Dataset Information

Evacuation of a Tertiary Neonatal Centre: Lessons from the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Newborn infants hospitalised in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are vulnerable to natural disasters. However, publications on evacuation from NICUs are sparse. The 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes caused serious damage to Kumamoto City Hospital and its level III regional core NICU. Local/neighbour NICU teams and the disaster-communication team of a neonatal academic society cooperated to evacuate 38 newborn infants from the ward.

Objective

The aim of this paper was to highlight potential key factors to improve emergency NICU evacuation and coordination of hospital transportation following natural disasters.

Methods

Background variables including clinical risk scores and timing/destination of transportation were compared between infants, who subsequently were transferred to destinations outside of Kumamoto Prefecture, and their peers.

Results

All but 1 of the infants were successfully evacuated from their NICU within 8 h. One very-low-birth-weight infant developed moderate hypothermia following transportation. Fourteen infants were transferred to NICUs outside of Kumamoto Prefecture, which was associated with the diagnosis of congenital heart disease, dependence on respiratory support, higher risk scores, and longer elapsed time from the decision to departure. There was difficulty in arranging helicopter transportation because the coordination office of the Disaster Medical Assistance Team had requisitioned most air/ground ambulances and only helped arrange ground transportations for 13 low-risk infants. Transportation for all 10 high-risk infants (risk scores greater than or equal to the upper quartile) was arranged by local/neighbour NICUs.

Conclusions

Although the overall evacuation process was satisfactory, potential risks of relying on the adult-based emergency transportation system were highlighted. A better system needs to be developed urgently to put appropriate priority on vulnerable infants.

SUBMITTER: Iwata O

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5872557 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Evacuation of a Tertiary Neonatal Centre: Lessons from the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes.

Iwata Osuke O Kawase Akihiko A Iwai Masanori M Wada Kazuko K

Neonatology 20170425 1

<h4>Background</h4>Newborn infants hospitalised in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are vulnerable to natural disasters. However, publications on evacuation from NICUs are sparse. The 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes caused serious damage to Kumamoto City Hospital and its level III regional core NICU. Local/neighbour NICU teams and the disaster-communication team of a neonatal academic society cooperated to evacuate 38 newborn infants from the ward.<h4>Objective</h4>The aim of this paper was to ...[more]

PMID: 28437783

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Project description:OBJECTIVES: This study aims to investigate the types and indications of amulets, bands and traditional applications among pediatric emergencies and neonatal admissions into the Federal Medical Centre, Bida, Nigeria. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted between January and July, 2008. Children admitted into the emergency and neonatal units of the institution with traditional applications were recruited. Information on demography, time the application was introduced, the reason, cost implication and belief about the efficacy were obtained using a semi-structured questionnaire. Socio-Economic Class was defined using the Oyedeji Classification. RESULTS: The study was based at Federal Medical Centre, Bida and consisted of 666 children admitted into the hospital via the Emergency pediatric and the Neonatal Unit, with a seven-month period prevalence of 11.4% (76 patients). Of the 76 cases screened for the use traditional applications, only 64 (84.2%) were recruited, the remaining did not agree to participate in the study. The mean age was 493.1±528.5 days. The study group included 37 males and 27 females (sex ratio 1.4:1) aged 11 days to 2920 days. The applications used included neck band (54.7%), ankle band (15.6%) and head paste (15.6%). Reasons for the applications included prevention of childhood illnesses (17.2%), sutures closure (15.6%), as well as warding off evil spirits and convulsions (12.5%). The socio-economic classification was I (1.6%), II (7.8%), III (15.6%), IV (45.3%), and V (29.7%). Sixty (93.0%) parents believed the applications cannot be used with conventional medicine, while 53.1% of the participants, obtained them free of charge. CONCLUSION: The use of traditional applications, often for preventive purposes, is common among pediatric patients, especially of low socio-economic classifications. The majority of users considered them incompatible with simultaneous conventional medical care. This has adverse implications for time to presentation for conventional care and treatment outcomes. Promotive and preventive healthcare interventions are needed to reverse this trend. Future broad-based research is warranted.

Dataset Information

Evacuation of a Tertiary Neonatal Centre: Lessons from the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes.

Background

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Evacuation of a Tertiary Neonatal Centre: Lessons from the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes.

Similar Datasets

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