February 6th, Kahramanmaraş earthquakes and the disaster management algorithm of adult emergency medicine in Turkey: An experience review
Sarper Yilmaz1
, Ali Cankut Tatliparmak2, Onur Karakayali3, Mehmet Turk4, Nimet Uras5, Mustafa Ipek6, Dicle Polat7, Mümin Murat Yazici8, Serkan Yilmaz9
1Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Health Sciences, Kartal Dr. Lutfi Kirdar City Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
2Department of Emergency Medicine, Uskudar University Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey
3Department of Emergency Medicine, Sakarya University Faculty of Medicine, Sakarya, Turkey
4Department of Emergency Medicine, Silvan Dr. Yusuf Azizoğlu State Hospital, Diyarbakır, Turkey
5Department of Emergency Medicine, Battalgazi State Hospital, Malatya, Turkey
6Department of Emergency Medicine, Selahaddin Eyyubi State Hospital, Diyarbakır, Turkey
7Department of Emergency Medicine, Mälarsjukhuset, Eskilstuna, Sweden
8Department of Emergency Medicine, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Training and Research Hospital, Rize, Turkey
9Department of Emergency Medicine, Kocaeli University Faculty of Medicine, Kocaeli, Turkey
Keywords: Disaster medicine, earthquakes, emergency department, mass casualty incidents, triage
Abstract
This compilation covers emergency medical management lessons from the February 6th Kahramanmaraş earthquakes. The objective is to review relevant literature on emergency services patient management, focusing on Koenig’s 1996 Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment (START) and Secondary Assessment of Victim Endpoint (SAVE) frameworks. Establishing a comprehensive seismic and mass casualty incident (MCI) protocol chain is the goal. The prehospital phase of seismic MCIs treats hypovolemia and gets patients to the nearest hospital. START-A plans to expedite emergency patient triage and pain management. The SAVE algorithm is crucial for the emergency patient secondary assessment. It advises using Glasgow Coma Scale, Mangled Extremity Severity Score, Burn Triage Score, and Safe Quake Score for admission, surgery, transfer, discharge, and outcomes. This compilation emphasizes the importance of using diagnostic tools like bedside blood gas analyzers and ultrasound devices during the assessment process, drawing from 6 February earthquake research. The findings create a solid framework for improving emergency medical response strategies, making them applicable in similar situations.
How to cite this article: Yilmaz S, Tatliparmak AC, Karakayali O, Turk M, Uras N, Ipek M, et al. February 6th, Kahramanmaraş earthquakes and the disaster management algorithm of adult emergency medicine in Turkey: An experience review. Turk J Emerg Med 2024;24:80-9.
SY: Conceptualization, methodology, investigation, software, resources, data curation, writing – original draft, review and editing, supervision. ACT: Conceptualization, methodology, investigation, software, resources, data curation, writing – review and editing. OK: Conceptualization, methodology, investigation, software, resources, data curation, writing – supervision. MT: Conceptualization, methodology, investigation, software, resources, data curation, writing – supervision. NU: Conceptualization, methodology, investigation, software, resources, data curation, writing – supervision. MI: Conceptualization, methodology, investigation, software, resources, data curation, writing – supervision. DP: Conceptualization, methodology, investigation, software, resources, data curation, writing – supervision. MMY: Conceptualization, methodology, investigation, software, resources, data curation, writing – supervision. SY: Conceptualization, methodology, investigation, software, resources, data curation, writing – original draft, review and editing, supervision.
None declared.
None.
Thanks to all the peer reviewers and editors for their opinions and suggestions and for their support of this research.