• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.467-479
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• 1999

The mortality and morbidity caused by injury and poisoning has been major public health problem in Korea. This study was carried out to get information indispensable in developing prevention srategies peculiar to korean rural area. In this study 1.499 people of 496 households. who are living in five rural villages of Chooncheon City. Kang-Won Province. were interviewed in accordance with structured questionaire in 1996. The results obtained are summarized as follows: 1. The age-standardized annual incidence rates of injury and poisoning per 100 persons surveyed were 4.2 in males and 1.9 in females. The difference between sex was statistically significant. 2. The places where most of injuries and poisonings occurred were road 66.7% among males. road 31.6% among females. 3. The occurrence of the injuries and poisonings were clustered in intensive farming season in both males and females. 4. The laceration and stab wound were the most frequent nature of injuries in males and the fracture was the most frequent nature of injuries in females. The fracture. sprain were more frequent among males but sprain and contusion were more frequent among females. 5. Incidence rates of injuries and poisoning by cause were higher in traffic accidents among males. though falls among females. The cause specific incidence rate by age was high in traffic accident for 30-59 year age group. and for the aged people older than 60 years. 6. In the management pattern, 78.8% of the injuries and poisoning were received medical care in hospitals and clinics, and the duration of the treatment over 4 weeks in 37.0%. The results obtained indicate that organized community effort is urgently required to prevent injuries and poisonings in rural area.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.464-475
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• 1992

Head Injuries due to traffic accidents are now the leading cause of death and long term disability in males between 30-50 years. Many patients with head injuries experience mild dysfunction of cognition without major neurosurgical problems, and this may interfere with successful rehabilitation. However, not many studies have been done to investigate the cognitive functioning following mild head injuries. The purpose of this study was to obtain injured patient's dermographic data including medical, neuropsychological and social data, and to investigate the cause of injury and alcohol use at the time of injury. This study focused on the recovery of cognitive function in patients with head injuries and used the Mini Mental State Examination(MMSE) score and its correlation with dermographic and social data. Data on 77 patients with minor head injuries who were admitted to the department of Neurosurgery in 3 and I hospital in Dae Jun from September 1991 to February 1992 were analyzed. The findings of this study are as follows ; 1) Out of the 77 cases reviewed in this study, 62 were male, 15 were female. 2) A higher incidence of injury was observed between 7:00 PM and 12:00 PM. 3) The most common cause of head injury in traffic accidents was pedestrian accidents, and the next most frequent cause was motorcycle accidents. 4) Thirteen of the 77 cases in this study were under the influence of alcohol at the time of injury, and they were all male. 5) The MMSE scores one month after injury and at discharge were significantly lower in patients with head injuries that included skull fractures than in patients without skull fractures, suggesting lower cognitive function in patients with skull fractures. 6) The level of consciousness at admission and three days after admission measured by the GCS for drivers under the influence of alcohol was lower than for sober drivers. The MMSE score was also lower for drunken drivers. 7) The MMSE score one month after the injury had a reciprocal relationship with the age of the patient. 8) The MMSE score one month after the injury and at discharge were highly correlated with the duration of unconsciousness. 9) The MMSE score one month after injury and at discharge were highly correlated with the GCS scores at admission, three days after admission, and one week after admission.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.429-438
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• 2019

This study was to evaluate the level of traffic safety related to domestic traffic accidents by analyzing the international comparison of road traffic accident indicators and to set goals and directions of traffic accidents in Korea in the future. The research procedure was as follows: First, population, number of registered vehicles, roadway length, vehicle kilometers, injury accidents, fatalities, injuries were collected in 32 OECD countries. Second, we determined Korea's traffic safety rankings through international comparison of traffic accident rate. Finally, we analyzed the level of traffic safety by comparing Korea with the 7 advanced countries with the traffic accident rate per vehicle kilometers. The accident rate in Korea was greater than two times higher than those of the seven major developed countries, which showed that the level of traffic safety in Korea implied very low. Target values for domestic accidents were proposed based on the accident rate.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.513-517
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• 1995

The injuries to the bronchi have been reported with increasing frequencies. The most common cause of such injuries is compression or crushing chest trauma. Early diagnosis and emergent repair should be done for the good prognosis. We report 3 cases who had bronchial injuries after traffic accident. Our operative procedures were a primary bronchial repair for 17 months old boy, a pneumonectomy for delayed recognition and a bronchoplasty procedure 63 days after trauma. All these bronchial ruptures were successfully treated and discharged.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.232-239
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• 2022

Purpose: The recent increase in electric scooter (e-scooter) use has been accompanied by an increase in injuries from e-scooter-related accidents. Studies have reported that most such injuries are minor, and physicians may therefore underestimate the severity of such injuries. This study investigated the types and severity of injuries caused by isolated e-scooter accidents (i.e., those that did not involve colliding with other cars or falling from heights). Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted from May to December 2021 at Dankook University Hospital tertiary medical center. The demographic data of patients injured in isolated e-scooter-related accidents were collected. All injuries were categorized by body part. Results: Fifty eligible patients visited our emergency department during the study period. Of these, 76% were categorized as nonemergency, and 62% were discharged after initial evaluation and treatment at the emergency department. Another 10% were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and 18% to the ward, with nine patients receiving at least one operation. The average hospital stays were 2.4 days in the ICU and 9 days in the ward. One death occurred due to traumatic brain injury (overall mortality rate, 2%). Multiple fractures of the left third through ninth ribs combined with lung laceration and fractures of T12 and L4 were noted. Conclusions: Various types and severities of injuries can occur in isolated e-scooter accidents. While most such injuries are minor, some will require ICU admission or surgery, and deaths can occur. Physicians should not underestimate the severity of such injuries.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.146-150
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• 2016

Purpose: Traumatic aortic injuries are rare, but life threatening condition. They usually occur after high velocity impact on the chest or abdomen such as traffic accident or fall. We report the experiences of the traumatic aortic injuries at a single center. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of nine patients with aortic injury resulting from the blunt trauma from Jan. 2010 to May. 2016. Results: The mean age was $51.1{\pm}20.8$ years old, and ten (90.9%) were men. The mechanisms of injury were traffic accidents in seven patients (motorcycle accidents; 3, car accidents; 4), and four in fall injury. Most common injured sites were thoracic aorta (9, 81.8%). Aortic injuries were repaired by endovascular approach in four patients, and by open graft surgery in four. Two patients were managed conservatively. Nine patients survived without any complications. Conclusion: We had experienced different approaches for management of aortic injuries after blunt trauma according to locations and severity of lesions.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.84-87
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• 2003

Drowsy driving is a major cause of automobile crashes and can lead to more serious injuries than other causes of traffic accidents. Factors increasing the risk of drowsy driving and related crashes include sleep loss, late night driving, untreated or unrecognized sleep disorders, use of sedating medications and consumption of alcohol. Young people, especially young males, shift workers, and people with untreated sleep apnea syndrome and narcolepsy are well known as the population groups at highest risk. To prevent drowsy driving and its consequences, getting adequate and quality sleep is both easier and much more successful than any remedial measure. Other helpful behaviors include avoidance of alcoholic beverages and limiting late night driving. Taking a short nap or consuming caffeine can make a short-term difference in driving alertness. In addition, information should be actively provided to the public about the importance of sleep disorders and their consequences. To reduce injuries and death caused by drowsy driving, it is a prerequisite to increase public awareness that drowsy driving can cause serious automobile crashes and has morbidity and mortality rates as high as those of drunk driving.

• Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.35-39
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• 2004

A review of accidents involving farm machinery, which occurred in Korea during 2002, shows that $90.7\%$ of farm-work accidents and $9.3\%$ of traffic accidents were linked to agricultural machinery. The frequency of accidents per annum amounts to 72.2 out of 10,000 vehicles, $94.4\%$ of which relates to tillers and tractors. An analysis of the causes of the accidents revealed that $49.1\%$ of farm-work accidents were due to the tiller driver's fault or error. In the case of traffic accidents, $83\%$ of farm machinery mishaps were found to be due to violation of traffic regulations while $60.4\%$ of the farm machinery damage resulted from faulty driving or lack of safe driving practices. The average casualty count of farm machinery-related accidents is 1.39 persons per case, which consist of 0.07 deaths, 0.74 serious injuries, and 0.58 slight injuries.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.274-281
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• 2004

Objectives : This study was performed to investigate the injury rates and risk factors for preschool children in Daegu city and Kyungpook province. Method : A questionnaire survey about medically attended injuries during the preschool period was performed in nine primary schools located in Daegu city, Pohang city and Goryung County. The overall injury rate was estimated using person-year. The causes and patterns of the injuries, and their risk factors were examined. Result : A total of 469 medically attended injuries were reported in 330 of the 959 study subjects during the preschool period. The overall annual injury rate was 7.5 per 100 children. The injury rate increased sharply during the period from infant (2.4) to 1 year of age (7.5), and the peak injury rate (9.2) was reported for 5 year olds. The most common causes of injuries were falling (36.0%), followed by being struck by an object (23.7%), and traffic accidents (14.1%). Among the traffic accidents, 72.8% occurred while playing on the road, riding a bicycle or roller-skating. A proportional hazard model showed that males (hazard ratio=1.49, p<0.001 compared with female) and the mother's higher education level (hazard ratio of college or higher= 1.51, p=0.013; high school=1.32, p=0.085 compared with those of middle school or lower) were significant risk factors of childhood injury. Conclusion : The results of this study suggested that efforts for children's safety should be made, especially from the toddler stage, and in male children. To develop a more specific childhood injury prevention program, a surveillance system for injuries should be established. Further study of the relationship between mother's occupation and injury rates is also needed.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.123-126
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• 1981

190 cases of the thoracic injuries experienced at the department of chest surgery, Chungnam National University Hospital, for 5 years from Jan. 1976 till Dec 1980, were analysed. The results are as follows; 1. The incidence rate of male to female was 5.1:1. The common age groups were 3rd, 4th and 5th decades, and the most common age group in the penetrating injury was 3rd decade. 2. The most common mode of the nonpenetrating injuries was a traffic accident [63.0%], and the most commonly used tool in the penetrating injuries is a knife [66.7%]. 3. The most common nonpenetrating injury was rib fracture [73.9%], and the common fracture sites were 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th ribs [especially, 7th rib]. The incidence rate of flail chest was 15% of the cases of the rib fractures. 4. The common associated injuries of the nonpenetrating were long bone fracture [18.3%], brain contusion [15.9%], and clavicle fracture etc.. 5. The common method of surgical treatment were closed thoracostomy [46.7%], thoracentesis, and open thoracotomy [7.4%] etc.. 6. The overall mortality was 2.8%. [Nonpenetrating; 0.8%, Penetrating; 6.3%]