The epidemiological informations on 1828 cases of acute drug intoxication admmitted to the emergency rooms of 5 general hospitals, 4 in Seoul City and 1 in Incheon City from Jan. 1974 to Dec. 1974, were reviewed for statistical analysis. More detailed information on 796 cases from 3 hospitals were available in terms of the causative agent. The general findings obtained are as follows; 1. The sex ratio of the patient is 1.26 females to 1 male and this figure is almost consistent with the reports of previous authors. 49.7% of total cases were found in the age group of 20-29, which indicate the highest in percent distribution of age. 2. The incidence of acute drug intoxication was different by the season as the highest in summer and the lowest in winter. 3. As the cause of the intoxication, the attempted suicide occupied the single highest one with 91.7%. 4. The kind of causative agents varies with season as more economic poisons in the summer time and more drugs in the winter time.
Emergency Service, Hospital ; Female ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Incheon ; Incidence ; Male ; Poisons ; Seasons ; Seoul ; Sex Ratio ; Suicide, Attempted

No abstract available.

No abstract available.
Humans

No abstract available.
Environmental Pollution* ; Humans* ; Korea*

No abstract available.
Reference Values*

OBJECTIVES: To explore the possible effect of an interaction between summertime heat waves and ozone on cardiopulmonary mortality during the 1994 heat wave in Korea. METHODS: The unusually hot summer of 1994 in Korea was defined as the heat wave in this study. We examined the associations of air pollutants with daily cardiopulmonary deaths between 1991-1995, considering the product term of the heat wave and each pollutant, weather and time trends. RESULTS: During the heat wave, while temperatures were uniformly higher than those of other summers, the within-heat-wave difference in mortality paralleled that in the regional ozone levels. In terms of the influence of the heat wave, the results of ozone were different to those of total suspended particles (TSP) and sulfur dioxide (SO2). The ozone association (relative risk (RR) =1.036; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.018-1.054) was observed only under heat wave conditions, while the TSP (RR =1.006, 95% CI = 0.999-1.012) and the SO2 (RR =1.018, 95% CI = 1.011-1.024) associations were found under normal weather conditions (per interquartile increase of each pollutant; results of three pollutants model). The ozone association under heat wave was attributable to the statistical interaction between the heat wave and ozone. CONCLUSIONS: These results support the possibility of a biological synergy between the heat wave and ozone, one that is not evident between the heat wave and other major pollutants like particles or SO2.
Air Pollutants ; Air Pollution ; Hot Temperature* ; Infrared Rays* ; Korea* ; Mortality* ; Ozone* ; Sulfur Dioxide ; Weather

No abstract available.
Humans ; Kidney/physiology ; Kidney Failure, Chronic/*diagnosis/*therapy ; Nephrology/methods/trends ; Periodicals as Topic

No abstract available.
Cadmium Poisoning* ; Cadmium* ; Zinc*

Industrial glues, known as 'Bonds' in Korea, contain many kinds of organic solvents, and glue sniffing of youths became one of the social problems in Korea. Mixed exposures to solvents by glue sniffing may induce chronic toxicities different from those by exposures to solvents of single component. To test effects of the glue sniffing on weight gain or central nervous system, two groups of 20 male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to air(control group) or vapors of the glues to narcotic status(exposed group), and weight check, tail flick test, hot plate test, rotarod treadmill test were done on the 14th, 24th, 36th, 45th, 53rd, 86th, 102nd, 117th, 134th and 151st days after the first exposure. On the 188th day, their brains were excised and examined by a pathologist. Weight gain, controlled against time change, showed significant difference between the groups, but response times in tail flick test, hot plate tests, and rotarod treadmill test didn't. In pathological examination with blind method, no macroscopic or microscopic difference were found between the two groups. These results suggests that organic lesion in central nervous system may not ensue glue sniffing, but, before firm conclusion, more studies in various exposure conditions should be followed.
Adhesives* ; Adolescent ; Animals ; Brain ; Central Nervous System* ; Exercise Test ; Humans ; Inhalant Abuse* ; Korea ; Male ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reaction Time ; Rotarod Performance Test ; Social Problems ; Solvents ; Weight Gain

A 70-year-old woman with Parkinson disease was admitted to the emergency department with altered consciousness, fever and convulsive movements without experiencing withdrawal from antiparkinsonian medication. Six hours after the emergency department visit, the patient had a hyperpyrexia (>40℃) and a systolic blood pressure of 40 mmHg. There was no evidence of bacterial infection based on extensive workups. The patient was discharged without aggravation of Parkinson disease symptoms after treatment that included administration of dantrolene sodium, enforcement of continuous renal replacement therapy and cooling blankets. Malignant syndrome should be suspected if high fever occurs in Parkinson disease patients without evidence of a definitive infection.
Aged ; Bacterial Infections ; Blood Pressure ; Consciousness ; Dantrolene ; Dehydration ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Female ; Fever ; Humans ; Parkinson Disease* ; Renal Replacement Therapy