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

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.35-40
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• 2006

Purpose: Injuries are the third leading cause of death in Korea. Isolated chest injury is not uncommon and shows high mortality and morbidity. Several scoring systems are used for triage and stratification for trauma patients, but no standard system is accepted. We aimed to analyze the accuracy of identification of isolated chest injury by using several scoring systems. Methods: We reviewed a total of 75 patients admitted with isolated chest injury between January 2005 and October 2005. Medical records were reviewed by using the Injury Severity Score (ISS), the Revised Trauma Score (RTS), and the Trauma and Injury Severity Score (TRISS). The scoring systems were compared by using statistics methods. Results: The overall predictive accuracy of the TRISS was 12.5%, 12.0% greater than those of the RTS and the ISS. By using the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve, the TRISS showed an excellent discriminative power (AUROC 0.931) compared to the ISS (AUROC 0.926) and the RTS (AUROC 0.872). Conclusion: Compared with the RTS and the ISS, the TRISS is an easily applied tool with excellent prognostic abilities for isolated chest trauma patients. However, the TRISS, the ISS, and the RTS showed high specificity and low sensitivity, so another scoring system is required for triage and stratification of isolated chest injury patients.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.89-98
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• 2013

Purpose: The assessment of trauma patients in the prehospital setting is difficult, but appropriate field triage is critical to the prognosis of trauma patients. We sought to evaluate the triage given by the emergency medical technicians (EMTs) using the trauma score to patients injured in motor vehicle collisions (MVCs). Methods: From June 2012 to July 2012, questionnaires were distributed to EMTs, who had transported injured patients to the study hospital. Scene records, photos of the damaged vehicle, and ambulance run sheets were used to provide physiologic, physical, and mechanistic information about the MVC. To evaluate the appropriateness of the injury assessment by EMTs, we compared their impressions with the hospital's final diagnosis within a 3 level triage system comprising both the maximum abbreviated injury scale (MAIS) and the injury severity score (ISS). Kappa (k) was calculated to evaluate the agreement between the triage by EMTs and the triage based on hospital's final diagnosis. Results: A total of 91 patients were analyzed by 31 EMTs. The percentage of males was 57.1%, the mean age was 44.5, and the mean MAIS and ISS were 2.7 and 16.6 respectively. While EMTs correctly diagnosed patient injuries to the extremities in 35.7%, and to the neck in 32.1%, pelvic injuries were missed in 80.0%. The agreement between the triage by the EMTs and the triage based on the hospital's final diagnosis was 62.6%(k=0.366) by the MAIS and 50.5%(k=0.234) by the ISS. The kappa value was higher in EMT-I than in EMT-II. Conclusion: In MVC, the assessment of injured patients by EMT-I was more appropriate, and the 3-level triage method based on the MAIS could contribute to a more accurate triage. Prospective studies to search for appropriate methods of field triage are required for programming practical education for EMTs.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.158-171
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• 2018

This TSIG analysis regarding national actions for marine oil spills could be indicated and suggested improvements in the response system could be made based on the present study.

• BMB Reports
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.94-105
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• 2002

Apoptotic cell death is a fundamental and highly regulated biological process in which a cell is instructed to actively participate in its own demise. This process of cellular suicide is activated by developmental and environmental cues and normally plays an essential role in eliminating superfluous, damaged, and senescent cells of many tissue types. In recent years, a number of experimental studies have provided evidence of widespread neuronal and glial apoptosis following injury to the central nervous system (CNS). These studies indicate that injury-induced apoptosis can be detected from hours to days following injury and may contribute to neurological dysfunction. Given these findings, understanding the biochemical signaling events controlling apoptosis is a first step towards developing therapeutic agents that target this cell death process. This review will focus on molecular cell death pathways that are responsible for generating the apoptotic phenotype. It will also summarize what is currently known about the apoptotic signals that are activated in the injured CNS, and what potential strategies might be pursued to reduce this cell death process as a means to promote functional recovery.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.1101-1110
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• 2023

Streptococcus mutans is the primary causative agent of caries, which is one of the most common human diseases. Thus, rapid and early detection of cariogenic bacteria is critical for its prevention. This study investigated the combination of loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) and microfluid technology to quantitatively detect S. mutans. A low-cost, rapid microfluidic chip using LAMP technology was developed to amplify and detect bacteria at 2.2-2.2 × 10⁶ colony-forming units (CFU)/ml and its detection limits were compared to those of standard polymerase chain reaction. A visualization system was established to quantitatively determine the experimental results, and a functional relationship between the bacterial concentration and quantitative results was established. The detection limit of S. mutans using this microfluidic chip was 2.2 CFU/ml, which was lower than that of the standard approach. After quantification, the experimental results showed a good linear relationship with the concentration of S. mutans, thereby confirming the effectiveness and accuracy of the custom-made integrated LAMP microfluidic system for the detection of S. mutans. The microfluidic system described herein may represent a promising simple detection method for the specific and rapid testing of individuals at risk of caries.

• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.53-64
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• 2007

Purpose: Ths study aims to examine characteristics of patients using emergency room after execution of five-day workweek system by government and provide basic materials for operation of efficient emergency room. Methods: Data were collected tbrough medical records of patients visiting emergency room from July of 2004 to October of 2006 and they were analyzed with SPSSlPC 10.0. Conclusion : 1. The number of patients visiting emergency room was average 16.7 persons a day in 2004, 17.5 in 2005 and 18.6 in 2006 and it was found that it was increasing every year since the execution of five-day workweek system 2. Gender distribution of subjects using emergency room was higher in male than in female every year. 3. Means of transport to emergency room were mostly private car and others(public transport or on foot), but use of ambulance was increasing. 4. Residential areas of subjects were mostly 'Myeon area' in 2004~2005, but it was changed to residents at 'Eup area' in 2006. 5. Distribution of patients by medical departments was highest in internal medicine and surgery in 2004~2006 and rate of visiting pediatrics was increasing every year. 6. Time to stay at emergency room was most at 'below 30 min'. in 2004~2006, but cases of stay for 'more than 2 hours' were increasing every year. 7. On presence or absence of trauma in patients visiting emergency room, rate of visit to emergency room with 'no trauma' was higher and this result was increasing every year. 8. As a result of classifying severity of patients visiting emergency room, use rate of emergency room by 'non-emergency' patients was over 90% in 2004~2006 and such a phenomenon was deepened in 2006 compared to that in 2004. 9. Measures after emergency care of patients were most in case of 'discharge' in 2004~2006, but cases of admission to hospital after emergency care were increased every year. 10. According to use of emergency room by a day of the week, use on Sunday was most frequent in 2004~2006, but use on Friday the day before holiday was increasing. 11. According to distribution by age, use by those between '40~49' was most in 2004~2005, but use by those 'below 10' was most in 2006. 12. According to time to visit emergency room, using emergency room at "15:31~23:30 was most in 2004~2006, cases of visiting emergency room at day working hour were decreased every year and those at evening and night working hours were increased. Conclusion: In sum, it was found that characteristics of patients visiting emergency room and their actual status were changed after the execution of five-day workweek system and efforts to rearrange emergency medical system are required.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.126-132
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• 2014

Purpose: The field trauma triage for injured patients is essential for trauma care system. In this study, agreement of patient evaluation between by prehospital EMS personnel and by hospital staffs and the appropriateness of prehospital triage were evaluated. Methods: This observational study was conducted from September to October 2012 for 5 weeks. During this period, EMT evaluated patient's severity according to guideline for field triage and recorded. Same guideline was applied in 26 hospitals for patients with EMS use. Kappa statistics were used to measure agreement for each item of guideline. Finally, over-triage and under-triage rate of EMT were calculated. Results: During study period, total 3,106 patients were transferred to 26 hospital emergency departments with EMS use. Kappa statistics for "vital signs" items were 0.45 for mentality lower than V and 0.44 for systolic blood pressure lower than 90 mmHg as a moderate agreement. In "anatomy of injury" items Kappa statistics were very low. In "mechanism of injury" items Kappa statistics were 0.28 for high-rise fall down and 0.27 for high energy traffic accident but in other items Kappa statistics were very low. 362 patients (12.0%) were over-triaged and 281 patients (9.3%) were under-triaged. Conclusion: Field triage can be applied but need to evaluate and modify in order to become accurate and sensitive for decision of transportation.

• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.13-21
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• 2006

Purpose: This study aims to examine characteristics and actual conditions of patients using emergency room at farming and fishing villages, solve overcrowding of emergency room at the tertiary hospital and activate local emergency clinics. Methods: It examines department of diagnosis and treatment, vehicles used, sex, age, residential area, visit hour, length of stay, presence or absence of trauma, measures after first aid and degree of severity based on medical records of 6,740 patients using emergency room at farming and fishing villages from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2005. Conclusion : 1. Sex distribution of patients of emergency room was male 54.9% and female 45.1% and age distribution between over 40 and below 50 was most as 15.9%. 2. Transport means to emergency room were 91.4 of private car and others (public transport and going on foot), 7.5 of 119, 129 and police car and 1.0% of ambulance. 3. According to distribution of residential areas of emergency patients, 38.9% were Eup area, 42.1% Myeon area, 11.4% distant area and 7.5% adjacent area. 4. According to distribution of emergency patients by department of diagnosis and treatment, internal medicine was most as 35.8% and 55% of patients visited emergency room from 3:31 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.. 5. According to total hours of diagnosis and treatment of subjects, 51.2% were within 30min. and cases of non-trauma disease were 68.2%. 6. According to degree of emergency of emergency patients, non-emergency cases were 65.3%, urgent cases 27.7% and emergency cases 7.0% and 74.2% of patients returned home after first aid and 20.6% of them hospitalized. In conclusion, characteristics and diversification of patients should be examined and efforts by government and local medical institutions which must organize emergency system and facility and personnel levels suitable to regional conditions are needed in order to prevent overcrowding of emergency center of the tertiary hospital and activate local emergency center.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.117-124
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• 1976

Hemorrhage into the biliary system as a consequence of injury to the liver has been called "traumatic hemobilia," a term introduced by Sandblom in 1948. The source of gastrointestinal hemorrhage has been frequently misinterpreted, resulting in inadequate or inappropriate treatment, often with catastrophic results and needless fatalities. It is now being diagnosed with increasing frequency, due to more widespread knowledge of the syndrome and improved diagnostic means. we experienced 2 cases of hemobilia following blunt chest trauma, One patient had! multiple rib fractures on right chest by car traffic accident and 13 days later, suddenly massive melena was developed with nausea, vomiting, jaundice and severe pain on right upper quadrant. And so, he had operated on the ligation of Rt. hepatic artery and partial right hepatectomy for a traumatic hemobilia. The other one also revealed similar symptoms 20 days later following blunt chest injury by falling down accident. However, uneventful recovery was seen without any of surgical intervention in this case.