Objectives: This study analyzed drug-induced death statistics in Korea between 2011 and 2021. Methods: Cause-of-death statistics data from Statistics Korea were examined based on the Korean Standard Classification of Diseases and Causes of Death and the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision. Results: In 2021, there were 559 drug-induced deaths, marking a 172.7% increase compared to 2011, which recorded 205 deaths. The rate of drug-induced deaths per 100,000 people was 1.1 in 2021, up 153.6% from 0.4 in 2011. The mortality rate for men aged 25−34 years and women aged 35−44 years each increased fourfold from 2011 to 2021: from 0.3 to 1.2 for the former and 0.3 to 1.3 for the latter. Of the drug-induced deaths in 2021, 75.0% (419/559) were due to intentional self-harm, and 10.4% (58/559) were accidental. The number of deaths attributed to medical narcotics in 2021 was 169, a 5.5-fold increase from 2011. The most commonly implicated drugs in these deaths were sedativehypnotic drugs, benzodiazepines, and opioids. Sedative-hypnotic drugs and benzodiazepines were frequently involved in cases of intentional self-harm, while opioids and psychostimulants were more often associated with accidental deaths. Conclusion The death rate from drug-induced causes is considerably lower in Korea than in the United States (1.1 vs. 29.2). However, the number of such deaths has increased recently. Since these deaths occur predominantly among younger age groups and are often the result of intentional selfharm, there is a clear need for systematic management and the implementation of targeted policies.

OBJECTIVE: Among upper lumbar disc herniations, L1-2 disc herniations are especially rare. We present the specific clinical features of L1-2 disc herniation and compared results of different surgical options. METHODS: The authors undertook a retrospective single institution review of the patients who underwent surgery for L1-2 disc herniation. Thirty patients who underwent surgery for isolated L1-2 disc herniations were included. RESULTS: Buttock pain was more frequent than anterior or anterolateral thigh pain. Standing and/ or walking intolerance was more common than sitting intolerance. The straight leg raising test was positive only in 15 patients (50%). Iliopsoas weakness was more frequent than quadriceps weakness. Percutaneous discectomy group demonstrated worse outcome than laminectomy group or lateral retroperitoneal approach group. CONCLUSION: Standing and/or walking intolerance, positive femoral nerve stretch test, and iliopsoas weakness can be useful clues to the diagnosis of L1-2 disc herniation. Posterior approach using partial laminectomy and medial facetectomy or minimally invasive lateral retroperitoneal approach seems like a better surgical option for L1-2 disc herniation than percutaneous endoscopic discectomy.
Buttocks ; Diagnosis ; Diskectomy ; Diskectomy, Percutaneous ; Femoral Nerve ; Humans ; Laminectomy ; Leg ; Retrospective Studies ; Thigh ; Walking

Although the enclosed rate of death certificates has steadily improved when domestic death notification to the government, the percent of well-certified causes of death is still 29th among the 35 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. The death certificate is a medical diagnosis how the deceased died, however, it is difficult to identify the causes of death such as cardiopulmonary arrest, unknown, and death due to old age were up to about 11%. The Statistics Korea selects the final cause of death by linking administrative records such as national health insurance records and national cancer registry data. The World Health Organization's the international statistical classification of diseases and related health problems, 10th revision, volume 2 manual, provides standard forms of death certificate and guidelines for how to write death certificates. It is necessary to provide the education materials or programs to the clinical doctors such as how differentiate the concepts of the underlying cause of death which is the basis of the death cause statistics, originating antecedent cause, main condition and the direct diagnosis of the death. Statistics on the causes of death are continuously needed to improve for the people's perception of death and to upgrade the quality of health care research and policy development.

Although the enclosed rate of death certificates has steadily improved when domestic death notification to the government, the percent of well-certified causes of death is still 29th among the 35 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. The death certificate is a medical diagnosis how the deceased died, however, it is difficult to identify the causes of death such as cardiopulmonary arrest, unknown, and death due to old age were up to about 11%. The Statistics Korea selects the final cause of death by linking administrative records such as national health insurance records and national cancer registry data. The World Health Organization's the international statistical classification of diseases and related health problems, 10th revision, volume 2 manual, provides standard forms of death certificate and guidelines for how to write death certificates. It is necessary to provide the education materials or programs to the clinical doctors such as how differentiate the concepts of the underlying cause of death which is the basis of the death cause statistics, originating antecedent cause, main condition and the direct diagnosis of the death. Statistics on the causes of death are continuously needed to improve for the people's perception of death and to upgrade the quality of health care research and policy development.
Cause of Death ; Death Certificates ; Diagnosis ; Education ; Global Health ; Heart Arrest ; International Classification of Diseases ; Korea ; National Health Programs ; Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development ; Policy Making ; Quality of Health Care

This study aimed to analyze changing trends in child injury deaths from 2006 to 2016 and to provide basic data for initiatives to help prevent child injury deaths through improvements in social systems and education. Specific causes of death were analyzed using micro-data of the death statistics of Korea from 2006 to 2016, which were made available by Statistics Korea. Types and place of death were classified according to the KCD-7 (Korean Standard Classification of Diseases and Causes of Death). The data were compared to those of other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. Changing trends were presented. The number of child deaths by injury was 270 in 2016. The death rate was 8.1 per 100,000 population in 2006, while it was 3.9 in 2016. The death rate of boys was 1.7 times greater than that of girls. Unintentional injury deaths comprised 72.6% of all child injury deaths in 2016, while intentional injury deaths comprised 27.4%. The first leading cause of unintentional injury deaths in infants (less than 1-year-old) was suffocation, while that of children aged 1 to 14 years was transport accidents. The second leading cause of death in infants was transport accidents, that of children aged 1 to 4 was falling, and that of children aged 5 to 14 was drowning. Pedestrian accidents comprised 43.7% of the transport accidents from 2014 to 2016. To prevent child injury deaths by both unintentional and intentional causes, nation-wide policy measures and more specific interventions according to cause are required.
Accidental Falls ; Asphyxia ; Cause of Death ; Child ; Classification ; Drowning ; Education ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Korea ; Mortality ; Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development ; Republic of Korea ; Self-Injurious Behavior

There have been several reports about abdominal pain due to discitis in children or thoracic disc herniation. However, none of them could verify causal relationship between disc disease and abdominal pain clearly. The authors report a patient with discogenic abdominal pain who had disc degeneration at lower lumbar level without definite protrusion or any evidence of inflammation. We could reproduce the abdominal pain by using discography. The patient was treated by percutaneous disc decompression successfully.
Abdominal Pain* ; Child ; Decompression ; Discitis ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Intervertebral Disc Degeneration

Direct anterior approach for lesions located anterior to the thecal sac is definitely superior to lateral or posterior approach in many respects. However, various anatomical obstacles and technical difficulties often hinder direct anterior approach. Thanks to ripe experience of retroperitoneal approach to the lumbar spine for anterior lumbar interbody fusion and total disc replacement, the authors could perform lumbar corpectomy and reconstruction by using midline retroperitoneal approach recently. During this approach, we repaired anterior longitudinal ligament also to reduce the risk of graft extrusion and to prevent erosion of vascular wall due to direct contact between metallic hardware, which was used for reconstruction of vertebral body, and major vessels.
Longitudinal Ligaments ; Spine ; Total Disc Replacement ; Transplants

This study aimed to analyze infant, maternal, perinatal, and fetal mortality statistics in the Republic of Korea (Korea), 2014. It was based on the open-access data available from the Statistics Korea website (http://kostat.go.kr/portal/eng/index.action). Recent trends in these vital statistics were also examined. The results of this study constitute a descriptive presentation and analysis of the national data. The number of infant deaths was 1,305 out of 435,435 live births in 2014, and the infant mortality rate was 3.0. The number of maternal deaths was 48. The maternal mortality ratio per 100,000 live births was 11.0. The maternal mortality ratio per 100,000 women of child-bearing age (15 to 49 years old) was 0.37. The number of perinatal deaths was 1,365, and the perinatal mortality rate was 3.1. The number of fetal deaths was 5,317. The fetal mortality rate was 12.1. The trends in those vital statistics in recent years were consistent except for a few findings, including a decrease in the maternal mortality ratio of pregnant women 40 years old and older and a change in the proportions of the causes of infant death, with a decrease in mortality due to neonatal respiratory distress and an increase in mortality due to bacterial sepsis. Although these vital statistics were generally consistent, some aspects varied by year. Pregnant women less than 20 years old should be monitored more intensively for their babies' health. Our findings can serve as basic data supporting the establishment of health policies by the Korean government.
Cause of Death ; Female ; Fetal Death ; Fetal Mortality ; Health Policy ; Humans ; Infant Death ; Infant Mortality ; Infant* ; Korea ; Live Birth ; Maternal Death ; Maternal Mortality ; Mortality ; Perinatal Death ; Perinatal Mortality* ; Pregnant Women ; Republic of Korea* ; Sepsis ; Vital Statistics

Objective: To provide updates on maternal, infant, and perinatal mortality using the national population data of South Korea between 2009 and 2017 and describe the mortality rate by target groups, timing, or causes of events to provide a basis for detecting vulnerable populations and ensuring timely medical and political interventions. Methods: Pregnancy-related mortality in women, as well as deaths of infants, in South Korea was identified using population data from Statistics Korea. Records from death certificates, cremation reports on infant and fetal deaths, and the complementary cause-of-death investigation system were reviewed for the 2009–2017 period. Results: A total of 461 maternal deaths, 11,717 infant deaths, and 12,249 perinatal deaths, including fetal deaths over 28 gestational weeks, were identified from 3,945,159 live births between 2009 and 2017. The maternal mortality ratio was 13.5 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2009 and decreased to 7.8 in 2017. Only the rate of deaths related to hypertensive disorders showed an increasing tendency. Both the infant and perinatal mortality rates improved (from 3.2 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2009 to 2.8 in 2017 and from 3.5 to 2.7, respectively). Among the external causes of infant mortality, assaults including homicides accounted for 25% (n=150), and this proportion was constant throughout the study period. Conclusion Overall improvements were observed in all maternal, infant, and perinatal mortality measures. In-depth analysis and interventions with respect to certain causes, such as hypertensive disorders in mothers or assaults in infants, should be considered priority issues.

Objective: To provide updates on maternal, infant, and perinatal mortality using the national population data of South Korea between 2009 and 2017 and describe the mortality rate by target groups, timing, or causes of events to provide a basis for detecting vulnerable populations and ensuring timely medical and political interventions. Methods: Pregnancy-related mortality in women, as well as deaths of infants, in South Korea was identified using population data from Statistics Korea. Records from death certificates, cremation reports on infant and fetal deaths, and the complementary cause-of-death investigation system were reviewed for the 2009–2017 period. Results: A total of 461 maternal deaths, 11,717 infant deaths, and 12,249 perinatal deaths, including fetal deaths over 28 gestational weeks, were identified from 3,945,159 live births between 2009 and 2017. The maternal mortality ratio was 13.5 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2009 and decreased to 7.8 in 2017. Only the rate of deaths related to hypertensive disorders showed an increasing tendency. Both the infant and perinatal mortality rates improved (from 3.2 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2009 to 2.8 in 2017 and from 3.5 to 2.7, respectively). Among the external causes of infant mortality, assaults including homicides accounted for 25% (n=150), and this proportion was constant throughout the study period. Conclusion Overall improvements were observed in all maternal, infant, and perinatal mortality measures. In-depth analysis and interventions with respect to certain causes, such as hypertensive disorders in mothers or assaults in infants, should be considered priority issues.