Extremely Serious Mass Burns Rescued in the First Hospital in Yulin City, Shanxi Province

It was an unfortunate night on Jul 6, 2010 for the 12 migrant laborers from Henan province, who worked at one construction site in Wushenqi, Mongolia. Around 10 pm in the evening of July 6, the sleeping 12 migrant laborers were severely burned by the air explosion as a result of the fire caused by the aging electrical circuit. Then, they were sent to the Wushenqi Hospital in Mongolia and given the immediate emergency care. Due to the severe conditions, all the patients had to be transferred to the First Hospital in Yulin City---the Yulin Burn Treating Centre of Chinese National Medical Network of Burns, Wounds and Ulcers at the midnight July 6th.

The First Hospital in Yulin City (also called the Second Affiliated Hospital of Yan’an University) is the combination hospital by Suide Hospital and Yulin Hospital that both are the general ‘first class’ hospital in P.R.China. There are totally 1580 beds and more than 1200 medical staffs with 41 clinical departments in the hospital that is the most famous and the biggest modern comprehensive hospital in the boundary district of Shanxi, Ningxia and Mongolia.

After receiving the ambulance call from the Wushenqi Hospital at 4 am July 7th, the ‘Mass Burn Emergency Team’, consisting of Chen Zhibin---the Director of General Surgery Dept., Chen Shiping---the Director of Burn Dept., and other medical and supportive staffs from Emergency Dept, Pharmaceutical Dept and the Dept of Medical Material Provision and Support, was set up, led by Li Heping, the President of the First Hospital in Yulin City. After admission, the twelve patients were given appropriate interventions, such as anti-shock therapy, debridement and the application of MEBT/MEBO in association with the second assessment showing: nine of them with TBSA between 90% and 100%, the other three got burned around back and buttock areas with TBSA 35%, 24% and 20% respectively.

The medical staffs in the First Hospital in Yulin rescued these patients with their best efforts even without any payments, families on the spot and even ID card from the patients. However, two of them with TBSA up to 100% and 99% died as a result of the severity of their burns.

Chen Zhiping, the Director of Burn Dept sought for the medical assistance from the Chinese Burn Association of the Integration of Traditional and Western Medicine after the admission of those patients. Then, Prof. Wang Guangshun (from the Chinese Burn Association of the Integration of Traditional and Western Medicine), Director Liu Huan (from the Shanxi Burn Association of the Integration of Traditional and Western Medicine) and Doctor Yan Xin---the Medical Supervisor of the Chinese National Medical Network of Burns, Wounds and Ulcers in Yulin City arrived at the First hospital in Yulin City at 2 am. After assessing the patients, Prof. Wang Guangshun made detailed plans and arrangements in terms of the burn management with the requirements that followed the directions of ‘Mass Burn Emergency Team’ and assisted by the General Dept, Internal Dept, Emergency Dept, Pharmaceutical Dept and Dept of Medical Material Provision and Support in order to provide the medical personnel assurance during the rescuing progress. Although these patients are still in the critical stage, the conditions are relatively stable by the virtue of timely emergency care. Both Shanxi TV and Yulin TV also reported it at the first time. We will keep paying our concerns on the progression of the patient treatments.