Injuries and Illnesses Treated at the World Trade Center, 14 September – 20 November 2001

Details

• Personal Author:
  Boal, Winifred L. ; Perritt, Kara R.
• Corporate Authors:
  Helix Group Inc.
• Description:
  In response to the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC), the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) deployed Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATs) and the Commissioned Corps to provide on-site, primary medical care to anyone who presented. Patients included rescue and recovery workers, other responders, and some members of the general public. A descriptive analysis of WTC-USPHS patient records was conducted in order to better understand the short-term impact of the WTC site on the safety and health of individuals who were at or near the site from 14 September-20 November 2001. The Patient Treatment Record forms that were completed for each patient visit to these USPHS stations over the 10-week deployment period were reviewed. Results: Patient visits numbered 9,349, with visits peaking during Week 2 (21-27 September). More than one-quarter of the visits were due to traumatic injuries not including eye injuries (n = 2,716; 29%). Respiratory problems comprised more than one-fifth of the complaints (n = 2,011; 22%). Eye problems were the third most frequent complaint (n = 1,120; 12%). With respect to the triage class, the majority of visits fell into the lowest category of severity (n = 6,237; 67%). USPHS visits probably were skewed to milder complaints when compared to analyses of employer medical department reports or hospital cases; however, given the close proximity of the USPHS stations to the damage, analysis of the USPHS forms provides a more complete picture of the safety and health impact on those who were at or near the WTC site. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Delivery Of Health Care Emergency Responders Epidemiology Eye Eye Diseases Occupational Health Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Sense Organs Sense Organs / Injuries September 11 Terrorist Attacks

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• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Disaster Medical Assistance Teams DMATs Eye-damage Eye-disorders Eye-injuries Health-care Illnesses Injuries Medical-care Primary Medical Care Rescue-workers Respiratory-system-disorders Safety Safety-education Severity Statistical-analysis Terrorist Traumatic-injuries World Trade Center

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• ISSN:
  1049-023X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSR - Division of Safety Research ; DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  177-183
• Volume:
  20
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20027964
• Citation:
  Prehospital Disaster Med 2005 May-Jun; 20(3):177-183
• Contact Point Address:
  Kara R. Perritt, Surveillance and Field Investigations Branch, Division of Safety Research, NIOSH, 1095 Willowdale Road, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA
• Email:
  kperritt@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2005
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Prehospital and Disaster Medicine
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d831df12040271fd3a04302d40482555ac7d2efc25065782c6f7e21a75764a567977f8d78a898685d10694589ed42151130a627013f5f7a00fbedea3ad330a0c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/189700/cdc_189700_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 653.21 KB ]