Renal disaster relief in Europe: the experience at L’Aquila, Italy, in April 2009

On 6 April 2009, an earthquake struck the city of L'Aquila and the surrounding Abruzzo mountains. The disaster left 66,000 people homeless, while 1500 were wounded and 298 died. Although Europe as a whole is not so often affected by massive earthquakes, Italy is an exception with 12 earthquakes with an intensity >6.0 on the Richter scale during the last 100 years. This article offers preliminary information on the L'Aquila earthquake. For the time being, nine AKI patients who needed dialysis treatment are known. In all of them, kidney function recovered. This positive result can be attributed to the efficient and intensive rescue efforts coupled to the availability of disaster plans that had been developed in advance. This article stresses the importance of (i) advance planning of disaster rescue; (ii) the inclusion in these plans of approaches for kidney problems and their complications; (iii) the formulation of recommendations supporting (para-)medical professionals in their preventive, therapeutic and logistic approach to massive incidences of crush.