A spontaneous tension hemothorax due to the rupture of an intercostal artery aneurysm is a rare complication of type I neurofibromatosis. Until now, around 23 cases have been reported. The patient reported here presented with a spontaneous tension hemothorax. At the emergency department, we were faced with a rapidly aggravating hemodynamic compromise after chest tubing. An emergent thoracotomy revealed an actively bleeding huge intercostal artery aneurysm. We intended primarily to repair the bleeding aneurysm, but we failed with because of vascular fragility. Thus we present this case to share our terrible experience to other physicians.
Aneurysm* ; Arteries* ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Hemodynamics ; Hemorrhage ; Hemothorax* ; Humans ; Neurofibromatoses* ; Rupture* ; Thoracotomy ; Thorax

Complete or partial agenesis of dorsal pancreas has been reported in a small number of pediatric and adult patients. A case of partial agenesis of dorsal pancreas was reported. This case was not associated with diabetes mellitus and pancreatic exocrine dysfunction, or abdominal pain. A 37-year-old man with chronic hepatitis B visited to our hospital due to further examination for chronic hepatitis B. Abdominal ultrasonography showed enlarged pancreatic head. Diagnosis was made by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and computed tomography. Explor-laparotomy was not done.
Abdominal Pain ; Adult ; Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diagnosis ; Head ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; Humans ; Pancreas ; Ultrasonography

PURPOSE: The principle of prehospital transport is that the patient should be transported to the nearest hospital that is suitable for the severity of the illness. Therefore, out-of-jurisdiction transport is improper. The purpose of this study was to understand the present situation and evaluate the appropriateness of out-of-jurisdiction prehospital transport by the 119 rescue group. METHODS: Between January and December 2009 we enrolled patients who were transported to the Gwangju Regional Emergency Medical Center by the 119 rescue group, which belongs to Jeolla province. The appropriateness of out-of-jurisdiction transport was based on the transport chart and medical record of the 119 rescue group and categorized into three groups. RESULTS: The total number of patients transported was 440: 78 (17.7%) were appropriate; 329 (74.8%) were inappropriate; 33 (7.5%) patients were very inappropriate. Of the 440, 156 (35.5%) were emergency cases, 147 (33.4%) were sub-emergency cases, and 137 (31.1%) were non-emergency cases. Comparing these data with the triage by the 119 rescue group, the kappa value was 0.368 (p<0.001). The patients or their guardians selected the hospital to which the patient was be transported in 382 (86.8%) cases. The actual transport distance was 40.0 km (range: 26.0 to 50.0) and was significantly longer than the nearest distance to a local emergency center which was 10.0 km (4.0 to 18.0) (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Inappropriate out-of-jurisdiction transporting of patients is done frequently. Therefore, guidelines for prehospital transportation according to the triage is necessary. Additionally, the medical director and emergency medicine information center could play a role in selecting a hospital. A fee or a fine of transporters who do not observe the guidelines might limit the proportion of inappropriate transport cases.
Ambulances ; Emergencies ; Emergency Medical Services ; Emergency Medicine ; Fees and Charges ; Humans ; Information Centers ; Medical Records ; Physician Executives ; Transportation ; Transportation of Patients ; Triage

PURPOSE: Consensus guidelines clearly define how cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is to be performed, but the parameters of CPR in actual practice are not routinely measured, nor is the quality known. We sought to investigate the actual quality of CPR performed by trained hospital staffs and to determine whether metronome guidance improved the quality of CPR. METHODS: A prospective study was performed on 26 out of hospital cardiac arrest patients who received CPR at an emergency department (ED). In the ED, resuscitation efforts were recorded by using a camcorder. Using the recorded data, we analyzed the parameters of CPR quality such as ventilation and chest compression rates. RESULTS: In the 26 cardiac arrests, the first nine cases constituted group I. The subsequent nine cases, after the rescuers had been re-trained to provide CPR according to the guideline, constituted group II. The final eight cases after the rescuers had been trained to use metronome guidance constituted group III. The average ventilation rate in group I was 30.7 ventilations/min. Although the average ventilation rate in group II was lower than that of group I, it was still higher than the recommended rate. After metronome guidance, the ventilation rate was significantly reduced and approached to the rate of the present guideline. The average chest compression rate in group I was higher than the rate recommended in the present guideline and was significantly reduced after metronome guidance. CONCLUSION: We strongly believe that further study should be performed to consider the survival benefit of good-quality CPR. Devices providing feedback to alert rescuers may be useful for improving the quality of CPR.
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation* ; Consensus ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Heart Arrest ; Humans ; Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest ; Prospective Studies ; Resuscitation ; Thorax ; Ventilation

Hydrogen sulfide is a by-product of decayed organic material and is ubiquitously found as an ingredient of manufacturing reagents or as an undesirable by-product of the manufacturing or industrial processing. Hydrogen sulfide is a chemical asphyxiant and interferes with cytochrome oxidase and aerobic metabolism. It has thus been deemed an important cause of work-related sudden death. This gas is particularly insidious due to the unpredictability of its presence and concentration and its neurotoxicity at relatively low concentrations, causing olfactory nerve paralysis and loss of the warning odor. Here, we report two cases of comatose patients presenting after accidental exposure to hydrogen sulfide gas.
Coma ; Death, Sudden ; Electron Transport Complex IV ; Humans ; Hydrogen ; Hydrogen Sulfide ; Indicators and Reagents ; Occupations ; Odors ; Olfactory Nerve ; Paralysis ; Prognosis

Post-traumatic fat embolism was first reported by Zenker in 1862, Von Bergmann reported the first clinical diagnosis of the fat embolism syndrome in 1873. Fat embolism has been associated with traumatic or non-traumatic disorders. Fat embolization after long bone trauma is probably common as a subclinical event. The diagnosis of fat embolism syndrome is based on the patient's history, is supported by clinical signs of pulmonary, cerebral, and cutaneous dysfunction, and is confirmed by the demonstration of arterial hypoxemia in the abscence of other disorders. Two different mechanisms cause fat to embolize: direct entry of deposit fat into the blood stream and agglutination of endogenous or exogenous plasma fat. MRI can detect a cerebral fat embolism with a higher sensitivity than cerebral CT. We report a case of post-traumatic cerebral fat embolism without pulmonary involvement, and we present a review of the literature. A 16-year girl had a traffic accident and pelvic bone fracture. Forty eight hours later severe trauma become stuporous without a focal neurological deficit. The patient received supportive therapy, and her condition improved throughout her hospital course. She was discharged with good condition after a 30-day hospital stay.
Accidents, Traffic ; Agglutination ; Anoxia ; Diagnosis ; Embolism, Fat* ; Female ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Pelvic Bones ; Plasma ; Rivers ; Stupor

PURPOSE: Compared to urban areas, access to emergency medical services in rural areas is relatively restricted both in quality and quantity. However, based on the aged population model, the need for such services is greater in rural areas, due to accidents and underlying disease. We set out to investigate whether education for emergency medical services would be helpful for utilization of poor resources for emergency medical services in rural areas and how efficient it might be. METHODS: Goheung (n=796) and Haenam (n=819), which appeared to be similar in terms of area, population composition, and quality and quantity of emergency medical services, were selected. While one area received Life Helper for the Village, one of the educational programs for emergency medical services, the other did not. A questionnaire containing items on recognition of emergency medical services and roles of the primary responder was administered. RESULTS: Significant differences were observed in the recognition of emergency medical services and safety awareness in Goheung, to which education for emergency medical services was provided. However, we did not find a relationship between injury or accident development and education for the rural emergency medical service system in two areas. CONCLUSION: Thus, provision of education is needed for development of common residents into primary responders in alienated rural and fishing villages, offering them ongoing and repeating education in order to increase their recognition of emergency medical services and safety awareness, and expand such education to areas that are in a similar situation.
Aged ; Emergencies ; Emergency Medical Services ; Emigrants and Immigrants ; Humans ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: Neurological outcome prediction is an important aspect of post-resuscitation care in cardiac arrest survivors. The appearance of high serum neuron specific enolase (NSE) is known to be associated with ischemic brain injury and poor neurological outcome. The application of therapeutic hypothermia to cardiac arrest survivors has been shown to improve neurological outcomes. As such, we investigated the predictive value of serial serum NSE levels in patients who were resuscitated from cardiac arrest. METHODS: This study included 123 cardiac arrest survivors who were treated by therapeutic hypothermia from January 2008 to June 2011. Blood samples used for evaluating NSE were collected at return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) at 6, 24 and 48 hours after initiation of therapeutic hypothermia. Neurological outcome was graded as 'good' or 'poor' at discharge and assessed according to the Cerebral Performance Category scale (CPC). A poor outcome was defined as a CPC value of 3-5. RESULTS: Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed NSE cut-off values of 53.9 microg/L (sensitivity 14.6%), 48.5 microg/L (sensitivity 30.6%), 80.0 microg/L (sensitivity 40.0%), and 52.7 microg/L (sensitivity 55.5%) for poor outcomes with a specificity of 100%, measured at ROSC of 6, 24 and 48 hours after initiation of therapeutic hypothermia, respectively. The poor outcome group showed significant change in NSE concentration over time (p=0.002), while the good outcome group did not. CONCLUSION: Detection of NSE at the cut-off value, 48 hr after initiation of therapeutic hypothermia was a specific but moderately sensitive marker of poor outcome at discharge. Single measurements of NSE should be cautiously interpreted, but NSE change over time was helpful in predicting the neurologic outcome.
Brain Injuries ; Dinucleoside Phosphates ; Heart Arrest ; Humans ; Hypothermia ; Hypothermia, Induced ; Neurons ; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase ; Prognosis ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Survivors

PURPOSE: Neurological outcome prediction is an important aspect of post-resuscitation care in cardiac arrest survivors. The appearance of high serum neuron specific enolase (NSE) is known to be associated with ischemic brain injury and poor neurological outcome. The application of therapeutic hypothermia to cardiac arrest survivors has been shown to improve neurological outcomes. As such, we investigated the predictive value of serial serum NSE levels in patients who were resuscitated from cardiac arrest. METHODS: This study included 123 cardiac arrest survivors who were treated by therapeutic hypothermia from January 2008 to June 2011. Blood samples used for evaluating NSE were collected at return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) at 6, 24 and 48 hours after initiation of therapeutic hypothermia. Neurological outcome was graded as 'good' or 'poor' at discharge and assessed according to the Cerebral Performance Category scale (CPC). A poor outcome was defined as a CPC value of 3-5. RESULTS: Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed NSE cut-off values of 53.9 microg/L (sensitivity 14.6%), 48.5 microg/L (sensitivity 30.6%), 80.0 microg/L (sensitivity 40.0%), and 52.7 microg/L (sensitivity 55.5%) for poor outcomes with a specificity of 100%, measured at ROSC of 6, 24 and 48 hours after initiation of therapeutic hypothermia, respectively. The poor outcome group showed significant change in NSE concentration over time (p=0.002), while the good outcome group did not. CONCLUSION: Detection of NSE at the cut-off value, 48 hr after initiation of therapeutic hypothermia was a specific but moderately sensitive marker of poor outcome at discharge. Single measurements of NSE should be cautiously interpreted, but NSE change over time was helpful in predicting the neurologic outcome.
Brain Injuries ; Dinucleoside Phosphates ; Heart Arrest ; Humans ; Hypothermia ; Hypothermia, Induced ; Neurons ; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase ; Prognosis ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Survivors

Myositis caused by mumps virus is very rare. Mumps virus has been suggested as a causative agent of inclusion body myositis, but there has been no definite evidence. We experienced a case of severe myositis associated with mumps virus infection. A 21-year old man was admitted because of myalgia, headache, fever, and chill for 2 months. The cerebrospinal fluid analysis performed at a local clinic showed findings compatible with viral meningitis. His blood chemistry results revealed elevated levels of serum creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, and serum myoglobin. On the 5th day of admission, the patient showed pain and swelling of parotid gland and scrotum. Electromyography was compatible with inflammatory myopathy. Muscle biopsy of his calf muscle revealed necrotizing (leukocytoclastic) vasculitis and multifocal myolysis with multinucleation. We suspected mumps virus infection because of his symptoms of meningitis, epididymo-orchitis and parotitis. Mumps virus was isolated in throat culture. The past medical history of the patient's mumps virus vaccination was unclear. After 2 weeks of supportive treatment, the patient's condition was improved.
Biopsy ; Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Chemistry ; Creatine Kinase ; Electromyography ; Fever ; Headache ; Humans ; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase ; Meningitis ; Meningitis, Viral ; Mumps virus* ; Mumps* ; Myalgia ; Myoglobin ; Myositis* ; Myositis, Inclusion Body ; Parotid Gland ; Parotitis ; Pharynx ; Scrotum ; Vaccination ; Vasculitis ; Young Adult