After the Wenchuan Earthquake on May 12th, 2008, under the b leadership of the SichuanProvincial Party Committee, the People’s Government of Sichuan Province, and the Ministry of Health of the People’sRepublic of China, the Medical Security Team working at the Sichuan Provincial Headquarters for Wenchuan Earthquakeand Disaster Relief Work constructed a secure medical material distribution system through coordination and interactionamong and between regions, systems, and departments.
Objective To summarize the organization management and performance of volunteers taking part in the medical succor in People’s Hospital of Deyang City after 2 weeks of Wenchuan earthquake, in order to provide some reference for public health events in the future. Method Collecting some basic information, job flowing, workload, and management system of volunteers in the hospital from 12th to 26th, May, 2008, and so on, and then using Microsoft EXCEL to set up database for general analysis, in order to summarize management’s characteristics of volunteer organization and effects in hospital medical rescue. Result There are 6 838 persons that took part in the volunteer work, and this work can be divided into 3 phases according to the difference of the organization and management methods, they are 1 day later, 2-3 days later, 4-14 days later after earthquake. These volunteers assisted hospital finishing rescue, treatment and nursing for more than 1 870 wounded persons, transferring more than 441 wounded persons, and some works of logistic service, epidemic situation prevention and control, mentality intervention. Conclusion Different work tasks in different phases for volunteers after 2 weeks earthquake. Organizing and managing volunteers in different phases according to different work tasks to benefit the work performance.
Objective To analyze retrospectively the overall situation of medical rescue in the Third People’s Hospital of Chengdu after the Wenchuan earthquake, so as to provide references for the emergency preparedness for the disaster of earthquake. Methods The analysis was based on the data provided by the Department of Information, the Medical Record Library, the Department of Emergency, the Department of Orthopaedics and other related departments of the Hospital up to 8 a.m. of July 12. The software of Microsoft EXCEL was used for data input, and SPSS 11.5 was used for statistical analysis. Results Up to July 12, 563 cases from the disaster area had been treated in the hospital, of whom 249 were admitted into the outpatient department and 314 into the inpatient department, including 287 men and 276 women, with a median age of 42 years (28, 57) in the outpatient department and a median age of 46 years (33, 65) in the inpatient department. The inpatients’ age was older than the outpatients’s (P=0.003). Most outpatients were sent to the hospital within the first 3 days after the quake (73.50%), while less than half of the inpatients were sent to the hospital during this period of time. The wounded were mainly from Dujiangyan, Aba Prefecture and Pengzhou, which was correlated with the transportation distance, the casualty and the condition of the local hospitals. The wounded were mainly admitted into the Departments of Orthopaedics (69.3%), Neurosurgery (15.6%) and General Surgery (3.7%). The total cost in the Department of Orthopaedics was the highest, followed by the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and the Department of Neurosurgery. However, the median cost in the ICU was the highest, followed by the Department of Neurosurgery and the Department of Nephrology. Only 9 out of the 563 patients died, including 5 outpatients and 4 inpatients, of whom 8 deaths were due to craniocerebral injury and 1 died of crush syndrome. Conclusion Based on the data, it is of vital importance to develop an emergent plan for the medical rescue after an earthquake disaster, and to strengthen the reserve of medical supplies, personnel training, scientific field triage as well as the construction of information platforms.
Objective To analyze the performance of epidemic prevention in Sichuan Province after Wenchuan earthquake, so as to provide references for future epidemic prevention when such emergencies occur. Methods Data about the relief work after the Wenchuan earthquake were collected from the archives of medical care assurance group of the anti-seismic and disaster relief headquarter. And then the data were classified and analyzed. Results After the Wenchuan earthquake, the strategies of epidemic prevention included emphasis on both epidemic prevention and medical relief, early implementation of hygienic measures, wide coverage of different measures for disease prevention with focuses on the most important diseases, as well as standardization and long lasting of epidemic prevention efforts. Owing to these strategies, the epidemic prevention in Sichuan Province was conducted vigorously, orderly and effectively. Conclusion The post-quake epidemic prevention strategies in Sichuan Province are accurate and effective, which could be recommended when such emergencies occur in the future.
Objective To provide references for production and dissemination of evidence in the fields of medical emergency management, treatment, and prevention of epidemics after May 2008 Wenchuan earthquake by systematically reviewing, analyzing, and comparing quake related papers in medical journals. Methods We systematically searched MEDLINE and CBM (Chinese Biomedical Literature) databases (range: from inception to Sept. 2009). Quake related papers were imported into EndNote software, checked for duplication, and categorized by predefined standards. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed by SPSS 13.0. Results There were relatively fewer quake related articles globally before the occurrence of the Wenchuan earthquake, and the quantity of papers in MEDLINE was four times than that in CBM. In contrast, the quantity of Chinese quake articles increased rapidly after Wenchuan earthquake, peaking in Aug. 2008 at 6.9 times the average during the 50 years before the quake. The quake related papers in CBM appeared in 378 journals covering a diverse range of subject matter. Meanwhile, there was little change in the quantity of quake related articles in MEDLINE database. Conclusions The effort of producing and disseminating Wenchuan earthquake related medical research has been effectively organized and conducted in a scientific and timely manner, producing the largest in number of quake related medical papers in human history. It has provided first-hand guidance for disaster medical relief around the globe. We should strengthen the systematic construction of disaster medicine, and make an effort to summarize and disseminate evidence in the fields of rehabilitation, system reestablishment, and prevention of epidemics.
Objective To elucidate the effect of first-aid fast track in triaging earthquake trauma patients by studying the earthquake trauma patients staying in the Emergency Department of West China Hospital after “5•12 Wenchuan Earthquake” so as to accumulate experience in the treatment of disaster traumas. Methods A retrospective study was done on earthquake trauma patients staying in the Emergency Department of West China Hospital after “5•12 Wenchuan Earthquake” from 14:28 May 12, 2008 to 14:27 May 15, 2008. Differences in care given during the time period were analyzed. Results There were 536 earthquake trauma patients in West China Hospital within 72 hours after the earthquake. Twohundred and seven earthquake trauma patients staying in the Emergency Department had an average stay of 129 minutes during the 24 hours after the quake; 104 earthquake trauma patients staying in the Emergency Department had an average stay of 97 minutes in the second 24 hours; and 226 earthquake trauma patients staying in the Emergency Department had an average stay of 86 minutes in the third 24 hours. Each consecutive day showed shorter average stays. Conclusion The first-aid fast track not only guarantees earthquake trauma patients are saved as soon as possible but also shortens the time in the Emergency Department.
After the devastating Wenchuan earthquake, a rapid response with emergency logistic support was the basis for medical rescue. This article describes the timely and scientific measures taken by the Department of Logistics of West China Hospital shortly after the Wenchuan earthquake, based on a series of workflows that were predefined to provide an emergency response for any unexpected events. This logistic workflow may contribute to the emergency response to similar unexpected events in the future.
Objective To analyze stress-related disorders and the effect of crisis prevention in 54 females admitted to the Female Psychiatry Department of The Third Hospital of Mianyang City after the Wenchuan earthquake. Methods The patients were assessed with BPRS, HAMD, HAMA, and BPMS scales. According to their clinical manifestations, antipsychiatric, antidepressive, anxiolytic, and antimanic treatment were administered to them. All patients received cognitive-behavior and psychological therapy and were assessed after one month. Results Although all patients were earthquake sufferers, their clinical manifestations varied. Strengthened crisis prevention combined with appropriate drug treatment alleviated their symptoms. Conclusion In terms of alleviating symptoms, curtailing disease course, and facilitating mental rehabilitation, post-catastrophe crisis prevention is extremely important for female patients with stress-related disorders.
Objective To investigate the psychological state of college students in the areas affected by the Wenchuan earthquake. Methods A total of 562 college students were selected by stratified random cluster sampling. A self-designed questionnaire as well as Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS) were used for survey. Results The SDS scores (46.16±11.95) and SAS scores (34.60±6.50) of the college students were significantly higher than those of the national norms (Plt;0.001), while the SSRS scores (40.46±8.76) were lower than those of the national norms (Plt;0.001). The scores of SSRS and its three dimensions were positively correlated with the SAS scores and were negatively correlated with the SDS scores. Conclusion The college students in the areas affected by the Wenchuan earthquake suffer from anxiety and depression disorders. Good social support is one of the important measures to maintain their mental health.
After Wenchuan earthquake, the West China Second University Hospital immediately started the preparation of emergency pharmaceutical administration. The pharmaceutical department effectively controlled the provision, purchasing, utilization and donation of medications through a double-track operation system. In this way, the medication supply was ensured for both the patients suffering from the disaster and routine patients, which guaranteed the rationality in medication and promoted the utilization of the donated drugs so that more than 80 000 drug cost was saved for the hospital.