• Journal of Trauma and Injury
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.106-114
• /
• 2007

Purpose: There is little controversy that a classic indication such as hemodynamic instability or any sign of peritoneal irritation requires an immediate laparotomy in the management of abdominal stab wounds. However, omental herniation or bowel evisceration as an indication for an immediate laparotomy is controversial. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the significance of these factors as indications for an immediate laparotomy. Methods: The medical records of 98 consecutive abdominal stab wounds patients admitted to the Emergency Center of Masan Samsung Hospital from January 2000 to December 2006 were carefully examined retrospectively. Using multivariate logistic regression analysis, thirty-nine factors, including the classic indication and intraabdominal organ evisceration, were evaluated and were found to be associated with a need for a laparotomy. Also, the classic indication was compared with a new indication consisting of components of the classic indication and intra-abdominal organ evisceration by constructing a contingency table according to the need for a laparotomy. Results: Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed any sign of peritoneal irritation, base deficit, and age to be significant factors associated with the need for a laparotomy (p<0.05). The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy rates of the classic indication were 98.6%, 72.0%, and 91.8%, respectively, and those of the new indication were 93.2%, 84.0%, and 90.8%, respectively. The differences in those rates between the above two indications were not significant. Conclusion: Intra-abdominal organ evisceration was not a significant factor for an immediate laparotomy. Moreover, the new indication including intra-abdominal organ evisceration was not superior to the classic indication. Therefore, in the management of abdominal stab wounds, the authors suggest that an immediate laparotomy should be performed on patients with hemodynamic instability or with any sign of peritoneal irritation.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
• /
• v.5 no.1
• /
• pp.1-7
• /
• 2007

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the characteristics and the prognostic factors of carbamate poisoned patients who visited emergency departments. Methods: From August 2005 to July 2006, we investigated the demographic feature, dose of exposure, time of exposure, alcohol intake, route of exposure, reason of exposure, site of exposure, pre-existing medical condition, time from exposure to emergency department (ED), transfer from other hospitals, vital sign at ED arrival, symptom or sign at ED arrival, and result of care of the patients who visited the ED of thirty-eight hospitals in Korea. According to the result of care, we divided the patients into two groups, the survival and the dead. To evaluated the prognostic factors, we calculated the odds ratio of each factor for the survival. Results: Among the sixty-eight patients, fifty-five patients (80.9%) were survival and thirteen patients (19.1%) were dead. The patients in the dead were older than the patients in the survival. The Glasgow coma scale (GCS) of the patients in the dead was lower than the GCS in the survival. The odds ratio of the GCS at ED arrival for the survival was 1.58 (95% CI; 1.23-2.05). Other factors showed no statistical significances. Conclusion: The GCS at emergency department arrival was the prognosis factor of the carbamate poisoned patients who visited emergency departments. If the carbamate poisoned patients showed altered mentalities, they should be provided intensive care, immediately.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.69-80
• /
• 2023

Purpose: Suicide ranks among the top causes of death among youth in South Korea. This study aimed to identify the characteristics of suicidal individuals treated at emergency departments between 2011 and 2020. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted using data from January 2011 to December 2020 in the Injury Surveillance Cohort, a prospective registry. Patients' sex, age, mortality, methods of self-harm, and previous suicide attempts were analyzed. The methods of self-harm were categorized into falls, asphyxiation, blunt injuries, penetrating injuries, poisoning, and others. Sub-groups with and without poisoning were compared. Results: The proportion of self-harm/suicide attempts increased from 2.3% (2011) to 5.0% (2020). The mortality rate decreased from 10.8% (2011) to 6.3% (2020). Poisoning was the most common method (61.7%). Mortality rates ranged from 42.0% for asphyxiation to 0.2% for blunt injuries. Individuals in their 20s showed a marked increase in suicide/self-harm attempts, especially in the last three years. A large proportion of decedents in their 70s or older (52.6%) used poisoning as a method of suicide. The percentage of individuals with two or more previous attempts rose from 7.1% (2011) to 19.7% (2020). The death rates by poisoning decreased from 7.7% (2011) to 2.5% (2020). Conclusion: Our findings underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions and suicide prevention policies. Managing and reducing suicide and self-harm in emergency settings will require a focus on poisoning, the 10-29 age group, and the elderly. This paper will be valuable for future policies aiming to reduce the societal burden of suicide and self-harm.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• v.58 no.10
• /
• pp.380-385
• /
• 2015

Purpose: Croup is a common pediatric respiratory illness with symptoms of varying severity. Moreover, epiglottitis is a rare disease that can rapidly progress to life-threatening airway obstruction. Although the clinical course and treatments differ between croup and epiglottitis, they are difficult to differentiate on presentation. We aimed to compare the clinical characteristics of croup and epiglottitis in Emergency Department patients. Methods: The 2012 National Emergency Department Information System database of 146 Korean Emergency Departments was used to investigate patients aged ${\leq}18years$ presenting with croup or epiglottitis. Results: We analyzed 19,374 croup patients and 236 epiglottitis patients. The male:female sex ratios were 1.9:1 and 2.3:1 and mean ages were $2.2{\pm}2.0$ and $5.6{\pm}5.8years$, respectively. The peak incidence of croup was observed in July and that of epiglottitis was observed in May. The hospitalization rate was lower in croup than in epiglottitis patients, and the proportion of patients treated in the intensive care unit was lower among croup patients. The 3 most common chief complaints in both croup and epiglottitis patients were cough, fever, and dyspnea. Epiglottitis patients experienced dyspnea, sore throat, and vomiting more often than croup patients (P<0.05). Conclusion: Both groups had similar sex ratios, arrival times, 3 most common chief complaints, and 5 most common comorbidities. Epiglottitis patients had a lower incidence rate, higher mean age of onset, and higher hospitalization rate and experienced dyspnea, sore throat, and vomiting more often than croup patients. Our results may help in the differential diagnosis of croup and epiglottitis.

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

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
• /
• v.84 no.4
• /
• pp.923-933
• /
• 2023

Purpose To evaluate the sensitivity of corticomedullary-phase imaging for detecting urinary stones in patients with renal colic who visited the emergency department. Materials and Methods This retrospective study included 253 patients with suspected renal colic from two tertiary hospitals in South Korea, who visited the emergency department and underwent CT urography. Two radiologists blinded to the clinical history independently reviewed the corticomedullary-phase images. The sensitivity for identifying urinary stones were evaluated for each reviewer. After the initial evaluation, the images were re-evaluated based on patient history. The sensitivity of re-evaluation were recorded. Results Of 253 patients, 150 (59%) had urinary stones. Among them, significant stones were observed in 138 patients (92%), and obstructive changes on CT in 124 patients (82.7%). For identifying significant urinary stones, the sensitivity was 98.6% (136/138) for both the reviewers. For identifying significant urinary stones with urinary obstruction, the sensitivity was 99.2% (123/124) for reviewer 1, and 100% (124/124) for reviewer 2. The sensitivity for identifying significant stones increased from 98.6% to 100% for reviewer 1, and from 98.6% to 99.3% for reviewer 2 in the re-evaluation session. Conclusion The corticomedullary-phase CT urography was sensitive for diagnosing urolithiasis in patients with acute renal colic who visited the emergency department.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
• /
• v.7 no.3
• /
• pp.1-24
• /
• 2002

The purpose of this study was to find the factors affecting the bum out syndrome and its degree in terms of personal, organizational and clients characteristics, and then to find the ways to reduce or eliminate those factors. The 228 doctors and the nurses who worked at the emergency departments in 6 general hospitals with more than 700 beds in Seoul were surveyed from April 15, 2002 for 15 days. A structured self-recording questionnaire was used; the t-test and ANOVA was used to analyse the median difference between the occupation, and multiple regression was employed to find the factors affecting the bum-out syndrome. The summary of this research analysis is as follows : First, of several variables, the highest frequency of the burn-out was the emotional burn-out followed by lack in personal touch toward the patients, decrease in sense of personal achievement. These results indicate that the doctors and nurses in emergency departments experience higher degree of burn-out than the social workers and the nurses who work at other departments in heath care environment as other studies revealed. Second, the analysis of the total burn-out factors showed the lower self respect, younger age, heavier work load, higher dissatisfaction rate toward remuneration and not-so-smooth relationship with the patients and their relatives the higher burn out rate. These variables explained 54% of the total variables. Third, the nurses experienced more burn-out syndrome than the doctors. The degree of self-respect, work pattern, relationship with the clients, age and remuneration were the causes of the burn-out. The doctors recorded lack in personal touch toward the patients more, while the nurses more to emotional exhaustion. The limitations of this research are the subjective answers of the respondents to certain questions and differences in sample numbers of each hospital in which some reservation can be exercised in explaining statistical significance of the data, and generalizing the conclusion. Despite of its limitation, this research has its own merit as an unpreceded research in this field, and provision of the basic materials to prevent and find causes of the burn-out syndrome among the doctors and nurses in the emergency departments.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
• /
• v.10 no.10
• /
• pp.253-258
• /
• 2020

This study analyzed, the characteristics of ambulatory care sensitive conditions(ACSCs) in patients visiting emergency departments(EDs) and compared characteristics according to two age groups (adults aged 19-64 years and, elderly people aged ≥65 years). By accessing data from the National Emergency Department Information System(NEDIS) from January 1 to December 31, 2018, we examined the proportions of different ED types and ACSCs, length of stay(LOS) in the ED, LOS hospital, and hospital admission rates. Regarding the types of EDs, we found that the proportion of local emergency medical centers was high(P<0.001). Regarding the rates of different ACSCs, 31.7% of adults were treated for gastroenteritis, a high proportion of the elderly people(48.2%) were diagnosed with and treated for pneumonia(P<0.001). The LOS in the ED was longer in elderly people for all diseases categories, except for congestive heart failure and diabetes(P<0.001). The LOS in the hospital was also significantly longer in elderly people for all ACSCs(P<0.05), and the admission rate was significantly higher in elderly people for all diseases, except for diabetes(P<0.01). Thus, analyzing the ED visits made by patients with ACSCs will need to strengthen the health-care policy to induce treatment centered on outpatient.

• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
• /
• v.24 no.2
• /
• pp.99-109
• /
• 2020

Purpose: Alcohol intoxication is frequently observed in patients with brain hemorrhage. The purpose of this study was to determine whether intoxication affects the Korean Triage and Acuity Stage (KTAS) level and the emergency medical process in emergency departments. Methods: This study was a retrospective observational study enrolled 253 brain hemorrhage patients (47 of those intoxicated) who visited the emergency medical center on public EMS ambulance from January. 1, 2017 to April, 30, 2019. Data were collected through the electronic medical record (EMR). KTAS level and time to computerized tomography (CT) were compared to evaluate whether inebriation affects care and examination processes. All data were analyzed using SPSS program. Results: Of the 47 patients intoxicated patients, 85.1% were male, and 74.5% accompanied by trauma. Initial KTAS level showed significant differences (77.2%; p=.000) when the level 3,4 was not drunk. The average time taken from triage to CT scans showed a significant difference of 24.81±23.72 (min) when the drunken state was not 58.38±56.54 (min)(p=.000). Conclusion: In patients with brain hemorrhage admitted to ED from public EMS, undertriage and delay after initial assessment were detected in inebriated patients. Careful initial evaluation and prompt medical response should be considered for patients transported by EMS.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.47-54
• /
• 2022

Purpose: This study presents the analysis on space usage of delivery departments in regional public hospitals. The results intention is to achieve improvement of the delivery environment for the mothers and newborns regarding exposure prevention and efficient infection control. The purpose of this study is to provide fundamental data for architectural plans and guidelines for the delivery department. Method: The investigation and analysis were based on research papers, legal systems, public medical statistical data, and the architectural floor plan drawing. For research, 20 regional public hospitals with an operating delivery room were excluded. Regarding data accessibility, 15 regional public hospitals were selected. Results: To overcome the increased vulnerability of the delivery department, the research results of basic data is provided for the establishment to address urgent needs and rapid response. Thus, the research results are as follows: Firstly, the delivery department needs to respond promptly according to the type of patients. For example, in a case of emergency surgery, a connected circulation plan with the related departments is needed. Secondly, for the environment of the delivery area, alleviating anxiety is imperative for pregnant patients and guardians, labor, childbirth, and recovery. Therefore, these needs must be addressed for treatment space and circulation. Lastly, the delivery department is classified into three areas for analysis: access area, treatment area, and support area. In most of the delivery departments of the 15 selected hospitals, there is no space for the access and support area except for the labor and delivery rooms in the treatment area. For the access area, a waiting area, changing room for pregnant women and guardians, and a storage space for contaminated linens are required for infection prevention, safety, and efficiency. For the treatment area, childbirth processes and circulation should have space reserved for labor, delivery, recovery, examination, and treatment. In preparation for an emergency during childbirth, emergency response measures and supporting space needs to be established. For the support area, circulation and rooms are to be designed for medical staff support, activity space, storage and transportation of equipment, and urgent medical treatment. Implications: Along with the low fertility rate and the decrease of medical institutions that operate delivery departments, for the purpose of establishing a public medical service system and a healthy medical environment for mothers and newborns, the researched information demonstrates basic data on space plan of delivery departments in regional public hospitals.