Increased incidence of respiratory tract cancers in people living near Portland cement plants in Korea.

Purpose: Portland cement contains carcinogens such as chromium and free silica, and hence, inhalation of cement dust can cause respiratory tract cancers. The purpose of this study was to determine whether living near a cement plant increases the risk of respiratory tract cancers.

Methods: The study population consisted of 341,793 people, all of whom lived in administrative districts within 3-km radius of ten cement plants in Korea.

Emergency Department Visits for Asthma Exacerbation due to Weather Conditions and Air Pollution in Chuncheon, Korea: A Case-Crossover Analysis.

Purpose: This retrospective study was conducted to estimate the effects of climate factors and air pollution on asthma exacerbations using a case-crossover analysis.

Methods: Patients who visited the emergency department (ED) of 2 university hospitals in Chuncheon for asthma exacerbations from January 1, 2006, to December 31, 2011, were enrolled. Daily average data for meteorological factors (temperature, daily temperature range, relative humidity, wind speed, atmospheric pressure, presence of rain, solar irradiation, and presence of fog) and the daily average levels of gaseous air pollutants (SO₂, NO₂, O₃, CO, and PM10) were obtained.

National Priority Setting of Clinical Practice Guidelines Development for Chronic Disease Management.

By November 2013, a total of 125 clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) have been developed in Korea. However, despite the high burden of diseases and the clinical importance of CPGs, most chronic diseases do not have available CPGs. Merely 83 CPGs are related to chronic diseases, and only 40 guidelines had been developed in the last 5 yr.

Development of Quality Management Systems for Clinical Practice Guidelines in Korea.

This study introduces the Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) appraisal system by the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences (KAMS). Quality management policies for CPGs vary among different countries, which have their own cultures and health care systems. However, supporting developers in guideline development and appraisals using standardized tools are common practices.

Applying the RE-AIM Framework to Evaluate the Dissemination and Implementation of Clinical Practice Guidelines for Sexually Transmitted Infections.

Clinical practice guidelines (CPG) are one of the most effective ways to translate evidence of medical improvement into everyday practice. This study evaluated the dissemination and implementation of the Sexually Transmitted Infections-Korean Guidelines (STIKG) by applying the reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation and maintenance (RE-AIM) framework. A survey questionnaire was administered to clinicians via the internet.

Health behaviors of people with retinitis pigmentosa in the republic of Korea.

Purpose: To investigate the health behaviors of people with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) in the Republic of Korea.

Methods: An online questionnaire was used to survey members of the Korean Retinitis Pigmentosa Society (KRPS), over 3 months from December 2010 to February 2011. Controls were selected from participants of the 4th Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and were matched with people with RP using the propensity score method to optimize comparative analysis.

Improving the reliability of clinical practice guideline appraisals: effects of the Korean AGREE II scoring guide.

The Korean translated Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II (Korean AGREE II) instrument was distributed into Korean medical societies in 2011. However, inter-rater disagreement issues still exist. The Korean AGREE II scoring guide was therefore developed to reduce inter-rater differences.

Mental health of people with retinitis pigmentosa.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the mental health of patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) with that of the general population of Korea.

Methods: Online surveys were completed by patients registered with the KRPS (Korean Retinitis Pigmentosa Society), an online organization that promotes research on RP and provides advocacy and online and offline support and information for patients with RP. Control population was selected from the fourth round of the KNHANES (Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey).

Outcomes of operative treatment of unstable ankle fractures: a comparison of metallic and biodegradable implants.

Background: Biodegradable implants for internal fixation of ankle fractures may overcome some disadvantages of metallic implants, such as imaging interference and the potential need for additional surgery to remove the implants. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcomes after fixation of ankle fractures with biodegradable implants compared with metallic implants.

Methods: In this prospectively randomized study, 109 subjects with an ankle fracture underwent surgery with metallic (Group I) or biodegradable implants (Group II).

Differences in obesity rates between people with and without disabilities and the association of disability and obesity: a nationwide population study in South Korea.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to identify the differences in obesity rates among people with and without disabilities, and evaluate the relationship between obesity rates and the existence of disabilities or characteristics of disabilities.

Methods: Mass screening data from 2008 from the National Disability Registry and National Health Insurance (NHI) are used. For analysis, we classified physical disability into three subtypes: upper limb disability, lower limb disability, and spinal cord injury.

[The change in readmission rate, length of stay and hospital charge after performance reporting of hip hemiarthroplasty].

Objectives: We assessed impact of performance reporting information about the readmission rate, length of stay and cost of hip hemiarthroplasty.

Methods: The data are from a nationwide claims database, National Quality Improvement Project database, of Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service in Korea. From January 2006 to April 2008, we received information of length of stay, readmission within 30 days, cost of 22 851 hip hemiarthroplasty episodes.