We report the case of 60-yr-old female in which therapeutic hypothermia (TH) was successfully induced maintaining the target temperature of 34degrees C for 12 hr despite a risk of hypothermia-induced coagulation abnormalities following an emergent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) due to failed percutaneous coronary intervention, who suffered a cardiac arrest. Emergent CABG may be a relative contraindication for TH in post-cardiac arrest patients because hypothermia may increase the risk of infection and bleeding. However, the possibility of an improved neurologic outcome outweighs the risk of bleeding, although major surgery may be a relative contraindication for TH.
Body Temperature ; Coma/complications ; *Coronary Artery Bypass ; Electrocardiography ; Female ; Heart Arrest/complications/*diagnosis/therapy ; Humans ; *Hypothermia, Induced ; Intensive Care Units ; Middle Aged ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Treatment Outcome

PURPOSE: Pneumonia is a serious and relatively common complication among submersion victims without out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). The purpose of this study was to investigate the risk factors of pneumonia among adult submersion victims without OHCA. METHODS: All adult submersion victims without OHCA who visited our hospital between 2004 and 2013 were included. This study was conducted retrospectively, with collection of data by review of medical records. Among total submersion victims (310 patients), 191 patients did not suffer OHCA. We investigated the characteristics of the patients and classified them according to two groups based on the presence of pneumonia. We then compared clinical variables between the two groups. RESULTS: A total of 191 adult submersion patients without OHCA; 157 patients did not have pneumonia during their hospital stay; 34 patients had pneumonia. In respective analysis, alert mentality, pH and core temperature showed correlation with pneumonia. However, in logistic regression analysis with these 3 variables, only pH was a risk factor of pneumonia. All patients with pneumonia except one were discharged with full recovery. CONCLUSION: The risk of pneumonia among adult submersion victims without OHCA is higher when the lower pH is checked. Further studies are needed in order to evaluate the other risk factors of pneumonia for early prediction and proper management.
Adult* ; Heart Arrest ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Immersion* ; Length of Stay ; Logistic Models ; Medical Records ; Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest* ; Pneumonia* ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Adult ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors

PURPOSE: Jumping off a bridge is one method of suicide. In a recent report, out of the 37 patients with cardiac arrest after drowning, 5 (36%) patients suffered severe traumatic injuries. The objective of this study was to report these injuries, without cardiac arrest, in patients after jumping off a bridge with the purpose of suicide. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the charts of all patients admitted to the emergency department in a tertiary care hospital after drowning in the Han River between 1997 and 2012. We analyzed the results of imaging studies. Each injury was described as one of the six body regions, similar to the method of the Injury Severity Score. RESULTS: A total of 469 patients were admitted to the emergency department from drowning. Sixty-six patients had jumped off a bridge with the purpose of suicide. Forty patients experienced cardiac arrest. In cardiac arrest patients, 25 patients (62.5%) underwent radiologic examinations. Only 2 patients (5.0%) received damage on the cervical spine and face. All non-cardiac arrest patients underwent imaging studies. Nine patients (34.6%) showed evidence of injuries. Most injuries occurred in the chest; four patients suffered the following injuries: rib fracture, pneumothorax, pneumomedistinum, and thoracic spine fracture. One patient had abdominal damage, an intra-abdominal hematoma. Last one patient suffered an injury to the chest and abdomen. CONCLUSION: In drowning patients with the purpose of suicide, variable damage could not be ruled out. It is especially not confined to a specific area, and damage to various parts of the body should be considered.
Abdomen ; Body Regions ; Drowning ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Heart Arrest ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Injury Severity Score ; Methods ; Multiple Trauma ; Pneumothorax ; Retrospective Studies ; Rib Fractures ; Rivers ; Spine ; Suicide* ; Tertiary Healthcare ; Thorax

PURPOSE: Occult injuries are diagnosed using computed tomography (CT), often with intravenous (IV) contrast CT, in major trauma patients. The contrast dye is known to be potentially nephrotoxic. Thus, we measured the incidence and risk factors for contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) in major trauma patients. METHODS: A retrospective review was performed on 247 patients who were treated by the activated trauma team between June 2012 and July 2014. The exclusion criteria were underlying renal failure, no IV contrast CT administered, and no creatinine (Cr) follow-up within 72 hours. We examined age, gender, initial vital signs, the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), initial Cr levels, Cr level within 72 hours after admission, the IV contrast CT number, Injury Severity Score (ISS). CIN was defined as 25% relative or 0.5 mg/dL absolute increase in serum Cr within 72 hours of presentation. RESULTS: One hundred forty-three patients were included in this study. CIN manifested in 12 patients (8.4%). The injury severity was associated with CIN (ISS≥16, p=0.003; GCS≤8, p<0.001; death, p<0.001). Initial Cr levels, elderly patients, and initial hypotension were not statistically significant (p=0.065, 0.176, and 0.402, respectively). The number of IV contrast CTs administered was also not associated with the occurrence of CIN (p=0.331). CONCLUSION: We found an 8.4% incidence of CIN in multiple trauma patients exposed to IV contrast. The number of IV contrasts, age, initial systolic blood pressure, and initial Cr levels were not associated with CIN. Only injury severity was associated with CIN occurrence; therefore, physicians should pay more attention to severely-injured patients.
Aged ; Blood Pressure ; Creatinine ; Follow-Up Studies ; Glasgow Coma Scale ; Humans ; Hypotension ; Incidence ; Injury Severity Score ; Multiple Trauma ; Renal Insufficiency ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Vital Signs

OBJECTIVE: Despite increased survival in patients with cardiac arrest, it remains difficult to determine patient prognosis at the early stage. This study evaluated the prognosis of cardiac arrest patients using brain injury, inflammation, cardiovascular ischemic events, and coagulation/fibrinolysis markers collected 24, 48, and 72 hours after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC).METHODS: From January 2011 to December 2016, we retrospectively observed patients who underwent therapeutic hypothermia. Blood samples were collected immediately and 24, 48, and 72 hours after ROSC. Neuron-specific enolase (NSE), S100-B protein, procalcitonin, troponin I, creatine kinase-MB, pro-brain natriuretic protein, D-dimer, fibrin degradation product, antithrombin-III, fibrinogen, and lactate levels were measured. Prognosis was evaluated using Glasgow-Pittsburgh cerebral performance categories and the predictive accuracy of each marker was evaluated. The secondary outcome was whether the presence of multiple markers improved prediction accuracy.RESULTS: A total of 102 patients were included in the study: 39 with good neurologic outcomes and 63 with poor neurologic outcomes. The mean NSE level of good outcomes measured 72 hours after ROSC was 18.50 ng/mL. The area under the curve calculated on receiver operating characteristic analysis was 0.92, which showed the best predictive power among all markers included in the study analysis. The relative integrated discrimination improvement and category-free net reclassification improvement models showed no improvement in prognostic value when combined with all other markers and NSE (72 hours).CONCLUSION: Although biomarker combinations did not improve prognostic accuracy, NSE (72 hours) showed the best predictive power for neurological prognosis in patients who received therapeutic hypothermia.
Biomarkers ; Brain Injuries ; Creatine ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Fibrin ; Fibrinogen ; Heart Arrest ; Humans ; Hypothermia, Induced ; Inflammation ; Lactic Acid ; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; ROC Curve ; Troponin I

BACKGROUND: With increasing life expectancy, the number of injured elderly patients has been increasing. We evaluated the clinical characteristics of severely injured elderly patients who presented to the Emergency Department and identified risk factors associated with mortality. METHODS: Injured patients over 18 years of age who visited the Emergency Department with trauma team activation were investigated. We divided the patients into two groups according to age, an older adult group (> or =65 years) and a younger adult group (<65 years). We compared the mechanism of injuries, injury severity score (ISS), abbreviated injury scale > or =3 of each body area, and mortality between the two groups. RESULTS: Among 177 severely injured patients, there were 138 younger adults (78%) and 39 older adults (22%). The average ISS of the older adults was higher than the younger adults (20.66 vs. 16.37). The incidences of severe injuries (ISS>15) in the younger adults and the older adults were 50.0% and 71.1%, respectively, and critical injuries (ISS>25) were 16.7% and 36.8%, respectively. Chest injuries and subdural hematoma occurred more often in the older adults. Mortality was higher in the older adults (28.2%) than in the younger adults (8.7%). CONCLUSION: The average ISS was higher in older adults than in younger adults, and older adults were significantly more likely to suffer severe trauma, especially chest injuries and subdural hematoma. The rate of mortality was greater for older adults (28.2%) than younger adults (8.7%).
Abbreviated Injury Scale ; Adult ; Aged* ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Hematoma, Subdural ; Humans ; Incidence ; Injury Severity Score ; Life Expectancy ; Mortality ; Risk Factors* ; Thoracic Injuries

Department of Protein-losing enteropathy is the manifestation of a diverse set of disorders, and it is characterized by the excessive loss of plasma proteins into the affected portions of the gastrointestinal tract, and this results in hypoalbuminemia. We report here on a case of severe protein-losing enteropathy with the typical clinical features of hypoalbuminemia, dependent edema and increased alpha 1-antitrypsin (alpha1-AT) clearance, as measured by using 24hr stool testing. The associated disorder with the protein-losing enteropathy of our case was radiation enterocolitis and lymphatic obstruction that was due to radiation treatment and lymph node dissection in the remote past for the treatment of uterine cervical carcinoma. Our case suggests that chronic radiation enterocolitis can result in irreversible injury to the intestinal mucosa and a protein-losing enteropathy, which can bring about a very poor quality of life and even the loss of life.
Aged ; Carcinoma/radiotherapy ; Cervix Neoplasms/radiotherapy ; Enterocolitis/complications/etiology ; Female ; Humans ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymphatic Diseases/complications/etiology ; Protein-Losing Enteropathies/*etiology ; Radiotherapy/*adverse effects

OBJECTIVE: Outbreaks of transmissible respiratory infection are suspected to have significant effects on the health of pediatric and geriatric patients. The objective was to assess the impact of the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak on the use of emergency resources. METHODS: An ecologic analysis of emergency department (ED) records between September and December 2015, was performed. Data was obtained from the National Emergency Department Information System database for Korea. All demographic and diagnostic data from patients presenting with febrile symptoms as a main complaint were collected. The data were compared to the equivalent period in the three years preceding the MERS outbreak in Korea. RESULTS: Following the MERS outbreak, there was an increase in overall ED visits by febrile patients and the proportion of visits by febrile patients, relative to total ED attendances. This effect was more prominent in the children under five years. The duration of the chief complaint before ED arrival and the length of ED stay were significantly increased among younger pediatric patients. Decreased body temperature on arrival was observed in younger pediatric patients. CONCLUSION: MERS outbreak appears to have had a significant effects on ED use by febrile patients. The use of emergency care services by pediatric patients makes them more vulnerable to an outbreak of a transmissable disease. An effective strategy to control emergency center visits by non-urgent febrile patients and provide proper medical services is urgently needed.
Body Temperature ; Child ; Coronavirus Infections* ; Disease Outbreaks ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Medical Services ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Fever ; Humans ; Information Systems ; Korea ; Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus ; Middle East* ; Overall

PURPOSE: Our aim was to determine the efficacy of hematuria testing in suspected urinary stone disease using contrast enhanced multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) as the reference standard. METHODS: Records of all patients who presented to the emergency department with suspicion of urinary stone that undergone MDCT during a 2-year period were reviewed. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the positive hematuria on the urinalysis for renal colic were calculated. The rates of incidence of negative hematuria were obtained. In addition, significant alternative CT findings requiring immediate or deferred treatment were classified. RESULTS: A total of 492 enhanced MDCTs were performed. Urinary stone had been identified in 414(84.1%) of the 492 patients, and 78 patients had a negative stone, including 33 (6.7%) with clinically significant alternative diagnoses in the latter group. Microscopic urinalysis had a sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of 89.4%, 41.1, 88.9%, and 42.1%, respectively. The combination of microscopic urinalysis and Urine Dipstick test (UDT) yielded a sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of 96.9%, 28.2%, 87.5%, 62.9%, respectively. The incidence of negative hematuria for microscopic urinalysis, UDT, and the combination were 10.6%, 4.4%, 3.1%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The presence or absence of blood on urinalysis alone cannot be used to reliably determine which patients actually have urinary stone. Therefore, patients presenting with an episode of clinically suspected urinary stone should undergo CT scanning because it enhances diagnostic certainty by identifying alternative significant diagnoses not suspected on clinical grounds alone.
Emergencies ; Hematuria ; Humans ; Incidence ; Multidetector Computed Tomography ; Renal Colic ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Urinalysis ; Urinary Calculi ; Urolithiasis

PURPOSE: We compared diagnostic accuracy using transverse scans and combined transverse and coronal reformation images in the MDCT diagnosis of acute appendicitis. METHODS: MDCT was performed in 100 patients with acute non-traumatic abdominal pain who visited the emergency department. One half was diagnosed acute appendicitis by radiologic and histologic findings and the other half was not. Transverse scan and combined transverse and coronal reformation images were interpreted by six emergency physicians. Emergency physicians included two board physicians, two senior residents, and two junior residents. For comparison of diagnostic value, the chi-square test and cross tabs test were done. RESULTS: For all emergency physicians except one senior resident, the added coronal reformation images tended to increase the diagnostic accuracy. For board physicians, it increased the diagnostic accuracy from 81.5% to 91% (p=0.003). Senior residents increased from 82.5% to 91.5% (p=0.005), junior residents increased from 75.5% to 87% (p=0.002). The diagnostic accuracy of board physicians and senior residents were higher than junior residents for both image types. CONCLUSION: Coronal reformation images improve the accuracy of emergency physicians in the MDCT diagnosis of acute appendicitis.
Abdominal Pain ; Appendicitis ; Emergencies ; Humans