TY - JOUR PY - 2019// TI - Preventable trauma death rate after establishing a national trauma system in Korea JO - Journal of Korean medical science A1 - Jung, Kyoungwon A1 - Kim, Ikhan A1 - Park, Sue K. A1 - Cho, Hyunmin A1 - Park, Chan Yong A1 - Yun, Jung-Ho A1 - Kim, Oh Hyun A1 - Park, Ju Ok A1 - Lee, Kee-Jae A1 - Hong, Ki Jeong A1 - Yoon, Han Deok A1 - Park, Jong-Min A1 - Kim, Sunworl A1 - Sung, Ho Kyung A1 - Choi, Jeoungbin A1 - Kim, Yoon SP - e65 EP - e65 VL - 34 IS - 8 N2 - BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the current overall preventable trauma death rate (PTDR) in Korea and identify factors associated with preventable trauma death (PTD).

METHODS: The target sample size for review was designed to be 1,131 deaths in 60 emergency medical institutions nationwide. The panels for the review comprised trauma specialists working at the regional trauma centers (RTCs); a total of 10 teams were formed. The PTDR and factors associated with PTD were analyzed statistically.

RESULTS: Of the target cases, 943 were able to undergo panel review and be analyzed statistically. The PTDR was 30.5% (6.1% preventable and 24.4% possibly preventable). Those treated at a RTC showed a significantly lower PTDR than did those who were not (21.9% vs. 33.9%; P = 0.002). The PTDR was higher when patients were transferred from other hospitals than when they directly visited the last hospital (58.9% vs. 28.4%; P = 0.058; borderline significant). The PTDR increased gradually as the time from accident to death increased; a time of more than one day had a PTDR 14.99 times higher than when transferred within one hour (95% confidence interval, 4.68 to 47.98).

CONCLUSION: Although the PTDR in Korea is still high compared to that in developed countries, it was lower when the time spent from the accident to the death was shorter and the final destined institution was the RTC. To reduce PTDR, it is necessary to make an effort to transfer trauma patients to RTCs directly within an appropriate time.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 1011-8934 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2019.34.e65 ID - ref1 ER -