Journal of Korean medical science
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Jan 2016
Erythropoiesis-stimulating Agents and Anemia in Patients with Non-dialytic Chronic Kidney Disease.
Anemia is common in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD). Though erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) have been strongly endorsed in guidelines, it is of particular financial interest. Recently, the reimbursement of ESAs in non-dialytic patients was started by the Korean National Health Insurance System. ⋯ Mean hemoglobin concentrations were 10.06±1.54 g/dL before reimbursement and increased to 10.78±1.51 g/dL in 3 yr after the reimbursement change (P=0.001). However, the requirement of blood transfusion was not changed over time. With the reimbursement of ESAs, the advanced CKD patients were more likely to be treated with ESAs, and the hemoglobin concentrations increased.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Jan 2016
The Effect of Emergency Medical Service Use and Inter-hospital Transfer on Prehospital Delay among Ischemic Stroke Patients: A Multicenter Observational Study.
The time between symptom onset and arrival at an emergency department (ED) (S2D) is a crucial time for optimal intravenous reperfusion care for ischemic stroke. We aimed to analyze the effect of emergency medical services (EMS) utilization and inter-hospital transfer on S2D in Korea. Ischemic stroke patients were prospectively enrolled from November 2007 to December 2012 in 23 tertiary and teaching hospital EDs in Korea. ⋯ Our primary outcome variable was of S2D within 2 hr (S2D ≤ 2 hr) and found that 30.8% of all patients and 52.3%, 16.4%, 25.9%, and 13.9% of EMS direct, EMS indirect, non-EMS direct, and non-EMS indirect, respectively, achieved S2D ≤ 2 hr. Adjusted odds ratio for S2D ≤ 2 hr were 6.56 (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.94-7.24), 2.27 (95% CI, 2.06-2.50), and 1.07 (95% CI, 0.87-1.33) for EMS direct, non-EMS direct, and EMS indirect, respectively. Patients directly transported to destination hospitals by the EMS show the highest proportion of therapeutic time window for optimal care in ischemic stroke.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Dec 2015
Multicenter StudyPostpartum Glucose Testing Rates Following Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and Factors Affecting Testing Non-compliance from Four Tertiary Centers in Korea.
The purpose of this study was to investigate postpartum glucose testing rates in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and to determine factors affecting testing non-compliance in the Korean population. This was a retrospective study of 1,686 patients with GDM from 4 tertiary centers in Korea and data were obtained from medical records. Postpartum glucose testing was conducted using a 2-hr 75-g oral glucose tolerance, fasting glucose, or hemoglobin A1C test. ⋯ However, patients who had pharmacotherapy for GDM were more likely to be screened. In this study, 55.1% of patients with GDM failed to complete postpartum glucose testing. Considering the high prevalence of diabetes (18.4%) at postpartum, clinicians should emphasize the importance of postpartum diabetes screening to patients with factors affecting testing noncompliance.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Dec 2015
National Priority Setting of Clinical Practice Guidelines Development for Chronic Disease Management.
By November 2013, a total of 125 clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) have been developed in Korea. However, despite the high burden of diseases and the clinical importance of CPGs, most chronic diseases do not have available CPGs. Merely 83 CPGs are related to chronic diseases, and only 40 guidelines had been developed in the last 5 yr. ⋯ However, priorities have to be set and resources need to be allocated within the constraint of a limited funding. This study identifies the chronic diseases that should be prioritized for the development of CPGs in Korea. Through an objective assessment by using the analytic hierarchy process and a subjective assessment with a survey of expert opinion, high priorities were placed on ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular diseases, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, osteoarthritis, neck pain, chronic kidney disease, and cirrhosis of the liver.