• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.136-142
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• 2019

Purpose: Near drowning refers to immediate survival after asphyxia due to submersion or immersion in water, which is a crucial public safety problem worldwide. Acute lung injury or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a common complication of near drowning. The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of noninvasive nasal positive pressure ventilation (NINPPV). Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary emergency department. NINPPV was administered for moderate ARDS caused by submersion or immersion in patients who were older than 18 years, from January 2015 to December 2018. We collected the demographic (age, sex, length of hospital stay, and outcome), laboratory (arterial blood gas, lactate, oxygen saturation, partial pressure of oxygen divided by the fraction of inspired oxygen, complete blood count, blood urea nitrogen, and creatinine), and clinical data (acute lung injury index and ventilator failure) of the patients. A statistical analysis was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20.0 for Windows. Results: NINPPV treatment was provided to 57 patients for near drowning, 45 of whom (78.9%) were successfully treated without complications; in 12 (21.1%), treatment was changed to invasive mechanical ventilation within 48 hours due to ARDS or acute kidney injury. NINPPV treatment was successful in 31 (75.6%) out of 41 sea-water near drowning patients. They were more difficult to treat with NINPPV compared with the fresh-water near drowning patients (p<0.05). Conclusions: NINPPV would be useful and feasible as the initial treatment of moderate ARDS caused by near drowning.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.5-24
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• 1984

There has been an immense need for elaborate studies on the complications and the neuological sequelae generated by acute carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning which is highly prevalent in Korea due to widespread adoption of the anthracite coal briquette as domestic fuel for heating and for cooking. For this epidemiological study, a total of 444 subjects who received hospital emergency care for acute CO poisoning during the period of March 1982 to February 1983 were randomly selected from the emergency patients's lists of 13 general hospitals in Seoul area. Informations on the neurological sequelae were elucidated by means of home visiting with prearranged questionnaire consisting questions and concise neurological examination. The findings obtained were summarized as follows; 1. The complications were found in 18% of the surveyed and acute decubitus was comprised 67.5% of the complications. 2. The total cumulative incidence of the neurological sequelae was 41.2 per 100 patients and the absolute incidence rate regardless of the duration after poisoning was 40.8%. 3. The incidence of the neurological sequelae was higher in the older age than in the younger and also higher in female than in male. Twice higher incidence was observed in the admitted patients than in the non-admitted patients and the incidence became higher in proportion to the duration of CO exposure, coma and admission. The poorer the consciousness level of patients found, at emergency room and at discharge, the higher the incidence. The incidence of the neurological sequelae by emergency care was higher in hyperbaric oxygen therapy group(51.9%) than in 100% $O_2$ group(38.0%) 4. A total of five variables significantly associated with the occurrence of the neurological sequelae were selected by the stepwise discriminant analysis. The variables were following course of emergency care, age, consciousness level at discharge, admission duration, and consciousness level at emergency room in their sequence of discriminant power. Eight variables were selected as those associated with the degree of the neurological sequelae through the stepwise multiple regression analysis. Of these variables, the acute decubitus alone explained 21.1% of the total variation ana all the eight variables could explain 36.5% of the same. The remaining seven variables listed in the order of their relative importance were: age, consciousness level at discharge, admission duration, coma duration and consciousness level at emergency room. 5. It was postulated that unexpectedly high incidence of the neurological sequelae of the CO poisoning in this epidemiological study was mainly due to the inadequate emergency care and the lack of efficient and sophisticated treatment measure. In the effort to minimize the incidence of grave neurological sequelae of acute CO poisoning, new guidelines for the emergency care and treatment should be pursued with efficient ways.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.65-71
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• 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the cause of acute fatal poisoning and the time of death by analyzing the National Emergency Department Information System (NEDIS) of South Korea. Methods: The NEDIS data from 2014 to 2018 excluding non-medical visits were used for this study. The patients with acute poisoning were extracted using diagnostic codes. The toxic substances were classified into pharmaceuticals, pesticides, gases, artificial poisonous substances, and natural toxic substances. Patients were classified according to the time of death, place of death, and region. In each case, the most causative substances of poisoning were identified. Results: There were 380,531 patients including poisoning-related diagnoses, of which 4,148 (1.1%) died, and the WHO age-standardized mortality rate was 4.8 per 100,000. Analysis of 2,702 death patients whose primary diagnosis was acute poisoning, the most common cause of poisoning death was pesticides (62%), followed by therapeutic drugs, gas, and artificial toxic substances. Herbicides were the most common pesticides at 64.5%. The proportion of mortality by time, hyperacute (<6 h) 27.9%, acute (6-24 h) 32.6%, subacute (1-7 d) 29.7%, and delayed period (>7 d) were 9.8%. Conclusion: This study suggests that the most common cause of poisoning death was pesticides, and 60% of deaths occurred within 24 hours. The 71% of mortality from pesticides occurred within 6-24 hours, but mortality from gas was mostly within 6 hours. According to the geographic region, the primary cause of poisoning death was varied to pesticides or pharmaceuticals.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.88-95
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• 2020

Purpose: The present study will identify risk factors for aspiration in severe trauma patients by comparing patients who showed a sign of aspiration lung disease on chest computed tomography (CT) and those who did not. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of the Korean Trauma Data Bank between January 2014 and December 2019 in a single regional trauma center. The inclusion criteria were patients aged ≥18 years with chest CT, and who had an Injury Severity Score ≥16. Patients with Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS)-chest score ≥1 and lack of medical records were excluded. General characteristics and patient status were analyzed. Results: 425 patients were included in the final analysis. There were 48 patients showing aspiration on CT (11.2%) and 377 patients showing no aspiration (88.7%). Aspiration group showed more endotracheal intubation in the ER (p=0.000) and a significantly higher proportion of severe Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) (p=0.000) patients than the non-aspiration group. In AIS as well, the median AIS head score was higher in the aspiration group (p=0.046). Median oxygen saturation was significantly lower in the aspiration group (p=0.002). In a logistic regression analysis, relative to the GCS mild group, the moderate group showed an odds ratio (OR) for aspiration of 2.976 (CI, 1.024-8.647), and the severe group showed an OR of 5.073 (CI, 2.442-10.539). Conclusions: Poor mental state and head injury increase the risk of aspiration. To confirm for aspiration, it would be useful to perform chest CT for severe trauma patients with a head injury.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.122-127
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• 2006

Purpose: It is not easy to detect carbon monoxide (CO) leakage, and CO-intoxicated patients do not show a specific set of symptoms. The aims of this study are to clinically evaluate patients with CO gas intoxication from a CO leak at an underground shopping center, and to discuss the establishment of a disaster prevention plan. Methods: A total of 51 patients intoxicated by CO gas exposure in a gas disaster at a underground shopping center in Seoul on September 8, 2006 were enrolled in this study, and the patients' medical records were retrospectively reviewed. Results: The mean patient age was $29.4{\pm}6.3$. The initial mean COHb level was $14.98{\pm}6.97%$. The number of patients with COHb greater than 25% was three, and six patients experienced a syncopal attack. Only one patient-was treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy. However, none of the patients complained of severe neurologic or cardiovascular symptoms. Conclusion: The symptoms of CO intoxication are non-specific and difficult to define, and the detection of CO leak-age is difficult. Thus, workplaces should be equipped with leakage sensors and automatic alarm systems and should have develop disaster prevention plans.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.23 no.9
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• pp.878-888
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• 2022

Objective: To investigate the clinical impact of a quality improvement program including dedicated emergency radiology personnel (QIP-DERP) on the management of emergency surgical patients in the emergency department (ED). Materials and Methods: This retrospective study identified all adult patients (n = 3667) who underwent preoperative body CT, for which written radiology reports were generated, and who subsequently underwent non-elective surgery between 2007 and 2018 in the ED of a single urban academic tertiary medical institution. The study cohort was divided into periods before and after the initiation of QIP-DERP. We matched the control group patients (i.e., before QIP-DERP) to the QIP-DERP group patients using propensity score (PS), with a 1:2 matching ratio for the main analysis and a 1:1 ratio for sub-analyses separately for daytime (8:00 AM to 5:00 PM on weekdays) and after-hours. The primary outcome was timing of emergency surgery (TES), which was defined as the time from ED arrival to surgical intervention. The secondary outcomes included ED length of stay (LOS) and intensive care unit (ICU) admission rate. Results: According to the PS-matched analysis, compared with the control group, QIP-DERP significantly decreased the median TES from 16.7 hours (interquartile range, 9.4-27.5 hours) to 11.6 hours (6.6-21.9 hours) (p < 0.001) and the ICU admission rate from 33.3% (205/616) to 23.9% (295/1232) (p < 0.001). During after-hours, the QIP-DERP significantly reduced median TES from 19.9 hours (12.5-30.1 hours) to 9.6 hours (5.7-19.1 hours) (p < 0.001), median ED LOS from 9.1 hours (5.6-16.5 hours) to 6.7 hours (4.9-11.3 hours) (p < 0.001), and ICU admission rate from 35.5% (108/304) to 22.0% (67/304) (p < 0.001). Conclusion: QIP-DERP implementation improved the quality of emergency surgical management in the ED by reducing TES, ED LOS, and ICU admission rate, particularly during after-hours.

• 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.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2012

Purpose: This study analyzed the characteristics of unstable pelvic bone fractures associated with intra-abdominal solid organ injury. Methods: Medical records were retrospectively collected from January 2000 to December 2010 for patients with unstable pelvic bone fractures. Unstable pelvic bone fracture was defined as lateral compression types II and III, antero-posterior compression types II and III, vertical shear and combined type by young classification. Subjects were divided into two groups, with (injured group) and without (non-injured group) intra-abdominal solid organ injury, to evaluate whether the characteristics of the fractured depended on the presence of associated solid organ injury. Data included demographics, mechanism of injury, initial hemodynamic status, laboratory results, revised trauma score (RTS), abbreviated injury scale (AIS), injury severity score (ISS), amount of transfusion, admission to the intensive care unit (ICU), and mortality. Results: The subjects were 217 patients with a mean age of 44 years and included 134 male patients(61.8%). The injured group included 38 patients(16.9%). Traffic accidents were the most common mechanism of injury, and lateral compression was the most common type of fracture in all groups. The initial blood pressure was lower in the injured group, and the ISS was greater. The arterial pH was lower in the injured group, and shock within 24 hours after arrival at the emergency department was more frequent in the injured group. The amount of the transfused packed red blood cells within 24 hours was higher in the injured group than the non-injured group. Invasive treatment, including surgery and angiographic embolization, was more common in the injured group, and the stay in the ICU was longer in the injured group. Conclusion: A need exists to decide on a diagnostic and therapeutic plan regarding the possibility of intra-abdominal solid organ injury for hemodynamically unstable patients with unstable pelvic bone fractures and multiple associated injuries.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.17-25
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• 2019

Purpose: We investigated how prehospital, emergency room (ER), and delta shock indices (SI) correlate with outcomes including mortality in patients with polytrauma. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 1,275 patients who visited the emergency department from January 2015 to April 2018. A total of 628 patients were enrolled in the study. Patients were divided into survivor and non-survivor groups, and logistic regression analysis was used to investigate independent risk factors for death. Pearson coefficient analysis and chi-square test were used to examine the significant relationship between SI and clinical progression markers. Results: Of 628 enrolled patients, 608 survived and 27 died. Multivariate logistic regression analysis reveals "age" (p<0.001; OR, 1.068), "pre-hospital SI >0.9" (p<0.001; OR, 11.629), and "delta SI ${\geq}0.3$" (p<0.001; OR, 12.869) as independent risk factors for mortality. Prehospital and ER SIs showed a significant correlation with hospital and intensive care unit length of stay and transfusion amount. Higher prehospital and ER SIs (>0.9) were associated with poor clinical progression. Conclusions: SI and delta SI are significant predictors of mortality in patients with polytrauma. Moreover, both prehospital and ER SIs can be used as predictive markers of clinical progression in these patients.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.63-69
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• 2014

Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate the difference between male and female in some clinically meaningful aspects and to prevent intentional poisoning in children and adolescents. Methods: Retrograde medical records review of patients who visited the emergency department of two secondary hospitals for drug ingestion from March 2010 through March 2013 was performed. Unintentional ingestion or ingestion by others was excluded. Results: A total of 138 cases were reported, male 25.4% (n=35), female 74.6% (n=103). The reason for poisoning was intentional in 132 cases (95.7%) and misuse in six cases (4.3%). In female patients, non-prescription drugs was the most common cause of intentional poisoning (68.9%). Male patients tend to use life substances for intentional poisoning more frequently (20.0%) than female (3.9%). Seven male patients and 12 female patients had previous psychiatric history and 34.3% of male and 41.7% of female were consulted to the psychiatric department. Conclusion: Female adolescents are more likely to ingest drugs intentionally for suicide attempt than males of comparable ages. The drugs they ingested were, in many cases, obtained with ease from the drug store nearby and, remarkably, most of the drugs they obtained in that way were acetaminophen-containing. This suggests that some guidelines or control in the pharmacy that restrict children or adolescents from obtaining potentially or possibly life-threatening drugs might be necessary. In addition, education regarding drugs is thought to be necessary in school for teenagers as they tend to misuse them with incorrect acknowledgement.