• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.62 no.2
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• pp.232-242
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• 2019

Objective : To investigate the effects of trauma center establishment on the clinical characteristics and outcomes of trauma patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods : We enrolled 322 patients with severe trauma and TBI from January 2015 to December 2016. Clinical factors, indexes, and outcomes were compared before and after trauma center establishment (September 2015). The outcome was the Glasgow outcome scale classification at 3 months post-trauma. Results : Of the 322 patients, 120 (37.3%) and 202 (62.7%) were admitted before and after trauma center establishment, respectively. The two groups were significantly different in age (p=0.038), the trauma location within the city (p=0.010), the proportion of intensive care unit (ICU) admissions (p=0.001), and the emergency room stay time (p<0.001). Mortality occurred in 37 patients (11.5%). Although the preventable death rate decreased from before to after center establishment (23.1% vs. 12.5%), the difference was not significant. None of the clinical factors, indexes, or outcomes were different from before to after center establishment for patients with severe TBI (Glasgow coma scale score ${\leq}8$). However, the proportion of inter-hospital transfers increased and the time to emergency room arrival was longer in both the entire cohort and patients with severe TBI after versus before trauma center establishment. Conclusion : We confirmed that for patients with severe trauma and TBI, establishing a trauma center increased the proportion of ICU admissions and decreased the emergency room stay time and preventable death rate. However, management strategies for handling the high proportion of inter-hospital transfers and long times to emergency room arrival will be necessary.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.225-232
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• 2021

Purpose: Trauma is the top cause of death in people under 45 years of age. Deaths from severe trauma can have a negative economic impact due to the loss of people belonging to socio-economically active age groups. Therefore, efforts to reduce the mortality rate of trauma patients are essential. The purpose of this study was to investigate preventable mortality in trauma patients and to identify factors and healthcare-related challenges affecting mortality. Ultimately, these findings will help to improve the quality of trauma care. Methods: We analyzed the deaths of 411 severe trauma patients who presented to Gachon University Gil Hospital regional trauma center in South Korea from January 2015 to December 2017, using an expert panel review. Results: The preventable death rate of trauma patients treated at the Gachon University Gil Hospital regional trauma center was 8.0%. Of these, definitely preventable deaths comprised 0.5% and potentially preventable deaths 7.5%. The leading cause of death in trauma patients was traumatic brain injury. Treatment errors most commonly occurred in the intensive care unit (ICU). The most frequent management error was delayed treatment of bleeding. Conclusions: Most errors in the treatment of trauma patients occurred in early stages of the treatment process and in the ICU. By identifying the main causes of preventable death and errors during the course of treatment, our research will help to reduce the preventable death rate. Appropriate trauma care systems and ongoing education are also needed to reduce preventable deaths from trauma.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.66 no.1
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• pp.63-71
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• 2023

Objective : Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the most common injuries in patients with multiple trauma, and it associates with high post-traumatic mortality and morbidity. A trauma center was established to provide optimal treatment for patients with severe trauma. This study aimed to compare the treatment outcomes of patients with severe TBI between non-trauma and trauma centers based on data from the Korean Neuro-Trauma Data Bank System (KNTDBS). Methods : From January 2018 to June 2021, 1122 patients were enrolled in the KNTDBS study. Among them, 253 patients from non-traumatic centers and 253 from trauma centers were matched using propensity score analysis. We evaluated baseline characteristics, the time required from injury to hospital arrival, surgery-related factors, neuromonitoring, and outcomes. Results : The time from injury to hospital arrival was shorter in the non-trauma centers (110.2 vs. 176.1 minutes, p=0.012). The operation time was shorter in the trauma centers (156.7 vs. 128.1 minutes, p=0.003). Neuromonitoring was performed in nine patients (3.6%) in the non-trauma centers and 67 patients (26.5%) in the trauma centers (p<0.001). Mortality rates were lower in trauma centers than in non-trauma centers (58.5% vs. 47.0%, p=0.014). The average Glasgow coma scale (GCS) at discharge was higher in the trauma centers (4.3 vs. 5.7, p=0.011). For the Glasgow outcome scale-extended (GOSE) at discharge, the favorable outcome (GOSE 5-8) was 17.4% in the non-trauma centers and 27.3% in the trauma centers (p=0.014). Conclusion : This study showed lower mortality rates, higher GCS scores at discharge, and higher rates of favorable outcomes in trauma centers than in non-trauma centers. The regional trauma medical system seems to have a positive impact in treating patients with severe TBI.

• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.172-179
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• 2017

The regional trauma center should be a trauma treatment center equipped with facilities, equipments, and manpower capable of providing optimal treatment from emergency surgery to a severely traumatized patient upon arrival at the hospital. In order to establish a medical system for effective severe diseases, it is necessary to prepare architectural planning guidelines for the regional trauma centers. This study analyzes the connectivity, control, integration, and mean depth of current trauma centers using the convex map of space syntax, And to provide basic data for building for more efficient regional trauma center. The major areas that must be included in the regional trauma center are trauma resuscitation room, trauma operating room, trauma intensive care unit, and trauma general ward. It is necessary to carry out the architectural planning to increase the interconnection of the four areas. Also, the elevator plan for trauma patients should be emphasized. In addition, a regional trauma center should be separated from the existing facility for independent operation. According to the case analysis of the space configuration of the regional trauma center, the location of the operating room is most important considering the connection with each department of the hospital and the treatment flow of the severe trauma patients.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.6-11
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• 2017

Purpose: The establishment of the trauma system has changed the quality of trauma care in many countries. As one of the first designated level I trauma centers in Korea, we hypothesized that there were changes in laparotomy patterns and subsequent survival rates after the center was established. Methods: This was a 5-year retrospective study of all severe hemoperitoneum patients who were transfused with more than 10 units of packed red blood cells (RBCs) within 24 h of hospitalization. Variables related to trauma were collected throughout the study period, and the patients admitted before (period 1) and after (period 2) the establishment of a trauma center were compared. Results: Forty-five patients were managed from January 2009 to March 2015. The baseline patient characteristics of the two groups, including age, Injury Severity Score, blood pressure, and hemoglobin levels, were similar. The time to the operating room (OR) was $144.3{\pm}51.5$ min (period 1) and $79.9{\pm}44.1$ min (period 2) (p<0.0001). Damage control surgery (DCS) was performed in 17% of patients during period 1 and in 73% during period 2. The number of actual survivors (n=10) was higher than expected (n=8) in period 2. Conclusion: This is the first study analyzing the impact of a trauma center on the management of specific injuries, such as severe hemoperitoneum, in patients in Korea. During the study, the time to OR was shortened and DCS was used to a greater extent as a surgical procedure.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.138-150
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• 2021

Purpose: This retrospective study aimed to investigate nursing interventions in patients with severe thoracic injury in trauma bay of a regional trauma center. Methods: Of the 1,780 patients admitted to the trauma bay of a regional trauma center in a university hospital in the Gyeonggi Province between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2019, 120 adult patients with severe thoracic injury who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled. Participants' clinical characteristics and nursing interventions were collected from electronic medical records after receiving ethical approval. Nursing interventions were classified using the terminology in the Nursing Intervention Classification. Results: The mean age of participants was 52.25 years and 72.5% of participants were male. The main areas of thoracic injury included lung parenchyma and pleura (95.8%). The mean Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) for thoracic injury was 3.13 and the mean Injury Severity Score (ISS) was 17.81. Fluid resuscitation, invasive hemodynamic monitoring, chest tube care, respiratory monitoring, artificial airway management, gastrointestinal tube care, mechanical ventilation management: airway insertion and stabilization, blood product administration, allergy management, and surgical preparation were performed significantly more frequently in thoracic injury patients with unstable vital signs or a higher AIS score. Conclusion: This study is significant as it investigated the types of nursing interventions given to patients with severe thoracic injury in the trauma bay. These results would contribute to developing more detailed educational materials for initial nursing interventions in trauma bay.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.88-95
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• 2020

Purpose: The present study will identify risk factors for aspiration in severe trauma patients by comparing patients who showed a sign of aspiration lung disease on chest computed tomography (CT) and those who did not. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of the Korean Trauma Data Bank between January 2014 and December 2019 in a single regional trauma center. The inclusion criteria were patients aged ≥18 years with chest CT, and who had an Injury Severity Score ≥16. Patients with Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS)-chest score ≥1 and lack of medical records were excluded. General characteristics and patient status were analyzed. Results: 425 patients were included in the final analysis. There were 48 patients showing aspiration on CT (11.2%) and 377 patients showing no aspiration (88.7%). Aspiration group showed more endotracheal intubation in the ER (p=0.000) and a significantly higher proportion of severe Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) (p=0.000) patients than the non-aspiration group. In AIS as well, the median AIS head score was higher in the aspiration group (p=0.046). Median oxygen saturation was significantly lower in the aspiration group (p=0.002). In a logistic regression analysis, relative to the GCS mild group, the moderate group showed an odds ratio (OR) for aspiration of 2.976 (CI, 1.024-8.647), and the severe group showed an OR of 5.073 (CI, 2.442-10.539). Conclusions: Poor mental state and head injury increase the risk of aspiration. To confirm for aspiration, it would be useful to perform chest CT for severe trauma patients with a head injury.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.94-100
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• 2005

Background: Although trauma has been the major cause of death in korea, there are few reports describing the epidemiologic characteristics of trauma victims according to age-group. Thus, this study aimed to describe the epidemiologic characteristics of trauma victims visiting an urban emergency medical center in Korea. Method: This study was conducted with all trauma victims who visited the emergency departments of Asan Medical Center from April 11, 2005 to May 10, 2005. After the subjects were divided into three groups such as child (${\leq}14$ years old), adult(15-64 years old) and elderly(${\geq}65$ years old), the prehospital courses, injury mechanisms, injury severities and clinical results were compared. Result: Among total 5,927 patients who visited the emergency medical center, 896(15.1%) patients were trauma victims. Although child under the age of 15 comprised 28.7% of the total trauma victims, less severe injuries(injury severity score < 9) accounted for 97.7% of the cases. The hospitalization rate for injury among child was 21.5%. however, although elderly aged 65 comprised only 5.9% of the total trauma victims, more severe injuries(injury severity score ${\geq}9$) accounted for 30.2% of the cases. The hospitalization rate for injury among elderly was 56.4%. Conclusion: Patterns of injury and clinical results by age-group were considerably different. less severe and non-hospitalized injuries were more common in child than other age-groups. while severe and hospitalized injuries were common in elderly.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.43-49
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• 2014

Purpose: Trauma is one of the most common causes of death for children, and identifying severely injured children quickly in an overcrowded emergency room (ER) is difficult. Therefore, severe injury must be prevented, and the severity of injuries in children must be determined easily from their general characteristics and pre-hospital factors. Methods: Injured children younger than 15 years of age who visited the ER from June 2011 to May 2013 were enrolled. According to the revised trauma score (RTS) of the patients, the study population was divided in two groups, a severe group (RTS<7) and a mild group ($RTS{\geq}7$). The general characteristics and the pre-hospital factors were compared between the two groups. Results: Six hundred seventy-three children were enrolled, their mean age was 8.03 (${\pm}4.45$) years, and 476 (70.73%) patients were male. Of these patients, 22 patients (3.27%) were in the severe group, and 651 patients (96.73%) were in the mild group. Fewer males were in the severe group than in the mild group (50.00% vs. 71.43%, p=0.030), and children in the severe group were younger than children in the mild group (3.50 vs. 8.00 years, p=0.049). In the severe group, toddlers (54.55%, p=0.036) were the most common age group. Severe injuries occurred more often in spring (32.81%) and summer (54.56%) than in autumn (9.09%) and winter (4.55%) (p=0.026). The most common places of injury in the severe group were roads (50.00%, p=0.009), and the most common mechanisms of injury in the severe group were traffic accidents (50.00%), followed by falls (31.82%) (p=0.011). Most severely injured children were transferred by ambulance (72.73%, p=0.000). Conclusion: The results of this study may be helpful for identifying severely injured children quickly in the field and the ER. To prevent severe pediatric injuries, precautions and policies based on these results should be established.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.297-299
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• 2013

Traumatic asphyxia, also called 'Perthes syndrome', is characterized by subconjunctival hemorrhage, cervicofacialpetechiae and cyanosis resulting from venous hypertension caused by an abrupt, severe, compressive force to the thoracoabdominal region. A 37-year-old male patient who was transferred to the emergency room due to chest trauma by overturning of a forkcrane. His head, neck, and shoulders showed severe ecchymosis, and his upper chest was cyanotic. There was bilateral subconjunctival hemorrhage and bilateral ear bleeding without tympanic rupture. Perthes syndrome is a rare condition and we treated a patient with typical and atypical symptoms; thus we report this case of Perthes syndrome.