Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate (1) the association among helmet wearing, incidence rate of traumatic brain injury (TBI), and in-hospital mortality; TBI was diagnosed when the head Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) was ≥1, and as severe TBI when head AIS was ≥3; and (2) the association between helmet type and incidence rate of TBI, severe TBI, and in-hospital mortality of motorcycle accidents based on the newly revised Emergency Department-based Injury In-depth Surveillance (EDIIS) data.
Methods Data collected from EDIIS between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020 were analyzed. The final study population comprised 1,910 patients, who were divided into two groups: helmet wearing group and unhelmeted group. In addition, the correlation between helmet type and motorcycle accident was determined in 596 patients who knew the exact type of helmet they wore. A total of 710 patients who wore helmet but did not know the type were excluded from this analysis. Multivariate logistic regression was performed in both the groups to investigate the factors affecting the primary (occurrence of TBIs) and secondary outcomes (severe TBI and in-hospital mortality).
Results The prevalence of Injury Severity Scores, TBIs, and severe TBIs as well as in-hospital
mortality were the highest in the unhelmeted group. Additionally, the results from the group that wore and knew the type of helmet worn indicated that wearing a full-face helmet decreased the incidence of TBIs in comparison to a half-face helmet.
Conclusions The wearing of a helmet in motorcycle accidents is very important as it plays a role in reducing the occurrence of TBIs and severe TBIs and in-hospital mortality. The use of a full-face helmet lowered the incidence of TBIs.
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PURPOSE A tension pneumothorax is a fatal condition that requires immediate intervention. Although a definitive treatment for a tension pneumothorax is a tube thoracostomy, needle decompression can provide temporary relief, that is lifesaving. The traditional procedure for needle decompression involves inserting a needle or catheter at the second intercostal space, the midclavicular line. Recent evidence suggests that the commonly used catheters do not have sufficiently penetrate the chest wall. There are also claims that a lateral approach to needle decompression is easier and safer than the traditional anterior approach. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the optimal approach for needle decompression for the Korean population by measuring chest wall thicknesses at the points used for both the anterior and the lateral approaches. METHODS The chest wall thickness (CWT) of trauma victims who visited the Emergency Center of Pusan National University Hospital was measured by computed tomography (CT) images. The CWT was measured at the points used for the anterior and the lateral methods and was compared with the length of commonly used catheters, which is 45 mm. RESULTS The mean CWT at the second intercostal space, the midclavicular line, was shorter than the CWT at the 5th intercostal space, the anterior axillary line. However, the percentage of patients whose CWT was greater than 45 mm was larger when measured anteriorly (8.2%) that when measure laterally (5.7%). Female patients and those older than 60 were more likely to have an anterior CWT greater than 45 mm (28.2% for females and 15.5% for those older than 60). CONCLUSION The percentage of trauma victims in Korea whose CWT is greater than 45 mm is lower than the values previously reported by other countries. However, females and older patients tend to have thicker chest walls, so the lateral approach would be suggested when performing needle decompression for such patients with suspected tension pneumothoraces.
PURPOSE The mortality and the amputation rates due to vascular trauma remain high despite advanced vascular surgical techniques and supportive management. The clinical features of patients with vascular trauma have not been well studied in the Korean population. The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical characteristics of patients with vascular trauma and to develop a database and guidelines for improving the outcomes of treatment. METHODS The medical records of 37 patients with traumatic vascular injuries who had visited in an emergency center between January 2002 and December 2006 were retrospectively reviewed and statistically analyzed. RESULTS The mean age was 37.8 years, and the male-to-female ratio was 5.2 : 1. The mechanism of vascular trauma was penetrating in 18 patients and blunt in 19 patients. Upper extremities were most frequently injured (39.4%). The treatment methods were primary repair in 21 patients, exploratory laparotomies in 7, radiological interventions in 3, resections and graft interpositions of the pseudoaneurysm in 3, observations in 3 and a bypass graft in 1. Four out of the 37 patients died, and three of these who died had injuried abdominal vessels. Twenty-five of the patients recovered completely, four expired, seven had neuropathy in the course of treatement, one had his limb amputated, and one experienced wound necrosis. CONCLUSION Peripheral vessel injuries are commonly accompanied by nerve, muscle, or tendon injuries. Patients without associated fractures or compartment syndrome had good prognosis. Although the time intervals from hospital arrival to definite treatment were the shortest among patients with blunt abdominal vascular injuries, three expired. Therefore, we offer a 'critical pathway' to improve the outcomes of patients with blunt abdominal vascular injury.
PURPOSE The objective of this study was to determine the appropriateness of Emergency Medical Service's (EMS's) triage and transport of severely injured patients in Busan and Kyungnam, Korea. METHODS The medical records of the Emergency Medical Information Center were retrospectively reviewed from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010. We identified the number of patients that should have been transferred from a secondary to a tertiary hospital according to the EMS field triage protocol. RESULTS In a total of 472 cases requests to be transferred to a third hospital were made through the Emergency Medical Information Center. Of these, 207 patients(43.9%) should have been transferred to a tertiary hospital according to the EMS field triage protocol. Among them, thirty-three(15.9%) patients satisfied step 1, 15(7.0%) satisfied step 2, and 117(56.5%) satisfied step 3. Twenty-three(11.1%) patients satisfied both steps 1 and 3. CONCLUSION We found the triage by the EMS in the transfer of severely injured patients to a tertiary hospital to be inappropriate and re-education of EMS personnel regarding the EMS field triage protocol is needed. Because many patients are transferred from a secondary to a third hospital, we suggest changing the EMS field triage protocol to expand the severe injury criteria. A need exists to authorize secondary hospitals to transfer severely injured patients directly because there are no trauma centers in Korea.