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Injury-Related Emergency Department Visits After Hurricane Maria in a Southern Puerto Rico Hospital

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 August 2019

Verónica M. Frasqueri-Quintana ,
Carene A. Oliveras García ,
Laura E. Adams ,
Xiomara Torres-Figueroa ,
Rafael Iván Iriarte ,
Kyle Ryff ,
Liliana Sánchez-González ,
Vivian Pérez Gómez ,
Nicole M. Pérez-Rodríguez  and
Luisa I. Alvarado
...Show all authors
Verónica M. Frasqueri-Quintana*
Affiliation:
Ponce Health Sciences University, Saint Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Ponce, Puerto Rico
Carene A. Oliveras García
Affiliation:
Ponce Health Sciences University, Saint Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Ponce, Puerto Rico
Laura E. Adams
Affiliation:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Dengue Branch, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Xiomara Torres-Figueroa
Affiliation:
Ponce Health Sciences University, Saint Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Ponce, Puerto Rico
Rafael Iván Iriarte
Affiliation:
Ponce Health Sciences University, Saint Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Ponce, Puerto Rico
Kyle Ryff
Affiliation:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Dengue Branch, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Liliana Sánchez-González
Affiliation:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Dengue Branch, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Vivian Pérez Gómez
Affiliation:
Ponce Health Sciences University, Saint Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Ponce, Puerto Rico
Nicole M. Pérez-Rodríguez
Affiliation:
Ponce Health Sciences University, Saint Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Ponce, Puerto Rico
Luisa I. Alvarado
Affiliation:
Ponce Health Sciences University, Saint Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Ponce, Puerto Rico
Gabriela Paz-Bailey
Affiliation:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Dengue Branch, San Juan, Puerto Rico
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Verónica M. Frasqueri-Quintana, Torre Médica San Lucas, 909 Ave. Tito Castro, Suite #103, Ponce, PR 00716 (e-mail: vfrasqueri@psm.edu).
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Abstract

Objective:

The aim of this study was to describe individuals seeking care for injury at a major emergency department (ED) in southern Puerto Rico in the months after Hurricane Maria on September 20, 2017.

Methods:

After informed consent, we used a modified version of the Natural Disaster Morbidity Surveillance Form to determine why patients were visiting the ED during October 16, 2017–March 28, 2018. We analyzed visits where injury was reported as the primary reason for visit and whether it was hurricane-related.

Results:

Among 5 116 patients, 573 (11%) reported injury as the primary reason for a visit. Of these, 10% were hurricane-related visits. The most common types of injuries were abrasions, lacerations, and cuts (43% of all injury visits and 50% of hurricane-related visits). The most common mechanisms of injury were falls, slips, trips (268, 47%), and being hit by/or against an object (88, 15%). Most injury visits occurred during the first 3 months after the hurricane.

Conclusions:

Surveillance after Hurricane Maria identified injury as the reason for a visit for about 1 in 10 patients visiting the ED, providing evidence on the patterns of injuries in the months following a hurricane. Public health and emergency providers can use this information to anticipate health care needs after a disaster.

Keywords

hurricaneinjurysyndromic surveillance
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 14 , Issue 1 , February 2020 , pp. 63 - 70
Copyright
© 2019 Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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