The objectives of the study were to provide the basic informations needed in the development of balanced medical services throughout the nation. As the national health care system was expanding rapidly along with the economic growth, quantitative re-evaluation of the system is of great need. For that reason, characteristics of the admitted patients were analyzed for the case-mix and patients' flow within and through regions. Materials were 421,530 cases of inpatients, who were reported through Medical Insurance Corporation(KMIC) for insurance claim, during the period of March 1, 1985 through February 28, 1987. Korean Diagnosis Related Groups(K-DRGs) classification system was adopted for the study of case-mix and 189 cities and countries were classified into 5 district groups by factor analysis results of K-DRGs. The major findings of this study were as follows ; 1) Factor analysis of case-mix, employing K-DRG system, revealed 5 distinct functional district groups. Group A(18 district) was prominent for tertiary medical care. In group B(36 districts), rather simple procedures were prevalent. Group C(26 districts) was distinctive for the medical care of well organized internal medicine practices with qualified clinical laboratories. Group D(17 districts) was characterized by relatively high balanced medical care. Group E (92 districts) was with very low level of medical care. 2) Analysis of the case-flow through the districts showed 3 types of flow patterns ; inflow, outflow, and balanced types. Inflow type of case-flow was found in Group A, C and D while Group B and E showed outflow type. Inflow was most prominent in Group A and Group E was of typical outflow type. Group B was consistently the outflow type except for Major Diagnostic Category XX regardless of the disease treaders, but Group C and D were inflow or outflow types according to the disease tracers.
Classification ; Delivery of Health Care* ; Diagnosis ; Economic Development ; Factor Analysis, Statistical ; Humans ; Inpatients* ; Insurance ; Internal Medicine ; Rationalization

BACKGROUND: Little information exists concerning the amount of information patients aspects from physicians as to the risk for an adverse reaction of medication. The present study was designed to determine such opinions in a population sample and to determine whether patients believe Physicians should use discretion in the amount of such information given. METHODS: Five hundred fifty sequential adults visiting outpatient clinics filled out a 9-item questionnaire. The percentage of subjects desiring information about varying degrees of risk and those believing physicians should and should not use discretion in the amount of such information provided were recorded. The results were correlated with demographic variables and Previous experience of adverse effects. RESULTS: Among the respondents, 56.6% desired to be told of all possible adverse effects; 13.8% only if an adverse effect occurred in 1 out of 100,000; and 26.3% only if such occurrence was 1 in 100, 3.3% were not interested in any information. The Percentages were closely similar to those for the same question that restricted opinion to serious adverse effects. The opinion that physicians should give the same information to all patients comprised 41.8% of the sample, and 83.4% opinioned that physicians were never justified in withholding any information. CONCLUSIONS: Many individuals desire all information concerning possible adverse effects of prescribed medication from physicians and agree that the Physician use judgement on the amount of information given, but do not consider the physician to be justified in withholding information.
Adult ; Ambulatory Care Facilities ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Humans ; Informed Consent

BACKGROUND: During 2009 pandemic period, many Koreans were infected and admitted with Influenza A/H1N1. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate whether the structures of an intensive care unit (ICU) were associated with the outcomes of critically ill patients. METHODS: This retrospective observational study examined critically ill adult patients with influenza A/H1N1, who were admitted to 24 hospitals in Korea, from September 2009 to February 2010. We collected data of ICU structure, patients and 90 days mortality. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis, with backward elimination, were performed to determine the most significant risk factors. RESULTS: Of the 239 patients, mortality of 90 days was 43%. Acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) II score (p < 0.001), sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score (p < 0.0001), nurse to beds ratio (p = 0.039) and presence of intensivist (p = 0.024) were significant risk factors of 90 days mortality. Age (p = 0.123), gender (p = 0.304), hospital size (p = 0.260), and ICU type (p = 0.409) were insignificantly associated with mortality. In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, patients with less than 6 SOFA score had significantly lower mortality, compared with those with more than 10 SOFA score (odds ratio 0.156, p < 0.0001). The presence of intensivist had significantly lower mortality, compared with the absence (odds ratio 0.496, p = 0.026). CONCLUSIONS: In critically ill patients with influenza A/H1N1, the severity of the illness and presence of intensivist might be associated with 90 days mortality.
Adult ; APACHE ; Critical Illness ; Health Facility Size ; Humans ; Influenza, Human ; Critical Care ; Intensive Care Units ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Pandemics ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors

Numerous foreign bodies in the rectum have been reported in the literature. Their removal can be challenging depending on the size and shape of the objects and their anatomical location in the rectum. A 64-year-old man presented to the emergency department after inserting a sausage into his rectum. He had some rectal discomfort and lower abdominal pain. There were no signs of bowel perforation. We attempted to extract the sausage impacted in the recto-sigmoid junction by colonoscopy using a snare and grasping forceps but failed to extract the foreign body. Unfortunately, a colon perforation had occurred, and the sausage was eventually extracted by performing a colostomy at the recto-sigmoid junction with primary repair. We report this case of a soft rectal foreign body impacted in the recto-sigmoid colon complicated by a colon perforation with a literature review.
Abdominal Pain ; Colon ; Colonoscopy ; Colostomy ; Emergencies ; Foreign Bodies ; Hand Strength ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Rectum ; SNARE Proteins ; Surgical Instruments

BACKGROUND: Postoperative hypothermia and shivering is a frequent event in patients during cesarean section under spinal anesthesia. We assessed the effect of preoperative warming during cesarean delivery under spinal anesthesia for prevention of hypothermia and shivering. METHODS: Forty five patients undergoing elective cesarean section were randomly assigned to three groups. Group F received warmed intravenous fluid (40degrees C). Group A patients were actively warmed by forced air-warming. Group C was the control group. Forced air-warming and warmed fluid was maintained for the 15 min preceding spinal anesthesia. Core temperature (tympanic membrane) and the skin temperature of arm and thigh were measured and shivering was graded simultaneously. RESULTS: The core temperature at 45 min decreased less in Groups F and A than Group C (-0.5degrees C +/- 0.3degrees C vs -0.6degrees C +/- 0.4degrees C vs -0.9degrees C +/- 0.4degrees C, respectively; P = 0.004). The arm temperature at 15 min and 30 min exhibited a greater increase in Group A than Group F and Group C (P = 0.001 and P = 0.012, respectively). Leg temperature increased similarly among the three groups. The incidence of shivering was significantly less in Group A and Group F than Group C (20%, 13.3%, and 53.3%, respectively; P = 0.035). CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative forced air-warming and warmed fluid prevents hypothermia and shivering in patients undergoing elective cesarean delivery with spinal anesthesia.
Anesthesia, Spinal ; Arm ; Cesarean Section ; Female ; Humans ; Hypothermia ; Incidence ; Leg ; Pregnancy ; Shivering ; Skin Temperature ; Thigh

PURPOSE: The mandibular ramus sagittal split osteotomy is a common procedure in cosmetic surgery. A late complication of this procedure, pseudoaneurysm rarely happens. The purpose of this case is to present our experience that is rare late vascular complication after mandibular ramus sagittal split osteotomy. METHODS: A 21-year-old male was operated by local plastic surgeon for treatment of mandibular prognathism. After 9 days, the man was transferred to our hospital with persistent bleeding and swelling on the mandibular area. We operated the man three times and failed to control hemorrhage. Therefore, we did angiography and found the pseudoaneurysm on the buccal and pterygoid branches of internal maxillary artery. Then we did selective embolization for removal of the pseudoaneurysm. RESULTS: The man was operated using the therapeutic embolization, and the pseudoaneurysm was removed. The results were successful, and we couldn't find any bleeding and the pseudoaneurysm during the follow-up of 12 months. CONCLUSION: The selective embolization is the good therapeutic method of late vascular complication after mandibular ramus sagittal split osteotomy.
Aneurysm, False ; Angiography ; Embolization, Therapeutic ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Male ; Maxillary Artery ; Osteotomy* ; Prognathism ; Surgery, Plastic ; Young Adult

PURPOSE: The mandibular ramus sagittal split osteotomy is a common procedure in cosmetic surgery. A late complication of this procedure, pseudoaneurysm rarely happens. The purpose of this case is to present our experience that is rare late vascular complication after mandibular ramus sagittal split osteotomy. METHODS: A 21-year-old male was operated by local plastic surgeon for treatment of mandibular prognathism. After 9 days, the man was transferred to our hospital with persistent bleeding and swelling on the mandibular area. We operated the man three times and failed to control hemorrhage. Therefore, we did angiography and found the pseudoaneurysm on the buccal and pterygoid branches of internal maxillary artery. Then we did selective embolization for removal of the pseudoaneurysm. RESULTS: The man was operated using the therapeutic embolization, and the pseudoaneurysm was removed. The results were successful, and we couldn't find any bleeding and the pseudoaneurysm during the follow-up of 12 months. CONCLUSION: The selective embolization is the good therapeutic method of late vascular complication after mandibular ramus sagittal split osteotomy.
Aneurysm, False ; Angiography ; Embolization, Therapeutic ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Male ; Maxillary Artery ; Osteotomy* ; Prognathism ; Surgery, Plastic ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Right heart catheterization is traditionally performed using a femoral vein approach that involves admission, bed rest, and risks of bleeding and hematoma. Recent studies have confirmed safety of the use of forearm vein for right cardiac catheterization. In the present study, we evaluated the feasibility of right cardiac catheterization via the antecubital fossa vein in Korean patients. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The medical records of all patients who underwent right heart catheterization at our hospital between January 2003 and December 2014 were reviewed retrospectively. Right cardiac catheterizations via the antecubital fossa vein and the femoral vein were compared in terms of demographic data (age, sex, weight, height, and body mass index), indications for right cardiac catheterization, and procedural and outcome data (initial success rate, procedure time, compression to ambulation time, and complications). RESULTS: We reviewed 132 cases (antecubital fossa vein approach, n=37; femoral vein approach, n=95). The demographic data, initial success rate (100% vs. 100%) and procedure time (21.6±16.8 min vs. 25.6±12.6 min, p=0.14) were similar in both groups. The antecubital fossa vein group had a shorter mean compression to ambulation time than the femoral vein group (0.0 min vs. 201.2±48.1 min, p<0.01). No complications were observed in either group. CONCLUSION: Our study indicated the ease of performance of right cardiac catheterization via the antecubital fossa vein. Thus, the antecubital fossa vein can be an alternative access site for right cardiac catheterization in Korean patients.
Bed Rest ; Cardiac Catheterization* ; Cardiac Catheters* ; Femoral Vein ; Forearm ; Hematoma ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Retrospective Studies ; Veins* ; Walking