title: Injury types of victims in the 12th May 2008 Wenchuan earthquake: analysis of 1,038 patients in Jiangyou City.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  On 12th May 2008, a devastating earthquake of magnitude 8.0 struck Wenchuan, Sichuan Province of China, resulting in tremendous loss of lives and property.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted an analysis of the types and distribution of the injuries among the wounded treated by a medical rescue team within 1 month following the Wenchuan earthquake in Jiangyou City.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Within 1 month following the earthquake, 3,038 patients sustaining various traumatic injuries were treated in the emergency medical facility established based in a local hospital. Of these patients, 1,065 were hospitalized, including more female than male patients, with an average age of 40.2 years. Most of the patients sustained injuries in Pingwu County, which experienced a seismic intensity of level XI. The majority (91.4%) of the hospitalized patients were admitted in the initial 4 days after the earthquake. The injuries were classified into soft tissue injuries (48.0%), fractures (40.0%), complex injuries (3.1%), and other injuries. The injuries involved most frequently the head and face (28.5%), followed by the upper and lower limbs, chest and back, waist and abdomen, pelvis, and spine. Multiple injuries (15.4%) were also common among these patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The devastating earthquake resulted in a large number of patients with soft tissue injuries frequently in the head and fractures involving mainly the limbs, especially the upper limbs. The injuries sustained in earthquakes are usually serious and complex, often with such complications as shock, infection, and crush syndrome. Multiple injuries are common in the event of an earthquake.
authors.affiliation: Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Second Medical Military University, Shanghai, 200438, China.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Services, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, 200433, China.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Second Medical Military University, Shanghai, 200438, China. ehbhlianbin@163.com.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lian
authors.affiliation: Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Second Medical Military University, Shanghai, 200438, China.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Administration, No. 903 Hospital of PLA, Jiangyou, 621700, China.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Second Medical Military University, Shanghai, 200438, China.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Services, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, 200433, China.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Xu
keywords: Earthquake; Injuries; Medical rescue team
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