• Journal of Korean Critical Care Nursing
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.24-32
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of discharge planning on patient satisfaction, the readmission rate and preparedness for discharge in the elderly admitted to the emergency room (ER) for pulmonary disease. Methods: A quasi-experimental intervention study design was used. Older adults with pulmonary health problems in the ER in one general hospital were randomly allocated to either an experimental (n=21, 74.2 years) or control group (n=19, 70.7 years). The experimental group participated in a discharge planning program by a geriatric nurse practitioner. Data were collected from medical records, physical measurements and structured questionnaires including information on demographics, patient satisfaction, readmission, and preparedness for discharge. Results: Participants in the experimental group had significantly better outcomes with regard to patient satisfaction with nursing services (p=.003) and preparedness for discharge (p=.034). However, there was no significant effect on the readmission rate (p=.392) Conclusion: The results suggested that a discharge planning program could bolster nursing service satisfaction and preparedness for discharge in older patients admitted to the ER for pulmonary health problems. To clarify the effects of discharge planning on older patients admitted to the ER, a larger sample population, better instruments for various measures, a new manual on discharge planning and frequent follow-up will be necessary.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.208-212
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• 1996

From 1990 to 1994, 10 patients were treated for tracheobronchial injury due to blunt trauma. 7 injuries resulted from motor vehicle accident. Common presenting signs included subcutaneous emphysema, dyspnea and hemoptysis. The most common radiologic findings were pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum and hemothorax. The fiberoptic bronchoscopy was highly accurate method for the diagnosis. The operation method is simple closure except one patien underwent right pneumonectomy. One patient died because of respiratory distress and 9 patients recovered uneventfully and returned to normal activity. Early recognition and proper treatment of tracheobronchial injury is important.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.75-89
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• 2014

Purpose: This study was done to identify conditions of cancer patients who visited an emergency department (ED) with the side effects of chemotherapy. Methods: Data were collected retrospectively from medical records of 294 cancer patients who visited a tertiary hospital in 2009 for treatment of side effects of chemotherapy. Records were reviewed for characteristics of participants and side effects of chemotherapy. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. Results: ED Triage grade 3 was 81.6%. The hospitalization ratio was 72.8%, and 6.5% died during the admission. Most frequent side effects were thrombocytopenia (80.6%), anemia (74.5%), pain (52.0%), neutropenia (50.7%), and leucopenia (46.3%). The hospitalization group showed more severe leucopenia than the discharge group (p=.020). Patients in the group who died had higher scores for dyspnea compared to patients discharged or hospitalized (p<.05). Conclusion: Results of the study suggest that there is a special need to develop a system to manage side effects of chemotherapy. Also it is necessary to provide appropriate care and treatment with prompt initial evaluation when cancer patients with side effects of chemotherapy present in the ED. More effective educational discharge programs should also be developed to help these patients cope with various side effects of chemotherapy.

• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.51-66
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• 2020

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether, in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), according to the mode of arrival affect the emergency medical process. Methods: The participants of this study were 118 adult patients (46 patients admitted by emergency medical services (EMS), 48 walk-in patients, and 24 transferred from other hospitals) admitted to the emergency departments at one regional-level medical center who underwent coronary angiography between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2017. To compare treatment courses, the median values of the following variables were compared among groups: symptom to door time; door to triage time; and door to ECG time. All data were analyzed using SPSS program. Results: Based on the initial assessment at triage, there was a significantly greater proportion of Korean Triage and Acuity Stage (KTAS) Level 1 or 2 among patients admitted by EMS than among walk-in patients. All three analyzed variables were lower in patients admitted by EMS than in the other two groups. Conclusion: Our results show that ACS patients who accessed EMS reached the emergency center faster after symptom onset, received initial triage assessment at earlier stages, and underwent sooner important examinations (i.e., the 12-lead ECG).

• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.127-137
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• 2023

Purpose: This study aimed to analyze the treatment outcomes according to the socioeconomic factor of patients who visited the emergency room. Methods: This study conducted frequency analysis, percentage analysis, and Fisher's exact test analysis method, using the R 4.1.2 program based on the 2019 data from the Korea Health Panel. Results: Among the treatment results of 1,648 patients, 392 patients were hospitalized or transferred to other hospitals, 845 were discharged after treatment, 224 were discharged, and 7 died. The Fisher's exact test of treatment outcomes and socioeconomic factors was not statistically significant for status of the worker and employment relationship, but was significant for the housing, household, economic activity, and insurance types, and marital status and education. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that it is necessary to conduct follow up studies on socioeconomic factors to provide basic data that can contribute to fairness and equity in the health care field.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.600-610
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• 2004

Background : The plasma B-type natriuretic peptide(BNP) concentration increases with the degree of pulmonary hypertension in patients with chronic respiratory disease. The aim of this study was to examine the prognostic role of BNP in the acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD). Method : We selected 67 patients who were admitted our hospital because of an acute exacerbation of COPD. Their BNP levels were checked on admission at the Emergency Department. Their medical records were analyzed retrospectively. The patients were divided into two groups according to their in-hospital mortality. The patients' medical history, comobidity, exacerbation type, blood gas analysis, pulmonary function, APACHE II severity score and plasma BNP level were compared. Results : Multiple logistic regression analysis identified three independent predictors of mortality: $FEV_1$, APACHE II score and plasma BNP level. The decedents group showed a lower $FEV_1$($28{\pm}7$ vs. $37{\pm}15%$, p=0.005), a higher APACHE II score($22.4{\pm}6.1$ vs. $15.8{\pm}4.7$, p=0.000) and a higher BNP level ($201{\pm}116$ vs. $77{\pm}80pg/mL$, p=0.000) than the sSurvivors group. When the BNP cut-off level was set to 88pg/mL using the receiver operating characteristic curve, the sensitivity was 90% and the specificity was 75% in differentiating between the survivors and decedents. On Fisher's exact test, the odds ratio for mortality was 21.2 (95% CI 2.49 to 180.4) in the patients with a BNP level > 88pg/mL. Conclusion : The plasma BNP level might be a predictor of mortality in an acute exacerbation of COPD as well as the $FEV_1$ and APACHE II score.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.161-167
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• 2020

Objectives : Although the seasonality of suicide is a well-known phenomenon, little is reported about the seasonality of non-suicidal self-injury. The purpose of this study was to identify the seasonality of wristcutting behavior and to examine its relationship with meteorological factors. Methods : To identify the presence of seasonality, we investigated whether there was a difference in the average number of visits per month to an emergency room (ER) of an urban hospital for 226 patients with wrist-cutting behavior enrolled between December 2014 and May 2019. To ascertain significant meteorological factors, we used the multiple Poisson regression using generalized additive model with time, monthly temperature, monthly sunshine hour, and atmospheric pressure in the prior month as explanatory variables. Results : In males, the average number of monthly visits to the ER for wrist cutting behavior differed by month and was the highest in September (male : p=0.048, female : p=0.21, total : p=0.28). As a result of multiple regression analysis, the average number of patients admitted to the ER for wrist cutting behavior was related to the interaction between atmospheric pressure in the prior month and temperature in males (p=0.010), and showed a positive correlation with sunlight in females [p=0.044, β=4.70×10-3, 95% CI=(1.19×10-4, 9.27×10-3)]. Conclusions : Wrist cutting behavior shows seasonality in male, which is associated with changes in meteorological variables.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.90-94
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• 2014

This study was performed to investigate on the frequent chief complaints and the causes of dogs and cats visiting to an emergency department, and to suggest the minimum requirements for veterinary emergency clinics in South Korea. The medical records were reviewed for 2,368 dogs and 347 cats visiting the emergency department of Haemaru Referral Animal Hospital from March 2012 to August 2013. Among them, 255 dogs and 35 cats visited more than one time and each visit was considered as an individual case. Therefore, 2,784 cases of dogs and 396 cases of cats were reviewed. The medical records were analyzed according to the criteria such as signalment, chief complaints, diagnoses, hospital admission, and outcome. In dogs, vomiting, diarrhea, or both were the most common chief complaints, followed by dyspnea, trauma, seizure, and lethargy. The most common causes of emergency visits were gastrointestinal disorders, followed by neurologic, cardiovascular, respiratory, urologic, and hematologic disorders. In cats, dyspnea was the most common chief complaint, followed by vomiting, diarrhea, or both, trauma, dysuria, and lethargy. The most common causes of emergency visits were urologic disorders followed by gastrointestinal, respiratory, infectious, and cardiovascular disorders. According to the results, vomiting, diarrhea, dyspnea, and trauma were the most frequently encountered chief complaints, which accounted for approximately 48.6% of all cases in both dogs and cats. However common causes were differed between the dogs and the cats. In order to provide proper emergency service, it is required to prepare the clinicians and facilities to diagnose and stabilize these emergency patients.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.226-232
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• 2009

Background: Blunt chest trauma accounts for 90% of all chest traumas in Europe and the United States and this causes 20% of all trauma-related deaths. The major cause of morbidity and mortality after blunt chest trauma is undetected injuries. For this reason, chest computerized tomography has gained popularity for the evaluation of trauma, but it is expensive and it exposes patients to radiation. This study identified the clinical features associated with the diagnosic information obtained on a CT chest scan, as compared with a standard chest X-ray, for patients who sustained blunt trauma to the chest. This study also evaluated the role of a routine computed tomographic (CT) scan for these patients. The patients who had chest computed tomography done after the initial chest x-ray were analyzed separately for the presence of occult injuries. Material and Method: We studied 100 consecutive patients from November 2006 to July 2007: 74 patients after motor vehicle crashes and 26 patients after a fall from a height >2m. Simultaneous with the initial clinical evaluation, an anteroposterior chest radiograph and a helical chest CT scan were obtained for all the patients. The data extracted from the medical record included the vital signs, the interventions and the type and severity of injury (RTS). Result: Among the 100 cases, 79 patients showed at least more than one pathologic sign on their chest radiograph, and 21 patients had a normal chest radiograph. For 17 of the patients who had a normal chest X ray, the CT scan showed multiple injuries, which were pneumothorax, hemothorax, lung contusion, sternal fracture etc. This represents that a CT scan is statistically superior to a chest radiograph to diagnose the pathologic signs. But on the other hand, as for treatment, only 31 patients were diagnosed by CT scan and they were treated with chest tube insertion ect. 42 patients needed ony conservative management without invasive thoracosurgical treatment such as chest tube insertion or open thoracotomy. 27 patients were treated based on the diagnosis made by the chest radiograph and physical examination. Conclusion: Chest computerized tomography was significantly more effective than routine chest X-ray for detecting lung contusion, pneumothorax and mediastinal hematoma, as well as fractured ribs, scapula and, sternum. Although the occult findings increased, the number of patients who needed treatment was small. Therefore, we suggest making selective use of a CT scan to avoid its overuse in ERs.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.135-144
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• 2018

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to identify the differences of demographic and clinical characteristics between child-adolescents who received medical inpatient care and non-hospitalized adolescents after suicide attempts. Methods : The study included 35 child-adolescents who were hospitalized (Admission group) and 114 child-adolescents who were not hospitalized (Non-Admission group) as a result of a suicide attempt from 2009 to 2015. We compared sociodemographic, clinical, and suicide attempt-related characteristics through a chi-square test and logistic regression analysis to evaluate the differences between the two groups. Results : Child-adolescents of this study most commonly attempted suicide by poisoning, and for motivation of interpersonal problems. Admission group had significantly fewer attempts through injury by sharp objects (${\chi}^2=4.374$, p=0.037) and attempted suicide with a higher chance of actually dying when compared to Risk-Rescue Rating Scale (t=1.981, p=0.049). In addition, Admission group had relatively common motivation for academic problems (${\chi}^2=12.082$, p=0.001) and less motivation for interpersonal difficulties. (${\chi}^2=9.869$, p=0.002) Psychiatric diagnosis at the time of visiting the emergency department showed higher rates of depression in the admission group than Non-Admission group (${\chi}^2=8.649$, p=0.003). The results of logistic regression showed that depression affects hospitalization (OR=2.783, 95% CI 1.092-7.089, p=0.032). Conclusions : This study is meaningful in that it revealed the social and clinical characteristics of all child-adolescents who were hospitalized at a university hospital after attempting suicide. This study identified differences in motivation, methods, and psychiatric diagnosis of hospitalized adolescents and those who were not. Therefore, the results may help adolescent suicide attempters to get a discriminatory approach based on their admission.