After rescue workers are finally able to reach the victims of the Nepal earthquake and address their injuries, health-care workers will be watching carefully for two conditions that crop up later: "crush syndrome" and "compartment syndrome."
The related problems, which are life- and limb-threatening, result from hours of compression of arm and leg muscles by rubble in earthquakes and building collapses. But doctors also see them in drug addicts and others who pass out with their heads on their arms, and surgical patients who aren't positioned properly.
"Crush syndrome" is the more dangerous of the two; it can result in death. When earthquake victims with arm or leg injuries are pulled from the rubble, releasing the pressure on crushed muscles, blood begins to flow through the area again. As it circulates, it brings the byproducts of that damaged tissue to other parts of the body, which aren't prepared to handle the toxins, according to Mark Pearlmutter, vice president of emergency medicine for the Steward Health System near Boston.
"As soon as you release the crush injury, or the rock, or whatever it might be, the blood flows back into your system," said Pearlmutter, who spent four weeks in Haiti tending to victims of the 2010 earthquake there. "And with it is an abundance of broken down muscle byproducts."
Myoglobin, a protein in muscle tissue, can flood the kidneys, causing them to fail days after the person is rescued and wounds are sewn up, Pearlmutter said. Excess potassium can disrupt the electrical signals that are critical to your heart beating rhythmically, causing it to fail, he said.
According to an article in The Bone and Joint Journal (www.bjj.boneandjoint.org.uk), 2 to 5 percent of earthquake victims will suffer crush syndrome.
In "compartment syndrome," the inflammation of a crushed muscle causes so much swelling that the blood supply is cut off in the area around that muscle. Within hours, that muscle can die, if surgeons don't release the pressure by cutting open the fascia, the thick lining that surrounds the muscle.
Victims also may go into shock in the first few hours after they're pulled from rubble, often because of decreased blood volume as a result of their injuries and dehydration.
PHOTO GALLERY: Aftermath Earthquake in Nepal
Pearlmutter, a member of the American College of Emergency Medicine who serves on a disaster response team, said he saw lots of post-injury infections because some victims did not receive treatment for five to seven days — including those with fractures that had pierced their skin. Partially as a result, he said, 6,000 people had limbs amputated after that quake, which killed 316,000 people, according to the Haitian government.
The Washington Post
Tue Apr 28 2015
Victims also may go into shock in the first few hours after they're pulled from rubble, often because of decreased blood volume as a result of their injuries and dehydration.
Inflasi Malaysia kekal 1.8 peratus pada Mac 2024 - Perangkaan
Inflasi Malaysia kekal 1.8 peratus pada Mac 2024 dengan mata indeks mencatatkan 132.2 berbanding 129.9 pada bulan yang sama tahun sebelumnya.
Tangisan anak bongsu Noor Rahiza undang sebak
Tangisan anak bongsu Bintara Muda TNL Noor Rahiza Anuar yang berusia enam tahun ketika melihat jenazah ibunya dikebumikan malam tadi mengundang rasa sebak sehingga membuatkan ramai hadirin turut menangis.
Akaun Fleksibel KWSP: Pengeluaran tahun pertama dianggarkan cecah RM25 bilion
Akaun 3 KWSP yang menjadi tumpuan ramai, dikenali sebagai Akaun Fleksibel dan merupakan pilihan bagi sejumlah 16.07 juta ahli.
Lelaki ragut wanita di Klang menangis dipenjara lima tahun, dua sebatan
Tertuduh, Muhammad Syafiei Hasan, 24, dikenakan hukuman itu selepas mengaku bersalah atas pertuduhan yang dibaca di hadapan Hakim, Sharifah Hascindie Syed Omar.
UAE salur AS$544 juta baiki rumah penduduk yang rosak akibat hujan
UAE meluluskan pakej bernilai AS$544 juta untuk membantu membaiki kediaman penduduk yang terjejas semasa cuaca buruk baru-baru ini.
‘Silent Cinema’ - Pengalaman baharu tonton filem dengan gaya hip dan trendy
Jangan lupa untuk membawa fon kepala atau fon telinga anda untuk merasai sendiri pengalaman baharu ini.
AWANI Ringkas: Lelaki lepas tembakan di KLIA didakwa cuba bunuh isteri
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Peniaga wanita ditahan jual beg tiruan dalam talian
Seorang peniaga wanita ditahan selepas dikesan menjalankan aktiviti menjual beg tiruan dalam talian menggunakan cap dagangan secara salah.
Fahmi kesal Universiti Malaya jemput penceramah cetus kontroversi berkaitan Palestin
Beliau kesal terhadap Universiti Malaya kerana menjemput seorang penceramah warga asing yang mengeluarkan kenyataan mencetuskan kontroversi berkaitan Palestin.
Nahas helikopter Lumut: Mendiang Joanna Felicia disemadi dengan istiadat ketenteraan
Keranda mendiang diturunkan sekitar jam 11.20 pagi selepas upacara keagamaan berakhir, diikuti kawad hormat bersenjata disempurnakan oleh 12 pegawai dan anggota TLDM yang berpangkalan di Kuching.