An earthquake is a very common natural disaster. Numerous studies have focused on the acute phase, but studies concerning the subacute phase after an earthquake were very limited. This aroused more attention being paid to medical relief in the subacute phase, and this study elaborated on the division of the medical relief period and the definition of medical relief targets. More importantly, major types of disease were analyzed by reviewing the relevant published studies, which were identified by searching electronic databases. Findings suggested that the clear division of medical relief stage is vital for determining the priority of medical aid and allocating medical resources scientifically, and all concerned populations should be targeted for medical assistance. The focus of acute phase is injury (64.2%), and the subacute phase is disease (27.8% respiratory disease, 22.9% common disease, 12.5% wound/injury, 10.5% skin disease, 8.7% gynecological and pediatric disease, 8.5% digestive disease). However, due to the limited available studies, the included articles perhaps did not reflect the actual proportion of each type of disease. More studies are needed to better understand the proportion of different diseases in each phase of an earthquake.

In April 2015 a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Nepal. As part of relief operations named Operation Maitri, the Indian Armed Forces deployed 3 field hospitals in the disaster zone. Rapid deployment of mobile surgical teams to far-flung, inaccessible areas was done by helicopters. In an operational deployment spanning 1 month, a total of 7532 patients were treated and 105 surgeries were carried out on 83 patients. One-fifth of the patients were less than 18 years of age. One-third of the patients had traumatic injuries directly attributable to the earthquake, whereas the remaining patients were treated for diseases of poor sanitation and hygiene as well as chronic illness that had been neglected owing to the collapse of the local health infrastructure. Cases of traumatic injuries directly related to the earthquake were seen maximally on the 5th day after the index event but tapered off rapidly by the 10th day. Nontraumatic illness required more attention thereafter and a need was felt for separate child health and reproductive health services later in the mission. Although immediate management of injuries and surgical intervention in selected cases was possible, ensuring long-term care and rehabilitation of cases proved problematic. This was especially so for spinal injury cases. Data capturing by a paper-based system was found to be inadequate. The lessons learned from this mission have led to a reimagining of the composition of future relief operations. Apart from mobile surgical teams, on which conventional field hospitals are generally centered, a separate section for preventive medicine and child and maternal services is needed. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:394–398)

Humanitarian medical assistance and intervention during the civil war in Bosnia and Croatia was felt by national health workers to be relatively ineffective (2.8 on a 5-point Likert scale), compared to other forms of humanitarian assistance such as medical supplies (4.4/5) and non-medical materials (3.9/5). Bosnian physicians treating civilians noted that the most helpful types of personnel were surgeons and emergency physicians. This study suggests that assessment of personnel needs at the recipient level, in addition to standard relief assessments, is required early in models of complex emergencies. This study supports existing epidemiological models of complex emergencies, especially when high trauma-related mortality and morbidity are likely to occur.