Changes in the incidence of severe damage in the event of a passenger traffic accident after the mandatory safety belt for all seats

Objective@#In September 2018, the traffic law revision has enforced all passengers in cars to wear seatbelts. Our study aims to investigate the effects of this law revision on fellow passengers involved in car accidents by considering their seatbelt-wearing rate and severity score. @*Methods@#This study is a retrospective observational study. Data were collected from the Emergency Department-based Injury in-depth Surveillance (for the years 2017 and 2019), Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Candidates were patients who visited emergency rooms (ERs) of 23 hospitals from January to December in the years 2017 and 2019. Patients under the age of 15 years or without Excess Mortality Ratio-adjusted Injury Severity Score (EMR-ISS) data or having accidents on highways were excluded. @*Results@#The total number of patients who visited ERs during the study periods was 91,506 and 14,806 in 2017 and 2019, respectively, and were included in our study. There were more fellow female passengers than male passengers during both the study periods: 5,559 in 2017 (67.9%) and 4,341 in 2019 (66.8%). Compared to 52.2% in 2017, the rate of wearing seatbelts increased to 54.5% in 2019. However, after adjusting for age, sex, use of ambulance, injury time, alcohol use, type of road, and counterpart, multivariate logistic regression revealed that compared to the 2017 group, the odds ratio of severe injuries in the 2019 group was 1.10 (95% confidence interval, 0.98-1.24). @*Conclusion@#Increased rate of wearing seatbelts after imposing the traffic law revision was not satisfactory. Therefore, it is necessary to tighten regulations on fellow passengers without seat belts and improve awareness through public relations.

Analysis of 2011-2020 intentional drug poisoning in children and adolescents

Purpose@#We aimed to investigate the changing trends in intentional drug poisoning among pediatric and adolescent patients over the past 10 years. @*Methods@#A retrospective study was conducted on patients younger than 20 years who visited an academic hospital emergency department (ED) in Incheon, Korea, from January 2011 through December 2020. The study focused on patients who responded with “self-harm or suicide” in the ED-based Injury In-depth Surveillance, and whose injury mechanism was drug poisoning. Exclusion criteria were unintentional injuries and the ingestion of substances other than drugs. To describe the trend over the decade, we used the number of events/100,000 ED annual visits of the database. @*Results@#A total of 3,388 cases with a median age of 17 years (interquartile range, 15-18 years) were included. The most frequently ingested drugs were acetaminophen (27.8%), followed by benzodiazepines (15.2%), antidepressants (14.1%), other sedatives and hypnotics (13.4%), and antipsychotics (8.3%). As for the events/100,000 ED annual visits, benzodiazepines showed the biggest increase, from 7.6 to 80.2 cases. Similarly, antidepressants increased from 10.2 to 71.1 cases, and antipsychotics from 3.6 to 53.7 cases. @*Conclusion@#Intentional drug poisoning has increased over the past 10 years, particularly in benzodiazepines, antidepressants, and antipsychotics. It is advisable to establish injury prevention strategies according to patients’ characteristics and ingested drugs.

The influence of changes in-hospital infection control protocols and cardiopulmonary resuscitation environment to treatment outcomes on out-of-hospital cardiac arrest due to the COVID-19 pandemic: a single center retrospective observational study

Objective@#Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been affecting the safety of hospital healthcare workers and the outcome of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients. This study aimed to analyze the influence of the changes inhospital infection control protocols (ICP) and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) environment on the treatment outcomes of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients. @*Methods@#The medical records of patients who visited the emergency room were retrospectively reviewed for the period from March 13, 2019 to March 13, 2021. Patient data were analyzed before and after March 13, 2020, when the “in-hospital CPR guidelines related to COVID-19 infection” was recommended by the Korean Society of Emergency Medicine. We performed a comparison and analysis of the first epinephrine administration time and the intubation time with other CPR-related factors in both groups. The in-hospital return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and the over 24-hour survival rate were defined as treatment outcomes. @*Results@#A total number of 453 patients were included in the study. After ICP, the in-hospital ROSC was increased (29.8% vs. 42.1%, P=0.006), whereas the over 24-hour survival rate was decreased (67.2% vs. 40.6%, P=0.001). The time intervals from the hospital visit to the first epinephrine administration—1.0 (0-1.0) vs. 1.0 (0-2.0), P=0.007—and tracheal intubation—1.0 (0-1.0) vs. 1.0 (1.0-2.8), P<0.001—were statistically significantly higher than those before ICP application. In our multivariable analysis, the ICP application and pre-hospital emergency medical service (EMS) response time were factors associated with the treatment outcome. @*Conclusion@#After the application of the ICP, both the first epinephrine administration time and the tracheal intubation time from the patient’s hospital visit were prolonged. The application of ICP and the delayed EMS response time were factors associated with the treatment outcome.

Epidemiologic features according to age groups of pediatric dental injury in emergency departments

Purpose@#The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiologic features of pediatric dental injury according to age groups using Korean national data. @*Methods@#We reviewed the data from 2015 to 2019 Emergency Department-based Injury In-depth Surveillance registry, which involves 23 emergency departments in Korea. We included children aged 18 years or younger with the International Classification of Disease, 10th Revision codes related to dental injury. Other or combined codes were excluded. The children were classified by age groups: infants (< 1 year), preschoolers (2-6), schoolers (7-12), and adolescents (13-18). As per the age groups, we compared the clinical characteristics, injury event profiles, and outcomes. @*Results@#The study population (n = 33,020) consisted of 8,900 infants (27.0%), 15,705 preschoolers (47.6%), 5,295 schoolers (16.0%), and 3,120 adolescents (9.4%). Their median age was 3 years (interquartile range, 1-7), and boys accounted for 64.2%. The most common mechanism, type of activity, and place were slip down (14,274 [43.2%]), daily activity (23,777 [72.0%]), and home (19,980 [60.5%]), respectively. Among the injury types, soft tissue injury was most common (24,357 [73.8%]). As for the outcomes, 32,841 (99.5%) children were discharged, and 332 (1.0%) children had severe injury. As the age increased, the frequencies changed as follows. As for the place and type, household injury and soft tissue injury decreased while outdoor injury, such as road traffic injury, and tooth fracture increased (P < 0.001). As for the type of activity, injuries related to exercise/sports and education increased (P < 0.001). Of the sports activity, ball sports increased while kickboard/cycle decreased (P < 0.001). @*Conclusion@#Using the epidemiologic features of pediatric dental injury, it is advisable to establish injury prevention strategies according to the age groups.

Thyroid Lobectomy as an Initial Treatment Option on 1-4 cm Papillary Cancer

Recently, the early diagnosis and treatment of differentiated thyroid cancer has significantly increased the proportion of thyroid lobectomy rather than total thyroidectomy. Thyroid lobectomy is recommended for less than 1 cm and total thyroidectomy for more than 4 cm except in unusual cases. There are still controversies in papillary cancer, which size from 1 to 4 cm. There are some reports that the indiscriminate expansion of thyroid lobectomy results in inferior results on the recurrence rate and survival rate compared to total thyroidectomy. But several other studies revealed that the recurrence after lobectomy could be diagnosed, it would not increase the rate of locoregional recurrence and mortality. It is necessary to make efforts to completely remove the cancer and lymph node metastasis, even in unilateral multiple papillary cancers, microscopic or gross invasion to the strap muscles (T3b), even in patients with lateral metastasis, or microscopic central lymph node metastasis. Although the proportion of these patients is nearly half of all 1-4 cm patients with papillary cancer, thyroid lobectomy may be considered as an alternative treatment to total thyroidectomy for patients with 1-4 cm papillary cancer.

Analysis of mortality risk by age-group of patients who visit the emergency room due to suicidal attempts

Objective@#Previous studies lacked an accurate analysis of age-specific mortality because they included either a single hospital’s data or survey-based method, rather than the patient’s information from the emergency room (ER). Therefore, this study analyzed the mortality risk by age group among patients who visited the ER with suicidal attempts using large-scale data. @*Methods@#Data were collected from the in-depth surveillance data of injury among patients who visited the ERs of 23 hospitals from January 2011 to December 2018. Their ages were divided into 10-year ranges for patients aged 15 years or older (15-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65-74, and ≥75 years). The patients’ sex, alcohol consumption before the injury, time of injury, place of injury, ambulance used for transport to the ER, disposition at the ER, and total deaths were investigated. @*Results@#The number of patients was 41,257, of which 38,229 (92.7%) survived and 3,082 (7.3%) died. The proportions of patients in each group who died from suicidal attempts in the 15-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65-74, and ≥75 years groups were 2.7%, 3.1%, 5.4%, 7.8%, 12.0%, 18.5%, and 21.8%, respectively (P<0.001). A statistically positive-response relationship was noted (P trend<0.001). As a result of adjusting for sex, age, place of injury, time of injury, and alcohol consumption in multivariate logistic regression analysis, and the odds ratios of deaths were 1.70, 2.37, 2.86, 5.18, 5.48, and 6.41, respectively (reference, 15-24 years). Moreover, compared to women, the men’s odds ratio of death was 1.58. @*Conclusion@#Among patients who visited the ER due to suicidal attempts, those of advanced age and males have high mortality.

Analysis of mortality risk by age-group of patients who visit the emergency room due to suicidal attempts

Objective@#Previous studies lacked an accurate analysis of age-specific mortality because they included either a single hospital’s data or survey-based method, rather than the patient’s information from the emergency room (ER). Therefore, this study analyzed the mortality risk by age group among patients who visited the ER with suicidal attempts using large-scale data. @*Methods@#Data were collected from the in-depth surveillance data of injury among patients who visited the ERs of 23 hospitals from January 2011 to December 2018. Their ages were divided into 10-year ranges for patients aged 15 years or older (15-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65-74, and ≥75 years). The patients’ sex, alcohol consumption before the injury, time of injury, place of injury, ambulance used for transport to the ER, disposition at the ER, and total deaths were investigated. @*Results@#The number of patients was 41,257, of which 38,229 (92.7%) survived and 3,082 (7.3%) died. The proportions of patients in each group who died from suicidal attempts in the 15-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65-74, and ≥75 years groups were 2.7%, 3.1%, 5.4%, 7.8%, 12.0%, 18.5%, and 21.8%, respectively (P<0.001). A statistically positive-response relationship was noted (P trend<0.001). As a result of adjusting for sex, age, place of injury, time of injury, and alcohol consumption in multivariate logistic regression analysis, and the odds ratios of deaths were 1.70, 2.37, 2.86, 5.18, 5.48, and 6.41, respectively (reference, 15-24 years). Moreover, compared to women, the men’s odds ratio of death was 1.58. @*Conclusion@#Among patients who visited the ER due to suicidal attempts, those of advanced age and males have high mortality.

Lymph Node Ratio as a Good Prognostic Factor for Patients with Pathologic N3a Breast Cancer with 10 or More Metastatic Axillary Lymph Nodes

Purpose@#Pathologic N3a breast cancer is defined as having 10 or more metastatic axillary lymph nodes and metastases to the infraclavicular (level III axillary lymph) node. This study aimed to determine clinicopathological factors and assess the importance of lymph node ratio (LNR) as a prognostic factor for patient with N3a breast cancer treated with surgery without neoadjuvant chemotherapy. @*Methods@#Medical records of 154 patients who underwent surgery were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were pathologically diagnosed with N3a breast cancer between May 2004 and December 2014. LNR was defined as the number of metastatic lymph nodes divided by the total number of resected lymph nodes. It was calculated using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The median follow up period was 94 months (range, 10–205 months). @*Results@#Among 154 patients with N3a breast cancer, 70 (45.5%) had recurrence and 40 (26.0%) died during the follow-up period. The 5-year disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) rates after surgery were 63.0% and 85.9%, respectively. LNR>0.82 (hazard ratio [HR]: 2.271; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.413–3.649; p=0.001) was a prognostic factor significantly associated with DFS. LNR>0.68 (HR: 2.156; 95% CI: 1.146–4.044; p=0.017) and invasive ductal carcinoma (HR: 0.125; 95% CI: 0.017–0.915: p=0.041) were significantly associated with OS. @*Conclusion@#Although LNR values associated with DFS and OS are slightly different, LNR is a good prognostic factor for patients with N3a breast cancer.

Atypical Hyperplasia at the Margin of Frozen Sections from Breast-Conserving Surgery

Purpose@#Intraoperative frozen section analysis to assess margin status during breast-conserving surgery is often performed to reduce the rate of re-excision. Whether additional resection is required if atypical cells are found at the margin during breast-conserving surgery is controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of intraoperative frozen section analysis and investigate the feasibility of additional resection in cases of atypical hyperplasia on frozen sections from breast-conserving surgery. @*Methods@#A retrospective analysis was performed on 1,411 patients with invasive breast cancer who underwent breast-conserving surgery between July 2004 and June 2012. The microscopic margins of the intraoperative frozen sections and permanent sections were examined. Overall events (locoregional recurrence and distant metastasis) were analyzed between the negative margin group and the other margin group (including atypical hyperplasia, carcinoma in situ [CIS], and invasive carcinoma). @*Results@#Of the 1,411 patients, 1,201 had negative margins and 210 had other margin types in the first frozen section. 68 patients had atypical hyperplasia on frozen section analysis. This atypical hyperplasia included atypical cells, atypical ductal hyperplasia, and atypical lobular hyperplasia. Of these 68 patients, the final findings on the permanent section were negative (n=32, 47.1%), atypical cells (n=16, 23.5%), and CIS (n=20, 29.4%). The rate of overall events and distant metastases were higher in the other margin group (9.5% vs. 5.4%, p=0.021) and (5.7% vs. 3.0%, p=0.045). Of the 1,411 patients, 44 (3.1%) had false-positive findings, and 15 (1.1%) had false-negative findings in the frozen sections, with an accuracy of 95.8%. @*Conclusion@#The accuracy of intraoperative frozen section analysis was 95.8%, with 91.7% sensitivity and 96.4% specificity. Atypical hyperplasia on frozen section analysis requires additional resection at the time of breast-conserving surgery because of the possibility of CIS, but excessive resection may be performed in other cases. Therefore, sufficient consultation with patients is required.

Nipple Adenoma Treated with Nipple Preservation in Young Female Patient: A Report of 2 Cases

Adenoma of the nipple is a rare benign type of breast that occurs most often in middle-aged women with nipple discharge, skin erosion in addition to crusting, inflammation, and pain. It can be clinically confused with Paget’s disease or breast cancer precursor lesions, such as ductal carcinoma in situ low grade. The treatment of choice for nipple adenoma is complete excision of the tumor. However in younger women, nipple preservation is required. We present two cases of nipple adenoma that were completely removed with nipple preservation.

Effects of alcohol intake on the severity of injuries during riding a bicycle

Objective@#When bike riding under the influence of alcohol, incidence of injury increases, although reports of highly severe injuries is rare. Therefore, this study aimed to determine how drinking alcohol affects bicycle injuries. @*Methods@#This study included patients who visited the emergency departments at 23 hospitals. Participants were enrolled in the emergency department-based injury in-depth surveillance program of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, were over 15-years-old, and were injured while riding a bike either with or without alcohol intake.Patients with important data missing or insufficient data such as Excess Mortality Ratio-adjusted Injury Severity Score (EMR-ISS) were excluded from the analysis. @*Results@#A total of 28,094 patients were analyzed. The alcohol-intake group numbered 1,946 (6.9%) while the non-alcohol-intake group numbered 26,148 (93.1%). The incidence of severe injury (EMR-ISS≥25) in the alcohol-intake group was 451 (23.2%), whereas that in the non-alcohol-intake group was 2,881 (11.0%), which was statistically different between the two groups (P<0.001). According to multivariate logistic regression, the odds ratio of severe injuries in the alcohol-intake group was 2.04 (95% confidence interval, 1.80-2.30) compared to the non-alcohol-intake group after adjusting for age, alcohol use, type of road, sex, injury time, and transportation. @*Conclusion@#Alcohol is associated with an increase in the incidence of severe injuries. Therefore, as part of preventive measures, it will be necessary to tighten regulations on post-drinking bike riding and improve awareness through public relations.

Severity of injury and related factors of personal mobility vehicle accidentscompared with bicycle accidents

Objective@#Personal mobility vehicles (PMV) have been used widely as a means of replacing bicycles in recent yearsbecause of their convenience and high economic efficiency. On the other hand, accidents related to PMV are alsoincreasing, but there have been few studies in this area. This study examined the factors that increase the severity ofdamage and determine the characteristics of the PMV compared to the accidents on a bicycle. @*Methods@#Retrospective observational studies were performed. The variables related to the accident were collected andanalyzed for patients who visited the emergency room due to a PMV and bicycle accident. Multivariate logistic regressionanalysis was used to determine the factors affecting the severity of the patients. The odds ratios were calculated andcompared between injuries related to PMV and bicycles. @*Results@#A total of 1,124 patients (bicycles 1,017, PMV 107) were enrolled in this study. In multivariate regression analysis,the severity of PMV was higher (odds ratio [OR], 1.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06-2.83) than that of a bicycle.The factors affecting the severity of the patients were age (OR, 1.02, 95% CI, 1.01-1.03), alcohol use (OR, 1,70; 95% CI,1.04-2.70), ambulance transport (OR, 2.46; 95% CI, 1.78-3.40), and wearing a helmet (OR, 2.06; 95% CI, 1.36-3.13). @*Conclusion@#PMV showed higher severity of damage than a bicycle. The PMV, which is a new transportation means, isinsufficient for the prevention of safety compared to bicycles where driving regulations and wearing protective equipmentare common. Additional studies on the precise mechanisms of injury and damage are expected to prevent accidents andreduce their severity.

Introduction and contemporary condition of helicopter emergency medical services in Korea

As most medical facilities in Korea have been concentrated in large cities, the need to improve emergency medical services in islands and mountainous areas has emerged. Consequently, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and local governments have introduced emergency medical helicopters (known as helicopter ambulances or air ambulances) with doctors in medically vulnerable areas. Having been introduced in two regions in 2011, air ambulances are operational in seven regions as of the end of 2019. The flight time is from sunrise to sunset, except in Gyeonggi province, which is open all day. Although the criteria for transport vary depending on whether an ambulance is available for operation, it is basically intended for emergency critical diseases, such as severe trauma, stroke, and acute myocardial infarction. From September 23, 2011 to December 31, 2018, a total of 10,367 transfer requests were received, which included 534 (5.2%) interruptions, 2,657 (25.6%) rejects, and 7,176 (69.2%) transfers. A total of 7,209 patients were transferred during this period, which included 1,693 (23.5%) patients of severe trauma, 1,149 (15.9%) patients of stroke, 802 (11.1%) patients of acute myocardial infarction, and 3,565 (49.5%) patients suffering from other emergency diseases. Some economic research on air ambulances in Korea has been reported to be cost-effective, but additional research should be performed. In the future, it is necessary to widen the area of operation of air ambulances and find alternative means of transporting patients during unfavorable conditions such as night or bad weather.

The clinical meaning of pre- and post-ablation thyroglobulin levels at first radioiodine therapy in patients with papillary thyroid cancer

Background/Aims@#This study was conducted to identify prognostic factors in patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) at the time of first radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy, and to evaluate the clinical value of the thyroglobulin (Tg) increase after RAI. @*Methods@#Serum Tg was sampled prior to (pre-Tg) and 7 days after RAI (post-Tg) in 680 patients with PTC. Patients were classified into excellent response (ER), biochemical incomplete response (BCIR), structural incomplete response (SIR), and indeterminate response (IR) groups using dynamic risk stratification at 6 to 18 months after RAI therapy. @*Results@#After RAI therapy, 514 patients (75.6%) had an ER, 34 (5.0%) had a BCIR, 13 (2.0%) had an SIR, and 119 (17.5%) had an IR. Pre-Tg level was significantly different among the groups, with the highest level being in the SIR group, followed by the BCIR, IR, and ER groups. However, post-Tg levels were not different among the groups. Post-Tg level increased significantly after RAI therapy compared to the pre-Tg level (mean 13.8 ± 32.2 ng/mL vs. 2.5 ± 8.9 ng/mL). In 422 patients whose pre-Tg level was 10 ng/mL. No difference was observed in the response to therapy. Differences in RAI dose and uptake pattern were observed among the three groups. @*Conclusions@#Pre-Tg was useful as a prognostic factor in patients with PTC. In patients with low pre-Tg, increased post-Tg may reflect remnant tissue and does not help predict the prognosis.

Usefulness of ischemia-modified albumin in the diagnosis of sepsis/septic shock in the emergency department

Objective@#No studies have evaluated the diagnostic value of ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) for the early detection of sepsis/septic shock in patients presenting to the emergency department (ED). We aimed to assess the usefulness of IMA in diagnosing sepsis/septic shock in the ED. @*Methods@#This retrospective, observational study analyzed IMA, lactate, high sensitivity C-reactive protein, and procalcitonin levels measured within 1 hour of ED arrival. Patients with suspected infection meeting at least two systemic inflammatory response syndrome criteria were included and classified into the infection, sepsis, and septic shock groups using Sepsis-3 definitions. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and multivariate logistic regression were used to determine diagnostic performance. @*Results@#This study included 300 adult patients. The AUC (95% CI) of IMA levels (cut-off ≥85.5 U/mL vs. ≥87.5 U/mL) was higher for the diagnosis of sepsis than for that of septic shock (0.729 [0.667–0.791] vs. 0.681 [0.613–0.824]) and was higher than the AUC of procalcitonin levels (cut-off ≥1.58 ng/mL, 0.678 [0.613–0.742]) for the diagnosis of sepsis. When IMA and lactate levels were combined, the AUCs were 0.815 (0.762–0.867) and 0.806 (0.754–0.858) for the diagnosis of sepsis and septic shock, respectively. IMA levels independently predicted sepsis (odds ratio, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.00–1.09; P=0.029) and septic shock (odds ratio, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.02–1.11; P=0.002). @*Conclusion@#Our findings indicate that IMA levels are a useful biomarker for diagnosing sepsis/ septic shock early, and their combination with lactate levels can enhance the predictive power for early diagnosis of sepsis/septic shock in the ED.

Effect of alcohol intake on the severity of injuries caused by slipping down

Objective@#Alcohol consumption is associated with an increased risk of injuries. However, its effects on injury severity and mortality remain unclear. Specifically, the effects of alcohol intake on the severity of slip injuries have not been thoroughly investigated. Therefore, our study aimed to investigate the effects of alcohol intake on injury patterns and severity in patients experiencing slip injuries. @*Methods@#Emergency department surveillance data collected from 2011 to 2016 were analyzed for this study. Among patients aged 15 and older who were admitted for slip injuries, we compared the type and severity of injuries between the alcohol-intake group and the no-alcohol-intake group. Injury severity was classified as non-severe and severe based on the excess mortality ratio-adjusted injury severity score. @*Results@#In total, 227,548 (alcohol-intake, n=48,581; no-alcohol-intake, n=178,967) patients were included. After adjusting for age, time of injury, use of public ambulance, and season, multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that injuries were more likely to be severe in the alcohol-intake group than in the no-alcohol-intake group (odds ratio, 1.60; 95% confidence interval, 1.47–1.75). In addition, male gender and alcohol consumption had a greater synergistic effect on injury severity than the mere sum of each effect of these factors (odds ratio, 2.65; 95% confidence interval, 2.53–2.78). @*Conclusion@#Assessment of the patients influenced by alcohol was a challenge in the emergency department due to altered mental status. We suggest a considerate approach in testing and assessing male patients who slipped after alcohol-intake in the emergency department.

Characteristics and outcomes of public bath-related out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in South Korea

Objective@#To analyze the differences in characteristics and outcomes between public bath (PB)- related and non-PB-related out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients in South Korea. @*Methods@#We performed a retrospective observational analysis of collected data from the Smart Advanced Cardiac Life Support (SALS) registry between September 2015 and December 2018. We included adult OHCA patients (aged >18 years) with presumed OHCA of non-traumatic etiology who were attended by dispatched emergency medical services. SALS is a field advanced life support with smartphone-based direct medical direction. The primary outcome was the survival to discharge rate measured at the time of discharge. @*Results@#Of 38,995 cardiac arrest patients enrolled in the SALS registry, 11,889 were included in the final analysis. In total, 263 OHCAs occurred in PBs. Male sex and bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation proportions appeared to be higher among PB patients than among non-PB patients. Percentages for shockable rhythm, witnessed rate, and number of underlying disease were lower in the PB group than in the non-PB group. Prehospital return of spontaneous circulation (11.4% vs. 19.5%, P=0.001), survival to discharge (2.3% vs. 9.9%, P<0.001), and favorable neurologic outcome (1.9% vs. 5.8%, P=0.007) in PB patients were significantly poorer than those in non-PB patients. @*Conclusion@#Patient characteristics and emergency medical services factors differed between PB and non-PB patients. All outcomes of PB-related OHCA were poorer than those of non-PB-related OHCA. Further treatment strategies should be developed to improve the outcomes of PBrelated cardiac arrest.

Age group characteristics of children who visited a regional trauma center and analysis of factors affecting the severe trauma

Purpose@#The aim of this study was to analyze the age group characteristics and factors associated with the severe trauma in children who visited a regional trauma center. @*Methods@#We reviewed children aged 18 years or younger who visited a regional trauma center, equivalent to level 1 trauma centers in the United States, in Incheon, Korea from July 2014 through December 2019. They were classified by the age groups: preschoolers (0-6 years), schoolers (7-12 years), and adolescents (13-18 years). Across the 3 age groups, event profiles, severity, and outcomes of injury were compared. Multivariable logistic regressions were used to identify factors associated with the severe trauma, defined as the Injury Severity Score of 16 or higher. @*Results@#Among the total of 367 children, 74 (20.2%) were preschoolers, 73 (19.9%) were schoolers, and 220 (59.9%) were adolescents. The most common injury mechanisms in the preschoolers, schoolers, and adolescents were fall (40.5%), pedestrian collision (32.9%), and motorcycle accident (38.6%), respectively. The adolescents had the highest median Injury Severity Score (13 [6-23]; P < 0.001). In the multivariable analyses, the Glasgow Coma Scale of 3-8 (odds ratio [OR], 14.60; 95% confidence interval, 5.40-39.42) had the highest OR for severe trauma, followed by injury in the abdomen or pelvic contents (OR, 11.61; 95% confidence interval, 4.66-28.89). @*Conclusion@#In pediatric trauma, the mechanism and severity of injury may differ according to age groups, with the severe trauma associated with injuries to the head and torso. It is advisable to have age group-specific approaches and strategies for injury prevention.

Clinical features of adolescents with suicide attempt and the factors associated with their outcomes: poisoning versus non-poisoning

Purpose@#Methods for suicide attempt are largely divided into poisoning and non-poisoning, which differ in clinical features and severity. We aimed to investigate the clinical features of adolescents with suicide attempt and factors associated with poor outcomes from the 2 methods. @*Methods@#A retrospective study was conducted on adolescents (10-18 years) who visited the emergency department after suicide attempt from 2011 through 2018. The adolescents were divided into the poisoning and non-poisoning groups. We analyzed the differences of clinical features and outcomes between the 2 groups. Poor outcomes were defined as hospitalization to the intensive care unit or death. Factors associated with poor outcomes were investigated using multivariable logistic regression. @*Results@#Of 4,335 adolescents in total, 2,134 (49.2%) were categorized as the poisoning group. In this group, the adolescents with poor outcomes used acetaminophen most frequently (26.5%), followed by sedative or antipsychotics (22.3%). In the non-poisoning group, those with the outcomes used fall from height (73.2%) most commonly, followed by hanging (21.0%). The factors associated with the outcomes were age (for increment of 1 year; odds ratio, 1.11; 95% confidence interval, 1.02-1.22) in the poisoning group, and being boys (1.34; 1.03-1.73) and non-use of alcohols (2.87; 1.73-4.74) in the non-poisoning group. @*Conclusion@#In adolescents who used poisoning for suicide attempt, increasing age is associated with poor outcomes. The outcomes are associated with being boys and non-use of alcohols in those who used non-poisoning methods.

Current status of education for disaster medicine in Korean medical schools

Objective@#Doctors or public health doctors at the nearest institution to a disaster scene often have to treat the casualties at the scene. Therefore, disaster medical education is necessary for medical students and doctors, but such education is not properly implemented. This study investigated the status of disaster medical education in Korean medical schools and the professors' thoughts on the appropriateness and necessity of disaster medical education. @*Methods@#A survey was conducted on working-level professors in charge of student education in emergency medicine in 40 medical schools. The survey asked the professors the current status of disaster medical education at each school and the professors' thoughts on the appropriateness and necessity of disaster medical education. @*Results@#Thirty-seven professors (92.5%) responded to the survey. Twenty-seven schools (73.0%) had a regular curriculum of disaster medicine. Disaster drills were conducted at 34 training hospitals (91.9%), while students of 10 schools (29.4%) were officially participating in the drill. Of the responders, 31 (83.8%) responded that disaster medicine is necessary for clinicians. Thirty-seven professors (100%) thought disaster medical education was necessary for medical students, and 20 (54.1%) of them responded that their schools did not provide adequate disaster medical education. @*Conclusion@#Many schools did not have a proper course on disaster medical education. Disaster medical education is necessary for medical students, but such education is not properly implemented.