Standardized early medical care of Lushan earthquake victims in army hospitals

Abstract

Objective To summarize the experiences with early treatment of the wounded associated with 4 · 20 Lushan earthquake in army hospitals.Methods Emergency response programs were started and tent hospitals were set up.According to the basic principle of wartime wound treatment regulation,emergency triage,emergency medical care,transferring,specialized treatment and evacuation were performed for the wounded in this earthquake.Results After the earthquake,the emergency rescue programs were started in the hospital.Twenty minutes later,emergence medical team with full equipment were set out for the epicenter and the tent hospitals were set up.A total of 181 earthquake cases were admitted within two weeks,of which 68 (37.6％) were transferred from the scene of earthquake and 113 (62.4％) were transferred after the primary treatment (including cases evacuating from other hospitals).Forty-nine surgeries had been done,including 30 emergence ones.Thirty-four cases (including 14 severe wounded) were evacuated to superior hospitals as their vital signs turned stable.There was no death or surgical wound infection.Conclusions Peacetime complete emergence programs and materials reserves,unified and well-organized command as well as normative grading treatment system in army hospitals assure the standardized medical care with high efficiency and high quality for earthquake victims.However,more researches are needed over diagnosis methods and standards for wound severity,equipment improvement and standards for casualty evacuation. Key words: Wounds and injuries; First aid; Progressive patient care; Earthquakes