The Impact of Global Warming on the Rise in Heat-Related Illnesses in Emergency Medical Services.

Abstract

Purpose: Global warming is one of the critical problems affecting health, society, and the economy. High temperatures are linked to an increase in heat-related illnesses, which have significantly impacted the public health system, particularly emergency medical services (EMS). Analyzing the pattern of heat-related illness cases in EMS can improve resource utilization and preparedness within the public health system.

Patients and methods: A retrospective study was conducted on EMS data from Srinagarind Hospital, Thailand, covering the summer months (February to May) from 2020 to 2024. Patients with heat-related illnesses were identified in the EMS database using the 10^th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) version 2019, specifically codes under "T67 Effects of Heat and Light", which include heat stroke, heat syncope, heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat fatigue.

Results: A total of 136 EMS operations from the hospital's database were analyzed. In the summer 2024 group, 95.7% (N=44) of the patients were male. The majority of EMS triage cases required resuscitation (P = 0.020). Outdoor activity was identified as a significant factor related to heat illness, with rates of 83.3%, 92.9%, 93.3%, 97.1%, and 93.5% over the five years of the study. The activation time was 1.30 minutes for the summer of 2024 and 1.24 minutes for the summer of 2023. Notably, the average scene time in the summer 2024 group was significantly longer at 25.2 minutes, compared to 12.0 minutes in the summer 2020 group (P<0.001).

Conclusion: Outdoor activity was the most significant risk factor associated with increased heat-related illnesses. Other contributing factors included male gender, age between 20-40 years, scene temperatures above 35°C, and prolonged scene times exceeding 15 minutes.