We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Hypothermic episodes during hospital admission and the correlation with clinical condition and mortality in different age groups.
- Authors
Pugh, Laura; Dattani, Kishan
- Abstract
Introduction Studies demonstrate that older patients are more likely to have a lower body temperature, yet we currently use the same National Early Warning Score (NEWS) parameters for all adults.2 Recent studies indicate that low temperature is associated with increased mortality in younger patients;3 however, no such correlation was found in older patients. We wondered whether episodes of hypothermia are normal in older patients, even when medically safe for discharge (MSFD), or do they correlate with clinical deterioration and poor mortality outcomes? Materials and methods Retrospective data on NEWS observations (including temperature), age, day of admission, and MSFD status were collected from all medical ward inpatient patients in King's Mill Hospital between 15 and 22 September 2022. Data were obtained from 173 patients, totalling 2,820 bed days. These data will be cross-referenced with data from the death register to establish what the 30- and 90-day mortality rates are, and whether this correlates with inpatient hypothermic episodes. Results and discussion Preliminary results from the study demonstrated that during admission, for patients >65 years, 9% of bed days involved at least one episode of hypothermia, whereas for patients <65 years, this was 4%. Further analysis demonstrated that in patients 66-80 years, 18% of their hypothermic bed days occurred while they were MSFD, while for patients >80 years, it was 15%. Analysis of 30- and 90-day mortality is currently underway and the results will be included. Conclusion We can confirm that patients over 65 are more likely to have a low temperature. Our data show this is also the case while MSFD. This highlights that an increased NEWS due to hypothermia in older patients may cause unnecessary concern and contribute to delayed discharges. The 30- and 90-day mortality figures will help identify the association with hypothermia and mortality, and how that is affected by age.
- Publication
Clinical Medicine, 2023, Vol 23, ps12
- ISSN
1470-2118
- Publication type
Academic Journal
- DOI
10.7861/clinmed.23-6-s12