BACKGROUND: The current educational goals and missions of pharmacy schools in Korea were analyzed to examine the current orientation and future direction of pharmaceutical education. METHODS: Educational mission statements were obtained from the homepages of 35 pharmacy schools and subjected to convert into codes. Themes and categories were induced using qualitative content-analysis from the codes and compared according to location of school (capital area versus province), public versus private, and date of initial enrollment (before versus in 2011). The themes and categories were compared with “the eight-star pharmacist” suggested by World Health Organization (WHO) and International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP). RESULTS: Twelve themes, 44 categories, and 496 codes were identified. Themes included pharmaceutical expertise, professionalism, contribution to society, basic educational ideology, sphere of activity, leadership, research, dealing with future change, problem-solving ability, self-management and development, cooperation, and respect for life. Mission statements of schools that initially enrolled in 2011 cited humankind level contribution (p=0.011), patient-centered care (p=0.026), and globalization (p=0.018) more frequently than those enrolled before 2011. Most schools mentioned about care-giver, researcher, and decision-maker which were stated in “the eight-star pharmacist”. CONCLUSION: To meet the growing social requirements of a pharmacist's roles, wide-ranging active discussion on establishing educational goals should be made.
Education, Pharmacy ; Humans ; Internationality ; Korea* ; Leadership ; Patient-Centered Care ; Pharmacy* ; Professionalism ; Religious Missions ; Schools, Pharmacy* ; Self Care ; Value of Life ; World Health Organization

PURPOSE: Bronchial hyperresponsiveness is considered as a hallmark of asthma. The duration of asthma was demonstrated to be associated with bronchial responsiveness, expressed as methacholine PC20. We investigated the relationship between duration of asthma and percentage fall in forced vital capacity (FVC) at PC20 (DeltaFVC), another index of bronchial responsiveness, which reflects excessive bronchoconstriction. METHODS: Six- to 8-year-old children with asthma underwent methacholine inhalation test. The PC20 and DeltaFVC were calculated for each individual. The subjects were classified into those with wheezing onset in the first three years of life (early-onset asthma [EA], n=63) and those with wheezing onset from three years onwards (late-onset asthma [LA], n=99). RESULTS: From the time of wheezing onset, duration of asthma ranged from 0.2 to 8.3 years. The mean duration of asthma in patients with EA was 5.6 years (standard deviation [SD], 1.2 years), compared with 2.2 years (SD, 1.3 years) in the patients with LA. Patients with EA had a significantly lower forced expiratory volume in 1 second/FVC than did those with LA (84.6%+/-5.9% vs. 86.8%+/-5.1%, P<0.05). The DeltaFVC was significantly higher in patients with EA than in those with LA (19.4%+/-5.1% vs. 17.0%+/-4.5%, P<0.01), but PC20 was not different between the two groups. In total subjects, asthma duration correlated significantly with DeltaFVC (r=0.222, P<0.01), but not with PC20. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that prolonged asthma is associated with worsened bronchial responsiveness during childhood, and such an association may be reflected primarily by DeltaFVC rather than PC20.
Asthma* ; Bronchial Hyperreactivity ; Bronchoconstriction ; Child* ; Forced Expiratory Volume ; Humans ; Inhalation ; Methacholine Chloride ; Respiratory Sounds ; Vital Capacity

Levosulpiride is one of the most frequently prescribed medicines in Korea. An adverse drug reaction (ADR) after taking levosulpiride was reported at a community pharmacy in Korea. A 31-year-old woman reported the symptoms of lactation and amenorrhea after taking levosulpiride; an evaluation of whether these symptoms were caused by the medication was therefore necessary. Several tools can be used to determine if the ADR resulted from the administered drug or other factors, including the World Health Organization-Uppsala Monitoring Centre (WHO-UMC) criteria, the Naranjo scale, and the Korean causality assessment algorithm (Ver. 2). The causality was evaluated as “possible” by the WHO-UMC and Naranjo scales, but as “probable” by the Korean causality assessment algorithm (Ver. 2). In conclusion, the information provided did not indicate definite causality and there were slight differences in the results obtained from each assessment method.
Adult ; Amenorrhea ; Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions ; Female ; Global Health ; Humans ; Hyperprolactinemia* ; Korea ; Lactation ; Methods ; Pharmacies* ; Weights and Measures

This study investigated the impact of menopause on the progression and management of common benign gynecological conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, and adenomyosis. These conditions often present with menstruationrelated symptoms such as irregular cycles, heavy bleeding, and pelvic pain. While these symptoms typically subside after menopause, the underlying pathology of such benign gynecological conditions may be differentially affected by the physiological changes associated with menopause, sometimes leading to exacerbation or additional management challenges. Although rare, the potential for malignant transformation remains a concern. This study aims to elucidate the shifts in management strategies from the reproductive years to postmenopause. It highlights the necessity for a tailored approach to hormone therapy and surgical interventions based on the individual patient’s health profile and the specific characteristics of each condition.

This study investigated the impact of menopause on the progression and management of common benign gynecological conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, and adenomyosis. These conditions often present with menstruationrelated symptoms such as irregular cycles, heavy bleeding, and pelvic pain. While these symptoms typically subside after menopause, the underlying pathology of such benign gynecological conditions may be differentially affected by the physiological changes associated with menopause, sometimes leading to exacerbation or additional management challenges. Although rare, the potential for malignant transformation remains a concern. This study aims to elucidate the shifts in management strategies from the reproductive years to postmenopause. It highlights the necessity for a tailored approach to hormone therapy and surgical interventions based on the individual patient’s health profile and the specific characteristics of each condition.

This study investigated the impact of menopause on the progression and management of common benign gynecological conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, and adenomyosis. These conditions often present with menstruationrelated symptoms such as irregular cycles, heavy bleeding, and pelvic pain. While these symptoms typically subside after menopause, the underlying pathology of such benign gynecological conditions may be differentially affected by the physiological changes associated with menopause, sometimes leading to exacerbation or additional management challenges. Although rare, the potential for malignant transformation remains a concern. This study aims to elucidate the shifts in management strategies from the reproductive years to postmenopause. It highlights the necessity for a tailored approach to hormone therapy and surgical interventions based on the individual patient’s health profile and the specific characteristics of each condition.

PURPOSE: This study was done to analyze qualitative research published in the Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration (JKANA). METHODS: Selected studies included 38 qualitative studies in which an interview was used and which were published in JKANA from 1995 to 2016 (22 years). Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ), a reporting guideline for analysis of qualitative research was employed. RESULTS: Items that were included in less than half of the selected studies were as follows: interviewers' credentials, occupation, gender, and relationship established with participants in the 1st domain; non-participants, presence of non-participants, and transcripts returned in the 2nd domain; participant checking in the 3rd domain. CONCLUSION: Findings indicate that future challenges face JKANA qualitative researchers. First, the expansion of qualitative research should be ensured to explain complex interaction between humans and the environment. Second, a variety of qualitative research methods should be considered to enhance understanding of nursing fields. Third, research procedures should be described more precisely to increase transparency of research results. Fourth, not only personal information on the researcher but also how subjective opinions of the researcher reflected in the research process should be explained in detail to clarify the relationship between researchers and participants.
Humans ; Nursing* ; Occupations ; Publications* ; Qualitative Research*

PURPOSE: This study was designed to develop quality outcome indicators for nursing homes and community-based home care that would contribute to an appropriate evaluation and improvement of quality of long term care in Korea. METHODS: The preliminary quality indicators of long term care were developed from a literature review and clinical expert panel. A content validity testing was done using a panel of experts who were selected from academic and clinical field of long-term care. The final quality indicators were confirmed after application in four nursing homes and four home care agencies to test clinical validity. RESULTS: The preliminary quality indicators consisted of 3 domains and 19 indicators. The final quality indicators were composed of 4 domains and 17 indicators. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated the feasibility of outcome quality indicators in long term care. These quality indicators can be effectively used to evaluate the quality of nursing home and home care and to improve the quality of care in the Korean long-term care system.
Home Care Agencies ; Home Care Services ; Long-Term Care ; Nursing Homes ; Quality Indicators, Health Care

Methods: The precision, linearity, limit of detection (LOD), correlation with the Abbott m2000 assay, and interference were evaluated. Results: The within-laboratory standard deviation ranged from 0.106 to 0.137 log IU/mL for HBV and from 0.073 to 0.097 log IU/mL for HCV, which was lower than the manufacturer’s specification of 0.25 log IU/mL, indicating good precision. Linearity was observed from 1.14 to 8.14 log IU/mL for the HBV assay and from 1.09 to 7.09 log IU/mL for the HCV assay. The LODs of HBV and HCV were 10 and 6.39 IU/mL, respectively, which were equivalent to or better than those claimed by the manufacturer. For comparative evaluation between Alinity m and m2000 assays, 142 HBV and 70 HCV samples were tested. The correlation test revealed a strong correlation for both markers, and the Passing–Bablok regression analysis did not reveal any significant deviation. Conclusions The Alinity m assay demonstrated excellent performance for HBV and HCV quantifications with reduced hands-on time and a randomaccess format.

PURPOSE: To evaluate morphologic features of primary non-small cell lung cancer using 3 Tesla MRI with free-breathing compared with CT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-six patients were enrolled. A 64-channel multidetector CT and 3 Tesla MRI with ultrashort echo time pointwise encoding time reduction with radial acquisition (PETRA) and radial volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination (VIBE) were compared in size, shape, margin, internal characteristics, and tumor interface of primary tumor. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in tumor size between CT and either PETRA or radial VIBE (p = 0.054 and p = 0.764, respectively). Kappa (κ) statistics of shape, margin, and internal characteristics were respectively κ = 0.86, 0.65, 0.77 on PETRA and κ = 0.93, 0.84, 0.83 on radial VIBE compared with CT. PETRA and radial VIBE revealed clearer interface compared with CT (p = 0.000 and p < 0.000, respectively). Radial VIBE showed higher frequency of clear interface (94.4%) than PETRA (88.9%). MRI did not show significantly clear interface which was located in lung base (p = 0.363 on PETRA and p = 0.175 on radial VIBE) compared with CT. CONCLUSION MRI with PETRA and radial VIBE sequences can be a feasible method to evaluate morphologic features of primary non-small cell lung cancer compared with CT.