• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.56-71
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• 1996

Background : Review of readmissions in health care facilities is necessary from the viewpoint of both economic concerns and quality considerations. To identify the characteristics, factors, and causes of multiple admissions in comparison with single admissions is essential for both providers and payers in order to assure quality care and efficient use of medical resources. Methods: All discharges from an university hospital in 1993 were analyzed, and the characteristics of multiple admissions were identified and were compared with those of single admissions by using the data bases of the discharge abstract and billing for reimbursement. Medical records of patients readmitted within 6 days after the previous discharge were reviewed to identify the reasons for such prompt readmission. Statistical analysis between groups of patients were performed by using SPSS. Result : The mean age was higher in multiple admissions than those of single admissions, and the average length of stay was longer in multiple admissions than in single admissions. The hospital cost per day is higher in single admissions while the cost per case is higher in multiple admissions. More than half of readmissions occurred within one month after the preceding discharges. Above 15% of the readmission within 6 days after the preceding discharges seemed to have close relationship with quality of care provided during the preceding hospitalization. The death rate of the patients readmitted within 6 days was the highest in comparison with multiple admissions and single admissions. Conclusion : Potential preventable readmissions should be reduced by identifying characteristics of multiple admissions, especially unplanned readmission, and by applying some interventions such as standard predischarge assessment or careful follow-up care after discharge for high risk readmission groups. As the results of these efforts, health care facilities could achieve quality improvement in medical care, and effective use of hospital resources.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.324-332
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• 2016

Objectives: The annual average of PM10 in Seoul was $45{\mu}/m^3$, which surpasses the WHO annual guidelines ($20{\mu}/m^3$). Most previous analyses of the effects of PM exposure have been retrospective studies using single hospital data, and fewer studies have attempted to address the relationship of PM10 and hospital costs. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of the concentration of PM10 on hospital visits, admissions and hospital costs in patients with respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Methods: Medical data from the National Health Insurance Service and the monthly average of PM10 from National Institute of Environmental Research were used to identify the effects of PM10 on hospital visits, admissions and hospital costs. We applied Poisson regression and linear regression to perform the analysis. Results: The relative risks for admissions per $10{\mu}/m^3$ increase in PM10 were 23.11%, 10.2% and 6.9% increases for acute bronchiolitis, asthma and bronchitis, respectively. The relative risk for hospital visits per $10{\mu}/m^3$ increase in PM10 were 10.4%, 6.7% and 5.9% for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma and chronic sinusitis, respectively. For cardiovascular disease, the relative risk for admissions per $10{\mu}/m^3$ increase in PM10 were 2.2% and 2.1% increases in angina and acute myocardial infarction, respectively. A $10{\mu}/m^3$ increase in the monthly average of PM10 corresponded to 170,723,000 won (95% CI: 125,587,000-215,860,000 won), 123,636,000 won (95% CI: 47,784,000-199,487,000 won) and 78,571,000 won (95% CI: 29,062,000-128,081,000 won) increases in hospital costs for asthma, acute tonsillitis and chronic sinusitis, respectively. Conclusion: Hospital admissions for respiratory and cardiovascular disease were associated with PM10 levels. PM10 exposure is also associated with increased costs for respiratory diseases.

• Journal of the Korean Mathematical Society
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.385-407
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• 2010

To study the relationship between the levels of chemical pollutants and the number of daily total hospital admissions for respiratory diseases and to find the effect of temperature/relative humidity on the admission number, Wong et al. [17] introduced the varying-coefficient single-index model (VCSIM). As pointed out, it is a popular multivariate nonparametric fitting technique. However, the tests of the model have not been very well developed. In this paper, based on the estimators obtained by the local linear technique, the average method and the one-step back-fitting technique in the VCSIM, the generalized likelihood ratio (GLR) tests for varying-coefficient parts on the VCSIM are established. Under the null hypotheses the new proposed GLR tests follow the $\chi^2$-distribution asymptotically with scale constant and degree of freedom independent of the nuisance parameters, known as Wilks phenomenon. Simulations are conducted to evaluate the test procedure empirically. A real example is used to illustrate the performance of the testing approach.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.155-161
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• 2021

Purpose: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has necessitated a redistribution of resources to meet hospitals' service needs. This study investigated the impact of COVID-19 on a regional trauma center in South Korea. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed cases of polytrauma at a single regional trauma center in South Korea between January 20 and September 30, 2020 (the COVID-19 period) and compared them to cases reported during the same time frame (January 20 to September 30) between 2016 and 2019 (the pre-COVID-19 period). The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality, and secondary outcomes included the number of daily admissions, hospital length of stay (LOS), and intensive care unit (ICU) LOS. Results: The mean number of daily admissions decreased by 15% during the COVID-19 period (4.0±2.0 vs. 4.7±2.2, p=0.010). There was no difference in mechanisms of injury between the two periods. For patients admitted during the COVID-19 period, the hospital LOS was significantly shorter (10 days [interquartile range (IQR) 4-19 days] vs. 16 days [IQR 8-28 days], p<0.001); however, no significant differences in ICU LOS and mortality were found. Conclusions: The observations at Regional Trauma Center, Pusan National University Hospital corroborate anecdotal reports that there has been a decline in the number of patients admitted to hospitals during the COVID-19 period. In addition, patients admitted during the COVID-19 pandemic had a significantly shorter hospital LOS than those admitted before the COVID-19 pandemic. These preliminary data warrant validation in larger, multi-center studies.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.268-276
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• 2022

Purpose: Rib fractures are common injuries that can lead to morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data on all patients with rib fractures admitted to a single trauma center between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2018 were reviewed. Results: A total of 1,671 admissions for rib fracture were examined. Patients' median age was 57 years, the median Injury Severity Score (ISS) was 14, and the median number of fractured ribs was three. The in-hospital mortality rate was 4%. Age, the number of rib fractures, and Charlson Comorbidity Index scores were poor predictors of mortality, while the ISS was a slightly better predictor, with area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values of 0.60, 0.55, 0.58, and 0.74, respectively. Multivariate regression showed that age, ISS, and Charlson Comorbidity Index score, but not the number of rib fractures, were associated with significantly elevated adjusted odds ratios for mortality (1.03, 1.14, and 1.28, respectively). Conclusions: Age, ISS, and comorbidities were independently associated with the risk of mortality; however, they were not accurate predictors of death. The factors associated with rib fracture mortality are complex and cannot be explained by a single variable. Interventions to improve outcomes must be multifaceted.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.62 no.2
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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.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.687-690
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• 2014

Background: Emergency departments are visited by cancer patients for palliation of cancer-related symptoms, management of treatment-related side effects, oncologic emergencies, co-morbidities, and/or end of life care. In this study, we aimed to identify the characteristics of cancer patients admitted to an emergency medicine department in Southwest Turkey. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective descriptive study, a total of 304 emergency department admissions of 102 patients with cancer due to medical conditions were evaluated. Descriptive statistical methods, statistical analysis for correlation, Student's t-test, chi-square tests and logistic regression test were used. Results: The majority of patients visiting to emergency departments were male (n=66, 65%) and over 65 years of age (53, 52%). Some 30% (n=31) had a lung cancer diagnosis, 32% (n=33) presentation with dyspnea, 53% (n=55) with metastasis, 30% (n=16) with multiple metastatic lesions in lung, and 68% (n=70) had a poor ECOG performance status (score 3 to 4). Conclusions: Emergency departments have valuable roles in managing and caring for patients with malignancies.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.397-403
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• 2006

Objectives: We estimated the asthma-related health care utilization and costs in Korea from the insurer's and societal perspective. Methods: We extracted the insurance claims records from the Korea National Health Insurance claims database for determining the health care services provided to patients with asthma in 2003. Patients were defined as having asthma if they had ${\geq}$2 medical claims with diagnosis of asthma and they had been prescribed anti-asthma medicines, Annual claims records were aggeregated for each patient to produce patient-specific information on the total utilization and costs. The total asthma-related cost was the sum of the direct healthcare costs, the transportation costs for visits to health care providers and the patient's or caregivers' costs for the time spent on hospital or outpatient visits. Results: A total of 699,603people were identified as asthma patients, yielding an asthma prevalence of 1.47%. Each asthma patient had 7.56 outpatient visits, 0.01 ED visits and 0.02 admissions per year to treat asthma. The per-capita insurance-covered costs increased with age, from 128,276 Won for children aged 1 to 14 years to 270,729 Won for those aged 75 or older. The total cost in the nation varied from 121,865 million to 174,949 million Won depending on the perspectives. From a societal perspective, direct health care costs accounted for 84.9%, transportation costs for 15.1 % and time costs for 9.2% of the total costs. Conclusions: Hospitalizations and ED visits represented only a small portion of the asthma-related costs. Most of the societal burden was attributed to direct medical expenditures, with outpatient visits and medications emerging as the single largest cost components.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.31-37
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• 2020

Purpose: We aimed to evaluate the trauma volume and performance indicators during the first 5-year period of operation in a single regional trauma center. Methods: We analyzed prospectively collected data from the Korean Trauma Data Bank for a single regional trauma center between January 2014 and December 2018. More than 250 variables were analyzed. We calculated the predicted survival rates using the trauma and injury severity score (TRISS) method. Results: In total, there were 16,103 trauma admissions during the first 5 years; trauma activation was performed in 5,105 of these cases. Over 70% of the patients were men, and most of the admitted patients were within the age groups of 55-59 years for men and 75-79 years for women. Analyses were performed considering two patient groups: the total patient group and the group of those with severe trauma (injury severity score [ISS] >15). The median ISS, revised trauma score, and TRISS of the two groups were 5 (interquartile range [IQR] 4-10), 22 (IQR 17-27), and 7.6±0.99 and 6.74±1.9, 0.95±0.13, 0.81±2.67, respectively. Of the total patient group, 801 patients (5%) died in the hospital, whereas of the group of patients with ISS >15, 526 (19.5%) died. The direct transportation of patients to the regional trauma center increased year by year. The emergency room stay time and time to entering the operating room showed a decrease until 2017; however, these parameters increased again in 2018. Conclusions: The trauma volume in the regional trauma center is appropriate, and some improvements could be observed after its establishment. However, performance indicators reveal the prematurity of the trauma center and its potential for further improvements. Moreover, the development of a national trauma system, beyond regional trauma centers, is required.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.75-85
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• 2018

Purpose: This study examined the Poisoning Severity Score (PSS) from acute poisoning patients, to determine the relationships among the PSS, PSSsum, the primary outcome (prolonged stay at the ER over 24 hours, general ward and ICU admission and the application of intubation and mechanical ventilator, and the administration of inotropes). Methods: A retrospective study was conducted through the EMR for 15 months. The PSS grade was classified according to the evidence of symptoms and signs. The differences in the primary outcomes between the PSS of when a single organ was damaged, and the PSS, PSSsum combined with the grade of when multiple organs were damaged, were studied. The cutoff value was calculated using the receiving operating characteristics (ROC) curve. Results: Of the 284 patients; 85 (29.9%) were men with a mean age of 48.8 years, and their average arrival time to the ER was $4.4{\pm}6.7\;hours$. The most frequently used drug was hypnotics. The number of patients with PSS grade 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 was 17, 129, 122, 24, and one, respectively. No ICU admissions, application of intubation and mechanical ventilators, administration of inotropes were observed among the patients with PSS grades 0 and 1 but only on patients with PSS grades 2 to 4. At PSS, when separating the patients according to the number of damaged organs, 17 had no symptoms, 133 had one organ damaged, 75 had two organs damaged, 36 had three organs damaged, and 23 had four organs damaged. Significant differences were observed between increasing number of damaged organs and the primary outcome. Conclusion: Among the acute poisoning patients, the PSS was higher in severity when the grade was higher. The number of damaged organs and the primary outcome showed meaningful statistical differences. This study confirmed that when the patients' PSS>2 and PSSsum>5, the frequency of ICU admission was higher, and they were considered to be severe with an increased prescription risk of application of intubation and mechanical ventilator, and the administration of inotropes.