title: Management of musculoskeletal injuries after the 2009 western Sumatra earthquake.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To report injury patterns and management of musculoskeletal injuries after an earthquake.
  
  
  METHODS
  94 male and 161 female patients aged 17 to 90 (mean, 53) years underwent surgery for musculoskeletal injuries. Their injury patterns, anaesthesia administered, surgeries undertaken, and development of postoperative complications were reviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 255 patients, 155 sustained superficial lacerations with minor soft-tissue contusion, whereas 100 sustained injuries that necessitated surgery under anaesthesia. The injuries involved the tibia/ankle (n=90), the hand (n=48), the pelvis/femur (n=41), the radius/ulnar (n=36), the foot (n=20), the humerus (n=10), and the spine (n=10). 30 (12%) of the patients had multiple injuries. The most common procedure performed was debridement (n=58), followed by open reduction and internal fixation with plates and screws for closed fractures (n=20), Kirschner wiring (n=11), external fixation (n=8), and general surgery and others (n=6). Repeated debridements were performed for 19 open fractures; 10 involved the distal tibia. 63 procedures were carried out under anaesthesia or sedation. General anaesthesia involved 2 patients; one had a right hemi-colectomy for an ischaemic bowel and another had an appendicectomy. Regional anaesthesia included sub-arachnoid block for lowerlimb surgeries (n=21), axillary brachial plexus block for upper-limb surgeries (n=11), and femoral and sciatic nerve blocks for a lower-limb surgery (n=1). The remaining 28 procedures involved conscious sedation. The mean number of debridements for open fractures was 2.8 (range, 2-5). The mean followup duration was 10.4 (range, 7-14) days. Only one patient developed a postoperative wound infection.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our team was effective in managing orthopaedic injuries after an earthquake. The postoperative complication rate was low. Regional and spinal anaesthesia are relatively safe alternatives to general anaesthesia when carried out under such austere circumstances. The success of the mission depended on collaboration with the local health care workers and external agencies.
authors.affiliation: Singapore Armed Forces Medical Corps, Singapore. pangheenee@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Hee-Nee
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Pang
authors.forename: Wilfred
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Wei-Chong
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Chua
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Seet
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000758:Anesthesia / Q000379:methods; D004190:Disasters; D055866:Earthquakes; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007214:Indonesia; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009104:Multiple Trauma / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery*; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D009141:Musculoskeletal System / Q000293:injuries*; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate / Q000639:trends; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery*; D055815:Young Adult