The Current Status and Activities of Emergency Physician-Performed Ultrasonography in Seoul and Gyeong-gi do

PURPOSE: There have been reports that have focused on the usefulness of ultrasonography (US), yet there are no reports on its current status and activities. This study evaluated the current status and activities of US in Seoul and Gyeong-gi do. METHODS: This study was conducted using a questionnaire developed by emergency physicians who were experienced in workshops for emergency US. The activities of US were established by assessing the average frequency of US examination among 5 clinical situations as recommended by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). We assessed the association between these activities and the variables using linear regression analysis and regression trees. RESULTS: The overall response rate was 85.2%. The average frequencies of US examination are as follows: multiple trauma (75.1+/-29.5%), right upper abdominal pain (57.6+/-29.6%), cardiac arrest (54.4+/-30.6%), suspected ureter stone (42.4+/-31.6%), other abdominal pain (41.6+/-29.2%), chest pain or dyspnea (35.8+/-27.3%), right lower abdominal pain (33.6+/-28.9%), hypotension (33.3+/-27.8%), procedures (21.3+/-22.6%), intussusceptions (17.1+/-26.5%), central line access (16.2+/-21.4%), testicular torsion (14.7+/-23.7%) and assessing a pregnancy or a fetus (9.1+/-10.8%). The average percentage of current activities was 52.6%. The factors associated with current activities are as follows: the presence of supervisor for US training (p=0.030), the quality of the US machine (p=0.007), the number of patients (p=0.001) and the accreditation system for emergency US (p=0.014). CONCLUSION: The current status and activities of US are varied. The factors associated with current activities are the presence of a supervisor for US training, the accreditation system for emergency US, the quality of the US machine and the number of patients. It is important to improve these factors to effectively use US.

Quantitative Analysis of Quartz, Mica, and Feldspar in Respirable Coalmine Dust in Taebaek Area by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometry / 예방의학회지

A Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometric method was described for the determination of quartz, mica(sericite) and feldspar(potassium feldspar) in respirable dust in Taebaek area. The results were as follows; 1) The concentration of minerals were determined from the intensity of absorption peak of quartz at 799 cm-1, sericite at 539 cm-1, and potassium feldspar at 648 cm-1 respectively. 2) The precision(C. V. %) for the quartz determination was 7.70+/-2.68 % from 10 to 200 microgram of quartz. 3) The precision for the sericite determination was 16.34+/-6.82 % from 30 to 500 microgram of serictite. 4) The precision for the potassium feldspar determination was 5.28+/-1.74 % from 30 to 500 microgram of potassium feldspar. 5) The concentration of respirable dust in Taebaek area was 4.90+/-3.29 mg/m3(0.4-93.7%), percent quartz was 1.80+/-4.14% (0.01-20.56%), percent sericite was 11.37+/-6.43% (0.00-29.69%), percent potassium feldspar was 8.15 % (n=7, 3.41-19.70%). 6) The difference of respirable coal dust, quartz, and sericite concentration in drilling, coal cutting, hauling and separating was significant respectively (p<0.05).

Relationship between the Measurement Values of the Digitial Dust Indicator and Personal Dust Sampler / 예방의학회지

The digital dust indicator (Sibata P-5), one of the direct-reading instruments was evaluated for the respirable dust in the underground coal mine environments. As a reference, respirable dust was determined using three cyclones and/or impactors. All the tests were performed on aerosol in twenty underground coal mines. The coefficients of mass-relative concentration were 0.067+/-0.054 (Mean+/-Standard deviation) (range: 0.006-0.172). The relationship between relative concentration and temperature was not significant statistically. Also, the relationship of relative concentration and relative humidity was not significant. Mass concentration and relative concentration were 5.31+/-5.22 mg/m3 and 162+/-163 CPM (Mean+/-Standard deviation) respectively. The range of mass concentration was 1.22-22.69 mg/m3; relative concentration 16-628 CPM. The relationship of mass concentration and relative concentration was not significant in these ranges.