Emergency Response and Clinical Insights from a Non-Epicenter Hospital during the 2023 Turkey-Syria Earthquake: A Retrospective Analysis

Abstract

Background The Turkey-Syria earthquake of February 6, 2023, impacted 11 provinces and necessitated widespread emergency medical support. Although not at the disaster’s epicenter, Ankara Mamak State Hospital in Ankara, Turkey, offered critical multidisciplinary support. This retrospective study evaluates the factors that drove 124 admissions to the hospital’s Emergency Department (ED) following the earthquake. Material/Methods We recorded patient demographic data, dates of arrival at the ED, provinces of origin, diagnoses, treatments, consultations during the ED visit, and patient outcomes. The majority of the 124 admissions were due to trauma and multi-organ damage, and the primary diagnostic tools were physical examination and radiological imaging. Of these patients, 85.5% (106) recovered and were discharged directly from the ED, 11 were admitted for continued care, and 7 were referred to another hospital. Results The 124 cases consisted of adults injured within the first 20 days post-earthquake, with a mean age of 46.5±17.4 years, and a higher number of females. A peak in admissions was observed on the third and fourth days following the earthquake, with the most cases originating from the Hatay province. The most frequently injured body region was the lower extremity, and orthopedic consultations significantly outnumbered other surgical consultations. Conclusions Our findings underscore the vital role of robust, multidisciplinary disaster preparedness in all EDs, especially in regions prone to natural disasters.

Pediatric Emergency Response in a Non-Epicenter Hospital during the 2023 Turkey-Syria Earthquake: A Retrospective Study of 125 Cases in the First 20 Days

“…Gürü et al also drew attention to the stability of the cases in their study, where they reported adult patients in the same earthquakes that were also in the same hospital. The stability of the cases was also concluded in the study in which the adult cases in the same hospital were examined [ 8 ]. In this study, it was similarly concluded that relatively more stable cases were treated in non-epicenter hospitals with pediatric earthquake patients.…”

“…Presumably, the patients applied to hospitals in the disaster area in the first days, and relatively stable cases migrated to non-epicenter hospitals such as the hospital where the cases of this study were located. In the study of Gürü et al, presenting adult cases from the same earthquakes, it is seen that the peak event time was 9 th February 2023 [ 8 ]. The data of this study are similar in terms of both the peak time and the decrease of cases towards the end of 20 days.…”

“…In the emergency services located in the disaster area and not damaged, an unusually large crowd of people formed [ 7 ]. Patients affected by the earthquake were also examined in non-epicenter hospitals in the following days [ 8 ]. Temporary hospitals were built very quickly and 74 000 health workers struggled to practice disaster medicine [ 9 ].…”

Orthopedic surgery in disaster

“… 5 Multiple hospitals in the adjacent regions treated a multitude of victims. 6 While one would hope that more lessons were learned from the previous devastating earthquake in 1999, including safer building development, this article will focus on the orthopedic care of patients during disasters. Orthopedic surgery emerged as the most commonly required, followed by neurosurgery, plastic surgery, general surgery, and dental surgery in the aftermath of an earthquake.…”

Exploring Volunteer Pharmacists’ Experiences in Responding to 2023 Türkiye Earthquakes: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study

“…The originality of this study comes from investigating the firsthand experiences of pharmacists in the aftermath of a disaster where most pharmacies were damaged, and the remaining ones were unable to serve within widespread damaged area of approximately 350,000 km 2 , approximately the size of Germany. 19,20 Although there are studies 3,[21][22][23] examining the pandemic responses of pharmacists, a form of disaster, it is important to note that pandemics and earthquakes differ significantly in terms of their impact on health-care systems. While earthquakes, sudden onset disasters, can cause extensive physical destruction to health-care facilities, including pharmacies, pandemics, slow onset disasters, primarily overwhelm health systems due to increased demand for health-care services.…”