Psychological distress following disaster events may increase the risk of sudden cardiac death. In 2001, the Nisqually earthquake and the 11 September terrorist attacks profoundly affected Washington state residents.

This research investigated the theory that the incidence of sudden cardiac death would increase following these disaster events.

Death certificates were abstracted using a uniform case definition to determine the number of sudden cardiac deaths for the 48-hour and one week periods following the two disaster events. Sudden cardiac deaths from the corresponding 48-hour and one-week periods in the three weeks before the events, and the analogous periods in 1999 and 2000 were designated as control times. Using t-tests, the number of sudden cardiac deaths for the periods following the disaster events was compared to those of the control periods.

In total, 32 sudden cardiac deaths occurred in the four counties affected by the Nisqually earthquake during the 48 hours after the event, compared to an average of 22 ±3.5 (standard deviation) in the same counties during the control periods (p = 0.02). No difference was observed for the one week period (94 compared to 79.2 ±12.4,p = 0.28). No difference was observed in the number of sudden cardiac deaths in the 48-hours or one-week following the terrorist attacks compared to control periods.

A local disaster caused by a naturally occurring hazard, but not a geographically remote human disaster, was associated with an increased risk of sudden cardiac death. A better understanding of the underlying mechanisms may have implications for prevention of sudden cardiac death.

In recent years, government and hospital disaster planners have recognized the increasing importance of pharmaceutical preparedness for chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive (CBRNE) events, as well as other public health emergencies. The development of pharmaceutical surge capacity for immediate use before support from the (US) Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) becomes available is integral to strengthening the preparedness of local healthcare networks.

The Pharmaceutical Response Project served as an independent, multidisciplinary collaboration to assess statewide hospital pharmaceutical response capabilities. Surveys of hospital pharmacy directors were conducted to determine pharmaceutical response preparedness to CBRNE threats.

All 45 acute care hospitals in Maryland were surveyed, and responses were collected from 80% (36/45). Ninety-two percent (33/36) of hospitals had assessed pharmaceutical inventory with respect to biological agents, 92% (33/36) for chemical agents, and 67% (24/36) for radiological agents. However, only 64% (23/36) of hospitals reported an additional dedicated reserve supply for biological events, 67% (24/36) for chemical events, and 50% (18/36) for radiological events. More than 60% of the hospitals expected to receive assistance from the SNS within ≤48 hours.

From a pharmaceutical perspective, hospitals generally remain under-prepared for CBRNE threats and many expect SNS support before it realistically would be available. Collectively, limited antibiotics and other supplies are available to offer prophylaxis or treatment, suggesting that hospitals may have insufficient pharmaceutical surge supplies for a large-scale event. Although most state hospitals are improving pharmaceutical surge capabilities, further efforts are needed.

Mass-casualty incidents (MCIs) can occur outside of major metropolitan areas. In such circumstances, the nearest hospital seldom is a Level-1 Trauma Center. Moreover, emergency medical services (EMS) capabilities in such areas tend to be limited, which may compromise prehospital care and evacuation speed. The objective of this study was to extract lessons learned from the medical response to a terrorist event that occurred in the marketplace of a small Israeli town on 26 October 2005. The lessons pertain to the management of primary and secondary evacuation and the operational practices by the only hospital in the town, which is designated as a Level-2 Trauma Center.

Data were collected during the event by Home Front Command Medical Department personnel. After the event, formal and informal debriefings were conducted with emergency medical services personnel, the hospitals involved, and the Ministry of Health.The medical response components, interactions (mainly primary triage and secondary distribution), and the principal outcomes were analyzed.The event is described according to Disastrous Incidents Systematic Analysis Through Components, Interactions, Results (DISAST-CIR) methodology.

The suicide bomber and four victims died at the scene, and two severely injured patients later died in the hospital. A total of 58 wounded persons were evacuated, including eight severely injured, two moderately injured, and 48 mildly injured. Forty-nine of the wounded arrived to the nearby Hillel Yafe Hospital, including all eight of the severely injured victims, the two moderately injured, and 39 of the mildly injured. Most of the mildly injured victims were evacuated in private cars by bystanders.

Five other area hospitals were alerted, three of which primarily received the mildly injured victims. Twodistant, Level-1 Trauma Centers also were alerted; each received one severely injured patient from Hillel Yafe Hospital during the secondary distribution process.

Emergency medical services personnel were able to treat and evacuate all severely and moderately injured patients within 17 minutes of the explosion. A total of 12 of the 21 ambulances arriving on-scene within the first 20 minutes were staffed by emergency medical services volunteers or off-duty workers.

When a mass-casualty incident occurs in a small town that is in the vicinity of a Level-2 Trauma Center, and located a >40 minute drive from Level-1 Trauma Centers, the Level-2 Trauma Center is a critical component in medical management of the event. All severely and moderately injured patients initially should be evacuated to the Level-2 Trauma Center, and given advanced, hospital-based resuscitation. The patients needing care beyond the capabilities of this facility should be distributed secondarily to Level-1 Trauma Centers.To alleviate the burden placed on the local hospital, some of the mildly injured victims can be evacuated primarily to more distant hospitals.The ability to control the flow of mildly injured patients is limitedby the large percentage of them arriving by private cars. The availability of emergency medical services in small towns can be augmented significantly by enrolling off-duty emergency medical services workers and volunteers to the rescue effort. Level-2 hospitals in small towns should be prepared and drilled to operate in a “selective evacuation” mode during mass-casualty incidents.

In stressful situations such as the management of major incidents and disasters, the ability to work in a structured way is important. Medical management groups initially are formed by personnel from different operations that are on-call when the incident or disaster occurs.

The aim of this study was to test if performance indicators for staff procedure skills in medical management groups during simulations could be used as a quality control tool for finding areas that require improvement.

A total of 44 management groups were evaluated using performance indicators in which results could be expressed numerically during simulations.

The lowest scores were given to documentation and to the introduction of new staff members. The highest score was given the utilization of technical equipment.

Staff procedure skills can be measured during simulations exercises. A logging system may lead to enhancing areas requiring improvement.

Many emergency departments (EDs) in the United States experience daily overcrowding, and a rapid influx of evacuees fleeing a disaster area can pose a substantial burden. Some of these evacuees may require ED care. However, others lack an alternative to the ED to address non-emergent medical concerns (prescription refills or outpatient referral).

The objective of this study was to describe a successful multidisciplinary Hurricane Katrina Evacuation Center, explain the services offered, and determine the center's effects on referrals to local EDs.

Data were collected concerning the number of patients utilizing the medical evaluation center and compared to the total number of evacuees to determine the proportion that utilized medical care. The data concerning patients given prescriptions was obtained by the estimation of the two medical directors of the Center, and therefore, is inexact.

During the five weeks the center was operational, 631 of 716 evacuees (88%) requested medical evaluation, and >80% of those had prescriptions written. Only four (<1%) patients were transported to local EDs.

An evacuee evaluation center provides a convenient non-ED alternative for evacuees to address their non-emergent medical concerns and can be used to ease their transition to a new location.

The differences between pediatric (≤17 years of age) and adult clinical field encounters were analyzed from four deployments of Disaster Medical Assistance Teams(DMATs).

A retrospective cohort review of all patients who presented to DMAT field clinics during two hurricanes, one earthquake, and one flood was conducted. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze: (1) age; (2) gender; (3) severity category level; (4) chief complaint; (5) treatments provided; (6) discharge diagnosis; and (7) disposition. Five subsets of pediatric patients were analyzed further.

Of the 2,196 patient encounters reviewed, 643 (29.5%) encounters were pediatric patients. Pediatric patients had a greater number of blank severity category levels than adults. Pediatric patients also were: (1) more likely to present with chief complaints of upper respiratory infections or wounds; (2) less likely to present with musculoskeletal pain or abdominal pain; and (3) equally likely to present with rashes. Pediatric patients were more likely to receive antibiotics, pain medication, and antihistamines, but were equally likely to need treatment for wounds. Dispositions to the hospital were less frequent for pediatric patients than for adults.

Pediatric patients represent a substantial proportion of disaster victims at DMAT field clinics. They often necessitate special care requirements different from their adult counterparts. Pediatric-specific severity category criteria, treatment guidelines, equipment/medication stocks, and provider training are warranted for future DMAT response preparations.

The Suwa Onbashira Festival is held every six years and draws approximately one million spectators from across Japan. Men ride the Onbashira pillars (logs) down steep slopes.At each festival, several people are crushed under the heavy log. During the 2004 festival, for the first time, a medical care system that coordinated a medical team, an emergency medical service, related agencies, and local hospitals was constructed.

The aims of this study were to characterize the spectrum of injuries and illness and to evaluate the medical care system of this festival.

The festival was held 02 April–10 May 2004. The medical records of all of the patients who presented to an on-site medical tent or who were treated at the scene and transported to hospitals over a 12-day period were reviewed.The following items were evaluated: (1) the emergency medical system at the festival; (2) the environmental circumstances; and (3) patient data.

All medical usage rates are reported as patients per 10,000 attendees (PPTT). A total 1.8 million spectators attended the festival during the 12-day study period; a total of 237 patients presented to the medical tent (1.32 PPTT), and 63 (27%) were transferred to hospitals (0.35 PPTT). Of the total, 135 (57%) suffered from trauma—two were severely injured with pelvic and cervical spine fractures; and 102 (43%) had medical problems including heat-related illness.

Comprehensive medical care is essential for similar mass gatherings. The appropriate triage of patients can lead to efficient medical coverage.

Trauma is a leading cause of death in most countries. Different patterns of trauma deaths are recorded in different countries. The purpose of this study was to evaluate retrospectively the pattern of trauma deaths in the emergency unit of a University Teaching Hospital in Nigeria.

This is a descriptive, retrospective study. The data were obtained from patient case files and nurses'records. The data abstracted included age, sex, cause of trauma/death, parts of the body injured, time of death, andthe duration of stay in the Accident and Emergency Unit (AEU).

A total of 5,537 cases presented to the AEU of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital between 01 January 2001 and 31 December 2004. Of these, 5,446 were due to trauma (98.4%). A total of 127 patients died (case fatality rate: 2.3%). Of the deaths, 81.9% were males. Motor vehicle crashes were the most frequent cause (54.3%), and drowning was the least common cause of trauma (0.8%). The most frequently injured region of the body was the head and neck (53.4%). A total of 67.4% of the deaths occurred within six hours of presentation to the AEU.

There is a great need for improved road safety, adequate pre-hospital medical care, and prompt transfer services for victims of trauma.

Management of mass-casualty incidents should optimize outcomes by appropriate prehospital care, and patient triage to the most capably facilities. The number of patients, the nature of injuries, transportation needs, distances, and hospital capabilities and availabilities are all factors to be considered. Patient maldistributions such as overwhelming individual facilities, or transport to facilities incapable of providing appropriate care should be avoided. This report is a critical view of the application of the START triage nomenclature in the prehospital arena following a train crash in Los Angeles County on 26 January 2005.

A scheduled debriefing was held with the major fire and emergency medical services responders, Medical Alert Center staff, and hospitals to assess and review the response to the incident. Site visits were made to all of the hospitals involved. Follow-up questions were directed to emergency department staff that were on duty during the day of the incident.

The five Level-I Trauma Centers responded to the poll with the capacity to receive a total of 12 “Immediate” patients, 2.4 patients per center, the eight Level-II Trauma Centers responded with capacity to receive 17 “Immediate” patients, two patients per center, while the 25 closest community hospitals offered to accept 75 “Immediate” patients, three patients per hospital. These community hospitals were typically about one-half of the size of the trauma centers (average 287 beds versus 548, average 8.7 operating rooms versus 16.6). Twenty-six patients were transported to a community hospital >15 miles from the scene, while eight closer community hospitals did not receive any patients.

The debriefing summary of this incident concluded that there were no consistently used criteria to decide ultimate destination for “Immediates”, and that they were distributed about equally between community hospitals and trauma centers.

Events such as earthquakes are followed by significant psychiatric morbidity due to the enormous damage caused to life, health, property, and other resources in the affected area. In October 2005, a devastating earthquake occurred in Kashmir in India. A team of mental health professionals visited the earthquake stricken area to provide mental health services five weeks after of the event.

The team conducted clinics at >30 sites in different villages in the area. This paper describes the mental health problems encountered in those communities.

All patients seen in the clinics had their houses destroyed by the earthquake.Nearly one-fourth had suffered serious physical injuries and 12% had lost one of their family members. Common psychiatric diagnoses included adjustment disorders (39.6%), depressive episode (22.6%), and other stress disorders (21.8 %). Only 10 (3.3%) patients were found to suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), though PTSD-like symptoms were reported by more than two-thirds of the patients.

Adjustment disorders, depression, other stress reactions, and PTSD-like symptoms were the common mental health problems five to six weeks following an earthquake.