The rate and risk of heat-related illness in hospital emergency departments during the 1995 Chicago heat disaster.
OBJECTIVE
To conduct an Emergency Department (ED)-based treated prevalence study of heat morbidity and to estimate the rate and risk of heat morbid events for all Chicago MSA EDs (N = 95; 2.7 million visits per year).


METHODS
ED patient log data were compiled from 13 randomly selected hospitals located throughout the Chicago MSA during the 2 weeks of the 1995 heat disaster and from the same 2-week period in 1994 (controls). Measurements included: age, sex, date, and time of ED service, up to three ICD-9 diagnoses, and disposition.


RESULTS
Heat morbidity for Chicago MSA hospital EDs was calculated at 4,224 (95% CI = 2964-5488) cases. ED heat morbidity increased significantly 5 days prior to the first heat-related death. In 1995, there was an increase in the estimated relative risk for the city = 3.85 and suburbs = 1.89 over the control year of 1994.


CONCLUSIONS
Real time ED-based computer automated databanks should be constructed to improve public health response to infectious or noninfectious outbreaks. Rapid area-wide M&M tabulations can be used for advancing the effectiveness of community-based prevention programs, and anticipating hospital ED resource allocation.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002641:Chicago / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004189:Disaster Planning; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D018882:Heat Stress Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006751:Hospital Information Systems; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods*; D015995:Prevalence; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D013696:Temperature