The number of cases of hypothermia and other cold-related diseases has risen with the season, and cases can be costly for hospitals because treatment in the emergency department is resource-intensive, according to a recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The study found that most patients treated in emergency departments for hypothermia or cold-related diagnoses are older males unlikely to have health insurance.Treatment of these conditions often involves costly procedures such as cardiac monitoring, intravenous fluids and electrocardiograms.
"Hypothermia and other cold-related morbidity is a preventable resource-intensive condition that tends to affect the disadvantaged," said study authors Eduardo Azziz Baumgartner, MD, Martin Belson, MD, Carol Rubin, CVM, and Manish Patel, MD, all of the CDC.
The researchers examined the frequency and risk factors of hypothermia and cold-related emergency department visits in the United States from 1995 to 2004, and found little published on these topics.
"This information is needed to develop public health strategies and interventions for cold-related morbidity and mortality," the authors said. "We have focused on hypothermia and other cold-related morbidity because these conditions are potentially lethal but preventable."
Frequent reasons for hypothermia-related visits to emergency departments include overexposure to cold weather, adverse effects of drug abuse or alcohol and endocrine, nutritional or metabolic disorders, according to the study.