Which is more dangerous, earthquake or the panic? Evaluation Of The 24 January 2020 Elazig / Turkey Earthquake Related Musculoskeletal Injuries

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to evaluate the musculoskeletal injuries related with 24 January 2020 Elazig/Türkiye earthquake and their treatment protocols. METHODS: Data of patients applied to İnönü University Medical Faculty Hospital, Elazığ Training and Research Hospital and Malatya Training and Research Hospital emergency departments within 48 h after the earthquake, were evaluated retrospectively. Age, gender, soft tissue injuries and sites, fracture sites and types, fracture etiology, and treatment methods were evaluated. RESULTS: 247 patients were evaluated. 118 were women and 139 were men. There were 24 (9.7%) pediatric patients. Mean age was 37.3 (1–92) years. Waist majority of injuries were simple soft-tissue injuries. There were 103 fractures in 86 patients. Thirty-eight patients’ fractures were treated surgically. CONCLUSION: Every major disaster warrants retrospective studies so we can learn how to improve all levels of Emergency Medical Services. Great proportion of Elazıg earthquake victims had only simple soft tissue injuries such as sprain, laceration, or contusion. Many patients were injured due to reasons indirectly related to the destruction brought by the earthquake. Panic caused by the earthquake caused more injury than the destruction it brought.

The initial response of a local hospital in the earthquake zone during the February 6, 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes: Injuries and challenges

“…In a study conducted after the 2020 Elazığ earthquake, in parallel to the injuries caused by earthquake-related destruction, attention was drawn to earthquake-related panic-related injuries. 16 In our study, in 59.14% of our patients, traumas such as soft tissue injuries, severe head trauma, and extremity fractures developed after panic-induced behaviors without earthquake-related destruction. We think that earthquake-related behavioral pieces of training should be increased in order to prevent or reduce these injuries.…”

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

“…According to this review, lower extremity injuries were more common than upper extremity injuries [ 17 ]. Ergen et al classified the fractures in the cases they examined after the 2020 Aegean Sea earthquake according to body region and found the percentage of lower extremity fractures to be 56.07% and the percentage of upper extremity fractures to be 33.64% [ 2 ]. In the data of the present study, among all injuries, according to the affected body zone injured, the percentage of lower extremity injuries was higher, at 41.9%, and that of upper extremity injuries was lower, at 22.6%.…”

“…Earthquakes, which are natural disasters, cause life-threatening injuries in short periods of time [ 1 ]. Turkey is a world earthquake zone, located on many active faults [ 2 ]. On February 6, 2023, the south and southeast regions of the country were affected by 2 massive earthquakes with moment magnitudes (Mw) of 7.8 and 7.5, which had 2 different epicenters (37.05°E 37.23°N and 37.23°E 38.11°N) close to each other [ 3 – 5 ].…”

Rehabilitation approach after earthquake disaster: a brief report from Turkey

“…During the acute period after the earthquake, superficial injuries, open and closed fractures, open wounds due to high-energy trauma, compression-related compartment syndrome, crush injuries and compartment syndrome, vascular damage, shock, dislocation, and patients with multiple trauma are encountered in earthquake victims. In the acute period, some patients underwent orthopedic interventions such as amputation surgery, fasciotomy, tendon and soft tissue repair, neurovascular repair, debridement, fracture reduction, and fixation ( 4 , 8 ). Some of the injuries were accompanied by infections.…”