CL-15: UNVEILING THE NATURAL HISTORY OF CATEGORY 4 TROPICAL CYCLONES: THE PUERTO RICO TRAUMA HOSPITAL EXPERIENCE AFTER HURRICANE MARIA
Julio López-Maldonado, MD¹, Ediel O. Ramos-Meléndez, MPH, DRPH ( c )^1,2, Mariely Nieves-Plaza, MS, PhD ( c )^1,2, Laura Ramírez-Martínez, MPH, DRPH ( c )^1,2, Lourdes Guerrios, MD, Msc^1,2, Pablo Rodríguez-Ortiz, MD, FACS, FCCM, FACP, FCCP^1,2; ¹Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Medical Sciences Campus, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, ²Puerto Rico Trauma Hospital, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Background: On September 20, 2017, Puerto Rico was devastated by Hurricane Maria, the worst natural disaster in the Island's modern history.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed at the Puerto Rico Trauma Hospital aiming to compare the incidence of injuries per week, socio-demographic characteristics, clinical profile, and risk of death of trauma patients after Hurricane Maria compared to a control period.

Results: 473 patients were admitted to the hospital following Maria. The post-landfall admissions among patients aged 40-64 years raised from 29.8% to 36.4%. The proportion of patients without health coverage was significantly greater after the storm (4.3% vs. 9.8%). Fall injuries registered considerable increases in the second and eighth week, accounting for 31.6% (vs. 9.4% in 2016) and 34.6% (vs. 17.7% in 2016) of the post-hurricane admissions, respectively. The proportion of GSW-related admissions began to rise until peaked in the 15th week, with 44.0% (vs. 17.7% in 2016). A 2-fold (Odds ratio 1.93; 95% CI: 1.07 – 3.47) increase in the risk of death from traumatic injuries was observed in the post-landfall period

Conclusion: Trauma centers might expect an older population, with more severe injuries and twice the risk of mortality following a powerful hurricane.