The number of survivors after hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy has been increasing due to recent progress in medical system and care. Impairment after injury ranges from mild memory deficit to vegetative state or death. Cognitive impairment is particularly common in the survivors, because the hippocampus and medial temporal lobe are vulnerable to ischemic insult. Medication and cognitive rehabilitation should be initiated to minimize the impact of various cognitive deficits. Instead of Glasgow-Pittsburgh Cerebral Performance Categories, which is insensitive to functional change, standardized functional assessment tools should also be used in research as well as in rehabilitation settings.
Brain Injuries ; Hippocampus ; Humans ; Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain* ; Memory Disorders ; Mild Cognitive Impairment ; Persistent Vegetative State ; Rehabilitation ; Survivors ; Temporal Lobe

This review describes the incidence rates and trends of traumatic spinal cord injuries (TSCI) and non-traumatic spinal cord injuries (NTSCI) in South Korea. The incidence of NTSCI has increased more rapidly than that of TSCI in recent years. In 2007, TSCI was more common, but by 2020, NTSCI had surpassed TSCI, particularly in older individuals. While men have a higher incidence of both TSCI and NTSCI, the incidence difference by sex is greater in TSCI.The incidence rates of both TSCI and NTSCI are higher in older individuals, particularly those in their 70s and 80s. For TSCI, falls and traffic accidents are the most common causes, with falls being more prevalent in older adults. Cervical SCIs are the most common TSCI, especially in high-income countries like South Korea. Patients with NTSCI predominantly display paraplegia, which is usually associated with non-traumatic causes such as degenerative disorders and tumors. Higher rates of tetraplegia and paraplegia are observed with TSCI and NTSCI, respectively. The neurological levels of injury also differ between TSCI and NTSCI. Overall, SCIs are a growing concern in South Korea and there is a need for targeted interventions for their management and prevention, especially in older age groups.

In this article, we report a case where a videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) revealed the cause of a recently developed idiopathic dysphagia in a 66-year-old patient and enabled emergent treatment. The patient reported a 10-day history of fever, cough, sputum production, and progressive jaundice. He was then admitted to the hospital with suspicion of aspiration pneumonia. Despite treatment with antibiotics, fever and leukocytosis were persistent. As he also reported dysphagia, we performed the VFSS, which showed subglottic aspiration on all types of food and revealed a retropharyngeal mass causing mechanical compression. A contrast-enhanced computerized tomography (CT) of his neck was performed following the VFSS, which helped diagnose the mass as an extensive retropharyngeal abscess with mediastinitis. Following this diagnosis, emergent surgical incision and drainage was performed on the patient. Although the VFSS is primarily designed to evaluate swallowing function rather than to diagnose a disease, it can be used to reveal the primary medical cause of dysphagia while it studies the mechanical and structural abnormalities in the oropharyngeal and esophageal regions. This study also proposes that retropharyngeal abscess should be considered in the differential diagnosis of cases showing progressive dysphagia with fever. As confirmed through this work, the VFSS can function as a useful tool for detecting crucial diseases accompanying deglutition disorder.
Aged ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Cough ; Deglutition ; Deglutition Disorders ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Drainage ; Fever ; Fluoroscopy ; Humans ; Jaundice ; Leukocytosis ; Mediastinitis ; Neck ; Pneumonia, Aspiration ; Retropharyngeal Abscess ; Sputum

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the patterns of alcohol use among community-dwelling persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) and compare the results with those from general populations. METHOD: The persons with SCI living in community were recruited. They answered the self-administered questionnaire which was made based on the questionnaire of the third Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for data comparisons. The questionnaire consisted of the questions about personal information, drinking duration, drinking frequency, drinking amount, and impaired control over drinking. RESULTS: Questionnaires of 340 persons with SCI from twenties to fifties were analysed. The annual and monthly drinking rates of SCI subjects were lower than those of general populations. In male, drinking frequency of SCI subjects was lower than that of general populations. In both male and female, risky drinking rates were lower than those of general populations. The degree of impaired control over drinking of SCI subjects was higher than that of general populations. CONCLUSION: Fewer persons with SCI used alcohol than general populations. But, the degree of alcohol dependence of SCI persons was higher than that of general populations.
Alcoholism ; Drinking ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Nutrition Surveys ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Spinal Cord ; Spinal Cord Injuries

Background: Health disparity is defined as a difference in the accessibility of medical resources among regions or other factors. In South Korea, there might be a disparity because of the low proportion of public medical institutions. This study aimed to investigate the geographic distribution of rehabilitation treatment and examine the factors associated with the rates of rehabilitation treatment in Korea. Methods: We used administrative claims data in 2007, 2012, and 2017 from the National Health Insurance Database in Korea. We defined physical therapy and occupational therapy as rehabilitation treatments and analyzed the rate of rehabilitation treatments for administrative districts in 2007, 2012, and 2017. Interdecile range and coefficient of variation were used to investigate the geographic distribution of rehabilitation treatment over time. We applied multiple random intercept negative binomial regression to examine the factors associated with rehabilitation treatment. A total of 28,319,614 inpatient and outpatient claims were submitted for 874 hospitals that provided rehabilitation treatment in 2007, 2012, and 2017. Results: The increase in the mean rates of physical therapy inpatients and outpatients was greater than those for occupational therapy inpatients and outpatients from 2007 to 2017. Both physical therapy and occupational therapy were concentrated in the Seoul Capital Area and other large urban areas. More than 30% of the districts received no rehabilitation treatment. The interdecile range and coefficient of variation for physical therapy declined more than those for occupational therapy from 2007 to 2017. The deprivation index was negatively correlated with physical therapy inpatients, physical therapy outpatients, occupational therapy inpatients, and occupational therapy outpatients. Furthermore, a 1-unit increase in the number of hospital beds per 1,000 people was associated with 1.42 times higher physical therapy inpatient, 1.44 times higher physical therapy outpatient, 2.14 times higher occupational therapy inpatient, and 3.30 times higher occupational therapy outpatient treatment. Conclusion To reduce the geographic inequality in rehabilitation treatment, it is necessary to narrow the gap between the supply and demand of rehabilitation services. Providing incentives or direct provisions from the government might be an alternative.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) has been recognized as a medically complex and life-disrupting condition. As the aging of the population accelerates, the trend of SCI has changed. This review aimed to provide comprehensive statistics and recent epidemiological changes in SCI and rehabilitation in Korea. All three insurance databases (National Health Insurance Service [NHIS], automobile insurance [AUI], and industrial accident compensation insurance [IACI]) were considered. These nationwide databases provide data on the current trends in term of incidence, etiology, and rehabilitation of SCI. Traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) was more frequent among the elderly in the NHIS compared to working age individuals in the AUI and IACI. In all three trauma-related insurance databases, male with TSCI outnumbered female. TSCI incidence per year was approximately 17 times higher among males than females, on average, in IACI. In all three insurances, the cervical level of TSCI was the most frequent. Although the ratio of SCI patients receiving rehabilitation treatment at primary and secondary hospitals increased for nine years, the increase in training on activities of daily living (ADL training) was found to be relatively small. This review provides a broader and comprehensive understanding of the incidence, etiology, and rehabilitation treatment of SCI in Korea.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the frequency and reasons for rehospitalization in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) living in the community. METHOD: A total 388 patients with SCI living in community participated in the nationwide questionnaire-based study. A self-administered questionnaire was used. RESULTS: Of the 459 patients originally enrolled, 388 completed questionnaires, yielding response rate of 84.5%. The reasons for rehospitalization were SCI related complications (71.7%), periodic health evaluation (44.7%), and other causes (28.3%). The most frequent SCI related complications for rehospitalization were urinary tract infections (45.2%), pressure sores (39.7%), fever (18.3%), pain (18.3%), and autonomic dysreflexia (7.6%). The number of rehospitalized cases due to SCI related complication including urinary tract infection was significantly higher in complete SCI. Rehospitalization due to pressures sore was more frequent in people with paraplegia, male and complete injuries. CONCLUSION: In our study, 71.7% of patients with SCI experienced rehospitalization for SCI related complication after initial hospitalization. Urinary tract infection and pressure sores were the most common SCI related complications for rehospitalization.
Autonomic Dysreflexia ; Fever ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Male ; Paraplegia ; Pressure Ulcer ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Spinal Cord ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; Urinary Tract Infections

OBJECTIVE: To find out the actual state of smoking, which is one of major risk factors of cardiovascular diseases after spinal cord injury (SCI), of community-dwelling persons with SCI, and the differences of smoking behaviors from general populations. METHOD: The persons with SCI living in community drew up a self-report paper-based questionnaires which were made up based on The third Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey questionnaires for data comparisons. Demographic data, smoking duration, amount, cessation attempt and plan were asked. RESULTS: Questionnaires were sent to 459 persons with SCI and 332 persons from twenties to sixties were finally analysed. In men, the lifetime smoking rates of SCI subjects in their forties and fifties were lower and the current smoking rate of tetraplegic subjects in their forties and fifties were lower than those of general population. But the amount of smoking and attempt to stop smoking were of no differences. In women, there were no significant differences in all parameters. CONCLUSION: There were no significant differences in smoking rates and amounts between SCI patients and general populations, but smokers with SCI showed weak intention to cease smoking.
Cardiovascular Diseases ; Female ; Humans ; Intention ; Korea ; Male ; Nutrition Surveys ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Spinal Cord ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; Tobacco Products

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the capsular stiffness of the glenohumeral joint by measuring the slope of pressure-volume curves generated during intra-articular hydraulic distension (IHD) and analyze its correlation with clinical variables and outcomes in terms of limitation of range of motion (LOM) and severity of pain. METHOD: IHD with real-time intra-articular pressure monitoring was performed for 53 patients with adhesive capsulitis and the capsular stiffness was measured from pressure-volume curves by calculating the slope of elastic deformation region. LOM, measured by LOM score and sum of ROMs (range of motion), and degree of pain, measured by visual analog scale (VAS), were evaluated before and after IHD: three days (3D) and one month (1M) after IHD. RESULTS: In patients with stiffer capsules, LOM and pain were severe before IHD (Pearson's correlation coefficient (r)= 0.291, -0.348, 0.381 and p=0.065, 0.026, 0.014 for LOM score, sum of ROMs and VAS, respectively. By this order, henceforth). On 3D follow up, the correlation between the stiffness and LOM or pain was maintained (r=0.291, -0.348, 0.381 and p=0.065, 0.026, 0.014). The improvement of LOM score on 3D follow up was less as the capsules were stiffer (r=-0.368, p=0.023). On 1M follow up, LOM remained severer in stiffer capsules whereas pain did not (r=0.372, -0.402, 0.183 and p=0.039, 0.025, 0.342). CONCLUSION: The stiffness of the glenohumeral joint capsule, measured from the slope of pressure-volume curves during IHD, showed significant correlation with the severity of LOM and pain in patients with adhesive capsulitis of shoulder.
Adhesives ; Bursitis ; Capsules ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Shoulder ; Shoulder Joint

Pure epidural cavernous hemangiomas of the spinal canal are extremely rare. We describe a case of lumbar epidural hemangioma suspected as a lumbar radiculopathy in a 78-year-old man who presented with a 1-month history of the low back pain and right lower extremity pain. An electrodiagnostic study demonstrated right L4 radiculopathy. Noncontrast magnetic resonance image (MRI) showed a nodular lesion suggestive of a sequestered disc with compression of right L4 root, most likely. Contrast MRI revealed an oval enhancing nodular lesion, 1.4x0.5 cm in size, indicative of a hemangioma in right anterior epidural space at L4 level. He underwent an excisional biopsy. The pathological diagnosis was cavernous hemangioma. His symptoms resolved after the operation. Spinal epidural cavernous hemangioma should be considered as a cause of a lumbar radiculopathy.
Aged ; Biopsy ; Caves ; Epidural Space ; Hemangioma ; Hemangioma, Cavernous ; Humans ; Low Back Pain ; Lower Extremity ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Radiculopathy ; Spinal Canal