(A213) Review of the Mass Casualty Incident after a Bomb Explosion in a Crowded Restaurant

Abstract

Terror struck Pune on 13 Feb. 2010 as a powerful bomb ripped apart a popular restaurant, killing nine people and injuring more than 45. A retrospective analysis of the injury patterns was done.

Materials and Methods

The CDC template, viz. “Bomb Surveillance Form” was used for the data collection, that was analyzed by SPSS version 15 software.

Results

Of the 50 survivors transferred to the four nearby hospitals, 11 (22%) of them had severe life threatening injuries, with 19 patients (38%) having primary blast injuries, Secondary type of injury was seen in, and 22% had tertiary injuries. Orthopedic (24%) and burn injuries (36%) were prominent. The mortality rate was 16%.

Discussion

The occurrence of MCI in an unexpected scenario overwhelms the medical resources and challenges the emergency medical facilities. Analysis of the injuries revealed that fatal outcome was related to presence of shock, severe lung, bowel injury, presence of more than four types of injury and greater than 50% burns.

Strengths

Highlights the importance of being able to recognize the blast injury patterns and their management.

Limitations

Inability to compare with other blast injuries due to several missing data.

Conclusion

Blast injury sustained in a small, enclosed space is one of the most serious and complicated forms of multiple trauma. Hospitals and civic authorities must be prepared to counter this menace of modem times. Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.