Objective To retrospectively analyze the characteristics and death causes among the Wenchuan earthquake victims in The Third People’s Hospital of Chengdu so as to provide information for reducing mortality in future earthquake disasters.
Methods The analysis was based on the data provided by the Department of Information, the Medical Record Library, and the Emergency Room of the hospital through July 12. Microsoft EXCEL was used for data input and SPSS 13.0 was used for statistical analyses.
Results Through July 12, 9 (1.57%) out of the 575 wounded patients died, comprising 3 males and 6 females. Of those, 5 died in the outpatient department. The death causes were all related to severe cerebral injuries. The other 4 died in the inpatient department and the death causes were related to severe underlying illnesses and infection.
Conclusion Screening and early treatment for cerebral injuries is very important in the period directly following the earthquake. Later, more attention should be paid to the treatment of underlying illnesses as well as the prevention and control of infection.
Citation： CHEN Min,XUE Li,MAO Jianchuan,FENG Rong,CHEN Qin. Retrospective Analysis of Death Causes in Wenchuan Earthquake Victims. Chinese Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine, 2008, 08(11): 938-940. doi: 10.7507/1672-2531.20080208 Copy