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Pulmonary Evaluation of Earthquake Victims Followed Up in the Intensive Care Unit After the 2023 Turkey Kahramanmaras Earthquakes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 March 2024

Sinem Berik Safçi Open the ORCID record for Sinem Berik Safçi [Opens in a new window] ,
Esra Aybal Open the ORCID record for Esra Aybal [Opens in a new window]  and
Özlem Erçen Diken Open the ORCID record for Özlem Erçen Diken [Opens in a new window]
Sinem Berik Safçi*
Affiliation:
Adana City Research and Education Hospital, Chest Diseases Department, Adana, Turkey
Esra Aybal
Affiliation:
Adana City Research and Education Hospital, İntensive Care Deparment, Adana, Turkey
Özlem Erçen Diken
Affiliation:
Adana City Research and Education Hospital, Chest Diseases Department, Adana, Turkey
*
Correspondence: Sinem Berik Safçi Adana City Research and Education Hospital Chest Diseases Department Adana, Turkey E-mail: sinemberik@hotmail.com
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Abstract

Introduction and Study Objective:

In Turkey, a total of 269 earthquakes took place from 1900 through 2023. The most devastating earthquakes in terms of casualties and extensive destruction occurred at 4:17am and 1:24pm local time on February 6, 2023 with the epicenters located in Pazarcik (Kahramanmaras) and Ekinozu (Kahramanmaras) and magnitudes of 7.7Mw and 7.6Mw, respectively. The aim of this study was to define the frequency of lung complications that occurred directly and/or developed during the intensive care follow-up of individuals affected by the Kahramanmaras earthquakes.

Method:

A retrospective evaluation was conducted on the files of 69 patients who were rescued from the debris of collapsed buildings after the Kahramanmaras earthquakes and followed up in the intensive care unit in terms of the time under the debris, demographic data, vital signs, and lung complications that were present at the time of admission and developed during follow-up. SPSS for Windows v. 20.0 was used for data analysis.

Results:

The study included a total of 69 patients, of whom 29 (42%) were female and 40 (58%) were male. The mean age was 39.9 (SD = 16.9) years. The mean time under the debris was 53.9 (SD = 52) hours, and the mean time from rescue to the intensive care unit admission was 18.7 (SD = 12.8) hours. One or more pulmonary complications were detected in 52.2% (n = 36) of the patients at the time of admission. During the follow-up, 30.4% (n = 21) of the patients developed pulmonary congestion, 13.0% (n = 9) pneumonia, 1.5% (n = 1) alveolar hemorrhage, and 1.5% (n = 1) atelectasis, while no additional lung complications developed in the remaining 37 patients (53.6%).

Conclusion:

Severe cases of individuals recovered from the debris can have a high prevalence of earthquake-related lung disorders and chest trauma, which may be associated with high mortality. The timely identification and effective intervention of pulmonary complications that may develop during follow-up can reduce mortality.

Keywords

chest injuryearthquakeKahramanmaras
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 39 , Issue 2 , April 2024 , pp. 131 - 135
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine

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