Abstract

Objective: Turkey is a country where earthquakes occur frequently. The aim of this study was to examine the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients who applied to the adult and pediatric emergency departments of Health Sciences University Turkey, İzmir Tepecik Education and Research Hospital after the İzmir earthquake dated October 30th, 2020, with the disease of earthquake damage.

Methods: Patients who were admitted to the Adult and Pediatric Emergency Departments of Health Sciences University Turkey, İzmir Tepecik Education and Research Hospital between 30.10.2020-05.11.2020 with the complaint of earthquake injury were included in the study. The demographic information of the patients, laboratory and imaging tests, treatments, consultations, diagnoses, emergency department outcomes and clinical conditions in the hospitals were analyzed retrospectively from the hospital automation system.

Results: A total of 115 earthquake victims were admitted to the emergency departments of our hospital. 74% of the patients (n=85) admitted within 24 h after the earthquake. The most common diagnosis in the emergency department was soft tissue trauma (n=79, 68.7%). The most common treatments applied in the emergency department were bandages, plaster and splint procedures, the most common consultation requested was Orthopedics and Traumatology. The rate of hospitalization was 9.6% (n=11). While no patient died in the emergency department, one of the hospitalized patients died.

Conclusion: Hospital admissions are frequently made within the first 24 h after an earthquake and almost all the victims are evaluated in the emergency departments. Although the injuries are often in the form of simple soft tissue injuries, crush syndrome that may result in mortality, should also be kept in mind.