(Health Korea News / Yu Ji-in) ‘Medical 24 Hours’ is a corner that shows brief news related to the medical field that can easily be overlooked in the media at a glance. It may seem like trivial news, but it can be valuable information to someone, so we summarize only the facts.
Bundang Seoul National University Hospital opens KakaoTalk-based medical appointment reservation service ‘Care Chat’
Seoul National University Bundang Hospital has opened a KakaoTalk-based medical appointment reservation service called ‘Care Chat.’
CareChat is a ‘digital front door’ service that allows patients to make, change, and cancel appointments by chatting directly with a chatbot on the ‘Bundang Seoul National University Hospital’ KakaoTalk channel. It also includes various functions that previously required face-to-face treatment, such as location-based outpatient treatment registration and electronic questionnaires.
After patients join CareChat, they can send messages containing related words such as ‘reservation’, ‘medical appointment’, and ‘hospital appointment’ in the hospital channel chat room, and CareChat will recognize the core keywords and guide them to the necessary menu. When making a reservation, they can specify a specific department or medical staff, and they can also enter their symptoms, illness, and disease name to receive guidance from the medical staff.
The ‘Reservation Management’ function makes it easy to change or cancel reservations, which greatly simplifies the process of having to call the call center directly. In addition, the process of filling out an electronic questionnaire while waiting at the hospital after checking in has been implemented as a CareChat function, so that it can be done remotely.
In addition, CareChat provides various non-face-to-face and digitalized functions such as issuing patient cards linked to KakaoTalk wallet, changing patient information, and providing guidance on today’s tasks.
The CareChat service is expected to greatly improve patients’ accessibility to hospital services, as patients can freely use it by adding the ‘Bundang Seoul National University Hospital’ channel on KakaoTalk without having to install a separate application, and only needing to sign up once and agree to the use of information to use the service.
The introduction of CareChat this time is significant as it digitalizes the entire contact point between outpatients and hospitals, from appointment reservations to reception and payment, in a patient-friendly manner, in addition to the existing KakaoTalk-based mobile payment function.
Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Microplastics Inner Ear Damage Mechanism Identified
Microplastics can damage the inner ear, causing hearing loss and decreased sense of balance. A joint research team including Dr. Jin-soo Kim of the Radiation Medicine Research Institute of the Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences (President Jin-kyung Lee), Professor Min-hyeon Park of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, and Professor Choi Jong-hoon of the Department of Convergence Engineering, College of Creative ICT Engineering, Chung-Ang University, revealed this fact for the first time in the world.
The ear is composed of the outer ear, middle ear, and inner ear. The inner ear is made up of the cochlea, vestibular organ, and semicircular canals, which detect sound and maintain body balance.
According to data from the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service, the number of annual hearing loss patients increased from 953,372 in 2019 to 1,064,533 in 2022. Accordingly, the research team conducted this study to find a correlation between hearing disorders such as hearing loss and microplastics, which have recently been pointed out as the cause of various diseases.
The research team fed 10 micrograms (one millionth of a gram) of polyethylene, a type of plastic used in disposable products, to lab mice every day for four months, and conducted hearing measurements of the inner ear, which plays a role in detecting sound and maintaining balance, balance measurements, brain glucose metabolism analysis, and transcriptome analysis. Through this process, they proved that polyethylene, a microplastic, damages the inner ear, causing hearing loss and balance disorders.
First, the research team observed that 0.144 micrograms of polyethylene had accumulated in the cochlea (responsible for hearing) and vestibular organ (responsible for balance) of the inner ear using a tissue transparency technique that removes fat and makes the tissue completely transparent to light.
In the subsequent hearing measurement test, the normal group responded to 31.7 decibels, while the polyethylene intake group responded to 54 decibels. This means that the polyethylene intake group responded to sounds 22.3 decibels louder than the normal group, confirming that polyethylene causes hearing loss.
The sense of balance was measured by measuring the stable running time through an exercise stress test using a treadmill. The average time was 515.7 seconds in the normal group and 322.1 seconds in the polyethylene intake group, showing that the polyethylene intake group had lower exercise endurance. In the rotarod test, the polyethylene intake group fell from the rotating bar twice as fast as the normal group, and their grip strength in their hands and feet was 30% lower.
Analysis of brain glucose metabolism was performed by injecting a glucose analogue radiopharmaceutical into the polyethylene intake group and performing positron emission tomography (FDG PET) to observe a decrease in glucose metabolism in the temporal lobe of the cerebrum that appears in hearing loss, and confirm damage to the inner ear caused by polyethylene.
Transcriptome analysis, which is the sum of RNA containing protein-related genetic information, verified that genes related to apoptosis and inflammation (PER1, NR4A3, CEBPB) were highly expressed in the polyethylene intake group, indicating that damage due to apoptosis had occurred in the cochlea and vestibular organ.
H+ Yangji Hospital, the first general hospital in the southwestern part of Seoul to receive 4-cycle Ministry of Health and Welfare certification
H Plus Yangji Hospital was the first general hospital in the southwestern part of Seoul to receive the 4th cycle certification from the Ministry of Health and Welfare in a medical institution evaluation conducted by the Medical Institution Evaluation and Certification Institute under the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
The medical institution accreditation system is a system that evaluates the operational status of medical institutions and grants accreditation in order to improve patient safety and quality of medical services. Medical institutions that pass the standards are granted the status of certified medical institutions for four years.
H Plus Yangji Hospital underwent an on-site investigation based on approximately 500 survey items in four areas (basic value system, patient care system, organization management system, and performance management system) for four days from May 28. Among them, it was evaluated that it completely achieved the target satisfaction rate in the essential criteria of patient safety assurance activities, quality improvement and patient safety activities, infection control, human resource management, and facility and environment management.
With this, H Plus Yangji Hospital has become a certified medical institution for the third consecutive time, following the 2nd cycle in 2016 and the 3rd cycle in 2020. The medical institution certification is valid for four years from September 2, 2024 to September 1, 2028.
Ilsong Academy, a school corporation, publishes the autobiography of the late Chairman Daewon Yoon, a ‘businessman who practiced human love’, Mighty Doctor
The autobiography of the late Doheon Yoon Dae-won, chairman of the Ilsong Academy Foundation, who contributed to the advancement of domestic medicine and was dedicated to helping the underprivileged, titled ‘Mighty Doctor’, was published on the 23rd.
Chairman Yoon Dae-won took over as the second chairman in 1989, succeeding his father, the late Yoon Deok-seon, founder of Ilsong Academy. Over the next 35 years, he led and grew Hallym University Medical Center, Hallym University, Hallym Sacred Heart University, Hallym International Graduate School, and six welfare centers.
The title of the autobiography, ‘Mighty Doctor’, signifies the value orientation that all doctors should aim for.
His autobiography, ‘Mighty Doctor’, which covers his life from his childhood to the age of 79, includes his difficult childhood during the war, his activities in a group to collect living creatures that gave him a sense of awe for life, his time as a surgeon struggling to save lives, and his time founding a hospital and running a university and a welfare center.
In particular, the book also includes previously unknown stories, such as the time when Deokjeokdo was called Myeong-i, the onset of hepatitis, the diagnosis of liver cancer, and the process leading up to liver transplantation. The book shows his challenging spirit and conviction that overcame adversity and hardship.
Ilsan Baek Hospital holds ‘extension and remodeling completion ceremony’
Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital held a ‘Completion Ceremony for Expansion and Remodeling’ in the integrated outpatient space on the first basement floor of the hospital on July 23. It has been two years and five months since the groundbreaking ceremony in February 2022.
Ilsan Paik Hospital has carried out expansion and remodeling construction, including ▲expanding the intensive care treatment center, ▲establishing a robot/hybrid operating room, ▲expanding the endoscopy room and dialysis room, ▲expanding parking space, ▲installing an outpatient escalator, and ▲expanding the patient lounge.
With this expansion, the total floor area has increased to 4,373㎡ (1,323 pyeong), and the outdoor parking lot has also been expanded by 1,126㎡ (341 pyeong). The expansion space is 4 floors, from the 2nd to the 6th floor (excluding the 4th floor). The cardiovascular center, plastic surgery, and dermatology departments have been expanded and relocated to the 2nd floor of the expansion building. The 3rd floor will house 17 state-of-the-art operating rooms, including robotic and hybrid operating rooms, and 32 recovery rooms. 53 inpatient beds have been added to the 5th floor, and 19 intensive care units have been newly built on the 6th floor. With this expansion, Ilsan Baek Hospital can now operate up to 730 beds.
Ilsan Baek Hospital also underwent a large-scale remodeling project along with the expansion. The remodeling area was 29,000 m² (6,053 pyeong) in total, and included all outpatient clinics, examination rooms, dialysis rooms, and some wards.
The outpatient clinics that were spread out on the 1st to 5th floors were integrated into the basement 1st floor. This is where the departments of internal medicine, orthopedics, neurosurgery, cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, surgery, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, family medicine, dentistry, and various examination rooms are located. An escalator connecting the 1st floor and the integrated outpatient clinic was also newly installed.
A second remodeling project is also planned. The entire 2nd and 3rd floors of the integrated outpatient clinic will be remodeled, and the ENT, urology, ophthalmology, etc. will be relocated. The dialysis room, the coronary angiography room, the endoscopy room, and some wards will also undergo remodeling at the same time.
Professor Kwon Seong-geun of Seoul National University Hospital wins the 34th Science and Technology Outstanding Paper Award
Professor Kwon Seong-geun of the Department of Otolaryngology at Seoul National University Hospital received the 34th Science and Technology Excellence Paper Award established by the Federation of Korean Science and Technology Societies on the 11th.
The Science and Technology Outstanding Paper Award is an award established to encourage the research motivation of scientists and engineers and to create an active research ecosystem. Outstanding papers are selected through strict review by each academic society and the Federation of Korean Science and Technology Societies among the papers published in domestic academic journals in the science and technology field in the previous year, and this award is given to the research director of the paper.
Professor Kwon, an expert in the treatment of respiratory diseases, was honored with an award for his research on ‘Analysis of surgical prognosis of patients with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome’, which verified the safety and effectiveness of tongue reduction surgery.
Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome is a hereditary growth disorder that is accompanied by neonatal hypoglycemia, macroglossia, and visceromegaly. Severe macroglossia (large tongue) can lead to breathing and feeding problems, speech development problems, and malocclusion, so surgery to remove part of the tongue is necessary.
Because Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome is a rare disease with a prevalence of approximately 0.007%, little is known about it, and the safety and efficacy of surgical treatment and the long-term effects on the mandible are unclear.
Professor Kwon’s team analyzed the medical records and skull X-rays of 11 children who underwent tongue reduction surgery at Seoul National University Hospital and confirmed that this surgical method is an effective treatment for severe macroglossia that improves malocclusion and mandibular prognathism (a symptom in which the lower jaw protrudes beyond the upper jaw) without side effects such as decreased sense of taste or decreased articulation.
This research paper was published in the SCIE journal ‘Clinical Experimental Otorhinolaryngology (CEO)’ published by the Korean Otorhinolaryngological Society. In addition, it was selected as the first place winner of the ‘Seokdang Excellent Paper Award’ at the Korean Otorhinolaryngological Society Spring Conference held in April.
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