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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Aaron Kite-Powell, MS and John Livengood, MD, Mphil. Epidemiology, Broward County Health Department, 780 SW 24th St, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315, 954-762-3889, Aaron_Kite-Powell@doh.state.fl.us

On October 24, 2005, Hurricane Wilma passed through Palm Beach and Broward Counties. Power outages in Broward County affected over 90% of its 1.8 million residents, with some outages lasting >2 weeks. Acute care hospitals remained open during this time. Objectives: We conducted a retrospective analysis of injury-related chief complaint data from 5 hospitals connected to the ESSENCE syndromic surveillance system in Broward County. Few studies have used an extended control period as a comparison. We used the 5 weeks prior to Hurricane Wilma (9/19/05 – 10/23/05) as the baseline, and the 5 weeks post-Wilma (10/24/05 – 11/27/05) as the exposure period. Results: A total of 48,022 records were accessed. Chief complaints including fracture or broken bones were increased in the 5 weeks post-storm, RR 1.23(95%CI 1.07-1.41), with the largest increase during week 1, RR 1.47(95%CI 1.21-1.80). Women's risk was greater than for men, RR 1.40(95%CI 1.13-1.75); RR 1.12(95%0.93-1.34), respectively. Burn injury chief complaints were also increased over the 5 weeks, RR 1.64(95%CI 1.22-2.20), with the greatest increase in week 2, RR 2.46(95%CI 1.65-3.67); and, women experienced more burns than men RR 1.80(95%CI 1.18-2.74); RR 1.49(95%CI 0.98-2.26), respectively. Chief complaints stating foreign body removal or punctures were also increased over the 5 weeks, RR 1.77(95%CI 1.25-2.51), with the largest increase in week 1, RR 2.47(95%CI 1.57-3.88). Conclusions: Injury related chief complaints increased significantly during the 5 weeks after Hurricane Wilma, particularly during the initial 2 weeks. Public health messages focusing on preventing clean up related injuries may help reduce morbidity post-storm.

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