ABSTRACT
Objective To analyze the injury types and radiologic findings of the wounded in the major Wenchuan earthquake of May 12, 2008. Methods Radiologic results of 1013 victims admitted to MianYang Central Hospital from May 13, 2008 to May 19, 2008 were studied retrospectively, including X-ray of 854 cases (about 2900 local exam positions) and CT scan of 259 cases (about 300 local exam positions). Results 733 cases showed radiologic abnormalities, including 527 cases of single region injury (accounting for 52. 0%) and 206 cases of multi-region injury (accounting for 20. 3%), the overall positive rate was 72. 4%. The results were in the following order on the basis of the incidence, 288 cases of lower extremity injuries (28.4%), 151 cases of thoracic injuries(14. 9%), 136 cases of upper extremity injuries(13.4%), 133 cases of spine fracture(13.1%), 114 cases of pelvic fracture and dislocation(11.3%),88 cases of craniocerebral injuries (8. 7%), 25 cases of maxillofacial fracture (2. 5%) and 8 cases of abdominal tranma(0. 1%). Thoracic injuries included: rib fracture in 136 cases, pulmonary injury in 59 cases, and sternal fracture in 3 cases. Spinal fracture included: cervical vertebrae involved in 12 cases,thoracic vertebrae involved in 43 cases, lumbar vertebrae involved in 93 cases, and Sacrococcygeal vertebraeinvolved in 12 cases. Craniocerebral injuries included: skull fracture in 41 cases, endocranial abnormalities in 72 cases. Abdominal trauma included: intestinal obstruction in 4 cases, renal contusion in 3 cases and abdominal wall hematoma in 1 case. Conclusion Most parts of the body can be injured by earthquake.Bone fracture and dislocation of lower extremity are the most common manifestations.
ABSTRACT
Objective Rhabdomyolysis (RM) is a common disorder resulting from a large variety of causes. Acute injury is one of the main reasons. The purpose is to describe the MRI manifestations of rhabdomyolysis caused by 5.12 Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan province and to discuss their importance in diagnosis and treatment of rhabdomyolysison in clinic practice. Methods Three patients with rhebdomyolysis caused by earthquake were studied via 1.5 T MRI. In all the patients, T, and T2 weighted sequences with and without fat suppression, and short time inversion recovery (STIR) of both lower extremities were obtained in axial, coronal and sagittal planes. All patients were given contrast material during imaging, and MRA (magnetic resonance angiography) of both lower extremity vessels were performed. The MRI characteristics of damaged extremities in 3 cases were studied. Results MRI showed swelling of the affected muscles and subcutaneous fat tissue on both T1 and T2 weighted images. The margins of involved muscles were blurred. On T1 weighted images, swollen muscles showed equal or slightly decreased intensity with small patterns of increased intensity in some local areas. On T2 weighted and STIR sequences, the affected muscles showed inhomogeneons increased signal intensity with clearer margin. Slight fluid collection in spatium intermusculare was observed. Contrast-enhanced scanning showed nonhomologous intensification of damaged muscles, the enhancement inside the muscles was decreased when compared with normal muscles. The locations of all these abnormal intensity were correlated with the injury history and clinic physical examinations. MRA showed no lower extremity vessels were affected. Conclusion MRI has very high sensitivity in detecting the injury of muscles. It's very useful in evaluating the extent and severity of muscles affected in rhabdomyolysis caused by trauma. Also it's very valuable to evaluate the condition of blood vessels in involved extremity for predicting the prognosis of the disease. Therefore MRI possesses a very important role in the diagnosis and treatment of RM.