• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2015

Time-loss injuries are still a major occurrence in Canada, injuring thousands of Canadian workers each year. With obesity rates on the rise across the country, as well as around the world, it is important that the possible effects of obesity in the workplace be fully understood, especially those effects linked to lost-time injuries. The aim of this paper was to evaluate predictors of workplace lost-time injuries and how they may be related to obesity or high body mass index by examining factors associated with lost-time injuries in the health care sector, a well-studied industry with the highest number of reported time loss injuries in Canada. A literature review focusing on lost-time injuries in Registered Nurses (RNs) was conducted using the keywords and terms: lost time injury, workers' compensation, occupational injury, workplace injury, injury, injuries, work, workplace, occupational, nurse, registered nurse, RN, health care, predictors, risk factors, risk, risks, cause, causes, obese, obesity, and body mass index. Data on predictors or factors associated with lost-time injuries in RNs were gathered and organized using Loisel's Work Disability Prevention Management Model and extrapolated upon using existing literature surrounding obesity in the Canadian workplace.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.34-42
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• 2022

Purpose: Percutaneous iliosacral (IS) screw fixation for pelvic ring injuries is a minimally invasive technique that reduces the amount of blood loss and shortens the procedure time. Moreover, two unilateral IS S1 screws exhibit superior stability to a single IS screw and are also safer for neurological injuries than an S2 screw. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate fixation using percutaneous two unilateral IS S1 screws for pelvic ring injuries and its subsequent clinical outcomes. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 38 patients who underwent percutaneous two unilateral IS S1 screw fixation for pelvic ring injuries. The procedure time, blood loss, achievement of bone union, radiological outcomes (Matta and Tornetta grade), and postoperative complications were evaluated. Results: The mean procedure time, hemoglobin loss, bone union rate, and time to union were 40.1 minutes (range, 18-102 minutes), 0.6 g/dL (range, 0.3-1.0 g/dL), 100%, and 153.2 days (range, 61-327 days), respectively. The Matta and Tornetta grades were excellent, good, and fair in 24 (63.1%), 11 (28.9%), and three patients (7.9%), respectively, and the postoperative complications were S1 screw loosening, widening of the symphysis pubis (2.3 and 2.5 mm), lumbosacral plexopathy, and S1 radiculopathy in one (2.6%), two (5.3%), one (2.6%), and one patient (2.6%), respectively. However, all neurological complications recovered spontaneously. Conclusions: Percutaneous two unilateral IS S1 screw fixation was useful for treating pelvic ring injuries. In particular, it involved a short procedure time with little blood loss and also led to 100% bone union and good radiological outcomes.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.135-140
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• 2022

Background: Coal mining is a hazardous industry. The purpose of the study is to identify the nature of occupational injuries and diseases among coal miners and to determine the factors that affect the rate of injury and duration of time loss from work. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using accepted workers' compensation claims data of 30,390 Australian coal miners between July 2003 and June 2017. Results: Musculoskeletal and fracture conditions accounted for approximately 60% of claims in all occupational groups. Cox regression analysis showed that older age and female gender were significant predictors of longer time off work. Injury types and occupations were associated with work time loss: mental health conditions, and machine operators and drivers had significantly longer durations of time off work. Conclusion: Future research can further address how these factors led to longer time off work so that coal industry regulators, employers, and healthcare providers can target interventions more effectively to these at-risk workers.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.15-20
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• 2015

Purpose: Vascular injuries caused by traffic, industrial accidents and by outside activities have increased in Korea. Especially, vascular injuries to the extremities can lead to limb loss and even mortality if they are not appropriately treated. The aim of the study was to evaluate the surgical outcomes of femoropopliteal vascular management after trauma. Methods: The medical records of 12 patients with femoropopliteal vascular injuries who were treated at Dankook University Hospital from 2011 to 2013 were reviewed. Iatrogenic vascular injuries were excluded. The clinical data including the causes of injury, associated injuries and surgical outcomes were analyzed retrospectively. Results: All patients were male, with a mean age of $46.8{\pm}16.3years$ (range: 26~69 years). The causes of vascular injuries were four traffic accidents, three industrial accidents, two iron plates, one outside activity, one glass injury and one knife injury. The average transit time between the place of the accident place and the emergency department was $3.0{\pm}2.1$ (0.5~12.5) hours, and the average preparation time for surgery was $8.0{\pm}6.7$ (1.7~23.3) hours. The anatomic injuries included the popliteal vessel in seven cases and the femoral vessel in five cases. The average Injury Severity Score (ISS) was $12.0{\pm}5.0$ (5~17), and the average Mangled Extremity Severity Score (MESS) was $5.7{\pm}2.1$ (2~9). The operation methods were four interposition grafts, three end-to-end anastomoses, two direct repairs and three patch angioplasties. One case required amputation of the injured extremity. Conclusion: Early recognition and revascularization of the injured vessel are mandatory to reduce limb loss and to obtain satisfactory outcomes. Therefore, careful/rapid evaluation of the vascular injuries and timely/successful surgical treatment are the keys to salvaging an injured limb.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.5-11
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• 2009

Objectives : This study was conducted to estimate the socioeconomic cost of injuries in South Korea. Methods : We matched claims data from national health insurance, automobile insurance and industrial accident compensation insurance(IACI), and mortality data obtained from the national statistical office from 2001 to 2003 by patients unique identifier. Socioeconomic cost included both direct cost and indirect cost: the direct cost was injury-related medical expenditure and the indirect cost included loss of productivity due to healthcare utilization and premature death. Results : The socioeconomic cost of injuries in Korea was approximately 1.9% of the GDP from 2001 to 2003. That is, 12.1 trillion KRW(Korean Won) in 2001, 12.3 trillion KRW in 2002, and 13.7 trillion KRW in 2003. In 2003, direct medical costs were 24.6%(3.4 trillion KRW), the costs for loss of productivity by healthcare utilization were 13.0%(1.8 trillion KRW), and the costs for loss of productivity by premature death were 62.4%(8.6 trillion KRW). Conclusions : In this study, the socioeconomic cost of injuries in Korea between 2001 and 2003 was estimated by using not only health insurance claims data, but also automobile insurance, IACI claims and mortality data. We conclude that social efforts are required to reduce the socioeconomic cost of injuries in Korea, which represented approximately 1.9% of the GDP for the time period specified.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.32-39
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• 2022

This study analyzed the relationship between occupational accidents in the construction industry and business cycle factors. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to achieve the research purpose; additionally, time-varying parameter estimations were performed to interpret the results. The results obtained for the construction industry revealed a statistically significant relationship between occupational accidents and wage increase rate, unemployment, construction starts, and other factors. The wage increase rate plays a role in reducing occupational accidents because efforts are made to prevent accidents owing to the increase in income loss due to accidents and the demand for increased safety levels. The number of construction starts affects occupational accidents with a time lag of 1 to 2 or 4 months; therefore, it is likely to be used as a leading indicator for estimating fatal accidents in the construction industry. This study highlighted the importance of monitoring socioeconomic changes that could affect the working conditions of workers and workplaces, and production activities in the workplace for the effective prevention of occupational accidents. This study also reveals the necessity of developing a method to operate prevention projects flexibly and the seasonality of industrial characteristics, particularly those of the construction industry where the highest number of fatal occupational injuries occur.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.674-677
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• 2009

Purpose: Typical cross finger flap is still a good method for reconstruction of fingertip injuries. However, it is necessarily followed by great loss and aesthetically unpreferable result of donor finger. Hereby, we introduce a modification of cross finger flap with reduction pulp plasty and full thickness skin graft, with which we could reduce the defect size of injured fingertip and donor site morbidity at the same time, without any need for harvesting additional skin from other part of hand. Method: This method was performed in the patients with fingertip injuries of complete amputation or in case of loss of fingertip due to necrosis after replantation. Firstly, reduction pulp plasty was performed on the injured finger to reduce the size of defect of fingertip. Additional skin flap was obtained from the pulp plasty. Secondly, cross finger flap was elevated from the adjacent finger to cover the defect on the injured finger. At the same time, defect on the donor finger produced by the flap elevation was covered by full thickness skin graft with the skin obtained from the pulp plasty of injured finger. Results: Flap and graft survived without any necrosis after surgical delay and flap detachment. All of them were healed well and did not present any severe adversary symptoms. Conclusion: Cross finger flap with reduction pulp plasty and full thickness skin graft is an effective method that we can easily apply in reconstruction of fingertip injury. We think that it is more helpful than the usual manner, especially in cases of children with less soft tissue on their fingers for preservation and reduction of the morbidity of donor finger.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.437-447
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• 2018

Computational cost is one of the major obstacles for detailed risk analysis of structures. This paper puts forward a methodology for efficient probabilistic seismic loss assessment of structures using the Endurance Time (ET) analysis and the first-order reliability method (FORM). The ET analysis efficiently yields the structural responses for a continuous range of intensities through a single response-history analysis. Taking advantage of this property of ET, FORM is employed to estimate the annual rate of exceedance for the loss components. The proposed approach is an amalgamation of two analysis approaches, ET and FORM, that significantly lower the computational costs. This makes it possible to evaluate the seismic risk of complex systems. The probability distribution of losses due to the structural and non-structural damage as well as injuries and fatalities of a prototype structure are estimated using the proposed methodology. This methodology is an alternative to the prevalent risk analysis framework of the total probability theorem. Hence, the risk estimates of the proposed approach are compared with those from the total probability theorem as a benchmark. The results indicate a satisfactory agreement between the two methods while a significantly lower computational demand for the proposed approach.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.233-240
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• 2019

Trigeminal nerve injury as a consequence of lower third molar surgery is a notorious complication and may affect the patient in long term. Inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) and lingual nerve (LN) injury result in different degree of neurosensory deficit and also other neurological symptoms. The long term effects may include persistent sensory loss, chronic pain and depression. It is crucial to understand the pathophysiology of the nerve injury from lower third molar surgery. Surgery remains the most promising treatment in moderate-to-severe nerve injuries. There are limitations in the current treatment methods and full recovery is not commonly achievable. It is better to prevent nerve injury than to treat with unpredictable results. Coronectomy has been proved to be effective in reducing IAN injury and carries minimal long-term morbidity. New technologies, like the roles of erythropoietin and stem cell therapy, are being investigated for neuroprotection and neural regeneration. Breakthroughs in basic and translational research are required to improve the clinical outcomes of the current treatment modalities of third molar surgery-related nerve injury.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.107-112
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• 2006

If autogenous nail is lost in nail bed injuries, alternative effective nail bed protection material is questionable in postoperative follow up period. The conventional modality with autogenous nail coverage have several disadvantages such as drawback of maintenance, higher chance of loss and complex dressing step (eg. ointment apply for humidification and nail fixation using tape or bandage). So, we have studied the usefulness of adhesive silicone gel sheet for alternative nail bed protection material until the end of nail regeneration. From March 2003 to July 2004, we have experienced 215 traumatic nail bed injuries except fingertip loss. Among these patient, we classified two groups, 30 cases with autogenous nail protection(Group I) and 30 cases with adhesive silicone gel sheet protection(Group II). Mean full nail growth time was 3.6 months in group I and 3.8 months in group II. Mean final nail appearance score(0: poor, 4: excellent) was 3.0 in group I and 3.5 in group II. Adhesive silicone gel sheet protection(Group II) was slightly superior to the autogenous nail protection in final appearance, especially sterile matrix laceration. In conclusion, we believe that adhesive silicone gel sheet application is a simple, acceptable, alternative method for protecting nail bed with loss of autogenous nail. It has a number of advantages compared with autogenous nail such as better humidification, controllable hygiene, less pain, less hospitalization, less frequent visit, less chance of loss, avoiding complex dressing step and more even pressure with adhesiveness, flexibility and durability.