Changes in Preventable Death Rates and Traumatic Care Systems in Korea

PURPOSE: This study was performed in order to determine the changes over time in preventable and potentially preventable traumatic death rates, and to assess the factors that affected the deaths of trauma patients which occurred in Korean pre-hospital and hospital settings. METHODS: All trauma deaths occurring either in the emergency department (ED) or after admission at twenty Korean hospitals between August 2009 and July 2010 were retrospectively analyzed. The deaths were initially reviewed by a team of multidisciplinary specialists and classified into non-preventable, potentially preventable, and preventable deaths. Only preventable and potentially preventable deaths were the subject of our analysis. Structured data extraction included patient demographics, vital signs, injury severity, probability of survival, preventability of mortality, reported errors in the evaluation and management of the patient, and classification of error types (system, judgment, knowledge). RESULTS: During the study period, 446 trauma victims died in the ED or within 7 days after admission. The mean age was 52 years, 74.1% were men and the mean time from injury to death was 35.6 hours. The most common cause of death was head injury (44.7%) followed by hemorrhage (30.8%) and multi-organ failure (8.0%). The rates of preventable/potentially preventable deaths were 35.2% overall and 29.8% when limited to patients surviving to admission. Of all death classifications, 31.2% were potentially preventable and 4.0% were preventable. Errors leading to preventable death occurred in the emergency department (51.2%), pre-hospital setting (30.3%) and during inter-hospital transfer (60.8%). Most errors were related to clinical management (48.4%) and structural problems in the emergency medical system (36.5%). CONCLUSION: The preventable death rates for Korean trauma victims were higher than those found in other developed countries, possibly due to poorly established emergency medical systems for trauma victims in pre-hospital and hospital settings. A system wide approach based on the emergency medical system and well-developed in-hospital trauma teams should be adopted in order to improve the quality of care of trauma victims in Korea.

The Current State of Airway Management and Ventilation at the Pre-Hospital Stage by Emergency Medical Technicians

PURPOSE: Airway management and ventilation at the pre-hospital stage are essential and very critical to patient welfare. In Korea, however, methods other than the use of a bag valve mask are hardly used at the pre-hospital stage by emergency medical technicians (EMTs). This study survey the current state of airway management and respiratory first aid at the pre-hospital stage. METHODS: A questionnaire survey of 356 EMTs was conducted by distributing questionnaires directly to first-class EMTs who participated in clinical training at emergency centers or by sending questionnaires and receiving answers by E-mail. The questionnaire solicited information concerning general characteristics of EMTs, monthly frequency of pre-hospital airway management of patients and the will of EMTs. Subjects were divided into two groups according to governmental subdivision or presence of training within 1-year. RESULTS: Concerning airway management and ventilation at the pre-hospital stage, the use of methods other than nasal prong and simple mask was very rare. As to the reasons, the respondents mentioned the shortage of manpower and lack of knowledge/experience. There was no significant difference in the ratio of pre-hospital airway management between urban and suburban/rural settings. Training within 1-year was not related to increased enforcement of airway management. CONCLUSION: In Korea, pre-hospital airway management is not well implemented by EMTs. Causes are deficiency of rescuer, less actual patient treatment experience and deficiency of knowledge/experience. Education and work experience can influence pre-hospital airway management. But, most pre-hospital airway management is unaffected by education and work experience.

Outcome and Factors Associated with Mortality of Elderly Who Treated with Therapeutic Hypothermia after Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: Comparative Study between More and Less than 60 Years Old

BACKGROUND: Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) has recently been recommended and widely used in post-resuscitated patients after cardiac arrest. In Korea, however, the use and study of this method are rare. We investigated outcomes and factors associated with survival in elderly patients who received TH after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). METHODS: We reviewed the cases of 38 elderly (> or =60 years) and 50 younger ( or =60 years) had higher mortality (22 [57.9%] vs 15 [30.0%], p=0.023) and poorer neurological outcome (34 [89.4%] vs 36 [60.0%], p=0.002) than the younger patients (<60 years). Factors associated with survival in the elderly were arrest at home (31.3% vs 63.2%, p=0.049), pH (7.16+/-0.18 vs 7.00+/-0.13, p=0.008), base deficits (-11.26 +/- 4.74 vs -15.33 +/- 5.50 mmol/L, p=0.029) and lactate level (7.75 +/- 2.87 vs 10.7 +/- 3.58 mmol/L, p=0.013) while pH (7.13 +/- 0.16 vs 6.99 +/- 0.14, p=0.028) and APACHE II scores (19.46 +/- 5.70 vs 24.13 +/- 4.44, p=0.005) affected survival in the younger patients. However, there was no significant difference in complications related to TH. In logistic regression analysis, factors related to mortality at 1 month were age, time from collapse to Advanced Cardiac Life Support, arterial pH and presence of seizure. CONCLUSION: The elderly have worse neurological outcome and survival rate post resuscitation. Factors associated with survival were mainly related to low flow during cardiac arrest. However, there was no significant influence from complications during TH on survival. Thus, TH can be administered safely to elderly patients for successful resuscitation after cardiac arrest. Further study on the effects of TH in the elderly should be done.