Objectives: This study introduced a novel Automatic Needle Destroyer (AND) to an emergency department (ED) and assessed its effect on healthcare providers’ work. Methods: Between August and September 2019, in the ED of a tertiary hospital in Seoul, we conducted a mixed-methods study to evaluate the efficiency, safety, and usability of the AND using video analysis, surveys, and in-depth interviews, wherein participants described the advantages and disadvantages of the AND. Results: Compared to the existing method, introducing the AND significantly reduced the operating time from 2.32 ± 1.14 seconds to 1.77 ± 3.71 seconds (p < 0.001). The normal operation rate was 90.6%. The rate of needle-stick injuries (NSIs) and the mean system usability scale (SUS) showed no significant differences. The in-depth interviews indicated that the disadvantages of the AND were mostly operational. The advantages were related to profit, reduced direct contact with hazardous waste, and behavioral changes, such as not having to recap syringes. Conclusions We introduced the AND to an ED environment, where NSIs occur frequently and many syringes are used, to evaluate its effect on providers’ work. The AND reduced the time for needle disposal, but the normal operation rate was low. No significant differences were found in the SUS score or the rate of NSIs. Although there are some restrictions on introducing the AND immediately, this study’s results showed its potential usefulness. Efforts to improve the operation of the device and a longer study period are needed to fully achieve safety and efficiency.

Background: Anxiety and communication difficulties in the emergency department (ED) may increase for various reasons, including isolation due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, little research on anxiety and communication in EDs exists. This study explored the isolation-related anxiety and communication experiences of ED patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A prospective mixed-methods study was conducted from May to August 2021 at the Samsung Medical Center ED, Seoul. There were two patient groups: isolation and control.Patients measured their anxiety using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI X1) at two time points, and we surveyed patients at two time points about factors contributing to their anxiety and communication experiences. These were measured through a mobile web-based survey. Researchers interviewed patients after their discharge. Results: ED patients were not anxious regardless of isolation, and there was no statistical significance between each group at the two time points. STAI X1 was 48.4 (standard deviation [SD], 8.0) and 47.3 (SD, 10.9) for early follow-up and 46.3 (SD, 13.0) and 46.2 (SD, 13.6) for late follow-up for the isolation and control groups, respectively. The clinical process was the greatest factor contributing to anxiety as opposed to the physical environment or communication. Communication was satisfactory in 71.4% of the isolation group and 66.7% of the control group. The most important aspects of communication were information about the clinical process and patient status. Conclusion ED patients were not anxious and were generally satisfied with medical providers’ communication regardless of their isolation status. However, patients need clinical process information for anxiety reduction and better communication.

BACKGROUND: Wheezing is an important clue in the diagnosis of asthma. Previously, a Korean National asthma survey used a written questionnaire, containing the question, "Have you ever experienced a breathing sound-like 'sack-sack' or a flute sound (the Korean description for wheezing) during the last 12 months?" The response to this question showed a large discrepancy between the prevalence of wheezing and physician diagnosed asthma. This might have resulted partly from a misunderstanding of the question, due to an inadequate description for wheezing. This study was aimed at finding how well the layman understands the term "wheezing" when described as a breathing sound-like 'sack-sack', a whistle or a flute. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: Sixty subjects, without experience of wheezing(group I), and 45 subjects, with chronic cough alleging wheezing(groupII), were recruited from the Hallym University's Sacred Heart Hospital, in Anyang, Korea. Four different breathing sounds; vesicular, wheezing, tracheobronchial and crackle, were played for the subjects, without any experience with wheezing, and they were asked "which sound is most like that you would imagine when asked about a breathing sound-like 'sack-sack', a whistle or a flute?" This was followed by replaying the true wheezing sound, and then a global assessment was requested for the concordance between the real wheezing sound and the imagined wheezing sound. The wheezing sound was played for those subjects alleging wheezing, and they were asked, "have you really experienced that sound". RESULTS: Only 46.7% of group I answered correctly, with 13.3% choosing the vesicular sound, 16.7% the tracheobronchial sound, 5.0% the crackle and 18.3% failed to answer. The concordance between their imagined wheezing and the real sound was 69.3+/- 22.4%(mean+/-S.D.). 77.8% of groupII recognized the correct sound as the one they had experienced. CONCLUSIONS: Language is not sufficient to the layman for describing natural sounds, such as wheezing.
Asthma ; Cough ; Diagnosis ; Gyeonggi-do ; Heart ; Korea ; Prevalence ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Respiration* ; Respiratory Sounds* ; Singing*

PURPOSE: Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a risk factor of pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE), however it is not clear who should be evaluated for a PTE and a DVT at the same time. The purpose of this study is to determine the clinical characteristics of PTE in patients with DVT who visited the emergency department (ED). METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of ED patients who visited with DVT and were simultaneously evaluated for a PTE from January 2012 to December 2013. We compared clinical characteristics between non-PTE and PTE patients with confirmed DVT in the ED. RESULTS: Of these 166 patients, 96 patients (57.8%) were confirmed PTE by computed tomography. In multivariate analysis, patients with PTE had more systemic neoplasm (OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.04-3.93, p=0.037) and right heart strain pattern in electrocardiography (OR 5.29, 95% CI 1.71-16.36, p=0.004) than patients without PTE. Femoral DVT was more likely in the non-PTE group (87.1% vs. 65.6%, p=0.002) and popliteal DVT was more likely in the PTE group (62.9% vs. 80.2%, p=0.013). However the number of DVT sites including both femoral and popliteal vein was not statistically different. CONCLUSION: In patients with systemic neoplasm or right heart strain patterns in electrocardiography, simultaneous PTE evaluation may be required in patients with DVT.
Cohort Studies ; Electrocardiography ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Heart ; Humans ; Multidetector Computed Tomography ; Multivariate Analysis ; Popliteal Vein ; Pulmonary Embolism* ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Thromboembolism ; Venous Thrombosis*

Background: This study reports trends in pediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and factors affecting clinical outcomes by age group. Methods: We identified 4,561 OHCA patients younger than 18 years between January 2009 and December 2018 in the Korean OHCA Registry. The patients were divided into four groups: group 1 (1 year or younger), group 2 (1 to 5 years), group 3 (6 to 12 years), and group 4 (13 to 17 years). The primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge, and the secondary outcomes were return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) at the emergency department (ED) and good neurological status at discharge. Multivariate logistic analyses were performed. Results: The incidence rate of pediatric OHCA in group 1 increased from 45.57 to 60.89 per 100,000 person-years, while that of the overall population decreased over the 10 years. The rates of ROSC at the ED, survival to hospital discharge, and good neurologic outcome were highest in group 4 (37.9%, 9.7%, 4.9%, respectively) and lowest in group 1 (28.3%, 7.1%, 3.2%). The positive factors for survival to discharge were event location of a public/commercial building or place of recreation, type of first responder, prehospital delivery of automated external defibrillator shock, initial shockable rhythm at the ED. The factors affecting survival outcomes differed by age group. Conclusion This study reports comprehensive trends in pediatric OHCA in the Republic of Korea. Our findings imply that preventive methods for the targeted population should be customized by age group.

PURPOSE: In this study, we aimed to measure the effects of emergency department (ED) expansion at a tertiary hospital on overall ED length of stay (LOS). METHODS: This study was a before and after study using data from a tertiary medical center in Seoul, a large metropolis. We used electronic medical records and administrative databases obtained from the ED. The control period (before expansion) was defined as from January 1 to April 31, 2016. The study period (after expansion) was defined as from May 1 to August 31, 2016. The number of ED beds increased from 42 to 74 after the expansion. After adjusting individual characteristics and institutional characteristics, multivariate regression analysis was carried out to evaluate the effects of expansion on overall ED LOS. RESULTS: A total of 45,632 patients visited the emergency medical center: 20,592 patients before and 25,040 after the expansion. Although the absolute number of patients increased, the portion of medical patients, portion of non-referral patients, and ambulatory patients decreased during the study period (all p<0.001). Average visit number increased from 170.2 (standard deviation [SD], 27.3) to 203.6 (SD, 21.3) (p<0.001). The overall ED LOS increased from 332.2 (SD, 473.4) to 391.0 minutes (SD, 649.5). After adjusting for potential confounders, we found that ED expansion was associated with an increase in ED LOS by 75.8 minutes (95% confidence interval, 63.5 to 88.2). CONCLUSION: We found that the ED expansion was associated with a significant increase in ED LOS.
Crowding ; Electronic Health Records ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Medicine ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Hospital Administration ; Humans ; Length of Stay* ; Overall ; Seoul ; Tertiary Care Centers*

BACKGROUND: This study described and analysed the features of powered mobility device (PMD)-related injuries and compared elderly and younger adult injuries.METHODS: Data from Korea Emergency Department-based Injury In-depth Surveillance (EDIIS) database involving eight emergency departments in 2011–2016 were analysed. The inclusion criteria were injuries sustained during the use of PMDs. The variables were compared between adults aged ≥ 65 years and younger adults. Primary and secondary outcomes were severe trauma and poor clinical course accordingly. The logistic regression analysis was used to identify risk factors for study outcomes.RESULTS: A total of 231 adults were enrolled, of whom 150 were ≥ 65 years of age. The total number of PMD-related injuries and the proportion of elderly injured patients increased annually, and most injuries occurred on the roadway and did not involve crash opponents. By multivariate analysis, patients aged ≥ 65 years had a higher injury severity score (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 2.78; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.50–5.40) and had a higher incidence of intensive care unit admissions, surgery, and death (AOR, 2.42; 95% CI, 1.16–5.28).CONCLUSION: Given the higher number and severity of injuries sustained among elderly adults ≥ 65 years of age shown in this study, we recommend that safety educations, such as the use of protective equipment and the safe driving on the roadway, are considered for PMD users ≥ 65 years of age.
Adult ; Aged ; Emergencies ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Epidemiology ; Humans ; Incidence ; Injury Severity Score ; Intensive Care Units ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Multivariate Analysis ; Odds Ratio ; Risk Factors ; Wheelchairs

Background: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is an essential tool in emergency medicine (EM). We aimed to investigate the current status and perception of POCUS use in emergency medical centers in Korea. Methods: A cross-sectional, nationwide survey was conducted using a mobile survey of physicians at emergency medical centers in Korea. The first message was sent on November 27, 2020, and the second message was sent on December 3, 2020 to the non-responders.The questionnaire comprised 6 categories and 24 questionnaires on demographics, current practice, education, perception, and barriers to the use of POCUS. Results: A total of 467 physicians participated in the survey (a response rate of 32% among 1,458 target physicians), of which 43% were residents and 57% were EM specialists. Most of the respondents (96%) answered that they use POCUS, of which 89% reported using it at least once a week. The most frequently used types of POCUS were focused assessment with sonography for trauma (68%) and echocardiography (66%). Musculoskeletal, male genital, and pediatric scans were rarely performed tests but ranked as of the scans physicians most wanted to learn. About 73% of the respondents received ultrasound education, and 41% received ultrasound education at their own institutions. Nevertheless, educationrelated barriers are still the biggest deterrent to POCUS use (60%). In addition, multivariate multinomial logistic regression analysis revealed that the greater the number of ultrasound devices and the total number of physicians in the emergency center, the more likely they were to use POCUS every day. Conclusion This study found that most physicians currently working in emergency medical centers in Korea more frequently perform various types of ultrasound scans compared to those 10 years prior. To further promote the use of POCUS, it is important to have an appropriate number of ultrasound devices and physicians in the emergency center along with systematic POCUS education.

Objective: As the cycling population grows, the lack of public awareness about the dangers of cycling while under the influence of alcohol is a signifant problem. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between alcohol consumption and bicycle-related injuries such as traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and excess mortality ratio-adjusted injury severity score (EMR-ISS). Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis using data collected from the Korean Emergency Department-based Injury In-depth Surveillance (EDIIS) database from 20 emergency departments during the period 2011-2016. The study subjects who had sustained bicycle-related injuries were over 18 years of age. The covariates included the mechanism, place, and time of injury. The outcomes were TBI incidence and severe and critical injury of EMR-ISS≥25. The effects of alcohol consumption on these outcomes were analyzed, and the variations in effects were determined using logistic regression. Results: Of the 24,297 individuals studied, 1,912 had alcohol-related bicycle injuries, which led to a higher proportion of single-vehicle injury incidents (alcohol 63.7% vs. non-alcohol 46.4%, P<0.001). The alcohol group had a higher rate of TBI (alcohol 11.5% vs. non-alcohol 4.6%, P<0.001) and severe and critical injury of EMR-ISS (alcohol 23.1% vs. nonalcohol 11.7%, P<0.001). TBI (odds ratio [OR], 2.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.33-3.16) and severe and critical injury of EMR-ISS (OR, 2.26; 95% CI, 2.01-2.53) showed a significant association with alcohol. Conclusion Our study showed an association of alcohol consumption with a higher incidence of TBI and severe and critical EMR-ISS. Education should focus more on the association between cycling under alcohol influence and injury severity.

Objective: As the cycling population grows, the lack of public awareness about the dangers of cycling while under the influence of alcohol is a signifant problem. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between alcohol consumption and bicycle-related injuries such as traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and excess mortality ratio-adjusted injury severity score (EMR-ISS). Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis using data collected from the Korean Emergency Department-based Injury In-depth Surveillance (EDIIS) database from 20 emergency departments during the period 2011-2016. The study subjects who had sustained bicycle-related injuries were over 18 years of age. The covariates included the mechanism, place, and time of injury. The outcomes were TBI incidence and severe and critical injury of EMR-ISS≥25. The effects of alcohol consumption on these outcomes were analyzed, and the variations in effects were determined using logistic regression. Results: Of the 24,297 individuals studied, 1,912 had alcohol-related bicycle injuries, which led to a higher proportion of single-vehicle injury incidents (alcohol 63.7% vs. non-alcohol 46.4%, P<0.001). The alcohol group had a higher rate of TBI (alcohol 11.5% vs. non-alcohol 4.6%, P<0.001) and severe and critical injury of EMR-ISS (alcohol 23.1% vs. nonalcohol 11.7%, P<0.001). TBI (odds ratio [OR], 2.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.33-3.16) and severe and critical injury of EMR-ISS (OR, 2.26; 95% CI, 2.01-2.53) showed a significant association with alcohol. Conclusion Our study showed an association of alcohol consumption with a higher incidence of TBI and severe and critical EMR-ISS. Education should focus more on the association between cycling under alcohol influence and injury severity.