J Korean Soc Emerg Med.
2016 Jun;27(3):260-271. 10.0000/jksem.2016.27.3.260.
Characteristics of Emergency Medical Service Provider Responded Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Incidents: Pilot Analysis of National Emergency Medical Service Rescue Records
- Affiliations
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- 1Laboratory of Emergency Medical Service, Seoul National University Hospital Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul, Korea. erdohh@naver.com
- 2Department of Emergency Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea.
- 3Hallym University Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital, Dongtan, Korea.
- 4Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
- 5Seoul National University Boramae Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
- 6Jeju National University Hospital, Jeju, Korea.
- 7Inje University Seoul Paik Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
- KMID: 2320790
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.0000/jksem.2016.27.3.260
Abstract
- PURPOSE
The aim of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of Emergency Medical Service (EMS) provider responded chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) incidents in Korea.
METHODS
Nationwide EMS rescue records from Jan 2012 to Dec 2014 were analyzed. All EMS rescue records were integrated according to the unique accident ID. Cases related to animal rescue, hive removal, and suicide-related were excluded. CBRN-associated keywords were extracted by literature review and pilot survey. In-depth review of cases containing CBRN-associated keywords in the activity summary were conducted by trained emergency medical technicians, and predefined information was abstracted. Descriptive analyses were performed to characterize the EMS provider responded CBRN incidents.
RESULTS
A total of 1,571,293 cases were included, and 1,335,205 cases had a unique accident ID; 515,417 cases were excluded because of their association with animal rescue, hive removal, and suicide attempts; 19,663 cases contained CBRN-associated keywords in the activity summary, and in-depth review identified 1,862 cases as CBRN incidents. Among them 1,856 cases were chemical incidents, and 6 cases were radiological incidents; 144 cases were resulted to victims. In chemical incidents, ammonia, hydrogen chloride, sulfuric acid, hydrogen fluoride, and nitric acid were the top 5 toxic substances. In chemical incidents with victims, the proportion of explosion/implosion, and suffocation in sealed space was more prevalent than chemical incidents without victims. Median scene time of all CBRN incidents was 41 minutes (interquartile range 18.0-57.0).
CONCLUSION
We evaluated the characteristics of CBRN incidents responded by EMS in Korea.
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