{"title":"Early Experience of Medical Alert System in a Rural Training Hospital: a Pilot Study","authors":"Maru Kim","doi":"10.4266/kjccm.2016.00598","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4266/kjccm.2016.00598","url":null,"abstract":"Background Medical emergency teams (METs) have shown their merit in preventing unexpected cardiac arrest. However, it might be impractical for small- or medium-sized hospitals to operate an MET due to limited manpower and resources. In this study, we sought to evaluate the feasibility of a medical alert system (MAS) that alerts all doctors involved in patient care of patient deterioration via text message using smart-phones. Methods The MAS was test-operated from July 2015 to September 2015, in five general wards with a high incidence of cardiac arrest. The number of cardiac arrests was compared to that of 2014. The indication for activation of MAS was decided by the intensive care unit committee of the institution, which examined previous reports on MET. Results During the three-month study period, 2,322 patients were admitted to the participating wards. In all, MAS activation occurred in 9 patients (0.39%). After activation, 7 patients were admitted to the intensive care unit. Two patients (0.09%) experienced cardiac arrest. Of 13,129 patients admitted to the ward in 2014, there were 50 cases (0.38%) of cardiac arrest (p = 0.009). Conclusions It is feasible to use MAS to prevent unexpected cardiac arrest in a general ward.","PeriodicalId":31220,"journal":{"name":"Korean Journal of Critical Care Medicine","volume":"32 1","pages":"47 - 51"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-12-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70363933","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
K. Min, Jin Joo Kim, I. Hwang, J. Woo, Y. Lim, Hyuk-Jun Yang, K. Lee
{"title":"Erratum: Moderate to Severe Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction Related to Short-term Mortality of Patients with Post-cardiac Arrest Syndrome after Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest","authors":"K. Min, Jin Joo Kim, I. Hwang, J. Woo, Y. Lim, Hyuk-Jun Yang, K. Lee","doi":"10.4266/KJCCM.2016.00570.E01","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4266/KJCCM.2016.00570.E01","url":null,"abstract":"[This corrects the article on p. 342 in vol. 31.].","PeriodicalId":31220,"journal":{"name":"Korean Journal of Critical Care Medicine","volume":"32 1","pages":"88 - 88"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70363831","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Successful Rescue Therapy with Pumpless Extracorporeal Carbon Dioxide Removal in a Patient with Persistent Air Leakage due to Empyema","authors":"Jaeyoung Cho, Y. Lee, Jae-Ho Lee, C. Lee, Y. Cho","doi":"10.4266/KJCCM.2016.00185","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4266/KJCCM.2016.00185","url":null,"abstract":"A young metastatic lung cancer patient developed empyema due to an infection with carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. Hydropneumothorax was detected and managed by a tube thoracotomy. However, persistent air leakage through the chest tube was observed due to the presence of a bronchopleural fistula (BPF). As hypercapnic respiratory failure had progressed and the large air leak did not diminish by conservative management, a pumpless extracorporeal lung assist (pECLA) device was inserted. The pECLA allowed the patient to be weaned from mechanical ventilation and the BPF to heal. The present case shows the effective application of pECLA in a patient with empyema complicated with BPF and severe hypercapnic respiratory failure. pECLA enabled us to minimize airway pressure to aid in the closure of the BPF in the mechanically ventilated patient.","PeriodicalId":31220,"journal":{"name":"Korean Journal of Critical Care Medicine","volume":"32 1","pages":"284 - 290"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70363163","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Susie Yoon, Hyunjung Choo, S. E. Kim, Heeyeon Kwon, Hannah Lee
{"title":"A Reinforced Endotracheal Tube Completely Severed by a Patient Bite and Lodged in the Right Main Bronchus","authors":"Susie Yoon, Hyunjung Choo, S. E. Kim, Heeyeon Kwon, Hannah Lee","doi":"10.4266/kjccm.2016.00437","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4266/kjccm.2016.00437","url":null,"abstract":"Reinforced endotracheal tubes (ETTs) are designed to resist kinking or compression. However, these have a potential risk of being obstructed or severed by a patient’s bite. We report a case in which a reinforced ETT was severed by tube-bite while the patient was in the prone position during an intensive care unit stay. Bronchoscopic evaluation showed that the severed distal part of the tube had lodged in the patient’s right main bronchus, and it had to be surgically removed. The patency of reinforced ETTs should be carefully monitored in patients intubated in the prone position.","PeriodicalId":31220,"journal":{"name":"Korean Journal of Critical Care Medicine","volume":"32 1","pages":"70 - 73"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70363692","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}