Crush injury and crush syndrome in an earthquake disaster zone

Abstract

The typical crush injury of a limb is the closed crush suffered by casualties crushed under masonry (earthquake victims) and vehicles or victims lying unconscious without movement for many hours (mechanical muscle-crush injury - MMCI). An extensive muscle-crush injury culminating in a crush syndrome is often lethal unless treated aggressively and promptly [1]. Prolonged crushing of the torso leads to death so that the injuries which present for treatment almost exclusively involve the limbs.