Admission to hospital for effects of heat and light: NSW, 1993-94 to 2003-04.

Abstract

The study examined the hospital admission rates and characteristics of patients experiencing severe heat-related morbidity in NSW using data from the NSW Health Inpatient Statistics Collection. The study covered the 11-year period from July 1993 to June 2004. ICD-10-AM. codes examined included T67 (effects of heat and light). There was an average of 91 admissions for each year due to a principal diagnosis of the effects of heat and light, with consistently more males than females admitted (1.7 : 1). Many of the admissions (39%) were of people 65 years of age or older. Most admissions (49%) occurred in the summer months of December and January.