RESUMEN
Objective@#This study evaluated the efficacy and effectiveness of a new patient handover system developed for better handover in a metropolitan emergency department (ED). @*Methods@#A retrospective observational study was designed to evaluate the appropriateness and satisfaction level of the new ED handover system. The participants were pre-hospital emergency medical service (EMS) providers with patient transport experience before and after the pilot of the new handover system. @*Results@#A questionnaire was completed by 37 pre-hospital EMS providers who transported patients to the emergency department. Based on the results, pre-hospital EMS providers felt an increased level of kindness from the ED healthcare professionals during patient handover (P<0.001), from 3.19±1.05 points before the introduction of the system to 3.97±0.96 points after its introduction, and the activeness of ED healthcare professionals also increased, from 3.35±1.03 to 4.14±0.86 points (P<0.001). The sufficiency of contents of patient handover information to explain a patient’s condition increased from 3.59±0.76 to 4.08±0.72 points (P<0.003). The score for overall satisfaction felt by the EMS providers during patient handover increased from 3.46±0.96 to 3.76±0.86 points, which was not statistically significant (P=0.020). @*Conclusion@#Our findings suggest that the introduction of a new patient handover system between EMS providers and the ED staff is effective for both pre-hospital EMS providers and ED staff.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Although tetanus infections have diminished dramatically since the advent of tetanus vaccination, this disease has not disappeared. Those 60 years and older are still very much at risk for this infection. Thus, we investigated the tetanus antibody titers in people 60 years and older in Korea. METHODS: Our subjects included those visiting eight emergency departments from March 2009 to February 2010 after an injury with stable vital signs and without acute disease. Samples obtained were tested using the tetanus immunoglobulin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. The resultant tetanus antibody titers were analyzed. RESULTS: The number of subjects enrolled was 462. The mean titer was 0.09+/-0.14 IU/mL. Twenty-two percent of the subjects had a safe titer level (>0.1 IU/mL). Males and urban subjects had higher tetanus antibody titers than did females and suburban subjects. Subjects living in Incheon, Gangwon-do, Chungcheong-do, and Jeju-do had lower titers. CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that Koreans 60 years and older did not have a protective mean level of tetanus antibody titer and that 78% of the subjects did not have a seroprotective level after tetanus exposure. Therefore, a national effort to administer tetanus vaccination to elderly Koreans is needed.