Objective To systematically analyze and compare the casualties’ medical evacuation (ME) in Wenchuan and Yushu earthquakes, so as to provide useful references for earthquake casualties’ ME in the future. Methods The data about casualties’ ME in Wenchuan and Yushu earthquakes were collected from the field research, work statement of the Ministry of Health, official websites, and literatures. And the descriptive analysis was then performed. Results From Wenchuan to Yushu, the principle of ME tended to be “early evacuation, all evacuation”; the evacuation level was gradually simplified, the casualties were evacuated directly from the disaster area to the rear hospital through highway and railway, or air evacuation became the major method of ME; triage became less prominent, while specialist treatment was strived as early as possible. Conclusion The early establishment of appropriate evacuation principles, building of a simplified evacuation system, ensuring adequate medical transport capacity, and scientific assessment of treatment capacity at all levels are the main issues of effective and safe ME after earthquakes that require to be solved urgently.
Objective To assess the performance of post-disaster reconstruction of Yushu earthquake at the first anniversary, so as to summarize the Yushu modes of post-disaster reconstruction and provide references for reconstruction work after extreme natural disasters at home and abroad. Methods All the materials seen during the first year after Yushu Earthquake were collected, such as all documents, information notifications and work reports issued by the Central Government and the Ministry of Health, and all the information from the website of News Office of the State Council, the Ministry of Health, Qinghai Provincial People’s Government, and Xinhuanet. The literatures about Yushu Earthquake were also searched from CNKI. All the data were retrospectively analyzed to describe the reconstruction tasks and summarize the effectiveness. Results?a) The reconstruction faced upon special difficulties, including short construction time, cold climate and hypoxia, poor transport, lack of construction resources, economic backwardness, weak logistics and higher cost of reconstruction; b) The performance was significant, e.g., the government completed an investment of 5.01 billion yuan. The goal of urban and rural housing construction was fully completed. Public and municipal infrastructure construction made an important breakthrough. The projects related to livelihood were rapidly implemented. The counterpart’s education at remote was basically completed. Conclusion?As the largest reconstruction in the highest altitude area after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake, Yushu’s reconstruction learns from the experience in Wenchuan, keeps the foothold of its own features and conditions, challenges the limits of high altitude with cold and hypoxia climate, forms a post-disaster reconstruction mode with Chinese characteristics, demonstrates the speed and quality of reconstruction, and provides the valuable experience for domestic and foreign counterparts.
Objective To strengthen and improve the decision of emergency medical rescue and provide the experience for the world, the article evaluates the performance of emergency command in Yushu Earthquake.Methods All the materials seen during the first year after Yushu earthquake were collected, such as all documents, information notifications and work reports issued by the Central Government and the Ministry of Health, and all the information from the website of News Office of the State Council, Ministry of Health, State Seismology Bureau, Qinghai Provincial People’s Government, and Department of Health of Qinghai Province. The data were also searched from CNKI and descriptively analyzed after the retrospective study. Results Based on the experience from Wenchuan Earthquake, the emergency command in Yushu Earthquake was characterized by: a) Promptly starting a Level-1 response; b) Setting up and completing an integrated work mechanism of military, police and the local government; and c) Achieving an accurate command under the guidance of precise information. Conclusion As the successful precedent of large-scale medical and health rescue at the high-altitude area in the world, the experience of Yushu Earthquake supplements and enriches the Wenchuan’s, and provides references for both domestic and overseas disaster medical emergency response.
Objective To analyze clinical characteristics and treatment experience of 143 tibetan victims of China Yushu earthquake, so as to provide reference for emergency preparation for earthquake disasters. Methods A retrospective study from April 16th to April 22th, 2010 was designed. A total of 143 injured Tibetans (74 men, 69 women) of the magnitude 7.1 Yushu earthquake were included in this study. Data from victims was collected retrospectively as follows: age, gender, cause of injury, place and time of rescue, chief complaint, primary diagnosis, onsite treatment, transfer, psychological crisis intervention and so on. Results The 143 tibetan victims contained 67 fracture cases (4 open fracture, 63 closed fracture), 5 joint dislocation cases and 3 neural injury cases. 62 victims with fracture were treated by Tibetan-Chinese therapy combined with external fixation, 5 victims were operated with emergency surgery, 6 victims refused to the surgical debridement and suture, and no dead case reported. All patients were given 3 to 11 psychological intervention treatments. As to the aspect of the wounded transferring, 48 cases among 54 supposed evacuating victims were transferred to Xinin hospitals, and the other six refused to be transferred and kept staying in the original place for treatment. Conclusion The clinical characteristics of the tibetan victims are outstanding. The medical rescue for disaster in ethnic region should be appropriate for features of disaster areas.Both the individualized remedy and early psychological intervention are regarded as the important measures for improving the general level of earthquake medical rescue in ethnic regions.
Earthquakes happened frequently and caused a lot of injuries and serious economic loss, which destroyed the ecological environment and challenged the ability and speed in human rescue, treatment, epidemic, and post-disaster reconstruction. This paper compared the medical rescue between Yushu earthquake and Wenchuan earthquake in order to summarize the experience, form the standard, and provide references for decision-making.
A 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit china again, 702 days after Wenchuan Earthquake at Yushu prefecture of Qinghai province, 4000 meters above sea level. Up to April 19th, the death toll climbed to 1706, with 256 missing and 12128 injured. West China Hospital, as a regional state-level hospital of Ministry of Health, organized the first batch of medical team with relief supplies at the first day after Yushu earthquake and rushed to Yushu taking part into the rescue effort in golden seventy-two hours. The second day after Yushu earthquake, medical apparatus and drugs valued 5,000,000 RMB were delivered to the rescue site and the second batch of medical team were positioned. Within thirty three hours after the earthquake, 102 people, including 93 earthquake related injuries and 9 armed police with severe altitude illness, were sent to our hospital by air in four batches successively. Based on the first-hand experience of medical rescue in Wenchuan Earthquake, a series of diagnosis and treatment criteria which were built and developed with evidence-based method, and “four concentration principles”, namely concentrating the wounded, concentrating the experts, concentrating resources, and concentrating treatments, our medical rescue in Yushu earthquake were carried out appropriately. Up to 12 am., April 19th, 93 cases from the disaster area have been treated, of whom 54 seriously wounded, 58 underwent operations and none death. The experience learnt from Wenchuan Earthquake have been used, improved and sublimated more rapidly, more appropriately, more effectively in the Yushu earthquake medical rescue.
Yushu earthquake bettered a record all round in ability and speed about emergency command, provisioning, medical rescue, epidemic prevention, rebuilding and policy ensuring. The article compared the achievements in medical rescue of Yushu earthquake and Wenchuan earthquake from Ministry of Health and the hospitals who took part in medical rescue within 3 months after Yushu earthquake in order to summarize the experience, form the standard and provide decision-making references.