Elsevier

Injury

Volume 38, Issue 3, March 2007, Pages 290-297
Injury

The evaluation of trauma patients in Turkish Red Crescent Field Hospital following the Pakistan earthquake in 2005

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.injury.2006.10.013Get rights and content

Summary

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.

On 14 October 2005, following the earthquake in the city of Muzafferabad of Kashmir, Pakistan on 8 October 2005, Turkish Red Crescent Field Hospital was established and equipped with health professionals. A total of 2892 patients were treated and followed up. All the patients were prospectively evaluated. The profiles of the patients transferred, operated, or followed up within this period were documented. Furthermore, the patients who applied with post-traumatic musculoskeletal trauma were also documented. Of 1075 patients, who applied to orthopaedics outpatient clinic, 543 were female and 632 were male. The patients were evaluated based on their fracture as follows: pelvis (n = 45), femur (n = 59), tibia (n = 87), ankle and foot (n = 45), vertebra (n = 41), clavicle (n = 10), humerus (n = 38), forearm (n = 20) and hand and wrist (n = 45).

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.

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)

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