Mass Burns Disaster in Abule-egba, Lagos, Nigeria from a Petroleum Pipeline Explosion Fire.

The aim of this paper is to review the basic principles of triage in mass burns disasters and discuss the experience of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, Nigeria, in the December 2006 disaster at Abule-Egba, Lagos, Nigeria. It is hoped that the experience gained will help in the planning for and management of similar disasters in the developing countries with limited facilities. Burn injury has been described as the severest form of trauma and its management is very challenging as it is often accompanied by numerous pathophysiological changes. Successful management requires expert management by well-trained personnel in equipped and dedicated centres. In mass disasters the total number of victims may exceed the capability of the facility and its staff and a system for sorting out the patients and caring for those that will benefit from the facilities available needs to be developed. Other patients will either be sent to other medical facilities for further treatment or discharged after initial care for future follow-up. Documented experiences in the management of mass burns disasters from petroleum pipeline explosions from developing countries are rare. However, petroleum pipeline explosions, especially in the Lagos area of Nigeria, are relatively common. These cases have been associated with a variety of factors. The resulting morbidity and mortality have been high. LASUTH has a dedicated burns centre, which has received and managed many burn patients. Triage is the medical process of screening patients according to their need of treatment and the resources available. The aims and objectives of triage are discussed, its various levels described, and the final goals elaborated. All the burn victims involved in the 2006 disaster were studied, together with the triage carried out at different levels and the consequent sorting of the patients. Standard burns management was carried out. A total of 385 patients sustained burns of various degrees from the fire resulting from the explosion. On site, emergency department (ED) and intra-hospital triage were carried out. Ninety patients were brought to the LASUTH ED. Of these, 51 patients (56.67%) received first-aid treatment and were either discharged for out-patient follow-up or referred to secondary health care facilities. Twenty-eight (31.11%) out of the remaining 39 patients with burns in more than 70% total body surface area (TBSA) were categorized as unsalvageable and 11 (12.22%) with less than 70% TBSA as salvageable. All the patients in the unsalvageable group died (i.e. 100% mortality), while one patient died in the salvageable group (mortality rate, 9.09%). The mortality rate for the ruptured petroleum product pipeline incident was 84.16%; the fatality rate for all patients seen at LASUTH was 32.22%. The need for caution in the handling of petroleum products is discussed and the effectiveness of the triage system used is highlighted. In conclusion, burns from flammable petroleum products can be very dangerous and proper triage should therefore be carried out, with salvageable patients being managed by experts in dedicated burns centres.