Impact of consecutive earthquakes on pediatric anesthesia and analgesia practices in Turkiye

Aims: The study aims to describe anesthesia and analgesia techniques, accompanying crush syndrome or complex conditions like dialysis, along with perioperative management, for 78 pediatric earthquake victims ranging from 10 days old to 18 years, who underwent multiple consecutive surgeries. Methods: Following approval from the Ethics Committee, this study was conducted retrospectively using the medical records of all pediatric patients—ranging in age from 10 days to 18 -. Between February 6 and March 6, 2023, the demographic data, surgical procedures, anesthesia method and anesthesia duration of 78 patients who underwent 216 surgical procedures were recorded from the medical records and subjected to statistical analysis. Results: The number of surgeries for children started on the second day of the earthquakes and continued until the first month, with a gradually decreasing number. The average age of patients is 10.45 ± 4.59 and commonly performed orthopedic surgeries include debridement (121%, n=55.8%), fasciotomy (17.1%, n=37) for compartment syndrome, multiple fractures (6.5%, n=14), and limb amputations at different levels (17%, n=7.8). Patients who were included in the hemodialysis program (5.1%, n=11) also underwent consecutive surgical procedures during this process. Intraoperative blood transfusion was performed on 20 patients (9.2%). There were no intraoperative morbidities or perioperative mortality. The most commonly used method in the analgesia approach was the administration of intravenous opioids ( 50.46 %). Conclusion: Centers with well-structured multidisciplinary system, intensive care units, dialysis units, and blood banks are likely to have lower rates of morbidity and mortality during natural disasters like earthquakes, particularly for pediatric patients.