• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.143-146
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• 2006

Historically, the common folk have made use of various wild herbs for both food and medicinal purposes. However, the misuse of these wild herbs can lead to adverse consequences, including severe poisoning in some cases. In cases of poisoning from wild herbs, patients can exhibit a variety of symptoms depending on the herbs involved, which in addition to gastrointestinal symptoms may include hemodynamic alteration and abnormal neurologic signs. In the present case, two patients were admitted to the emergency room with symptoms of toxicity after consuming Rhododendron brachycarpum liquor. Rhododendron brachycarpum and other wild herbs contain the toxic material grayanotoxin. Because of its serious toxic symptoms, great caution must be exercised in using rhododendrons for food and medicinal purposes.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.26-29
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• 2013

We describe the case of a 56-year-old man who had been shot by a pneumatic nail gun in the chest during work. He had removed the nail by himself immediately at the accident field. He visited to the emergency department of a local hospital and, after a simple dressing and simple history had been taken, he was referred to our emergency department for penetrating thoracic injury. Immediately, Transthoracic echocardiography were done and showed moderate hemopericardium. Patient had been hydrated and transported to the operating room. After cardiac wound repaired by midsternotomy, the patient was discharged on the 13th postoperative day without complications except mild mitral valve regurgitation.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.6-15
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• 2010

Purpose: Trauma is one of the leading causes of death, especially among young people. Life-threatening conditions are very common in multiple-traumatized patients due to concurrent multi-organ injuries. Treating such severely injured patients is time critical. However, in Korea, the transfer of severely injured patients is not uncommon due to the lack of a mature trauma care system. In developed countries, the preventable trauma death rate is very low, but the rate is still very high in Korea. This study's objective was to demonstrate the current serious state in which severely injured patients have to be transferred from a Regional Emergency Medical Center even though it actually serves as a trauma center. Methods: Ajou University Medical Center is a tertiary hospital that serves as a trauma center in Gyeonggido. The medical records at Ajou University Medical Center for a 1-year period from January 1, 2008, to December 31, 2008, were retrospectively reviewed. A severely injured patient was defined as a patient who showed more than 15 point on the ISS (injury severity score) scale. We investigated the clinical characteristics of such patients and the causes of transfer. Results: Out of 81,718 patients who visited the Regional Emergency Medical Center, 19,731 (24.1%) were injured patients. Among them, 108 severely-injured patients were transferred from one Regional Emergency Medical Center to other hospitals. The male-to-female ratio was about 3.5:1, and the mean ISS was 23.08. The most common mechanism of injury was traffic accidents (41.7%). A major cause of transfer was the shortage of intensive care units (44.4%); another was for emergent operation (27.8%). Most of the hospitals that received the severely-injured patients were secondary hospitals (86.1%). Conclusion: Although the Regional Emergency Medical Center played a role as a trauma center, actually, severely-injured patients had to be transferred to other hospitals for several reasons. Most reasons were related with the deficiencies in the trauma care system. If a mature trauma care system is well-organized, the numbers of transfer of severely injured patients will be reduced significantly.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.101-105
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• 2013

Purpose: This study was conducted in order to determine the relationship between the number of portable X-rays and the radiation exposure dose for emergency medical service providers working in the emergency department (ED). Methods: A prospective study was conducted from February 15, 2013 to May 15, 2013 in the ED in an urban hospital. Six residents, seven emergency medical technicians (EMT), and 24 nurses were enrolled. They wore a personal radiation dosimeter on their upper chest while working in the ED, and they stayed away from the portable X-ray unit at a distance of at least 1.8 m when the X-ray beam was generated. Results: The total number of portable x-rays was 2089. The average total radiation exposure dose of emergency medical service providers was $0.504{\pm}0.037$ mSv, and it was highest in the EMT group, 0.85(0.58-1.08) mSv. The average of the total number of portable X-rays was highest in the doctor group, 728.5(657.25-809). The relationship between the number of portable X-rays and the radiation exposure dose was not statistically significant(-0.186, p=0.269). Conclusion: Under the condition of staying away from the portable X-ray unit at a distance of least 1.8 m, the relationship between the number of portable X-rays and the radiation exposure dose was not statistically significant.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.122-125
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• 2005

Paraquat, is a widely used for its great effect as a herbicide. But the mortality rate by paraquat intoxication is known to be very high. It is thought to act by changing form to superoxide and peroxide free radical. Almost paraquat intoxication is through ingestion. A few intoxication of paraquat is through skin absorption. But there was no known death case through skin absorption. We experienced a case of a expired patient by paraquat intoxication through skin abrasion and scratching wound. A 75-year-old man was visited emergency room after motorcycle accident during transporting paraquat. He has multiple abrasion and scratching wound on extremities, and pelvic bone fracture. There was no evidence of ingestion of paraquat. But serum/urine gramoxone level was all positive. In spite of wound irrigation and hemoperfusion, his condition was been gone form bed to worse. 2 days after, multiple organ failure and the respiratory arrest were developed and he was expired. Paraquat intoxication through skin wound is extremely dangerous and death by that could possibly happen

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.71-73
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• 2007

Glyphosate is the active ingredient in widely used herbicides. It acts through inhibition of the shikimate metabolic pathway in plants. This pathway does not exist in mammals, however, so glyphosate is presumably less toxic to humans. Nevertheless, fatal cases of glyphosate poisoning in humans have still occurred. Cases of glyphosate poisoning reported in the previous literature were almost always caused by intentional ingestion. Therefore, intramuscular injection of glyphosate with suicidal intent has not been reported. We report a case of 43-year-old man with poisoning due to intramuscular injection of glyphosate herbicide. He was admitted to the emergency department with a chilling sensation, local hotness, swelling, and tenderness at the site of glyphosate injection. He was treated with intravenous antibiotics and analgesics for 10 days and was discharged without any other complication.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2015

Purpose: The purposes of this study are finding the elements for a fast determination of the need for a transfusion to a multiple trauma patient arriving at this clinic in the initial stage establishing objective bases for a doctor in an emergency department to determine the need for a transfusion immediately after a patient has arrived at the emergency department, and providing treatment by considering various factors based on the nine criteria suggested in the emergency room transfusion score (ETS). Methods: This study was conducted on 375 multiple-trauma patients who visited the Chosun University Hospital Emergency Medical Center and activated the Emergency Trauma Team from January 2010 to December 2013. The patients were divided into the transfused group and the non-transfused group by retrospectively analyzing their medical records. Subsequently, the medical records were examined using the nine items suggested by the ETS and the results were analyzed. Results: Three hundred seventy-five patients with multiple traumas visited the Chosun University Hospital Emergency Medical Center and activated the Emergency Trauma Team. Among them, 258 died and 117 recovered and left the hospital. The deceased patients consisted of 182 males and 76 females with an average age 45. Of the 375, 165 were transferred from other hospitals, and 245 were blunt trauma patients. One hundred sixty-nine patients were injured in traffic accidents, and 119 of those 169 who had systolic blood pressure less than 90 mm Hg died. Two hundred twenty-six (60.3%) out of the 375 patients with multiple traumas received an emergency blood transfusion and their average age was 48. The 375 patients consisted of 156 males, 151 who had been transferred from other hospitals, 218 who presented with blunt trauma, 134 who had been injured in traffic accidents, 156 who had a systolic blood pressure less than 90 mm Hg, 134 who scored higher than 9 points on the GCS, and 162 who had a stable pelvic fracture of these 143 died. Conclusion: During this study, 226 (60.3%) out of the patients with multiple traumas received an emergency blood transfusion. After analyzing the results related to emergency blood transfusion by using ETS, we found that an emergency blood transfusion had to be prepared quickly when patients were transferred from other hospitals when the systolic blood pressure was less than 90 mmHg. when abnormalities had been detected by ultrasonography and when the patient presented with a stable pelvic fracture.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Emergency Medicine
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.687-698
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• 2018

Objective: This study examined the characteristics of suicidal attempters, including pre-hospital patients and those who visited the emergency department. Methods: Suicidal attempters who had been reported to the 119 call center were selected between July 2015 and June 2016. Sex, age, place, methods of suicidal attempt, season, time, and suicide success rate were reviewed in the fire center records. Results: A total 961 suicide attempters were enrolled. Among them, 53.6% were males who had an approximately 2.6 times higher mortality than that of females (9.2%). The most preferred place to commit suicide was the home in both sexes (68.0% in male, 82.8% in female) and the most preferred methods was drug intoxication, particularly pesticide. The method with the highest mortality was hanging and the lowest was self-harm. The season of the highest mortality was spring. The success of suicide and the time variation were similar. Most of the un-transferred patients also selected fatal suicide attempts compared to transfer patients. Conclusion: Unlike previous studies, this study includes information on un-transferred patients. Overall, the probability of death was highest as more than 50 years men chose hanging as a method, which had an influence on the un-transferred patients group.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.12-24
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• 2014

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore whether emergency bell could shorten door to electrocardiograms (ECG) time in chest pain patients presenting to emergency department (ED) by self-transport. Methods: This was a planned 6-month before-and-after interventional study design. We set up the emergency bell in walk-in patients' waiting room. Prior to the change, patients were triaged before an ECG was obtained. In new process, as soon as patient with chest pain push the emergency bell, emergency physicians examined patient and prioritized performing ECG. We analyzed door to electrocardiograms (DTE) times for patients with chest pain and ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients between two periods. Results: During the enrollment period, a total of 63 patients called emergency bell. The median DTE time was 6 min (interquartile range: 3.0 - 9.0) and 82.5% received an ECG within 10 minutes, and only three patients were STEMI. DTE time in patient with chest pain was not different between two periods (p=0.980). Before intervention period, 15 walk-in patients admitted in ED for STEMI and 53.8% of STEMI patients received an ECG within 10 minutes. After intervention period, total 19 walk-in patients admitted in ED for STEMI. Of these, 89.5% met the time requirement. Conclusion: Because a small portion of patients with chest pain activated the emergency bell, new strategy for promotion of emergency bell must be needed.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.31-38
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• 2022

Background: To prepare for future work stoppages in the medical industry, this study aimed to identify the effects of healthcare worker strikes on the mortality rate of patients visiting the emergency department (ED) at six training hospitals in Daegu, South Korea. Methods: We used a retrospective, cross-sectional, multicenter design to analyze the medical records of patients who visited six training hospitals in Daegu (August 21-September 8, 2020). For comparison, control period 1 was set as the same period in the previous year (August 21-September 8, 2019) and control period 2 was set as July 1-19, 2020. Patient characteristics including age, sex, and time of ED visit were investigated along with mode of arrival, length of ED stay, and in-hospital mortality. The experimental and control groups were compared using t-tests, and Mann-Whitney U-test, chi-square test, and Fisher exact tests, as appropriate. Univariate logistic regression was performed to identify significant factors, followed by multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: During the study period, 31,357 patients visited the ED, of which 7,749 belonged to the experimental group. Control periods 1 and 2 included 13,100 and 10,243 patients, respectively. No significant in-hospital mortality differences were found between strike periods; however, the results showed statistically significant differences in the length of ED stay. Conclusion: The ED resident strike did not influence the mortality rate of patients who visited the EDs of six training hospitals in Daegu. Furthermore, the number of patients admitted and the length of ED stay decreased during the strike period.