Evaluation of the patients in Van Training and Research Hospital following the 2011 Van earthquake in Turkey

BACKGROUND
On 23 October 2011, an earthquake occurred in the city of Van, Turkey. This earthquake was an enormous devastating disaster and caused mass casualties. The descriptive analysis presented here serves as a reference not only for the present injury profile but also for future disaster response.

METHODS
This is a retrospective study based on the medical records of earthquake victims admitted to Van Training and Research Hospital. The results were compared with the current literature.
RESULTS
1582 earthquake victims (806 male, 776 female, mean age 36.9 years) were admitted to emergency service. 301 of the patients were treated with hospital care in different departments: 84 (27.9%) in orthopedics surgery, 40 (13.2%) in general and pediatric surgery, 26 (9%) in thorax surgery, 34 (11%) in neurosurgery, 56 (19%) in internal medicine, 39 (13%) in the intensive care unit, and 22 (7%) in other departments. The total number of deceased was 60.
CONCLUSION
To minimize mortality and morbidity after earthquake disaster, immediate and effective triage should be done, and after the patients are transported to the hospital, individualized treatment should be planned according to the patients’ respective clinical features. Coherent collaboration between many departments is vital.

2011 Van depremi sonrasý Van bölgesi Eðitim ve Araþtýrma Hastanesine baþvuran olgularýn deðerlendirilmesi

AMAÇ
23 Ekim 2011 tarihinde Van ilinde deprem meydana geldi. Bu deprem çok büyük yýkýcý bir felaketti ve kitlesel yaralanmalara neden oldu. Burada sunulan tanýmlayýcý analizin, yanlýz bu çalýþma için deðil, ayný zamanda daha sonra yaþanabilecek afetler için de bir kaynak olarak kullanýlmasý amaçlanmýþtýr.

GEREÇ VE YÖNTEM
Deprem nedeniyle Van Bölge Eðitim ve Araþtýrma Hastanesine baþvuran hastalarýn ilk 7 günlük kayýtlarý geriye dönük olarak incelendi. Sonuçlar mevcut literatür ile karþýlaþtýrýldý.

BULGULAR
Depremzede 1582 hasta (806 erkek, 776 kadýn; ort. yaþ 36,9) acil servise baþvurdu. Hastalarýn 301’i yatarak tedavi gördü. Hastalarýn 84’ü (%28) ortopedi ve travmatoloji, 40’ý (%13) genel cerrahi ve çocuk cerrahisi, 26’sý (%9) göðüs cerrahisi, 34’ü (%11) beyin cerrahisi, 56’sý (%19) iç hastalýklarý, 39’u (%13) yoðun bakým, 22’si (%7) ise diðer servislere yatýrýldý. Ölenlerin sayýsý 60 idi.
SONUÇ
Deprem felaketi sonrasý mortalite ve morbidite oranýný azaltmak için erken ve etkili triyaja önem verilmelidir. Hastalar hastaneye nakledildikten sonra klinik özelliklerine göre tedavi uygulanmalý ve birçok kliniðin birbiriyle uyumlu ve iþbirliði içerisinde çalýþmalarý saðlanmalýdýr.