Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-18T08:48:54.005Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Impact of a Category-3 Hurricane on the Need for Surgical Hospital Care

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

Lina Sjöberg  and
Robert Yearwood
Lina Sjöberg*
Affiliation:
Department of Neuroscience, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
Robert Yearwood
Affiliation:
Department of Surgery, St. George's University, Grenada
*
Lina Sjöberg, MD, Krong 2 A, SE-752 38 Uppsala, Sweden E-mail: lina.sjoberg@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Introduction:

Hurricane Ivan, a strong category-3 hurricane, struck Grenada on 07 September 2004 and devastated the country. Grenada is a small, developing country, whose socio-economic environment and health service is typical of most countries located within the Caribbean hurricane belt. Previous reports describing the consequences of hurricanes on health-related issues have focused mainly on the experience of wealthier countries.

Objective:

The objective of this study was to document the types of patients and medical problems faced by a hospital surgical service as a result of a forceful hurricane in a developing country and to help surgical divisions in developing countries prepare for strong hurricanes.

Methods:

This is a retrospective study using medical records from the surgical ward of the Grenada General Hospital. Patients admitted to the surgical ward during the month following Ivan were assessed with respect to diagnosis, age, gender, and length of hospitalization. The patients admitted during the same period the previous year were used as a control group.

Results:

The effects of the hurricane included a significant increase in the proportion of patients seen for diabetic feet, gunshot wounds, and infections due to wounds. The median length of the treatment time increased by 25%. In 2004, the total number of patients was 185 and in 2003, there were 167 patients admitted.

Conclusions:

The results of this study indicate that preparations for future hurricanes should include securing the capacity to handle the increased needs for hospital care, and ensuring that stocks of medicines, such as insulin and antibiotics, are sufficient, properly stored, and easily available to patients (e.g., by storing medicine at hurricane shelters equipped with generators and cold storage facilities). Diabetics should be instructed to use proper footwear to reduce the risk of cuts from debris.

Keywords

Caribbeandisasterdisaster planninghospitalizationhurricaneHurricane Ivan
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 22 , Issue 3 , June 2007 , pp. 194 - 198
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Facts about Grenada.Available at http://worldfacts.us/Grenada.htm.Accessed 05 February 2006.Google Scholar
2. Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States: Grenada: Macro-socio-economic assessment of the damages caused by Hurricane Ivan September 7th 2004. Available at http://www.oecs.org/. Accessed 27 June 2005.Google Scholar
3. López-Portillo Contreras A: Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency: Survey on the Status of Disaster Preparedness in Grenada. St. George's, Grenada, May 10th 2005Google Scholar
4.Stewart, S: National Hurricane Center: Tropical cyclone report Hurricane Ivan 02–24 September 2004.Available at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/2004ivan.shtml. Accessed 05 February 2006.Google Scholar
5.Surwit, RS, Schneider, MS, Feinglos, MN: Stress and diabetes mellitus. Diabetes Care 1992;15(10):1413–1422.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6.Inui, A, Kitaoka, H, Majima, M, et al. : Effect of the Kobe earthquake on stress and glycemic control in patients with diabetes mellitus. Arch Intern Med 1998;158(3):274–278.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7.Sengul, A, Ozer, E, Salman, S, et al. : Lessons learnt from influences of the Marmara earthquake on glycemic control and quality of life in people with type 1 diabetes. Endocr J 2004;51(4):407–414.Google ScholarPubMed
8.Alson, R, Alexander, D, Leonard, RB, et al. : Analysis of medical treatment at a field hospital following Hurricane Andrew. Ann Emerg Med 1993;22:1721–1728.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9.Nufer, KE,Wilson-Ramirez, G: A comparison of patient needs following two hurricanes. Prehosp Disast Med 2004;19(1):146–149.Google Scholar
10.Sheppa, CM, Stevens, J, Philbrick, JT, et al. : The effect of a class IV hurricane on emergency department operations. Am J Emerg Med 1993;11(5):464–467.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11.Lew, EO, Wetli, CV: Mortality from Hurricane Andrew. J Forensic Sci 1996;41(3):449–452.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12.Keenan, HT, Marshall, SW, Nocera, MA, et al. : Increased incidence of inflicted traumatic brain injury in children after a natural disaster. Am J Prev Med 2004;26(3):189–193.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed