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Background Length of hospitalization for patients with lower back pain sustained in road traffic accidents was assessed clinically. Methods In total, 170 patients with lower back pain injury sustained in road traffic accidents, were included in the study. They were divided into 2 groups: Group A with a shorter hospitalization period (1?7 days) and Group B with a longer hospitalization period (8?14 days). Each group was treated daily with traditional Korean medicine including: acupuncture, herbal acupuncture, herbal decoction medicine, and chuna treatment. To compare the treatment effects between the 2 groups, health-related quality of life, Oswestry disability index, and numeric rating scale were used. Statistical analysis between the 2 groups was assessed using Chi-square test, independent t test, and paired t test. Results After hospitalization, Group A and Group B both showed a significant increase in their health-related quality of life scores and significant decreases in Oswestry disability index and numeric rating scale scores. In addition, Group B, with a longer hospitalization period than Group A, showed a significant improvement over Group A in its health-related quality of life and numeric rating scale scores. Conclusions This study suggests that control of pain caused by lower back injury sustained in a road traffic accident, may be more effectively achieved in patients receiving 8-14 days of hospitalization and traditional Korean medicine treatment, compared to those receiving < 7 days of hospitalization treatment. In the future, more systematic and large-scale studies are needed to ascertain the effects of other variables.

Background This study was designed to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of traditional Korean medicine treatment for lumbar spinal stenosis as assessed by radiological criteria. Methods This was an observational study of 122 patients who were diagnosed with lumbar spinal stenosis and admitted to Jaseng Hospital between January 2016 and June 2017. They were analyzed according to sex, age, cause of disease, disease stage, length of admission, type of stenosis, morphological grade, and dural sac cross-sectional area. All patients were treated with traditional Korean medicine. Patients were assessed with the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and EQ-5D before and after treatment. Results Regarding the distribution of the factors analyzed, these were of note: more females than males (1:3.52); and highest proportions were age more than 70 years (37.70%), cause of lumbar spinal stenosis unknown (67.21%), and subacute stage (42.62%). Comparing before and after treatment, the NRS score for low back and pelvic pain decreased from 6.14 ± 1.71 to 4.28 ± 1.91 (p < 0.001), and the NRS score for radiating pain and numbness decreased from 6.27 ± 1.61 to 2.02 ± 1.54 (p < 0.001). ODI decreased from 46.86 ± 19.40 to 33.63 ± 18.66 (p < 0.001), and gait-related ODI decreased from 3.34 ± 1.23 to 2.80 ± 1.11 (p < 0.001). There were no statistically significant differences in improvement of the NRS, ODI, gait-related ODI, and EQ-5D for morphological grade and dural sac cross-sectional area. Conclusions Traditional Korean medicine is effective treatment for patients with lumbar spinal stenosis. Even in patients with severe radiological findings, it is possible to reduce pain and improve quality of life.

Background: We aimed to study the importance of diabetes education by investigating diabetes education rate and the associations between the presence/absence of diabetes education and the clinical outcomes of diabetic patients in Korea. Methods: In the Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination survey (KNHANES V), a cross-sectional national survey during 2010 and 2012, 1498 subjects aged over 30 years and older were diagnosed with diabetes by doctors. The subjects were analyzed by a complex samples model. Results: Only 20.3% of diabetes patients received diabetes education, and this was not significantly different between age groups. Education was delivered in hospitals/clinics, public health centers, and public lectures (15.7%, 3.0% and 1.4%, respectively). After adjusting for age, sex, and duration of diabetes, the factors independently associated with the presence of diabetes education were higher education level, frequent walking habit, and parameters regarding the presence of dyslipidemia, insulin treatment, and non-pharmacologic treatment. Among continuous variables, only the duration of diabetes was associated with diabetes education status; metabolic parameters were not associated with diabetes education status. Conclusion: Diabetes is a chronic disease and education on diabetes is very important. The education rate was low and quality of the education is doubtful. An effort to raise the rate of diabetes education and further study to raise the quality of diabetes training are necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]