Disaster Consequences: Wish Hadn’t Happened

Abstract

Aim: Natural disaster related injuries result in deaths and disabilities such as from a major earthquake. The object of this case series study was to determine the demographic characteristics, injuries, and clinical outcomes of victims admitted to a General Pediatrics Unit within the first weeks after an earthquake. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective case series study carried out on Kahramanmaraş earthquake victims in a tertiary medical faculty in İzmir from February 13th to March 29th, 2023. Results: Of the followed up 9 earthquake survivors, their mean age was 3.8 years. All of the victims were transferred from other earthquake affected provinces to İzmir. In all, 9 of the cases were admitted to the emergency services of the disasters area hospital and 5 (55.5%) of the 9 cases were rescued from under rubble. For all age groups who were extracted from under the rubble, the extremities were most injured (44.5%). All survivors trapped under the rubble needed fluid therapy, renal support treatment (hemodialysis), and 2 cases required amputation. Conclusion: The description of the demographic characteristics and clinical outcomes of earthquake victims is important in order to determine medical amelioration and rehabilitation services for future disasters.

Keywords

• earthquake
• children
• traumatic rhabdomyolysis