Background: Pharmacists communicate with a variety of healthcare experts to prevent medication errors. Situation-BackgroundAssessment-Recommendation (SBAR) is a tool used for concise and accurate communication. In 2018, we developed the pharmacy-SBAR (P-SBAR) to deliver pharmacists intervention more quickly and effectively through quality improvement activities. Objectives: This study evaluates the efficacy of P-SBAR on pharmacists’ intervention activities before and after the implementation of P-SBAR applications. We assessed the impact of P-SBAR on reducing the burden of intervention work, promoting pharmacists’ participation, and enhancing the acceptance rate. Methods: This is a retrospective study of the two groups before and after P-SBAR implementation. All pharmacists’ intervention records during two periods (2016-2017 and 2019-2020) were extracted from the data warehouse system at Kyunghee University Hospital at Gangdong, Seoul. The outcome was the number of inpatients and pharmacists who participated in the prescription monitoring activity, the number of interventions, and the physicians’ acceptance rate. Results: Although the total number of inpatients decreased (364,753 vs. 348,229), the number of pharmacists who participated in intervention activity increased (monthly mean: 15.8 vs. 18.0, p=0.001). The total number of interventions (2,767 vs. 4,389), the frequency of full acceptance (2,018 vs. 3,710), and the monthly acceptance rate increased significantly (73.8% vs. 83.8%, p<0.001). Conclusion P-SBAR improved accessibility and convenience by digitalizing the intervention activities performed in an offline environment. Improvement in work burden and acceptance rate using P-SBAR is expected to contribute toward reducing medication errors.

BACKGROUND: Adjuvant arthritic animals show immunologic and inflammatory features which are also observed in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. This study investigated whether high dose vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) has any additional anti-inflammatory or analgesic effects, or both, in Complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) induced arthritic rat model. METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats (300-350 g, n = 3) underwent testing up to 26 days after induction of the model. Vitamin E (100 mg/kg) or vehicle was given daily intraperitoneally (IP) for 10 or 20 days following induction. Thus, groups were as follows: group 1, untreated, n = 3; group 2, CFA + vehicle, n = 10; group 3, CFA + vitamin E for 10 days, n = 10; group 4, CFA + vitamin E for 20 days, n = 10. Parameters compared between groups included ankle circumference, range of articulation of the arthritic joint, extravasation of plasma proteins in the tissues around the arthritic joint and sensory withdrawal threshold to von Frey filament mechanical stimulation. RESULTS: Compared to CFA rats administered drug vehicle, those given vitamin E for 20 days exhibited a reduction in all symptoms of monoarthritis, including less ipsilateral ankle swelling, reduced loss of the range of joint articulation, low plasma extravasation and reversal of the decrease in sensory withdrawal threshold. But, vitamin E for 10 days has only analgesic effect until 10 days. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed relatively long duration of high-dose vitamin E treatment have anti-inflammatory and early onset analgesic effects. The findings raise the possibility of high dose vitamin E, or potentially other antioxidants, as adjuvant therapy for alleviation of symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.
Animals ; Ankle ; Antioxidants ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Blood Proteins ; Freund's Adjuvant ; Humans ; Joints ; Male ; Models, Animal ; Pain Measurement ; Plasma ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Vitamin E* ; Vitamins*

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the risk of fractures related with zolpidem in elderly insomnia patients. METHODS: Health claims data on the entire South Korean elderly population from January 2005 to June 2006 were extracted from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service database. We applied a case-crossover design. Cases were defined as insomnia patients who had a fracture diagnosis. We set the hazard period of 1 day length prior to the fracture date and four control periods of the same length at 5, 10, 15, and 20 weeks prior to the fracture date. Time independent confounding factors such as age, gender, lifestyle, cognitive function level, mobility, socioeconomic status, residential environment, and comorbidity could be controlled using the casecrossover design. Time dependent confounding factors, especially co-medication of patients during the study period, were adjusted by conditional logistic regression analysis. The odds ratios and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated for the risk of fracture related to zolpidem. RESULTS: One thousand five hundred and eight cases of fracture were detected in insomnia patients during the study period. In our data, the use of zolpidem increased the risk of fracture significantly (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.72; 95% CI, 1.37 to 2.16). However, the association between benzodiazepine hypnotics and the risk of fracture was not statistically significant (aOR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.21). Likewise, the results were not statistically significant in stratified analysis with each benzodiazepine generic subgroup. CONCLUSIONS: Zolpidem could increase the risk of fracture in elderly insomnia patients. Therefore zolpidem should be prescribed carefully and the elderly should be provided with sufficient patient education.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Benzodiazepines/adverse effects/therapeutic use ; Cross-Over Studies ; Female ; Fractures, Bone/chemically induced/*epidemiology ; Humans ; Hypnotics and Sedatives/adverse effects/therapeutic use ; Male ; Odds Ratio ; Pyridines/*adverse effects/*therapeutic use ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Risk Assessment ; Risk Factors ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders/*drug therapy

This study was performed to describe the patterns of healthcare switching with overlapping use of anti-diabetic medication in the elderly using the Korea Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service's claims data. The study subjects were ambulatory elderly diabetic patients (ICD-10, E10-14) receiving at least one oral anti-diabetic drug or insulin, and visiting healthcare facilities more than two times between January and December 2005. A total of 457,975 elderly diabetic ambulatory care patients were identified. The mean of visiting frequencies was 9.0 ( +/- 3.6) and switching frequencies was 1.5 ( +/- 0.8) during 2005. Switching group consisted of 33% of total study subject. Healthcare switching was common in female patients who were older, and had treated polytherapy more in rural areas. The movement among primary care medical services was very common among the patients in the switching group (52.6%). A statistically significant correlation was observed between the healthcare switching and concomitant drug use (rho = 0.96), and overlapping days (rho = 0.57). The use of overlapping anti-diabetic medication increased with the extent of healthcare switching. Further, frequent switching of healthcare between primary clinics was observed. Efforts should be made to establish continuity for the elderly diabetic patients with the identification of frequent switching with overlapping medication.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; *Continuity of Patient Care ; Delivery of Health Care ; Diabetes Mellitus/*drug therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Hypoglycemic Agents/*administration & dosage ; Male ; *Medication Errors ; Physician's Practice Patterns ; Republic of Korea

This study was conducted to investigate disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) utilization in Korean elderly patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We used data from January 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006 from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service claims database. The study subjects were defined as patients aged 65 yr or older with at least two claims with a diagnosis of RA. DMARD use was compared by the patients' age-group, gender, medical service, and geographic divisions. The patterns of DMARD use in mono- and combination therapy were calculated. RA medication use was calculated by the number of defined daily doses (DDD)/1,000 patients/day. A total of 166,388 patients were identified during the study period. DMARD use in RA patients was 12.0%. The proportion of DMARD use was higher in the younger elderly, females, and patients treated in big cities. Hydroxychloroquine was the most commonly used DMARD in monotherapy, and most of the combination therapies prescribed it with methotrexate. DMARD use in elderly RA patients was noticeably low, although drug prescriptions showed an increasing trend during the study period, clinicians may need to pay more attention to elderly RA patients.
Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antirheumatic Agents/*therapeutic use ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/*drug therapy ; Databases, Factual ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Female ; Humans ; Hydroxychloroquine/therapeutic use ; Male ; Methotrexate/therapeutic use ; National Health Programs ; Retrospective Studies ; Sex Factors

We aimed to determine the characteristic adverse events (AEs) of iodinated contrast media (IOCM) and to compare the safety profiles of different IOCM. This study used the database of AEs reports submitted by healthcare professionals from 15 Regional Pharmacovigilance Centers between June 24, 2009 and December 31, 2010 in Korea. All reports of IOCM, including iopromide, iohexol, iopamidol, iomeprol, ioversol, iobitridol and iodixanol, were analyzed. Safety profiles were compared between different IOCM at the system organ level using the proportional reporting ratio (PRR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI). Among a total of 48,261 reports, 6,524 (13.5%) reports were related to the use of IOCM. Iopromide (45.5%), iohexol (16.9%), iopamidol (14.3%) and iomeprol (10.3%) were identified as frequently reported media. 'Platelet, bleeding & clotting disorders' (PRR, 29.6; 95%CI, 1.9-472.6) and 'urinary system disorders' (PRR, 22.3; 95% CI, 17.1-29.1) were more frequently reported for iodixanol than the other IOCM. In conclusion, the frequency of AEs by organ class was significantly different between individual media. These differences among different IOCM should be considered when selecting a medium among various IOCM and when monitoring patients during and after its use to ensure optimum usage and patient safety.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Blood Platelet Disorders/chemically induced ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Contrast Media/*adverse effects/diagnostic use ; Databases, Factual ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Iodine Radioisotopes/chemistry ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasms/radionuclide imaging ; Radiopharmaceuticals/*adverse effects/diagnostic use ; Urologic Diseases/chemically induced ; Young Adult

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to identify risk factors for new onset diabetes after transplantation (NODAT) among renal transplant recipients treated with tacrolimus-based immunosuppressant. METHODS: We selected renal transplant recipients who underwent surgery at Samsung Seoul Hospital between May 2001 and July 2009. Exclusion criteria were as follows: recipients <18 years old, history of diabetes mellitus (DM) or impaired glucose tolerance. Analysis of possible risk factors for NODAT included age, gender, body mass index, co-morbid diseases, family history of DM, infection of hepatitis B or polyomavirus, type of donors (cadaver or living) and acute rejection. Overall incidence and median value of NODAT onset day were analyzed with Kaplan-Meier curve. We calculated crude incidence rate and relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for independent risk factors of NODAT using Cox proportional hazard analysis. RESULTS: A total of 278 patients were included and the incidence of NODAT was 13.3% (5.6/100 person-year) and the median duration of NODAT onset was 28 days. In Cox analysis, risk factors for NODAT were age (45-59 years: RR=1.41, 95% CI 1.09-1.83, 60> years: RR=4.36, 95% CI 2.00-9.49), family history of DM (RR=1.62, 95% CI 1.12-2.34) and polyomavirus infection (RR=1.40, 95% CI 1.08-1.81). CONCLUSION: The risk factors for NODAT among renal transplant recipients treated with tacrolimus-based regimen were age (>45 years old), family history of DM and polyomavirus infection.
Body Mass Index ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Glucose ; Hepatitis B ; Humans ; Incidence ; Kidney Transplantation ; Polyomavirus ; Polyomavirus Infections ; Rejection (Psychology) ; Risk Factors ; Tacrolimus ; Tissue Donors ; Transplants

A diet habit, which is developed in childhood, lasts for a life time. In this sense, nutrition education and early exposure to healthy menus in childhood is important. Children these days have easy access to the internet. Thus, a web-based nutrition education program for children is an effective tool for nutrition education of children. This site provides the material of the nutrition education for children with characters which are personified nutrients. The 151 menus are stored in the site together with video script of the cooking process. The menus are classified by the criteria based on age, menu type and the ethnic origin of the menu. The site provides a search function. There are three kinds of search conditions which are key words, menu type and "between" expression of nutrients such as calorie and other nutrients. The site is developed with the operating system Windows 2003 Server, the web server ZEUS 5, development language JSP, and database management system Oracle 10 g.
Child ; Cooking ; Database Management Systems ; Food Habits ; Humans ; Internet

The Committee of Clinical Practice Guidelines of the Korean Diabetes Association (KDA) updated the previous clinical practice guidelines for Korean adults with diabetes and prediabetes and published the seventh edition in May 2021. We performed a comprehensive systematic review of recent clinical trials and evidence that could be applicable in real-world practice and suitable for the Korean population. The guideline is provided for all healthcare providers including physicians, diabetes experts, and certified diabetes educators across the country who manage patients with diabetes or the individuals at the risk of developing diabetes mellitus. The recommendations for screening diabetes and glucose-lowering agents have been revised and updated. New sections for continuous glucose monitoring, insulin pump use, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in patients with diabetes mellitus have been added. The KDA recommends active vaccination for coronavirus disease 2019 in patients with diabetes during the pandemic. An abridgement that contains practical information for patient education and systematic management in the clinic was published separately.

In May 2023, the Committee of Clinical Practice Guidelines of the Korean Diabetes Association published the revised clinical practice guidelines for Korean adults with diabetes and prediabetes. We incorporated the latest clinical research findings through a comprehensive systematic literature review and applied them in a manner suitable for the Korean population. These guidelines are designed for all healthcare providers nationwide, including physicians, diabetes experts, and certified diabetes educators who manage patients with diabetes or individuals at risk of developing diabetes. Based on recent changes in international guidelines and the results of a Korean epidemiological study, the recommended age for diabetes screening has been lowered. In collaboration with the relevant Korean medical societies, recently revised guidelines for managing hypertension and dyslipidemia in patients with diabetes have been incorporated into this guideline. An abridgment containing practical information on patient education and systematic management in the clinic was published separately.