• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.108-114
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• 2022

Purpose: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had major effects worldwide, including sudden and forceful setbacks to the healthcare system. The COVID-19 pandemic has also led to changes in the plastic and reconstructive management of emergency cases, including those due to road traffic accidents. This study analyzed changes in patterns of plastic surgery emergencies and modifications in consultation policies to minimize the exposure of healthcare workers. Methods: Data on plastic surgery emergency calls received from the trauma and emergency department were collected for a period of 2 months before and during lockdown. The data were then analyzed with respect to the cause, mechanism, and site of the injury, as well as other variables. Results: During lockdown, there was a 40.4% overall decrease in the plastic surgery emergency case volume (168 vs. 100). The average daily number of consultations before lockdown was 2.8 as compared to 1.6 during lockdown. Road traffic accidents remained the most common mechanism of injury in both groups (45.8% vs. 39.0%) but decreased in number during the lockdown (77 vs. 39). Household accidents, including burns, were the second most common cause of injury in both phases (7.7% vs. 20.0%), but their proportion increased significantly from 7.7.% to 20.0% in the lockdown phase (P=0.003). The percentage of minor procedures done in the emergency department increased from 53.5% to 72.0% during lockdown (P=0.002). Procedures in the operating room decreased by 73.1% during lockdown (67 vs. 18, P=0.001). Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown orders in India greatly influenced trends in traumatic emergencies as observed by the plastic surgery team at our tertiary care center. Amidst all the chaos and limitations of the pandemic period, providing safe and prompt care to the patients presenting to the emergency room was our foremost priority.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.19-25
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• 2007

Purpose: Trauma surgery is not an official medical specialty in the Republic of Korea (South Korea). Thus, a trauma victim transported to an emergency room (ER) is resuscitated and surveyed by an intern, a resident, or an emergency physician (EP) at first. Currently an operative management is decreasing because of multiple factors. Nevertheless, trauma surgery is the key for some patients. Does the EP's treatment in the ER delay the surgeon's emergency operation? Methods: A retrospective study was performed for trauma victims who underwent trauma surgery from March 2004 to February 2005 in a local emergency center of Daegu-city. We reviewed the medical records and analyzed the trauma victim's age, sex, cause of injury, method of transport, time from the trauma to the operation, EP's treatment, surgical department, mortality, and injury severity score (ISS). Results: Of the 223 trauma victims included in this study, males were predominant (83.4%). The mean age was 37.98 years of age. The main Causes of trauma were trauma NOS (not otherwise specified) and motor vehicle accidents (MVA). The main methods of transport was privately owned automobile. The mean time from trauma to operation was 617.46 min. The mean ISS was 7.67. Trauma surgery with the EP's treatment group included 40 trauma victims with higher ISS, and the time from trauma to operation was shorter than it was for the 183 trauma victims not in that group. Conclusion: The EP's treatment of high-ISS multiple-injury trauma victims can shorten the time from trauma to trauma surgery and will help the surgical department treatment. In the trauma care system of the Republic of Korea, and increased role should be encouraged for emergency physician.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.42-46
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• 2020

Tetramine toxicity due to sea snail ingestion is generally mild and has a good prognosis. Tetramine toxicity acts on the acetylcholine receptor, affecting the neuromuscular junction and autonomic nervous system. A 78-year-old female patient visited the emergency room with vomiting and dyspnea after eating sea snails. At the time of admission, the vital signs recorded were 140/80 mmHg-105/min-24/min-36.5℃, and 90% oxygen saturation. Arterial blood test revealed hypercapnia (pCO₂ 58.2 mmHg) and respiratory acidosis (pH 7.213, HCO₃^- 22.5 mmol/L), whereas other blood tests showed no specific findings. Due to decreased consciousness and hypoxia, endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation were administered to the patient. Successful weaning was accomplished after 12 hrs, and the patient was discharged without any further complications. Although tetramine toxicity rarely results in acute respiratory failure due to paralysis of the respiratory muscle, caution is required whilst treating the patient.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.194-222
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• 1996

Various accidents and injuries are currently occurring in Korea at increasingly high rates. Good quality emergency care service is urgently needed to cope with these various forms of accidents and injuries. In order to develop a sound emergency care system, there need to be a plan to educate and train professionals specifically in emergency care. One solution for the on going problem would be to educate and train emergency clinical nurse specialists. This study on a strategy for curriculum development for emergency clinical nurse specialist was based on the following five content areas, developed from literature related to the curriculum of emergency nursing and emergency care situation : 1. Nurses working in the emergency rooms of three university hospitals were analyzed for six days to identify categories of nursing activities. 2. Two hundreds and eleven nurses working in the emergency rooms of 12 university hospitals were surveyed to identify needs for educational content that should be included in a curriculum for the clinical nurse specialist. 3. Examination of the environment in which emergency management was provided. 4. Identification of characteristics of patients in the emergency room. 5. The role of emergency clinical nurse specialist was identified through literature, recent data, and research materials. The following curriculum was formulated using the above mentioned process. 1. The philosophy of education for emergency clinical nurse specialist was established through a realistic philosophical framework. In this frame, client, environment, health, nursing, and learning have been defined. 2. The purpose of education is framed on individual development, social structure, nursing process and responsibility along with the role and function of the emergency clinical nurse specialist. 3. The central theme was based on human, environment, health and nursing. 4. The elements of structure in the curriculum content were divided to include two major threads, I, e., vertical and horizontal : The vertical thread to consist of the client, life cycle, education, research, leadership and consultation, and the horizontal thread to consist of level of nursing (prevention to rehabilitation), and health to illness based on the health care system developed by Betty Neuman system model. 5. Behavioral objectives for education were structured according to the emergency clinical nurse specialist role and function as a master degree prepared in various emergency settings. 6. The content of the curriculum consisted of three core courses(9 credits), five major courses(15 credits), six elective courses(12 credits) and six prerequisite courses (12 credits). Thus 48 credits are required. Recommendations : 1. To promote tile quality of the emergency care system, the number of emergency professionals, has to be expanded. Further the role and function of the emergency clinical nurse specialist needs to be specified in both the medical law and the Nursing Practice Act. 2. In order to upgrade the qualification of emergency clinical nurse specialists, the course should be given as part of the graduate Program. 3. Certification should be issued through the Korean Nurses Association.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Computer Information Conference
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• 2009.01a
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• pp.107-111
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• 2009

의료기관의 응급실은 환자의 생명을 다루는 긴박한 현장으로 환자에 대한 실시간 모니터링 및 관리가 필수적으로 요구되는 곳이다. 본 연구에서는 기존 응급실 진료 프로세스를 체계적으로 관리하고 모니터링 하기 위해 BPM 아키텍처를 도입하여 응급실 업무들을 표준화, 가시화함으로써 의료진의 신속한 응급 업무 대응이 가능한 응급신속대응관리시스템(EQRMS-Emergency Quick Response Management System)를 제안한다. 의료기관에서 BPM의 도입은 단순히 병원 경영 목표나 병원 내외부의 운영을 모니터링 할 수 있는 이점 이외에 병원 업무의 이윤을 극대화 할 수 있는 다양한 효과가 있다. 또한 임상위험수치 (CV-Critical Value)를 정의함으로써 복잡한 검사의 단순화와 검사 시간 단축, 검사의 오류 발생률 감소 등 환자의 안정성 제고 측면에도 크게 기여할 것이다.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.48 no.10
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• pp.1061-1067
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• 2005

Purpose : We studied a clinical analysis of pediatric patients who visited the emergency medical center of Yeungnam University Hospital to compare the characteristics of pediatric emergency patients after year 2000 with the previous studies. Methods : We reviewed 7,034 children under the age of 15 years who visited the emergency medical center of Yeungnam University Hospital during the 2 year period from January 2001 to December 2002, and then we performed a clinical and statistical analysis. We analyzed the pediatric patients according to gender, age, season, day of the week, time of the visit, the disease classification and the final disposition of the patients. Results : Among the patients who visited the emergency room, 15.6% of the total emergency patients were under the age of 15. The male to female ratio was 1.6 : 1. Among the 7,034 pediatric patients, the most common age group was between 1 year and under 3 years of age(26.9%). The peak seasonal incidence was early summer and spring, especially during June(11.2%) and May(10.6 %). The peak incidence day of the week was Sunday(24.8%) and the peak time when the emergency pediatric patients visited the emergency room was between 20 and 24 o'clock(28.8%). The distribution of diseases, according to ICD-10 system, were injury and poisoning(30.4%), diseases of the respiratory system(22.8%), and diseases of the digestive system(14.6%). 30% of total pediatric patients were admitted to the hospital. Conclusion : After year 2000, as compared with the previous studies, the proportions of emergency pediatric patients has decreased. The distribution of diseases was not much different from the previous studies and the proportions of non-urgent diseases, such as acute nasopharyngitis or acute gastroenteritis, were still high. These result have come about due to the declining birth rate and changes of the medical system in Korea.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.152-158
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• 2019

This study examined the socio-economic and clinical characteristics associated with the use of ambulance services among pregnant, childbearing, and postpartum women based on data from the 2008-2016 Korea Health Panel. The analysis revealed that among the pregnant, childbearing, and postpartum women, the proportion using all ambulance services was 18.9% whereas 12.0% used private and 119 ambulances. Moreover, among those using ambulance services, delivery was the most common reason (38.7%) followed by complications of labor and delivery (20.0%) and pregnancy with abortive outcome (17.3%). There were statistically significant differences between the users and non-users of ambulance services in terms of the average annual household income, emergency arrival time, and delayed arrival at the emergency room. As childbirth becomes more complicated due to low fertility and elderly mothers, the expansion and improvement of ambulance services as a social safety net for pregnant, childbearing, and postpartum women will become increasingly important.

• Journal of East-West Nursing Research
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.10-20
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• 2022

Purpose: We compared the Korean Triage and Acuity Scale (KTAS), Injury Severity Score (ISS), and Revised Trauma Score (RTS) determined the validity of KTAS for classifying trauma patients. Methods: A retrospective chart review of 10,865 trauma patients (aged ≥15 years) who visited a single regional trauma and emergency medical center from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2020, was conducted. Data were collected from the Korean Trauma Data Bank. Based on KTAS classification, the rates of intensive care unit admission, surgery and intervention, transfusion, emergency room (ER) and hospital mortality, and ER stay time were investigated. Data were analyzed using Chi-square test, Pearson's correlation coefficient, receiver operating characteristic curve, and area under the ROC curve. Results: In the KTAS, severe trauma patients (ISS ≥16) were classified as Level 1 (79.6%), 2 (44.8%), 3 (15.5%), 4 (4.0%) and 5 (7.6%). The following were the predictive powers of KTAS, ISS, and RTS for different parameters: surgery and intervention rate, KTAS (.71), ISS (.70), and RTS (.63); transfusion rate within 4h, KTAS (.82), ISS (.82), and RTS (.74); ER stay time within 90 min, KTAS (.72), ISS (.62), and RTS (.56); and ER mortality, KTAS (.84), ISS (.72), and RTS (.88). These findings were statistically significant (p<.001). The sensitivity and specificity of KTAS for trauma patients were .88 (.87~.90), and .38 (.37~.39), respectively. Conclusion: KTAS is a useful classification system that can predict the clinical outcomes of patients with trauma, and effectively triage acutely ill trauma patients, thus provide appropriate treatment.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.260-271
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• 2002

This study was performed to identify the level of stress recognized by the parents as a support system for their infant patients who were hospitalized in an emergency department, thus to provide the resulting data as the basic material of care intervention for the families of infant patients. This study subjected the parents with infant patients who were hospitalized in emergency department of C University Hospital in Daejeon, and the data was collected from questionnaires for them, dating from Mar. 20, to Jun. 24, 2001 This study used the tool(30 questions) which was originally developed by Ji, Dong-ok (1992) for measuring the stress of families of infant patients in emergency room, and then was modified and complemented by this researcher suitably for infant patients. Collected data was statistically analyzed with frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, t-test, ANOVA, by using SPSS WIN10.0 program, and the results were as follows: 1. The stress of parents with infant patients hospitalized in emergency department averaged 3.31 on the basis of 5-point measure, which means that they felt stress beyond means. 2. The factor with high average out of stress factors the parents of infant patients recognized included the followings: 'about the pain of infant patients due to examination(3.91±1.00)'; 'about rare opportunity to be in contact with physician(3.78±1.09)'; 'delay in emergent treatment required for infant patients(3.75±1.31)'; 'delay in the general treatment of infant patients(3.72±1.32)'. Factors of the stress level includes the followings: 'care and medical treatment'(3.46±.72); 'body and diseases'(3.41±.97)'; 'lack of information and supportable resources (3.25±.77)'; and so on. 3. For the stress level according to general characteristics, there were statistically significant differences in the result of the condition of infant patients, medical treatment(P<.01), religion, the procedure of treatment(P<.05). With little preceding studies for infant patients hospitalized in emergency department, this study looked through the level of stress recognized by the parents of infant patients. Based on the comprehension on the parents with infant patients and the knowledge on stress factors recognized by the parents, it is expected that we can seek the methods of care intervention such as explanation of care and treatment procedures, unit policies, continuous interest and emotional supports as well as the provision of information to understand the responses of parents and reduce accompanied stresses.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2008

When man first walked on this planet, injury must have been a close encounter of the first kind. The outbreak of World War I, during a period of rapid scientific growth in the basic sciences, demonstrated the need to develop better methods of care for the wounded, methods that were later applicable to the civilian population. Trauma is a multisystem disease and, as such, benefits from almost any advance in medical science. As we learn more about the physiology and the biochemistry of various organ systems, we can provide better management for trauma victims. Improved imaging techniques, better appreciation of physiologic tolerance, and increased understanding of the side effects of specific surgical procedures have combined to reduce operative intervention as a component of trauma patient care. On the other hand, because of this rapid development of medical science, only a few doctors still have the ability to treat multisystem injuries because almost doctor has his or her specialty, which means a doctor tends to see only patients with diagnoses in the doctor's specialty. Trauma Surgeons are physicians who have completed the typical general surgery residency and who usually continue with a one to two year fellowship leading to additional board certification in Surgical Critical Care. It is important to note that trauma surgeons do not need to do all kinds of operations, such as neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery. Trauma surgeons are not only a surgeon but also general medical practitioners who are very good at critical care and coordination of patient. In order to achieve the best patient outcomes, trauma surgeons should be involved in prehospital Emergency Medical Services, the Trauma Resuscitation Room, the Operating Room, the Surgical Intensive Care and Trauma Unit, the Trauma Ward, the Rehabilitation Department, and the Trauma Outpatient Clinic. In conclusion, according to worldwide experience and research, the trauma surgeon is the key factor in the trauma care system, so the trauma surgeon should receive strong support to accomplish his or her role successfully.