Baoxing airborne medical team of West China Hospital participated in the medical rescue in 2013 “4?20”Lushan earthquake. The medical team excellently fulfilled their rescue task for 1 week in the earthquake-struck areas where there was power and communication failure and lack of water and food supply. We found some experiences and problems in airbornemedical team assembly and member selection, which may provide quotable experiences for future disaster assistance and rescue teams.
To retrospectively summarize the medical rescue organization and strategy of West China Hospital medical team during the Wenchuan earthquake so as to provide reference for rescue practice in the future. We emphasize that the key point to improve the efficiency of rescue is scientifically assigning and util izing medical resource according to the demand at the actual locale of the earthquake and the characters of various stages of the earthquake .
This paper compares emergency medical rescue experience of West China Hospital of Sichuan University in the latest three earthquakes occurred in western Sichuan, and mainly introduces the experience in organization and coordination, rescue speed, treatment of the injured, and rescue characteristics in Jiuzhaigou earthquake, which can provide reference for future earthquake emergency medical rescue.
Objective To summarize the experience of medical rescue conducted in Aba prefecture after the Wenchuan earthquake in order to provide information for similar tasks in seismo-active regions. Methods We participated and witnessed the whole process of medical rescue through 100 days after the quake. Data regarding the medical rescue work, work mode, performance and problems were collected and analyzed. Results Twelve counties out of the 13 counties in Aba prefecture were affected by the earthquake, including 2 most-hit counties and 5 most-hit areas. A total of 20 233 people died and 7 873 disappeared. Aba Prefectural Headquarters for Earthquake Resistance and Disaster Relief was set up and medical rescue teams were dispatched to the disaster area immediately after the quake: ① From May 12 to May 15 2008, 20 local medical teams comprising 138 healthcare professionals and 14 teams involving 428 professionals from other regions arrived at the most-hit areas. Through 7 days after the quake, medical treatment was provided for 6 285 patient-times. ② A total of 1 444 healthcare professionals participated in the medical rescue work. Through August 20, 355 579 outpatients and 7 028 inpatients were treated in the prefectural medical institutions and on-site medical centers. Of those, 6 726 were discharged, 604 were severely wounded, 20 died and 456 were transferred to other regions for further treatment. 2 703 operations were performed for the wounded and psychological treatment was provided for 4 630 person-times. Conclusion The medical rescue work in Aba prefecture after the Wenchuan earthquake was effective and efficient. Management of human resources and medical devices should be strengthened to enhance the ability of emergency response.
In the rescue that follows a major natural disaster, blood donation is a unique, necessary method to assist the injured. To achieve effective assurance of the blood supply for medical rescue in an orderly fashion, the current procedure must be adjusted by using scientific prediction, analysis, and adaptation. After the process of ensuring the blood supply for medical rescue during the Wenchuan Earthquake, the Ministry of Health of China, with great efforts, continues to investigate and reflect upon the application of the above principals during actual practice. Objectively, these efforts will lead to better results and establish a standard supplying blood during a disaster rescue.
This article introduces the information release and news reports related to the medical rescue in West China Hospital after Wenchuan earthquake, in terms of organization and management of internal and external propaganda, as well as how to organize and optimize volunteers’ involvement in news report. A total of more than 500 medias and over 2000 journalists have been received, 439 items of information have been released, 6675 photos covering 159 topics and 30-hour video records covering 100 topics have been collected. In addition, 5-hour video records and over 1000 photos have been provided to more than 20 medical teams or individual from other provinces.
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 retrospectively analyze medical rescue during Min-Zhang earthquake. Methods Medical rescue data reported from cities and counties in Gansu province were summarized in the earthquake relief and medical rescue headquarter of Gansu province. They were input into a database using Excel software. Descriptive analysis was conducted using SPSS 17.0. Results After the earthquake, Gansu Heath System quickly responded to the situations and started the contingency plan for earthquake, while patches of medical rescue teams were sent to the stricken areas. As of 14 days after the earthquake, 4 377 victims were treated in medical institutions of each levels. Hospital infection was comprehensively in control and psychological intervention was conducted among the target population. Conclusion The emergency response of Gansu Heath System was quick, effective, and well organized. Facing extraordinary disaster, Gansu province smoothly accomplished the tasks of earthquake relief and medical rescue at the initial stage.
Objective To analyze clinical characteristics and treatment experience of 143 tibetan victims of China Yushu earthquake, so as to provide reference for emergency preparation for earthquake disasters. Methods A retrospective study from April 16th to April 22th, 2010 was designed. A total of 143 injured Tibetans (74 men, 69 women) of the magnitude 7.1 Yushu earthquake were included in this study. Data from victims was collected retrospectively as follows: age, gender, cause of injury, place and time of rescue, chief complaint, primary diagnosis, onsite treatment, transfer, psychological crisis intervention and so on. Results The 143 tibetan victims contained 67 fracture cases (4 open fracture, 63 closed fracture), 5 joint dislocation cases and 3 neural injury cases. 62 victims with fracture were treated by Tibetan-Chinese therapy combined with external fixation, 5 victims were operated with emergency surgery, 6 victims refused to the surgical debridement and suture, and no dead case reported. All patients were given 3 to 11 psychological intervention treatments. As to the aspect of the wounded transferring, 48 cases among 54 supposed evacuating victims were transferred to Xinin hospitals, and the other six refused to be transferred and kept staying in the original place for treatment. Conclusion The clinical characteristics of the tibetan victims are outstanding. The medical rescue for disaster in ethnic region should be appropriate for features of disaster areas.Both the individualized remedy and early psychological intervention are regarded as the important measures for improving the general level of earthquake medical rescue in ethnic regions.
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.