ObjectiveTo understand the levels of and influencing factors for knowledge of earthquake in the elderly population.
MethodPeople who were older than 60 years in the earthquake area of Sichuan Province were surveyed by self-designed earthquake knowledge scale composed of 6 items with a point of 1-5 for each item between October and November 2013. The total score ranged from 6 to 30 points.
ResultsUp to 1 509 elderly people participated the survey. The total score of earthquake knowledge was 13.33±4.85. The main resource for acquiring those knowledge was TV (76.87%). Occupation, education level, residency, marital status, residence, self-injury, health status, access to earthquake knowledge, and worrying about earthquake were related factors for their knowledge on earthquake (P<0.05). Regression analysis showed that the higher degree of education, having a spouse, living in city, more access to earthquake knowledge, worrying about earthquake were the promotion factors for earthquake knowledge preparedness. Self-injury, poor health were the factors that hindered the acquiring of earthquake knowledge preparedness.
ConclusionsIt is necessary to train knowledge of earthquake for elderly people individually because they lack enough resources and tend to be affected by many factors.
Objective To provide a disaster triage method by analyzing the data of the hospital transferring casualties after Wenchuan earthquake. Method The data of the patients’ admission and hospital transferring in the West China Hospital were collected after the earthquake in two weeks. Moreover, the reason and the method of the hospital transferring were analyzed. Result In the first two weeks since the earthquake struck Wenchuan, the number of the available bed for earthquake patients in West China Hospital was 124 per day, but in the 2 227 earthquake patients treated, 1 181 patients were admitted. Comparing with the number of the total hospitalized, the percentage is 53.03%. The hospital was overloaded. After a reasonable hospital transference, the daily number of inpatients was stable and all the patients were treated sufficiently. Conclusion After a natural disaster, an effective administration transferring patients to suitable medical recourse should be performed, so that more right treatments should be given to more right patients in the right time and right place.
ObjectiveTo analyze the characteristics of Chinese military health forces use in earthquake medical rescue, so as to provide experience for improving medical support capabilities of military health forces.
MethodsThe data about medical rescue efforts of military health forces in Wenchuan and Yushu earthquakes were collected on the basis of field research. The relevant military documents, materials and literature were reviewed. And descriptive analysis was then performed.
ResultsChinese military health forces carries out the medical rescue efforts with the following characteristics, rapid forces grouping and flexible forces deployment.
ConclusionsMilitary health forces should meet the medical and health demands of the stricken area. The medical forces should be grouped and deployed rapidly, sufficiently and totally. The diversified forces should be mixing organized. The forces should be deployed by integration and modularization.
In the hospital where centralized treatment was applied for the victims after Yiliang earthquake (on 7th September, 2012), a holistic rehabilitation service mode which centred on supportive psychological intervention promoting was developed by the Yiliang psychological crisis intervention team designated by the National Health and Family Planning Commision of the People’s Republic of China. The pattern takes psychological nurses as liaison, bases on the integrity and continuity of medical service, roots in comprehensive health assessment and key assessment of mental trauma stress, emphasizes on solving realistic problems for patients and their caregivers, provides supportive psychological intervention, and encourages psychological nurses to offer psychological support for earthquake victims with the help of quantitative self-assessment of social psychological support service. In practice, the mode of psychological services, which could be contiuously conducted, is welcomed by hospital managers, work staff, and earthquake victims and their caregivers.
Objective To investigate the recovery status of people wounded in the Wenchuan earthquake. Method Data were retrospectively collected from administrative documents in the Bureau of Medical Affairs, Sichuan Provincial Health Department. The severity of injury was assessed by Injury Severity Score (ISS). The data were recorded by EXCEL software and descriptive analysis was conducted. Results Our analysis results of rehabilitation treatment through Feb. 5, 2009 shows that 27,080 of the 28,008 patients had been treated and discharged, for a discharge rate of 97.8%. There were 928 patients still in hospitals at that time, including 55 cases of traumatic brain injury, 163 cases of paraplegia, 260 amputees, and 449 cases of severe spine, pelvis and other fractures. Some amputees needed to receive replacement of artificial limbs or stump dressing operation and rehabilitation; most patients who were installed internal fixation needed to removal and post-rehabilitation. Conclusions The effectiveness of rehabilitation is significant. Our work in the next stage should focus on (1) continuing to improve the establishment of province’s rehabilitation capabilities and increasing capital investment; (2) enhancing training for medical rehabilitation practitioners in order to improve operational standards and service capabilities; (3) developing the wounded rehabilitation standards in later stages, conducting follow-up and functional training in order to maximize recovery and return to society; (4) increasing employment opportunities for disabled persons.
In recent years，West China Hospital of Sichuan University actively participated in medical assistance and rescue in Wenchuan，Yushu and Lushan earthquakes. However，professional roles of cardiovascular surgeons in medical assistance and rescue in earthquakes remain unclear because of the particularity of cardiovascular surgery, which often affects the assembly of medical assistance and rescue teams. Thus，we need to explore the necessity for cardiovascular surgeons to join medical rescue teams within 72 hours after earthquake. In this article，medical rescue work of cardiovascular surgeons within 72 hours after 2008 “5?12” Wenchuan earthquake and 2013 “4?20” Lushan earthquake is analyzed and compared to identify professional roles of cardiovascular surgeons in medical rescue within 72 hours after earthquake. It is necessary for cardiovascular surgeons to join medical rescue teams within 72 hours after earthquake.
Objective To analyze the costs of emergency medication in the West China Hospital within one month after Lushan earthquake based on actual medication of the victims’ disease spectrum. Methods We collected emergency medication data as evaluation index in the West China Hospital within one month after Lushan earthquake, including daily cost, cumulative percentage of pharmacology category, average cost per day/person, average cost per day/person when DUI=1, difference between average cost per day /person, and average cost per day/person when DUI=1, etc. Then, we input data using Excel software for statistically analyzing the costs of emergency medication within one month after the earthquake. Results During one month after the earthquake, the costs changed consistently with the number of victims, which implied the change of costs was rational. Injuries were classified into 6 categories and 12 kinds according to ICD-10. The costs of medication accounted for 71% of the total costs. Six kinds of illness accounted for 21%. Medication for injuries was classified into 3 categories and 18 kinds; average cost per day was 186.87 yuan and average cost per person was 1 702.70 yuan. Medication for illness was classified into 5 categories and 28 kinds; average cost per day was 38.96 yuan and average cost per person was 185.13 yuan. The mean value of average cost per day/person of injection was 14.52/5.08 times more than that of non-injection. Meanwhile, the mean value of average cost per day/person of imported medication was 7.10/5.28 times more than that of domestic medication. Conclusion The factors that impact the medication costs include: a) disease burden and traumatic conditions of the sick and wound; b) administration pathway (injection vs. non-injection); c) imported or domestic medication; and d) the rationality of taking DUI as evaluation index. When DUIgt;1, injection through the vein and imported medication take a larger share which increase the costs of medication. Emergency rescue package should mainly prepare for the injury. In order to ensure the timely, safe and effective medication, injection should be given priority to. We also should take into consideration crash-resistance/anti-quake package, reasonable dosage, convenience-to-use of drugs as well as the needs of the illness.
Objective To discover the similarities and differences between CBM and MEDLINE databases in the field of post-earthquake health issue research characteristics in order to provide references and aids to the scientific research administration, professional education and training, research subjects selection and project finance support. Methods CBM and MEDLINE databases (from January 1987 to December 2009) were systematically searched to obtain literature about post-earthquake health issues. Those studies were classified and compared by the characteristics of research objects, health issues, research periods, and types of study design. Results A total of 701 literature from CBM and 387 from MEDLINE were included. MEDLINE database provided more studies focusing on victims of natural calamities with specific age description than CBM (Plt;0.05). Research peak of CBM database centralized in the period of three months after earthquake (n=645, 92%), while MEDLINE was three years after the earthquake (n=191, 87.2%). Studies from both databases similarly focused on physical trauma and psychiatric/psychological issues (two types of health issues in total: CBM: n=727, 86.1%; MEDLINE: n=358, 83.4%). Investigations from CBM were primarily designed for retrospective and descriptive research (n=439, 62.6%), cross-sectional investigations (n=146, 20.8%) and case report (n=86, 12.3%) while MEDLINE focalized on cross-sectional investigations (n=177, 45.7%) and retrospective and descriptive research (n=146, 37.7%). Conclusion Compared to MEDLINE, studies from CBM database are relatively weak in the post-earthquake health issues of population with specific age characters, long-term health issues, levels of evidence and types of research design. The possible reasons are insufficient attention to the post-earthquake health issues, inadequate preparation for the research or limited knowledge about research methods.
Objective To investigate the efficacy of interdisciplinary therapy in critically ill patients with gas gangrene in the 2008 W enchuan earthquake．Methods Four critically wounded patients with gas gangrene caused by Wenchuan earthquake were treated by interdisciplinary cooperation．Results Two patients received debridement and decompression were not amputated．Two amputated patients did not received futher amputation．Conclusions Interdisciplinary therapy of critically ill patients with gasgangrene in earthquake could limited the area of tissue necrosis，minimized the necessity of amputation and further amputation．
After the May 12th Wenchuan earthquake, the Department of Architecture and Operation of West China Hospital took prompt action to examine the damage of the hospital buildings. And then experts were invited to perform a safety evaluation of all the hospital buildings. Meanwhile, a real-time monitoring system was initiated to identify any subsequent damage caused by after-shocks. In timely response to the clinical demand, potential dangers were removed so as to ensure the medical rescue work for the wounded.
