An overview of the orthopedic patient profile in the first five days following February 6th, 2023 Kahramanmaras earthquake: A single-center experience in the earthquake zone
Mustafa Akkaya1
, Umut Öktem2, Tolga Tolunay3, Müjde Ocak4, Duygu Selen Yolaçan4, Ahmet Gürler5, Şahin Çepni5, M.I. Safa Kapıcıoğlu1, Durmuş Ali Öçgüder1, Mehmet Ali Acar6, Selim Safalı6, Sadettin Çiftçi6, Ali Özdemir6, Süha Aktaş6, Murat Korkmaz7, Taha Furkan Yağcı7, Tuğcan Demir8, Emre Kurt8, Ahmet Volkan Doğan9, Mehmet Akif Görgel9, Abdurrahman Acar10, Ali İhsan Kuş10, Ahmet Fırat Berkay11, Fethi Mıhlayanlar11, Yunus Yıldırım12
1Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Ankara, Türkiye
2Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Polatlı Duatepe Hospital, Ankara, Türkiye
3Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Türkiye
4Department of Emergency Medicine, Hatay Dörtyol State Hospital, Hatay, Türkiye
5Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Ankara City Hospital, Ankara Türkiye
6Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Selçuk University Faculty of Medicine, Konya, Türkiye
7Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Istanbul University Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, Türkiye
8Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Giresun University Faculty of Medicine, Giresun, Türkiye
9Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, VM Medical Park Hospital, Düziçi Hospital, Kocaeli, Türkiye
10Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Bağcılar Hospital, Istanbul, Türkiye
11Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Okmeydanı Hospital, Istanbul, Türkiye
12Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Hatay Dörtyol Hospital, Hatay, Türkiye
Keywords: Amputation, earthquake, fasciotomy, fixation, orthopedics, trauma.
Abstract
Objectives: This study aims to investigate the patient profile at a medium-volume hospital located in the earthquake zone among patients who received orthopedic treatment within the first five days after the natural disaster that was considered a major earthquake.
Patients and methods: Between February 6th, 2023 and February 10th, 2023, a total of 338 patients (156 males, 182 females; mean age: 42.2±9.7 years; range, 0 to 87 years) who received orthopedic treatment in our center were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into four groups according to age as follows: infants (younger than one year of age), children (one to 13 years), adults (14 to 59 years), and elderly (60 years or older).
Results: Considering the age distribution, 291 (86%) patients were young adults. A total of 173 orthopedic surgeries were performed, including internal fixation in 63 patients, external fixation in 11 patients, upper/lower extremity fasciotomy in 47 patients, amputation in 39 patients, and soft tissue debridement in 13 patients.
Conclusion: It is of utmost importance to recognize the principles of emergency fracture fixation and fasciotomy to successfully perform orthopedic surgeries after a natural disaster such as a major earthquake, particularly when the number of earthquake victims is considerably high.
Citation: Akkaya M, Öktem U, Tolunay T, Ocak M, Yolaçan DS, Gürler A, et al. An overview of the orthopedic patient profile in the first five days following February 6th, 2023 Kahramanmaras earthquake: A single-center experience in the earthquake zone. Jt Dis Relat Surg 2023;34(2):503-508. doi: 10.52312/jdrs.2023.1113.
The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Yenimahalle Training and Research Hospital (Date: 16.03.2023, No: 2023-13). The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.
Idea/concept, design: M.A., U.Ö., A.G.; Data collection and/or processing: M.O., S.Y., A.G.; Analysis and/or statistics: Ş.Ç.; Literature review: M.A., U.Ö., Ş.Ç.; Writing the article: M.A.; Supervision and/or proofreading: T.T., M.İ.S.K., A.Ö.
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.
We would like to thank Hakan Özsoy, Çankaya Orthopedic Hospital, and Turkish Orthopedics & Traumatology Association (TOTBID) for their support in providing supplies and surgical instruments. Also, we would like to thank Çağla Sarıtürk for statistical analysis and Gözde Pınar for assistance in the initial editing of the manuscript.
A written informed consent was obtained from the parents and/or legal guardians of the patients.
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.