A needful, unique, and in-place evaluation of the injuries in earthquake victims with computed tomography, in catastrophic disasters! The 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquakes: part I

Cakir, Ismet Mirac; Sengul, Ilker; Bekci, Tumay; Tonkaz, Gokhan; Eryuruk, Uluhan; Onder, Ramazan Orkun; Aksoy, Iskender; Bayar, Ayse Elif; Tonkaz, Mehmet; Sengul, Demet; Aslan, Serdar

doi:10.1590/1806-9282.20230399

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Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira

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Original Article • Rev. Assoc. Med. Bras. 69 (8) • 2023 • https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9282.20230399 copy

A needful, unique, and in-place evaluation of the injuries in earthquake victims with computed tomography, in catastrophic disasters! The 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquakes: part I

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

SUMMARY

OBJECTIVE:

This study was carried out to evaluate the injuries in pediatric earthquake victims due to the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquakes with computed tomography and determine the anatomotopographic distribution of injuries.

METHODS:

The material of this retrospective study consisted of the computed tomography findings of 257 pediatric cases injured in the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquakes, and those were divided into subgroups based on their age group, i.e., 0–4, 5–9, 10–14, and 15–18 years, and the type of injury, i.e., head, maxillofacial, thoracic, abdominal, pelvic, and spinal injuries.

RESULTS:

Earthquake-related injuries had been detected in 102 (39.6%) patients. Of the 29 patients with multiple injuries, 17, 10, and 2 had injuries in two, three, and four topographic regions, respectively. The most common injury was a head injury, which was detected in 48 (18.7%) cases, followed by thoracic injury, spinal injury, pelvic fracture, abdominal injury, and maxillofacial fracture, which were detected in 40 (15.6%), 22 (8.5%), 19 (7.4%), 10 (3.9%), and 6 (2.3%) patients, respectively. The cranial bone fractures and intracranial injuries were significantly more frequent in the 0–4 years age group compared with other age groups (p=0.028 and p=0.024, respectively). The rib fractures with spinal and pleural injuries were significantly more common in the 15–18 years age group compared with others (p=0.016, p=0.004, and p=0.002, respectively).

CONCLUSION:

The head injury was the most common earthquake-related injury in pediatric cases. Herein, it was more common in younger children compared with other age groups, whereas rib, spine, and pleural injuries were more common in older children.

KEYWORDS:
Earthquake; Pediatrics; Tomography; Radiology; Surgery

			0–4 years (n=57)	5–9 years (n=57)	10–14 years (n=83)	15–18 years (n=60)	Total (n=257)	p
Male			30 (52.6)	28 (49.1)	48 (57.8)	28 (46.7)	134 (52.1)	0.570
Female			27 (47.4)	29 (50.9)	35 (42.2)	32 (53.3)	123 (47.9)	0.570
Head injury			17 (29.8)	13 (15.6)	13 (15.6)	5 (8.3)	48 (18.7)	0.028
	Scalp hematoma		10 (17.5)	10 (17.5)	11 (13.2)	3 (5)	34 (13.2)	0.145
	Bone fractures		8 (14)	5 (8.7)	3 (3.6)	1 (1.7)	17 (6.6)	0.028
		Frontal	3 (5.3)	2 (3.5)	2 (2.4)	0 (0)	7 (2.7)	0.357
		Parietal	3 (5.3)	2 (3.5)	2 (2.4)	0 (0)	7 (2.7)	0.357
		Temporal	2 (3.5)	1 (1.8)	1 (1.2)	0 (0)	4 (1.6)	0.485
		Occipital	1 (1.8)	1 (1.8)	1 (1.2)	0 (0)	3 (1.2)	0.789
	Intracranial injury		9 (15.8)	4 (7)	3 (3.6)	2 (3.3)	18 (7)	0.024
		SAH	1 (1.8)	1 (1.8)	0 (0)	0 (0)	2 (0.8)	0.470
		EDH	1 (1.8)	1 (1.8)	1 (1.2)	0 (0)	3 (1.2)	0.789
		SDH	5 (8.8)	2 (3.5)	2 (2.4)	1 (1.7)	10 (3.9)	0.177
		Cerebral edema	2 (3.5)	1 (1.8)	0 (0)	1 (1.7)	4 (1.6)	0.432
		Contusion	4 (7)	0 (0)	0 (0)	1 (1.6)	5 (1.9)	0.015
Maxillofacial injury			0 (0)	2 (3.5)	3 (3.6)	1 (1.7)	6 (2.3)	0.490
Spine injury			0 (0)	3 (5.2)	8 (9.6)	11 (15)	22 (8.5)	0.004
	Cervical		0 (0)	0 (0)	1 (1.2)	1 (1.7)	2 (0.8)	0.636
	Thoracal		0 (0)	0 (0)	1 (1.2)	3 (5)	4 (1.6)	0.089
	Lumbar		0 (0)	1 (1.8)	2 (2.4)	7 (11.7)	10 (3.9)	0.004
	Sacral		0 (0)	2 (3.5)	4 (4.8)	4 (6.7)	10 (3.9)	0.289
Thorax injury			7 (12.2)	8 (14)	9 (10.8)	16 (26.7)	40 (15.6)	0.055
	Bone fractures		1 (1.8)	2 (3.5)	3 (3.6)	6 (10)	12 (4.7)	0.151
		Rib	0 (0)	1 (1.8)	3 (3.6)	6 (10)	9 (3.5)	0.016
		Clavicula	1 (1.8)	1 (1.8)	0 (0)	0 (0)	2 (0.8)	0.470
		Scapula	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	1 (1.7)	1 (0.4)	0.348
	Pulmonary parenchyma		7 (12.3)	5 (8.8)	8 (9.6)	7 (11.7)	27 (10.5)	0.913
		Contusion	7 (12.3)	5 (8.8)	8 (9.6)	7 (11.7)	27 (10.5)	0.913
		Laceration	0 (0)	1 (1.8)	0 (0)	2 (3.3)	3 (1.2)	0.234
	Pleura		2 (3.5)	4 (7)	5 (6)	13 (21.7)	24 (9.3)	0.002
		Pneumothorax	1 (1.8)	1 (1.8)	4 (4.8)	7 (11.7)	13 (5.1)	0.045
		Hemothorax	0 (0)	2 (3.5)	1 (1.2)	3 (5)	6 (2.3)	0.257
		Hemo-pneumothorax	1 (1.8)	1 (1.8)	0 (0)	3 (5)	5 (1.9)	0.203
Abdomen injury			2 (3.5)	3 (5.2)	4 (4.8)	1 (1.7)	10 (3.9)	0.730
	Liver		1 (1.8)	0 (0)	1 (1.2)	1 (1.7)	3 (1.2)	0.807
	Renal		0 (0)	2 (3.5)	0 (0)	0 (0)	2 (0.8)	0.070
	Hemoperitoneum		1 (1.8)	3 (5.3)	1 (1.2)	1 (1.7)	6 (2.3)	0.422
	Pneumoperitoneum		0 (0)	0 (0)	1 (1.2)	0 (0)	1 (0.4)	0.551
Pelvic injury			1 (1.8)	4 (7)	7 (8.4)	7 (11.7)	19 (7.4)	0.222

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[1] *Corresponding author: ilker.sengul.52@gmail.com