Heat-related Emergency Department Visits During the Northwestern Heat Wave — United States, June 2021

Details

• Personal Author:
  Schramm, Paul J. ; Vaidyanathan, Ambarish ; Radhakrishnan, Lakshmi ; Gates, Abigail ; Hartnett, Kathleen ; Breysse, Patrick
• Corporate Authors:
  National Center for Environmental Health (U.S.)Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice. Climate and Health Program. ; Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology and Laboratory Services (U.S.)Division of Health Informatics and Surveillance. National Syndromic Surveillance Program (U.S.).
• Description:
  Record high temperatures are occurring more frequently in the United States, and climate change is causing heat waves to become more intense (1), directly impacting human health, including heat-related illnesses and deaths. On average, approximately 700 heat-related deaths occur in the United States each year (2). In the northwestern United States, increasing temperatures are projected to cause significant adverse health effects in the coming years (3). During June 25–30, 2021, most of Oregon and Washington were under a National Weather Service excessive heat warning.* Hot conditions persisted in parts of Oregon, Washington, or Idaho through at least July 14, 2021. The record-breaking heat had the largest impact in Oregon and Washington, especially the Portland metropolitan area, with temperatures reaching 116°F (46.7°C), which is 42°F (5.6°C) hotter than the average daily maximum June temperature.
  
  Data from the National Syndromic Surveillance Program (U.S.) (NSSP)† were analyzed to examine patterns in heat-related illness emergency department (ED) visits during the June 2021 heat wave and the month preceding it in the northwestern United States Heat-related ED visits were analyzed for U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Region 10, which includes Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, during May 1–June 30 in 2019 and 2021. ED visits were compared with those in the rest of the nation and to corresponding months in 2019; comparison data from 2019 were selected to diminish potential confounding effects of COVID-19 on ED visit Trends in 2020, such as changes in health care seeking behavior. Heat-related illness ED visits were identified using a combination of free text describing the patient’s reason for visit (chief complaint) and administrative discharge diagnoses indicating exposure to high ambient temperature. To account for changes in facilities sharing data with NSSP, 2019 to 2021 comparisons were restricted to EDs with consistent reporting during the study period§ and at least one visit for heat-related illness. Daily counts and rates (mean number of ED visits for heat-related illnesses divided by mean total number of ED visits multiplied by 100,000) were analyzed by age group (0–17, 18–25, 26–54, 55–64, 65–74, and ≥75 years) and sex. This activity was reviewed by CDC and was conducted consistent with applicable federal law and CDC policy.
  
  Suggested citation for this article: Schramm PJ, Vaidyanathan A, Radhakrishnan L, Gates A, Hartnett K, Breysse P. Heat-Related Emergency Department Visits During the Northwestern Heat Wave — United States, June 2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 16 July 2021.
  
  mm7029e1.htm?s_cid=mm7029e1_w
  
  mm7029e1-H.pdf
  
  
• Subjects:
  Emergency Service, Hospital Extreme Heat Heat Stress Disorders Sentinel Surveillance
• Source:
  MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2021; v. 70 Early Release
• Series:
  Weekly Report: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• ISSN:
  0149-2195 (print) ; 1545-861X (digital)
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Name as Subject:
  National Syndromic Surveillance Program (U.S.)
• Place as Subject:
  Northwestern United States
• Pages in Document:
  3 pdf pages
• Volume:
  70
• Collection(s):
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e754ad2e65be561d294463206086d1dfd450b83d541cd8e6311a43bf0b90ea1e9299a6e2501b71d08263de823a2993869ccf18bc5769595c4933e9c2fb4a5f50
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/108120/cdc_108120_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 403.38 KB ]