Comparison of Injury Characteristics between Wenchuan and Lushan Earthquake Patients: A Report from West China Hospital of Sichuan University

Objective To assess the impact of earthquake magnitude scale on injury characteristics of patients admitted to an earthquake rescue hospital,and provide references for rescue strategy formulation and medical resource allocation.Methods We retrospectively analyzed clinical data of patients injured in 20085 12Wenchuan earthquake and 20134 20Lushan earthquake who were admitted to West China Hospital of Sichuan University.Patient gender,age,time of admission,mechanisms,types and severity of injury and their prognosis were compared between the 2 groups.Results A total of 1 856 patients who were injured in Wenchuan earthquake,including 974 male and 882 female patients with their age of 45.8±22.7 years,and 316 patients who were injured in Lushan earthquake,including 174 male and 142 female patients with their age of 43.0±23.1 years,were enrolled in our study.No significant difference was found in gender or age between these 2 groups(P 0.05).Peak time of admission of Wenchuan earthquake patients was significantly later than that of Lushan earthquake patients,and transfer duration of Wenchuan earthquake patients was significantly longer than that of Lushan earthquake patients.The percentage of patients with crash injury of heavy objects or buried trauma of Wenchuan earthquake patients was significantly higher than that of Lushan earthquake patients.Injury severity and in-hospital mortality of Wenchuan earthquake patients were significantly higher than those of Lushan earthquake patients.The proportion of patients with chest or cerebral injury of Lushan earthquake patients was significantly higher than that of Wenchuan earthquake patients.Conclusions Earthquake magnitude scale has a significant influence on mechanisms,types and severity of injury of patients injured in earthquakes,as well as their timely transfer,management and prognosis.In earthquakes with a comparatively lower magnitude scale,more thoracic surgeons and neurosurgeons are needed to ensure timely management for patients with chest or cerebral injury.