A Propensity Score-Matched Comparison of In-Hospital Mortality between Dedicated Regional Trauma Centers and Emergency Medical Centers in the Republic of Korea.

Background: In the Republic of Korea, a trauma care system was not created until 2012, at which point regional trauma centers (RTCs) were established nationwide. In accordance with the national emergency care system and legislation, regional and local emergency medical centers (EMCs) also treat patients presenting with trauma. The aim of the present study was to assess whether treatment in RTCs is truly associated with better patient outcomes than that in EMCs by means of propensity score-matched comparisons and to identify populations that would benefit from treatment in RTCs.

Effectiveness and safety of bilateral internal iliac artery ligation with pre-peritoneal pelvic packing for life-threatening pelvic trauma.

This study analyzed the outcomes of bilateral internal iliac artery (IIA) ligation with preperitoneal pelvic packing (PPP) in hemodynamically unstable patients with major pelvic fractures. All-cause mortality was examined, periprocedural safety for critical circumstances was reviewed, and iliac artery ligation-related complications of the postoperative phase were evaluated. A total of 20 patients who suffered substantially from severe pelvic trauma with hemodynamic instability and subsequently underwent bilateral IIA ligation with PPP between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2021, were enrolled in the study.

Influence of the Level of Emergency Medical Facility on the Short-Term Treatment Results of Cardiac Arrest: Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest and Interhospital Transfer.

Objective: This study aimed to elucidate whether direct transport of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients to higher-level emergency medical centres (EMCs) would result in better survival compared to resuscitation in smaller local emergency departments (EDs) and subsequent transfer.

Methods: This study was a retrospective population-based analysis of cases registered in the national database of 2019. This study investigated the immediate results of cardiopulmonary resuscitation for OHCA compared between EMCs and EDs and the results of therapeutic temperature management (TTM) compared between the patients directly transported from the field and those transferred from other hospitals.

A study on the disaster medical response during the Mauna Ocean Resort gymnasium collapse.

Objective: To investigate and document the disaster medical response during the Gyeongju Mauna Ocean Resort gymnasium collapse on February 17, 2014.

Methods: Official records of each institution were verified to select the study population. All the medical records and emergency medical service run sheets were reviewed by an emergency physician.

Abdominal solid organ injury in trauma patients with pelvic bone fractures.

Background: We analyzed the clinical progression of trauma patients with pelvic bone fractures so to determine the risk factors associated with sustaining concurrent abdominal solid organ injuries.

Methods: This study was a retrospective chart review. Subjects were categorized based on injury type: solid organ versus non-solid organ injury groups.

Hemopericardium following acupuncture.

Acupuncture-related hemopericardium is a rare but potentially fatal complication. We describe a hemopericardium that occurred shortly after acupuncture in a 55-year-old woman. A chest CT scan and echocardiography revealed a hemopericardium, and pericardiocentesis was then immediately and successfully performed.

Factors associated with prehospital delay in acute stroke.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the factors associated with prehospital delays in patients with acute ischaemic stroke who are indicated to receive thrombolysis if arriving within 2 h.

Methods: Data were prospectively collected from patients eligible for intravenous thrombolytic treatment if arriving within the therapeutic time window. Patients were divided into two groups depending on whether they arrived within 2 h to understand factors associated prehospital delay.

Factors associated with prehospital delay for acute stroke in Ulsan, Korea.

Background: Early hospital presentation is critical in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke with thrombolysis.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the factors associated with prehospital delay in acute ischemic stroke.

Methods: Data were retrospectively collected over a 1-year period from 247 acute ischemic stroke patients who presented to the emergency department (ED) within 7 days after symptom onset.

Post-Nargis medical care: experience of a Korean Disaster Relief Team in Myanmar after the cyclone.

The objective of this study was to assess the epidemiology and clinical data of patients observed by the Korean Disaster Relief Team, during its deployment in Myanmar, from 6 to 12 June 2008. A cross-sectional, medical record-based study in the Korean Disaster Relief Team clinic, established a month after the cyclone Nargis devastated Myanmar. Data collected included demographic variables, and whether or not the problem was acute or chronic, and traumatic or medical.

Neurologic sequela of hydrogen sulfide poisoning.

A 25-year-old man, a field operator in a petroleum refinery was found unconscious. He was exposed to hydrogen sulfide and presented with Glasgow Coma Score of 5, severe hypoxemia on arterial blood gas analysis, normal chest radiography, and normal blood pressure. On hospital day 7, his mental state became clear, and neurologic examination showed quadriparesis, profound spasticity, increased tendon reflexes, abnormal Babinski response, and bradykinesia.