Crush syndrome a review for prehospital providers and emergency clinicians (2023) Daisuke Usuda

Description

This narrative review aims to provide a focused overview and update on Crush Syndrome (CS) for prehospital providers and emergency clinicians, particularly in the context of increasing frequency of mass casualty events. CS is a severe systemic manifestation of trauma and ischemia involving skeletal muscle due to prolonged crushing, with reported mortality up to 48% among earthquake survivors. The review stresses the critical need for immediate, aggressive resuscitation (including massive fluid administration) beginning ideally before extrication to mitigate severe systemic effects like hypovolemic shock, hyperkalemia, and kidney dysfunction, noting the challenges in timely diagnosis and treatment during large-scale natural disasters.