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Imaging findings of the injured in the massive Beirut blast

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Abstract

Purpose

(1) Describe imaging utilization and findings within two weeks of the 2020 Beirut blast according to the mechanism of injury, (2) determine the appropriate imaging modality per organ/system, and (3) describe changes in the workflow of a radiology department to deal with massive crises.

Materials and methods

Two hundred sixty patients presented to the largest emergency department in Beirut and underwent imaging within 2 weeks of the blast. In this retrospective study, patients were divided into early (1) and late (2) imaging groups. Patients’ demographic, outcome, type and time of imaging studies, body parts imaged, and mechanism and types of injuries were documented.

Results

Two hundred five patients in group 1 underwent 502 and 55 patients in group 2 underwent 145 imaging studies. Tertiary blast injuries from direct impact and falling objects were the most common type of injuries followed by secondary (shrapnel) injuries. Both types of injuries affected mostly the head and neck and upper extremities. Plain radiographs were adequate for the extremities and CT for the head and neck. A regularly updated and practiced emergency plan is essential to mobilize staff and equipment and efficiently deliver radiology services during crises.

Conclusion

Because the powerful Beirut blast occurred at the port located in the periphery of the city, most injuries seen on imaging were of the upper extremities and head and neck caused by the severe blast wind or penetrating shrapnel and resulted from people using their arms to protect their heads and bodies from direct impact and falling objects.

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Author information

Author notes

  1. Caline Azzi and Hero K. Hussain contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon

    Caline Azzi, Hero K. Hussain, Yara Jabbour, Hani Tamim, Farah Abou Zeid, Chantal Akkari, Nabil Khoury, Hicham Moukaddam & Roula Hourani

  2. Department of Radiology, University of Michigan and Michigan Medicine, 1500 E Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Hero K. Hussain

  3. Department of Radiology, Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA

    Mihran Khdhir

Authors
  1. Caline Azzi
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  2. Hero K. Hussain
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  3. Yara Jabbour
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  4. Hani Tamim
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  8. Nabil Khoury
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  9. Hicham Moukaddam
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  10. Roula Hourani
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by CA, ChA, FAZ, and MK. The first draft of the manuscript was written by CA, YJ, and HH, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Roula Hourani.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

This research study was conducted retrospectively. We consulted with the IRB of American University of Beirut who determined that our study did not need ethical approval. An IRB official waiver of ethical approval was granted from the IRB.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Azzi, C., Hussain, H.K., Jabbour, Y. et al. Imaging findings of the injured in the massive Beirut blast. Emerg Radiol 30, 699–709 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10140-023-02175-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10140-023-02175-0

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