• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• 제28권4호
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• pp.241-247
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• 2015

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of how the trauma care system is applied on the management of trauma patients. Methods: We divided the patients into a pre-trauma system group and a post-trauma system group according to the time when we began to apply the trauma care system in our institution. We compared the general characteristics, injury severity score, initial response time to the trauma patients, number of preventable deaths, and clinical outcomes between the two groups. Results: The numbers of patients in the pre-trauma system group and the post-trauma system group were 188 and 257, respectively. No differences in the patient's median ages, trauma scores (ISS, RTS, TRISS) and proportions of severe trauma patients (ISS>15) were observed between the two groups. The number and the proportion of patients who were admitted to our hospital were increased in the post-trauma system group. The time interval from trauma CP activation to emergency surgery or angio-embolization, and the patient's time spent in emergency room were shortened in the post-trauma system group. However, the lengths of the ICU stay and the hospital stay, and the number of in-hospital mortalities were not improved in the post-trauma system group. In severe trauma patients (ISS>15), there were no differences between the two groups in the number and the proportion of admitted patients, and the time interval from trauma CP activation to performing a diagnostic and therapeutic procedure was not shortened in the post-trauma system group. Conclusion: Application of the trauma care system has shortened the time between the initial response and patient management. However, this improvement was not enough to result in better clinical outcomes. More trauma physicians, multidisciplinary cooperation, and a well-organized trauma management process will be needed if the maximum efficacy of the trauma system is to be achieved.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• 제22권2호
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• pp.254-259
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• 2009

Purpose: Pelvic trauma is a serious skeletal injury with high mortality. Especially in cases of severe injury trauma, treatment outcomes depend on early diagnosis and intervention. We expect trauma surgeon to play an important role in the management of severe multiple trauma patients. Methods: A retrospective study was performed on pelvic trauma patients with hemodynamic instability between March 2005 and September 2009. We divided the time period into period I (March 2005~Feburary 2009) and period II (March 2009~September 2009). The trauma surgeon and team started to work from period II. Data were collected regarding demographic characteristics, mechanism of injury, type of pelvic fracture, ISS(injury severity score), treatment modality, transfusion requirement, time to definitive treatment, and mortality. Results: During period I, among 7 hemodynamically unstable patients, 4(57.1%) patients died. However during Period II, only one of 6(16.6%) patients died. The demographic data and injury scores showed no differences between the two time periods, but the time to definitive treatment was very short with trauma team intervention(14.4 hrs vs. 3.9 hrs). Also, the amount of transfusion was less(41.1 U vs. 13.9 U). With arterial embolization, early pelvic external fixation led to less transfusion and made patients more stable. Conclusion: This study demonstrated the importance of the trauma surgeon and the trauma team in cases of hemodynamically unstable pelvic trauma. Even with the same facility and resources, an active trauma team approach can increase the survival of severely injured multiple trauma patients.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• 제35권3호
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• pp.195-201
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• 2022

Purpose: The objective of this study was to determine the effects of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the volume of trauma patients, the number of orthopedic trauma operations, and the severity of injuries. We also investigated the correlations between social distancing and these variables. Methods: This was a retrospective review of trauma patient cases at a single focused training center for trauma in Korea from January 2017 to April 2021. The COVID-19 group included patients treated from January 1 to April 30 in 2020 and 2021, and the control group included patients treated during the same months from 2017 to 2019. The volume of trauma patients according to the level of social distancing was evaluated among patients treated from August 2, 2020 to November 23, 2020. Results: The study included 3,032 patients who presented to the emergency department with traumatic injuries from January to April 2017 to 2021. The average number of patients was 646.7 and 546.0 in the control and COVID-19 groups, respectively. The percentage of patients injured in traffic accidents (TAs) decreased from 25.0% to 18.2% (P<0.0001). The proportions of in-car TAs and pedestrian TAs also decreased from 6.7% and 10.8% to 3.5% and 6.0%, respectively (P=0.0002 and P<0.0001). The percentage of bicycle TAs increased from 2.4% to 4.0% (P=0.0128). The proportion of patients with an Injury Severity Score above 15 and the mortality rate did not change significantly. As the level of social distancing increased, the number of trauma patients and the number of trauma injuries from TAs decreased. The number of orthopedic trauma operations also depended on the social distancing level. Conclusions: The number of trauma patients presenting to the emergency department decreased during the COVID-19 period. The volume of trauma patients and orthopedic trauma operations decreased as the social distance level increased.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• 제34권4호
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• pp.270-278
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• 2021

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to analyze the results of surgical treatment of patients with brain and torso injury for 5 years in a single regional trauma center. Methods: We analyzed multiple trauma patients who underwent brain surgery and torso surgery for chest or abdominal injury simultaneously or sequentially among all 14,175 trauma patients who visited Dankook University Hospital Regional Trauma Center from January 2015 to December 2019. Results: A total of 25 patients underwent brain surgery and chest or abdominal surgery, with an average age of 55.4 years, 17 men and eight women. As a result of surgical treatment, there were 14 patients who underwent the surgery on the same day (resuscitative surgery), of which five patients underwent surgery simultaneously, four patients underwent brain surgery first, and one patient underwent chest surgery first, four patients underwent abdominal surgery first. Among the 25 treated patients, the 10 patients died, which the cause of death was five severe brain injuries and four hemorrhagic shocks. Conclusions: In multiple damaged patients require both torso surgery and head surgery, poor prognosis was associated with low initial Glasgow Coma Scale and high Injury Severity Score. On the other hand, patients had good prognosis when blood pressure was maintained and operation for traumatic brain injury was performed first. At the same time, patients who had operation on head and torso simultaneously had extremely low survival rates. This may be associated with secondary brain injury due to low perfusion pressure or continuous hypotension and the traumatic coagulopathy caused by massive bleeding.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• 제62권2호
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• pp.232-242
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• 2019

Objective : To investigate the effects of trauma center establishment on the clinical characteristics and outcomes of trauma patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods : We enrolled 322 patients with severe trauma and TBI from January 2015 to December 2016. Clinical factors, indexes, and outcomes were compared before and after trauma center establishment (September 2015). The outcome was the Glasgow outcome scale classification at 3 months post-trauma. Results : Of the 322 patients, 120 (37.3%) and 202 (62.7%) were admitted before and after trauma center establishment, respectively. The two groups were significantly different in age (p=0.038), the trauma location within the city (p=0.010), the proportion of intensive care unit (ICU) admissions (p=0.001), and the emergency room stay time (p<0.001). Mortality occurred in 37 patients (11.5%). Although the preventable death rate decreased from before to after center establishment (23.1% vs. 12.5%), the difference was not significant. None of the clinical factors, indexes, or outcomes were different from before to after center establishment for patients with severe TBI (Glasgow coma scale score ${\leq}8$). However, the proportion of inter-hospital transfers increased and the time to emergency room arrival was longer in both the entire cohort and patients with severe TBI after versus before trauma center establishment. Conclusion : We confirmed that for patients with severe trauma and TBI, establishing a trauma center increased the proportion of ICU admissions and decreased the emergency room stay time and preventable death rate. However, management strategies for handling the high proportion of inter-hospital transfers and long times to emergency room arrival will be necessary.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• 제34권3호
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• pp.147-154
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• 2021

Purpose: We analyzed the characteristics and outcomes of patients with bicycle-related injuries at a regional trauma center in northern Gyeonggi Province as a first step toward the development of improved prevention measures and treatments. Methods: The records of 239 patients who were injured in different types of bicycle-related accidents and transported to a single regional trauma center between January 2017 and December 2018 were examined. This retrospective single-center study used data from the Korea Trauma Database. Results: In total, 239 patients experienced bicycle-related accidents, most of whom were males (204, 85.4%), and 46.9% of the accidents were on roads for automobiles. Forty patients (16.7%) had an Injury Severity Score (ISS) of 16 or more. There were 125 patients (52.3%) with head/neck/face injuries, 97 patients (40.6%) with injuries to the extremities, 59 patients (24.7%) with chest injuries, and 21 patients (8.8%) with abdominal injuries. Patients who had head/neck/face injuries and an Abbreviated Injury Score (AIS) ≥3 were more likely to experience severe trauma (ISS ≥16). In addition, only 13 of 125 patients (10.4%) with head/neck/face injuries were wearing helmets, and patients with injuries in this region who were not wearing helmets had a 3.9-fold increased odds ratio of severe injury (AIS ≥2). Conclusions: We suggest that comprehensive accident prevention measures, including safety training and expansion of safety facilities, should be implemented at the governmental level, and that helmet wearing should be more strictly enforced to prevent injuries to the head, neck, and face.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• 제35권2호
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• pp.76-83
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• 2022

Purpose: Ventilator-associated pneumonia is the most common nosocomial infection in patients with mechanical ventilation. In 2013, the new concept of ventilator-associated events (VAEs) replaced the traditional concept of ventilator-associated pneumonia. We analyzed risk factors for VAE occurrence and in-hospital mortality in trauma patients who received mechanical ventilatory support. Methods: In this retrospective review, the study population comprised patients admitted to the Jeju Regional Trauma Center from January 2020 to January 2021. Data on demographics, injury characteristics, and clinical findings were collected from medical records. The subjects were categorized into VAE and no-VAE groups according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Healthcare Safety Network VAE criteria. We identified risk factors for VAE occurrence and in-hospital mortality. Results: Among 491 trauma patients admitted to the trauma center, 73 patients who received ventilator care were analyzed. Patients with a chest Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) score ≥3 had a 4.7-fold higher VAE rate (odds ratio [OR], 4.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.46-17.9), and those with a glomerular filtration rate (GFR) <75 mL/min/1.73 m² had 4.1-fold higher odds of VAE occurrence (OR, 4.15; 95% CI, 1.32-14.1) and a nearly 4.2-fold higher risk for in-hospital mortality (OR, 4.19; 95% CI, 1.30-14.3). The median VAE-free duration of patients with chest AIS ≥3 was significantly shorter than that of patients with chest AIS <3 (P=0.013). Conclusions: Trauma patients with chest AIS ≥3 or GFR <75 mL/min/1.73 m² on admission should be intensively monitored to detect at-risk patients for VAEs and modify the care plan accordingly. VAEs should be closely monitored to identify infections early and to achieve desirable results. We should also actively consider modalities to shorten mechanical ventilation in patients with chest AIS ≥3 to reduce VAE occurrence.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• 제26권1호
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• pp.1-5
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• 2013

Purpose: The base deficit (BD) at admission in severely injured patients has been shown to predict the adequacy of resuscitation and outcome, but this relationship is not well established in the Korean experience. The purpose of this study was to define the association between arterial blood gas (ABG) values and the mortality for patients with severe blunt trauma at a developing trauma center in Korea. Methods: A retrospective review of 415 adult patients with severe blunt trauma was conducted using electronic medical records from Jan. 2010 to Dec. 2011. Results: A total of 256 patients had ABG drawn within 1 hour of arrival. Patients who expired displayed a higher lactate level (4.86 vs. 3.31, p<0.0001), a worse BD (-7.99 vs. -5.37, p=0.001), and a lower pH (7.31 vs. 7.34, p=0.011) at arrival compared with those who survived. A statistically significant association was also observed between BD and blood product usage (p=0.001). Conclusion: The base deficit at admission is a useful marker of mortality and outcome in severely injured patients with blunt trauma in Korea.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• 제30권3호
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• pp.87-90
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• 2017

Purpose: Nowadays, Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery (VATS) is widely used for its benefits, low post-operative pain, excellent anesthetic result and complete visualization of intrathoracic organs. Despite of these advantages, VATS has not yet been widely used in trauma patients. In this study, we aimed to investigate the usefulness of VATS in the chest trauma area. Methods: From January 2016 to December 2016, 203 patients underwent surgical treatment for chest trauma. Their medical records were analyzed retrospectively. Results: Eleven patients underwent thoracic surgery by VATS. Six patients were unstable vital sign in the emergency room. Two patients underwent emergency surgery and the rest patients underwent planned surgery. The common surgeries were VATS hematoma evacuation and wedge resection. There was no conversion to thoracotomy. The surgery proceeded without any problems for all patients. Conclusions: VATS would be an effective diagnostic and therapeutic modality in chest trauma patients. It can be applied to retained hemothorax, persistent pneumothorax, suspicious diaphragm injury and even coagulation of bleeder.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• 제22권1호
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• pp.24-28
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• 2009

Purpose: This was conducted to assess the need for conventional radiographs of the thoracolumbar spine for routine screening of trauma patients who revealed no spinal trauma on chest and abdominal computed tomography (CT). Methods: We performed a retrospective review of the medical records of trauma patients who underwent conventional radiographs of the thoracolumbar spine following a chest and abdominal CT that revealed no spinal trauma. Results: Two hundred seventy-five trauma patients underwent conventional radiographs of the thoracolumbar spine following a chest and abdominal CT that revealed no spinal trauma. In 274 of the cases, the thoracolumbar spine series was also negative. Conclusion: CT of the chest and abdomen is an adequate evaluation of the thoracolumbar spine in trauma patients who require routine thoracolumbar spine screening, making subsequent conventional radiographs of the thoracolumbar spine unnecessary.