The Relationship between Early Hyperglycemia and Prognosis in Trauma Patients

PURPOSE: Recent randomized prospective data suggest that early hyperglycemia is associated with high mortality in critically ill patients and that tight glucose control leads to an improved outcome. This concept has not been carefully examined in trauma patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of different levels of early hyperglycemia to the clinical outcomes in trauma patients. METHODS: A retrospective study of 309 cases of trauma victims who visited the Emergency Department of Daegu Catholic University Hospital from March 2003 to February 2004 was made. Patients younger than 15 years of age and patients having diabetes mellitus were excluded. The records of all of these patients were reviewed for age, the Injury Severity Score (ISS), Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score, blood glucose, lengths of ICU and hospital stays, infection morbidity, and mortality. They were divided into three groups by their glucose level (> or = 110 mg/dl and or = 140 mg/dl and or = 200 mg/dl and or = 110 mg/dl, > or = 140 mg/dl, > or = 200 mg/dl) showed higher mortality compared to the corresponding non-hyperglycemic groups ( or = 110 mg/dl, > or =140 mg/dl, > or = 200 mg/dl) with mortality. A multivariate logistic regression analysis addressing the effects of age, ISS, and GCS score showed a significant relationship among age (p or = 140 mg/dl (0.042), and death. In the univariate logistic regression analysis of these variables to infection, we observed a significant correlation between all examined variables and infection, except for glucose > or = 110 mg/dl. Glucose > or = 200 mg/dl (p= 0.007), age (p=0.014), and ISS (p or = 200 mg/dl was an independent predictor of increased infection rate in trauma patients. Also, early hyperglycemia defined as glucose > or = 140 mg/dl showed a significant independent relationship to death.

Clinical Review of Elderly Patients Who Visited the Emergency Department with Altered Mental Status

PURPOSE: The number of geriatric patients admitted to the emergency department (ED) is growing as the elderly population grows. The altered mental status of the elderly is more difficult to evaluate and manage than others. The purpose of this study was to determine the etiologies of altered mental status in elderly patients visiting the ED. METHODS: A retrospective study was made of 119 patients who visited the ED of Kyungpook National University Hospital for altered mental status from January 2001 to June 2002. RESULTS: The results of this study showed that extracranial causes (67.8%) were more than intracranial causes (31.9%): metabolic (35.3%), cerebrovascular (29.4%), extracranial infection (16.0%), cardiovascular (8.4%), drugs/toxins (8.4%), and intracranial infection (2.5%). The group with underlying disease or with brain imaging done showed more intracranial causes than extracranial causes. The results showed that the age, the initial Glasgow coma scale (GCS) score, a new positive finding on a brain image, and the causes of the mental change had significant influence on improvement of the mental status and on the survival rate (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Initial evaluation of the underlying disease, the GCS score, an early study of brain imaging, and a search for possible metabolic causes, as well as others should be done simultaneously to deliver high quality care to elderly patient. Knowledge of the most frequent causes of altered mental status in elderly patients may assist the emergency physician in the approaching these potentially ill patients and managing their care.

Analysis of Transportation of Victims of the Subway Fire in Daegu

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to improve transportation and distribution of mass-casualty patients by reviewing the subway fire that occurred in Daegu on 18 February 2003. METHODS: We used the reports of the Daegu Emergency Medical Information Center and the medical records of each hospital to analyze retrospectively 199 patients who were transported to 22 initial receiving hospitals. We evaluated the appropriateness of transportation based on the distances of transportation, the capability of the receiving hospitals, and the severity of patients. Using the SAS program(version 6.12), the collected data was analyzed by frequency and x(2) test. RESULTS: The more severe the patients were, the nearer and larger the receiving hospitals were. There was no accurate triage at the scene, but the distribution of patients was good because members of Daegu Emergency Medical Information Center were dispatched to the scene and because communications between the scene and receiving hospitals were continuous. CONCLUSION: We do not expect disasters, but they happen. All we can do is plan and prepare appropriate responses for disasters. Appropriate transportation and distribution of patients based on triage is an important aspect of early disaster response.

Clinical Analysis of Frequent Attenders of Emergency Department

PURPOSE: Overcrowding of Emergency Department (ED) of university hospital is a serious problem to both patients and working staffs of ED. This study sought to characterize patients who were frequent attenders at ED, and to assist the targeting of appropriate future interventions aimed at reducing avoidable presentation. METHODS: A retrospective study was undertaken of patients presenting to ED of Kyungpook National University Hospital between December 1, 2001 to November 30, 2002. Frequent attender, defined as a patient with three or more visits to ED over the course of study period, were compared with those who visited ED two or less times, using chisquare analyses, and ANOVA, and defined valid if p< 0.05. RESULTS: Number of frequent attenders were 449 (2.9%), and their visits to ED were 2,244 (12.3%) times, average 5.0 visits per year. This group comprised of patients of either cancer and/or chronic diseases. Cancer patients of frequent attenders made more visits to ED compare to chronic disease patients, and more than 50% of presented cases are either not requiring tertiary care unit, or it was unnecessary visit to ED at all. CONCLUSION: A such small number of patients made surprising number of visits to ED, and most of their visit turns out either unnecessary, or symptom so minor in which either Out Patient Department (OPD) care or local clinic.

Correlations of the Serum Lactate and the Base Deficit levels to Injury Severity in Trauma Patients

PURPOSE: Although the Injury Severity Score (ISS) has certain predictive limitations and difficulties in calculation, the ISS has been widely used as a predictor of serious injury. The objective of this study was to determine the correlations of the serum lactate and base deficit levels to injury severity and to determine the value of using serum lactate and base deficit measurements as prognostic tools in the emergency department. METHODS: This study was a retrospective analysis of data collected from March 2001 to February 2002, and two hundred seventeen trauma patients who were admitted to the Emergency Department (ED) of Kyungpook National University Hospital during that period were included in this study. Patients who received a transfusion, bicarbonate, or vasopressor or who had no ISS score were excluded from this study. RESULTS: The serum lactate and the base deficit, as well as the ISS, showed a significant value for predicting the seriousness of injury in trauma patients. Because gamma(Pearson's correlation coefficient) between ISS and serum lactate levels is 0.890, it showed strong association. Especially, in multiple injury patients, the serum lactate level had predictive value in revealing hidden injuries that could lead to possible death. Logistic regression showed a strong association between the serum lactate and base deficit levels and mortality rate. CONCLUSION: The serum lactate and the base deficit levels at admission to the ED are useful tools in predicting the outcome in severe trauma patients, and they can be used adjunct to previous injury scoring systems.

Alternative Method of Trauma Patient Evaluation and Quality Assessment

PURPOSE: The Injury Severity Score (ISS) has limited predictive power and is difficult to calculate. We used the New Injury Severity Score (NISS) and compared it to the ISS. The purpose of this study was to give a prognosis and predict the mortality for trauma patients by using the ISS and the NISS and to compare Trauma and Injury Severity Score (TRISS) method using NISS with the TRISS method using ISS. METHODS: A retrospective study of 100 trauma victims who visited the emergency room of Kyungpook National University Hospital from September 2000 to May 2001 was made using the ISS, the NISS, and the TRISS methods. RESULTS: A comparison between survivors and nonsurvivors showed differences in the revised trauma score (RTS), ISS, NISS, and TRISS Ps-1 by using RTS and the ISS and TRISS Ps-2 by using RTS and NISS (p<0.01). We found that the NISS was more predictive of survival than the ISS. A receiver operating curve analysis and Hosmer Lemeshow statistics showed that both the NISS and the ISS provided a good fit throughout its entire range of prediction. CONCLUSION: By comparing the ISS with the NISS, we concluded that the NISS better separated survivors from nonsurvivors. The NISS predicted survival better and was easier to calculate than the ISS. The results of the TRISS method using NISS were satisfactory, and we expect to use this method in quality assessment with further study and modification.