The 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes were a series of earthquakes, including a foreshock with a magnitude 6.5 and a mainshock with a magnitude of 7.3. In this study, we discuss the clinical features of craniomaxillofacial fractures before and after large-scale disasters in a regional disaster-based hospital.
We evaluated 179 patients with all types of bone fractures we encountered in our hospital during a month after the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes. In addition, we compared 40 patients with craniomaxillofacial fractures who were involved in earthquakes during the 6 months after the disaster with 56 patients during the 6 months before the earthquakes.
Overall, the number of patients after the earthquakes was twofold higher than that during the normal period. The department in which the patients were most frequently examined was orthopedics. In the craniomaxillofacial region, the two most common age groups were young adults (teens and twenties) and patients 70 years or older. Nearly half of the patients came to our hospital during the month after the earthquakes and were brought by ambulance. The number of patients with injuries who presented within 24 hours increased. Midfacial fractures were the most common fractures before the earthquakes, whereas mandible injuries increased after the disaster. Falling was the most frequent cause of craniomaxillofacial fractures. There were no differences between surgical treatment and non-surgical treatment.
We found that the need for oral surgery became higher after an earthquake, but lack of human resources was a concern in hospital dentistry. Medical and dental cooperation can be effective not only at normal times but also during large-scale disasters. Therefore, it is important that we ordinarily cooperate with medical departments.
