Recently, several social issues have raised public concerns about a deficiency of doctors. The government says it will solve the problem by increasing the number of doctors, saying essential medical service is collapsing. However, the medical community argues that there is a fundamental problem with Korea’s health care delivery system. The government needs to take advice from the medical community to make policies in the right direction. And the press should no longer provide the public with misinformation that doctors and the public are opposed to. In this article, I would like to mention problems among current medical services and suggest healthcare policies for them.

Recently, several social issues have raised public concerns about a deficiency of doctors. The government says it will solve the problem by increasing the number of doctors, saying essential medical service is collapsing. However, the medical community argues that there is a fundamental problem with Korea’s health care delivery system. The government needs to take advice from the medical community to make policies in the right direction. And the press should no longer provide the public with misinformation that doctors and the public are opposed to. In this article, I would like to mention problems among current medical services and suggest healthcare policies for them.

Recently, several social issues have raised public concerns about a deficiency of doctors. The government says it will solve the problem by increasing the number of doctors, saying essential medical service is collapsing. However, the medical community argues that there is a fundamental problem with Korea’s health care delivery system. The government needs to take advice from the medical community to make policies in the right direction. And the press should no longer provide the public with misinformation that doctors and the public are opposed to. In this article, I would like to mention problems among current medical services and suggest healthcare policies for them.

Recently, several social issues have raised public concerns about a deficiency of doctors. The government says it will solve the problem by increasing the number of doctors, saying essential medical service is collapsing. However, the medical community argues that there is a fundamental problem with Korea’s health care delivery system. The government needs to take advice from the medical community to make policies in the right direction. And the press should no longer provide the public with misinformation that doctors and the public are opposed to. In this article, I would like to mention problems among current medical services and suggest healthcare policies for them.

In patients with sinusitis, nasal obstruction and purulent discharge from the maxillary sinus are frequently observed. Mostly, it responds to antibiotic treatment. But in case of not responding, although fungal infection is a rare entity, we have to consider fungal sinusitis. We recently experienced a case of acute aggravation of fungal maxillary sinusitis after zygomaplasty. Endoscopic sinus surgery was performed and foreign materials were observed inside the right maxillary sinus. They were gauzes, which had been used during previous surgery. Intraoperative examination demonstrated a dark brown, cheese-like material in the sinus. After surgery, the patient's symptoms disappeared gradually. The culture examination identified the surgical sample to be Trichosporon asahii. So we reported with a review of literature.
Humans ; Maxillary Sinus ; Maxillary Sinusitis ; Nasal Obstruction ; Sinusitis ; Trichosporon

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is one of the most common diseases that cause dizziness. It can be resolved relatively easily using canalith-repositioning maneuvers. However, some patients suffer from dizziness even after successful canalith-repositioning. This is an atypical dizziness felt in the absence of typical nystagmus after resolution of BPPV and named residual dizziness. Otolithic organ disorder, anxiety and persistence of debris in the canal have been reported to be associated with residual dizziness. Although 31-61% of BPPV patients suffer from residual dizziness, residual dizziness has not yet been clearly known not only the treatment but also the pathophysiology. This article investigate the factors associated with residual dizziness and treatment and prediction methods for residual dizziness.

Background and Objectives: This study aimed to investigate whether benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) accompanied by temporal bone fracture would be more resistant to canalith repositioning procedures (CRPs) than idiopathic BPPV.Subjects and Method Seventy-eight patients with BPPV were included in this study. Among them, 13 patients had temporal bone fractures and 65 had no temporal bone fractures. To identify the factors related to the number of CRPs performed until the remission of BPPV, sex, age, the presence of temporal bone fracture, hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia or osteopenia, BPPV affected side, and the type of affected semicircular canal were analyzed using the univariable regression analysis. Thereafter, the multivariable regression analysis was performed using only the variables that had a p-value of 0.2 or less in the univariable analysis. Results: In the univariable analysis, temporal bone fracture, diabetes mellitus, and BPPV side showed relatively significant association with the number of CRPs (p<0.2). In the multivariable analysis, only temporal bone fracture showed a significant association with the number of CRPs (p=0.043, β=0.532, 95% CI: 0.017-1.046). Conclusion The major finding of this study is that BPPV, accompanied by temporal bone fracture, precipitated more resistance to CRPs than idiopathic BPPV did. Thus, patients with temporal bone fracture might need more intensive examination and treatment for BPPV than those without temporal bone fracture.

Although brain infusion cannula is a good method to deliver compounds directly into the brain, fixation of the brain infusion cannula is essential for successful delivery. Dental cements and adhesive gel are the commonly used materials for fixation of the infusion cannula. However, these materials take time to harden and occasionally, fixation may fail. Therefore, we developed a novel method to fix the brain infusion cannula. Brain infusion cannulas were implanted into seven Wistar rats using the novel tie method. One, three, and seven days after the surgery, displacement of the brain infusion cannula and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage were evaluated in all the rats. None of the animals showed displacement of the brain infusion cannula or leakage of CSF at any point of time. In this study, we showed the successful results of the novel tie method for fixation of the brain infusion cannula, which needs no additional materials. It only requires a thread which is used for skin sutures.

Intratympanic injection has emerged as a novel approach to bypass the blood-labyrinth barrier and effectively deliver drugs into the inner ear. This technique is used for treatment of various inner ear diseases and overcomes the limitations of systemic drug therapy. In this paper, we provide an overview of the application of intratympanic injection using steroids and gentamicin and highlight the major diseases and summarize the reported efficacy of this approach.Current Concepts: Intratympanic steroid injections have been used for treatment of various inner ear diseases, including sudden sensorineural hearing loss, Ménière disease, and tinnitus. Therapeutic effects of steroids include reducing inflammation, modulating the immune response, improving cochlear blood flow, and maintaining ion homeostasis. Intratympanic gentamicin injections are primarily used to minimize hearing loss and control vertigo symptoms in patients with Ménière disease. Gentamicin selectively injures vestibular hair cells with minimal ototoxicity compared with other aminoglycoside antibiotics.Discussion and Conclusion: Intratympanic injections offer several advantages, including targeted drug delivery, minimal systemic adverse effects, and rapid action. Reportedly, intratympanic steroid injections used as primary or salvage treatment are associated with positive outcomes in patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Ménière disease also shows positive outcomes following intratympanic steroid and gentamicin injections. However, studies have reported conflicting results, and further research is required to standardize dosing and administration protocols. Intratympanic injections are a promising therapeutic option, and ongoing research is essential to optimize their efficacy and safety.

Several bills were proposed during the 20th and 21st National Assemblies to grant special judicial police powers to employees of the National Health Insurance Corporation (NHIC) to improve the low recovery rate of unfair profits collected by non-medical practitioner hospitals. The Ministry of Health and Welfare made a pre-announcement of legislation regarding the revision of the Enforcement Decree of the Medical Law, aiming to delegate certain enforcement responsibilities, including investigations into illegally established hospitals. This study discusses the contents and issues related to the bill, focusing on the revision of the Enforcement Decree of Medical Law and the bill proposed by the 21st National Assembly. Furthermore, it proposes improvements to address the challenges posed by non-medical practitioner hospitals.Current Concepts: We pointed out concerns regarding the bill to grant special judicial police powers to NHIC employees, such as the potential infringement of basic rights due to a lack of expertise among these special judicial police, a reversal of procedural thinking, challenges in identifying illegal hospitals, the appropriateness of granting investigative rights to NHIC employees, and the risk of abuse of these rights.Discussion and Conclusion: We propose strengthening the establishment, operations, and supervision of medical corporations; introducing a preliminary monitoring system for the establishment of medical institutions through branches of medical personnel organizations; and implementing a leniency program.