The Impact Of The Düzce Earthquake On Emergency Department Patient Load And Process Management

Research Article

Abstract

Objective: Emergency health services are important in increasing the chance of survival of the sick and injured and preventing deaths during earthquakes and natural disasters.Within the scope of this research, we aimed to analyze the emergency service admissions during the Düzce Gölyaka earthquake disaster in November 2022 and improve our efficiency in the emergency service and trauma room.

Method: A total of 31 patients applied to Sakarya Training and Research Hospital following the 5.9 magnitude earthquake that occurred in the Gölyaka district of Düzce have been enrolled in this retrospective analysis. The trauma mechanism the patients were exposed to following the earthquake, the duration of admission to the hospital, the pathology detected, the treatment applied, the consultations requested, and the hospitalization or discharge status were recorded andanalyzed.

Results: Within the scope of the study, 31 patients affected by the earthquake were evaluated. The ages of the patients ranged from 12 to 75, with a mean age of 37 years. The gender distribution of the patients was as follows: 12 (38.7%) female and 19 (61.3%) male. The distribution of demographic and clinical findings according to the time of admission to the hospital is elaborated in Table 1. When the table is examined,it was determined that there was a statistical difference between the two groups regarding hospitalization, discharge, surgical procedure, and soft tissue trauma within 0 – 1 hour and 1 – 6 hours of admission (p<0.05).

Conclusion: In the face of this extremely diverse and severe patient profile, the presence of well-trained and experienced personnel in disaster medicine in emergency services and the presence of pre-preparedness can reduce mortality and morbidity in future disasters. The main purpose of emergency aid is to save many human lives in a short time and to meet basic urgent needs.