Emergency Medical Services Preparedness in Dual Disasters: War in the Era of COVID-19 in Armenia.

INTRODUCTION: Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is a critical part of Disaster Medicine and has the ability to limit morbidity and mortality in a disaster event with sufficient training and experience. Emergency systems in Armenia are in an early stage of development and there is no Emergency Medicine residency training in the country. As a result, EMS physicians are trained in a variety of specialties.Armenia is also a country prone to disasters, and recently, the Armenian EMS system was challenged by two concurrent disasters when the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War broke out in the midst of the SARS-CoV-2/coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. STUDY OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the current state of disaster preparedness of the Armenian EMS system and the effects of the simultaneous pandemic and war on EMS providers. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted by anonymous survey distributed to physicians still working in the Yerevan EMS system who provided care to war casualties and COVID-19 patients. RESULTS: Survey response rate was 70.6%. Most participants had been a physician (52.1%) or EMS physician (66.7%) for three or less years. The majority were still in residency (64.6%). Experience in battlefield medicine was limited prior to the war, with the majority reporting no experience in treating mass casualties (52.1%), wounds from explosives (52.1%), or performing surgical procedures (52.1%), and many reporting minimal to no experience in treating gunshot wounds (62.5%), severe burns (64.6%), and severe orthopedic injuries (64.6%). Participants had moderate experience in humanitarian medicine prior to war. Greater experience in battlefield medicine was found in participants with more than three years of experience as a physician (z-score -3.26; P value <.01) or as an EMS physician (z-score -2.76; P value <.01) as well as being at least 30 years old (z-score -2.11; P value = .03). Most participants felt they were personally in danger during the war at least sometimes (89.6%). CONCLUSION: Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and simultaneous 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War, EMS physicians in Armenia had limited training and experience in Disaster Medicine. This system, and the frontline physicians on whom it relies, was strained by the dual disaster, highlighting the need for Disaster Medicine training in all prehospital medical providers.

The Holy Month of Ramadan: Mass-Gathering Event Implications for Hospital Surge Capacity Planning in Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study is to determine the impact of the Holy Month of Ramadan on emergency department (ED) and hospital resource utilization in comparison to the time of Hajj and the rest of the year, so as to better define future resource needs of hospitals responding to events of this large size and duration. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was conducted of electronic medical records, ED visits, and hospital admissions during Ramadan, Hajj, and all other months over a three-year period on the Hijra calendar (1438-1440) or Gregorian (2016-2019). Primary outcomes were the change in the number of ED visits, hospital admissions, and intensive care unit (ICU) admissions during Ramadan in comparison to during Hajj and other months. Secondary outcomes included mortality; number of surgeries by specialty; and admissions to cardiac, respiratory, orthopedic, and neurosurgery wards. RESULTS: During the three years, ED visits increased during Ramadan by 83.0%, 74.8%, and 40.3%, respectively, when compared to non-Hajj, non-Ramadan months. Hospital admissions rose by 21.05%, 50.96% and 48.22%. Combined ED and in-hospital mortality rose by 15.21%, 21.47%, and 1.39%. While there was a large increase in ICU admissions during Ramadan of 1440 (May 2019), this was not a trend seen in other years. Despite there only being two years of data for comparison, there was a trend towards increased admissions to all specialty wards. There was an average 46.69% increase in admissions to the general surgery ward during Ramadan months compared to other months, a 31.06% increase in admissions to the orthopedic surgery ward, and a 44.05% increase in admissions to the cardiac care unit. CONCLUSIONS: Ramadan is associated with a significant increase in the population of Makkah (Mecca), Saudi Arabia. Despite this study only focusing on a three-year period, and some variables with only two years of data available, it demonstrates a significant increase in ED visits, hospital admissions, and mortality during Ramadan compared to non-Hajj/non-Ramadan months. During mass gatherings of this size, it would benefit local and regional hospital systems to devote increased resources to patient care, especially to the ED, to prevent morbidity and mortality.