The evaluation of trauma patients in Turkish Red Crescent Field Hospital following the Pakistan earthquake in 2005
Introduction
The primary objective in the first 10–14 days after any disastrous earthquake involving many casualties is the rescue of possible survivors under the debris. In this period, search and recovery teams rescue the survivors and transfer them to hospitals for treatment. The period when the injured have a chance to get real treatment is after the second week of search and recovery activities in which the pace and success rate of the mission is diminished. In addition to the hospitals that have incurred little or no damage and are in good condition, field hospitals established by national and international medical teams provide health services to the injured and those with ordinary complaints in their emergency rooms and outpatient clinics.[1], [2], [3], [4], [6], [9], [11] To provide better emergency and outpatient services in well-equipped field hospitals, organisation and team and equipment selection are of utmost importance to meet the demands of the earthquake zone. In the planning stage, the evaluation of data collected after the earthquake is essential. It is well known that the medical response to disasters in developing countries has been poorly documented.9 This study presents the profile and documentation of the patients evaluated and treated after the massive earthquake (7.6 magnitude) of 8 October 2005 in Kashmir, Pakistan and Muzafferabad, the capital of the state, and its vicinity following the search and recovery operations, with an aim to guide in the planning and organisation of health services.
Section snippets
Patients and methods
On 9 October 2005, following the earthquake in the city of Muzafferabad of Kashmir, Pakistan on 8 October 2005, a Turkish rescue team was involved in search and recovery of survivors at the disaster sites as well as retrieval of the dead from the ruins. Turkish Red Crescent Field Hospital was established on 14 October 2005 and equipped with health professionals working in rotational basis of 2–3-week periods.
In the Turkish Red Crescent Field Hospital established in Muzafferabad, the second team
Results
The second health care team that started to serve 12 days after the earthquake completed the treatment and follow-up of 2892 patients within a 12-day period. The gender distribution of the patients was 1522 male and 1370 female. The patients were classified based on their systemic disorders as follows: musculoskeletal system injury (n = 1075), respiratory tract disorders (n = 438), cardiological disorders (n = 110), gastro-enterological disorders (n = 328), urinary tract disorders (n = 207), soft tissue
Discussion
Medical necessities in an earthquake zone are dynamic and change rapidly. Field hospitals must be prepared for requested changes to their mode of activity and for extreme conditions. Dayan et al.3 reported that in the first few days, the medical teams concentrated on treating injuries caused directly by the earthquake. Surgical and orthopaedic staff as well as obstetrics and gynaecology are the main medical disciplines needed at this stage.[3], [4], [5], [7], [8], [12], [13], [15] In the later
Acknowledgments
We would like to extend our deepest thanks to Dr. Ali Coskun, Dr. Ahmet Karadag, Dr. Hanifi Kurtaran, Dr. Mehmet Kanbay, Dr. Cemal Bulut, Dr. Ikbal Cekmen, Dr. Dogan Barbaros, Dr. Ahmet Yönder, Dr. Muhsin Boga, Dr. Basri Cidan, Dr. M. Yasar Yilmaz, Emine Seyhun, Pelin Gundag, Dilek Bozer, Yasemin Kaya, Senol Sahin, Mehmet Sever, Hakan Gungor for their great work in Turkish Red Crescent Field Hospital. We would also like to thank Turkish Red Crescent Pakistan Earthquake Team for their great
References (15)
- et al.
Survey of international search and rescue teams after the Ji Ji earthquake in Taiwan
Ann Emerg Med
(2001) - et al.
Paediatric surgical emergencies in setting of a natural disaster: experiences from the 2001 earthquake in Gujarat, India
J Ped Surg
(2003) - et al.
Surgical and psychosocial outcomes in the rural injured—a follow-up study of the 2001 earthquake victims
Injury
(2005) - et al.
Medical experience of a university hospital in Turkey after the 1999 Marmara earthquake
Emerg Med J
(2005) - et al.
An earthquake disaster in Turkey: an overview of the experience of the Israeli Defence Forces field hospital in Adapazari
Disaster
(2000) - et al.
Diagnostic medical auxiliary equipment in a field hospital: experience from the Israeli delegation to the site of the Turkish earthquake at Adapazari
Mil Med
(2001) - et al.
Earthquake disasters—lessons to be learned
Isr Med Assoc J
(2002)
Cited by (34)
Emergency medical rescue efforts after a major earthquake: Lessons from the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake
2012, The LancetCitation Excerpt :However, the Wenchuan earthquake in the Sichuan province of China affected the most people (table). Worldwide, tremendous progress has been made in response to several medical challenges resulting from earthquakes.2,3 However, a post-disaster medical rescue effort is a complicated, systemic project, and great emphasis should be placed on its organisation to achieve the best results.
Earthquake-related injuries: Evaluation with multidetector computed tomography and digital radiography of 1491 patients
2012, Journal of Critical CareCitation Excerpt :Bai and Liu [20] reported that children are more vulnerable to head injury. This association has been found by other authors, either with earthquake-related injuries or non–earthquake injuries [21,22]. The incidence of head injuries in our youngest age group was higher than that in the groups of 35 to 64 years and older than 64 years.
Three phases of disaster relief in Haiti-pediatric surgical care on board the United States Naval Ship Comfort
2011, Journal of Pediatric SurgeryCitation Excerpt :In terms of injury patterns, our experience demonstrates a high percentage of extremity injuries in both the adult and pediatric populations. Such distributions are consequent to collapsing structures and have been repeatedly demonstrated in reports of earthquake injury patterns [2,3,5,6]. In addition, a significantly greater precentage of children in our cohort underwent burn and craniotomy procedures when compared with our adult population.
Orthopaedic management in a mega mass casualty situation. the Israel Defence Forces Field Hospital in Haiti following the January 2010 earthquake
2011, InjuryCitation Excerpt :Most untreated open wounds are by this time infected with some causing life threatening sepsis. The specific caseload may vary according to the availability of more sophisticated treatment centres, but a review of the literature from previous earthquakes shows a similar distribution with a predominance of lower limb fractures (Table 4).2,8,12–14 Treatment priorities at this stage are infections, open wounds and fracture stabilization.
Analysis of injuries and treatment of 3 401 inpatients in 2008 Wenchuan earthquake - Based on Chinese Trauma Databank
2010, Chinese Journal of Traumatology - English EditionTriage of pediatric injuries after the 2008 Wen-Chuan earthquake in China
2009, Journal of Pediatric SurgeryCitation Excerpt :These extraordinary measures in the face of this extreme natural catastrophe greatly reduced the waiting times for consultations and surgical operations. The predominance of orthopedic trauma is similar to the pattern of earthquake injuries reported in the literature throughout the world [1,2]. In the children we treated, this injury pattern was observed mainly as a result of collapsed buildings.