Mersin University Medical Faculty Hospital Emergency Department and Triage Organizatıon After the 2023 Kahramanmaraş Earthquake

Objective: On February 6, 2023, at 04.17, a powerful earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale struck Kahramanmaraş, Turkey, causing extensive damage in 10 provinces. A state of emergency was declared in the 11 most severely affected provinces. The earthquake had significant global repercussions, leading the World Health Organization to declare a level 3 emergency, which calls for the mobilization of agency-wide resources. At the time of writing, official reports indicate that 50.096 people lost their lives and 107.204 were injured. Following the earthquake affected patients began seeking medical attention at hospitals in Mersin, one of the closest provinces not affected by the earthquake. This study aimed to examine the emergency department and hospital organization arrangements at Mersin University Medical Faculty Hospital, triage protocols, and interventions implemented to assist patients affected by the disaster.
Material and Methods: This observational study examines the measures taken after an extraordinary situation such as a disaster in our hospital, which serves as a tertiary university hospital, and the effectiveness of these measures.
Results: Over a 15-day period following the earthquake, 2.043 patients were treated in our hospital’s adult emergency department with the diagnosis of earthquake victims. There were 1.115 traumatic injuries among these patients, while 928 were affected by the earthquake but were not physically injured and were presented to the hospital for other medical reasons. In the triage category of 1.115 patients with traumatic injuries, 52 were assigned to the red zone, 487 to the yellow zone, and 576 to the green zone.
Conclusion: By ensuring an optimal match between patients and their treatment areas after the disaster, the health team working within the context of the disaster can work in harmony and coordination, preventing delays in post-disaster treatment and minimizing health-related effects. With proper team and area arrangements based on the type of disaster and the supply of materials and equipment that match the patient profile that may require hospitalization, it is possible to reduce morbidity and mortality due to the effects of the disaster.

Keywords: Disaster, earthquake, triage