Evaluation of Earthquake Victims Following the 2023 Kahramanmaraş-Türkiye Earthquake: A Multicenter Trial with 8025 Cases

Aim: Our multicenter study includes the largest number of earthquake victims reported in the literature, aiming to evaluate demographic data and outcomes of patients who presented to emergency departments following 2023 Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye earthquake. Materials and Methods: Patients admitted to hospital emergency departments after the February 6, 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes were retrospectively evaluated over a 22-day period. Data analyzed included age, gender, triage scales, overall health status, vital signs, laboratory and imaging results, definitive diagnoses, outcomes of patients, and emergency interventions. Results: Of the 8025 patients reported in 18 centers, 51.2% (n=4112) were female, and the average age of the patients was 40.91±20.12. A total of 3578 people (57.6%) had a green triage tag, indicating good overall health with relatively minor injuries. Lower extremity fractures were the most prevalent finding in radiographs, accounting for 33.7% (n=663), of the cases, while cerebral hemorrhage, rib fractures, and lumbar fractures were the most common results in tomography scans. The three most common diagnoses were soft tissue trauma (n=1270; 21.1%), crush syndrome (n=932; 15.5%), and lower extremity fractures (n=851; 14.2%). Cast-splint application (n=813; 22.18%), central venous catheterization (n=393; 10.72%), and fasciotomy (n=322; 8.78%) were the primary procedures performed in the emergency departments. Out of the 1886 hospitalized patients, the orthopedics clinic received the highest number of admissions (n=600). A total of 3461 patients were discharged, and 495 died. Conclusion: Findings of our study revealed higher rates of morbidity and mortality than in previous earthquakes, with orthopedic injuries being the most common outcome of earthquake-related trauma. We believe that establishing tent hospitals in earthquake-prone regions and surrounding provinces, constructing long-term healthcare facilities and trauma centers with emergency services, testing facilities, imaging areas, operating rooms, hemodialysis and intensive care units, employing horizontal architecture designs, and improving referral networks can help to reduce these rates.

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Publication Details

Journal
Eurasian Journal of Emergency Medicine
Published
2025-12-19
DOI
https://doi.org/10.4274/eajem.galenos.2025.91979
Primary Topic
Disaster Response and Management
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article
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article

Evaluation of Earthquake Victims Following the 2023 Kahramanmaraş-Türkiye Earthquake: A Multicenter Trial with 8025 Cases

Muhammed Semih Gedik, Ahmet Sebe, Abdullah Şen, Ömer Taşkın et al.
Eurasian Journal of Emergency Medicine
Disaster Response and Management
article

Evaluation of Earthquake Victims Following the 2023 Kahramanmaraş-Türkiye Earthquake: A Multicenter Trial with 8025 Cases

Muhammed Semih Gedik, Ahmet Sebe, Abdullah Şen, Ömer Taşkın, Seyran Bozkurt, Nezihat Rana Dişel, Ali İhsan Kılcı, Begüm Şeyda Avcı, Erkut Erol, Akkan Avcı, Önder Yeşiloğlu, Eyüp Koç, Yenal Karakoç, Bilgehan Demir, M. Can, Fikri Ak, Çiğdem El, Sedat Hakimoğlu, Mustafa Polat, Burcu Azapoğlu Kaymak, Kasım Turgut, Hakan Hakkoymaz, Behçet Varışlı, Ataman Köse, Mustafa Ulusoy, Bircan Kara, Mustafa Gürbüz, Metin Ateşçelik, Mustafa Safa Pepele, Zeynep Kekeç, Ali Karakuş, Murat Orak, Hayri Çınar, Sevdiye Acele, Alper Taşkın, Mehmet Karadağ, Adem Kaya, Mustafa Oğuz Tuğcan, Firas Arda Dönmez, Erdem Aksay, Umut Gülaçtı, Yılmaz Aslan, Ahmet Burak Urfalıoğlu, Salih Denis Şimşek, Faruk Turğut, Halil Oktay Usluer, Burcu Tör, Sevcan Seçinti, Gül Filiz Devecioğlu, Gül Trabzon, Mustafa Yılmaz, Muhammet Murat Çelik, Mehmet Yıldız, Muhammet Gökhan Turtay, Pınar Baydar Yücel, Adnan Kuvvetli, Mehmet Tuğrul Sezer, Anıl İflazoğlu, Hasan Büyükaslan, Abdulmuttalip Emrecik, Başak Buldu, Deniz Menken, Selim Bülent Cansunar, Miraç Yetiş, Yunus Ensar Gönder, Emine Özüsağlam, Fatih Duygun
article en

Abstract

Aim: Our multicenter study includes the largest number of earthquake victims reported in the literature, aiming to evaluate demographic data and outcomes of patients who presented to emergency departments following 2023 Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye earthquake. Materials and Methods: Patients admitted to hospital emergency departments after the February 6, 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes were retrospectively evaluated over a 22-day period. Data analyzed included age, gender, triage scales, overall health status, vital signs, laboratory and imaging results, definitive diagnoses, outcomes of patients, and emergency interventions. Results: Of the 8025 patients reported in 18 centers, 51.2% (n=4112) were female, and the average age of the patients was 40.91±20.12. A total of 3578 people (57.6%) had a green triage tag, indicating good overall health with relatively minor injuries. Lower extremity fractures were the most prevalent finding in radiographs, accounting for 33.7% (n=663), of the cases, while cerebral hemorrhage, rib fractures, and lumbar fractures were the most common results in tomography scans. The three most common diagnoses were soft tissue trauma (n=1270; 21.1%), crush syndrome (n=932; 15.5%), and lower extremity fractures (n=851; 14.2%). Cast-splint application (n=813; 22.18%), central venous catheterization (n=393; 10.72%), and fasciotomy (n=322; 8.78%) were the primary procedures performed in the emergency departments. Out of the 1886 hospitalized patients, the orthopedics clinic received the highest number of admissions (n=600). A total of 3461 patients were discharged, and 495 died. Conclusion: Findings of our study revealed higher rates of morbidity and mortality than in previous earthquakes, with orthopedic injuries being the most common outcome of earthquake-related trauma. We believe that establishing tent hospitals in earthquake-prone regions and surrounding provinces, constructing long-term healthcare facilities and trauma centers with emergency services, testing facilities, imaging areas, operating rooms, hemodialysis and intensive care units, employing horizontal architecture designs, and improving referral networks can help to reduce these rates.

Eurasian Journal of Emergency MedicineVol. 24(4)
Openalex Percentile: Top 41%
Disaster Response and Management
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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