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

• Journal of Korean Orthopaedic Sports Medicine
• /
• v.6 no.2
• /
• pp.99-104
• /
• 2007

Purpose: To research match injuries related to Taekwondo in adolescent athletes and find out preventing injuries. Materials and Methods: We analyzed 162 match injuries of middle and high school athletes, who were surveyed in 2005 and 2006 national tournament. Results: Among 162 match injuries, injuries in foot and hand were the most common and there were 35 cases in serious injuries such as fracture, open dislocation, open fracture of epiphyseal plate and so on. The very fast speed and destructive power of Takwondo athlete can cause open dislocation of great toe and can cause fracture of foot and upper extremity when kicking. Conclusion: We consider that injured athletes need proper treatments and sufficient rest not to accumulate training injuries and match injuries and need to improve mats of stadium, braces for feet and hands and put on braces for elbows to prevent match injuries.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
• /
• v.40 no.6
• /
• pp.705-710
• /
• 2013

Background Mammalian bite injuries create a public health problem because of their frequency, potential severity, and increasing number. Some researchers have performed fragmentary analyses of bite wounds caused by certain mammalian species. However, little practical information is available concerning serious mammalian bite wounds that require hospitalization and intensive wound management. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to perform a general review of serious mammalian bite wounds. Methods We performed a retrospective review of the medical charts of 68 patients who were referred to our plastic surgery department for the treatment of bite wounds between January 2003 and October 2012. The cases were analyzed according to the species, patient demographics, environmental factors, injury characteristics, and clinical course. Results Among the 68 cases of mammalian bite injury, 58 (85%) were caused by dogs, 8 by humans, and 2 by cats. Most of those bitten by a human and both of those bitten by cats were male. Only one-third of all the patients were children or adolescents. The most frequent site of injury was the face, with 40 cases, followed by the hand, with 16 cases. Of the 68 patients, 7 were treated with secondary intention healing. Sixty-one patients underwent delayed procedures, including delayed direct closure, skin graft, composite graft, and local flap. Conclusions Based on overall findings from our review of the 68 cases of mammalian bites, we suggest practical guidelines for the management of mammalian bite injuries, which could be useful in the treatment of serious mammalian bite wounds.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.62-69
• /
• 2019

Korean shipbuilding companies have taken many efforts for safety over the years by developing Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) Management Systems, Procedures, Training, and studying Programs for prevention of incidents. As a result, the shipbuilding industry has succeeded in reducing overall injury rates. Nevertheless, the industry also noticed that incident rates are still not at zero and more importantly, serious injuries and fatalities are still occurring. One factor that may be attributing to this is the lack of managing potential severity during incident investigations, most incident investigations are implemented based on the actual result. Generally, each shipbuilding company develops their customized incident investigation programs and these are also commonly being focused on actual result. This study aimed to develop a shift in strategy toward safety to classify the criteria of potential severity from any incidents and manage that to prevent any recurrence or causing any serious injuries or fatalities in the shipbuilding industry. Several global energy companies have already developed potential severity management tools and applied them in their incident investigations. In order to verify the necessity of improvement for current systems, a case study and comparative analysis between a domestic shipbuilding company and several global energy companies from foreign countries was implemented and comparison of two incident investigation cases from specific offshore projects was conducted to measure the value of a potential severity system. Also, a checklist was established from the data of fatalities and serious injuries in recent 5 years that occurred in Korea shipbuilding industry and a proposal to verify high potential incidents in the incident investigation process and comparative analysis between the assessment by appling proposed checklist and the assessment from a global energy company by using their own system was implemented. As a measure to prevent any incidents, it is required to focus on potential severity assessment during the incident investigation rather than to only control actual result. Hence, this study aims to propose a realistic plan which enables to improve the existing practices of incident investigation and control in the shipbuilding industry.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.156-172
• /
• 2021

Objectives: To investigate the trends of industrial injuries among long-term health care workers in Korea Methods: T7866 injuries were selected from the total industrial injuries approved by the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act(Occupational Safety and Health Act) among long-term health care workers between 2007 and 2016 in Korea. We analyzied the trends of industrial injuries according to work process, occurrence type, and causes. Results: The industrial injuries among long-term health care workers increased since 2012. The mostly occurred area for industrial injuries were low back areas, which is related that the most serious industrial injuries occurred when the one long-term healthcare worker lift manually the recipient, from bed(ondol, Korean floor heating system) to a wheelchair, bed to bath bed, and wheelchair to bath chair. In addition to this, lack of workforce, increased work intensity due to overwork contributed the increasing of occupational injury. Conclusions: This study suggests that the main causes of industrial injuries were Lack of facilities and equipment for small private long-term care institutions, The physical load that goes into lifting the recipient directly, work intensity such as excessive workload and increased work speed. We suggest that the social publicization of long-term care service for the elderly, avoiding ways to lift recipients directly, introducing lifting machines as well as improving working methods, and reducing the workload of caregivers are required.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
• /
• v.36 no.4
• /
• pp.376-384
• /
• 2023

Purpose: The Armed Forces Trauma Center of Korea was established in April 2022. This study was conducted to report our 1-year experience of treating soldiers with open fractures of the lower extremity. Methods: In this case series, we reviewed the medical records of 51 Korean soldiers with open fractures of the lower extremity between April 2022 and March 2023 at a trauma center. We analyzed patients with Gustilo-Anderson type II and III fractures and reported the duration of transportation, injury mechanisms, injured sites, and associated injuries. We also presented laboratory findings, surgery types, intensive care unit stays, hospital stays, rehabilitation results, and reasons for psychiatric consultation. Additionally, we described patients' mode of transport. Results: This study enrolled nine male patients who were between 21 and 26 years old. Six patients had type II and three had type III fractures. Transport from the accident scene to the emergency room ranged from 75 to 455 minutes, and from the emergency room to the operating room ranged from 35 to 200 minutes. Injury mechanisms included gunshot wounds, landmine explosions, grenade explosions, and entrapment by ship mooring ropes. One case had serious associated injuries (inhalation burn, open facial bone fractures, and hemopneumothorax). No cases with serious blood loss or coagulopathies were found, but most cases had a significant elevation of creatinine kinase. Two patients underwent vascular reconstruction, whereas four patients received flap surgery. After rehabilitation, six patients could walk, one patient could move their joints actively, and two patients performed active assistive movement. Eight patients were referred to the psychiatry department due to suicidal attempts and posttraumatic stress disorder. Conclusions: This study provides insights into how to improve treatment for patients with military trauma, as well as medical services such as the transport system, by revising treatment protocols and systematizing treatment.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
• /
• v.51 no.8
• /
• pp.442-450
• /
• 2013

It is well known that the majority of dental injuries occur in children and adolescent. An injury to the teeth can have serious and long-term consequences, leading to their discoloration, malformation, or possible loss. The emotional impact of such an injury can be far reaching. The majority of dental injuries in the primary and permanent dentitions involve the anterior teeth, especially the maxillary central incisors. Concussion, subluxation, and luxation are the commonest injuries in the primary dentition, while uncomplicated crown fractures are commonest in the permanent dentition. If it is decided to preserve a traumatized primary tooth, it should be carefully observed for clinical and radiographic signs of pulpal or periodontal complications. Radiographs are also examined closely to disclose any damage to the permanent successor. The intervals between reexaminations should be individualized depending on the severity of trauma, the expected type of complications and the age of the patient. Most complications are observed within the first year of the trauma. However, the follow-up evaluation of permanent teeth should continue until treatment of all complications is completed, or until a lost or extracted permanent tooth has been adequately replaced. It is important that the dentist and the other members of the dental team are well prepared to meet the many complex and challenging problems in the care of dental emergencies.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.5 no.3
• /
• pp.147-151
• /
• 2014

Background: Agriculture ranks among the most dangerous trades worldwide. There is, however, still a lack of knowledge on nonfatal injuries in agriculture. The aim of this study was to describe the nature and occurrence of nonfatal injuries in farmers in two counties in central Norway. Methods: A questionnaire was sent to 7,004 farmers in Norway. We asked for information about the respondents and the farm, whether the farmer had had work-related injuries on the farm during the past 12 months, and details about the incidence and seriousness of the injury. Results: A total of 2,699 respondents gave a response rate of 42%. Of the respondents, 249 (9.2%) reported one or more work-related injuries. The most usual cause of injury involved an animal, and >75% of these happened inside the outbuilding. Among these, 17.5% had a consequence of sick leave or a more serious result. When all the accidents were analyzed by stepwise logistic regression, only the variables: works alone, has >3,500 stipulated working hours at the farm, and the type of production were statistical significant explanatory variables for having an injury. Conclusion: Incorporating safety aspects to a greater extend in the design and construction of outbuildings would make a substantial contribution to injury prevention in agriculture.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.155-162
• /
• 1999

Small and medium-sized construction sites are most serious in Occupational Safety and Health in the construction industry. The safety consulting engineering has been launched, in 1995, to improve the safety environments and prevent serious injuries and fatalities accidents. The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of the safety consulting engineering for small and medium-sized construction sites. This study conducts a number of interviews with experienced contractors, consulting engineers, etc. And the questionnaire survey was peformed with 111 respondents. This paper presents several improvements to increase the efficiency of the safety consulting system.

• Journal of Korean Medical classics
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.235-255
• /
• 2008

Byeollyangchamsa has been a key factor in formation of Dongwon(東垣)'s theory on internal injuries. The majority regarded Byeollyangchamsa as just epidemic disease, while Dongwon(東垣) regarded it as internal injuries by improper diet and overstrain. However, an analysis of Dongwon(東垣)'s internal injury syndrome revealed that it was a kind of external affections caused by damp-heat. In particular, heat rather than dampness have developed as the disease got worse. Therefore It can be regarded as the serious syndrome to show the impairment of Gi(氣), blood, fluids and humors for pathogenic fire.