Screening for hypothermia in Orkney.
In a screening survey for hypothermia carried out amongst the elderly population of an island in the Orkneys, in which a 96 per cent response rate was obtained, oral temperatures were recorded using standard and low-reading thermometers. Out of 77 patients who entered the survey, only three had an oral temperature of 37 degrees C or higher. Six patients (eight per cent) had a temperature of 35 degrees C or lower, and these, depending on diagnostic criteria, could be considered to be suffering from hypothermia. A low body temperature was unsuspected in all six.
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002980:Climate; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007035:Hypothermia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D012606:Scotland; D012737:Sex Factors