Sei Won Lee

Medical utilization and cost in patients with overlap syndrome of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma.

Abstract Background: Little information is available regarding medical utilization and cost in patients with overlap syndrome of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. The purpose of this study is to analyze medical utilization and cost in patients with overlap syndrome and to compare them to COPD patients without asthma. Methods: Using the 2009 Korean National Health Insurance (NHI) database, COPD patients were identified. Medical utilization and costs were also analyzed. Results: Of a total of 185,147 patients identified with COPD, 101,004 patients were classified with overlap syndrome of COPD and asthma and 84,143 patients with COPD without asthma. In 2009, the percentages of emergency room visits, admissions, and intensive care unit admissions were 14.6%, 30.5%, and 0.5%, respectively, in the patients with overlap syndrome group and 5.0%, 14.1%, and 0.2%, respectively, in the COPD patients without asthma group (p < 0.05 for all comparisons). The cost of medical utilization was 790 ± 71 US dollars per person and 3,373 ± 4,628 dollars per person for outpatient and inpatient services, respectively, in the patients with overlap syndrome and 413 ± 512 and 3,010 ± 5,013, respectively, in the COPD patients without asthma (p < 0.05 for all comparisons). Multiple linear regression showed that age, sex, overlap syndrome, hospitalization in the last year, low socioeconomic status, and type of hospital use were significant factors affecting medical utilization and cost. Conclusions: In patients with overlap syndrome, both medical utilization and cost were higher than in COPD patients without asthma.

The Role of Chest CT Scanning in TB Outbreak Investigation

BACKGROUND In TB outbreaks, detecting active cases is the key step in stopping transmission of the disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of high-resolution CT (HRCT) scanning of the chest in the investigation of a TB outbreak that developed in a cohort of 92 soldiers in the South Korean army. METHODS Outbreak investigation, including tuberculin skin test (TST), QuantiFERON TB Gold In-Tube (QFT) test, and simple chest radiograph (CXR), was performed. For participants with any abnormal findings in these tests, HRCT scanning was done. Active pulmonary TB was diagnosed based on sputum studies or HRCT scan findings. In addition, participants with positive results in both TST and QFT were treated as having a latent TB infection (LTBI). TST and QFT were repeated in participants with a positive result in one of these tests. CXR was repeated in all participants at 3 and 6 months of follow-up. RESULTS Eighty-seven participants completed the study protocol. Among them, 18 active TB cases were diagnosed. Nine of these had normal CXR, but had lesions that were suggestive of active TB on HRCT scan. Twenty-two participants with normal HRCT scans and positive results with TST and QFT at initial investigation were treated as LTBI. Among 13 participants with normal CXR and positive results in either TST or QFT, nine completed a 3-month investigation. All but one of nine participants revealed positive results in both tests. CONCLUSION Inclusion of HRCT scanning in the outbreak investigation of TB may be helpful in differentiating active TB from LTBI more reliably. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov; Identifier: NCT00889759.

The Risk of Obstructive Lung Disease by Previous Pulmonary Tuberculosis in a Country with Intermediate Burden of Tuberculosis

We evaluated the effects of previous pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) on the risk of obstructive lung disease. We analyzed population-based, the Second Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001. Participants underwent chest X-rays (CXR) and spirometry, and qualified radiologists interpreted the presence of TB lesion independently. A total of 3,687 underwent acceptable spirometry and CXR. Two hundreds and ninty four subjects had evidence of previous TB on CXR with no subjects having evidence of active disease. Evidence of previous TB on CXR were independently associated with airflow obstruction (adjusted odds ratios [OR] = 2.56 [95% CI 1.84-3.56]) after adjustment for sex, age and smoking history. Previous TB was still a risk factor (adjusted OR = 3.13 [95% CI 1.86-5.29]) with exclusion of ever smokers or subjects with advanced lesion on CXR. Among never-smokers, the proportion of subjects with previous TB on CXR increased as obstructive lung disease became more severe. Previous TB is an independent risk factor for obstructive lung disease, even if the lesion is minimal and TB can be an important cause of obstructive lung disease in never-smokers. Effort on prevention and control of TB is crucial in reduction of obstructive lung disease, especially in countries with more than intermediate burden of TB.

Recombinant human epidermal growth factor treatment of radiation-induced severe oral mucositis in patients with head and neck malignancies

Mucositis of the oral cavity and pharynx is a major dose-limiting factor in the application of radiotherapy (RT) to patients with head and neck cancer. Therefore, we evaluated the wound healing effect of human recombinant epidermal growth factor (rhEGF) in head and neck cancer and lymphoma patients with irradiation (with or without combined chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis). Patients at Asan Medical Center who had undergone definitive RT of the head and neck region with or without combined chemotherapy and who had developed severe oral mucositis (higher than the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group grade 3) were treated with topical rhEGF twice daily for 7 days. The evaluation of response with regard to oral mucositis was performed 1 week later. Of the 11 treated patients, three had nasopharyngeal carcinoma, three had carcinoma of the oropharynx, two had carcinoma of the oral cavity, one had carcinoma of the hypopharynx and two had lymphoma of the head and neck. Six patients received RT only, and five patients received concurrent chemoradiotherapy. All patients showed improvements in their oral mucositis after topical treatment with rhEGF in that the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group grade was significantly decreased (P = 0.0000). This finding suggests that rhEGF is effective and safe for the treatment of radiation-induced mucositis. Further studies are needed to determine the optimal dosage and fractionation schedule.

Health care use and economic burden of patients with diagnosed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Korea.

BACKGROUND The prevalence and economic burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are increasing worldwide. However, little information is available concerning COPD-associated health care use and costs in Korea. OBJECTIVE To analyse 1) health care use, medical costs and medication use in 2009, and 2) changes in costs and medication use over 5 years (2006-2010). DESIGN Using the database of the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, COPD patients were identified by searching on both ICD-10 codes and COPD medication. RESULTS A total of 192,496 COPD patients were identified in 2009. Total medical costs per person were US

Association of lung function genes with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

2803 ± 3865; the average annual number of days of out-patient care and days of hospitalisation were respectively 40 ± 36 and 11 ± 33. Methylxanthine and systemic beta-agonists were the most frequently used drugs. However, the number of prescriptions for long-acting muscarinic antagonist increased rapidly. The total cost of COPD-related medications increased by 33.1% over 5 years. CONCLUSION The present study provides new insight into health care use and the economic burden of COPD in Korea. Changing patterns of COPD-related medication use could help inform COPD management policies.

The health care burden of high grade chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Korea: analysis of the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service data

AbstractBackgroundSpirometric measurements of pulmonary function are important in diagnosing and determining the severity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We performed this study to determine whether candidate genes identified in genome-wide association studies of spirometric measurements were associated with COPD and if they interacted with smoking intensity. MethodsThe current analysis included 1,000 COPD subjects and 1,000 controls recruited from 24 hospital-based pulmonary clinics. Thirteen SNPs, chosen based on genome-wide association studies of spirometric measurements in the Korean population cohorts, were genotyped. Genetic association tests were performed, adjusting for age, sex, and smoking intensity, using models including a SNP-by-smoking interaction term. ResultsPID1 and FAM13A were significantly associated with COPD susceptibility. There were also significant interactions between SNPs in ACN9 and FAM13A and smoking pack-years, and an association of ACN9 with COPD in the lowest smoking tertile. The risk allele of FAM13A was associated with increased expression of FAM13A in the lung.ConclusionsWe have validated associations of FAM13A and PID1 with COPD. ACN9 showed significant interaction with smoking and is a potential candidate gene for COPD. Significant associations of genetic variants of FAM13A with gene expression levels suggest that the associated loci may act as genetic regulatory elements for FAM13A gene expression.

Fraction of Exhaled Nitric Oxide in Patients With Acute Eosinophilic Pneumonia

Background Patients with high grade chronic pulmonary obstructive disease (COPD) account for much of the COPD-related mortality and incur excessive financial burdens and medical care utilization. We aimed to determine the characteristics and medical care use of such patients using nationwide data from the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service in 2009. Materials and methods Patients with COPD were identified by searching with the International Classification of Diseases–10th Revision for those using medication. Patients with high grade COPD were selected based on their patterns of tertiary institute visits and medication use. Results The numbers of patients with high grade COPD increased rapidly in Korea during the study period, and they showed a high prevalence of comorbid disease. The total medical costs were over three times higher in patients with high grade COPD compared with those without it (

The Therapeutic Effects of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Primed with Sphingosine-1 Phosphate on Pulmonary Artery Hypertension

3,744 versus

Study Design and Outcomes of Korean Obstructive Lung Disease (KOLD) Cohort Study

1,183; P < 0.001). Medication costs comprised the largest portion of medical cost, but most impact came from hospitalization and exacerbation in both groups of patients. COPD grade and hospitalization in the previous year were the major factors affecting medical costs and days of utilizing health care resources. Conclusion Patients with high grade COPD impose a high economic burden on the health care system in Korea. Prevention of progression to high grade COPD is important, both clinically and economically.