• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.166-173
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• 2018

Purpose: Many traumatic patients die from sepsis and multiple organ failure. Early recognition of post-traumatic sepsis in traumatic patients will help improve the prognosis. Recently, procalcitonin (PCT), macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), and lactic acid have emerged as predictive factors. Our study aims to explore the significance of PCT, MIF and lactic acid as a predictor of posttraumatic-sepsis in trauma patients. Methods: This study was conducted on prospective observational study patients who visited an emergency medical center in a university hospital from March 2014 to February 2016. We measured the white blood cells, c-reactive protein (CRP), lactic acid, PCT, and MIF with serum taken from the patient's blood within 1 hour of the occurrence of the trauma. The definition of post-traumatic sepsis was defined as being part of systemic inflammation response syndrome criteria with infections within a week. Results: A total of 132 patients were analyzed, wherein 74 patients were included in the low injury severity score (ISS) group (ISS <15) and 58 patients were included in the high ISS group (ISS ${\geq}15$). The mean PCT, MIF, and lactic acid levels were higher in the high ISS group (p<0.05). Meanwhile, 38 patients were included in the early sepsis group and 94 patients were included in the non-sepsis group. The mean MIF levels were higher in the sepsis group than the non-sepsis group (p<0.05) and there were no significant differences in the initial CRP, lactic acid, and PCT levels in these two groups. Conclusions: MIF may be considered as a predictive factor for sepsis in trauma patients.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.46-52
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• 2008

Purpose: This study was to evaluate the effect of arterial embolization on survival in patients with pelvic bone fractures and arterial bleeding. Methods: From January 2001 to December 2007, in all, 18 patients with pelvic bone fractures that had been treated with interventional arterial embolization were included in this retrospective study. The Injury Severity Score (ISS), the Revised Trauma Score (RTS), the initial hemodynamic status, the blood gas analysis, blood transfusion data, and mortality were the main outcome measurements. Results: Pelvic bone fractures were classified into lateral compression (LC), antero-posterior compression (APC), vertical shear (VS), and combined (CM) type according to the Young-Burgess classification. The Survivor group included 11 patients (61.1%), and the non-survivor group included 7 patients (38.9%). The mean ages for the survivor and the non-survivor groups were 40.0 and 45.6 years (p=0.517). The types of pelvic bone fractures were LC 11 (61.1%), APC 6 (33.3%), and VS 1 (5.6%): LC 7 (63.6%), and APC 4 (36.4%) in the survivor group and LC 4 (57.1%), APC 2 (28.6%), and VS 1 (14.3%) in the non-survivor group. The internal iliac artery was the predominant injured vessel among both the survivors (n = 5, 45.5%) and the non-survivors (n = 4, 57.1%). No differences in initial blood pressures, ISS, and RTS existed between the two groups, but the arterial pH was lower in the non-survivor group (pH 7.09 (${\pm}0.20$) vs 7.30 (${\pm}0.08$), p=0.018). The number of transfused 24-hour units of packed RBC was greater in the non-survivor group ($24.1{\pm}12.5$ vs $14.4{\pm}6.8$, p=0.046). Conclusion: No differences in initial blood pressure and trauma scores existed between survivors and non-survivors with pelvic bone fractures, who had been treated with arterial embolization, but arterial pH was lower the in non-survivors.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.307-321
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• 2020

Purpose : A person infected by SARS-CoV2 may present various symptoms such as fever, pain in lower respiratory tract, and pneumonia. Measuring body temperature is a simple method to screen patients. However, changes in the surrounding environment may cause errors in infrared measurement. Hence, a non-contact thermometer controls this error by setting a correction value, but it is difficult to correct it for all environments. Therefore, we investigate device error values according to changes in the surrounding environment (temperature and humidity) and propose guidelines for reliable patient detection. Methods : For this study, the temperature was measured using three types of non-contact thermometers. For accurate temperature measurement, we used a water bath kept at a constant temperature. During temperature measurement, we ensured that the temperature and humidity were maintained using a thermo-hygrometer. The conditions of the surrounding environment were changed by an air conditioner, humidifier, warmer, and dehumidifier. Results : The temperature of the water bath was measured using a non-contact thermometer kept at various distances ranging from 3~10 cm. The value measured by the non-contact thermometer was then verified using a mercury thermometer, and the difference between the measured temperatures was compared. It was observed that at normal surrounding temperature (24 ℃), there was no difference between the values when the non-contact thermometer was kept at 3 cm. However, as the distance of the non-contact thermometer was increased from the water bath, the recorded temperature was significantly different compared with that of mercury thermometer. Moreover, temperature measurements were conducted at different surrounding temperatures and the results obtained significantly varied from when the thermometer was kept at 3 cm. Additionally, it was observed that the effect on temperature decreases with an increase in humidity Conclusion : In conclusion, non-contact thermometers are lower in lower temperature and dry weather in winter.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.16-25
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• 2016

Purpose: Patients suffering from acute poisoning by different substances often visit the emergency department (ED) and receive various prognoses according to the toxic material and patients' condition. Hyperlactatemia, which is an increased blood lactate level that generally indicates tissue hypoperfusion, is commonly utilized as a prognostic marker in critically ill patients such as those with sepsis. This study was conducted to investigate the relationships between blood lactate and clinical prognosis in acute poisoned patients. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted from January 2013 to June 2014 at a single and regional-tertiary ED. We enrolled study patients who were examined for blood test with lactate among acute intoxicated patients. The toxic materials, patient demographics, laboratory data, and mortalities were also reviewed. Additionally, we analyzed variables including blood lactate to verify the correlation with patient mortality. Results: A total of 531 patients were enrolled, including 24 (4.5%) non-survivors. Patient age, Glasgow coma scale (GCS), serum creatinine (Cr), aspartate transaminase (AST), and serum lactate differed significantly between survivors and non-survivors in the binary logistic regression analysis. Among these variables, GCS, AST, and lactate differed significantly. The median serum lactate levels were 2.0 mmol/L among survivors and 6.9 mmol/L among non-survivors. The AUC with the ROC curve and odds ratio of the initial serum lactate were 0.881 and 3.06 (0.89-8.64), respectively. Conclusion: Serum lactate was correlated with fatalities of acute poisoning patients in the ED; therefore, it may be used as a clinical predictor to anticipate their prognoses.

• The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.95-109
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• 2017

The golden time of emergency vehicle is directly connected to the public safety. Therefore, national attention has increased to cut down the emergency vehicle's travel time. In order to shorten the intial dispatch time of it, emergency preemption system was installed at five intersections, and after test operation, whether it could be introduced in the country was estimated. We analyzed the effect of the traffic volume, emergency vehicle's travel time, and queue length under preemption and non-preemption. In the verification of the emergency preemption system, it was confirmed that the emergency vehicle's travel time was reduced from 350% to 24% compared to non-preemption system(TOD). In the saturated condition, queue length were remained 15 minutes and near saturated condition was about 30 or 45 minutes. At the non-saturated condition, the queue length's difference between emergency preemption system and general signal was small.

• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.67-77
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• 2020

Purpose: The study aims to improve the quality of emergency medical services by surveying the user's satisfaction of 119 emergency medical services nationwide. Methods: From December 21 to December 27 each year from 2015 to 2017 a total of 5,889 people were surveyed by phone call in fire station. Results: The average degree of satisfaction with the emergency medical services was 4.17±0.70, with 85.1% respondents reporting being 'satisfied'. Factors like being a patient, injuries, residential area, and scene arrival time affected satisfaction. From 2015 to 2017, the satisfaction degree decreased every year, with factors affecting this results including "first aid guidance of phone call" and "rapidity of emergency medical services." The highest satisfaction factors were 'friendly acting of emergency medical services' and 'appropriate offer of emergency medical services', while the lowest satisfaction factors were 'first aid guidance of phone call' and 'adequacy of emergency medical team'. Conclusion: The quality of emergency medical services needs to be improved by managing the quality of phone call first aid guidance and the assignment of adequate emergency medical teams to increase user satisfaction.

• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.139-151
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• 2019

Purpose: To discuss the records and legal standards of emergency medical technician training institutions in Korea and abroad, to identify the problems, and to provide the basic resources for improving the EMT-basic training institutions. Methods: We received advice through an advisory meeting of experts (professors of department of emergency medical technicians) and interested parties (Korean Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, officials of emergency medical technician training institutions) and referred to various reports published by governments, official institutions, and other trustworthy organizations. Also, we communicated with the related experts abroad (3 countries) on the phone or by email for surveys. Results: Compared to the abroad, it is necessary to categorize the standards and procedures of designating the emergency medical technician training institutions in Korea and improve the management of training institutions to train competent emergency medical technicians. Conclusion: It is necessary to designate and manage continuously the emergency medical technician-basic training programs for the systematic primary healthcare service.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2017

Purpose: Nefopam is a centrally acting non-narcotic analgesic that has mostly been used for postoperative pain. We examined the efficacy of nefopam analgesia (alone and in combination with ketorolac) for trauma patients in the emergency department. Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review to select trauma patients who received nefopam at the emergency department of Korea University Medical Center Guro Hospital between January 2012 and December 2012. Patients younger than 15 years were excluded. The primary outcome measure was change of pain score (numeric rating scale) from baseline (before medication) to 30 min after medication. The secondary outcome measure was requirement for additional analgesia (pethidine). Results: Records of 1465 trauma patients who received analgesics in the emergency department from January 2012 to December 2012 were examined. Patients were classified into five groups according to initial analgesic: nefopam (n=112), ketorolac (n=867), pethidine (n=365), nefopam+ketorolac (92), and nefopam+pethidine (22). There were no significant differences in pain score reductions among the five groups. Twenty-two patients in the nefopam group, 141 in the ketorolac group, and 29 in the nefopam+ketorolac group required rescue analgesia with pethidine; these rates were not significantly different. Conclusion: The efficacy of nefopam analgesia for trauma patients in the emergency department is comparable to that of more commonly used agents, including ketorolac and pethidine.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.166-170
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• 2016

A brief emergency planning educational presentation was taught during work hours to a convenience sample of employees of various workplaces in Northern Missouri, USA. Participants were familiarized with details about how an emergency plan is prepared by management and implemented by management-employee crisis management teams - focusing on both employee and management roles. They then applied the presentation information to assess their own organization's emergency preparedness level. Participants possessed significantly (p < 0.05) higher perceptions of their organization's level of emergency preparedness than non-participants. It is recommended that an assessment of organizational preparedness level supplement emergency planning educational presentations in order to immediately apply the material covered and encourage employees to become more involved in their organization's emergency planning and response. Educational strategies that involve management-employee collaboration in activities tailored to each workplace's operations and risk level for emergencies should be implemented.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.30-36
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• 2010

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze the clinical characteristics of anaphylaxis and anaphylactic shock caused by bee venom. Methods: We retrospectively collected the data of the patients who experienced anaphylaxis caused by natural bee sting or acupuncture using bee venom from January 1999 to December 2008. Seventy subjects were divided into the shock and non-shock groups. The clinical characteristics, sources of bee venom, treatments and outcomes were compared between the two groups. Results: The mean age of the subjects was $45.5{\pm}16.3$ years old and the number of males was 44 (62.9%). There were 25 patients in the shock group and 45 in the non-shock group. The age was older (p=0.001) and females (p=0.003) were more frequent in the shock group. Transportation to the hospital via ambulance was more frequent in the shock group (p<0.001). No difference was found in species of bee between the two groups. The cephalic area, including the face, was the most common area of bee venom in both groups. Anaphylaxis caused by bee sting commonly occurred between July and October. Cutaneous and respiratory symptoms were the most frequent symptoms related to anaphylaxis. Cardiovascular and neurologic symptoms were more frequent in the shock group. The amount of intravenously administered fluid and subcutaneous injection of epinephrine were much more in the shock group than that in the non-shock group. Conclusion: Older age was the factors related to anaphylactic shock caused by bee venom. Further validation is needed to evaluate the gender factor associated with shock.