Health System Development and Performance in Korea and Japan: A Comparative Study of 2000-2013

et al. 2021

BMC Infect Dis

Background Tetanus is a rare, vaccine-preventable but extremely serious disease. We investigated the recent trend of the clinical outcomes and medical costs for inpatients with tetanus in South Korea over 10 years. Methods We conducted a retrospective review to determine the clinical factors and medical costs associated with tetanus at two national university hospitals in South Korea between January 2011 and October 2019. Results Forty-nine patients were admitted for tetanus (mean age, 67.0 years [range, 53.0–80.0 years]; 32 women [57.1%]). All the patients had generalized tetanus, and 5 (10.2%) died during hospitalization. The median duration from symptom onset to hospital admission was 4 days. Trismus (85.7%) was the most common symptom, and the median hospital stay was 39 days. Thirty-two patients (65.3%) required mechanical ventilation, and 20 (40.8%) developed aspiration pneumonia. The median total healthcare cost per patient was US $18,011. After discharge, 35 patients (71.4%) recovered sufficiently to walk without disability. Conclusions Tetanus requires long hospital stays and high medical expenditures in South Korea; however, the vaccination completion rate is low. Medical staff should therefore promote medical advice and policies on the management of tetanus to the general South Korean population.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clinical outcomes and healthcare costs of inpatients with tetanus in Korea, 2011–2019

Bae

et al. 2021

BMC Infect Dis

“…South Korea has experienced rapid decreases in both mortality and fertility, which have contributed to increasing the population age [19]; consequently, the proportion of children (aged 0–14 years) among the whole population is decreasing (Table 1). However, the incidences of pediatric traumatic injury in both datasets increased over time (Fig 2).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristics and trends of traumatic injuries in children visiting emergency departments in South Korea: A retrospective serial cross-sectional study using both nationwide-sample and single-institutional data

Kang

2019

PLoS ONE

We investigated the incidences and characteristics of pediatric traumatic injuries requiring emergency department visits, through a complementary approach using both nationwide-sample and single-institutional data. Data for children (aged <15 years) identified with traumatic injuries during a 10-year period from the Korean National Health Insurance Sharing Service (n = 35,064 among 10,114,909 randomly sampled cases from the claim records of the National Health Insurance) and the authors' institute (n = 39,228) were retrospectively reviewed. The incidences and characteristics of the injuries were investigated using both datasets; additionally, detailed information regarding the injury environments was investigated using the single-institutional data. The findings were similar across both datasets. The incidence of injuries increased during the study period; the head was most commonly injured, whereas the trunk or proximal extremities were rarely injured; low-energy head injuries accounted for >50% of the cases in children aged <5 years, although the incidences of lower-extremity injuries and fractures increased in older children. Single-institutional data demonstrated that the proportion of indoor playground and trampoline-related injuries increased rapidly during the study period, and outdoor injuries and seasonal variation (with peak incidences in May and June) were more prominent in older children. Based on similarities between both datasets, the detailed results regarding pediatric traumatic injuries obtained from the single-institutional data could be generalized nationally with adequate external validity. To prevent traumatic injuries, it may be more effective to wear protective equipment covering the head and distal extremities rather than the trunk or proximal extremities; simple clothing, such as caps, could prevent many injuries in preschoolers. Among older children, safety guidelines for outdoor sports/leisure activities are needed. The increase in pediatric traumatic injuries may be partially explained by the increased availability of indoor playgrounds and installation of trampolines. Stricter adherence to the preventive guidelines is needed.

“…A previous study indicated that Morimoto’s HPI was more useful when examining the association between health behaviors and the risk for MetS in Japanese samples compared with Breslow’s HPI [ 4 ]. Since there are many similarities in lifestyles between Korea and Japan, which are both Asian cultures, we used Morimoto’s HPI [ 29 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender Differences of Health Behaviors in the Risk of Metabolic Syndrome for Middle-Aged Adults: A National Cross-Sectional Study in South Korea

Yoon¹,

Son

2021

IJERPH

This study examined gender differences in health behaviors for the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) among middle-aged adults using nationally representative data from the Seventh Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2016–2018). The sample included data from 8677 middle-aged adults. The Health Practice Index measured health behaviors, including smoking, alcohol use, physical activity, sleeping, eating breakfast, working hours, nutritionally balanced diet, and mental stress. Complex sample multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the association between the Health Practice Index (HPI) and MetS. Men and women with poor or moderate HPI scores had significantly higher risks of having MetS than those with good HPI scores. Controlling for covariates, high-risk alcohol use (p < 0.001) and physical activity (p = 0.008) were associated with the risk of MetS in men and women, respectively. Men reporting alcohol use and women lacking a healthy diet were, respectively, 2.056 times (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 2.056, 95% CI: 1.681–2.514) and 1.306 times (adjusted OR = 1.306, 95% CI: 1.075–1.587) more likely to have increased risks of MetS. Given these gender differences in health behaviors, developing tailored interventions could be beneficial in preventing MetS among middle-aged men and women.