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. 2023 May 18;34(2):503-508.
doi: 10.52312/jdrs.2023.1113.

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 Akkaya  1 , Umut Öktem, Tolga Tolunay, Müjde Ocak, Duygu Selen Yolaçan, Ahmet Gürler, Şahin Çepni, M I Safa Kapıcıoğlu, Durmuş Ali Öçgüder, Mehmet Ali Acar, Selim Safalı, Sadettin Çiftçi, Ali Özdemir, Süha Aktaş, Murat Korkmaz, Taha Furkan Yağcı, Tuğcan Demir, Emre Kurt, Ahmet Volkan Doğan, Mehmet Akif Görgel, Abdurrahman Acar, Ali İhsan Kuş, Ahmet Fırat Berkay, Fethi Mıhlayanlar, Yunus Yıldırım
Affiliations

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 Akkaya et al. Jt Dis Relat Surg. .

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.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. An image of severely damaged and collapsed buildings in Hatay Province, Türkiye.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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