Hajime Furukawa1, Daisuke Kudo1, Atsuhiro Nakagawa1, Takashi Matsumura1, Yoshiko Abe1, Ryota Konishi2, Satoshi Yamanouchi1, Satoru Ishibashi3, Masakazu Kobayashi3, Norio Narita4, Toshikatsu Washio5, Tatsuhiko Arafune6, Teiji Tominaga7, Shigeki Kushimoto1. 1. 1Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine/Emergency Center,Tohoku University Hospital,Tohoku,Japan. 2. 4Department of General Internal Medicine,Kanto Rosai Hospital,Kawasaki City,Ishinomaki,Japan. 3. 5Emergency Center,Japanese Red Cross Ishinomaki Hospital,Ishinomaki,Japan. 4. 6Department of Neurosurgery,Kesennuma City Hospital,Kesennuma,Japan. 5. 7National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology,Tokyo,Japan. 6. 8School of Science and Engineering,Tokyo Denki University,Tokyo,Japan. 7. 3Department of Neurosurgery,Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine;Tohoku,Japan.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: A survey was conducted to describe the characteristics of patients treated for hypothermia after the Great East Japan Earthquake. METHODS: Written questionnaires were distributed to 72 emergency medical hospitals in Miyagi Prefecture. Data were requested regarding inpatients with a temperature less than 36ºC admitted within 72 hours after the earthquake. The availability of functional heating systems and the time required to restore heating after the earthquake were also documented. RESULTS: A total of 91 inpatients from 13 hospitals were identified. Tsunami victims comprised 73% of the patients with hypothermia. Within 24 hours of the earthquake, 66 patients were admitted. Most patients with a temperature of 32ºC or higher were treated with passive external rewarming with blankets. Discharge without sequelae was reported for 83.3% of patients admitted within 24 hours of the earthquake and 44.0% of those admitted from 24 to 72 hours after the earthquake. Heating systems were restored within 3 days of the earthquake at 43% of the hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: Hypothermia in patients hospitalized within 72 hours of the earthquake was primarily due to cold-water exposure during the tsunami. Many patients were successfully treated in spite of the post-earthquake disruption of regional social infrastructure.
OBJECTIVE: A survey was conducted to describe the characteristics of patients treated for hypothermia after the Great East Japan Earthquake. METHODS: Written questionnaires were distributed to 72 emergency medical hospitals in Miyagi Prefecture. Data were requested regarding inpatients with a temperature less than 36ºC admitted within 72 hours after the earthquake. The availability of functional heating systems and the time required to restore heating after the earthquake were also documented. RESULTS: A total of 91 inpatients from 13 hospitals were identified. Tsunami victims comprised 73% of the patients with hypothermia. Within 24 hours of the earthquake, 66 patients were admitted. Most patients with a temperature of 32ºC or higher were treated with passive external rewarming with blankets. Discharge without sequelae was reported for 83.3% of patients admitted within 24 hours of the earthquake and 44.0% of those admitted from 24 to 72 hours after the earthquake. Heating systems were restored within 3 days of the earthquake at 43% of the hospitals. CONCLUSIONS:Hypothermia in patients hospitalized within 72 hours of the earthquake was primarily due to cold-water exposure during the tsunami. Many patients were successfully treated in spite of the post-earthquake disruption of regional social infrastructure.
Authors: Kazue Oshiro; Yuichiro Tanioka; Jürg Schweizer; Ken Zafren; Hermann Brugger; Peter Paal Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-01-19 Impact factor: 3.390