The October 2005 Earthquake in Northern Pakistan: Pattern of Injuries in Victims Brought to the Emergency Relief Hospital, Doraha, Mansehra

Abstract

Objective:Knowledge of injuries of earthquake victims is important to plan relief efforts. This cross-sectional study was conducted following the 08 October 2005 earthquake in Northern Pakistan to determine the pattern of injuries sustained and their relationship with age and gender in order to identify the medical needs in an earthquake-affected zone.Methods:The study was conducted between 13 October and 23 October 2005 at the Emergency Relief Hospital, Doraha, Mansehra. From the 1,700 patients registered in the hospital, 310 were sampled randomly for the study. Demography and details of the patients' injuries were noted by history and physical examination. Twelve cases were omitted due to incomplete data.Results:Of the cases, 54% were female. Children ≤10 years old formed the largest age group. Isolated bone injuries were present in 41%, soft tissue injuries in 36%, and mixed injuries in 23% of the patients.The most common bone injury was lower limb fracture (52%), while the most common non-bone injury was non-infected, soft tissue wounds on the limbs (33%). Among patients with soft tissue injuries, gangrenous wounds were present in 9%, and grossly infected wounds in 30% (20% on limbs and 10% on rest of the body).Conclusions:The population injured during the earthquake showed a higher proportion of females and children ≤10 years old, and lower limb bone injuries. The data highlight the need to address orthopedic, pediatric, and women's health issues, and for logistic arrangement of relevant diagnostic and therapeutic facilities at the initial stages of relief activities after earthquakes.

Injury, disability and quality of life after the 2009 earthquake in Padang, Indonesia: a prospective cohort study of adult survivors

“…30–39 and 40–49) in the same injured group and that the young adults and elder categories in injured group were higher than the same categories in non-injured group, may indicate a bimodal-like pattern. A similar pattern was reported in another study in Pakistan (10). Assuming the pattern is correct, it is understandable that elderly people would be a more vulnerable segment of adult population, due to limitations in their movement making it difficult for them to escape from danger.…”

“…Few studies indicate that women were relatively more affected by earthquake injuries than men (10–14). After the tsunami disaster in Aceh, odds of injury of the females were 50% significantly lower than that of the males (15).…”

Ratio of the Dead to Wounded (D/W) Indicators and Associated Factors in Major Earthquakes of America from 1960 to 2011

“…The most conservative statistics have mentioned that, in the last 20 years, earthquakes have led to more than 500,000 deaths and more than 1,400,000 wounded, that is to say, one death for every three wounded [3,4]. The most recent earthquakes with the higher numbers of deaths have occurred in 2003 in Bam (Iran) [5,6], in 2005 Kashmir (Pakistan) [7][8][9], in 2008 Sichuan (China) [10][11][12][13][14], and in 2010 Haiti [15]. Several factors have been described as responsible for the high mortality and morbidity of earthquakes.…”

The changing health priorities of earthquake response and implications for preparedness: a scoping review

“…30,[33][34][35] , some specifically related to tetanus 36,37 , requiring management and ongoing care for up to 8 months 26 . Late presentations of earthquake related injuries were often for complications associated with infections due to the lack of treatment 33,38 .…”

“…Women, children 96 and the elderly were identified as being more likely to have died at the time of the earthquake 97 . Women 27, 38, 39, 47, 59, 67, 98-102 , children 38 , elderly 38 and those with disabilities 103 were also reported as being disproportionately affected both with regard to earthquake-related injuries as well as other more routine health presentations. This occasionally extended to access to donor support with one study reporting that people with certain disabilities were unable to access some services due to external donor criteria restrictions 103 .…”