Eknoyan Garabed
Renal Section, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Adv Ren Replace Ther. 2003 Apr;10(2):87-92. doi: 10.1053/jarr.2003.50013.
A dreadful earthquake struck a densely populated region of Armenia on December 7, 1988. All principal determinants of structural damage and crush injury converged to magnify the dreadful outcomes of this otherwise modest earthquake, which registered 6.9 on the Richter scale. Two circumstantial events focused unprecedented world attention on this natural disaster. First, the news media, assembled to cover the historic visit of Mikhail Gorbachev to the United States, were suddenly deprived of the news they had gathered to cover when Gorbachev interrupted his visit to examine the disaster personally. As a result, the world news media channeled their collective force on covering the tragic events in Armenia. Second, an official Soviet request for dialysis assistance was delivered at the opening session of the annual meeting of the American Society of Nephrology in San Antonio on Sunday, December 11, 1988. As a result, the entire nephrology community was suddenly engulfed in the mounting worldwide enthusiasm to provide humanitarian aid. The subsequent efforts of the National Kidney Foundation and the International Society of Nephrology prompted the discipline to examine, evaluate, and establish a role for nephrologists in preparedness and response to natural disasters.
1988年12月7日，一场可怕的地震袭击了亚美尼亚人口密集的地区。造成结构破坏和挤压伤的所有主要因素共同作用，放大了这场里氏6.9级、原本不算严重的地震所带来的可怕后果。两件偶然事件使这场自然灾害引起了全世界前所未有的关注。其一，原本聚集起来报道米哈伊尔·戈尔巴乔夫对美国进行历史性访问的新闻媒体，在戈尔巴乔夫中断访问亲自视察灾情时，突然失去了他们原本要报道的新闻。结果，世界新闻媒体将集体力量转向报道亚美尼亚的悲剧事件。其二，1988年12月11日星期日，在圣安东尼奥举行的美国肾脏病学会年会开幕式上，苏联官方提出了透析援助请求。结果，整个肾脏病学界突然被全球范围内日益高涨的提供人道主义援助的热情所淹没。美国国家肾脏基金会和国际肾脏病学会随后做出的努力促使该学科审视、评估并确定肾脏病医生在自然灾害防范和应对中的作用。
