Usage patterns of emergency medical services in Korea: analysis of patient flow.

Background: This study used the National Emergency Department Information System (NEDIS) data to analyze the flow of emergency and critical emergency patients and to identify the patterns of emergency medical service usage in Korea.

Methods: The relevance index (RI) and commitment index (CI) were calculated from the 2016 NEDIS data. In this study, the number of clusters was determined using NbClust, and cluster analysis was used to analyze the usage patterns of emergency and critical emergency patients.

Analysis on sports and recreation activity-related eye injuries presenting to the Emergency Department.

Aim: To investigate the incidence and general characteristics of sports-related eye injuries in patients visiting the Emergency Department.

Methods: A cross-sectional, multi-center, observational study. Patients with an injured eye who visited the Emergency Department at one of nine hospitals in Korea were enrolled.

Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome in a male patient due to urinary tract infection.

Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome (FHCS) is inflammation of the liver capsule usually associated with pelvic inflammatory disease. FHCS has been rarely reported in male patients, and hematogenous and lymphatic spread to the liver is thought to be the underlying mechanism. Although a confirmatory diagnosis was made by laparoscopy, contrast-enhanced computed tomography scan is considered the first-line imaging tool in clinical diagnosis of FHCS.

Reversible Splenial Lesion Syndrome (RESLES) Following Glufosinate Ammonium Poisoning.

Isolated and reversible lesion restricted to the splenium of the corpus callosum, known as reversible splenial lesion syndrome, have been reported in patients with infection, high-altitude cerebral edema, seizures, antiepileptic drug withdrawal, or metabolic disturbances. Here, we report a 39-year-old female patient with glufosinate ammonium (GLA) poisoning who presented with confusion and amnesia. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging of the brain revealed cytotoxic edema of the splenium of the corpus callosum.

Modified early warning score with rapid lactate level in critically ill medical patients: the ViEWS-L score.

Objectives: To examine whether the predictive value of the early warning score (EWS) could be improved by including rapid lactate levels, and to compare the modified EWS with the pre-existing risk scoring systems.

Design: Retrospective observational study in South Korea.

Setting: An urban, academic, tertiary hospital.

CT findings of mild forms or early manifestations of acute cholecystitis.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the most predictive CT feature of the mild forms or early manifestations of acute cholecystitis.

Materials And Methods: Two radiologists analyzed CT of 34 patients with mild or early acute cholecystitis and 34 control patients for pericholecystic increased attenuation on the arterial phase, indistinctness of the interface between the gallbladder (GB) and the liver, enhancement of the GB wall, and increased attenuation of the GB bile.

Results: There were significant differences in the mean values for each CT feature but increased attenuation of the GB bile between patients and control group (P<.

The anti-inflammatory effect of peripheral bee venom stimulation is mediated by central muscarinic type 2 receptors and activation of sympathetic preganglionic neurons.

The anti-inflammatory effect (AI) induced by peripheral injection of diluted bee venom (dBV) involves activation of spinal cord circuits and is mediated by catecholamine release from adrenal medulla, but the precise neuronal mechanisms involved are not fully understood. In a recent study, we demonstrated that an increase in spinal acetylcholine is involved in mediating the anti-inflammatory effect of dBV and that this mediation also involves adrenomedullary activation. The present study utilized the mouse air pouch inflammation model to evaluate the involvement of spinal acetylcholine receptors and sympathetic preganglionic neurons (SPNs) in dBV's anti-inflammatory effect (dBVAI).