1/56. Heat-related illnesses and deaths--missouri, 1998, and united states, 1979-1996.Although heat-related illness and death are readily preventable, exposure to extremely high temperatures caused an annual average of 381 deaths in the United States during 1979-1996. Basic behavioral and environmental precautions are essential to preventing adverse health outcomes associated with sustained periods of hot weather (daytime heat index of > or = 105 F [> or = 40.6 C] and a nighttime minimum temperature of 80 F [26.7 C] persisting for at least 48 hours). This report describes four heat-related deaths that occurred in missouri during 1998, summarizes heat-related deaths in the united states during 1979-1996, describes risk factors associated with heat-related illness and death, especially in susceptible populations (young and elderly, chronically ill, and disabled persons), and recommends preventive measures.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = heat (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/56. Heat-related illnesses, deaths, and risk factors--Cincinnati and Dayton, ohio, 1999, and united states, 1979-1997.During the summer of 1999, a heat wave occurred in the midwestern and eastern united states. This period of hot and humid weather persisted from July 12 through August 1, 1999, and caused or contributed to 22 deaths among persons residing in Cincinnati (18 deaths) and Dayton (four deaths). A CDC survey of 24 U.S. metropolitan areas indicated that ohio recorded some of the highest rates for heat-related deaths during the 1999 heat wave, with Cincinnati reporting 21 per million and Dayton reporting seven per million (CDC, unpublished data, 1999). This report describes four heat-related deaths representative of those that occurred in Cincinnati or Dayton during the 1999 heat wave, summarizes heat-related deaths in the united states during 1979-1997, describes risk factors associated with heat-related illness and death, and recommends preventive measures.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.4keywords = heat (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/56. Temporal arteritis and fever: report of a case and a clinical reanalysis of 360 cases.The purposes of this article are to report a case with temporal arteritis (TA) and to summarize and reanalyze the cases of temporal arteritis associated with fever in published articles for understanding better the clinical features of TA. A case with biopsy-proven TA is reported. The publications with TA and fever were searched by using medline in English from 1966 to 1999. Three hundred sixty cases of temporal arteritis associated with fever were reanalyzed. The results showed that a case of biopsy-proven TA with typically clinical manifestation was initially misdiagnosed and that the reanalysis of 360 cases revealed that the common clinical findings at presentation were abnormal temporal arteries, headache, low fever, loss of weight, polymyalgia rheumatica, jaw claudication, vision disorder, arthralgis or myalyias, and ear pain and that the uncommon clinical findings at presentation were high fever, malaise, anorexia, breast pain, transient ischemic attack/stroke, cough, mental disorder, diarrhea, and uterine prolapse, etc. Laboratory findings were the range of erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) 14 to 149 with a mean of 97.0 mm/hr, white blood cells being normal or increased in the range of 10.9 to 22.9 x 10(9)/L, hemoglobin level 7 to 16 g/dL, the platelets count increased to 785 x 10(9)/L, and microscopic hematuria. The diagnosis was made by a combination of clinical features, an increased ESR, a response to steroids, and, most specifically, temporal artery biopsy. The initial diagnosis was misdiagnosed in 38.2% of patients. In conclusion, the features of TA associated with fever have not been widely appreciated yet. TA is a common cause of fever of unknown origin (FUO) in the elderly. TA should be considered when patients complain of common and uncommon manifestations. An elevated ESR will aid in the diagnosis of TA, and temporal artery biopsy will provide certainty.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.0030831684224624keywords = stroke (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/56. Hyperpyrexia in the emergency department.The differential diagnosis of the hyperpyrexic patient in the emergency department is extensive. It includes sepsis, heat illness including heat stroke, neuroleptic malignant syndrome, malignant hyperthermia, serotonin syndrome and thyroid storm. Each of these possible diagnoses has distinguishing features that may help to differentiate one from another. However, establishing the correct diagnosis is a challenge in the setting of the obtunded emergency patient who gives no history and where there may be limited access to any past medical or drug history. This paper presents such a case and reviews the features of the differential diagnoses and management of the hyperpyrexic patient.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2.4632956042758keywords = heat stroke, heat, stroke (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/56. hypohidrosis related to the administration of topiramate to children.PURPOSE: Topiramate (TPM) is an antiepileptic agent, first licensed in the United Kingdom in 1994, that is used in the treatment of patients with refractory seizure disorders. TPM is a monosaccharide d-fructose derivate, with sulfamate function, and so far, few adverse side effects have been reported. methods: We describe three patients with epilepsy who were treated with TPM and developed hypohidrosis, heat and exercise intolerance, as well as fever. The sudomotor function was assessed after peripheral stimulation with pilocarpine iontophoresis. RESULTS: Sweat response was reduced in all three patients. signs and symptoms ceased after drug suppression. CONCLUSIONS: This side effect associated with TPM, which has not been described previously, can be clinically significant during heat stress and exercise challenge.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.4keywords = heat (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/56. Environmental hyperthermic infant and early childhood death: circumstances, pathologic changes, and manner of death.infant and early childhood death caused by environmental hyperthermia (fatal heat stroke) is a rare event, typically occurring in vehicles or beds. The aims of this study were to describe the demographics, circumstances, pathology, and manner of death in infants and young children who died of environmental hyperthermia and to compare these cases with those reported in the literature. Scene investigation, autopsy reports, and the microscopic slides of cases from three jurisdictions were reviewed. The subjects in 10 identified cases ranged in age from 53 days to 9 years. Eight were discovered in vehicles and 2 in beds. When the authors' cases were grouped with reported cases, the profile of those in vehicles differed from those in beds. The former were older, were exposed to rapidly reached higher temperatures, and often had more severe skin damage. The latter were mostly infants and were exposed to lower environmental temperatures. Hepatocellular necrosis and disseminated intravascular coagulation were reported in victims who survived at least 6 hours after the hyperthermic exposure. The consistent postmortem finding among nearly all victims was intrathoracic petechiae, suggesting terminal gasping in an attempt at autoresuscitation before death. The manner of death was either accident or homicide. Recommendations for the scene investigation are made.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2.2632956042758keywords = heat stroke, heat, stroke (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/56. Heat-related deaths--four states, July-August 2001, and united states, 1979-1999.Each year in the united states, approximately 400 deaths are attributed to excessive natural heat; these deaths are preventable. This report describes heat-related deaths in missouri, new mexico, oklahoma, and texas when elevated temperatures were recorded for several consecutive days during July-August 2001; summarizes heat-related deaths in the united states during 1979-1999; and presents risk factors and preventive measures associated with heat-related illness and death, especially in susceptible populations.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.8keywords = heat (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/56. Risks of ancient practices in modern times.Swaddling, ie, wrapping the child to restrict movement, is an ancient practice. In the netherlands, it is becoming increasingly popular as an intervention for excessive crying in infants. However, one must be well aware of the potential risks. We present the case reports of a twin boy and girl who had been swaddled and kept in a heated room for several days. On admission to the hospital, both infants suffered from severe hypovolemic shock, hyperthermia, and secondary respiratory insufficiency. The girl developed multiple organ dysfunction syndrome and died, whereas the boy had an uneventful recovery. When swaddling is being considered as an intervention for excessive crying in infants, parents have to be well-informed about the possible side effects and about additional measures that they may have to take to make it a safe intervention.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.2keywords = heat (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/56. The application of immunohistochemical findings in the diagnosis in methamphetamine-related death-two forensic autopsy cases-.Forensic autopsy cases detecting methamphetamine (MA) are usually diagnosed according to its toxicological concentration. It has been reported that the lethal blood concentration of MA is 4.48 microg/ml (3.0 micromol/dl). We autopsied two MA-detected cadavers, and immunohistochemical staining was performed on the skeletal muscle with an anti-myoglobin antibody, and on the kidney with an anti-the 70 kDa heat shock protein (HSP70) antibody. One case showed a high rectal temperature (40 degrees C). The toxicological examination revealed 0.75 microg/ml of MA in the blood, and 16.8 microg/ml in the urine. myoglobin was negative and HSP70 was positive in the kidney immunohistochemically. From the toxicological and immunohistochemical findings, it was considered that the subject died of hyperthermia and acidosis caused by muscular hyperactivity. In another case, the autopsy revealed highly congested lungs, with dark-red bloody fluid and foam in the trachea and bronchus. MA (17.0 microg/ml) was detected in the blood. HSP70 was negative and myoglobin was positive immunohistochemically. It was thought that the subject died of acute MA intoxication based on the high MA concentration, although rhabdomyolysis was suspected. It is suggested that myoglobin and HSP70 immunostaining are useful to diagnose MA poisoning.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.2keywords = heat (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/56. Oligohydrosis and hyperthermia: pilot study of a novel topiramate adverse effect.A 6-year-old boy with partial complex seizures developed recurrent episodes of hyperthermia 2 months after topiramate was introduced into his antiepilepsy drug regimen. Further investigation revealed that the febrile episodes were related to environmental temperature and physical activity. A pilocarpine iontophoresis sweat test showed that the amount of sweat produced by the child was 5% that of age-matched controls. Topiramate discontinuation resulted in the disappearance of febrile episodes and normalization of sweat quantity in repeat sweat testing. Based on this observation and the previous data on zonisamide and isolated case reports on topiramate-related hyperthermia and the effect on sweat production, topiramate was suspected of causing oligohydrosis. A pilot study was carried out involving 13 additional children and young adults (age range 1-37 years) receiving topiramate. All patients were directly questioned regarding symptoms of decreased sweating and heat intolerance, went through a pilocarpine iontophoresis sweat test, and were compared with 14 age-matched controls who went through the sweat test for unrelated reasons. Nine of the patients were found to have reduced sweat quantity on the pilocarpine iontophoresis sweat test (including index case) (mean 0.089 g/30 minutes, SD 0.082; age-matched control: mean 0.21 g/30 minutes, SD 0.06). Eight of them were children (below 16 years). However, only three patients revealed symptoms related to heat intolerance. Topiramate is most likely responsible for decreased sweat production as detected by a pilocarpine iontophoresis sweat test. The effect seems to be more significant in children than in adults. There is a discrepancy between test results and clinical symptoms. Interestingly, oligohydrosis was found to be a relatively common side effect of zonisamide. Both zonisamide and topiramate share a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor activity. The significance of oligohydrosis in hot climates should not be underestimated. Its extent, the role of sweat test prediction, and clinical significance during topiramate treatment should be further estimated.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.4keywords = heat (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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