Survey and analysis of peripheral nerve injuries caused by the earthquake

Introduction In recent years, large earthquakes have occurred frequently all over the world.1-5 Earthquakes cause a large number of casualties with their catastrophic force. On May 12, 2008, an earthquake of 8.0 magnitude occurred in Wenchuan, Sichuan Province, in China. By May 25, 2008, 68,712 people had died, 374,640 were wounded, and 17,042 were reported missing. On January 12, 2010, a 7.3-magnitude earthquake occurred in Haiti. About 222,000 people died, and 196,000 people were wounded. On March 11, 2011, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake occurred in Japan. By March 25, 8,928 people had died, and 12,664 were reported missing. Focusing on the on-site rescue of earthquake victims, all nations have invested a great deal of staff and resources and have formed various rescue systems.6-11 We participated in the on-site rescue for the earthquake in Wenchuan and saw a large number of patients with peripheral nerve injuries. During the emergency rescue process, these patients did not receive the same on-site care as those with fractures12,13, crush syndrome14,15, head trauma16,17, and injuries to the abdominal organs18. However, a long time after the earthquake, many patients continued to experience serious peripheral nerve dysfunction, which was accompanied by severe peripheral neuralgia. In the aftermath of the earthquake, society’s attention shifts, and these patients receive less attention than they received at the earthquake rescue site. While these nerve injuries are not life-threatening, they can affect long-term quality of life. Although some studies have investigated nerve injury due to earthquakes,19-21 because of the limited case numbers, the data have not been systematically analyzed. This paper describes our analysis of nerve injuries due to the Wenchuan earthquake, our targeted treatment22-25, and follow-up observations at 2 years.