The effects of the northridge earthquake on the pattern of emergency department care

This studyʹs objective was to describe the types of injuries that should be anticipated after a major earthquake. Data for the 6 days prior to the earthquake, the 6 days after the earthquake, and for the day of the earthquake the previous year were obtained from the Emergency Department of Northridge Hospital, Northridge, CA. Demographic data, including age and sex, as well as the reason for the visit, were obtained from patient logs. The average number of patients per day was 110 before the earthquake and 185 after the earthquake. On the day of the earthquake, 343 patients were seen. Lacerations increased from 7.1% of all visits before the earthquake to 22.4% after the earthquake (P< .01). Immediately after the Northridge earthquake, there was a threefold increase in emergency patient visits. The biggest increase occurred in the number of patients presenting with contusions and lacerations. The number of pregnant women presenting in labor and with vaginal bleeding also increased. Disaster managers should take these patterns into account when planning for major seismic events.