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The aim of this study was to analyze congestive heart failure (CHF) discharges in Florida (USA) post tropical cyclones from 2007 through 2017.
Methods:
This was a retrospective longitudinal time series analysis of hospital CHF quarterly discharges across Florida using the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) database. The autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model was used with correlated seasonal regressor variables such as cyclone frequency, maximum cyclone wind speed, average temperature, and reports of influenza-like illness (ILI).
Results:
A total of 3,372,993 patients were identified, with average age in each quarter ranging 72.2 to 73.9 years and overall mortality ranging 4.3% to 6.4%. The CHF discharges within each year peaked from October through December and nadired from April through June with an increasing overall time trend. Significant correlation was found between CHF discharge and the average temperature (P <.001), with approximately 331.8 less CHF discharges (SE = 91.7) per degree of increase in temperature. However, no significant correlation was found between CHF discharges and frequency of cyclones, the maximum wind speed, and reported ILI.
Conclusions:
This study suggests that with the current methods and the HCUP dataset, there is no significant increase in overall CHF discharges in Florida as a result of recent previous cyclone occurrences.
The hawksbill sea turtle Eretmochelys imbricata is categorized as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List and its population has declined by over 80% in the last century. The Eastern Pacific population is one of the most threatened hawksbill populations globally. Western Mexico is the northern distribution limit for hawksbill sea turtles in the Eastern Pacific and recent research indicates that the Mexican Pacific portion of the population is a separate management unit because of the restricted movements of these turtles. Here we use the most complete database of sighting records in the north-west Pacific of Mexico to identify sites where hawksbill turtles are present. We also develop a conservation index to determine the conservation status of hawksbill turtle sites. Our results demonstrate the importance of this region for juveniles and the relevance of rocky reefs and mangrove estuaries as habitats for hawksbill turtles. We identified 52 sites with records of hawksbill turtles. Most of these sites (71%) are not protected; however, sites with high conservation value included islands and coastal sites along the Baja California peninsula that are established as marine protected areas. Reefs and mangrove estuaries relevant for hawksbill turtles are probably also significant fish nursery areas that are important for local fishing communities, creating opportunities for conservation strategies that combine science, local engagement and policy to benefit both local fishing communities and hawksbill sea turtle conservation.
Terrorism remains a major threat and concern in many countries around the world. Pediatric populations represent approximately 30% of the world population, and in the event of a terrorist attack, can either be primary targets, to include the possibility of abduction, or unintended victims. They are unique in their vulnerabilities and, therefore, require special consideration.
Methods:
This study is a semi-quantitative, epidemiological analysis of all terrorism-related pediatric fatalities and injuries sustained from 1970-2019. Data collection was performed using a retrospective database search through the Global Terrorism Database (GTD). Summaries of events including search terms associated with pediatric population were individually reviewed and those describing the deaths, injuries, or abductions were tallied.
Results:
Of the over 200,000 terror events, 2,302 events met inclusion criteria. This represented 1.14% of total events which involved death, injury, or abduction. Of 2,032 events, a total of 2,275 pediatric fatal injuries (FI) were recorded, as well as 2,280 pediatric non-fatal injuries (NFI). The most common weapons used in all attacks involving the pediatric population were explosives (1,539 [66.8%]), firearms (543 [23.5%]), other (169 [7.3%]), and melee (83 [3.6%]). A total of 275 of the 2,032 events were related to abductions, with 71 cases involving the abduction of 10 individuals or more.
Conclusion:
Pediatric casualties in terrorist events represent a small proportion of overall victims. However, it should be understood that the pediatric population has unique vulnerabilities, and when directly impacted by terrorism, can have long-term physical and psychosocial sequelae, as well as a devastating emotional impact on the community.
Despite the increasing risks and complexity of disasters, education for Malaysian health care providers in this domain is limited. This study aims to assess scholarly publications by Malaysian scholars on Disaster Medicine (DM)-related topics.
Methodology:
An electronic search of five selected journals from 1991 through 2021 utilizing multiple keywords relevant to DM was conducted for review and analysis.
Results:
A total of 154 articles were included for analysis. The mean number of publications per year from 1991 through 2021 was 5.1 publications. Short reports were the most common research type (53.2%), followed by original research (32.4%) and case reports (12.3%). Mean citations among the included articles were 12.4 citations. Most author collaborations were within the same agency or institution, and there was no correlation between the type of collaboration and the number of citations (P = .942). While a few clusters of scholars could build a strong network across institutions, most research currently conducted in DM was within small, isolated clusters.
Conclusion:
Disaster Medicine in Malaysia is a growing medical subspecialty with a significant recent surge in research activity, likely due to the SARS-CoV-2/coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic. Since most publications in DM have been on infectious diseases, the need to expand DM-related research on other topics is essential.
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is a critical part of Disaster Medicine and has the ability to limit morbidity and mortality in a disaster event with sufficient training and experience. Emergency systems in Armenia are in an early stage of development and there is no Emergency Medicine residency training in the country. As a result, EMS physicians are trained in a variety of specialties.
Armenia is also a country prone to disasters, and recently, the Armenian EMS system was challenged by two concurrent disasters when the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War broke out in the midst of the SARS-CoV-2/coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Study Objective:
This study aims to assess the current state of disaster preparedness of the Armenian EMS system and the effects of the simultaneous pandemic and war on EMS providers.
Methods:
This was a cross-sectional study conducted by anonymous survey distributed to physicians still working in the Yerevan EMS system who provided care to war casualties and COVID-19 patients.
Results:
Survey response rate was 70.6%. Most participants had been a physician (52.1%) or EMS physician (66.7%) for three or less years. The majority were still in residency (64.6%). Experience in battlefield medicine was limited prior to the war, with the majority reporting no experience in treating mass casualties (52.1%), wounds from explosives (52.1%), or performing surgical procedures (52.1%), and many reporting minimal to no experience in treating gunshot wounds (62.5%), severe burns (64.6%), and severe orthopedic injuries (64.6%). Participants had moderate experience in humanitarian medicine prior to war. Greater experience in battlefield medicine was found in participants with more than three years of experience as a physician (z-score −3.26; P value <.01) or as an EMS physician (z-score −2.76; P value <.01) as well as being at least 30 years old (z-score −2.11; P value = .03). Most participants felt they were personally in danger during the war at least sometimes (89.6%).
Conclusion:
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and simultaneous 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War, EMS physicians in Armenia had limited training and experience in Disaster Medicine. This system, and the frontline physicians on whom it relies, was strained by the dual disaster, highlighting the need for Disaster Medicine training in all prehospital medical providers.
Health workforce development is essential for achieving the goals of an effective health system, as well as establishing national Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (Health EDRM).
Study Objective:
The objective of this Delphi consensus study was to identify strategic recommendations for strengthening the workforce for Health EDRM in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) and high-income countries (HIC).
Methods:
A total of 31 international experts were asked to rate the level of importance (one being strongly unimportant to seven being strongly important) for 46 statements that contain recommendations for strengthening the workforce for Health EDRM. The experts were divided into a LMIC group and an HIC group. There were three rounds of rating, and statements that did not reach consensus (SD ≥ 1.0) proceeded to the next round for further ranking.
Results:
In total, 44 statements from the LMIC group and 34 statements from the HIC group attained consensus and achieved high mean scores for importance (higher than five out of seven). The components of the World Health Organization (WHO) Health EDRM Framework with the highest number of recommendations were “Human Resources” (n = 15), “Planning and Coordination” (n = 7), and “Community Capacities for Health EDRM” (n = 6) in the LMIC group. “Policies, Strategies, and Legislation” (n = 7) and “Human Resources” (n = 7) were the components with the most recommendations for the HIC group.
Conclusion:
The expert panel provided a comprehensive list of important and actionable strategic recommendations on workforce development for Health EDRM.
Disaster responders operate in situations that are cognitively, emotionally, and morally distressing. The prevalence of mental health sequelae amongst disaster responders is well-documented. The World Health Organization (WHO) has published minimum standards for Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs), which requires them to assess the mental health and psychosocial support needs of their patients and staff, provide first aid, and ensure referral pathways for follow-up care are available. Specific to EMT staff and volunteers, the standards require that support services are always accessible. However, there is no requirement for EMTs to have their own mental health specialists, nor is having a mental health specialist assigned to each team and mission necessarily practical.
Objectives:
This study will assess the existing mental health resources of WHO EMTs and their use of telemedicine in mental health care.
Method/Description:
A survey will be distributed to the leadership of all WHO EMTs that are currently credentialed to capture descriptive statistics.
Results/Outcomes:
Data expected to be collected and analyzed by October 1, 2022.
Conclusion:
The absence of a mental health specialist significantly limits the availability of support services for EMT personnel. Given that the use of telemedicine in both disaster response and mental health services has been well-documented, telemedicine could be a low-resource method to link WHO EMT staff and volunteers with mental health specialists throughout the deployment cycle.
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is a critical part of Disaster Medicine (DM) and can limit morbidity and mortality with sufficient training and experience. Emergency systems in Armenia are in an early stage of development and there is no Emergency Medicine residency training available to EMS physicians. The Armenian EMS system was challenged by two concurrent disasters when the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War arose during the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Objectives:
This study assessed the state of disaster preparedness of the Armenian EMS system and effects of the simultaneous pandemic and war on EMS providers.
Method/Description:
This was a cross-sectional study by anonymous survey of Yerevan EMS physicians who provided care to war casualties and COVID-19 patients.
Results/Outcomes:
Most participants had been a physician for ≤three years (52.1%). Many were in residency (64.6%).
Battlefield medicine experience was limited prior to the war. The majority reported no experience treating mass casualties (52.1%), explosives wounds (52.1%), or performing surgical procedures (52.1%). Greater battlefield medicine experience was found with ≥three years of experience as a physician (z-score -3.26; P value <.01) or EMS physician (z-score -2.76; P value <.01), and being ≥30 years old (z-score -2.11; P value = .03). Most participants felt in danger during the war at least sometimes (89.6%).
Conclusion:
EMS physicians in Armenia had limited training and experience in DM prior to the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War, but practiced in a setting requiring extensive DM knowledge as evidenced by the simultaneous response to the COVID-19 pandemic and war. There is a strong need for DM training within the Armenian EMS system.
WHO EMTs play an important role in providing assistance and health care services to countries hit by an emergency or a natural disaster. Therefore, EMTs are subjected to vastly different cultures from various countries, meaning they require training to cultural awareness, an understanding and acceptance of the languages, beliefs, cultures, and morals of those receiving care. The World Health Organization (WHO) has published minimum standards for Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs), which briefly mention that the senior EMT team member must have some knowledge of cultural awareness. However, there is no requirement for cultural awareness training for EMTs prior to responding to disasters.
Objectives:
The goal of this study is to determine the presence of cultural awareness training, and if present, what are the competencies covered by the training for the WHO EMTs.
Method/Description:
A survey will be distributed to Accredited WHO EMTs to capture the presence for cultural awareness training and the core competencies of the existing training.
Results/Outcomes:
Data expected to be collected and analyzed by October 1, 2022.
Conclusion:
Cultural awareness training is a crucial and beneficial skill for EMTs while deploying internationally. For WHO EMTs, it is essential to respond internationally in an accepted and ethical manner; cultural awareness training should be a requirement for all teams deploying to a foreign country. A cultural awareness curriculum will create more efficient EMTs that provide effective aid to countries in need.
Moral distress is a well-described phenomenon in medical providers. It has been linked to mental health deterioration, decreased job satisfaction, and early retirement. No study has been done on the level of moral distress associated with treating patients in simultaneous disasters.
Objectives:
1. To learn what is known about the experience of moral distress in frontline health care providers during the COVID-19 pandemic and the concurrent conflict in Armenia during 2020.
2. To determine how WHO EMTs can support their frontline staff experiencing moral distress.
Method/Description:
A survey was designed to test the moral distress felt by Armenian EMS providers who had cared for both COVID-19 and war casualty patients. This was adapted from the Moral Distress Scale Revised (MDS-R).
Results/Outcomes:
Of the questions asked, respondents most often responded that they were disturbed by: “Continuing to participate in care for a hopelessly ill or injured person who is being sustained on a ventilator when no one will make a decision to withdraw support” (Mean 2.68/Median 3/Mode 4); and “Initiated extensive life-saving actions when I think they only prolong death” (2.47/3/3), which caused the next most distress to subjects.
Conclusion:
It is expected that some health care workers in Armenia are likely facing on-going consequences of the moral distress they faced during this unprecedented period of global pandemic and war. Clinics and teams who are more likely to encounter potentially morally distressing events, such as disaster medicine workers, need to address their moral distress mitigation plan by identifying strategies across the continuum of disaster management.
Tropical cyclones are a recurrent, lethal hazard. Climate change, demographic, and development trends contribute to increasing hazards and vulnerability. This mapping review of articles on tropical cyclone mortality assesses geographic publication patterns, research gaps, and priorities for investigation to inform evidence-based risk reduction.
Methods:
A mapping review of published scientific articles on tropical cyclone-related mortality indexed in PubMed and EMBASE (English) and SINOMED and CNKI (Chinese), focusing on research approach, location, and storm information, was conducted. Results were compared with data on historical tropical cyclone disasters.
Findings:
A total of 150 articles were included, 116 in English and 34 in Chinese. Nine cyclones accounted for 61% of specific event analyses. The United States (US) reported 0.76% of fatalities but was studied in 51% of articles, 96% in English and four percent in Chinese. Asian nations reported 90.4% of fatalities but were studied in 39% of articles, 50% in English and 50% in Chinese. Within the US, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania experienced 4.59% of US tropical cyclones but were studied in 24% of US articles. Of the 12 articles where data were collected beyond six months from impact, 11 focused on storms in the US. Climate change was mentioned in eight percent of article abstracts.
Interpretation:
Regions that have historically experienced high mortality from tropical cyclones have not been studied as extensively as some regions with lower mortality impacts. Long-term mortality and the implications of climate change have not been extensively studied nor discussed in most settings. Research in highly impacted settings should be prioritized.
While the opioid epidemic engulfing the United States and the globe is well-documented, the potential use of powerful fentanyl derivatives as a weapon of terror is increasingly a concern. Carfentanyl, a powerful and deadly fentanyl derivative, is seeing a surge in popularity as an illegal street drug, and there is increasing congressional interest surrounding the classification of opioid derivatives under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) given their potential to cause harm. The combination of the potency of opioid derivatives along with the ease of accessibility poses a potential risk of the use of these deadly agents as chemical weapons, particularly by terrorist organizations. Disaster Medicine specialists in recent years have established a sub-specialty in Counter-Terrorism Medicine (CTM) to address and research the unique terrorism-related issues relating to mitigation, preparedness, and response measures to asymmetric, multi-modality terrorist attacks.
Cultural awareness is an important part of organizational success when interacting with multiple cultures. Research has shown a dearth of standardized cultural awareness training programs for non-governmental humanitarian organization staff.
Purpose:
This study aims to develop an expert-consensus set of cultural awareness competencies as the basis for development of humanitarian staff cultural awareness trainings.
Methods:
A modified Delphi process was selected. The first round of surveys collected a list of cultural awareness competencies from experts in the fields of non-governmental organization (NGO) operations and cultural awareness education and research. This collated list of competencies was then used as the basis of a survey obtaining ratings by the group on a five-point Likert scale. Competencies which achieved an average rating of 4.0 or higher were considered to be “important” for inclusion in future training programs.
Results:
A total of 67.9% of contacted experts agreed to participate, with 84.2% of those completing all rounds of the survey. This group developed a list of ten competencies, including: Cultural Awareness/Sensitivity and Intercultural Communication; Cultural Intelligence; Unconscious Bias/Diversity Awareness; a Universal Declaration of Ethical Principles; Gender and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Other Sexual Identities (LGBTQ+) Issues and Safety; Analytical and Critical Thinking Skills; Negotiation; Program Mission; Power Dynamics; and Empathy.
Conclusions:
This study defined a set of ten expert-consensus cultural awareness competencies which can be a basis for future NGO staff training. Future work can both use these competencies to create educational programs and further define and expand the set of competencies based on analyses of their implementation.
Terrorism-related deaths have fallen year after year since peaking in 2014, and whilst the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disrupted terrorist organizations capacity to conduct attacks and limited their potential targets, counter-terrorism experts believe this is a short-term phenomenon with serious concerns of an escalation of violence and events in the near future. This study aims to provide an epidemiological analysis of all terrorism-related mass-fatality events (>100 fatalities) sustained between 1970-2019, including historical attack strategies, modalities used, and target selection, to better inform health care responders on the injury types they are likely to encounter.
Methods:
The Global Terrorism Database (GTD) was searched for all attacks between the years 1970-2019. Attacks met inclusion criteria if they fulfilled the three terrorism-related criteria as set by the GTD codebook. Ambiguous events were excluded. State-sponsored terrorist events do not meet the codebook’s definition, and as such, are excluded from the study. Data analysis and subsequent discussions were focused on events causing 100+ fatal injuries (FI).
Results:
In total, 168,003 events were recorded between the years 1970-2019. Of these, 85,225 (50.73%) events recorded no FI; 67,356 (40.10%) events recorded 1-10 FI; 5,791 (3.45%) events recorded 11-50 FI; 405 (0.24%) events recorded 51-100 FI; 149 (0.09%) events recorded over 100 FI; and 9,077 (5.40%) events recorded unknown number of FI.
Also, 96,905 events recorded no non-fatal injuries (NFI); 47,425 events recorded 1-10 NFI; 8,313 events recorded 11-50 NFI; 867 events recorded 51-100 NFI; 360 events recorded over 100 NFI; and 14,130 events recorded unknown number of NFI. Private citizens and property were the primary targets in 67 of the 149 high-FI events (100+ FI). Of the 149 events recording 100+ FI, 46 (30.87%) were attributed to bombings/explosions as the primary attack modality, 43 (28.86%) were armed assaults, 23 (15.44%) hostage incidents, two (1.34%) were facility/infrastructure attacks (incendiary), one (0.67%) was an unarmed assault, seven (4.70%) had unknown modalities, and 27 (18.12%) were mixed modality attacks.
Conclusions:
The most common attack modality causing 100+ FI was the use of bombs and explosions (30.87%), followed by armed assaults (28.86%). Private citizens and properties (44.97%) were most commonly targeted, followed by government (6.04%), businesses (5.37%), police (4.70%), and airports and aircrafts (4.70%). These data will be useful for the development of training programs in Counter-Terrorism Medicine (CTM), a rapidly emerging Disaster Medicine sub-specialty.
The mass proliferation and increasing affordability of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in recent years has given rise to weaponized UAV use by terrorists, leading to mounting and credible concerns this attack methodology will be the next terrorism modus operandi. Counter-Terrorism Medicine (CTM) specialists need to consider how UAVs alter or create new mass-casualty scenarios that can further exploit existing medical preparedness vulnerabilities. With an opportunity to be proactive in disaster prevention, mitigation, and preparedness, it is imperative this gathering storm be acknowledged and stakeholders explore how best to prepare for, respond to, and mitigate the consequences of UAV incidents.
Road traffic collisions (RTC) result in a significant number of preventable deaths worldwide. In 2010, the United Nations General Assembly launched, “The Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011–2020)” with the stated goal to “reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by 50% by 2020.” This study aims to analyze trends in RTC numbers and subsequent deaths with respect to road safety laws in Nigeria and to suggest suitable interventions.
Methods:
Annual reports for the period 2007–2017 were obtained from the Federal Road Safety Corps of Nigeria. These reports were analyzed for trends in RTC, including reported causes, fatalities, injuries, and casualties.
Results:
Overall total injuries, casualties, and fatalities increased by 74.7%, 61.2%, and 9.6%, respectively. Analysis showed that the 3 main causes of RTC were speed violation, loss of control, and dangerous driving.
Conclusions:
Although current trends do not suggest that Nigeria will accomplish its initial goal of decreasing fatalities by 50% by 2020, there has been a reduction in the number of crashes resulting from dangerous driving. Further interventions such as implementing automated speed monitoring, collaboration, and data sharing between federal and regional agencies, and improving the state of road networks should be implemented to decrease fatalities further.
The goal of this study is to determine the impact of the Holy Month of Ramadan on emergency department (ED) and hospital resource utilization in comparison to the time of Hajj and the rest of the year, so as to better define future resource needs of hospitals responding to events of this large size and duration.
Methods:
A retrospective chart review was conducted of electronic medical records, ED visits, and hospital admissions during Ramadan, Hajj, and all other months over a three-year period on the Hijra calendar (1438-1440) or Gregorian (2016-2019). Primary outcomes were the change in the number of ED visits, hospital admissions, and intensive care unit (ICU) admissions during Ramadan in comparison to during Hajj and other months. Secondary outcomes included mortality; number of surgeries by specialty; and admissions to cardiac, respiratory, orthopedic, and neurosurgery wards.
Results:
During the three years, ED visits increased during Ramadan by 83.0%, 74.8%, and 40.3%, respectively, when compared to non-Hajj, non-Ramadan months. Hospital admissions rose by 21.05%, 50.96% and 48.22%. Combined ED and in-hospital mortality rose by 15.21%, 21.47%, and 1.39%. While there was a large increase in ICU admissions during Ramadan of 1440 (May 2019), this was not a trend seen in other years. Despite there only being two years of data for comparison, there was a trend towards increased admissions to all specialty wards. There was an average 46.69% increase in admissions to the general surgery ward during Ramadan months compared to other months, a 31.06% increase in admissions to the orthopedic surgery ward, and a 44.05% increase in admissions to the cardiac care unit.
Conclusions:
Ramadan is associated with a significant increase in the population of Makkah (Mecca), Saudi Arabia. Despite this study only focusing on a three-year period, and some variables with only two years of data available, it demonstrates a significant increase in ED visits, hospital admissions, and mortality during Ramadan compared to non-Hajj/non-Ramadan months. During mass gatherings of this size, it would benefit local and regional hospital systems to devote increased resources to patient care, especially to the ED, to prevent morbidity and mortality.
Terrorist attacks are growing in complexity, increasing concerns around the use of chemical, biological, radiation, and nuclear (CBRN) agents. This has led to increasing interest in Counter-Terrorism Medicine (CTM) as a Disaster Medicine (DM) sub-specialty. This study aims to provide the epidemiology of CBRN use in terrorism, to detail specific agents used, and to develop training programs for responders.
Methods:
The open-source Global Terrorism Database (GTD) was searched for all CBRN attacks from January 1, 1970 through December 31, 2018. Attacks were included if they fulfilled the terrorism-related criteria as set by the GTD’s Codebook. Ambiguous events or those meeting only partial criteria were excluded. The database does not include acts of state terrorism.
Results:
There were 390 total CBRN incidents, causing 930 total fatal injuries (FI) and 14,167 total non-fatal injuries (NFI). A total of 347 chemical attacks (88.9% of total) caused 921 FI (99.0%) and 13,361 NFI (94.3%). Thirty-one biological attacks (8.0%) caused nine FI (1.0%) and 806 NFI (5.7%). Twelve radiation attacks (3.1%) caused zero FI and zero NFI. There were no nuclear attacks. The use of CBRN accounted for less than 0.3% of all terrorist attacks and is a high-risk, low-frequency attack methodology.
The Taliban was implicated in 40 of the 347 chemical events, utilizing a mixture of agents including unconfirmed chemical gases (grey literature suggests white phosphorous and chlorine), contaminating water sources with pesticides, and the use of corrosive acid. The Sarin gas attack in Tokyo contributed to 5,500 NFI. Biological attacks accounted for 8.0% of CBRN attacks. Anthrax was used or suspected in 20 of the 31 events, followed by salmonella (5), ricin (3), fecal matter (1), botulinum toxin (1), and HIV (1). Radiation attacks accounted for 3.1% of CBRN attacks. Monazite was used in 10 of the 12 events, followed by iodine 131 (1) and undetermined irradiated plates (1).
Conclusion:
Currently, CBRN are low-frequency, high-impact attack modalities and remain a concern given the rising rate of terrorist events. Counter-Terrorism Medicine is a developing DM sub-specialty focusing on the mitigation of health care risks from such events. First responders and health care workers should be aware of historic use of CBRN weapons regionally and globally, and should train and prepare to respond appropriately.
The United States (US) is ranked 22nd on the Global Terrorism Index (2019), a scoring system of terrorist activities. While the global number of deaths from terrorism over the past five years is down, the number of countries affected by terrorism is growing and the health care repercussions remain significant. Counter-Terrorism Medicine (CTM) is rapidly emerging as a necessary sub-specialty, and this study aims to provide the epidemiological context over the past decade supporting this need by detailing the unique injury types responders are likely to encounter and setting the stage for the development of training programs utilizing these data.
Methods:
The Global Terrorism Database (GTD) was searched for all attacks in the US from 2008-2018. Attacks met inclusion criteria if they fulfilled the three terrorism-related criteria as set by the GTD. Ambiguous events were excluded when there was uncertainty as to whether the incident met all of the criteria for inclusion in the GTD. The grey literature was reviewed, and each event was cross-matched with reputable international and national newspaper sources online to confirm or add details regarding weapon type used and, whenever available, details of victim and perpetrator fatalities and injuries.
Results:
In total, 304 events were recorded during the period of study. Of the 304 events, 117 (38.5%) used incendiary-only weapons, 80 (26.3%) used firearms as their sole weapon, 55 (18.1%) used explosives, bombs, or dynamite (E/B/D), 23 (7.6%) were melee-only, six (2.0%) used vehicles-only, four (1.3%) were chemicals-only, two (0.7%) used sabotage equipment, two (0.7%) were listed as “others,” and one (0.3%) used biological weapon. There was no recorded nuclear or radiological weapon use. In addition, 14 (4.6%) events used a mix of weapons.
Conclusions:
In the decade from 2008 through 2018, terrorist attacks on US soil used weapons with well-understood injury-causing modalities. A total of 217 fatal injuries (FI) and 660 non-fatal injuries (NFI) were sustained as a result of these events during that period.
Incendiary weapons were the most commonly chosen methodology, followed by firearms and E/B/D attacks. Firearm events contributed to a disproportionality high fatality count while E/B/D events contributed to a disproportionally high NFI count.
China is ranked 42nd on the Global Terrorism Index (2019), a scoring system of terrorist activities. While China has a relatively low terrorism risk, events globally have wide-ranging repercussions for future attacks, putting first responders and emergency health workers at risk. This study aims to provide the epidemiological context for the past decade detailing the unique injury types responders are likely to encounter and to develop training programs utilizing these data.
Methods:
The Global Terrorism Database (GTD) was searched for all attacks in China between the years 2008-2018. Attacks met inclusion criteria if they fulfilled the terrorism-related criteria as set by the GTD’s Codebook. Ambiguous events, as defined by the GTD’s Codebook, were excluded. English language grey literature was searched to ensure no events meeting these criteria were missed. A focused search of online English language newspaper articles was also performed for any terrorist events between 2008-2018.
Results:
One-hundred and eight terrorist events occurred in the study time period. Of the 108 incidents, forty-seven (43.5%) involved Explosives/Bombs/Dynamite (E/B/D) only, with an average fatality count of 2.9 and injury count of 7.5 per event. Twenty-seven (25.0%) used bladed or blunt weapons in melees with an average fatality count of 9.7 and an injury count of 8.8 per event. Five (4.6%) involved incendiary weapons with an average fatality count of 2.4 and an injury count of 7.2 per event. Two used only chemical weapons (1.8%) with no recorded deaths and an injury count of 27.0 per event. Two events had unknown weapon types (1.8%) with one recorded death and no injury count. One event used a firearm (0.9%) and led to one death and no injuries. One event used a vehicle (0.9%), which also led to one death and no recorded injuries. Twenty-three attacks used a mix of weapons (21.2%) with an average fatality count of 17.1 and an injury count of 12.0 per event.
Conclusions:
One-hundred and eight terrorist attacks were recorded between 2008-2018 on Chinese soil using well-understood modalities. This resulted in a total of 809 recorded fatalities with 956 non-fatal injuries. The most commonly chosen methodology was E/B/D, followed by melees and the use of bladed weapons. Three events individually recorded a combined casualty toll of over 100 people.