Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T09:43:14.944Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Impact of Nepal Earthquake on Patients Presenting for Emergency Care at Patan Hospital

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 February 2018

Mimang Tembe ,
Sushma Dhakal ,
Ashis Shrestha ,
Josh Mugele  and
Darlene R. House
Mimang Tembe
Affiliation:
Department of General Practice and Emergency Medicine, Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal
Sushma Dhakal
Affiliation:
Department of General Practice and Emergency Medicine, Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal
Ashis Shrestha
Affiliation:
Department of General Practice and Emergency Medicine, Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal
Josh Mugele
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
Darlene R. House*
Affiliation:
Department of General Practice and Emergency Medicine, Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal Department of Emergency Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Darlene R. House, MD, MS, Department of General Practice and Emergency Medicine, Patan Academy of Health Sciences, PO Box 26500, Kathmandu, Nepal (e-mail: [email protected]).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective

Natural disasters have a significant impact on the health sector. On April 25, 2015, Nepal was struck by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. The aim of the study was to compare patient volumes and clinical conditions presenting to the emergency department pre- and post-earthquake.

Methods

A retrospective study was done at Patan Hospital Emergency Department in Kathmandu, Nepal. Volume, demographics, and patient diagnoses were collected for 4 months post-disaster and compared with cases seen the same months the year before the disaster to control for seasonal variations.

Results

After the 2015 Nepal earthquake, 12,180 patients were seen in the emergency department. This was a significant decrease in patient volume compared with the 14,971 patients seen during the same months in 2014 (P=0.04). Of those, 5496 patients (4093 pre-disaster and 1433 post-disaster) had a chief complaint or diagnosis recorded for analysis. An increase in cardiovascular and respiratory cases was seen as well as an increase in psychiatric cases (mostly alcohol related) and cases of anemia. There was a decrease in the number of obstetrics/gynecology, infectious disease, and poisoning cases post-earthquake.

Conclusions

Understanding emergency department utilization after the earthquake has the potential to give further insight into improving disaster preparedness plans for post-disaster health needs. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2019;13:211–216).

Keywords

disaster preparednessearthquakeNepalemergency carehealth care utilization
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 13 , Issue 2 , April 2019 , pp. 211 - 216
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. World Health Organization. Earthquakes – technical hazard sheet, natural disaster profile. http://www.who.int/hac/techguidance/ems/earthquakes/en/. Accessed September 17, 2016.Google Scholar
2. Brolin Ribacke, KJ, Saulnier, DD, Eriksson, A, von Schreeb, J. Effects of the West Africa Ebola virus disease on health-care utilization – a systematic review. Front Public Health. 2016;4:222.Google Scholar
3. Karmakar, S, Rathore, AS, Kadri, SM, Dutt, S, Khare, S, Lal, S. Post-earthquake outbreak of rotavirus gastroenteritis in Kashmir (India): an epidemiological analysis. Public Health. 2008;122:981-989.Google Scholar
4. Jafari, N, Shahsanai, A, Memarzadeh, M, Loghmani, A. Prevention of communicable diseases after disaster: a review. J Res Med Sci. 2011;16:956-962.Google Scholar
5. Fergusson, DM, Horwood, LJ, Boden, JM, Mulder, RT. Impact of a major disaster on the mental health of a well-studied cohort. JAMA Psychiatry. 2014;71:1025-1031.Google Scholar
6. Cerda, M, Vlahov, D, Tracy, M, Galea, S. Alcohol use trajectories among adults in an urban area after a disaster: evidence from a population-based cohort study. Addiction. 2008;103:1296-1307.Google Scholar
7. Nordlokken, A, Pape, H, Heir, T. Alcohol consumption in the aftermath of a natural disaster: a longitudinal study. Public Health. 2016;132:33-39.Google Scholar
8. Duclos, P, Sanderson, LM, Lipsett, M. The 1987 forest fire disaster in California: assessment of emergency room visits. Arch Environ Health. 1990;45:53-58.Google Scholar
9. Greenstein, J, Chacko, J, Ardolic, B, Berwald, N. Impact of Hurricane Sandy on the Staten Island University Hospital Emergency Department. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2016;31:335-339.Google Scholar
10. Kobayashi, S, Hanagama, M, Yamanda, S, et al. Impact of a large-scale natural disaster on patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: the aftermath of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Respir Investig. 2013;51:17-23.Google Scholar
11. Jiao, Z, Kakoulides, SV, Moscona, J, et al. Effect of Hurricane Katrina on incidence of acute myocardial infarction in New Orleans three years after the storm. Am J Cardiol. 2012;109:502-505.Google Scholar
12. Aoki, T, Takahashi, J, Fukumoto, Y, et al. Effect of the Great East Japan Earthquake on cardiovascular diseases – report from the 10 hospitals in the disaster area. Circ J. 2013;77:490-493.Google Scholar
13. Ministry of Home Affairs. Nepal earthquake 2015: country profile. http://drrportal.gov.np/ndrrip/main.html?id=0. Accessed May 15, 2017.Google Scholar
14. Nepal Ministry of Home Affairs. Nepal earthquake: situation update. http://drrportal.gov.np/uploads/document/14.pdf. Accessed March 10, 2017.Google Scholar
15. USAID. Nepal earthquake recovery fact sheet. https://www.usaid.gov/nepal/fact-sheets/nepal-earthquake-recovery-fact-sheet. Accessed March 11, 2017.Google Scholar
16. Platz, E, Cooper, HP, Silvestri, S, Siebert, CF. The impact of a series of hurricanes on the visits to two central Florida Emergency Departments. J Emerg Med. 2007;33:39-46.Google Scholar
17. Daito, H, Suzuki, M, Shiihara, J, et al. Impact of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami on pneumonia hospitalisations and mortality among adults in northern Miyagi, Japan: a multicentre observational study. Thorax. 2013;68:544-550.Google Scholar
18. Vanholder, R, Borniche, D, Claus, S, et al. When the earth trembles in the Americas: the experience of Haiti and Chile 2010. Nephron Clin Pract. 2011;117:c184-c197.Google Scholar
19. Chan, C, Elliott, J, Troughton, R, et al. Acute myocardial infarction and stress cardiomyopathy following the Christchurch earthquakes. PLoS One. 2013;8:e68504.Google Scholar
20. Kato, K, Mikami, K, Kimoto, K, et al. Changes in the frequency and clinical features of suicide attempts in the midwestern area of Kanagawa after the great East Japan earthquake. J Forensic Sci. 2014;59:417-419.Google Scholar
21. Conrad, EJ, Lavigne, KM. Psychiatry consultation during disaster preparedness: Hurricane Gustav. South Med J. 2013;106:99-101.Google Scholar
22. Rohwerder, B. Seasonal vulnerability and risk calendar in Nepal. http://www.gsdrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/HDQ1358.pdf. Accessed March 11, 2017.Google Scholar
23. Poudel, A. Cholera bacteria rampant in Valley water supply. http://www.myrepublica.com/news/5230/. Accessed March 11, 2017.Google Scholar
24. Nelson, EJ, Andrews, JR, Maples, S, Barry, M, Clemens, JD. Is a cholera outbreak preventable in post-earthquake Nepal? PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2015;9:e0003961.Google Scholar
25. Campanella, N. Infectious diseases and natural disasters: the effects of Hurricane Mitch over Villanueva municipal area, Nicaragua. Public Health Rev. 1999;27:311-319.Google Scholar