• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• 제22권1호
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• pp.51-56
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• 2009

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate environmental factors contributing to childhood home slip-down injuries. Methods: Among a total of 2,812 injured children in our Customer Injury Surveillance System (CISS), we performed a prospective study on 262 children with home slip-down injuries who visited the pediatric emergency department of Asan Medical Center between March 2008 and February 2009. We made a frequency analysis on parameters such as activities just before the accident, the presence of any obstacles or lubricant materials, specific home place in the home where the injuries occurred, flooring materials on which the slip-down happened, additional objects hit after slip down, the site and kind of injury, the duration of therapy, and the disposition. Results: Walking was the most common activity just before the injury. Because rooms and bathrooms were most common places in the home for slip down injuries, laminated papers/ vinyl floor coverings and tiles were the most common flooring materials used in the places where the injuries occured. Most commonly, no obstacles caused the children to slip down, but the furniture, stairs, doorsills, wetness, or soapy fluid followed after that. Over half of the children who slipped (58%) also collided with other than the floor itself after the slip-down, most common objects hit were the edges of the furniture, and doorsills, followed by stairways. The head and neck were the most commonly injured sites, and a laceration was the most common kind of injury. Most children needed less than 1 week of therapy, only 4 children (1.53%) admitted. There were no mortalities. Conclusion: The environmental factors contributing to slip-down injuries were the bathroom, laminated papers/vinyl floors, the furniture, stairs, doorsills, and wetness or soapy fluid. Especially, the furniture, stairs, and doorsills can be both primary obstacles and secondary collision objects. For the safety of our children, we must consider these factors on housing, when decorating or remodeling our house.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• 제22권2호
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• pp.184-192
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• 2009

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment strategy of transcatheter arterial embolization after pelvic CT angiography (CTA) in cases of traumatic pelvic hemorrhage. Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of pelvic hemorrhage patients who underwent transcatheter arterial embolization after pelvic CTA at our regional emergency center during a 31-month period. We reviewed the medical records and imagings of all these patients. Results: Transcatheter arterial embolization was performed in 17 patients (M:F=7:10, mean age=53.9) who underwent pelvic CTA for the evaluation of traumatic pelvic hemorrhage. Arterial bleeding was demonstrated on pelvic CTA in all patients, and the combined injury was also noted in 13 patients. The admission-to-CTA time was $84.53{\pm}66.92$ minutes, and the CTA-to-embolization time was $147.65{\pm}99.97$ minutes. Extravasation of contrast media or pseudoaneurysm was demonstrated on conventional angiography in all patients. Unilateral iliac artery embolization was performed in 8 patients, and bilateral iliac artery embolization was performed in 9 patients. Additional embolizations other than in the iliac arteries were performed in 7 patients. Initial hemostasis was achieved in 16 patients. One patient died of ongoing pelvic bleeding. Rebleeding occurred in only one patient and hemostasis was achieved with the second embolization. Another patient died of intracranial and facial bleeding in spite of pelvic hemostasis. The overall mortality was 11.8%, and there was no significant adverse effects in the other patients. Conclusion: Transcatheter arterial embolization after pelvic CTA is an effective treatment strategy in the management of traumatic pelvic hemorrhage patients.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• 제22권2호
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• pp.199-205
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• 2009

Purpose: This study compared the characteristics of and the prognosis for intraperitoneal and retroperitoneal/pelvic contrast extravasation, which had been confirmed by enhanced abdominal CT scan, after blunt trauma in patients who had undergone angiographic embolization. Methods: From January 2001 to March 2009, data were retrospectively collected regarding patients who had undergone contrast extravasation (CE) on CT scanning and arterial embolization after blunt trauma. The study patient group was divided into the intraperitoneal and the retroperitoneal/pelvic groups according to the area of contrast extravasation. We reviewed the initial demographic data, the location of injury, the solid organ injury, the embolized vessel, and the clinical outcome. Results: The mean age of the study subjects was $40.2{\pm}2.6$ years old, and there were 24 male patients. The intraperitoneal group included 10 patients, and retroperitoneal/pelvic group was comprised of 17 patients. The amount of transfusion from presentation to intervention and during the first 24 hours was greater in the retroperitoneal/pelvic group than in the intraperitoneal group. The intraperitoneal group showed a higher frequency and severity of liver injury than the retroperitoneal/pelvic group. Angiography revealed that the hepatic artery (n=4) was the most frequently embolized vessel in the intraperitoneal group, while the internal iliac artery (n=6), followed by the renal artery (n=4), internal pudendal artery (n=3), and the gluteal artery (n=2), were the most frequently injured vessels in the retroperitoneal/pelvic group. Conclusion: In patients with intra-abdominal contrast extravasation found on CT scanning and arterial embolization after blunt trauma, the need for transfusion was less in the intra-abdominal group than in the retroperitoneal/pelvic group. Liver injury was also more frequent and severe in the intraperitoneal group than in the retroperitoneal/pelvic group.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• 제22권2호
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• pp.123-127
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• 2009

Purpose: There is an increasing amount of evidence that S100B could function as a marker of brain damage. However, the cerebral specificity of S100B has been questioned, so the extracerebral sources of S100B have been paid attention. We performed this investigation to show serum S100B levels after extracranial fracture in patients without current head injury and without prior neurological disease. Methods: At the emergency department, we obtained the blood samples within 6 hours from trauma patients hospitalized with extracranial fractures. S100B levels were compared between one fracture and more than two fractures, and analyzed according to the presence of soft tissue damage. Results: Patients with one fracture and those with more than two fractures did not differ by age (mean, 54.70 vs. 47.03, p=0.130), and there was no significant difference in the male-to-female ratio(33:32 vs. 21:12, p=0.226). In patients with one fracture, the mean value of S-100B was $0.56{\mu}g/L$ (95% CI: 0.35-0.77) whereas in those with more than two fractures, the corresponding value was $1.09{\mu}g/L$ (95% CI: 0.46-1.7, p=0.048). The S100B level of patients with soft tissue damage($1.32{\pm}0.38$) was higher than that of patients without soft tissue damage($0.81{\pm}0.21$), whether one fracture or more than two fractures(p=0.049). Conclusion: We present here that S100B levels were raised in 77% of patients with extracranial fractures without cerebral injury who were hospitalized from the emergency room and that the presence of soft tissue damage contributed to the increased S100B rather than the size of the fractured bone size or the number of fracturest. Thus, this study suggests that soft tissue injury may be considered as an important extracerebral source of S100B.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• 제22권2호
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• pp.142-147
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• 2009

Purpose: Early diagnosis and management of therapeutic interventions are very important in chest trauma. Conventional chest X-rays (CXR) and computed tomography (CT) are the diagnostic tools that can be quickly implemented for chest trauma patients in the emergency department. In this study, the usefulness of the CT as a diagnostic measurement was examined by analyzing the ability to detect thoracic injuries in trauma patients who had visited the emergency department and undergone CXR and CT. Methods: This study involved 84 patients who had visited the emergency department due to chest trauma and who had undergone both CXR and CT during their diagnostic process. The patients' characteristics and early vital signs were examined through a retrospective analysis of their medical records, and the CXR and the CT saved in the Picture Archiving Communication System (PACS) were examined by a radiologist and an emergency physician to verify whether or not a lesion was present. Results: Pneumothoraxes, hemothoraxes, pneumomediastina, pulmonary lacerations, rib fractures, vertebral fractures, chest wall contusions, and subcutaneous emphysema were prevalently found in a statistically meaningful way (p<0.05) on the CT. Even though their statistical significance couldn' be verified, other disorders, including aortic injury, were more prevalently found by CT than by CXR. Conclusion: CT implemented for chest trauma patients visiting the emergency department allowed disorders that couldn' be found on CXR to be verified, which helped us to could accurately evaluate patients.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• 제26권3호
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• pp.243-247
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• 2013

Introduction: Surgical treatment of subclavian artery (SA) injury is challenging because approaching the lesion directly and clamping the proximal artery is difficult. This can be overcome by using an endovascular technique. Case 1: A 37-year-old male was drawn into the concrete mixer truck. He had a right SA injury with multiple traumatic injuries: an open fracture of the right leg with posterior tibial artery (PTA) injury, a right hemothorax, and fractures of the clavicle, scapula, ribs, cervical spine and nasal bone. The injury severity score (ISS) was 27. Computed tomography (CT) showed a 30-mm-length thrombotic occlusion in the right SA, which was 15 mm distal to the vertebral artery (VA). A self-expandable stent($8mm{\times}40mm$ in size) was deployed through the right femoral artery while preserving VA flow, and the radial pulse was palpable after deployment. Other operations were performed sequentially. He had a viable right arm during a 13-month follow-up period. Case 2: A 25-year-old male was admitted to our hospital due to a motorcycle accident. The ISS was 34 because of a hemothorax and open fractures of the mandible and the left hand. Intraoperative angiography was done through a right femoral artery puncture. Contrast extravasation of the SA was detected just outside the left rib cage. After balloon catheter had been inflated just proximal to the bleeding site, direct surgical exploration was performed through infraclavicular skin incision. The transected SA was identified, and an interposition graft was performed using a saphenous vein graft. Other operations were performed sequentially. He had a viable left arm during a 15-month follow-up period. Conclusion: The challenge of repairing an SA injury can be overcome by using an endovascular approach.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• 제26권3호
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• pp.198-206
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• 2013

Purpose: This study was performed to calculate and analyze the effective radiation doses from computed tomography (CT) and radiologic intervention in patients in the emergency department (ED) with trauma critical pathway (CP) activation and further to estimate the lifetime attributable risks (LARs) for the incidence of and mortality from cancers induced by the radiation dose. Methods: Through a retrospective electrical chart review of 104 injured patients who trauma critical pathway were activated from November 2012 to March 2013, we calculated effective radiologic doses by taking the product of the dose-linear product of the scan and the conversion coefficient. After a determination of the image results, we divided the patients into two groups, negative or positive, and calculated the effective dose for each group. With these results, we estimated the LARs for the incidence of and the mortality from cancers by using the table in the Biologic Effects of Ionizing Radiation (BEIR)-VII report. Results: A total of 76 patients were enrolled. The mean age was $49.0{\pm}8.5$ years. The mean injury severity score (ISS) was $12.7{\pm}8.4$. The cumulative effective dose (CED) for individual patients varied from 2.8 mSv to 238.8 mSv, and the mean was $47.6{\pm}39.9$ mSv. The CED in patients with an $ISS{\geq}16$($63.2{\pm}26.6$ mSv) was higher than that of patients whose ISS<16($33.5{\pm}23.1$ mSv) (p<0.001). The CED in patients who were treated with surgery or intervention($69.0{\pm}45.2$ mSv) was higher than that of patients who were treated conservatively($33.6{\pm}22.4$ mSv) (p<0.001). The LARs for cancer incidence and mortality were $328.5{\pm}308.6$ and $189.0{\pm}159.3$ per 100,000 people, respectively. Conclusion: The CED and the LAR for trauma CP-activated patients in the ED were significant, so efforts should be made to decrease the effective dose received by severely injured patients.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• 제26권3호
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• pp.157-162
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• 2013

Purpose: Abdominal trauma rarely causes injuries involving duodenum. But, it is associated with higher rate of the complication and mortality than other abdominal injuries. There are many options for the management of duodenal injuries. Herein we are to review our experiences and find out the risk factors related to the morbidity and the mortality in traumatic duodenal injuries. Methods: The medical records of total 25 patients who managed by surgical managements and survive more than 48 hours were conducted from January 2006 to December 2012. The clinical characteristics, treatments, and outcomes are reviewed. Results: Among 25 patients, most of them (n=17, 68.0%) were managed by the pyloric exclusion and the gastrojejunostomy. The $3^{rd}$ portion is the most injured site (n=15, 60.0%), and the majority exhibited grade 2 severity (n=14, 56.0%). Most of patients had blunt abdominal traumas (n=23, 92.0%) so that many of them (n=14, 56.0%) had other combined abdominal injuries. The mean ISS is $11.5{\pm}6.2$. The surgery related mortality rate was 28.0%. There was no statistical significance between each factors and the mortality except leakage (p=0.012). But, we could find some trends about traumatic duodenal injuries in this study. The mortality rates of them who older than 55 years were higher than others. And, all 3 patients who delayed the operation more than 24 hours after the trauma had some complications or died. Also, the patients who had the $2^{nd}$ portion injury, grade 3 injury, or combined abdominal injury were less survived. Conclusion: Duodenal injury is related to high rate of morbidity(47.8%) and mortality(28.0%). Age, portion of injury, OIS grade, ISS>15, combined intra-abdominal operation, and trauma to operation time over 24 hrs have some trend with attribution to mortality. Especially leakage of duodenal injury is related to mortality.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• 제26권3호
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• pp.131-138
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• 2013

Purpose: The aim of this study is to present a retrospective review of patients who had a sudden onset of facial palsy after trauma and who underwent facial nerve decompression. Methods: The cases of 25 patients who had traumatic facial palsy were reviewed. Facial nerve function was graded according to the House-Brackmann grading scale. According to facial nerve decompression, patients were categorized into the surgical (decompression) group, with 7 patients in the early decompression subgroup and 2 patients in the late decompression subgroup, and the conservative group(16 patients). Results: The facial nerve decompression group included 8 males and 1 female, aged 2 to 86 years old, with a mean age of 40.8. In early facial nerve decompression subgroup, facial palsy was H-B grade I to III in 6 cases (66.7%); H-B grade IV was observed in 1 case(11.1%). In late facial nerve decompression subgroup, 1 patient (11.1%) had no improvement, and the other patient(11.1%) improved to H-B grade III from H-B grade V. A comparison of patients who underwent surgery within 2 weeks to those who underwent surgery 2 weeks later did not show any significant difference in improvement of H-B grades (p>0.05). The conservative management group included 15 males and 1 female, aged 6 to 66 years old, with a mean age of 36. At the last follow up, 15 patients showed H-B grades of I to III(93.7%), and only 1 patient had an H-B grade of IV(6.3%). Conclusion: Generally, we assume that early facial nerve decompression can lead to some recovery from traumatic facial palsy, but a prospective controlled study should and will be prepared to compare of conservative treatment to late decompression.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• 제26권3호
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• pp.190-197
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• 2013

Purpose: Trauma is one of the major cause of death in Korea. This study focused on the survival rate and the neurologic outcome for patients with traumatic cardiac arrest (CA) at one emergency center. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients with traumatic CA who were seen at a regional emergency medical center from January 2010 to December 2011. From among major trauma patients at that medical center, adults older than 18 years of age who had CA were included in this study. CA included out-of-hospital CA with arrival at the Emergency Department (ED) within three hours and in-hospital CA. We checked the survival rate and the neurologic outcome. Results: A total of 61 patients were analyzed: 32 patients had return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), 6 patients survived to discharge (survival rate: 9.84%), and 4 were still alive 90 days after discharge. The Cerebral performance category (CPC) scores at 6 months after discharge showed 1 good and 5 poor in neurologic outcomes. Factors such as initial rhythm of CA, part with major injury, Revised Trauma Score (RTS) and pH, were significant for ROSC, survival, and neurologic outcome in patients with traumatic CA. Conclusion: In this study, patients who had traumatic CA showed a 9.84% survival rate and a 1.64% good neurologic outcome. The results are poorer than those for CA caused by disease. Multi-center, prospective studies are needed.