Citation

Yilmaz S, Tatliparmak AC, Karakayalı O, Turk M, Uras N, Ipek M, Polat D, Yazici MM, Yılmaz S. Turk. J. Emerg. Med. 2024; 24(2): 80-89.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, Emergency Medicine Association of Turkey, Publisher KARE Publishing)

DOI

10.4103/tjem.tjem_32_24

PMID

38766417

PMCID

PMC11100575

Abstract

This compilation covers emergency medical management lessons from the February 6(th) Kahramanmaraş earthquakes. The objective is to review relevant literature on emergency services patient management, focusing on Koenig's 1996 Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment (START) and Secondary Assessment of Victim Endpoint (SAVE) frameworks. Establishing a comprehensive seismic and mass casualty incident (MCI) protocol chain is the goal. The prehospital phase of seismic MCIs treats hypovolemia and gets patients to the nearest hospital. START-A plans to expedite emergency patient triage and pain management. The SAVE algorithm is crucial for the emergency patient secondary assessment. It advises using Glasgow Coma Scale, Mangled Extremity Severity Score, Burn Triage Score, and Safe Quake Score for admission, surgery, transfer, discharge, and outcomes. This compilation emphasizes the importance of using diagnostic tools like bedside blood gas analyzers and ultrasound devices during the assessment process, drawing from 6 February earthquake research. The findings create a solid framework for improving emergency medical response strategies, making them applicable in similar situations.

Language: en

Keywords

Disaster medicine; earthquakes; emergency department; mass casualty incidents; triage