Analysis of Pulmonary Infection of Hospitalized Patients Injured in the Wenchuan Earthquake in China

Background: On 12 May 2008, a devastating earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale hit Wenchuan County, Sichuan in China, and resulted in the casualties of thousands of people. Some of the hospitalized earthquake victims can occur pulmonary infection. However, few studies have been conducted on the clinical features of pulmonary infection in hospitalized casualty after Wenchuan Earthquake. Methods: To analyze retrospectively the clinical data of 115 pulmonary infection patients among wounded inpatients in West China Hospital of Sichuan University after the Wenchuan earthquake. Results: In our report, 76 cases (66.1%) of 115 hospitalized earthquake victims with pulmonary infection were patients with age > 60 years; 74 cases (64.3%) of them with long-term hospitalization(> 20 days); 23 cases (20.0%) of them with traumatic brain injury; 71 cases (61.7%) with torso trauma; 58 cases (50.4%) of them were patients with underlying disease; 25 cases(21.7%) of them were the patients treated with mechanical ventilation. A total of 143 nonduplicate clinical isolates from sputum specimen of 115 pulmonary infection patients were analyzed. Gram-negative bacilli were the most commonly isolated pathogens (73.4%). Only 7.7% of total isolates were gram-positive bacteria; 18.9% of total isolates were fungi. There were high rates of multiple drug resistance in most bacteria isolates. The detection rates and resistance rates of Acinetobacter baumannii were higher than others and 81.8% of all Staphylococcus aureus detected from sputum culture were resistant to antibiotics but vancomycin in this group patients. There were 98 cases of recovery, 17 death cases due to lung infection. Conclusions: Most of earthquake inpatients with pulmonary infection were patients with age > 60 years, longer hospital stay or severe trauma. These factors might increase the risk of pulmonary infection in earthquake inpatients. Gram-negative bacilli play the most important role in these pulmonary infection patients. Pandrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and Methicillin resistant S.aureus in this study might increase the risk of nosocomial infection. The prevention and control of pulmonary infection are crucial for earthquake survivors during hospitalization. . [Life Science Journal. 2010; 7(2): 28 – 34] (ISSN: 1097 – 8135).