Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-8bljj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-01T01:27:24.112Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Beirut Blast 2020: Cries and Bloodshed at the Busiest Hospital

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 December 2021

Anthony Kerbage Open the ORCID record for Anthony Kerbage [Opens in a new window] ,
Sara F. Haddad Open the ORCID record for Sara F. Haddad [Opens in a new window] ,
Marianne Zoghbi ,
Tarek Souaid ,
Elio Haroun  and
Antoine Zoghbi
Anthony Kerbage*
Affiliation:
Saint Joseph University, Faculty of Medicine, Beirut, Lebanon
Sara F. Haddad
Affiliation:
Saint Joseph University, Faculty of Medicine, Beirut, Lebanon
Marianne Zoghbi
Affiliation:
Saint Joseph University, Faculty of Medicine, Beirut, Lebanon
Tarek Souaid
Affiliation:
Saint Joseph University, Faculty of Medicine, Beirut, Lebanon
Elio Haroun
Affiliation:
Saint Joseph University, Faculty of Medicine, Beirut, Lebanon
Antoine Zoghbi
Affiliation:
Saint Joseph University, Faculty of Medicine, Beirut, Lebanon Department of Emergency Medicine, Hôtel-Dieu de France, Beirut, Lebanon Lebanese Red Cross, Beirut, Lebanon
*
Corresponding author: Anthony Kerbage, Email: anthony.kerbage@gmail.com.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

On August 4, 2020, Beirut experienced a large explosion when 2750 tons of ammonium nitrate detonated in the Beirut port resulting in more than 220 deaths, 76 000 injuries, 300 000 people displaced, and 15 billion dollars loss in property damage. Hôtel-Dieu de France (HDF), one of the largest university hospitals in the capital, has an emergency department that typically accommodates 25 patients. On that night, it received the largest number of injuries and had to accommodate more than 700 casualties within a few hours of the blast. This article describes HDF’s preparedness, emergency response, as well as the distribution of admissions to the emergency department, operation rooms, and the general ward. Surge capacity and the triage system are also detailed.

Keywords

Beirut blastemergency medicinemass casualty incidentsmass influxtriage
Type
Brief Report
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 17 , 2023 , e80
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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

Beirut Blast Was “Historically” Powerful. BBC News. Published October 5, 2020. Accessed July 8, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54420033 Google Scholar
Beirut Blast: WHO Warns Dozens of Health Facilities “Non-functional.” BBC News. Published August 12, 2020. Accessed July 8, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53758266 Google Scholar
Hôtel-Dieu de France—Université Saint Joseph de Beyrouth. Accessed July 8, 2021. https://hdf.usj.edu.lb/files_en/chiffre.html Google Scholar
Trauma Center Levels Explained. American Trauma Society. Accessed July 8, 2021. https://www.amtrauma.org/page/traumalevels Google Scholar
Hotel-Dieu de France: The Deployment and Improvement of a Disaster Relief Plan. thecasecentre.org. Accessed July 8, 2021. https://www.thecasecentre.org/main/products/view?&id=88603 Google Scholar
Lebanon: Beirut Explosion Site With Infrastructure Sites and Vulnerability. ReliefWeb. Published August 14, 2020. Accessed July 8, 2021. https://reliefweb.int/map/lebanon/lebanon-beirut-explosion-site-infrastructure-sites-and-vulnerability-14-august-2020 Google Scholar