While Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations(JCAHO) and American College of Surgeon(ACS) have identified certain audit filters in trauma care, there are few studies to substantiate the value of these audit filters. Some researchers found that audit filters qualifiers were significantly associated with adverse outcomes, however, others were unable to reproduce such association. It is also necessary to test their validity and applicability in Korea. The purpose of this present study was to validate two trauma audit filters proposed by the JCAHO and the ACS, through the analysis of the relationship between timeliness of operation and risk-adjusted mortality. Among trauma audit filters, timeliness of operation in epidural or subdural hematoma(EDH/SDH) and intraabdominal injury were selected. By stratified random cluster sampling, 19 emergency medical centers (EMCs) were selected from 30 EMCs and all patients who received craniotomy or laparotomy in 1996 were evaluated in each hospital. Six medical records administrators reviewed medical records of 463 patients with EDH/SDH and of 508 patients with intraabdominal injury retrospectively. In other to adjust risk of mortality, timeliness of operation, age, Revised Trauma Score(RTS), ICD-9CM based ICISS, and experiences of transfer were included in logistic regression model. In the logistic regression models of all EDH/SDH or intraabdominal injury patients, timeliness of operation was not significant predictor of mortality. However, if patients who have been operated later than 12 hours were excluded from the statistical model, timeliness of operation showed significant or marginally significant relationship with mortality in the following situations; craniotomy > 4 hours in EDH(OR=30.46, p=0.032), craniotomy > 8 hours in SDH(OR=6.50, p=0.020), laparotomy > 2 hours in shock patients(OR=9.26, p=0.055). In addition to timeliness of operation, RTS and ICISS were significant variables in every logistic regression model, and experience of transfer and types of EMC were significant or marginally significant only in EDH. Timeliness of operation as audit filters for trauma care could not be applied to all cases. Early operations seem to improve clinical outcome only in the patients for whom emergent craniotomy or laparotomy were indicated. It could be interpreted as a phenomenon of 'confounding by indication'. Additional studies to establish more objective eligibility criteria for these audit filiters are needed.
Accreditation ; Administrative Personnel ; Craniotomy ; Delivery of Health Care ; Emergencies ; Humans ; Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations ; Joints ; Korea ; Laparotomy ; Logistic Models ; Medical Records ; Models, Statistical ; Mortality ; Retrospective Studies ; Shock

Sixteen cases under the age of 19 were underwent surgical treatment for hernlated lumbar intervertebral disc over 10 years of period in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery,Catholic Medical College. The results were obtained as follows: 1. The incidence was 5.2% of all herniated lumbar intervertebral disc patients who treated surgically, but no sexual predilection. 2. Nine cases (56.3%) had a definite previous history of injuries. 3. Average intervals between the onset of clinical symptoms and the operation were 9.2 months. 4. Neurologic deficits are less severe and frequent (8 cases, 50%) but the clinical symptoms do not differ from than that of the adult. 5. 7 cases (43.8%) revealed definite reptured lumbar intervertebral discs and 5 cases (31.3%) are diffuse buldging of annular fibers in operative findings. 6. According to histopathological study, 8 cases show degenerative fibrocartilagenous changes in surgical specimen. 7. The radiological abnormalities of lumbar spine are less common than that of the adult. 8. Excellent or good results were found in 12 cases (75%) but two cases required a further surgical procedure. 9. In generally, hernlated Iumbar intervertebral disc in teenagers show better results and more rapid recovery of clinical symptoms by surgical treatment, and less residual symptoms than that of the adult.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Clinical Study ; Humans ; Incidence ; Intervertebral Disc ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Spine

BACKGROUND: Emergency Medical Technicians can do emergency care only under the control of the physicians. Emergency medical services system(EMSS) in Korea is now extended from the level of basic life support(BLS) to advanced life support(ALS). Unfortunately we don't have any official medical control system yet. We and regional EMSS, 119 rescue team(BLS), have had monthly joint meeting to validate and improve the prehospital care since August, 1998. METHODS: From August, 1998 to February, 1999, 1,708 patients were transported to Ewha Mokdong Hospital by regional 119 rescue team. Eight hundred and six(47.2%) run record were collected and analyzed. The appropriateness of the prehospital care were evaluated based on the comparison of assessment data and treatment data in each run record. The run record were divided into 5 groups; 1) necessary-adequate, 2) necessary-inadequate, 3) necessary-undo, 4) unnecessary-done, and 5) unnecessary-undo. 1) and 5) were judged as acceptable, and 2), 3), and 4) as unacceptable. RESULTS: Among 806 transported patients, 60.8% required one or more emergency care. 21.0% of required care were not provided, and 20.7% of provided care were not adequate. 78.8% of unprovided and 75.9% of inadequate care were 'airway and oxygen supply'. Overall unacceptable rate was decreased from 31.7% to 17.0% during first 5 months, but it rose up again to 24.7% after 2 months. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation(CPR) was performed in 29 prehospital cardiac arrest victims and admitted to ICU in 5 cases. CPR was not provided in 8 necessary situations, and unnecessary CPR was done in 3 cases. CONCLUSION: EMSS in Korea also need a kind of medical control system, even for BLS level. Major portion of the quality assurance program could be 'airway and oxygen supply', but attention should be focused in cardiac arrest victims and CPR. Record keeping and reliance of run record data are now pending problems. Fire department should develop a formal medical control system and the referring hospital should have an organization for maintaining the quality of prehospital care.
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation ; Emergency Medical Services* ; Emergency Medical Technicians ; Fires ; Heart Arrest ; Humans ; Joints ; Korea ; Oxygen ; Retrospective Studies*

No abstract available.
Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors*

No abstract available in English.
Arthroplasty ; Elbow ; Fascia Lata ; Fascia

Sixty six Colles' fracture were treated with radial slab or U-cast (sugar tong splint), from January 1982 through May 1984 at the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery of St. Mary Hospital. A prospective study was made and was evaluated under the subjective criteria of Gartland and Werley, and the objective criteria of Scheck. The results of this study were as follows: 1. All of 66 cases was closed fracture and the incidence was high in females who aged over 6thdecades. 2. In 43 cases of stable fracture, 18 (94.7 %) out of 19 cases treated with radial slab and 21 (87.5%) out of 24 cases treated with U-cast showed satisfactory result. 3. In 23 cases of unstable fracture, 6 (54.6%) out of 11 cases treated with radial slab and 9 (75%) out of 12 cases treated with U-cast showed satisfatory result. 4. As a result, we found that the result of the treatment with radial slab was superior to the U-cast for the stable Colles fracture, however, all of two methods were not staisfatory for the unstable Colles fracture although the U-cast group showed better result.
Colles' Fracture ; Female ; Fractures, Closed ; Humans ; Incidence ; Prospective Studies

Since 1856, Mayer13) coined the term “osteotomy” for a tibial resection for an angular deformity, various shapes and designs of osteotomies in long bone or pelvis have been popularized to treat the malunion, osteoarthritis of hip and knee, bow leg, L.C.P., or C.D.H. etc. The purpose of corrective osteotomy for tibia is so different from that of upper extremity because it must be restored the weight bearing alignment, and equalize or minimize the leg length discrepancy. We respectively reviewed 14 cases with various angular deformities on tibia who were treated at Dept. of Orthopaedic Surgery, Catholic Medical College from Jan. 1976 to Dec. 1984. The results obtained were as follows: 1. Causes of angular or rotational deformities of tibia were malunion in 11, bow leg in 2 and partial closure of distal tibial epiphysis in l. 2. Ten cases of tibial deformities exceeded over the 10° of medial or lateral angulation and 15° of anterior or posterior bowing were corrected for normal weight-bearing alignment in lower leg. And a rotational deformity may be so disabling to walk as to require surgery. So four cases of tibial angular deformities combined with more than 20° of external rotation and 5° of internal rotation were corrected for normal good looking walks. 3. The maximum length that can be gained by an opening wedge osteotomy was near the point of maximum angluation, but it could be changed by the cause of deformity and patient's age. We've done 4 cases of opening and 10 cases of closing wedge osteotomy. 4. Angular deformity in one plane due to fracture in children under 10 years of age may be corrected spontaneously by growth, but deformities due to bow leg or epiphyseal injury cann't be expected any spontaneous correction of deformity by growth. So three cases of tibial deformities due to bow leg or epiphyseal injury in children were corrected in earlier after recognition of that deformities because of possible damage to articular cartilage and the combined rotational deformities. 5. A slight deformity if the angulation involves near a joint, knee or ankle could be seriously disabling and so must be correctcd earlier. 6. Functional results of the corrective wedge osteotomy in angular and rotational deformities of tibia were excellent, good, fair in 4, 7 and 3, respectively.
Ankle ; Cartilage, Articular ; Child ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Epiphyses ; Genu Varum ; Humans ; Knee ; Knee Joint ; Leg ; Numismatics ; Osteoarthritis, Hip ; Osteotomy ; Pelvis ; Tibia ; Upper Extremity ; Weight-Bearing

When the non-union gap in a long bone is more than half of the diameter of the bone at that level, it presents a significant challenge to traditional bone grafting technique. Even if there are several good ways for this problem, such as shortening, traditional various bone grafting, electrical stimulation and free vascularized bone graft, most of these techniques have some difficulties to maintain the stability of fracture post-operatively, and we have to keep their extremities into a cast or external fixator so long. So we have attempted to treat the large osseus gap non-union in long bone with fixation of heavy duty or condylar plate on one side of fracture for fracture stability, a long tibial corticocancellous strut graft on the other side of fracture for fracture stability and rapid bony union, and extensive cancellous chip bone graft between the plate and tibial graft to enhance the bony union. We have experienced 9 cases of large osseus gap non-union in long bone with this technique from March 1981 to September 1986 at the department of orthopaedic surgery, St. Mary's hospital, Catholic University Medical College. 1. Their, 7 males and 2 females, average age was 38 years old, with a range of 24 to 53 years old. The distribution of the involved bone was 6 femur, 2 humerus, 1 radius and ulna with 1.4 years of average duration of non-union, ranged from 7 months to 2.4 years. The average gap from normal bone to normal bone was 4.8cm, with a range of 2.7cm to 7.4cm. The average number of previous surgical procedures was 4, with a range of 2 to 7. Four of the nine patients had quiescent osteomyelitis. 2. Post-operative immobilization with splint or cast was applied for 6 weeks for upper extremity and 8 weeks for lower extremity followed by active R.O.M. exercise and non-weight bearing crutch walking. 3. Five of the nine cases(55.6%) had completely bony union. This occured on an average 8 months post-operatively and was faster in the forearm bones and femur than in the humerus. An additional cancellous bone graft was done in two. But other two of the patients had subsequent amputation because of recurrent and uneontrollable osteomyelitis stirred up by the surgery. 4. This procedures was proved to be one of valuable adjuvant method in treatmqnt of large osseous gap non-union of long bones.
Amputation ; Bone Transplantation ; Electric Stimulation ; External Fixators ; Extremities ; Female ; Femur ; Forearm ; Humans ; Humerus ; Immobilization ; Lower Extremity ; Male ; Methods ; Osteomyelitis ; Radius ; Splints ; Transplants ; Ulna ; Upper Extremity ; Walking

In order to study the exposure level of silica dust and the effects of silica dust on ventilatory function, respirable dust samples were collected by personal air samplers using NIOSH method 0500 from the selected foundry operations, and ventilatory function tests were performed on 209 male foundry workers and 239 male control subjects. Ventilatory indices such as forced vital capacity (FVC) , one-second forced expiratory volume (FEV1), ratio of FEV1 to FVC(FEV1 %), maximal mid-expiratory flow(MMF), peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) and maximal expiratory flow at 25, 50 and 75 % of expired FVC (FEF25, FEF50, FEF75 were obtained by analyzing forced expiratory spirogram and maximal expiratory flow-volume curve which were simultaneously measured by Vitalography in standing position. The results were as follows : 1. The average quartz concentrations of respirable dust were the highest in melting operation (0.079 mg/m3) and followed by molding operation (0.051 mg/m3), finishing operation (0.041 mg/m3) and coremaking operation (0.023 mg/m3) in the descending order. 2. No significant differences for mean values of all ventilatory indices expressed as percent of predicted value were demonstrated between smokers and nonsmokers In foundry workers and control subjects. 3. Mean values of all ventilatory indices except FVC of foundry workers were significantly lower than those of control subjects. 4. Mean values of FEV1 %, MMF, FEF25, FEF50 and FEF75 expressed as percent of predicted value tended to decrease with increasing cumulative dust exposure. 5. In foundry workers, proportions of workers with low MMF, FEF50 and FEF75 were markedly higher than those with other indices, and were significantly increased with increasing cumulative dust exposure. 6. In foundry workers, 2 workers(1.0 %) were diagnosed as silicosis and the profusion of radiographic opacities were category 1/0 and q type. With the above considerations in mind, it suggested that increasing exposure of silica dust be associated with progressive deterioration in ventilatory function of an obstructive nature and that MMF, FEF50 and FEF75 be more sensitive indices in the detection of the early obstructive changes of air flow of workers exposed to silica dust.
Dust* ; Forced Expiratory Volume ; Freezing ; Fungi ; Humans ; Male ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (U.S.) ; Peak Expiratory Flow Rate ; Quartz ; Silicon Dioxide* ; Silicosis ; Vital Capacity

No abstract available.
Humans*