Ambient Temperature and Sepsis
in the Emergency Department

Definitions created
for SIRS

Bone, R. C., Balk, R. A., Cerra, F. B., Dellinger, R. P., Fein, A. M., Knaus, W. A., Schein, R. M. H., & Sibbald, W. J. (1992). Definitions for sepsis and organ failure and guidelines for the use of innovative therapies in sepsis. Chest, 101(6), 1644–1655. https://doi.org/10.1378/chest.101.6.1644

Surviving Sepsis campaign
most recent updates

Evans, L., Rhodes, A., Alhazzani, W., Antonelli, M., Coopersmith, C. M., French, C., Machado, F. R., Mcintyre, L., Ostermann, M., Prescott, H. C., Schorr, C., Simpson, S., Wiersinga, W. J., Alshamsi, F., Angus, D. C., Arabi, Y., Azevedo, L., Beale, R., Beilman, G., … Levy, M. (2021). Surviving sepsis campaign: International guidelines for management of sepsis and septic shock 2021. Critical Care Medicine, 49(11). https://doi.org/10.1097/ccm.0000000000005337

Early goal directed therapy
(fluids given aggressiveley
and quickly)

Rivers, E., Nguyen, B., Havstad, S., Ressler, J., Muzzin, A., Knoblich, B., Peterson, E., & Tomlanovich, M. (2001). Early goal-directed therapy in the treatment of severe sepsis and septic shock. New England Journal of Medicine, 345(19), 1368–1377. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmoa010307

High ambient temperatures
increase hospital admission

Basu, R., Pearson, D., Malig, B., Broadwin, R., & Green, R. (2012). The Effect of High Ambient Temperature on Emergency Room Visits. Epidemiology, 23(6), 813–820. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41739678

High ambient temperatures
increase visits for AKI

Kim, S. E., Lee, H., Kim, J., Lee, Y. K., Kang, M., Hijioka, Y., & Kim, H. (2019). Temperature as a risk factor of emergency department visits for acute kidney injury: a case-crossover study in Seoul, South Korea. Environmental health : a global access science source, 18(1), 55. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-019-0491-5

More bloodstream infections
when it is hot outside

Schwab, F., Gastmeier, P., Hoffmann, P., & Meyer, E. (2020). Summer, Sun and sepsis—the influence of outside temperature on nosocomial bloodstream infections: A cohort study and review of the literature. PLOS ONE, 15(6). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234656

High ambient temperatures
associated with more dog bites

Zhang, Y., Zhao, Q., Zhang, W., Li, S., Chen, G., Han, Z., & Guo, Y. (2017). Are Hospital Emergency Department visits due to dog bites associated with ambient temperature? A Time-series study in Beijing, China. Science of The Total Environment, 598, 71–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.04.112

Ambient temperatures related to
increase mental health ED visits

Nori-Sarma A, Sun S, Sun Y, et al. Association Between Ambient Heat and Risk of Emergency Department Visits for Mental Health Among US Adults, 2010 to 2019. JAMA Psychiatry. 2022;79(4):341–349. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.4369

Ambient temperature not changing
overall ED volume

Tai, C. C., Lee, C. C., Shih, C. L., & Chen, S. C. (2007). Effects of ambient temperature on volume, specialty composition and triage levels of emergency department visits. Emergency medicine journal : EMJ, 24(9), 641–644. https://doi.org/10.1136/emj.2006.045310