This paper aims to examine the factors that affect the amount of official development assistance (ODA) a developing country receives for healthcare by the Korean government. We empirically tested to what extent the amount of Korea's ODA in health care services, infrastructure, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis are affected by the relevant demand factors in the recipient countries. To do so, we carried out country-level multivariate regression analyses by setting the amount of ODA for four health care sectors as dependent variables and the relevant demand factors and economic factors as independent variables. A panel dataset was constructed by combining ODA data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and World Development Indicators. The analyses showed that the ODA for health care in Korea is partly meeting the recipient's health care needs. In particular, the recipients with a smaller number of physicians are likely to receive more ODA for medical services. Meanwhile, the amount of international trade with Korea is likely to affect the amount of ODA for medical services. However, disease factors, such as prevalence of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, did not positively affect the amount of ODA for those diseases. These results indicate that Korea's ODA system for health care needs to be improved to meet the demand of the recipients in order to achieve the humanitarian objectives set by the international community. We hope that the medical community and the government of Korea can cooperate in setting the global policy agenda for health care ODA based on concrete evidence-based healthcare policy research.
Delivery of Health Care ; Developing Countries ; Health Care Sector ; Korea ; Prevalence ; Tuberculosis

BACKGROUND: We designed this double-blind, placebo-controlled study to compare the efficacy of remifentanil in reducing the pain of both propofol and rocuronium injection during rapid-sequence induction. METHODS: Ninety-five patients, scheduled for elective surgery under general anesthesia, were divided into 3 groups: saline (Group S, n = 31), remifentanil 1 microg/kg (Group R, n = 32), and lidocaine 1.5 mg/kg (Group L, n = 32) were administered after tourniquet application. The occlusion was released after 1 min and 5 ml of 1% propofol was injected over 10 s. Pain on propofol injection was evaluated by a 10-point verbal numeric rating scale (VNRS). The rest of the induction dose of propofol and 1 mg/kg of rocuronium, were injected. Pain on rocuronium injection was evaluated by a four-point score (FPS). RESULTS: The VNRS of propofol injection was as follows: R (0.78) = L (1.34) < S (4.26). The incidence of withdrawal response due to rocuronium was as follows: R (6.3%) < L (53.1%) < S (83.9%). The FPS of rocuronium injection was as follows: R (0.81) < L (1.78) < S (2.93). CONCLUSIONS: Pretreatment with a bolus of remifentanil was effective in simultaneously reducing injection pain of propofol and rocuronium. In addition, remifentanil pretreatment was more effective in suppression of withdrawal response by rocuronium than lidocaine.
Androstanols ; Anesthesia, General ; Humans ; Incidence ; Lidocaine ; Piperidines ; Propofol ; Tourniquets

OBJECTIVE: Propofol and volatile anesthesia have been associated with metabolic acidosis induced by increased lactate. This study was designed to evaluate changes in pH, base excess (BE), and lactate in response to different anesthetic agents and to characterize propofol infusion-associated lactic acidosis. METHODS: The medical records of patients undergoing neurosurgical anesthesia between January 2005 and September 2012 were examined. Patients were divided into 2 groups : those who received propofol (total intravenous anesthesia, TIVA) and those who received sevoflurane (balanced inhalation anesthesia, BIA) anesthesia. Propensity analysis was performed (1 : 1 match, n=47), and the characteristics of the patients who developed severe acidosis were recorded. RESULTS: In the matched TIVA and BIA groups, the incidence of metabolic acidosis (11% vs. 13%, p=1) and base excess (p>0.05) were similar. All patients in the TIVA group who developed severe acidosis did so within 4 hours of the initiation of propofol infusion, and these patients improved when propofol was discontinued. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of metabolic acidosis was similar during neurosurgical anesthesia with propofol or sevoflurane. In addition, severe acidosis associated with propofol infusion appears to be reversible when propofol is discontinued.
Acidosis* ; Acidosis, Lactic ; Anesthesia* ; Anesthesia, Inhalation ; Anesthesia, Intravenous ; Anesthetics ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Incidence ; Lactic Acid ; Medical Records ; Neurosurgery ; Propofol* ; Retrospective Studies*

No abstract available.
Humans ; Liver Transplantation* ; Liver*

No abstract available.
Cadaver ; Humans ; Hypernatremia ; Liver ; Liver Transplantation ; Myelinolysis, Central Pontine ; Tissue Donors

We report a case of increased values of entropy parameters Response Entropy (RE) and State Entropy (SE) during intravenous general anesthesia in a sleepwalking patient. An ASA class II, 64-year-old woman with stress incontinence underwent mid-urethral sling surgery. Prior to surgery, the patient had been administered paroxetine, valproic acid and clonazepam for the treatment of sleepwalking disorder. After 10 min of target-controlled infusion of propofol and remifentanil, entropy values increased up to 94 (RE) and 88 (SE) for 10 min. The target effect-site concentrations of anesthetics increased from 4 to 7 microg/ml propofol and 4 ng/ml remifentanil, at which point values fell back to adequate anesthesia levels. Episodes of recall or of explicit memories did not occur during the anesthesia. In conclusion, sleepwalking patients with long-term use medications may need increment of anesthetic dose caused by the anesthetic drug metabolism activation or impairment or immaturity of inhibitory circuits in brain.
Anesthesia* ; Anesthesia, General ; Anesthetics ; Brain ; Clonazepam ; Entropy* ; Female ; Humans ; Metabolism ; Middle Aged ; Paroxetine ; Propofol* ; Somnambulism* ; Suburethral Slings ; Valproic Acid

We report a case of increased values of entropy parameters Response Entropy (RE) and State Entropy (SE) during intravenous general anesthesia in a sleepwalking patient. An ASA class II, 64-year-old woman with stress incontinence underwent mid-urethral sling surgery. Prior to surgery, the patient had been administered paroxetine, valproic acid and clonazepam for the treatment of sleepwalking disorder. After 10 min of target-controlled infusion of propofol and remifentanil, entropy values increased up to 94 (RE) and 88 (SE) for 10 min. The target effect-site concentrations of anesthetics increased from 4 to 7 microg/ml propofol and 4 ng/ml remifentanil, at which point values fell back to adequate anesthesia levels. Episodes of recall or of explicit memories did not occur during the anesthesia. In conclusion, sleepwalking patients with long-term use medications may need increment of anesthetic dose caused by the anesthetic drug metabolism activation or impairment or immaturity of inhibitory circuits in brain.
Anesthesia* ; Anesthesia, General ; Anesthetics ; Brain ; Clonazepam ; Entropy* ; Female ; Humans ; Metabolism ; Middle Aged ; Paroxetine ; Propofol* ; Somnambulism* ; Suburethral Slings ; Valproic Acid

BACKGROUND: In cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), hyperlactatemia (HL) is common and is associated with postoperative morbidity and mortality. At present, the cause of HL during CPB is proposed to be tissue hypoxia. Tissue perfusion and oxygen delivery can be impaired to varying degrees during CPB. Although surgery involving CPB apparatus is associated with increased pro-inflammatory mediators, such as TNF-alpha and IL-6, tissue hypoxia that occurs during CPB may be an additionally potent stimulus to inflammation. We hypothesized that hypoxic patients during CPB that experience elevated serum lactate levels, may be related to higher serum cytokine level after CPB than normoxic patients during CPB with normal serum lactate levels. METHODS: Levels of TNF-alpha and IL-6 were measured by ELISA in a) Time 1; before initiation of CPB, b) Time 2; 30 min after aortic de-clamping, c) Time 3; 24 hrs after aortic de-clamping. Levels of lactate was measured at a) Time A; before initiation of CPB, b) Time B; 30 min after aortic de-clamping. Postoperative ICU stay, intubation time and oxygen index were evaluated as postoperative morbidity scale. RESULTS: There were no statistical differences between HL (n = 43, lactate > or =3 mMol/L at time B) and normal lactate group (NL) (n = 63, lactate <3 mMol/L at time B) in demographic data, preoperative left ventricular ejection fraction, CPB time, and aortic cross-clamp time. Level of IL-6 in HL at time 3 was higher than that of NL. The ICU stay and intubation time were longer in HL. The oxygen index on 1st postoperative day was lower in HL. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that hyperlactatemia after weaning from CPB may be related to IL-6 hypercytokinemia, and therefore related to postoperative morbidity.
Anoxia ; Cardiopulmonary Bypass ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Interleukin-6 ; Intubation ; Lactic Acid ; Oxygen ; Perfusion ; Stroke Volume ; Thoracic Surgery ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; Weaning

A 33-yr old female patient with coagulation factor VII deficiency was scheduled for laparoscopic oophorectomy under the diagnosis of ovarian teratoma. Plasma concentration of factor VII of this patient was 9 IU/dl (normal range; 60-140 IU/dl) and the prothrombin time INR (International Normalization Ratio) was 1.79 (normal range; 0.8-1.2) on the day before the operation. Total 1,200microgram (30microgram/kg) of recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) was administered just before the start of the laparoscopic procedure, which was accomplished safely without severe hemorrhage or other complications. Postoperative course was uneventful. In addition, this article provides the clinical implication of rFVIIa in terms of hemostasis management in hemophiliacs and surgical patients.
Blood Coagulation ; Blood Coagulation Factors* ; Diagnosis ; Factor VII* ; Factor VIIa* ; Female ; Hemorrhage ; Hemostasis ; Humans ; International Normalized Ratio ; Ovariectomy ; Plasma ; Prothrombin Time ; Teratoma

Levator ani syndrome (LAS) is a functional disorder of the pelvic floor muscles in which recurrent and persistent distressing pain is felt in the anus without detectable organic pathology. Eighty one percent of coccygodynia was alleviated by the levator massage when the massage motion was repeated 10 to 15 times on each side of the pelvis daily for 5 or 6 days. The authors encountered the LAS patient for whom successive visit to pain clinic was economic burden. Therefore, the authors managed the patient by intermittent levator massage with caudal block, once a week for 3 times, resulting in two years of pain free status. Intermittent levator massage with caudal block may be as effective as successive levator massage and induce longer painless period in the management of LAS.
Anal Canal ; Anus Diseases ; Humans ; Massage ; Muscles ; Pain ; Pain Clinics ; Pelvic Floor ; Pelvis