Quake survivors will die from preventable infections

[RamboLiberal]

Source: ABC News-Australia

A worker for the medical relief organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres says survivors of the devastating earthquake in Haiti are going to die from preventable diseases.

At least 50,000 lives have been lost in the disaster which struck the already impoverished Caribbean nation last Wednesday, and there are estimates the death toll will reach 200,000.

In a blog written for ABC News Online from Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, Isabelle Jeanson says survivors will die needlessly as surgeons under enormous stress struggle to do their jobs with limited resources.

"I spoke to a surgeon yesterday and he was so frustrated and stressed about the fact that five patients he saw needed immediate surgery," she said.

"But he can't save their lives because they don't have a proper operating theatre."


Read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/18/2795064.htm?section=justin

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60 Minutes last night showed doctors saying this is Civil War medicine. They were amputating with rusty hacksaws sterilized with Vodka & Rum. This morning CNN was questioning why Israel had a mobile surgical hospital set up but no U.S. hospital. Guess I'll get flamed for posting this. Look, I think the U.S. effort and international effort has been good, but I do wonder why our military who are supposed to be able to quickly setup mobile surgical units on the battlefield do not have such hospitals operating by now, and if USAid or someone else have kept much needed medical units, medical supplies, and other aid from getting on the ground, setup and out there a bit quicker. One medical person on the CNN video says it "almosts embarasses him to be an American".

CNN: http://cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2010/01/18/dnt.cohen.haiti.patients.dying.cnn

[Democrat_in_Houston]

1. I think "we" were relying on others to get smaller surgical units in while

we wait on the Comfort to get there, but I just don't think that's a good plan. Physicians had to be flown from all parts of the U.S. before the Comfort could leave port, and I think they even had to load supplies prior to that. Too bad the Comfort wasn't already stocked and could sail immediately, and have the physicians meet it in Florida. It seems like that might have saved some time, but I guess I might just be spouting nonsense. :)

[RamboLiberal]

8. My personal opinion is I know the U.S. military

has the mobile surgical units including inflatable hospitals that are supposed to be able to setup very quickly just behind the lines if the U.S. sends soldiers into battle. Why weren't these flown in and setup immediately till the Comfort could get there?

Makes you wonder how quick they would be if we were to suffer a mass casualty event in this country. After watching Katrina doesn't give me a lot of faith.

I think unfortunately a lot of these victims are going to die or lose limbs because they couldn't get surgical & infectious care quickly.

[TeeYiYi]

2. "Infections Out of Control"...

Go to http://www.cnn.com/ and click on "Infections Out of Control." It's horrible. Israel has a modern, sophisticated tent hospital up and running. America does not. People who were rescued from the rubble are now dying from treatable infections. Shame.

TYY

[TxRider]

5. America does

CNN's own doctor was doing surgery just this morning.

[TeeYiYi]

11. Not according to the video...

... Please go watch it and then let me know how you interpret it. (It's a short video.) http://www.cnn.com/

TYY

[RamboLiberal]

14. Gupta been doing a lot medically because of the lack of doctors

and surgeons there.

[naaman fletcher]

3. Because our hospitals are deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, most likely.

Another reason useless wars suck.

[HeresyLives]

4. Bottleneck at the airport.

A leading aid group has complained of skewed priorities and a supply bottleneck at Haiti's US-controlled airport.

The Geneva-based aid group Medecins Sans Frontiers said: "There is little sign of significant aid distribution."


The "major difficulty," it said, was the bottleneck at the airport. It said a flight carrying its own inflatable hospital was denied landing clearance and was being trucked overland from Santo Domingo, almost 200 miles away in the Dominican Republic, delaying its arrival by 24 hours.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/haiti/7016051/Haiti-earthquake-confusion-at-airport-hampers-aid-effort.html

[Warpy]

6. That kind of infection won't do it most of the time

What kills people after a disaster is diarrhea from buggy water. That's the infection that's the most serious, right there.

[RamboLiberal]

9. Both are serious and injured people are going to uselessly die

It is Civil War medicine at the moment. And in that war both unsanitary conditions in camps & battlefield surgery infections killed troops. This time it's the poor Haitian civilians.

[Democrat_in_Houston]

13. Well, these particular people are dying of rotting flesh

I heard on one of the newscasts that sepsis is killing them.

[sarge43]

15. It's cholera from dirty water

Watery diarrhea, vomiting and dehydration. It's the standard camp follower of disasters. The small intestine is inflamed by the bacterium v. cholerae and food or water can't be processed; it passes right out of the body. Treatment is simple and effective - IV drip until the bacteria are flushed out.

From the reports, that treatment won't be available soon enough. The death rate will be horrible.

[tabatha]

7. They are using the USS Vinson to do surgery.

http://www.cnn.com/video/

See Dr Gupta surgery on USS Vinson.

[RamboLiberal]

10. I doubt the Vinson can handle the volume that a good

mobile surgical hospital could.

[tabatha]

17. Actually, the US is supporting a number of hospitals

I just heard the ambassador speak.

[RamboLiberal]

12. Here's some info on a Forward Surgical Team including setup

US Army Forward Surgical Teams (FST) are small, mobile surgical units fielded in their current form in the 1990s. However, evidence of small, mobile surgical teams date back to World War I. FSTs are utilized in a variety of ways, and can be attached to a Forward Support Medical Company (FSMC) or in some cases stand alone (with appropriate support) to provide a surgical capability for those patients unable to survive MEDEVAC to a LIII (hospital) care. Surgeons perform hemorrhage control on combat casualties within the "Golden Hour" of injury. Casualties can then be packaged for medical evacuation to a higher level of care. The FST typically includes 20 staff members: 4 Surgeons, 3 RN's, 2 Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA)'s, 1 Administrative Officer, 3 Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN)'s, 3 Surgical Techs and 4 Medics.

By doctrine, the team is capable of continuous operations with a divisional or non-divisional medical company for up to 72 hours with a planned caseload of 30 critical patients. The FST can sustain surgery for 24 total operating table hours and has the ability to separate into two teams that function independently. A functional operating room can be established within one hour of being on scene and break down to move to a new location within two hours of ceasing operations.

The Forward Surgical Team is organized into four functional areas:

HEADQUARTERS - Communications and administrative functions.
ATLS (Advanced Trauma Life Support) – Triages and prepares multiple casualties for surgery or transport.
OR (Operating Room)– Sets up and begins surgery within one hour, can be at full functioning capacity within two hours of establishing an area of operations.
RECOVERY ICU – Eight beds for post-surgical care; two beds reserved for patients awaiting evacuation.
The unit's equipment and supplies are packed into six HMMWVs with trailers. The unit can be slingloaded onto cargo helicopters and moved by the headquarters unit.

FSTs are currently deployed in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forward_Surgical_Teams

BTW, doing research on this I saw a story on one Combat Hospital unit during the first Gulf War that picked up and moved every 24 hours following the battlefield units.

[bdamomma]

16. then you get reports like this, the government or lack of --sucks

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34917528/ns/world_news-washington_post/

"Haiti’s absent leader ‘doesn’t like to talk at all’

"Survivors feel abandoned as diffident president fails to address nation"