Beirut Explosion: The Largest Non-Nuclear Blast in History.
Mariana HelouMahmoud El-HusseinKurtulus AciksariFlavio SalioFrancesco Della CorteJohan von SchreebLuca RagazzoniPublished in: Disaster medicine and public health preparedness (2021)
A massive explosion have ripped Beirut on August 4, 2020, leaving behind more than 6000 casualties, 800 regular floor admissions, 130 intensive care unit admissions, and over 200 deaths. Buildings were destroyed, hospitals in Beirut were also destroyed, others became nonfunctional. A disaster code was initiated in all the hospitals. Victims were transported by the Lebanese Red Cross or by volunteers to the nearest hospital that was still functional. Hospitals were flooded in patients, the coordination between health care centers was missing. Each hospital was functioning to its maximum capacity. With the many challenges we had, a rapid response was initiated. An effective triage done outside the Emergency had the major role in saving lives. After the Beirut Explosion, an assessment of the disaster plan and a major evaluation of the hospitals' coordination is needed.
Keyphrases
- healthcare
- intensive care unit
- emergency department
- end stage renal disease
- newly diagnosed
- ejection fraction
- public health
- mechanical ventilation
- adverse drug
- extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
- affordable care act
- acute respiratory distress syndrome
- intimate partner violence
- quantum dots
- loop mediated isothermal amplification