Earthquake-related injuries among survivors: A systematic review and quantitative synthesis of the literature

Abstract Earthquakes cause widespread casualties and significant loss of assets worldwide, and the injuries caused by earthquakes are always complex and of various patterns. In order to provide robust disaster preparedness and an optimized response, the current study tried to identify and describe the exact type and distribution of earthquake injuries of victims who were transferred to hospitals around the world. Four electronic databases (PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science, and China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database) were used to search for studies about earthquake-related injuries from China as well as from other countries that were published over the past 50 years. 74 research articles were included in our study, with 37 articles in Chinese and 37 in English. In this analysis, fractures, soft tissue and crush injuries were the three most common and most reported injury types. Extremities and the head/neck were the most common and mentioned injury locations. Being struck by an object was the major cause of earthquake-associated morbidity. In high-magnitude earthquakes compared to those in low-magnitude earthquakes we observed a lower percent of soft tissue injury and a higher percent of nerve injury. Patients from countries with high levels of economic development suffered a higher percent of fracture and multiple injuries, but a lower percent of nerve and spine injury compared to those of patients from countries with low levels of economic development. Earthquakes will continue to strike, and healthcare responders must be prepared to overcome the resulting situations by anticipating consequences and planning accordingly.