Future and Development Direction of Digital Healthcare / 대한의료정보학회지

Objectives@#Digital healthcare is expected to play a pivotal role in patient-centered healthcare. It empowers patients by informing, communicating, and motivating them. However, a pragmatic evaluation of the present status of digital healthcare has not been presented; therefore, we aimed to examine the status of digital healthcare in Korea. @*Methods@#This article discusses digital healthcare, examples of assessment in Korea and other countries, the implications of past examples, and future directions for development. @*Results@#Over the years, various clinical studies have used clinical evidence to assess the feasibility of digital healthcare. If feasible, it is actually clinically effective. If it is effective, can it be commercialized at an acceptable cost? These questions have been investigated in various evidence-based studies. In addition, great efforts are being made to secure ample evidence to assess various aspects of digital healthcare, such as safety, quality, end-user experience, and equity. @*Conclusions@#Digital healthcare requires a deep understanding of both the technical and medical aspects. To strengthen the competence of the medical aspect, medical staff, patients, and the government must work together with continuous interest in this goal.

Future and Development Direction of Digital Healthcare / 대한의료정보학회지

Objectives@#Digital healthcare is expected to play a pivotal role in patient-centered healthcare. It empowers patients by informing, communicating, and motivating them. However, a pragmatic evaluation of the present status of digital healthcare has not been presented; therefore, we aimed to examine the status of digital healthcare in Korea. @*Methods@#This article discusses digital healthcare, examples of assessment in Korea and other countries, the implications of past examples, and future directions for development. @*Results@#Over the years, various clinical studies have used clinical evidence to assess the feasibility of digital healthcare. If feasible, it is actually clinically effective. If it is effective, can it be commercialized at an acceptable cost? These questions have been investigated in various evidence-based studies. In addition, great efforts are being made to secure ample evidence to assess various aspects of digital healthcare, such as safety, quality, end-user experience, and equity. @*Conclusions@#Digital healthcare requires a deep understanding of both the technical and medical aspects. To strengthen the competence of the medical aspect, medical staff, patients, and the government must work together with continuous interest in this goal.

Association between Full Electronic Medical Record System Adoption and Drug Use: Antibiotics and Polypharmacy / 대한의료정보학회지

Issues in Publication Ethics of Healthcare Informatics Research since 2010 / 대한의료정보학회지

No abstract available.

Experience of essay during the clinical clerkship in emergency medicine and inter-rater reliability on essay

Objective@#An essay test is difficult to carry out because of the effort for hand scoring and the concerns about inter-rater reliability, even though the use of a rubric can increase inter-rater reliability. This study examined the feasibility of an essay test in medical school students and whether the use of a rubric increases inter-rater reliability. @*Methods@#An essay test was given to 51 undergraduate students in the third grade of emergency medicine clinical clerkship. Three raters assessed the essay test independently with a prepared rubric immediately after the test. They then did the same essay test without a rubric three months later. The researchers compared the Pearson’s correlation coefficients between raters. The researchers analyzed the validity comparing the correlation coefficient between the essay test and previous multiple-choice questions (MCQ) and feasibility by acceptance. @*Results@#Fifty-one students took the essay test. The Pearson’s correlation coefficient using rubric between raters 1 and 2, 1 and 3, and 2 and 3 were 0.898 (P<0.001), 0.896 (P<0.001), and 0.856 (P<0.001), respectively. Without a rubric, the correlation coefficients were 0.838 (P<0.001), 0.888 (P<0.001), and 0.824 (P<0.001), respectively. The new essay test showed a positive correlation (0.367) with the previous MCQ, and the evidence for validity and feasibility was acceptable. @*Conclusion@#In this study, the rubric did not increase the inter-rater reliability of the essay test. On the other hand, the inter-rater reliability was higher than 0.8, even without a rubric. In addition, the essay test showed evidence of validity and feasibility.

A case of acute bilateral thalamic infarction presenting in a sleep-like coma after alcohol ingestion

The artery of Percheron is a rare anatomical variant, in which a common trunk arises from one posterior cerebral artery and then branches to supply each of the thalami and the midbrain separately. Occlusion of this artery triggers a bilateral thalamic infarction. The most commonly reported clinical findings are an altered mental status, vertical gaze palsy, and memory impairment. A 51-year-old man was transferred to the emergency department with a sudden loss of consciousness after drinking alcohol. He appeared to be sleeping deeply. His wife insisted that he had not drunk a quantity of alcohol that would render him unconscious. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain revealed an acute, bilateral, paramedian thalamic infarction. He was admitted and treated with antiplatelet agents. On the following day, four-vessel cerebral angiography revealed stenosis of the left, distal vertebral artery. Three weeks after admission, he was discharged with persistent hypersomnia, memory impairment, and behavioral changes.

Electrocardiogram Sampling Frequency Range Acceptable for Heart Rate Variability Analysis / 대한의료정보학회지

OBJECTIVES: Heart rate variability (HRV) has gained recognition as a noninvasive marker of autonomic activity. HRV is considered a promising tool in various clinical scenarios. The optimal electrocardiogram (ECG) sampling frequency required to ensure sufficient precision of R–R intervals for HRV analysis has not yet been determined. Here, we aimed to determine the acceptable ECG sampling frequency range by analyzing ECG signals from patients who visited an emergency department with the chief complaint of acute intoxication or overdose. METHODS: The study included 83 adult patients who visited an emergency department with the chief complaint of acute poisoning. The original 1,000-Hz ECG signals were down-sampled to 500-, 250-, 100-, and 50-Hz sampling frequencies with linear interpolation. R–R interval data were analyzed for time-domain, frequency-domain, and nonlinear HRV parameters. Parameters derived from the data on down-sampled frequencies were compared with those derived from the data on 1,000-Hz signals, and Lin's concordance correlation coefficients were calculated. RESULTS: Down-sampling to 500 or 250 Hz resulted in excellent concordance. Signals down-sampled to 100 Hz produced acceptable results for time-domain analysis and Poincaré plots, but not for frequency-domain analysis. Down-sampling to 50 Hz proved to be unacceptable for both time- and frequency-domain analyses. At 50 Hz, the root-mean-squared successive differences and the power of high frequency tended to have high values and random errors. CONCLUSIONS: A 250-Hz sampling frequency would be acceptable for HRV analysis. When frequency-domain analysis is not required, a 100-Hz sampling frequency would also be acceptable.

Comparison of Hemodynamic Variables Associated with Cardiac Output in Patients in the Intensive Care Unit

PURPOSE: Dynamic parameters, including end-tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO₂), peak velocity variation in the common carotid artery (pvvCCA), distensibility index of the internal jugular vein (dIJV), and distensibility index of the inferior vena cava (dIVC) have been used to predict fluid responsiveness in fully sedated patients under positive mechanical ventilation. We aimed to compare the cardiac output (CO) with all these dynamic parameters upon changing positions. METHODS: This prospective cohort study compared the changes in all parameters that alter CO after changing positions, including upper body at 60°and 30°, supine position, and lower body at 30°and 60°, as measured using ultrasonography, between June 2015 and September 2016. RESULTS: CO was correlated with parameters, including dIJV, pvvCCA, and ETCO₂, in positively ventilated patients with nonspontaneous breathing (p=0.001, p=0.014, and p=0.006, respectively). Among these parameters, ETCO₂ showed to have the best correlation with CO change after position change (coefficient 0.412). Correlations of CO with central venous pressure, blood pressure, and dIVC were not statistically significant. The mean value of CO in elevated lower body positions was slightly lower than the mean value of CO in supine position (5.231 vs. 5.752 L/min, p=0.516). CONCLUSION: Measuring the changes of ETCO₂ in patients with positive mechanical ventilation might allow the most accurate prediction of CO changes. The position change from elevated upper body to supine position could better induce CO changes than that performed similarly with passive leg raising.

Book Review: Applied Computing in Medicine and Health / 대한의료정보학회지

No abstract available.

Book Review: Applied Computing in Medicine and Health / 대한의료정보학회지

No abstract available.

Incidence of Adult In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Using National Representative Patient Sample in Korea / 대한의료정보학회지

OBJECTIVES: This study analyzed the incidence and characteristics of in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) in Korea based on a sample group of patients that is representative of the population. METHODS: The incidence of IHCA in adults was extracted from HIRA-NIS-2009, a sample of all patients using medical services in Korea. IHCA patients were analyzed according to gender, age, type of medical institute, and classification under the 6th revision of the Korean Standard Classification of Diseases (KCD-6). In addition, to assess the differences arising from the size of medical institutes, the IHCA incidence was analyzed in relation to the number of inpatient beds. RESULTS: Based on the sample data, the total incidence of IHCA in Korea was found to be 2.46 per 1,000 admissions (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.37–2.55). A higher incidence was found among men at 3.18 (95% CI, 3.03–3.33), compared to women at 1.84 (95% CI, 1.74–1.94). The incidence of IHCA was also higher in hospitals that had more than 600 inpatients beds at 5.40 (95% CI, 5.16–5.66) in comparison to those that had less than 600 inpatients beds at 4.09 (95% CI, 3.76–4.36) (p < 0.001). By primary disease, the incidence was the highest for infectious diseases. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that the IHCA incidence based on gender, age, diagnostic group, and number of beds could be analyzed using the insurance claim data from a national representative sample.

Avoidance Behavior against Positive Allergens Detected with a Multiple Allergen Simultaneous Test Immunoblot Assay in Patients with Urticaria: Factors Associated with Avoidance Success/Failure

BACKGROUND: Avoidance behavior against positive allergens detected by using multiple allergen simultaneous test (MAST)-immunoblot assay in patients with urticaria has been rarely reported. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to assess the avoidance behavior of patients with urticaria against positive allergens detected with a MAST. METHODS: One hundred and one urticaria patients who showed positivity to at least one allergen on a MAST completed a questionnaire regarding their test results. The avoidance behavior of the patients was evaluated, and relevant determining factors of avoidance success/failure were statistically assessed. RESULTS: We detected 144 different data (n=51, food allergens; n=17, pollen allergens; and n=76, aeroallergens) from 101 patients with urticaria. The avoidance failure rates were 33.3% for food allergens, 70.6% for pollen allergens, and 30.3% for aeroallergens. The pollen group showed a significantly higher avoidance failure rate than the food and aeroallergen groups (p<0.05). The patients with higher educational levels or more severe urticaria tended to successfully avoid allergens (p<0.05). The monthly household income level and patients' reliability to the test showed borderline correlations (p=0.057 and p=0.075, respectively). CONCLUSION: We believe that the results of this study could be helpful in predicting avoidance success or failure against allergens in patients with urticaria when clinicians conduct allergen-specific immunoglobulin E tests.

Acquired Dermal Melanocytosis of the Dorsum in a Middle-Aged Asian Woman

No abstract available.

Primary Repair of Spontaneous Intramural Esophageal Dissection: A Case Report

Intramural esophageal dissection (IED) is a laceration between the mucosal and submucosal layers without perforation. Spontaneous IED is relatively common in elderly female patients on anticoagulation medication, while secondary IED is associated with endoscopic procedures or foreign body impaction. Although conservative management is regarded as the primary treatment for IED, there are several reported cases treated by endoscopic intervention or esophagectomy. We experienced rare spontaneous IED in a young male patient who was treated exclusively with primary repair of the esophagus. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report in which the patient recovered completely with only primary repair.

Application of Telemedicine System to Prehospital Medical Control / 대한의료정보학회지

OBJECTIVES: Although ambulance-based telemedicine has been reported to be safe and feasible, its clinical usefulness has not been well documented, and different prehospital management systems would yield different results. The authors evaluated the feasibility and usefulness of telemedicine-assisted direct medical control in the Korean emergency medical service system. METHODS: Twenty ambulances in the Busan area were equipped with a telemedicine system. Three-lead electrocardiogram, blood pressure, and pulse oximetry data from the patient and audiovisual input from the scene were transferred to a server. Consulting physicians used desktop computers and the internet to connect to the server. Both requesting emergency medical service (EMS) providers and consulting physicians were asked to fill out report forms and submit them for analysis. RESULTS: In the 41 cases in which telemedicine equipment was used, cellular phones were concomitantly used in 28 cases (68.35%) to compensate for the poor audio quality provided by the equipment. The EMS providers rated the video transmission quality with a 4-point average score (interquartile range [IQR] 2-5) on a 5-point scale, and they rated the biosignal transmission quality as 4 (IQR 3-5). The consulting physicians rated the video quality as 4 (IQR 2.5-4) and the biosignal quality as 4 (IQR 3-4). The physicians' ratings for usefulness for making diagnosis or treatment decisions did not differ significantly in relation to the method of communication used. CONCLUSIONS: Our study did not find any significant advantage of implementing telemedicine over the use of voice calls in delivering on-line medical control. More user-friendly, smaller devices with clear advantages over voice communication would be required before telemedicine can be successfully implemented in prehospital patient care.

High Time to Discuss Future-Oriented Telemedicine / 대한의료정보학회지

No abstract available.

Sister Mary Joseph Nodule as a Metastasis of Gallbladder Carcinoma / 대한피부과학회지

Cutaneous metastasis into the umbilicus, known as a Sister Mary Joseph nodule, is quite rare. Gastric adenocarcinoma is the most common primary origin overall, whereas gynecologic tumors such as ovarian cancer are the leading cause in women. In most cases, the nodule manifests after the primary tumor had been diagnosed. In rare cases, however, it serves as the first sign of the underlying malignancy. Here, we report the case of a 59-year-old woman who presented with a nodule on the umbilicus and was diagnosed with metastatic adenocarcinoma originating in the gallbladder.

Onychomadesis Following Hand-foot-mouth Disease: A Report of Five Children / 대한피부과학회지

No abstract available.

A Case of Malignant Melanoma with Pseudoepitheliomatous Hyperplasia on the Sole / 대한피부과학회지

No abstract available.

Three Cases of Lichen Nitidus Associated with Various Cutaneous Diseases

Lichen nitidus (LN) is an uncommon, usually asymptomatic cutaneous eruption characterized by the presence of multiple, small, flesh-colored papules. The epidemiologic and pathophysiologic characteristics of LN have not yet been defined. Furthermore, LN has rarely been described in association with other cutaneous diseases. We herein report 3 cases of LN associated with various cutaneous diseases, including lichen striatus, oral lichen planus, and psoriasis vulgaris.