyperglycemia, tachycardia, renal dysfunction, atypical chest pain, low systolic blood pressure, and low TIMI flow are important risk factors of in-hospital mortality in Korean patients with AMI.

Related factors between quality of dental service and Korean net promoter score / 대한구강보건학회지

OBJECTIVES: Many people rely on recommendations from family, relatives, and other information sources in order to select the appropriate dental clinic for treatment. The object of this study was to find out the relationship between quality of dental service and Korean Net Promoter Score (KNPS). METHODS: A total of 520 patients were selected through consecutive sampling from four dental clinics in Daegu city. Informed consent of all selected patients was obtained. The patients were required to complete a questionnaire that comprised of three categories of queries related to provision of satisfactory dental service, relation quality, and personal data. Sub-categories of questions included physical and environmental factors, human service factors, patients' satisfaction with related quality and KNPS. Data was collected by interviewing all individuals on a personal basis over a period of 3 months. Statistical analysis was performed using studental t-test, ANOVA and multiple regression analysis using the SPSS 20.0 software (IBM Co., Armonk, NY, USA). RESULTS: Among the various socio-economic factors studied, income was most significantly related to KNPS while satisfaction of relation quality was the largest factor affecting the KNPS. Factors such as satisfactory physical environment, quality of human service, relation quality and income accounted for 52.4% of KNPS. In short, the three major factors that affected KNPS were patient compliance, professionalism of the attending dentist and response of hygienist to patient. Other minor factors influencing KNPS included trust upon the attending dentist, aesthetics of clinicstiinterior, and physical convenience. CONCLUSIONS: It is highly recommended that dental clinics should make strenuous efforts to increase the level of patient compliance, professionalism, and response towards patients, which can be achieved by improving the quality of service and through positive marketing of the hospital.

Polycan-calcium gluconate complex improves gingival health / 대한구강보건학회지

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of a Polycan-calcium gluconate complex on gingival health. METHODS: Forty-one subjects with mild periodontitis (> or =40 years) were divided into two groups: the placebo and test product (Polycan-calcium gluconate complex twice a day for 4 weeks) groups. Oral examination was performed and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) was collected from each subject at baseline and after 4 weeks. Interleukin (IL)-1beta level in the GCF was determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: Pocket depth and plaque index were significantly decreased in the test group at 4 weeks. The level of IL-1beta and plaque index of the treatment group was significantly lower than of the placebo group. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the above results, Polycan-calcium gluconate complex may inhibit plaque accumulation in the mouth and may have a negative correlation with the level of inflammatory biomarkers. Consequently, gingival health was significantly improved by polycan-calcium gluconate complex.

Clinical evaluation of the bleaching effect of chewing gum containing amorphous calcium phosphate, hydroxyapatite, and tricalcium pyrophosphate on human enamel / 대한구강보건학회지

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the bleaching effect of chewing gum containing amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP), hydroxyapatite (HA), and tricalcium pyrophosphate (TSP) on human enamel. METHODS: Seventy-three subjects aged 20-30 years were recruited after obtaining their informed consent and approval of the Institutional Review Board. All subjects were randomly assigned to the following four groups: (I) negative control group; (II) 50% gum group; (III) 100% gum group; and (IV) positive control group (10% carbamide peroxide). They received gum containing ACP, HA, and TSP, three times a day, for 4 weeks. Group IV also received 10% CP application using individual trays, once a day, for 2 weeks. Color change was measured using the Shade Eye-NCC colorimeter at weekly intervals, during the 4-week period. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 18.0. RESULTS: Color changes (DeltaE*) were significantly different among the groups at 2 and 4 weeks after chewing the gum (P<0.05). Given that bleaching effect of Group IV was 100%, bleaching effects of Group III, Group II, and Group I were 54%, 46%, and 36%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Chewing gum containing ACP, HA, and TSP was effective enough to bleach the human enamel. Further comprehensive studies and assessment will be required to ascertain the bleaching effects and mechanism of chewing gum containing various components such as ACP, HA, and TSP using various methods of experiment and analysis.