@article{ref1,
title="Neurosurgical injuries caused by the 2011 Van earthquake: the experience at the Van Regional Training and Research Hospital",
journal="Journal of emergency medicine",
year="2015",
author="Aycan, Abdurrahman and Yener, Ulaş and Aycan, Nur and Gönüllü, Edip and Dursun, Recep and Gönüllü, Hayriye",
volume="49",
number="4",
pages="464-470",
abstract="BACKGROUND: On October 23, 2011, a devastating earthquake, magnitude 7.2 on the Richter Scale, jolted the province of Van in the east of Turkey and led to hundreds of casualties. <br><br>OBJECTIVES: In this study, we aimed to present our clinical experience in the management of patients with cranial and spinal injuries who were admitted to the Van Regional Training and Research Hospital. <br><br>METHODS: The retrospective study included 44 (77.2%) patients who were referred to the neurosurgery department after being diagnosed with spinal and cranial injuries due to earthquake at the emergency department between October 23 and 27, 2011. <br><br>RESULTS: The patients comprised 32 male (72.7%) and 12 (27.3%) female patients with a mean age of 23.5 years. The injuries included scalp injury (n = 16), burst fracture (n=7), compression fracture (n=3), epidural hematoma (n=9), subdural hematoma (n=3), contusion (n=1), traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (n=2), depressed skull fracture (n=3), linear fracture (n=9), cervical fracture (n=2), and pneumocephalus (n=1). Most of the patients (90.9%) had isolated injuries and the others (9.1%) presented with combined cranial and spinal injuries. At discharge, the 3 patients with spinal fractures were paraplegic, and of the 2 patients who were operatively treated due to subdural hematoma, 1 was hemiparesic and the other was hemiplegic. No mortality occurred in our patients. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study demonstrated that, in the aftermath of a natural disaster, conducting correct triage procedures and performing a prompt intervention with appropriate and qualified equipment play key roles in reducing morbidity and mortality.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0736-4679",
doi="10.1016/j.jemermed.2015.03.018",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jemermed.2015.03.018"
}