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. 2019 Apr 5;6(3):294-300.
doi: 10.1002/ams2.417. eCollection 2019 Jul.

Disaster-related carbon monoxide poisoning after the Great East Japan Earthquake, 2011: a nationwide observational study

Mikio Nakajima  1   2 , Shotaro Aso  1 , Hiroki Matsui  1 , Kiyohide Fushimi  3 , Yoshihiro Yamaguchi  2 , Hideo Yasunaga  1
Affiliations

Disaster-related carbon monoxide poisoning after the Great East Japan Earthquake, 2011: a nationwide observational study

Mikio Nakajima et al. Acute Med Surg. .

Abstract

Aim: To investigate disaster-related carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning after the Great East Japan Earthquake using a nationwide inpatient database in Japan.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study. We identified adult patients with CO poisoning who were registered in the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination inpatient database from 2010 to 2017. We evaluated trends in the numbers of patients with CO poisoning each month from disaster (Tohoku region) and non-disaster areas. In the disaster area, we compared the numbers of patients with CO poisoning during pre- and post-earthquake periods. We also compared the numbers of CO poisonings after the earthquake (<30 days) and 1 year later.

Results: Eligible patients (n = 7,814) were categorized into disaster area (n = 988) and non-disaster area (n = 6,826) groups. The numbers of CO-poisoned patients in the non-disaster area showed a seasonal variation, and there was a significant peak registered on March 11 in the disaster area. In the disaster area, the number of patients with CO poisoning in the post-earthquake period was significantly higher than that in the pre-earthquake period (135 versus 18; odds ratio, 7.50; 95% confidence interval, 4.59-12.3). The number of patients in the post-earthquake period was also significantly higher than that on April 9, 2012, which was one month after the annual follow-up (135 versus 10; odds ratio, 13.5; 95% confidence interval, 7.10-25.7).

Conclusion: This study showed that CO poisoning significantly increased in the affected area after the Great East Japan Earthquake, underlining the importance of providing information regarding the hazard of earthquake-related CO poisoning.

Keywords: Great East Japan Earthquake; carbon monoxide; disaster medicine; earthquake; toxicology/poisoning.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Selection of patients with carbon monoxide poisoning related/unrelated to the Great East Japan Earthquake, March 11, 2011.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Trend of the number of patients in the full cohort with carbon monoxide poisoning in Japan, April 2010 to March 2016.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Trend of the number of patients with carbon monoxide poisoning in the Great East Japan Earthquake disaster area (Tohoku region), April 2010 to March 2016.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Trend of the number of patients with carbon monoxide poisoning in the non‐disaster area (not affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake), April 2010 to March 2016.
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