Musculoskeletal injuries associated with earthquake. A report of injuries of Iran's December 26, 2003 Bam earthquake casualties managed in tertiary referral centers.

This is a descriptive analysis, performed on victims of Iran's December 26, 2003 Bam earthquake that were referred to tertiary referral trauma management centre in Tehran. Two hundred and ten patients were included in this study. Associated musculoskeletal injuries and renal function of the patients were recorded. The mean time under rubble was 1.9 h in our patients with a mean rescue to first medical aid time of 13.5 h. We had 19 cases of compartment syndrome and 6.7% of patients had impaired renal function. The incidence of compartment syndrome had a direct relation to the time under rubble and the incidence of renal failure was directly related to rescue to first medical aid time. Axial skeleton fractures, amongst them the lateral compression type pelvic fractures, were particularly common. Fracture associated neural injuries were also common. Institution of renal protective protocols from the very first hours after injury more conservative approaches to treatment of fractures in these crush trauma patients are strongly recommended.