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Impact of the 2009 M elbourne heatwave on a major public hospital
Author(s) -
Lindstrom S. J.,
Nagalingam V.,
Newnham H. H.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
internal medicine journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.596
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-5994
pISSN - 1444-0903
DOI - 10.1111/imj.12275
Subject(s) - medicine , emergency medicine , environmental health
In the week following the onset of the 2009 heatwave in M elbourne, A ustralia, The A lfred H ospital observed a significant increase in total hospital admissions (adjusted incidence rate ratio ( IRR ) 1.11, P = 0.046), emergency department presentations ( IRR 1.15, P < 0.01) and general medical admissions ( IRR 1.81, P < 0.01). Under the general medical unit there was a rise in the number of deaths ( IRR 3.9, P < 0.01), and patients with a broad range of disorders, particularly of the endocrine/metabolic ( IRR 2.2, P < 0.01), circulatory ( IRR 1.9, P < 0.01) and genitourinary ( IRR 2.6, P < 0.01) systems.