title: Hypothermia in victims of the great East Japan earthquake: a survey in Miyagi prefecture.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A survey was conducted to describe the characteristics of patients treated for hypothermia after the Great East Japan Earthquake.
  
  
  METHODS
  Written questionnaires were distributed to 72 emergency medical hospitals in Miyagi Prefecture. Data were requested regarding inpatients with a temperature less than 36ºC admitted within 72 hours after the earthquake. The availability of functional heating systems and the time required to restore heating after the earthquake were also documented.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 91 inpatients from 13 hospitals were identified. Tsunami victims comprised 73% of the patients with hypothermia. Within 24 hours of the earthquake, 66 patients were admitted. Most patients with a temperature of 32ºC or higher were treated with passive external rewarming with blankets. Discharge without sequelae was reported for 83.3% of patients admitted within 24 hours of the earthquake and 44.0% of those admitted from 24 to 72 hours after the earthquake. Heating systems were restored within 3 days of the earthquake at 43% of the hospitals.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Hypothermia in patients hospitalized within 72 hours of the earthquake was primarily due to cold-water exposure during the tsunami. Many patients were successfully treated in spite of the post-earthquake disruption of regional social infrastructure.
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine/Emergency Center,Tohoku University Hospital,Tohoku,Japan.
authors.forename: Hajime
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Furukawa
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine/Emergency Center,Tohoku University Hospital,Tohoku,Japan.
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kudo
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine/Emergency Center,Tohoku University Hospital,Tohoku,Japan.
authors.forename: Atsuhiro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine/Emergency Center,Tohoku University Hospital,Tohoku,Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsumura
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine/Emergency Center,Tohoku University Hospital,Tohoku,Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.affiliation: 4Department of General Internal Medicine,Kanto Rosai Hospital,Kawasaki City,Ishinomaki,Japan.
authors.forename: Ryota
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Konishi
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine/Emergency Center,Tohoku University Hospital,Tohoku,Japan.
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamanouchi
authors.affiliation: 5Emergency Center,Japanese Red Cross Ishinomaki Hospital,Ishinomaki,Japan.
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ishibashi
authors.affiliation: 5Emergency Center,Japanese Red Cross Ishinomaki Hospital,Ishinomaki,Japan.
authors.forename: Masakazu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.affiliation: 6Department of Neurosurgery,Kesennuma City Hospital,Kesennuma,Japan.
authors.forename: Norio
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Narita
authors.affiliation: 7National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology,Tokyo,Japan.
authors.forename: Toshikatsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Washio
authors.affiliation: 8School of Science and Engineering,Tokyo Denki University,Tokyo,Japan.
authors.forename: Tatsuhiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Arafune
authors.affiliation: 3Department of Neurosurgery,Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine;Tohoku,Japan.
authors.forename: Teiji
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tominaga
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine/Emergency Center,Tohoku University Hospital,Tohoku,Japan.
authors.forename: Shigeki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kushimoto
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004189:Disaster Planning; D004190:Disasters; D055866:Earthquakes; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007035:Hypothermia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D057192:Tsunamis; D055815:Young Adult