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Khan NU, Khan UR, Ahmed N, Ali A, Raheem A, Soomar SM, Waheed S, Kerai SM, Baig MA, Salman S, Saleem SG, Jamali S, Razzak JA. Improvement in the diagnosis and practices of emergency healthcare providers for heat emergencies after HEAT (heat emergency awareness & treatment) an educational intervention: a multicenter quasi-experimental study. BMC Emerg Med 2023; 23:12. [PMID: 36721088 PMCID: PMC9890699 DOI: 10.1186/s12873-022-00768-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2022] [Accepted: 12/26/2022] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The incidence of heat emergencies, including heat stroke and heat exhaustion, have increased recently due to climate change. This has affected global health and has become an issue of consideration for human health and well-being. Due to overlapping clinical manifestations with other diseases, and most of these emergencies occurring in an elderly patient, patients with a comorbid condition, or patients on poly medicine, diagnosing and managing them in the emergency department can be challenging. This study assessed whether an educational training on heat emergencies, defined as heat intervention in our study, could improve the diagnosis and management practices of ED healthcare providers in the ED setting. METHODS A quasi-experimental study was conducted in the EDs of four hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan. Eight thousand two hundred three (8203) patients were enrolled at the ED triage based on symptoms of heat emergencies. The pre-intervention data were collected from May to July 2017, while the post-intervention data were collected from May to July 2018. The HEAT intervention, consisting of educational activities targeted toward ED healthcare providers, was implemented in April 2018. The outcomes assessed were improved recognition-measured by increased frequency of diagnosing heat emergencies and improved management-measured by increased temperature monitoring, external cooling measures, and intravenous fluids in the post-intervention period compared to pre-intervention. RESULTS Four thousand one hundred eighty-two patients were enrolled in the pre-intervention period and 4022 in the post-intervention period, with at least one symptom falling under the criteria for diagnosis of a heat emergency. The diagnosis rate improved from 3% (n = 125/4181) to 7.5% (n = 7.5/4022) (p-value < 0.001), temperature monitoring improved from 0.9% (n = 41/4181) to 13% (n = 496/4022) (p-value < 0.001) and external cooling measure (water sponging) improved from 1.3% (n = 89/4181) to 3.4% (n = 210/4022) (p-value < 0.001) after the administration of the HEAT intervention. CONCLUSION The HEAT intervention in our study improved ED healthcare providers' approach towards diagnosis and management practices of patients presenting with health emergencies (heat stroke or heat exhaustion) in the ED setting. The findings support the case of training ED healthcare providers to address emerging health issues due to rising temperatures/ climate change using standardized treatment algorithms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadeem Ullah Khan
- grid.7147.50000 0001 0633 6224Department of Emergency Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi, 74800 Pakistan
| | - Uzma Rahim Khan
- grid.7147.50000 0001 0633 6224Department of Emergency Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi, 74800 Pakistan
| | - Naveed Ahmed
- grid.7147.50000 0001 0633 6224Department of Emergency Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi, 74800 Pakistan
| | - Asrar Ali
- grid.7147.50000 0001 0633 6224Department of Emergency Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi, 74800 Pakistan
| | - Ahmed Raheem
- grid.7147.50000 0001 0633 6224Department of Emergency Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi, 74800 Pakistan
| | - Salman Muhammad Soomar
- grid.7147.50000 0001 0633 6224Department of Emergency Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi, 74800 Pakistan
| | - Shahan Waheed
- grid.7147.50000 0001 0633 6224Department of Emergency Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi, 74800 Pakistan
| | - Salima Mansoor Kerai
- grid.17091.3e0000 0001 2288 9830School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Muhammad Akbar Baig
- grid.7147.50000 0001 0633 6224Department of Emergency Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi, 74800 Pakistan
| | - Saima Salman
- grid.464569.c0000 0004 1755 0228Indus Hospital and Health Network (IHHN), Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Syed Ghazanfar Saleem
- grid.464569.c0000 0004 1755 0228Indus Hospital and Health Network (IHHN), Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Seemin Jamali
- grid.414696.80000 0004 0459 9276Accident & Emergency Department, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC), Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Junaid A. Razzak
- grid.5386.8000000041936877XDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065 USA ,grid.7147.50000 0001 0633 6224Centre of Excellence for Trauma and Emergencies, Aga Khan University, Karachi, 74800 Pakistan
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Soomar SM, Soomar SM. Identifying factors to develop and validate a heat vulnerability tool for Pakistan – A review. CLINICAL EPIDEMIOLOGY AND GLOBAL HEALTH 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cegh.2023.101214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
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Parkes B, Buzan JR, Huber M. Heat stress in Africa under high intensity climate change. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOMETEOROLOGY 2022; 66:1531-1545. [PMID: 35713697 PMCID: PMC9300535 DOI: 10.1007/s00484-022-02295-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Revised: 03/23/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Extreme weather events are major causes of loss of life and damage infrastructure worldwide. High temperatures cause heat stress on humans, livestock, crops and infrastructure. Heat stress exposure is projected to increase with ongoing climate change. Extremes of temperature are common in Africa and infrastructure is often incapable of providing adequate cooling. We show how easily accessible cooling technology, such as evaporative coolers, prevent heat stress in historic timescales but are unsuitable as a solution under climate change. As temperatures increase, powered cooling, such as air conditioning, is necessary to prevent overheating. This will, in turn, increase demand on already stretched infrastructure. We use high temporal resolution climate model data to estimate the demand for cooling according to two metrics, firstly the apparent temperature and secondly the discomfort index. For each grid cell we calculate the heat stress value and the amount of cooling required to turn a heat stress event into a non heat stress event. We show the increase in demand for cooling in Africa is non uniform and that equatorial countries are exposed to higher heat stress than higher latitude countries. We further show that evaporative coolers are less effective in tropical regions than in the extra tropics. Finally, we show that neither low nor high efficiency coolers are sufficient to return Africa to current levels of heat stress under climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Parkes
- Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
- Centre for Crisis Studies and Mitigation, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
| | - J R Buzan
- Climate and Environmental Physics (CEP), University of Bern, Hochschulstrasse 6, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Hochschulstrasse 4, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - M Huber
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University, 610 Purdue Mall, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
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Ehsan S, Abbas F, Ibrahim M, Ahmad B, Farooque AA. Thermal Discomfort Levels, Building Design Concepts, and Some Heat Mitigation Strategies in Low-Income Communities of a South Asian City. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:ijerph18052535. [PMID: 33806383 PMCID: PMC7967520 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18052535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2021] [Revised: 02/28/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Heat stress provokes thermal discomfort to people living in semiarid and arid climates. This study evaluates thermal discomfort levels, building design concepts, and some heat mitigation strategies in low-income neighborhoods of Faisalabad, Pakistan. The outdoor and indoor weather data are collected from April to August 2016 using a weather station installed ad hoc in urban settings, and the 52 houses of the five low-income participating communities living in congested and less environment-friendly areas of Faisalabad. The discomfort index values, related to the building design concepts, including (i) house orientation to sunlight and (ii) house ventilation, are calculated from outdoor and indoor dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperatures. Our results show that although June was the hottest month of summer 2016, based on the monthly mean temperature of the Faisalabad region, the month of May produced the highest discomfort levels, which were higher in houses exposed to sunlight and without ventilation. The study also identifies some popular heat mitigation strategies adopted by the five participating low-income communities during various heat-related health complaints. The strategies are gender-biased and have medical, cultural/customary backgrounds. For example, about 52% of the males and 28% of the females drank more water during dehydration, diarrhea, and eye infection. Over 11% and 19% of the males and females, respectively, moved to cooler places during fever. About 43% of the males and 51% of the females took water showers and rested to combat flu (runny nose), headache, and nosebleed. The people did not know how to cure muscular fatigue, skin allergy (from a type of Milia), and mild temperature. Planting trees in an area and developing open parks with greenery and thick canopy trees can be beneficial for neighborhoods resembling those evaluated in this study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sana Ehsan
- Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan;
| | - Farhat Abbas
- Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan;
- School of Climate Change and Adaptation, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE C1A 4P3, Canada
- Correspondence: or (F.A.); (M.I.); (A.A.F.)
| | - Muhammad Ibrahim
- Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan;
- Correspondence: or (F.A.); (M.I.); (A.A.F.)
| | - Bashir Ahmad
- Climate Energy and Water Research Institute, Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan;
| | - Aitazaz A. Farooque
- School of Climate Change and Adaptation, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE C1A 4P3, Canada
- Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE C1A 4P3, Canada
- Correspondence: or (F.A.); (M.I.); (A.A.F.)
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Yadollahie M. The Flood in Iran: A Consequence of the Global Warming? THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL MEDICINE 2019; 10:54-56. [PMID: 31041921 PMCID: PMC6524741 DOI: 10.15171/ijoem.2019.1681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2019] [Accepted: 04/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Sharma R, Hooyberghs H, Lauwaet D, De Ridder K. Urban Heat Island and Future Climate Change-Implications for Delhi's Heat. J Urban Health 2019; 96:235-251. [PMID: 30353483 PMCID: PMC6458210 DOI: 10.1007/s11524-018-0322-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
UrbClim, the urban climate model, is used for short- and long-term projections of climate for Delhi. The projections are performed for RCP8.5 using an ensemble of 11 GCM model outputs. Various heat stress indices were employed to understand the role of urban heat island (UHI) in influencing the present and future urban climate of the city. UHI intensity based on 5% warmest nights (TNp95) was 4.1 °C and exhibits negligible change over time. However, the impact of UHI on other heat stress indices is very strong. Combined hot days and tropical nights (CHT) that influenced 58-70% of the reference time frame are expected to rise to 68-77% in near-future and to 91-97% in far-future time periods. For reference time period, urban areas experience 2.3 more number of heat wave days (NHWD) than rural areas per summer season. This difference increases to 7.1 in short-term and 13.8 in long-term projections. Similar to this trend, frequency of heat waves (FHW) for urban areas is also expected to increase from 0.8 each summer season in reference time frame to 2.1 and 5.1 in short- and long-term projections. The urban-rural difference for duration of heat waves (DHW) appears to increase from 1.7 days in past to 2.3 and 2.2 days in future, illustrating that DHW for cities will be higher than non-urban areas at least by 2 days. The intensity of heat wave (IHW) for urban land uses increases from 40 °C in reference time frame to 45 °C in short-term projection to 49 °C in far future. These values for non-urban land use were 33 °C during the baseline time period and are expected to increase to 42 °C and 46 °C in near- and far-future time frames. The results clearly indicate the contribution of UHI effects in intensifying the impacts of extreme heat and heat stress in the city.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richa Sharma
- National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), Delhi, India.
- Vlaamse instelling voor technologisch onderzoek (VITO), Mol, Belgium.
| | - Hans Hooyberghs
- Vlaamse instelling voor technologisch onderzoek (VITO), Mol, Belgium
| | - Dirk Lauwaet
- Vlaamse instelling voor technologisch onderzoek (VITO), Mol, Belgium
| | - Koen De Ridder
- Vlaamse instelling voor technologisch onderzoek (VITO), Mol, Belgium
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Raei E, Nikoo MR, AghaKouchak A, Mazdiyasni O, Sadegh M. GHWR, a multi-method global heatwave and warm-spell record and toolbox. Sci Data 2018; 5:180206. [PMID: 30376556 PMCID: PMC6207177 DOI: 10.1038/sdata.2018.206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2018] [Accepted: 08/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Heatwaves are extended periods of unusually high temperatures with significant societal and environmental impacts. Despite their significance, there is not a generalized definition for heatwaves. In this paper, we introduce a multi-method global heatwave and warm-spell data record and analysis toolbox (named GHWR). In addition to a comprehensive long-term global data record of heatwaves, GHWR allows processing and extracting heatwave records for any location efficiently. We use traditional constant temperature threshold methods, as well as spatially and temporally localized threshold approaches to identify heatwaves. GHWR includes binary (0/1) occurrence records of heatwaves/warm-spells, and annual summary files with detailed information on their frequency, duration, magnitude and amplitude. GHWR also introduces the standardized heat index (SHI) as a generalized statistical metric to identify heatwave/warm-spells. SHI has direct association with the probability distribution function of long-term daily temperatures for any given calendar day and spatial grid. Finally, GHWR offers a unique opportunity for users to select the type of heatwave/warm-spell information from a plethora of methods based on their needs and applications.
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Gao H, Lan L, Yang C, Wang J, Zhao Y. The Threshold Temperature and Lag Effects on Daily Excess Mortality in Harbin, China: A Time Series Analysis. THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL MEDICINE 2017; 8:85-95. [PMID: 28432370 PMCID: PMC6679615 DOI: 10.15171/ijoem.2017.979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2016] [Accepted: 02/17/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Background: A large number of studies have reported the relationship between ambient temperature and mortality. However, few studies have focused on the effects of high temperatures on cardio-cerebrovascular diseases mortality (CCVDM) and their acute events (ACCVDM). Objective: To assess the threshold temperature and time lag effects on daily excess mortality in Harbin, China. Methods: A generalized additive model (GAM) with a Poisson distribution was used to investigate the relative risk of mortality for each 1 °C increase above the threshold temperature and their time lag effects in Harbin, China. Results: High temperature threshold was 26 °C in Harbin. Heat effects were immediate and lasted for 0–6 and 0–4 days for CCVDM and ACCVDM, respectively. The acute cardiovascular disease mortality (ACVDM) seemed to be more sensitive to temperature than cardiovascular disease mortality (CVDM) with higher death risk and shorter time lag effects. The lag effects lasted longer for cerebrovascular disease mortality (CBDM) than CVDM; so did ACBDM compared to ACVDM. Conclusion: Hot temperatures increased CCVDM and ACCVDM in Harbin, China. Public health intervention strategies for hot temperatures adaptation should be concerned.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanlu Gao
- Division of Chronic and Non-communicable Diseases, Harbin Center for Diseases Control and Prevention, Harbin, China.,Department of Epidemiology, Public Health College, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Li Lan
- Division of Chronic and Non-communicable Diseases, Harbin Center for Diseases Control and Prevention, Harbin, China
| | - Chao Yang
- Division of Chronic and Non-communicable Diseases, Harbin Center for Diseases Control and Prevention, Harbin, China.
| | - Jian Wang
- Division of Chronic and Non-communicable Diseases, Harbin Center for Diseases Control and Prevention, Harbin, China
| | - Yashuang Zhao
- Department of Epidemiology, Public Health College, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
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