title: Injuries sustained by earthquake relief workers: a retrospective analysis of 207 relief workers during Nepal earthquake.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study aimed to analyse the injuries sustained by rescue workers in earthquake relief efforts in high altitude areas for improving the ways of how to effectively prevent the injuries.
  
  
  METHODS
  The clinical data of 207 relief workers from four military hospitals in Tibet, who were injured in the Tibetan disaster areas of China during '4.25' Nepal earthquake rescue period, was retrospectively analyzed. The demographic features, sites of injury and causes of injury were investigated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The most frequently injured sites were the ankle-foot and hand-wrist (n = 61, 26.5 %), followed by injuries in leg-knee-calf (n = 22, 9.6 %), head-neck (4.87 %), thoracic and abdominal region (2.6 %) and lower back (3.9 %). The specific high-altitude environment increased the challenges associated with earthquake relief.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The specific plateau environment and climate increased the burden and challenge in earthquake relief. The injury distribution data shown in this study demonstrated that effective organization and personnel protection can reduce the injury occurrences.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Relief workers were prone to suffering various injuries and diseases under specific high-altitude environment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Chengdu Military General Hospital, NO.270, Rongdu Avenue, Jinniu District, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610083, China.
authors.forename: Feizhou
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Chengdu Military General Hospital, NO.270, Rongdu Avenue, Jinniu District, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610083, China.
authors.forename: Jialing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Chengdu Military General Hospital, Chengdu, 610083, China.
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Chengdu Military General Hospital, NO.270, Rongdu Avenue, Jinniu District, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610083, China.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Chengdu Military General Hospital, NO.270, Rongdu Avenue, Jinniu District, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610083, China.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, No. 8 Hospital of PLA, Shigatse, Tibet, 857000, China.
authors.forename: Xiaowu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, No. 41 Hospital of PLA, Shannan, Tibet, 856100, China.
authors.forename: Zhiming
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Chengdu Military General Hospital, NO.270, Rongdu Avenue, Jinniu District, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610083, China. cihe1007@sina.com.
authors.forename: Ci
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: He
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D055866:Earthquakes; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009390:Nepal / Q000453:epidemiology; D018635:Rescue Work / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: China; Earthquake; Fracture; Rescue; Tibet plateau; Trauma