title: Emergency Department Visits for Heat Stroke in the United States, 2009 and 2010.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The effect of extreme heat on health has become a growing public health concern due to climate change. We aimed to examine the epidemiological patterns of hospital-based emergency department (ED) visits for heat stroke in the United States.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We analyzed data from the 2009 and 2010 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample, the largest ED data system sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. ED visits for heat stroke were identified by screening the recorded diagnoses using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) code 992.0. Annual incidence rates of ED visits for heat stroke were computed according to demographic characteristics and geographic regions. In 2009 and 2010, there were an estimated 8,251 ED visits for heat stroke in the United States, yielding an annual incidence rate of 1.34 visits per 100,000 population (95% Confidence Interval [CI] = 1.23-1.45). Significantly higher incidence rates were found in males (1.99 per 100,000; 95% CI = 1.82-2.16), adults aged ≥ 80 years (4.45 per 100,000; 95% CI = 3.73-5.18), and residents living in the southern region (1.61 per 100,000; 95% CI = 1.43-1.79). The majority (63.1%) of ED visits for heat stroke occurred during the summer months of June, July and August. Over one-half (54.6%) of the ED visits for heat stroke required hospitalization and 3.5% of the patients died in the ED or hospital.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Heat stroke results in approximately 4,100 ED visits each year in the United States, with the majority occurring in the summer months and requiring admission to the hospital. Men, the elderly, and people living in the south region are at heightened risk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Xian
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA.|Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Joanne E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Brady
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education and Clinical Research, Saint Barnabas Medical Center, Livingston, NJ, USA.|Malignant Hyperthermia Association of the United States, Sherburne, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Henry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rosenberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA. gl2240@cumc.columbia.edu.|Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA. gl2240@cumc.columbia.edu.|Center for Injury Epidemiology and Prevention, Columbia University Medical Center, 722 W. 168th Street, Room 524, New York, 10032, NY, USA. gl2240@cumc.columbia.edu.
authors.forename: Guohua
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Li
keywords: Emergency medical service; Epidemiology; Global warming; Heat stroke; Public health