Abstract
Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of inpatients who were admitted to Korean medicine hospital due to traffic accident. Methods 1,162 traffic accident patients who were admitted to department of Korean Rehabilitation Medicine of Cheonan Korean Medicine Hospital, Dae-Jeon University from 1st, January, 2011 to 31th, December, 2012 were analyzed according to the medical charts. Results 1. The average treatment result was 3.22 and in most (71.52%) of the patients, symptoms were more than improved. 2. In distribution according to age and sex, people in their 30s numbered the most both in male (12.65%) and female (14.72%). The 1,162 inpatients comprised of 457 (39.33%) male and 705 (60.67%) female. 3. 541 (46.56%) patients admitted in 2011 and 621 (53.44%) patients admitted in 2012. 4. 695 (59.81%) patients visited Cheonan Korean Medicine Hospital within 0~2 days after their traffic accident, followed by 242 (20.83%) patients who visited within 3~5 days after their traffic accident. Patients who admitted earlier showed more improvement in symptoms. 5. The average admission days were 9.32 days. Most (57.66%) patients discharged within 1 week. 6. 825 (71.00%) patients were driving sedan at the time of accident, followed by 105 (9.04%) SUV owners and 71 (6.11%) pedestrians. 7. Rear-end collision accident numbered the most (45.61%), followed by lateral collision (24.35%) and frontal collision (14.72%). 8. Most frequently prescribed examination was X-ray (95.52%), followed by CT (8.69%) and MRI (3.01%). 9. Most frequently given diagnosis was sprain (1,126 (96.90%) patients), followed by concussion & abrasion (178 (15.32%) patients) and fracture (109 (9.38%) patients). 10. Most frequently given Korean medicine treatment was acupuncture (1,162 (100%) patients), followed by anti-inflammatory pharmacopuncture (652 (56.11%) patients) and moxibustion (462 (39.76%) patients). 11. Most frequently given Korean medicine physiotherapy was infra-red (1,161 (99.91%) patients), followed by cupping therapy (1,152 (99.14%) patients) and hotpack (1,137 (97.85%) patients). 12. Most frequently prescribed herb medicine was huishou-san (13.51%), followed by dangguixu-san (12.65%) and yaojiao-tang G (7.06%) Conclusions In this study, people in their 30s, females, within 0~2 days since the accident took the highest percentage from each category of patients who admitted to Korean Medicine Hospital due to traffic accident. Patients who admitted earlier showed more improvement in symptoms and also discharged earlier.