Semin Thromb Hemost 2006; 32(8): 856-860
DOI: 10.1055/s-2006-955468
Copyright © 2006 by Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc., 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Acute Pulmonary Embolism after an Earthquake in Japan

Masahito Sakuma1 , Mashio Nakamura2 , Kazuhiko Hanzawa3 , Takao Kobayashi4 , Masayuki Kuroiwa5 , Norifumi Nakanishi6 , Yoshiyuki Miyahara7 , Nobuhiro Tanabe8 , Norikazu Yamada2 , Takayuki Kuriyama8 , Takeyoshi Kunieda9 , Tsuneaki Sugimoto10 , Takeshi Nakano2 , Kunio Shirato1
  • 1Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan
  • 2Department of Cardiology, Mie University Graduate School of Medicine, Tsu, Japan
  • 3Division of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata, Japan
  • 4Shinshu University School of Health Sciences, Matsumoto, Japan
  • 5Department of Anesthesiology, National Hospital Organization, Sagamihara National Hospital, Sagamihara, Japan
  • 6Department of Internal Medicine, National Cardiovascular Center, Osaka, Japan
  • 7Second Department of Internal Medicine, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan
  • 8Department of Respiration, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan
  • 9Department of Internal Medicine, Sumida Shuko-en Facility, Tokyo, Japan
  • 10Kanto Central Hospital, Tokyo, Japan
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Publikationsdatum:
15. Dezember 2006 (online)

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ABSTRACT

There have been no reports on acute pulmonary embolism (APE) after earthquakes. Our aim was to clarify the actual the occurrence of APE following the 2004 Mid Niigata Prefecture earthquake in Japan, and to assess the risk factors for APE after the event. We sent questionnaires to 122 hospitals in the Niigata Prefecture after the earthquake. Cities, towns, and villages in the prefecture were classified into two areas (high evacuee rate area, and low evacuee rate area) due to the mean ratio of evacuees to the overall population during 1 week immediately after the earthquake. A rate of 5% and higher was encountered for the high evacuee rate area and a rate of < 5% was encountered for the low evacuee rate area. Ten out-of-hospital cases of APE (seven in the high evacuee rate area and three in the low evacuee rate area) were diagnosed within the first month after the earthquake. The relative risk of APE was high in the high evacuee rate area (13.09; p = 0.0002) and also higher in women (8.55; p = 0.04). All patients in the high evacuee rate area had stayed in their automobiles for long periods of time, but none had done so in the low evacuee rate area (p = 0.008).

REFERENCES

Mashio NakamuraM.D. Ph.D. 

Department of Cardiology, Mie University Graduate School of Medicine

2-174 Edobashi, Tsu 514-8507, Japan

eMail: mashio@clin.medic.mie-u.ac.jp