| Characteristics of pediatric patients with heat-related illness transferred to emergency departments: descriptive analysis from Japan |
| Yohei Okada1,2,3, Marcus Eng Hock Ong2,4, Tadashi Ishihara1,5, Shoji Yokobori1,6, Jun Kanda1,7 |
1Japan Association of Acute Medicine Heatstroke and Hypothermia Surveillance Committee, Tokyo, Japan
2Health Services and Systems Research, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore
3Department of Preventive Services, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
4Department of Emergency Medicine, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore
5Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine/Children's Emergency Center, Juntendo University, Urayasu Hospital, Urayasu, Japan
6Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan
7Department of Emergency Medicine, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan |
| Correspondence
Yohei Okada Tel: +65-82782720, Email: yokada-kyf@umin.ac.jp |
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Received: October 22, 2024. Revised: December 9, 2024. Accepted: January 8, 2025. Published online: April 30, 2025. |
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| ABSTRACT |
Objective
Children are particularly vulnerable to heat-related illnesses due to their unique physiological and behavioral characteristics. Understanding the epidemiology and clinical features of heat-related illnesses in children is crucial for guiding targeted preventive measures and management strategies. This descriptive study aims to investigate the characteristics of pediatric patients with heat-related illness who were transferred to emergency departments in Japan.
Methods
This study was a secondary analysis of the Heatstroke Study, led by the Heatstroke and Hypothermia Surveillance Committee of the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine. This study included pediatric patients (<18 years) with heat-related illness transferred to emergency departments in the summer from 2017 to 2021. We summarized the circumstances of onset, clinical characteristics, and outcomes.
Results
Of the 3,154 registered patients, 146 children were included. Of them, 60% were male, with a median age of 15 years (interquartile range, 13–16 years). The most cases occurred in August (47%), and most (80%) were associated with sports activities and with outdoor settings (70%). Cases with a body temperature above 40 °C were rare (3%). Most cases were admitted to hospitals (75% to the general ward and 16% to the intensive care unit), and patients admitted to intensive care unit had altered consciousness with increased serum creatinine. There were two cases of mortality, both of which were out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
Conclusion
Most pediatric cases with heat-related illness were middle or high school students, occurred in August, and were related to outdoor sports activity. Patients admitted to hospitals suffered altered consciousness, dehydration, and acute kidney injury. |
| Keywords:
Heat stress disorders; Heat illness; Heat cramps; Heat stroke; Environmental emergency |
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