• Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg · Dec 2022

    Observational Study

    The Beirut Port Blast: spectrum of injuries and clinical outcomes at a large tertiary care center in Beirut, Lebanon.

    • Tharwat El Zahran, Mirabelle Geha, Fouad Sakr, Rana Bachir, and Mazen El Sayed.
    • Department of Emergency Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Riad El Solh, P.O.Box-11-0236, Beirut, 1107 2020, Lebanon.
    • Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg. 2022 Dec 1; 48 (6): 491949264919-4926.

    PurposeTo describe injuries and outcomes of casualties of Beirut Port Blast treated at a large tertiary care center in Beirut, Lebanon.MethodsA retrospective observational study assessing the spectrum of injuries, treatment, and medical outcome among casualties of the Beirut Port Blast, immediately after the blast and up to 1 week from the blast to the emergency department of the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC).ResultsA total of 359 patients were included. Most (n = 343, 95.6%) were adults (> 19 years), and males (56%) with a mean age of 42 ± 20 years. The most frequent mechanism of injury was a penetrating injury (45.7%), followed by other blast-related injuries (30.4%), and blunt injuries (23.4%). The most affected anatomical location were the limbs. Most (n = 217, 60.4%) patients required imaging. The most frequently administered medication was analgesics (38%), followed by anesthetics (35%), antibiotics (31%), tetanus vaccine (31%), and fluids (28%). Blood and blood products were administered in 3.8% of cases. Emergent procedures included endotracheal intubation (n = 18, 5%), surgical airway (n = 3, 0.8%), chest tube insertion (n = 4, 1.1%), thoracotomy (n = 1, 0.3%), and CPR (n = 5, 1.4%). A quarter of patients required surgical operations in the operating room (n = 85, 23.6%) and 18% required noncritical care admissions, 5.3% required critical care admissions, and 2.8% were dead on arrival.ConclusionCasualties from this event had significant injuries requiring lifesaving interventions, surgical procedures, and admission to critical care units. High utilization of imaging modalities and of medications from existing stockpiles was also observed.© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany.

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